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HOW THE INTERNET OF THINGS CAN BRING 

U.S. TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE 

INTO THE 21ST CENTURY 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON SURFACE TRANSPORTATION 

AND MERCHANT MARINE INFRASTRUCTURE, 

SAFETY AND SECURITY 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, 

SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

JUNE 28, 2016 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

( 

(II) 

SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION 

ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

JOHN THUNE, South Dakota, Chairman 

ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi 

ROY BLUNT, Missouri 

MARCO RUBIO, Florida 

KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire 

TED CRUZ, Texas 

DEB FISCHER, Nebraska 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin 

DEAN HELLER, Nevada 

CORY GARDNER, Colorado 

STEVE DAINES, Montana 

BILL NELSON, Florida, Ranking 

MARIA CANTWELL, Washington 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota 

RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut 

BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii 

EDWARD MARKEY, Massachusetts 

CORY BOOKER, New Jersey 

TOM UDALL, New Mexico 

JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia 

GARY PETERS, Michigan 

NICK ROSSI, Staff Director 

ADRIAN ARNAKIS, Deputy Staff Director 

REBECCA SEIDEL, General Counsel 

JASON VAN BEEK, Deputy General Counsel 

KIM LIPSKY, Democratic Staff Director 

CHRIS DAY, Democratic Deputy Staff Director 

CLINT ODOM, Democratic General Counsel and Policy Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON SURFACE TRANSPORTATION AND MERCHANT 

MARINE INFRASTRUCTURE, SAFETY AND SECURITY 

DEB FISCHER, Nebraska, Chairman 

ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi 

ROY BLUNT, Missouri 

KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire 

JERRY MORAN, Kansas 

DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin 

DEAN HELLER, Nevada 

STEVE DAINES, Montana 

CORY BOOKER, New Jersey, Ranking 

MARIA CANTWELL, Washington 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota 

RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut 

BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii 

EDWARD MARKEY, Massachusetts 

TOM UDALL, New Mexico 

(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

Hearing held on June 28, 2016 ............................................................................... 1 

Statement of Senator Fischer ................................................................................. 1 

Statement of Senator Booker .................................................................................. 3 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 4 

Statement of Senator Cantwell .............................................................................. 48 

Statement of Senator Markey ................................................................................. 50 

Statement of Senator Klobuchar ............................................................................ 54 

Statement of Senator Blumenthal .......................................................................... 57 

WITNESSES

Hon. Carlos Monje, Jr., Acting Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy, 

and Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy, U.S. Department of 

Transportation ...................................................................................................... 5 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 6 

Seleta Reynolds, General Manager, Los Angeles Department of Transportation; and President, National Association of City Transportation Officials 

(NACTO) ............................................................................................................... 11 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 13 

Doug Davis, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Intel Corporation ... 16 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 17 

Dr. Robert Edelstein, Senior Vice President, ITS Practice Lead, AECOM ......... 31 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 32 

Jordan Kass, President of Managed Services, C.H. Robinson ............................. 40 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 42 

APPENDIX

Response to written question submitted by Hon. Richard Blumenthal to Hon. 

Carlos Monje, Jr. .................................................................................................. 59 

(1) 

HOW THE INTERNET OF THINGS CAN 

BRING U.S. TRANSPORTATION AND 

INFRASTRUCTURE INTO THE 21ST CENTURY 

TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 2016 

U.S. SENATE, 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON SURFACE TRANSPORTATION AND

MERCHANT MARINE INFRASTRUCTURE, SAFETY AND SECURITY,

COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION, Washington, DC. 

The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:45 a.m. in room 

SR–253, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Deb Fischer, Chairman of the Subcommittee, presiding. 

Present: Senators Fischer [presiding], Ayotte, Heller, Daines, 

Johnson, Booker, Cantwell, Klobuchar, Markey, and Blumenthal. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. DEB FISCHER, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM NEBRASKA 

Senator FISCHER. Good morning. I am pleased to convene the 

Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant 

Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security for today’s hearing entitled, ‘‘How the Internet of Things Can Bring U.S. Transportation 

and Infrastructure into the 21st Century.’’ This hearing will examine how the Internet of Things can advance our Nation’s transportation and infrastructure system. 

America’s transportation network is well-positioned to benefit 

from new developments in technology. For example, the Internet of 

Things offers new ways to help alleviate congestion on our Nation’s 

roads, reduce cargo shipping delays at ports, and monitor rail and 

pipeline infrastructure safety. This growing interconnected network 

can inform policymakers on where to invest limited resources in 

road and bridge maintenance. 

In March, Senator Booker and I joined Senators Ayotte and 

Schatz to introduce the Developing Innovation and Growing the 

Internet of Things Act, or the DIGIT Act. This bipartisan legislation builds on our resolution, which passed the Senate last year. It 

calls for a nationwide strategy to drive development of the Internet 

of Things. 

The DIGIT Act would convene a working group of private and 

public sector stakeholders to offer recommendations to Congress. 

They would focus on how to plan for and encourage the growth of 

the Internet of Things. Our bill would begin discussions on the future of this network, and ensure that the United States is adopting 

policies that accelerate innovation and allow it to thrive. 

2 

This could have a positive effect on transportation. For instance, 

global supply chains represent a major opportunity to take advantage of the Internet of Things to grow exports and imports. In today’s just-in-time shipping environment, time is money and efficiency is key. 

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, by 2045, 

freight volumes will increase by 45 percent. DOT in its Beyond 

Traffic report found that transportation delays have a high cost. 

For example, Nike spends an additional $4 million per week in 

extra inventory to compensate for shipping delays. The same report 

found that a week-long disruption at our Nation’s two largest ports, 

LA and Long Beach, would cost our economy as much as $150 million per day. 

