How Effective Are Pedestrian Detection Systems in Cars?

Volpe and the U.S. Department of Defense: An Essential National Partnership For nearly five decades, the Volpe Center has provided essential support to critical missions across branches of the Department of Defense (DoD). Find out how DoD leverages Volpe's world-renowned, multimodal expertise.

Improving Service and Safety at Penn Station in New York City Penn Station is one of the busiest passenger transportation facilities in the U.S., serving more than 600,000 commuter rail and Amtrak passengers each day. In late March and early April, Penn Station suffered two train derailments within a week of each other. Find out how Volpe was called in to help following both incidents.

The Volpe Center is DOT’s ‘Nerd Lab’—and Much More Connected vehicles. Unmanned aircraft. Worldwide vessel tracking. Politico featured the Volpe Center’s multimodal expertise in its recent tour of federal government nerd labs. Find out why.

Volpe Experts in the Field

Volpe staff engaged in the following noteworthy activities in July:

• Automated Vehicles: U.S. DOT Volpe Center staff participated in the 2017 Automated Vehicles Symposium, held July 11-13 in San Francisco, California. Earlier this year, staff members helped organize five breakout sessions.
  
  During the symposium, Eli Machek of Volpe and Kevin Dopart of the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office presented a poster session on Department of Transportation Research on Transit Automation and Low-Speed Automated Vehicles. Machek led part of the “Public Transit/Shared Mobility” breakout.
  
  Anita Kim presented a poster on Federal Highway Administration Automated Vehicle (AV) Policy Gaps Analysis and Strategic Planning.
  
  Dr. Scott Smith presented energy/emission results from our AV simulation modeling during the “Energy Usage and Emissions” breakout session. He presented our framework for AV Impact Assessment during the “Making Automation Work for Cities” breakout and presented a poster on the same topic.
  
  
• Automated Vehicles: Luisa Paiewonsky participated on an automated vehicle panel at the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators Northeast Regional Conference, held July 10 in Portland, Maine.
  
  
• Aviation Fuel: Dr. Kristin Lewis attended the Agricultural Technology Innovation Partnership (ATIP) Regional Forum on Hydrotreated Renewable Jet Fuel (HRJ) from plant oils, held July 11 in Wichita, Kansas. As research and technical advisor to the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI), Dr. Lewis presented an overview of the aviation industry’s interest in renewable jet fuel.
  
  
• Unmanned Aircraft: Working with the U.S. Air Force at Hanscom Air Force Base and the State of Ohio Unmanned Aircraft Test Center, Pete Kennett supported airfield integration of the ground-based sense and avoid (GBSAA) mobile platform in Springfield, Ohio, July 17-21. The safety and effectiveness of Air Force Research Labs and Ohio testing of unmanned aircraft vehicle platforms at Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport in Ohio will be substantially enhanced with the addition of GBSAA. Volpe performs this work in Springfield, Ohio, in support of the U.S. Air Force unmanned aircraft operations.

Aviation – Human Factors

• Human Factors Considerations for the Integration of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in the National Airspace System: An Analysis of Reports Submitted to the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS)
• Line Pilot Perspectives on Complexity of Terminal Instrument Flight Procedures

Infrastructure – Bridges

• FHWA Research and Technology Evaluation: Gusset Plates Final Report

Transportation Planning

• White River National Forest Hanging Lake Transportation and Operations Study

Vehicle-to-Vehicle Technology

• Test and Evaluation of Vehicle Platooning Proof-of-Concept Based on Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control

Waterways – Intelligent Transportation Systems

• St. Lawrence Seaway Potential Opportunities for the Application of Information and Communication Technologies: Discussion Paper
• St. Lawrence Seaway: Overview of Safety, Efficiency, Operational, and Environmental Issues: Discussion Paper