Over two days this week (November 9 and 11), traffic engineers and city officials in the DallasFort Worth metropolitan area will experience connected vehicle applications that demonstrate vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) applications at ‘talking intersections’.
Spearheaded by the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) and in cooperation with the City of Frisco, live vehicle demonstrations of the technology will be part of the Texas Chapter of Intelligent Transportation Society’s 2016 annual meeting being held in the DallasFort Worth area. Trafficware’s ATMS.now Advanced Transportation Management System and Connected Vehicle Module currently installed in the City of Frisco is streaming real-time system and intersection data to technology leaders Traffic Technology Services Inc. (TTS) and Audi.
The demonstration showcases technology that has been in development for almost a decade and is the ‘first-to-market’ of its kind. TTS worked with the City of Frisco to supply and connect the city’s Trafficware ATMS.now Connected Vehicle Module and deliver real-time traffic signal information, which is used in TTS’s patented process to predict traffic signal state changes. TTS delivers the SAE J2735 SPaT (Signal Phase and Timing) and MAP messages to customers, who then deliver the selected information to the vehicle using cellular communications.
The demonstration will showcase an Audi connected vehicle application communicating with the traffic signal infrastructure, and ultimately demonstrate how the technology can improve the way a motorist operates a vehicle and to enhance their driving experience. Drivers will experience two connected vehicle applications: Time-To-Green and Reduced Speed Recommendations. The applications are used by Audi for its Traffic Light Information service that will be starting in 2017 models.
Traffic light information, an Audi connect Prime feature, enables the car to communicate with the infrastructure in select cities and metropolitan areas across the USA. The car receives real-time signal information from the advanced traffic management system that monitors traffic lights. The link between vehicle and infrastructure is routed via the onboard LTE data connection and TTS’s servers. While waiting at a connected traffic light, the driver information system in the instrument cluster, as well as the head-up-display, indicates the time remaining until the signal changes to green.
“We have been at the forefront of V2I deployments around the USA and the world,” said Kiel Ova, chief marketing officer of TTS. “Now we bring our expertise to Texas and begin deployments in metro areas throughout the state, starting in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio. It’s fitting to have leaders like Trafficware and the City of Frisco kick-off our presence in Texas,” said Jeff Spinazze, Trafficware’s senior vice president of sales and Marketing.
“Working with visionary agencies like the City of Frisco and the North Central Texas Council of Governments has made V2I a reality for the driving public. V2I is here today with the help of our ATMS.now Connected Vehicle platform and the technological expertise of Audi and TTS. We are thrilled that we have become a leader in the deployment of V2I technologies in Texas and around the country.”