Meanwhile, supply chains are changing rapidly in response to 

transportation delays and alternative options. For example, after 9 

years, the $5.4 billion Panama Canal expansion is expected to open 

this week. Following the project’s completion, the Panama Canal 

will be able to process ships nearly 3 times as large as before and 

will provide a greater connection between our East Coast ports and 

Asian export markets. 

A recent white paper co-authored by C.H. Robinson and the Boston Consulting Group pointed out that the canal’s expansion promises to reorient the landscape of the logistics industry and alter the 

decisionmaking calculus of shippers that the canal serves. 

Delays in our logistics chain raise costs for shippers, infrastructure operators, carriers, and, yes, consumers. By increasing 

connectivity and real-time data flows between stakeholders, our 

transportation network and its users will gain productivity. 

Infrastructure design, construction, maintenance, and safety will 

also benefit from improved data and connectivity. 

State and local highway officials constantly face challenges when 

allocating limited resources to an array of transportation projects. 

For example, AECOM has established a Self-Monitoring Analysis 

and Reporting Technology system, known as SMART, to remotely 

monitor bridges, dams, and other transportation assets. AECOM’s 

SMART infrastructure seeks to use the Internet of Things to enhance the operating efficiencies of infrastructure and lengthen the 

life of these critical assets. 

Real-time monitoring represents a critical analytic tool that can 

enable States and localities to expend highway dollars in a riskbased manner, thereby bolstering safety and infrastructure reliability. 

As part of the FAST Act, I worked with my colleagues on this 

committee to author a robust national freight policy that will provide States with greater resources to designate critical urban and 

rural corridors. Congress also expanded the objectives of the Intelligent Transportation System program, which seeks to integrate 

technology, communications, and data into our transportation network to include enhancing our national freight network. 

Senator Booker and I have been working together to better understand the possibilities of the Internet of Things and to educate 

our Senate colleagues on them. 

I’m pleased that we have an exceptional group of stakeholders 

appearing before the Subcommittee today. We are fortunate to 

3 

have officials who are developing policy at the Federal and local 

levels, and I am eager to hear how private sector stakeholders are 

utilizing the Internet, data, and technology to manage infrastructure projects and advance freight and passenger transportation networks. 

I would now like to invite my friend, Senator Cory Booker, our 

Ranking Member, for any comments he may have. 

STATEMENT OF HON. CORY BOOKER, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW JERSEY 

Senator BOOKER. Thank you very much, Chairwoman Fischer. 

I, first of all, want to submit my formal opening remarks to the 

record. I am kind of geeking out about this meeting, and I think 

this is tremendous that you all are here. 

There is a lot going on in Washington today, some of it laced 

with lots of partisanship, but this hearing right now with my partner on a lot of things, more than I could’ve imagined, the Chairwoman and I have found a lot of things to work on that are really 

forward-facing, trying to make not only government more efficient 

and effective, but really trying to echo what was bipartisan work 

of the past. 

It was a great Republican President named Eisenhower who understood, to help the private sector flourish, there has to be creative public-private partnerships. One of the great ways to create 

connectivity of the past was just building roads and bridges to help 

connect our country. 

Now we are in an entirely different era, things that I couldn’t 

have even imagined when I saw my father bring home the first 

VCR I had ever seen and plug it in in my house. Now we have 

more connected devices on the planet Earth than there are people, 

and we are in the stone age of the Internet of Things. 

What excites me is that I have a partner to my right here who 

understands that if we in government don’t get our act together, 

we are going to miss out on not only trying to help the private sector flourish in this area, but frankly, we are going to drag down 

the private sector, because we are going to have agencies within 

the government that are working in silos and are tripping up and 

undermining innovations. 

I am extraordinarily excited about this panel because you all are 

on the cutting edge of what is a whole new world, and a world that 

for me as a guy who comes from the inner city and represented 

that as mayor, I began to see how connectivity, innovation, and 

technology, can be a massively democratizing force that can create 

and expand opportunity, in many ways in the same way as us 

building the interstate highway system or creating the transcontinental railroad, which the engine, by the way, was built in 

New Jersey. 

So I want to get right to it. I want to thank you all for being 

here. And a lot of the things that you’re going to say are wisdoms 

that we’ve tried to put together in the DIGIT Act that the Senator 

and I have together with two of our other colleagues in a bipartisan 

fashion. 

But I just want to say welcome to Washington. This is really exciting. I don’t understand why all the cameras are on the other side 

4 

of the Capitol talking about some place way over on the other side 

of the world, and there isn’t more press here focusing on this, because this is a panel talking about things that are going to change 

the life of every American in ways that they cannot imagine. 

Thank you very much. 

[The prepared statement of Senator Booker follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF CORY BOOKER, U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW JERSEY

Thank you Chairman Fischer for holding this important hearing on the potential 

for advanced technologies, known as the Internet of Things, to improve the safety 

and efficiency of our surface transportation systems. In simple terms, the goal of the 

Internet of Things is to create an environment where physical objects—such as 

parking meters, cars, and street lights—can talk to each other so that transportation and other systems work better. 

The Internet of Things also promises to make cities smarter in how they deliver 

services to residents. 

As the former Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, I know firsthand that our cities face 

many challenges and that funds are in short supply. The vast majority of a city’s 

budget goes to delivering everyday services like keeping the street lights on, picking 

up the trash, and repairing aging transportation, water, and energy infrastructure. 

That’s one of the reasons why the Internet of Things is so important to me—because 

these technologies can help cities deliver everyday services more efficiently and 

make meaningful improvements to people’s quality of life. 

For example, in a smart city, the traffic moves more safely and efficiently because 

signals are timed to allow for rapid buses, safer bike lanes, and complete streets 

where pedestrians are not an afterthought. 

