The Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program supports research that investigates the use of mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) to enhance road safety for all users. MANETs are a way to communicate on the fly with the hardware and software that is available MANETs require minimal infrastructure and can be created autonomously as desired. They have been used primarily in military applications and in disaster relief efforts but have not yet been utilized for transportation safety.
 

Researchers at the University of Virginia are exploring how to deploy MANETs in areas and scenarios with less infrastructure, such as when pedestrians and bicyclists cross at the mid-block and in more rural or remote settings. At the University of Wisconsin–Madison, researchers look to harness MANETs to alert vehicles to pedestrian and bicyclist crossings at intersections through a mobile application.