Skip to main content

Texas alliance designated as US DOT automated vehicle proving ground

The Texas Automated Vehicle (AV) Proving Ground is one of ten sites designated as an automated vehicle proving ground. Formed by an alliance that includes the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), other members are the University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Transportation Research (CTR), and 32 municipal and regional partners. The Texas group plans to offer a full and varied range of testing environments, from
January 25, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
The Texas Automated Vehicle (AV) Proving Ground is one of ten sites designated as an automated vehicle proving ground. Formed by an alliance that includes the 5690 Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), the 375 Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and 8520 Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), other members are the University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Transportation Research (CTR), and 32 municipal and regional partners.

The Texas group plans to offer a full and varied range of testing environments, from high-speed barrier-separated managed lanes to low-speed urban environments such as university campuses, medical districts and transit bus corridors. Both closed-course facilities and real-world urban and freight test sites will be used in evaluating emerging transportation technologies.

The US Department of Transport has designated ten proving ground pilot sites to encourage testing and information sharing around automated vehicle technologies, with the aim of fostering innovations that can safely transform personal and commercial mobility, expand capacity, and open new doors to disadvantaged people and communities.  

The proving grounds will also provide critical insights into optimal big data usage through automated vehicle testing and will serve as a foundation for building a community of practice around automated vehicle research.

Other proving grounds are in Pennsylvania, California, Iowa, Wisconsin, Florida, North Carolina and at the US Army Aberdeen Test Center and the American Center for Mobility (ACM).

Related Content

  • Road safety systems on show at ITS World Congress
    January 30, 2012
    A vast array of new products and systems for aiding road safety were displayed at the ITS World Congress in October. David Crawford assesses a selection of safety initiatives exhibited in Orlando. Vital roles for ITS applications in road traffic safety emerge clearly from a new report from the US Transportation Safety Advancement Group. The report has been carried out for the Next Generation 911 What's Next Forum, which is preparing the way for future development of the US national 911 emergency single call
  • US infrastructure: once in a lifetime
    April 23, 2021
    Expectations are sky-high for Amtrak Joe and Mayor Pete as they use infrastructure spending to rebuild the US economy post-Covid – and ITS firms should be able to get a share...
  • Future-proofing transportation with a one-stop optical network solution
    July 20, 2021
    Huawei is helping transportation customers leverage optical transmission networks to optimise their communications and ensure business survival in the fast-changing worlds of road, rail, aviation, maritime and logistics
  • Spin launches safer road design competition
    April 24, 2020
    Ford Mobility’s scooter firm Spin has launched a competition to design safer streets.