In a smart city, residents from all economic groups have information on all of 

their transportation options available at their fingertips, so they can find the best 

way to get to work, to job interviews, or to new opportunities. 

In a smart city, even everyday infrastructure such as street lamps, are equipped 

not only to efficiently light the way for pedestrians, but also to deliver wireless 

Internet to underserved communities, or to monitor air quality or noise pollution in 

local neighborhoods. 

In a smart city, our ports and freight networks work better because advanced 

communication technologies allow carriers and shippers to monitor their shipments 

to keep supply chains moving. 

All of these exciting visions are enabled by the Internet of Things. 

And this great panel of experts before us today can speak firsthand about the 

promise of these innovations, as well as some of the challenges that we face in making them happen. To make smart cities a reality, technology developers, city governments, and transportation companies need an environment that encourages experimentation and innovation. 

That’s why I—along with Senators Fischer, Ayotte, and Schatz—introduced bipartisan legislation known as the ‘‘Developing Innovation and Growing the Internet of 

Things’’ or DIGIT Act. The DIGIT Act will create an environment where innovators 

have ample access to spectrum and Congress has the information necessary to lower 

the barriers to building the Internet of Things. The DIGIT Act is just one of several 

new efforts to challenge cities, companies, and transportation providers to work together to make the United States a global leader in the Internet of Things. 

For example, the Department of Transportation recently held its Smart City Challenge, in which cities from across the country developed plans to use this technology 

to transform their transportation systems. Of the 78 cities that took up the challenge, DOT awarded funding to seven cities to further hone their plans. In the end, 

the CITY OF X, was awarded $X million to begin implementing their vision for X, 

Y, and Z. However, all of the cities who participated—including my friends in Newark and Jersey City—will benefit from having developed actionable plans to bring 

their transportation systems into the 21st Century. 

And that’s what this hearing is about—leveraging technology to make our transportation infrastructure work better for everyone now, and into the future. 

I look forward to hearing from this expert panel about their lessons learned so 

far in developing the Internet of Things in transportation, and learning what steps 

we in Congress should take to help foster innovation. 

Senator Fischer—thank you again for having the foresight to call this hearing and 

for being a great partner in encouraging innovation in transportation. 

5 

Senator FISCHER. Thank you, Senator Booker. 

Don’t you just love it when he geeks out? 

No, I am also very excited that we get started. So with that, I 

would like to introduce the panel. We will begin with the Honorable Carlos Monje, the Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation. 

Welcome, sir. If you would like to give your opening statement? 

STATEMENT OF HON. CARLOS MONJE, JR., ACTING UNDER 

SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION FOR POLICY, AND 

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORTATION POLICY, 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Mr. MONJE. Thank you. Chairman Fischer, Ranking Member 

Booker, members of the Subcommittee, thank you for inviting me 

here today. 

We are getting to a point in history where data is as important 

to transportation as asphalt. The Internet of Things has the potential to slash commute times, to eliminate traffic accidents, reduce 

CO2 emissions, and reshape communities for the better. 

Already, we are beginning to see major advances: connected traffic signals that detect cars and pedestrians to improve safety and 

speed traffic; wayfinding applications that let commuters pick the 

most convenient way to get around; and sensors that help traffic 

engineers fix and detect structural problems. 

Soon, we are going to see increased deployment of technologies 

that will spread out travel demand and nudge travelers to make 

informed choices. We are going to see revolutionized logistics that 

include robotics, automation, and truck platooning. 

Most thrilling, automated vehicles hold the promise to dramatically reduce deadly crashes and reclaim millions of hours of lost 

time. The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology said that the time regained from not driving could be worth 

$1.2 trillion a year, not to mention the benefits of reclaiming land 

from parking spaces. 

While we know that this transformation will be driven by the 

private sector, we are doing our part at U.S. DOT, first by building 

an enabling regulatory environment; second, by never wavering 

from our focus on safety, security, privacy, and equity; and third, 

by investing in key research and tech deployments. 

At Secretary Foxx’s direction, we are doing everything we can to 

remove regulatory obstacles to provide the certainty and flexibility 

needed to encourage innovation. 

For instance, NHTSA is systematically reviewing its regulatory 

framework, making clear to innovators how to seek redress from 

existing barriers, developing a framework for Federal and State 

regulators to work together, and identifying needed new regulatory 

tools. 

Our Highway Administration is finalizing guidance to road planners to how to legally and effectively install vehicle infrastructure 

equipment. The Federal Transit Administration is reviewing its 

rules to enable transit agencies across the country to participate in 

the mobility-on-demand revolution. 

And as the department enters this brave new world, we are combining the tools we have with the lessons we’ve learned, starting 

6 

with a strong partnership with industry and building on a foundation of data and transparency. 

We have kept a razor-sharp focus on safety, security, and privacy. We are working closely with the FTC, and we are pursuing 

connected vehicles in a way that protects consumers from privacy 

risks and protects vehicles from hacking, tampering, or tracking. 

We are also moving aggressively on a number of fronts to bolster 

cybersecurity. NHTSA has challenged the auto industry to form an 

information-sharing and analysis center to proactively address 

cyberthreats. We’ve collaborated across all corners of the Federal 

Government to give planners the ability to capture and manage big 

data in ways that protect the privacy and safety of users. 

We are also investing our dollars in a strategic way to fund 

foundational research, to speed promising technologies to market, 

and to spur the national conversation on the future of mobility. 

FTA’s Mobility on Demand program includes an $8 million sandbox, which is going to help public transit agencies explore new 

ways to partner with emerging service providers, whether that be 

carpooling, transit on-demand, or bike sharing, to provide better 

options to their constituents. 

FHWA is operating three connected vehicles pilots to speed truck 

movements in southern Wyoming, to improve pedestrian safety in 

New York City, and test mobility apps in Tampa. We’ve developed 

the Freight Advanced Traveler Information System, FRATIS, 

which is demonstrating how sensors and data systems can speed 

the transfer of cargo at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. 

