I recently attended the Intellidrive USA Working Group meeting, which was held October 29^th - 30th in Detroit.  It was an opportunity for IntelliDrive partners and stakeholders to discuss future plans, as well as ways to increase stakeholder involvement.

IntelliDriveSM is a U.S. Department of Transportation initiative focused on advancing connectivity between vehicles and road infrastructure, the objective being to improve the safety and mobility of the U.S. transportation system. A demonstration “test bed” is under way outside of Detroit where 75 miles of roadway has been equipped with 52 Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) devices. The Test Bed can accommodate third party applications, a range of on-board equipment, as well as a variety of vehicle types.

This is potentially exciting technology that has enormous safety implications. The idea behind Intellidrive is to make vehicles smarter and more aware of their surroundings and road conditions, essentially by enabling vehicles to “talk” with each other as well as with sensors in the highway itself.

The program intends to create the platform, specifications, and ultimately, a wireless connectivity network embedded in critical infrastructure that would bind together multi-modal systems – autos, trucks, trailers, highways, traffic flow and control systems, tolling systems, etc. The benefits of such a connected infrastructure would be: improved traffic safety and mobility (better traffic flow and congestion management), improved highway utility, automated e-payment for tolls and user fees, fewer carbon emissions and reduced environment impact, and better roadway system management tools for both private industry and local, state and federal government.

Now in its early stages, much of IntelliDrive’s focus centers on answering basic questions. What will the system look like and how will it work?  Which stakeholders should be brought to the table? How should they be engaged?  How should the U.S. DOT undertake the user ROI assessments that must be made? How do we balance direct user benefits from less tangible “societal” benefits?  What is a realistic project deployment schedule? And finally, where will the development funds come from?

Let me offer a few recommendations:

Increase efforts to get varied stakeholders to the table…  Quickly!

In a room full of interested parties, I was the lone representative from commercial trucking.  The potential issues, experiences and perspectives offered by trucking -- including carriers, vendors and truck manufacturers, are too important to neglect.  IntelliDrive will advance the fastest if it is directed by the collective input of a consortium of parties – government, technology providers, road design and construction and fleet operators - each who will benefit from its progress.

Consider funding prior to the creation of detailed implementation plans

Funding sources – public and private -- should be identified as soon as possible.  This will help to define realistic constraints and will enable near-term implementation of the IntelliDrive services that have the fewest barriers and highest benefits.

Derive an overarching ROI

It is imperative that discrete and quantifiable user returns be identified early on to justify the large investment that IntelliDriveSM will require.  Each stakeholder should have a clear and compelling case for support.

And lastly, approach implementation in a phased manner by identifying “quick wins” that can be rapidly deployed, demonstrating and validating future benefits- think the Pareto rule 80 - 20.  We certainly need an overarching vision. But with the rapid advancements typical of technology and software as user experience is gained and capabilities evolve, smaller investments with direct ROI enable quick receipt of benefits . . . a measured and controlled “learn as we pay, improve as we learn” approach.

Source: www.fhwa.dot.gov

In this way, we can accelerate the promise of smart vehicles and smart highways to the benefit of everyone that shares our nation’s highways, bringing to reality those returns in safety, better mobility, less congestion and less impact on the environment sooner than later.

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