Setting out the ITS stall at Pittsburgh plenary

Yesterday’s Opening Plenary saw Google’s Chris Urmson give the keynote address and ITS America announcing the winners of its 2015 Best of ITS Awards.
June 2, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Google’s Chris Urmson

Yesterday’s Opening Plenary saw 1691 Google’s Chris Urmson (pictured) give the keynote address and ITS America announcing the winners of its 2015 Best of ITS Awards. Urmson told the packed auditorium that Americans collectively waste the equivalent of 162 lifetimes every day while stuck in traffic, creating a need for Google’s self-driving car.

He also said that test drivers were told that the prototype vehicle they were in could fail at any point yet started to trust the tech after just 15 minutes. Soon they were relaxed enough to enjoy the opportunity to do other things while traveling.

He also told of the difficulties in developing reliable systems to detect the world around them, including cyclists’ hand signals and knowing the difference between the flashing lights on a police car and those on a school bus. However, he said there remains the need to recognise anomalous situations that might arise – including a duck running around the road pursued by a lady in a mobility scooter.

Afterwards, The Best of ITS Awards presentation recognised projects that demonstrate specific and measurable outcomes and exemplified innovation by establishing a ‘new dimension of performance.

Oregon DOT won the Best New Innovative Products, Services or Applications award for its ‘OR 217 Active Traffic Management’ for implementing ITS including as queue warning, variable advisory speed signs and grip sensors to counter some 200 accidents per year.

The Sustainability and Transportation award honoured Utah DOT’s ‘Winter Road Weather Index’ project while 378 Cubic Transportation Systems and the Chicago Transit Authority took the Partnership Deployment award for its ‘Chicago Transit Authority Ventura Update: Open and Loving It’ project. 213 Qualcomm Technologies and 5400 Honda R&D Americas won the Research, Design and Innovation award for their ‘DSRC-based-Vehicleto- Pedestrian and Other Vulnerable Road User Safety Project.’

ITS America’s President and CEO, Regina Hopper said: “These companies are moving the industry forward and proving that they will improve our quality of life.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Countering falling fuel tax revenue with mileage fees
    April 20, 2016
    Eric G. O’Rear and Wallace E. Tyner look at the benefits of mileage charges and how these might be implemented. Since the early 1900s, taxes on petrol (gasoline) and diesel fuels have been used to finance the construction and maintenance of roadway infrastructure and, in some countries other government spending too. Now, a combination of improved fuel economy, the advent of hybrid and alternative fuelled vehicles and a reluctance in some countries (especially the US) to increase fuel taxes has led to a d
    Read More
  • One.network puts safety first
    September 19, 2022
    It’s a first for the US, says one.network, where it and the Florida DOT have delivered a phone-based app allowing road workers control over their own on-site safety.
    Read More
  • How AI and digital infrastructure power safer, smarter cities
    July 23, 2025

    Modern cities need transport infrastructure that can meet today’s mobility demands while preparing for the innovations of tomorrow. Derq, an MIT spinoff, will use ITS in Atlanta to showcase how it delivers AI-powered intelligent transport systems that help cities and agencies prevent crashes, tackle road safety challenges, and improve traffic flow.

    Read More
  • Cubic opens global operations centre in the UK
    September 23, 2016
    Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS has opened a new Global Operations Centre (GOC) in the UK, which aims to expand and strengthen the company’s leading intelligent transportation services offerings around the world. The GOC is located in Stockton-on-Tees in north-eastern U.K., an existing base of Cubic resources and infrastructure and the home of its intelligent transportation management system (ITMS) operations. The GOC will support Cubic customers around the world on a rolling 24/7 basis, deliverin
    Read More

Highlighted Content