Data exchanges between roadway operators and automated driving systems (ADS) are needed for safe and efficient ADS operation. FHWA is taking a systems perspective regarding the data needs of ADS and roadways to identify and define data needs for different integration scenarios.

Spotlight Project: Work Zone Data Exchange

The Work Zone Data Exchange aims to deploy work zone data into vehicles to help human drivers and ADS navigate work zones more safely. The project uses a community-based standards development process to develop a data specification to harmonize work zone data for third-party use.

The MUTCD for streets and highways is the national standard for roadway design. FHWA research investigates how the MUTCD and maintenance practices could be adapted to accommodate ADS.

Spotlight Project: Updating MUTCD for Highway Automation

FHWA is pursuing an update of the MUTCD to reflect advances in traffic control device technology, and will lay the groundwork for supporting ADS and the infrastructure of the future. The current update would be the first major MUTCD update in a decade.

Image source: FHWA.

The Enabling Technology research activity area supports the development of tools and products that infrastructure owner operators (IOOs) will deploy to support testing, evaluation, and (eventually) deployment of CAVs. One area of focus of this research is improving modeling capabilities to include operation of CAVs in mixed traffic.

Spotlight Project: Developing an Analysis, Modeling, and Simulation Framework for V2I and CAV Environment

Current analysis, modeling, and simulation (AMS) tools are not well-suited for evaluating CAV applications because of their inability to incorporate communication and automated features, as well as their inability to predict planning-level impacts of CAV deployment. The project will create a foundational framework for the development of AMS tool capabilities and engage in a small-scale V2I AMS case study using this framework to encourage future development activities.

Image source: USDOT.

Cooperative automation is the concept of sharing vehicle maneuvers and trajectory with other AVs to improve efficiency and safety in abnormal operating conditions. FHWA and Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office are working with automotive original equipment manufacturers to jointly develop, prototype, test, and evaluate cooperative automation of driving automation systems.

Spotlight Project: CARMA

In October 2018, FHWA launched CARMA^SM to enable collaboration for research and development of cooperative driving automation. CARMA is an Open Source software platform created to support industry collaboration and expand on existing automation capabilities and advance AV technology. FHWA and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration retrofitted vehicles with CARMA-enabled ADS to test and evaluate the software.

Image source: FHWA.

Rapid Advancement in technology may result in outdated traffic management system (TMS) technology unable to keep pace with vehicle technology changes. FHWA is developing a process that will allow State and local agencies to plan, develop, and deploy a next generation TMS to meet the demands of CAVs.

Spotlight Project: Next Generation SIMulation (NGSIM)

The NGSIM project aims to develop a core of open behavioral algorithms in support of traffic simulation with a primary focus on microscopic modeling, including supporting documentation and validation datasets that describe the interactions of multimodal travelers, vehicles, and highway systems, and interactions presented to them from traffic control devices, delineating, congestion, and other features of the environment.

Image source: FHWA.