NRITS and ITS AZ Annual Conference is scheduled for next week October 21-24 at the We-Ko-Pa Conference Center in Fort McDowell, AZ. 

The conference committee needs volunteers to support the conference as room monitors. This is an very easy networking opportunity and will help make the conference successful. One may sign up for as many non-conflicting slots as you may like.

Please visit the signup genius website for more information and signing up for the room monitors.

Signup Genius LINK (https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0948AEAC2DAAFA7-room).

Please contact Douglas Noble of ITE if any questions regarding the sessions.

National Rural ITS & ITS Arizona Annual Conference + Exhibit is ten days away!!

We would like to thank all of the sponsors and exhibitors who have already signed up for this year’s conference and encourage those who have not yet signed up to do so soon.  Please contact Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) for Sponsorship and Exhibiting opportunities.

Make sure you have this year’s National Rural ITS & ITS Arizona Annual Conference + Exhibit on your calendar for October 21-24, 2018 at the We-Ko-Pa Conference Center in Fort McDowell, AZ.

SPONSORS

EXHIBITORS

• Adaptive Micro Systems
• Advanced Traffic Products
• Advantech B+B SmartWorx
• AM Signal
• American Signal Company
• Applied Information
• Campbell Scientific Inc
• Clark Transportation Solutions
• CohuHD Costar
• Comtrol Corporation
• Daktronics
• Eberle Design
• Econolite Group Inc.
• EtherWAN Systems Inc.
• Fiber Shear by Cleveland Electric Labs
• Genetec
• GRIDSMART Technologies, Inc.
• High Sierra Electronics, Inc.
• Horizon Signal Technologies
• Image Sensing Systems
• Interwest Safety Supply, LLC
• Iteris
• JTB Supply Co
• Kimley Horn
• L4 Technologies
• Mauell Corporation
• Micro Traffic
• Miovision
• MSI TEC, Inc.
• Multilink
• Pelco Products
• Sierra Transportation & Technologies
• SES America
• Siemens Industry, Inc./RUGGEDCOM
• Simrex Corp
• Southern Manufacturing
• Southwest Traffic Systems
• Summit Traffic Solutions
• TrafficVision
• Vaisala
• Wanco
• Westward Sales, Inc.
• Zetron

Like many other companies, LM Industries wants to put autonomous vehicles on the streets of world cities. But instead of going the Uber or Waymo model of showing up in a city with its own fleet of vehicles and its own agenda, the company is asking local groups to figure out how they want to use its Olli low-speed autonomous electric shuttles.

LM Industries is launching a “fleet challenge” that invites local governments, companies, and other interested parties to propose three-month use programs for Olli vehicles. The first challenge will be open to entries from the greater Sacramento and Phoenix areas, but LM Industries plans to expand the concept globally. The winner in each city gets what the company calls a “pod” of Ollis (between two and five vehicles) to carry out its plans.

“Autonomous vehicles are known by some people, but are still new to others,” LM Industries CEO Jay Rogers told Digital Trends. That uneven knowledge base made it difficult for the company to deploy is vehicles by simply waiting for groups to raise hands. Some groups would be further along than others, and some would make unrealistic proposals, he said. “That was backwards.”

Instead, the challenge asks interested groups to propose a specific use at a specific location for autonomous vehicles. Rogers said LM Industries chose to start with Sacramento and Phoenix because existing partnerships in those cities could help expedite the process. California and Arizona also have very permissive self-driving car regulations. Entries will be evaluated by a panel of judges including Rep. Doris Matsui of California’s 6th Congressional District (which includes Sacramento) and Sandra Wilson, president and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority.

For more details

On September 22nd, a small group of ITS Arizona volunteers participated in another successful clean-up of our adopted segment of the Tempe Canal Path. Not surprisingly, it was getting a bit warm when we finished up this time, but we’d started early, had snacks and lots of cold water on hand and made quick work of it, collecting several bags of trash along with six discarded tires.

Thanks to all who attended the clean-up and we encourage everyone to join us when we return in December as we celebrate our second anniversary of adopting the path. It’ll be cooler, we promise!

At the upcoming National Rural ITS and ITS Arizona Annual Conference + Exhibit, William T. Panos, Director and Chief Executive Officer, Wyoming Department of Transportation will join Maricopa County, AZ Director Jennifer Toth for an engaging and forward-looking conversation on the implications of advanced technology on the future of transportation safety.  Come hear their thoughts on rural ITS, connected and autonomous vehicles, and ITS safety benefits as well as perspectives as a State DOT CEO in a rural state.

If you haven’t registered yet, here is some of what you will be missing:

• Insights from more than 60 presentations over 2 1/2 days focusing on creative ITS solutions for your community. Learn about implementation, operations, planning and design of ITS as well as other important topics such as freight. More 
• Hearing from thought leaders in the transportation industry. More
• A first-hand look at a Smartdrive Test Bed and Traffic Management Center and Traffic Operations Center. More
• The latest products and services that can help you be more productive and make your job easier. More
• Learning how to develop a plan to deploy a connected vehicle environment and technology applications for the dynamic management of work zone traffic. More

Register Today!

The Arizona Department of Transportation’s (ADOT) pilot Interstate 17 wrong-way vehicle alert system being tested in Phoenix has been recognized with a Government Innovation Award from GCN, an information technology industry magazine.

