Roadway safety can be significantly improved with real-time collection of data on traffic, roadway surface, and environmental conditions and the efficient broadcasting of that information to road users. The UW’s Smart Transportation Applications and Research Laboratory (UW STAR Lab) has developed the Mobile Unit for Sensing Traffic (MUST) device, which is able to collect real-time transportation-related data, such as travel times, speeds, traffic volumes, vehicle types, pedestrian flows, and roadway surface and weather conditions. This project is implementing an AI-based, active transportation sensing (ATS) system based on the MUST device to use for comprehensive traffic scene perception and management. The ATS-MUST system will work as a transportation information center to connect diverse transportation users and elements, including active transportation users, vehicles, the roadway, the environment, and public agencies in support of various infrastructure-to-everything (I2X) applications. The researchers will install it on selected high-risk roadways and intersections to monitor the traffic scene and broadcast useful information to both road users and traffic operations centers. The project will have a statewide impact by providing real-time, multi-modal traffic data and efficient information broadcasting.

Principal Investigator: Yinhai Wang, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW
Sponsors:
WSDOT
FHWA Statewide Transportation Innovation Council

WSDOT Technical Monitor: Natarajan Janarthanan
WSDOT Project Manager: Doug Brodin
Scheduled completion: September 2024

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) spends millions of dollars each winter assessing and monitoring the chances of hazardous roadside snow avalanches in Washington’s mountains. For that assessment, dedicated staff hand-dig snow pits, visually evaluate snow conditions, and directly assess avalanche risks to support difficult decisions to open or close roads. The objective of this project is to develop an avalanche sensor for deployment by drone on inaccessible slopes above state roadways that will provide indirect, remote, and real-time information about snow conditions more safely and cost effectively. The research team has already proved the viability of using such sensors to gather temperature, movement, and location data, with a communication range of up to 1,600 feet between them and a base station. In this project, the University of Washington’s STAR Lab will manufacture six to ten sensors for field testing and will place them on a known avalanche path in Snoqualmie Pass. The research team will test the ability of drones to accurately drop and retrieve the sensors. In addition, they will test the communication between the sensors and base station, and they will evaluate the accuracy of the collected snowpack and avalanche information and its value to WSDOT’s avalanche staff.

Principal Investigators:
Yinhai Wang, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW
Edward McCormack, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW

Sponsor: WSDOT
WSDOT Technical Monitor: James Morin
WSDOT Project Manager: Doug Brodin
Scheduled completion: February 2025

Residents of smaller and low-density communities, as well as the elderly and disabled, have few alternatives to private car travel. While new on-demand mobility services, connected vehicle technologies, and smarter city initiatives are reshaping travel in cities, those in smaller towns and rural areas, those without smart phones and communication network access, and lower-income travelers lacking a variety of additional resources are at risk of being left behind. The goal of this outreach effort is to better understand and characterize under-served populations’ perceptions of mobility needs in urban and rural environments of the Pacific Northwest and to inform those communities about the opportunities for mobility improvement that a smart city could provide. This project will identify and work with representatives from different mobility under-served groups in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska and will develop interactive materials to inform and educate the under-served groups about the potential improved mobility opportunities in connected-vehicle and smarter city environments. They will also collect data from the participants on their mobility challenges, perceptions, and experiences and map those data within a GIS database. They will then use the data to help identify smart city implications and potential solutions.

Principal Investigators:
Ahmed Abdel-Rahim, University of Idaho
David Hurwitz, Oregon State University
Eric Jessup, Civil and Environmental Engineering, WSU
Jeff Ban, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW
Billy Connor, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Sponsor: PacTrans
Scheduled completion: March 2023