Automotive Industry Trends
Intelligent Transportation Systems A Combination of Technologies and Talents
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The current transportation system is in need of improvement, and there is rising concern over transportation-related problems. A broad range of diverse technologies, known collectively as Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), holds the answer to many of the problems. When applied to transportation systems, these technologies can help reduce traffic congestion and pollution, and improve safety and efficiency.
Already, real ITS systems, products and services are at work throughout the country. A projected $209 billion will be invested in ITS between now and the year 2011, with a full 80% of that investment coming from the private sector in the form of consumer products and services. This is an enormous number. Yet, when one examines the extensive range of technologies that fall under the ITS umbrella, it is possible to see how such a large investment is likely. Among other services, ITS technologies:
- Assist drivers in reaching a desired destination with navigation systems
- Collect and transmit information on traffic conditions and transit schedules
- Decrease congestion by reducing the number of traffic incidents, clearing them more quickly when they occur, rerouting traffic flow and automatically collecting tolls
- Improve the productivity of commercial, transit and public safety fleets by using automated tracking, dispatch and weigh-in-motion systems
- Identify vehicle location using state-of-the-art ITS navigation systems and Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites
The technologies ITS encompasses include information processing, communications, control and electronics. Therefore, effective deployment of ITS requires the expertise of numerous Standards Developing Organizations (SDOs). In order to make the standards process a coordinated effort, the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) awarded the following SDOs a cooperative agreement for the development of ITS standards:
- American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
- American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
- Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)
- SAE International (SAE)
These five SDOs work in concert with other organizations such as the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). "It is important to get input that challenges the process from everyone at the standards making table because hopefully, a better standard will result," states Bruce Schopp, Coordinator of NEMA's National Transportation Communications for ITS Protocol (NTCIP) working group. Working together, SDOs are finding ways to fulfill the need for a national Intelligent Transportation System that is both economically sound and environmentally efficient.