Connected & Autonomous Vehicles

FUNDING Federal Year: October 1 State Year: July 1

Programmed Funding 2021: $1 million 2022: $1 million 2023: $1 million

CONTACT Blaine Leonard 801 887-3723 bleonard@utah.gov

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

2019 Highlights

Snow plow preemption: UDOT is one of the first in the nation to develop a system that lets snow plows request a green light while plowing. Called DSRC, the new technology is available on five corridors in Region Two and involves 55 intersections and 47 snow plows. This technology has recently been expanded into one corridor in Region 3. The system improves plow performance and removes snow and ice sooner to improve public safety. The plow preemption system is an expansion of an earlier system that lets late-running UTA buses request extra green time at a signal.

Automated shuttle: A UDOT pilot project has given 6,300 riders the chance to safely experience a low speed, electronic, driverless vehicle at eight venues around the state. Done in conjunction with UTA, this project has helped UDOT and UTA understand the functionality and operation of an automated shuttle. Find out more at avshuttleutah.com

UDOT’s Transportation Technology Group explores and deploys connected and automated vehicle technology to improve safety and solve congestion challenges.

The UDOT/UTA Autonomous Shuttle takes passengers around a loop at Station Park in Farmington, Utah. The low-speed electric shuttle has carried over 6300 riders at eight venues in Utah.

UDOT leads the nation in making innovative technologies work to improve our transportation system. Some recent efforts include:

• Using connected vehicle technology, which allows vehicles to communicate wirelessly with other vehicles and UDOT infrastructure, to improve performance of UTA buses and UDOT snow plows.

• Exploring ways to use connected vehicle technology to glean information about highway crashes and weather from fleet vehicles.

• Designing ways to disseminate useful road condition data to cars so drivers can be better informed and make helpful decisions.

• Developing advanced data analytics systems to infer useful information from connected vehicle data through a partnership with Panasonic.

• Exploring the capabilities of automated vehicles to interact with traffic signals.

• Coordinating with other state DOTs and stakeholders to stay abreast of changes in this rapidly evolving field.

• Using existing fiber-optic cable to detect crashes and other events.