The Utah Department of Transportation is building a transportation data network using information from the emerging vehicle-to-everything, or V2X, environment. UDOT’s traffic operations center can use the data to improve roadway safety and mobility, while state policymakers can apply it to infrastructure decisions.
UDOT is partnering with Panasonic on the smart roadway network. Announced June 25, the $50 million agreement includes the installation of intelligent sensors along sections of Utah highways that will collect and transmit data to vehicle-mounted equipment at speeds of up to 10 times per second. The data will be shared with a central cloud-based platform that monitors the information from the sensor-vehicle network and automatically generates alerts to vehicles, UDOT staff and infrastructure components such as traffic signals or variable-message signs.
Panasonic”s CIRRUS connected-vehicle data platform was launched in January to provide cloud analytics data processing, real-time analyses and transmission and data storage capabilities. It supports data sharing among transportation departments, network operations centers and vehicle information systems. It also makes the data available to third-party developers who can build applications to “solve for things we haven’t even imagined yet,” said Kellen Pucher, director of strategic initiatives for connected vehicles at Panasonic.
The foundation of CIRRUS is an internet-of-things application program interface layer that lets departments use V2X as a data source for sensing roadway conditions in real time. For instance, onboard units may sense slight tire slippage as roads freeze even before drivers notice.
Related Links
CIRRUS by Panasonic: Next-Gen Traffic Management, Panasonic, 2019
Smart Transportation Is Finally Here: ‘CIRRUS by Panasonic’ V2X Solution Launches at CES 2019, Panasonic, 7 Jan 2019