Skip to main content

USDOT partners with Mobileye in Smart City Challenge

The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) is to partner with Mobileye to equip the Smart City Challenge winner with crash avoidance technology. Announcing the partnership, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the winning city's public bus system will receive the installation of Mobileye's Shield+ technology on every bus. This is in addition to U.S. DOT's award of up to US$40 million and an award of up to US$10 million from the Challenge’s launch partner, Vulcan Philanthropy.
January 8, 2016 Read time: 2 mins

The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) is to partner with 4279 Mobileye to equip the Smart City Challenge winner with crash avoidance technology.

Announcing the partnership, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the winning city's public bus system will receive the installation of Mobileye's Shield+ technology on every bus.  This is in addition to U.S. DOT's award of up to US$40 million and an award of up to US$10 million from the Challenge’s launch partner, Vulcan Philanthropy.

Mobileye’s Shield+ driver assistance safety technology is designed to enable bus drivers in the selected city to avoid and mitigate imminent collisions and protect road users including cyclists, pedestrians, and motorcyclists. The winning city will need to work with Mobileye to secure this technology contribution. Once installed, the technology is designed to generate continuous, real-time data delivery, which will enable the winning city to make improvements to the safety and efficiency of its public bus system.

The announcement follows last month’s launch of US DOT’s Smart City Challenge, a competition that will support the creation of a fully integrated, first-of-its-kind city that uses data, technology and creativity to shape how people and goods move in the future.  The Challenge is a collaborative partnership that aims to implement bold, data-driven ideas to make transportation safer, easier, and more reliable.

The first round of applications is due by 4 February. USDOT will then announce five finalists in March 2016, who will then compete for up to US$40 million to be awarded to one city in June 2016.

Related Content

  • September 28, 2015
    USDOT announces additional funding for low and no-emission vehicles
    The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has announced the availability of US$22.5 million through the latest round of the low or no emission vehicle deployment program (LoNo) that will help deploy the next generation of energy-efficient vehicles nationwide. The funds are intended to encourage adoption of green technologies in transit buses, such as hydrogen fuel cells and electric and hybrid engines. The program focuses on commercialising the cleanest and most energy-ef
  • April 1, 2015
    Six US states get funding for innovative infrastructure efforts
    US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has announced US$4.38 million in grants from the Federal Highway Administration’s Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) demonstration program to Kansas, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia. The grants will be used to fund innovative road and bridge work that will lead to better, safer road infrastructure efforts nationwide. “Innovation in our transportation infrastructure will change the way America moves,” said Secretary Foxx. “These
  • December 10, 2015
    Phoenix rises to the Smart City challenge
    Andrew Bardin Williams looks at the City of Phoenix where voters backed a $30bn plan to revamp its transportation network to cultivate a more connected community. According to a Land Use Institute study, half of all Americans and even more millennials (63%) would like to live in a place where they do not need to use a car very often. The City of Phoenix is putting in place plans to revamp its urban development and transportation policies to meet these changing quality of life perceptions.
  • November 11, 2015
    CRASH Predicts ‘unpredictable’ in traffic incidents
    Road crashes are not as random as they may appear and analysing data can reveal patterns that can help various authorities target their resources more accurately. David Crawford reports. Figures from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) show that in 2013 there were 32,719 people killed on American roads and 2.31 million injured. While these form part of an overall 25% drop over the decade from 2004, US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx continues to stress that reaching the procl