The first-in-the-nation system being tested on 15 miles of I-17 uses thermal cameras to detect and track wrong-way vehicles while also immediately alerting ADOT and the Arizona Department of Public Safety. This can save troopers valuable time in responding to incidents rather than waiting for 911 calls from other motorists.

The system also allows ADOT to quickly warn other drivers about wrong-way vehicles via messages on electronic freeway signs. The pilot project is allowing ADOT to evaluate how technology can be used to reduce the risks associated with wrong-way drivers before expanding it to other freeways.

Thermal cameras have recorded more than 30 detections of wrong-way vehicles, mostly along I-17 off-ramps located within the project’s boundaries between the I-10 “Stack” interchange near downtown and the Loop 101 interchange in north Phoenix. Most the drivers in those incidents have turned around on an off-ramp without entering the mainline lanes of I-17.

The system’s 90 thermal cameras are positioned to detect wrong-way vehicles entering off-ramps or traveling along I-17. Through the computerized decision-support system, the pilot project also is designed to trigger new illuminated wrong-way signs with flashing red lights aimed at getting the attention of the wrong-way driver.

This technology cannot prevent all wrong-way crashes from happening. The primary goal is reducing the risk of serious crashes by alerting AZDPS and ADOT to wrong-way vehicles much faster than waiting for 911 calls from other motorists. While technology holds promise for reducing the risk of serious crashes, it can’t prevent impaired drivers from getting behind the wheel.

Visit ADOT Media Center for more information.

National Workshop 4: Operations – Mesa AZ | October 24-25, 2018

Focus Area – Operations: Addresses the range of operations questions with respect to automation, such as traffic incident management and system efficiency. Will initiate a discussion on further research needed to understand these types of challenges.

Registration for the National Dialogue on Highway Automation Workshop #4: Operations (October 24^th and 25^th) to be held at the Phoenix Marriott Mesa, 200 N Centennial Way, Mesa 85201 and is now open. The registration is free.

Day 1 (10/24): 1:00pm-5:30pm (with registration starting at 12:30pm)

Day 2 (10/25): 8:00am-3:00pm (with registration starting at 7:30am).

For those of you planning to attend the NRITS/ITS Arizona Annual Conference + Exhibit in Fort McDowell (October 21st – October 24^th), please note that there could potentially be some overlap on October 24^th as there are workshops and technical tours in the afternoon as part of the conference. If you have registered or plan to register to attend the conference and any of the workshops and/or technical tours scheduled for October 24^th, and you are planning to register for and attend the National Dialogue on Highway Automation Workshop, you may want to consider planning your schedule to determine what you will be attending and when. 

Please visit the FHWA Office of Operations National Dialogue on Highway Automation website for registration https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/automationdialogue/.

The NRITS/ITS Arizona Annual Conference agenda and registration can be viewed on the conference web page at http://www.nationalruralitsconference.org/.

For many years, ITS Arizona has sponsored an internship program to help provide on-the-job experience and mentoring to an aspiring professional in the transportation and technology disciplines.  For 2018, ITS Arizona is partnering with the City of Glendale and will administer the program, including assistance with the selection and placement of the intern.  Interested applicants who are currently enrolled in a Bachelor’s Degree program with an engineering emphasis and an interest in transportation/traffic engineering are encouraged to apply.  A complete description of the internship opportunity, requirements and application links are available on the City of Glendale’s website here: ITS Internship Program.  First review of applications will occur on September 25 and will continue until the position is filled. 

In addition to responsibilities at the City of Glendale, the selected intern will be expected to fulfill the following commitments on behalf of ITSAZ:

• Attend and observe ITSAZ monthly Board Meetings
• Prepare and deliver an industry relevant presentation at an ITS Arizona event. A presentation abstract will be submitted to the ITS Arizona Board of Directors for approval.

We would like to thank all of the sponsors and exhibitors who have already signed up for this year’s conference and encourage those who have not yet signed up to do so soon.  Please contact Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) for Sponsorship and Exhibiting opportunities.

Make sure you have this year’s National Rural ITS & ITS Arizona Annual Conference + Exhibit on your calendar for October 21-24, 2018 at the We-Ko-Pa Conference Center in Fort McDowell, AZ.

SPONSORS

PLATINUM

GOLD

SILVER

BRONZE

EXHIBITORS

Adaptive Micro Systems LLC
Advanced Traffic Products
Advantech B+B SmartWorx
AM Signal
American Signal Company
Applied Information
Campbell Scientific Inc.
Clark Transportation Solutions
CohuHD Costar
Comtrol Corporation
Daktronics
Eberle Design, Inc.
Econolite Group, Inc.
EtherWAN Systems Inc
Fiber Shear by Cleveland Electric Labs
Genetec
GRIDSMART Technologies, Inc.
High Sierra Electronics
Horizon Signal Technologies
Image Sensing Systems
Interwest Safety Supply, LLC
INRIX
Iteris
JTB SUPPLY CO.
Kimley-Horn
L4 Technologies
Mauell Corporation
MicroTraffic
Miovision
MSI TEC, Inc.
Multilink, Inc.
Pelco Products
SES America
Siemens Industry, Inc./RUGGEDCOM
Sierra Transportation & Technologies
Simrex Corp
Southern Manufacturing
Southwest Traffic System
Summit Traffic Solutions
TrafficVision
Vaisala
Wanco, Inc.
Westward Sales, Inc.
Zetron