IntelliDrive: Safer, Smarter, Greener

On behalf of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), the Research and Innovative Technology Administration recently released Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Strategic Research Plan, 2010-2014, which outlines a plan for multimodal ITS research that aims to produce safer, interconnected and more convenient travel. The ITS Strategic Research Plan has four main program components: IntelliDrive research, mode-specific research, exploratory research, and crosscutting support. The core of the ITS Strategic Research Plan is IntelliDrive, an initiative to create interoperable connectivity among vehicles, infrastructure, and passengers' wireless devices to produce safety, mobility, and environmental benefits. The plan focuses on key research questions related to IntelliDrive applications, technology, and policy. Research results will provide the information needed to make key decisions regarding strategies for implementing IntelliDrive. IntelliDrive is a rebranding of the USDOT Vehicle Infrastructure Integration program. In addition, two other research initiatives—USDOT's Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance Systems and SafeTrip-21—have been incorporated into IntelliDrive. Next steps relate to research on applications of new technologies and validation of the benefits of those technologies, determination of the minimum infrastructure needed to be functional, and research on the degree of market penetration required for the system to have the desired effect. Technical questions concern the stability, reliability, security, and interoperability of the new technologies, and the availability of international standards to ensure interoperability. Policy questions involve the policies, governance, and funding required to ensure sustainability and privacy, while avoiding driver distraction. Although the strategic plan, which was released in December 2009, establishes an overall vision and broad areas of research, it does not define the details of how the research will be executed. USDOT is developing a more detailed plan in coordination with various internal and external stakeholder groups, and will release that plan in summer 2010.