And last week, Secretary Foxx announced the winner of the 

Smart City Challenge, a national competition to transform one 

midsize city using advanced data and technology. Columbus, Ohio, 

will receive $40 million from us, plus a whole lot of support from 

a host of partners, and the city is going to deploy electronic selfdriving shuttles to connect its residents to BRT lines. They’re going 

to put sensors on their city fleet to improve safety. They’re going 

to invest in truck platooning, and make it easier for delivery vehicles to find parking on city streets. And they are integrating their 

transportation data with other parts of their city, particularly 

health care scheduling to help address high rates of infant mortality. 

Seventy-eight cities applied. Each created a blueprint for the future of transportation on their city streets. And the biggest lesson 

of the Smart City Challenge is that technology deployment is not 

an end to itself, but rather a means to build strong communities 

that create opportunity for all its citizens. 

Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the department’s visions. Thanks also for this subcommittee’s leadership in holding 

this hearing and introducing legislation to speed planning for the 

Internet of Things. I’m glad to answer the questions you have. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Monje follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. CARLOS MONJE, JR., ACTING UNDER SECRETARY OF

TRANSPORTATION FOR POLICY, AND ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORTATION

POLICY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Chairman Fischer, Ranking Member Booker, and Members of the Subcommittee, 

thank you for inviting me to appear before you to discuss how the Department of 

7 

Transportation is advancing the Internet of Things and its ability to transform communities. 

America has led the world in transportation creativity, from the Wright brothers 

at Kitty Hawk to Ford’s Model-T. Today, our ability to innovate continues to be the 

envy of the world. Over time, government has played a critical role fostering new 

innovations—the Global Positioning System, the Internet, and the advent of civil 

aviation are just a few examples of how the government has shaped the market in 

revolutionary ways. Over the past seven and a half years, the Obama Administration has strengthened our foundation for innovation through key investments and 

critical reforms to drive technological breakthroughs that will power our economy 

and inspire the world for generations to come. 

Perhaps no sector better captures the imagination about how connectivity can improve the way we move. The potential impacts of fully integrated transportation infrastructure are profound. Zero transportation fatalities. Drastically reduced commute times. Diminished contributions to climate change. We know that over the 

next 30 years, America’s population will grow by 70 million and the freight moving 

across our roads, rails, pipelines and airports will increase 45 percent. As a nation, 

we will not be able to build our way out of the growing congestion and all its effects. 

Instead, we have to be smarter about the capacity we have. Emerging technology 

has the potential to dramatically improve our lives. 

The Wow Factor 

• The next generation of mobility technology is in the early stages of deployment, 

giving us a glimpse of what is to come. 

• Connected traffic signals that detect cars and pedestrians in real time, dramatically reducing risks to pedestrians, wait times at empty intersections, and sharing information with the network to anticipate and speed traffic flows across an 

entire city or region. 

• Wayfinding applications that enable commuters to decide instantly the cheapest 

and most convenient way to get around, whether by reserving a parking space 

for their own car, activating a carshare vehicle, signing up for a carpool, biking 

or using public transit. 

• Common payment systems that allow users to travel easily across modes and 

other solutions to help the unbanked and those without cell phones access these 

services. 

• Connected vehicles that soon will help drivers avoid dangerous situations. 

• Sensors that help engineers detect pavement and structural bridge problems 

and fix them before they become less safe and more expensive to repair; and 

• Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) that can inspect bridges and pavements, observe on-going construction, and monitor and report traffic incidents. 

In the immediate future, we anticipate seeing the increased deployment of technologies and access to data that will: 

• help transportation planners better track how their networks perform so they 

can target their road building, prioritize essential roadway services, evaluate 

the need for truck parking solutions, and offer more responsive transit services; 

• help spread out travel demand and encourage more sustainable choices by informing travelers and freight operators, nudging them to optimize and plan 

their trip slightly differently; 

• help automate freight deliveries with robotic loading and unloading, maximize 

efficiencies along our freight network—including research on the operational 

and safety impacts of truck platooning; 

• provide automated first-and last-mile public transit to encourage transit use 

and reduce parking needs; 

• have the potential to dramatically reduce deadly crashes, cut losses in vehicle 

and infrastructure damages, and reclaim millions of hours of lost time through 

the deployment of fully automated vehicles; and 

• make transportation projects completely paperless from planning to the post 

construction phase, saving time and money for State DOTs as well as contractors. 

We know that this transformation will be driven by the private sector, and by our 

state, local and tribal partners, but the Department of Transportation is working 

to speed the benefits of the IoT, first; by building an enabling regulatory environment; second, by never wavering from our focus on safety, security and privacy; and 

third, by investing in catalytic research and technology deployments. 

8 

Finding Innovative Approaches 

As Secretary Foxx has said, DOT is bullish on technology. The degree to which 

we can anticipate breakthroughs, remove obstacles and streamline efforts to enable 

innovation could mean the difference between shaping new markets or being subject 

to them. More than ever, transportation innovation can be restricted by the slow 

pace of legislation and rulemaking. Rapidly evolving technology will demand government flexibility: regulations may be necessary, but they can also provide the certainty to encourage innovation. 

For instance, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is 

systematically reviewing its current regulatory framework to identify and overcome 

any provisions that could slow this transformation, including clarifying existing 

rules, developing a framework for Federal and state regulations, and identifying 

new regulatory tools that might be required to meet DOT’s safety mission in an era 

of rapidly changing technology. DOT’s Volpe Center, on behalf of NHTSA recently 

completed such an evaluation for highly automated vehicles and found that, while 

existing regulations pose few regulatory barriers to automated vehicle systems, 

some design innovations (e.g., the elimination of a steering wheel and foot pedals) 

could complicate compliance with current standards. Soon, NHTSA will be unveiling 

the next steps of this framework, which have been informed by our state partners 

and will be fleshed out in partnership with industry. 

