New York to Begin Deploying Connected Vehicle Program, CE Week Told
TransCore will begin deploying in Q4 its TransSuite Traffic Management System in 7,000-8,000 vehicles in New York's Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment Program, with full deployment next year, said Vice President Robert Rausch at CE Week. By integrating TransCore’s system in New York’s connected vehicle pilot, the city Department of Transportation hopes to improve traffic flow, reduce accidents and improve pedestrian safety. A program goal is to support Mayor Bill de Blasio’s (D) Vision Zero initiative to eliminate traffic deaths by 2024. Early numbers show vehicle connectivity can reduce fatalities and crashes by 82 percent, said Rausch.
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The program is one of three U.S. DOT is overseeing, with the others in Tampa and Wyoming. The New York City pilot will be a way to evaluate connected vehicle (CV) technology and applications in tightly spaced intersections typical of those in a dense urban transportation system. According to the program’s website, roughly 5,800 cabs, 1,250 Metropolitan Transportation Authority buses, 400 commercial fleet delivery trucks and 500 city vehicles will be outfitted with the CV technology, and 310 intersections with traffic signals will be equipped with dedicated short-range communication for vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) technology. Some 40 roadside units (RSUs) will be installed, it said. “The pilot will also focus on reducing vehicle-pedestrian conflicts through in-vehicle pedestrian warnings and an additional V2I/I2V project component that will equip approximately 100 pedestrians with personal devices that assist them in safely crossing the street.”
The V2V and V2I deployments in New York will provide a “testbed” to measure benefits and confirm expectations for a reduction in vehicle crash severity and injury, said Rausch. Transmitters, receivers, antenna and software are provided by Danlaw. Connectivity broadens the view of what a CV can see beyond cameras and light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors. “You start to see around corners,” and what’s behind and in front of the vehicle, said Danlaw Program Manager Andrew Donaldson. Knowing information about the state of the traffic signal, what’s coming around a corner, road conditions and other elements that might not appear on a map are part of the automated driving experience, said Donaldson. Accuracy data and cybersecurity are essential, he said.
Using connected vehicle technologies expands the bounds of engineering beyond the physical network of roads, said Cordell Schachter, New York City DOT chief technology officer. The city has made investments in connectivity for years and has a private cellular network that connects the city’s 13,000 traffic signals, he said.
New York City has hundreds of cameras monitoring traffic conditions, plus sensors monitoring speeds, said Schachter. Advanced algorithms deployed in neighborhoods such as midtown Manhattan adapt traffic signaling patterns to current levels of congestion, he said.
Rausch noted the DSRC program is based on IEEE and SAE standards and said, “The whole connected vehicle concept doesn’t work if you can’t trust the data you’re getting from adjacent vehicles -- or the infrastructure.” Public key infrastructure technology and standards ensure authentication and encryption where necessary, he said.
Schachter emphasized the need for all business partners in the pilot to be standards-based and keep equipment and software “patched and current.” All “vehicles, pedestrians and bicycles need to be able to participate in this connected environment,” he said. In this city, a particular focus is on ensuring safety for two high-risk pedestrian groups: the very young and very old, Schachter said. “That’s only going to happen if the entire technology infrastructure -- government, academia and business -- work together toward common goals.”
The pilot will cover 250 intersections with about 400 devices, Schachter said.