2024: A Year in Review
From connected and automated vehicle technology to electric vehicles on the ground and in the air, DriveOhio accomplished a lot this year.
 1. Hosted the 2024 MAASTO Conference on CAV and EV
More than 100 people attended this year's connected/automated vehicle and electric vehicle conference in Columbus, hosted by DriveOhio. Attendees represented Departments of Transportation of the ten states in MAASTO, academia, and private companies who were focused on emerging transportation technology.
2. Engaged 700+ educators who work with 50,000+ students
The K-12 Educator Toolkit was downloaded nearly 800 times for in-classroom instruction as well as afterschool and summer programs. DriveOhio also hosted 8 professional development webinars about smart mobility workforce opportunities.
3. Received a Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Waiver from the FAA
The UAS Center received FAA approval to fly a large drone over a portion of U.S. 33 to test the capability of drone use for traffic monitoring and incident management. This is the first aircraft of its size to be approved for this type of operation, and the second in the U.S. approved for operations over people and traffic without a parachute.
 4. Wrapped up the Rural ADS Project with nearly 60 TB of data
During the project, passenger vehicles made 331 trips covering more than 5,000 miles, including nearly 3,000 in automated mode. The majority of the trips experienced disengagements, most of which involved a loss of GPS of cellular service, object detection, and the behavior of surrounding traffic or pedestrians.
5. Operated SkyVision in support of Ohio National Guard Exercise
The Ohio National Guard flew an MQ-9, or remotely piloted aircraft, from California to Springfield, Ohio, as well as several regional missions, utilizing SkyVision to safely take off and land at the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport.
6. Flew 3,089 drone flights to support ODOT and state agency partners
Compared to 2023, the total number of flights increased by 40% this year. This includes flights for traffic and construction monitoring, bridge inspections, magnetometry, emergency response, and event support. Highlights include support for the eclipse, tornado response, and locating 100+ abandoned oils wells at Grand Lake St. Mary's.
 7. Opened 16 NEVI stations, for a total of 17 new fast-charging stations
After opening America's first fast-charging station funded by NEVI in 2023, DriveOhio opened 16 more stations, awarded funding for an additional 22 sites, and received 128 proposals for the next round of stations, which are currently being evaluated.
8. Advanced several significant mobility research efforts
The UAS team kicked off a research project to investigate the use of a robotic dog and assisted with researching the use of a sonar-equipped boat for underwater bridge inspections. DriveOhio continues to work with Honda to investigate the use of vehicle-based data in maintenance operations and is also working on a dashboard prototype that would display insights from the Rural ADS data.
9. Trained 10 new drone pilots and added 27 aircraft to our fleet
Several veteran UAS Center pilots also completed training to advance their skills, including two pilots who are now certified in Level 1 Thermography. Another two pilots completed Skydio's official Train the Trainer program, allowing them to offer more expertise to new ODOT pilots.
 10. Presented at 100+ community and industry events to engage stakeholders
Events included school visits, conferences, facility tours, public meetings, educator webinars, and even the Ohio State Fair. DriveOhio and the Ohio UAS Center dedicated hundreds of hours in 2024 to smart mobility education, awareness and collaboration in all corners of the state and beyond.
Request for Information
 |
|
NOW OPEN: Ohio NEVI Program Future Projects
DriveOhio is seeking innovative ideas for potential NEVI projects related to rural charging, cybersecurity, fleet electrification, airport charging, workforce development, and more. Interested parties should submit a response by January 17, 2025 at 1 p.m. ET.
|
Request for Proposals
 |
|
NOW OPEN: Connected Vehicle Invitation to Bid
DriveOhio is seeking vendors to bid on a connected vehicle (CV) equipment and support contract via OhioBuys. The contract will include bid items for multiple types of equipment, sensors, and related CV operational support. Interested parties should submit their bids by January 21, 2025 at 1 p.m. ET.
|
 |
|
COMING SOON: General Smart Mobility Services
DriveOhio is seeking a consultant to provide general services related to planning, engineering, and/or financial advisory of smart mobility vehicles and systems. Other services could include communications, policy research, grant support, and data analysis. This will be included in the January 2025 ODOT Programmatic.
|
 |
|
COMING SOON: NEVI Program Management
DriveOhio is seeking a program manager to continue delivering projects under the NEVI Formula Program, which could include program administration, procurement support, environmental clearance, project management, and construction inspection and oversight. This will be included in the January 2025 ODOT Programmatic.
|
Hear From Our Team
 |
|
Podcast: Learning Unboxed Ep. 256
DriveOhio's Rich Granger talks about Portable Innovation Labs with the PAST Foundation in this episode of the Learning Unboxed podcast with Annalies Corbin.
|
 |
|
Ohio Educational Technology Conference 2025
DriveOhio's Rich Granger will present a session titled DriveOhio Educator Toolkit: Career Connections from Pre-K to PhD on Wednesday, February 12 at 8 a.m.
|
|