In pursuit of a new partnership approach, this past March, NHTSA and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety announced an historic commitment by 20 

automakers representing more than 99 percent of the U.S. auto market to make 

automatic emergency braking a standard feature on nearly all new cars no later 

than NHTSA’s 2022 reporting year. The unprecedented commitment means that 

this important safety technology will be available to more consumers more quickly 

than would be possible through the traditional regulatory process. 

One of the most exciting areas that the Department is fully engaged in is pushing 

forward the safe deployment of connected and automated safety technologies in vehicles. The Department is leading the way forward in integrating both connected 

and automated vehicle technologies in a way that brings the benefits we all hear 

about. These include crash avoidance, reduced energy consumption and vehicle 

emissions, reduced travel times, improved travel time reliability and multi-modal 

connectivity, and improved transportation system efficiency and accessibility, particularly for persons with disabilities and the growing aging population. For example, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is supporting research on systems 

to make travel easier for blind pedestrians and other travelers under the Accessible 

Transportation Technologies Research Initiative (ATTRI). In addition, FHWA will 

issue guidance and technical support tools on how to invest in infrastructure that 

enables the connected systems which will, in turn, increase safety, enhance mobility, 

deliver reliability and cut our carbon footprint. 

Another exciting initiative is taking place at the Federal Transit Administration 

(FTA). The agency is administering the Mobility-on-Demand (MOD) ‘‘Sandbox,’’ an 

effort to bring non-traditional partners together to promote enhanced, multimodal 

mobility concepts using advanced technologies and new business models for providing improved transportation service. One effect of the Sandbox will be to encourage multimodal connectivity and system interoperability so that transportation resources are interconnected and accessible to all potential users. The FTA understands that the best way to answer the question of whether new operational models 

might work is through real-world demonstrations that can measure the impacts on 

regional transportation system networks to see what the net benefits to travelers 

and local economies really are. Running these demonstrations will also allow the 

Department to examine how rules and regulations impact the implementation of 

MOD services. 

Still, clear rules of the road that ensure safeguards to protect people must be put 

in place, as government seeks to spur innovation without compromising safety and 

privacy. 

Security and Privacy 

The Department has worked hard to support the design and deployment of connected vehicle technologies, such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, in a 

manner that protects consumers from unwarranted privacy risks and prevents unauthorized access to data. As envisioned, the connected vehicle system will contain 

multiple technical controls to help mitigate potential privacy risks and prevent tampering with equipment or data. For example, V2V broadcast messages will not contain data that identifies the vehicle or its owner. We also are working with privacy 

experts to develop algorithms to sanitize connected vehicle data sets, which will enable the Department to make connected vehicle data available publicly without putVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:46 Nov 02, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\GPO\DOCS\22359.TXT JACKIE
9 

ting consumer privacy at risk. Going forward, the Department plans to work with 

the Federal Trade Commission and stakeholders to ensure that we develop regulatory strategies and guidance in the area of consumer data privacy. 

The Department of Transportation has spent time and resources understanding 

the nature and implications of cyber security. Since 2012, NHTSA has engaged the 

potential cyber security threats to automobiles through a diverse set of actions. Our 

approach includes: 

• Encouraging the automotive industry to form an Information Sharing and Analysis Center to help the industry proactively and uniformly address cybersecurity 

threats, while challenging automakers to adopt proactive safety principles and 

develop best practices that enhance automotive cybersecurity; 

• Collaborating proactively with other government agencies—including the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Department of Homeland 

Security (DHS), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and National Science Foundation (NSF)—as well as with vehicle manufacturers, automotive suppliers, and the security research community to protect against cyber 

threats and potential vulnerabilities; and 

• Continuing to execute fundamental research aimed at improving the 

cybersecurity posture of automobiles with a focus on understanding real-time 

intrusion detection and response measures. We are also assessing solutions and 

sharing findings broadly to ensure that once a potential vulnerability or a hacking technique is identified, information about the issue and potential solutions 

is quickly shared with other stakeholders. 

In expanding the use of drones the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) laid 

out a responsible path with their Small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) rule 

that is the first set of nationally uniform regulations for the commercial, educational 

and public use of unmanned aircraft. Building off the recently released UAS privacy 

best practices developed with industry in a Department of Commerce led multistakeholder convening, the Administration is launching a new privacy education 

campaign to encourage pilots, companies and others address the privacy implications of these new technologies. 

We also recognize that major advances will be needed in Big Data management 

and analytics, in order to not be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of data. To meet 

this challenge, Secretary Foxx has called on all corners of the Department—particularly the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office (JPO)—to 

focus on managing and providing transportation big data to support new paradigms 

of data-driven operations. The ITS–JPO is funding multi-modal enterprise data 

management initiatives focusing on enabling effective data capture from ITS-enabled technologies, including connected passenger, transit, and commercial vehicles; 

mobile devices; and infrastructure, in ways that protect the privacy of users. 

Making Catalyzing Investments 

In addition to the communications programs with which you are familiar—the 

Next Generation Air Traffic Control System (NextGen), V2V and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications, wireless roadside inspections (WRI) for trucks and 

buses, and Positive Train Control (PTC)—we are making key investments that will 

speed a future in which all of our vehicles, road infrastructure, and even pedestrians 

are more safely connected. 

The FTA and ITS–JPO are co-managing the MOD Research Program, including 

grants for the MOD Sandbox initiative to help public transit providers adopt new 

technologies, partner with emerging service providers and provide better transportation options to their constituents. 

