DOT's IntelliDrive project could be boon for tech companies in DC area, elsewhere

Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin wins one of first contracts for wireless network project

By Bob Keefe | July 16, 2010

Planes, trains and ships use wireless technology to avoid crashes and to keep from bumping into each other.

So why not automobiles?

The U.S. Department of Transportation is revving up a huge project aimed at creating wireless networks linking cars, roadways, traffic lights and other transportation infrastructure to improve safety - and Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin looks like one of the first beneficiaries.

Lockheed this week announced it had landed a $2.6 million, 15-month contract to begin researching and validating the DOT's program, known as IntelliDrive. The contract is one of the first to be let through the program, although earlier this month the DOT began requesting proposals for further research and development.

"We're just getting started," said DOT spokesman Mike Pina.

IntelliDrive project driving opportunities for tech companies  Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin just won one the first of what is expected to be many contracts connected to the U.S. Department of Transportation's IntelliDrive project. A look at the some of the areas where the DOT is spending money this year on research for IntelliDrive: * Vehicle-to-vehicle safety communications: Up to $11.5 million to research how cars can connect through wireless networks to avoid accidents. * Vehicle-to-infrastructure communications: Up to $9.3 million to research how vehicles can communicate with traffic signals. * Road weather management: Up to $4.6 million for researching how vehicle-based data on local weather conditions can used across a wireless transportation network. * Human factors: Up to $3.5 million on research on potential driver distraction and data overload. SOURCE: U.S. DOT

The project could be huge for technology companies - both in the DC area and across the country.

The DOT expects to spend $100 million per year for the next five years on research into what it calls "intelligent transportation systems." About $49 million is dedicated specifically to the IntelliDrive project this year alone.

And that could be just the beginning.

The market for intelligent transportation technology and services is expected to reach $420 billion through the year 2017, according to estimates from the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, a Washington-based advocacy and trade group.

Such systems could create business opportunities for an estimated 140,000 tech companies today - and even more in the future, the organization predicts.

The idea at the core of IntelliDrive is relatively simple.

Cars could be equipped - either by manufacturers or after-market suppliers - with short-range radio communication systems that could interact with each other as well as with radio signaling systems placed on streetlights, embedded in traffic signals and in other places.

Together with on-board sensors and GPS systems, the wireless network could help drivers avoid crashes, dodge traffic, find hotels or restaurants or get out of the way of emergency vehicles before they even see or hear them coming.

Say you're driving along the Beltway. If IntelliDrive were in place today, your vehicle could alert you through an in-dash video screen and voice over your sound system if there was a car stalled in the right hand lane of the Outer Loop - before you rear-end the other vehicle.

At the same time, because cars could "communicate" with each other, drivers could get collision alerts - just like airplanes or ships - when they or other drivers strayed outside of their lanes or when traffic was about to cross in front of them.

Emergency vehicles could broadcast signals to alert drivers to get out of the way. Other emergency signals could interact with traffic lights to stop traffic at an intersection.

And just like many GPS systems today, drivers could get information about roadside businesses, so they would know when they're coming up to an exit that has a McDonald's or a Marriott.

Recent prototype tests in Michigan and elsewhere used in-board radio systems that filled up most of a car's trunk. In the future the systems could be as tiny as a computer chip.

DOT spokesman Pina said research work on the IntelliDrive project is and will continue to be done all across the country. But just like with any government-sponsored work, the project could be a boon for locally based technology companies, since so many contractors are located in the DC area, he acknowledged.

Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin's contract win is an example of how big local contractors are using their experience in other areas to get a piece of the technology work behind IntelliDrive.

"This program leverages our extensive experience in developing wireless network architectures," Jim Quinn, vice president with Lockheed Martin's Information Systems & Global Solutions-Defense said in a statement.

Under its contract, Lockheed's team will research how IntelliDrive systems could support applications both on and off vehicles related to safety, public services and traffic management. Lockheed also is expected to update the overall systems architecture documentation as part of the contract.

Lockheed partnered on the project with Iteris Inc., a California-based transportation systems engineering company.




Related Keywords : New Technology , Contract Wins , transportation

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