USDoT awards $60m funding for ADS systems testing

The US Department of Transportation (DoT) is to provide nearly $60 million in funding for eight projects to test the safe integration of autonomous driving systems (ADS). US secretary of transportation Elaine Chao says: “The Department is awarding $60 million in grant funding to test the safe integration of automated vehicles into America’s transportation system while ensuring that legitimate concerns about safety, security, and privacy are addressed.” The USDoT is delivering the funding via the Autom
September 20, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

The 324 US Department of Transportation (DoT) is to provide nearly $60 million in funding for eight projects to test the safe integration of autonomous driving systems (ADS).

US secretary of transportation Elaine Chao says: “The Department is awarding $60 million in grant funding to test the safe integration of automated vehicles into America’s transportation system while ensuring that legitimate concerns about safety, security, and privacy are addressed.”

The USDoT is delivering the funding via the Automated Driving System Demonstration grant programme, which supports projects that encourage collaboration on ADS.

The biggest grant - $8.4m - will be awarded to Pennsylvania DoT to explore the safe integration of ADS into work zones by examining connectivity, visibility and high-definition mapping technologies.

The Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station will receive $7m to develop and test ADS for rural roads without high-definition maps and with no or low-quality road signs or markings.

The University of Iowa is to use $7m to carry out a project that gathers and generates publicly-available data on rural roads to help safely integrate ADS into US roadways.

Meanwhile. the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (5593 Virginia Tech) Transportation Institute will be awarded to $7.5m to develop and demonstrate potential solutions for safe interaction of ADS-equipped vehicles in a corridor optimised for autonomous vehicles. A second grant of the same amount will be used to provide guidelines on how to implement ADS-equipped trucks.

Elsewhere in the US, Ohio DoT will be allocated $7.5m to conduct a demonstration focused on rural environments, cooperative automation and data collection to enable the development of ADS policies.

In California, the USDoT is to pledge $7.5m to the 7945 Contra Costa Transportation Authority in a project to demonstrate 567 SAE Level 3 and 4 vehicles using on-demand wheelchair accessible ADS-equipped vehicles.

Pennsylvania DoT is to utilise nearly $8.5m to explore the safe integration of ADS into workzones by examining connectivity, visibility and high-definition mapping technologies.

In Michigan, the city of Detroit has secured $7.5m to implement a software platform in a demonstration focused on mobility and safety.

Related Content

  • MDOT unveils I-94 truck parking information and management system
    September 5, 2014
    The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has launched its I-94 truck parking information and management system (TPIMS), a system that assesses truck parking availability along the I-94 corridor in southwest Michigan and delivers real-time parking availability information to truck drivers. The project is federally funded under the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Truck Parking Facilities Discretionary Grants Program.
    Read More
  • Toyota launches collaborative safety research centre in US
    May 17, 2012
    Toyota is launching a new, advanced safety research centre that will collaborate with leading North American universities, hospitals, research institutions, federal agencies and other organisations on projects aimed at reducing the number of traffic fatalities and injuries on America's roads. Toyota's new Collaborative Safety Research Centre (CSRC) will be based at the Toyota Technical Centre (TTC) in Ann Arbor, Michigan and will involve Toyota researchers and engineers from North America and Japan. The com
    Read More
  • USDOT makes funds available to strengthen transit safety
    May 15, 2013
    The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is making US$21.9 million available to help strengthen public transportation safety for millions of passengers and transit workers nationwide. In addition, the agency also announced a flexible new policy, known as safety management systems (SMS), which the USDOT has officially adopted to help guide states and transit agencies in managing safety risks in a proactive, cost-effective way.
    Read More
  • ITS Australia Awards 2025 finalists announced
    November 13, 2024

    ITS Australia has announced 32 finalists for the 15th Annual ITS Australia Awards, with winners announced at a ceremony on 13 February 2025 in Perth, Western Australia.

    Read More

Highlighted Content