And, the ITS–JPO and FHWA continue to work on the three Connected Vehicle 

Pilot Deployment sites to speed safe and efficient truck movement along I–80 in 

southern Wyoming, improve vehicle flow and pedestrian safety in high-priority corridors in New York City, and deploy multiple safety and mobility applications on 

and in proximity to reversible freeway lanes in Tampa. The Department continues 

to collaborate with the private sector on the Freight Advanced Traveler Information 

Systems (FRATIS) demonstration project. 

Through a partnership with the Port of Los Angeles, the Port of Long Beach and 

their private sector supply chain operators, FRATIS aims to establish a neutral 

benchmark showing benefits from improved operations, including measureable gains 

in port performance. This demonstration project is yielding improved on-time arrival 

for cargo pickup appointments, reduced truck waiting time at port terminals, decreased emissions, and improved fuel consumption. 

FHWA also is supporting research on sensor systems that monitor and predict 

structural and pavement conditions. As these systems mature, they will aid asset 

10 

owners in maintaining a state of good repair for legacy and new elements of the 

highway transportation system. 

In December 2015, Secretary Foxx launched the Smart City Challenge—a national 

competition to implement bold, data-driven ideas that demonstrate the use of advanced data and intelligent transportation systems technologies to make our network safer, easier, and more reliable in one mid-sized city. The Department is 

partnering with Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Inc., NXP® Semiconductors, Amazon Web 

Services, Mobileye, Autodesk and Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs to provide the winning 

city with up to $40 million plus $10 million from Vulcan, and access to multiple 

technologies to support the Smart City demonstration. Perhaps more important, the 

Smart City Challenge is bringing together people, industries and sectors that have 

rarely communicated before, all jointly addressing urban mobility issues in a way 

that is more sustainable, more equitable, and safer than ever before. 

Nearly every mid-sized city in America—78 cities—answered the call by creating 

blueprints for the future of transportation today on their city streets. The seven finalist cities—Austin, Columbus, Denver, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Portland, and 

San Francisco—proposed first-of-a-kind use of these new technologies to solve the 

real-world challenges facing cities today. From self-driving shuttles that could cut 

in half the commute from underserved neighborhoods to job centers, to the use of 

smart sensors to accelerate freight delivery while improving safety. More than 150 

diverse industry and non-profit partners have pledged more than $500 million in resources, technology solutions, and support to help carry out these Smart City plans. 

• Austin, TX: The fastest growing city in the Nation with over 100 new residents 

a day, Austin faces unique challenges with growing congestion and increasing 

commutes. To target the challenges facing its commuters, Austin has proposed 

to remake the traditional ‘‘park-and-ride’’ into a ‘‘one-stop shop’’ with even more 

mobility options, including public transit buses, trains, car share, bike share, 

automated vehicles, and connected vehicles, to be strategically situated near 

community health centers, the area community college, housing developments, 

and the airport. 

• Columbus, OH: The city proposed to deploy three electric self-driving shuttles 

to connect a new bus rapid transit center to a retail district, connecting more 

residents to jobs, and to use data analytics to improve health care access in a 

neighborhood that currently has an infant mortality rate four times that of the 

national average, allowing them to provide improved transportation options to 

those most in need of prenatal care. 

• Denver, CO: Situated at the crossroads of three nationally important freight 

highways, Denver is applying its pioneering spirit to accelerate freight while 

improving safety. With partners like FedEx, Peloton, and UPS, Denver is equipping trucks with V2V communication technology to optimize routing and traffic 

signals and to experiment with connected, autonomous truck platooning, accelerating freight while reducing the impact on low-income neighborhoods that 

bear the brunt of this traffic flow today. 

• Kansas City, MO: Kansas City proposed to revitalize a historically black and 

underserved community by installing ubiquitous public Wi-Fi along sidewalks 

and on new electric, connected public buses, including on self-driving shuttles 

connecting underserved areas with the existing streetcar route. Each bus stop 

will have large-screen, state-of-the-art kiosks to help residents access transportation information and will be equipped with voice-activated wayfinding technology to help the visually impaired navigate the city’s streets. 

• Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh is proposing to cut in half the time it takes workers 

from Hazelwood, a historically underserved community, to reach the city’s 

urban jobs core by partnering with Carnegie Mellon, a pioneer of self-driving 

technology, to construct a thirty minute loop for autonomous shuttles. Throughout the city, Pittsburgh will also deploy state-of-the-art traffic signal technology—proven to reduce congestion at street lights by forty percent—to significantly reduce travel and idle time for all residents. 

• Portland, OR: Portland proposed to launch the Nation’s first bulk-buy program 

for used electric vehicles (EV) to put affordable EVs in the hands of low-income 

drivers in demonstration corridors and promote electric car sharing and electric 

bike sharing in low-income communities. At the same time, Portland is 

partnering on autonomous vehicle demonstrations from campus shuttles and 

airport buses to self-driving taxis and tractor trailers. Portland is also developing a smart housing app with real transparency about the true cost of an 

apartment, including both rent and transportation costs. 

11 

• San Francisco, CA: San Francisco has set a goal of eliminating one out of every 

ten single occupant car trips by shifting travelers onto carpooling and public 

transit. To increase uptake of innovative carpooling and ridesharing models, 

San Francisco envisions a system of new carpooling high-occupancy vehicle 

(HOV) lanes and reserved curbside pickup areas. In addition, San Francisco has 

proposed using self-driving cars to shuttle passengers for the first and last mile 

onto public transit. The city, long a leader in innovation, has also proposed 

sharing its learnings with a tech transfer network of 50 cities and 25,000 transportation professionals. 

While the City of Columbus was named the winner, we are excited to see the innovation in their proposals and even more excited that 78 cities reached out to develop new local and regional partnerships, with hundreds of partners beyond those 

the Department has gathered. 

