U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology
Coordinating, Developing, and Delivering Highway Transportation Innovations
| EAR REPORT |
| This report is an archived publication and may contain dated technical, contact, and link information |
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| Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-17-047 Date: September 2017 |
Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-17-047 Date: September 2017 |
This sample Technology Framing Document highlights circa 1970s RFID technology, the predecessor of modern ETC technology.
RFID technology uses electromagnetic fields to identify tags or transponders that are attached to certain objects. Tags can be attached to vehicles, animals, and other items to be identified by a stationary RFID reader. The technology is designed to avoid line-of-sight issues and, therefore, the transponders can be installed within objects. In the early 1970s, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory initiated research into RFID transponder technologies capable of communicating specific information, such as a tracking identification (ID) or license number, when activated by a nearby reader (Landt, 2001). While this research focused on tracking of nuclear materials, RFID technology may have applications in other fields.
The potential applications of RFID technology can be used by transportation agencies, the nuclear industry, and the farming industry, among many others. Any industry that could benefit from using tags to identify objects could use this technology. To accurately assess the technological maturity of the platform in reference to these use cases, the technology must be separated into its core components. The components of RFID technology include hardware and software (see details below).
RFID technology consists of the following components:
The RFID system uses fixed readers and RFID tags, or transponders. Users program each transponder using RFID software, so that fixed readers can identify them individually. When a tag enters a reader’s field, the system registers that tag’s identifier. Depending on the application, this trigger can lead to many physical or nonphysical actions. The simplest applications are for the tag’s identifier to be added to a catalog or displayed on a screen.
RFID software includes a set of codes that programs an RFID transponder to emit specific identifying information when triggered by an RFID reader.
This Technology Readiness Assessment will evaluate the core components of the ETC technology, the RFID reader and tag hardware, and the RFID software. The assessment panel will discuss the maturity of these functions and select the appropriate TRL.
The TRL Assessment will assess the use of the RFID technology for identifying vehicles. The identifiers for these vehicles will be their tag number, along with their vehicle identification number.
The intended operating environment is a manned gate or checkpoint through which vehicles must pass to enter a facility or continue down a road.
This sample Technology Framing Document describes modern ETC technology.
Example Company’s ETC system builds on early radio transponder and RFID technology to wirelessly track vehicles traveling at moderate speeds for toll collection purposes. The system is designed to improve safety at tolling checkpoints by automating toll collection to increase vehicle throughput and decrease traffic incidents at checkpoints. A secondary result of the system is reduced labor costs associated with toll booth staffing.
Potential users of the ETC system include state DOTs, Federal agencies, and large parking facilities such as those at airports. To accurately assess the technological maturity of the platform in reference to these use cases, the technology must be separated into its core components. The components of the ETC system include the hardware, software, and data the system produces.
The ETC system consists of the following components:
The ETC system relies on RFID tags and readers to provide vehicle identification and to trigger the toll charges. The small RFID tags are located on the front windshield of the vehicle, and the readers are typically mounted onto a stationary surface (such as a toll collection booth or on a gantry mounted above the roadway). The readers provide the ETC infrastructure, while the RFID tags are used to distinguish the vehicles and determine responsibility for the charges. Cameras detect and capture license plate numbers to confirm and match RFID tags with vehicle owners.
The COLLECT software is an online software tool meant to standardize and simplify reporting of tolls that have been collected and those that need to be collected. When an RFID tag triggers an RFID reader, an entry is added to the COLL (Commonly Labeled List) with the vehicle tag number, time, toll fee, due date, and address. The system also automatically charges the payment information on file. If none is on file, a bill is automatically printed and sent to the owner of the vehicle.
This Technology Readiness Assessment will evaluate the core components of the ETC technology, the RFID tag and reader and camera hardware, and the COLLECT software. The assessment panel will discuss the maturity of these functions and select the appropriate TRL.
The TRL Assessment will assess the use of the ETC system for collecting tolls from drivers automatically.
The intended operating environment is any roadway that has a need for electronic tolling.
