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
| FACT SHEET |
| This fact sheet is an archived publication and may contain dated technical, contact, and link information |
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| Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-17-057 Date: August 2017 |
Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-17-057 Date: August 2017 |
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The Office of Operations Research and Development (R&D) produces technology and tools to improve transportation system productivity, efficiency, and performance by proactively anticipating congestion and managing traffic.
Speed harmonization uses transportation network data to generate optimal speed recommendations for drivers. It has the potential to create smoother and safer traffic flow during recurring congestion periods, reduce travel time, and reduce fuel consumption.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Saxton Transportation Operations Lab’s Intelligent Intersection uses advanced signal controls to enable operations applications. To further advance the development of vehicle-to-infrastructure enabling technologies, signal phase and timing (SPaT) messages will be integrated with more accurate positioning solutions; wireless communications technologies; larger-scale, more detailed maps with attribute layers such as lane lines, pavement edges, and road signs; and more robust interoperable roadside equipment.
This research seeks to determine how drivers’ car-following behavior differs between freeways and work zones. An instrumented vehicle equipped with radar, a Global Positioning System, speed sensors, and cameras will measure the relative distance and speed under the two network conditions.
Applications for the Environment: Real-Time Information Synthesis is a U.S. Department of Transportation intelligent transportation systems (ITS) initiative to identify transformative concepts that will substantially improve environmental performance of vehicles. The most promising applications were selected to undergo a comprehensive benefit-cost analysis. For example, the Eco Approach to Traffic Signals application will allow vehicles to use the most fuel-efficient and lowest emissions-producing speed when approaching and leaving an intersection.
The Saxton Lab houses state-of-the-art modeling and simulation tools and cutting-edge communication technologies to support the development of applications for advanced operations. The lab allows multidisciplinary teams to work together to generate new ideas and advance the state of the practice. R&D capabilities at the Saxton Lab are organized into three testbeds: the Data Resources Testbed (DRT), the Concepts and Analysis Testbed (CoAT), and the Cooperative Vehicle-Highway Testbed (CVHT).
DRT supports the collection, processing, analysis, formatting, and storage of data from the Saxton Lab to support the development and advancement of applications. CoAT enables the development and evaluation of the potential benefits of large-scale deployments of these applications through modeling and simulation. The Saxton Lab’s modeling capabilities provide opportunities for researchers to explore innovative solutions with no safety risks and minimal expenses. The results of these simulations provide a basis for testing the best outcomes on CVHT. CVHT provides testing facilities for collecting data on the performance impacts that new concepts and equipment will have.
The ITS Dynamic Mobility Applications program seeks to create applications that fully leverage frequently collected and rapidly disseminated multisource data gathered from connected travelers, vehicles, and infrastructure. The goal of this program is to improve transportation network efficiency and mobility while reducing negative environmental impacts and safety risks. Under this program, a high-priority mobility application, Intelligent Network Flow Optimization, builds on the results of a recent Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) project that suggests that cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC) can effectively double the practical capacity of an urban freeway. With CACC, vehicles communicate with each other and with the infrastructure to safely follow each other at closer distances, eliminating gaps in traffic and improving traffic flow at congested intersections.
With the advent of new and emerging transportation technologies (e.g., cooperative vehicle-highway systems) and research disciplines (e.g., cyber physical systems), there is an increasing need for researchers and owners/operators of testing facilities to forge partnerships and quickly share their knowledge and transfer technologies. To leverage the growing investment in living laboratories throughout the United States, FHWA is developing a knowledge resource that will identify transportation operations research resources to allow for more efficient and timely exchange of information and technology.
The Office of Operations R&D is conducting research to advance the understanding of traveler choices and their impacts on the operations and safety of the transportation system. This project will encourage the transportation community to develop and use national and regional traveler choice data and adjustment factors to improve transportation models and forecasts.
Simulation models used in transportation analysis are not well integrated among different domains (e.g., operations, safety, and environment) and for different levels of analysis. A prototype data hub and data schema called Nexta was developed to input data and display simulation results in a common format in an open-source environment. Results from the tests showed that the data hub concept overcomes many of the previous shortcomings associated with integrated modeling applications and creates significant time savings when conducting analyses.
FHWA is investigating ways to take advantage of new types and sources of data, such as that obtained from wireless devices. Combined with traditional data, these new data sources can provide greater insight into the real-time status of transportation systems and can provide immediate feedback on the impacts of transportation management strategies.
Automation and truck platooning can improve safety by reducing driver errors and improving mobility by allowing higher traffic flows. Moreover, automation demonstrates energy conservation benefits to the trucking industry by preventing fuel-draining stops and starts during heavy congestion times and at intersections in addition to improving vehicle performance by reducing the drag coefficient in platoon formations that allow for shorter headways when they are following each other. FHWA’s EAR program is studying the automation of heavy trucks to improve the feasibility and operations of truck platooning.
FHWA is conducting research to better manage driver behavior in the dilemma zone (i.e., the decisionmaking dilemma of whether to speed through or slow to a stop during a yellow light at a signalized intersection). Increasingly effective applications, such as the prototypes of dedicated short-range communication (DSRC), roadside equipment, onboard equipment, and SPaT, are being developed to alleviate this problem.
Many of today’s operations technologies were initially developed for nontransportation purposes and must now be tailored to meet the needs of the transportation environment. For example, wireless communications technologies such as DSRC are being improved to meet the critical safety needs of a connected vehicle environment. More accurate and reliable positioning, navigation, and timing technologies are being developed to determine specific vehicle locations within fast-moving traffic. Advanced sensors are being developed to automatically detect pedestrians at crosswalks, better identify motorcycles and bicycles, and determine arterial travel times and origin/destination pairs. Finally, assistive technologies are being adapted to address the unique needs of travelers with disabilities.