Through Smart Cities, the Department has also developed new Federal relationships—most notably with the Department of Energy’s SMART Mobility consortium 

and with NIST’s Internet of Things-Enabled Smart City Framework– so that we can 

continue to move forward with the best knowledge of new technologies and innovative transportation solutions. 

Altogether, the Department is using its dollars in a strategic way to fund primary 

research, speed promising technologies to market, convene unlikely partners at the 

local level and spur on the national conversation on the future of mobility. 

Using Technology to Build the Communities We Want 

The biggest lesson of the Smart City Challenge is that technology deployment is 

not an end to itself, but rather a means to build strong communities that create opportunity for all of its citizens. The Federal Government has focused on the IoT’s 

potential to make our national network more efficient, and to make our transportation system safer, but the 78 communities that applied to be part of the Smart 

City Challenge each articulated a vision for how connected infrastructure and enhanced mobility options will make the lives of their citizens better. 

Together, the Smart City applicants are showing us what it means to think beyond the traditional transportation modes, and embrace the surprising and disruptive innovations coming from the private sector. These technological shifts could 

help increase access to opportunity in neglected and underserved communities and 

meet our environmental commitments at the same time. 

As technology continues to advance, the Department, and all levels of governance, 

will need to anticipate, accommodate, and incentivize innovation; and to understand 

and mitigate the risks associated with new technologies to ensure that our transportation system remains safe, reliable, efficient, equitable and secure. 

Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the Department’s vision and activities 

related to the Internet of Things. I am glad to answer any questions you may have. 

Senator FISCHER. Thank you very much. 

Next, we have Ms. Seleta Reynolds, who is the General Manager 

of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation. 

Welcome. 

STATEMENT OF SELETA REYNOLDS, GENERAL MANAGER, 

LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION; AND 

PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CITY 

TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS (NACTO) 

Ms. REYNOLDS. Thank you. Good morning, Chairwoman Fischer, 

Ranking Member Booker. Thank you so much to you as well as 

Chairman Thune and Ranking Member Nelson for the opportunity 

to come and speak with you today. 

My name is Seleta Reynolds. I am the General Manager of the 

Los Angeles Department of Transportation. I’m also the President 

of the National Association of City Transportation Officials, or 

NACTO. 

I would like to describe where we are, where we are going, and 

the challenges that we face. 

12 

The City of Los Angeles is investing millions of dollars into our 

transportation system to try and evolve our reputation as the car 

capital of the world into the capital of one of the most modern sophisticated transportation systems in the world. 

Technology doesn’t just change the outcomes in our cities. It 

changes us as well. So it is important for us to stay focused on people first, if we want to get to the best and brightest outcomes that 

are possible. 

If we rely solely on the private side, those benefits may only land 

where they benefit the wealthiest among us. Our role is to make 

sure that the rising tide lifts all boats. 

Back in 1984, Los Angeles hosted the Olympics. The hottest 

gadget was the Sony Discman, and we invested in an interconnected system of signals called ATSAC that relied on algorithms 

to move cars and people through our streets—in fact, more than 

any other city in the country. 

Today, we rely on painted signs and signals to speak to drivers. 

In the future, that information will go directly to the vehicles themselves. These digital interfaces between the city’s infrastructure 

and the passengers’ vehicles will improve the safe flow of people 

and goods, light and heavy rail, and even equestrians across the 

city. 

More than 2 million people today in Los Angeles are using apps 

to navigate our streets. Earlier this year, we launched a Go LA 

app. This app allows you to choose a cheaper, faster, greener way 

to get from point A to point B. We give sort of a level playing field 

and a mobility marketplace, and let the consumer make the choice 

about how they want to travel around our city. 

The next step is to evolve that into a universal payment platform 

where people can actually make that choice, pay for that choice, 

and be on their way all in the palm of their hand. 

We are currently launching electric vehicle car-sharing in the 

heart of our city. While car-sharing markets have evolved in some 

areas, we are deliberately making this accessible to people who 

stand to benefit the most. We are investing public dollars to bring 

in private sector investment. 

City government has a powerful role to play to ensure that new 

services are understandable, legible, and accessible. We embed the 

needs of older adults, people unfamiliar with smart phones, or 

those who don’t have bank cards. We partner with community 

groups to help people navigate possible language and cultural barriers. 

We are also preparing a pilot of on-demand public transit, and 

requesting funds to upgrade signals and streets to, for example, 

hold a signal at red if it detects a driver about to run the light, 

turn signals green for transit emergency vehicles, and alert transit 

operators to the right speeds to get a green wave. And we are requesting proposals to develop what we call mobility hubs throughout the city at major transit stops to bring car share, bike share, 

and real-time transit information to travelers. 

Our interest is to use technology to treat people with hospitality. 

We want it to be a convener and not a splitter. 

13 

Older technologies are also reemerging in new and interesting 

ways. We are outfitting our city buses with Wi-Fi and real-time location updating, and becoming safer and more convenient. 

Bicycles are increasingly being electrified and app-ified to be an 

easier, safer, healthier and even more fun way to travel—maybe 

most importantly, a more fun way to travel. 

Signals are becoming smarter to help emergency responders in 

transit be more efficient than ever before. 

I want to underscore that the technologies of today are not static, 

and we don’t want to become too wedded to one mode or pick winners and losers or ignore the real equity issues that we face. Autonomous vehicles may reduce the number of human errors occurring, 

but also have the potential for increased traffic, emissions from additional driving, on-street congestion, and could be very expensive 

to own. 

Technologies such as alternative fuels and shared mobility will 

change the funding framework. We hope that we can work closely 

with our partners at U.S. DOT to continue to have a conversation 

about initiative funding and direct aid to cities, about realigned 

and flexible funding, about requiring technology to be built into 

transportation at the most fundamental levels, and to pivot from 

expansion to modernization and management. So fixing it first and 

making our infrastructure smarter, rather than continuing to invest in expansion. 

Data-sharing is key to us; ongoing investment into mass transit 

like high-capacity rails, because one of the most precious resources 

in cities will continue to be space; and preparing our work force. 

As you can see, LA is an exciting place to be right now. We know 

that great cities generate traffic, but traffic doesn’t generate great 

cities. Technology has the power to help communities achieve their 

visions, taking back public space from congestion, traffic, and parking. 

I want to thank Chairwoman Fischer, Ranking Member Booker, 

and the Committee members for the opportunity to testify. Our cities are changing perhaps nowhere as quickly as Los Angeles, and 

we need the Federal Government to work with us on funding, 

standardizing, and exploring the future. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Reynolds follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF SELETA REYNOLDS, GENERAL MANAGER, LOS ANGELES

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION; AND PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF

CITY TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS (NACTO) 

Good morning Chairman Fischer, Ranking Member Booker and committee members. 

I am Seleta Reynolds, General Manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation. I am also President of the National Association of City Transportation Officials, also known as NACTO. It is an honor to be here to discuss the Internet of 

things transportation, at the city level. I would like to describe where we are, where 

we are going, and the challenges that we face. 

The City of Los Angeles is investing millions of dollars into promoting a modern, 

multimodal transportation system; to evolve from our infamous, 20th Century reputation as the car capital of the U.S. toward the most sophisticated, modern transportation system in the world. Technology doesn’t just change the outcome in our 

cities and country; it changes those who use it as well. We must be smart and focused on people first in order to achieve the best of technology’s entry into transportation. 

14 

From ridesharing to micro-transit, new products emerge daily. Therefore, the city 

is making a home for current, future and evolving modes in the mobility marketplace. In the marketplace the city will not pick winners or losers, but create an incubator that nurtures the best and safest ways to travel. We are not wedded to what 

exists today, but seek to be prepared for what is coming tomorrow. The menu of 

travel options also ensures that should one mode become disabled, travelers are not 

paralyzed. 

Safety, environmental quality, equity, affordability, efficiency and quality of life 

all have benefits to achieve from technology. 

If we rely solely on the private side, these benefits may only land where they benefit the wealthiest among us. Our role to play in making sure the rising tide lifts 

all boats. 

Yesterday and Today 

Los Angeles made an effective first pass at using technology in transportation 

management in 1984 when it hosted the Summer Olympics. In the era of floppy 

disks L.A. pioneered a system called ATSAC that used algorithms to optimize the 

movement of vehicles through streets. Today L.A. is looking to upgrade that network to provide digital services to private, commercial, and public vehicles and include recommended speeds and safety data. Today we rely solely upon painted signs 

along the streets to tell drivers how fast to drive, tomorrow this information will 

be communicated directly to a vehicle from the infrastructure. These digital interfaces between the city’s infrastructure and the passenger’s vehicles will improve the 

safe flow of people and goods, light and heavy rail, and even equestrians across the 

City. 

Today more than 2 million people in L.A. are using apps to navigate the streets. 

Earlier this year we launched a ‘‘Go LA’’ app. This app shows travelers the many 

options for moving across Los Angeles organized by whether the user is trying to 

get somewhere faster, cheaper, or greener. For example, I can select a destination 

and be provided with detailed options that include walking, biking, transit, taxi, 

TNC and driving information. It may take me 25 minutes to walk, but I’ll burn 100 

calories and it won’t cost me a dime. Another option presented might be a carpool 

trip of 5 minutes, $4, 10 pounds of carbon emissions, and burning 15 calories. We 

give all modes an equal opportunity and allow the consumer to decide. The next step 

is to provide seamless payment—one way to pay for any transit mode including bike 

share. 

We are currently launching electric vehicle car sharing the heart of our city. 

While car-sharing markets have evolved in some areas, we are deliberately making 

this accessible to people who stand to benefit the most. We are investing public dollars and securing private sector investment as well. City government has a powerful 

role to play in offsetting risks and promoting investment in traditionally underserved or low-income areas. We have an obligation to ensure that new services are 

understandable, legible, and accessible to people. This includes considering those 

that are older, unfamiliar with smartphones, or that may not have a bank cards. 

We also have to partner with community groups to help people navigate possible 

language and cultural barriers. 

We are also preparing a pilot of on-demand public transit and requesting funds 

to upgrade signals and streets to, for example, hold a signal at red if it detects a 

driver about to run the light, turn signals green for transit and emergency vehicles, 

and alert transit operators to the right speeds to get a green wave. And we are requesting proposals to develop what we call Mobility Hubs throughout the city at 

major transit stops to bring bikeshare, carshare, and real-time transit information 

to travelers. Our interest is to use technology to treat people with hospitality and 

convene as many choices as possible for them. 

Older technologies are also re-emerging in new and interesting ways. City buses 

are getting Wi-Fi and real-time location updating, as well as becoming even safer 

and more convenient. Bicycles are being increasingly electrified and app-ified to be 

an easier, safer, healthier, and even more fun way to travel. Signals are becoming 

smarter to help emergency responders and transit be more efficient than ever before. 

The Future and the Role of Government 

I would like to underscore that the technologies of today are not static nor should 

we become overly wedded to one mode or ignore very real equity issues. For example, autonomous vehicles may reduce the number of human errors occurring, but 

also have the potential for increased traffic, emissions from additional driving, onstreet congestion and could be very expensive to own. Technologies such as alterVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:46 Nov 02, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\GPO\DOCS\22359.TXT JACKIE
15 

native fuels and shared use mobility will change the funding framework. Federal 

regulators should be encouraged to approach the future with these considerations: 

• Initiative Funding and Direct Aid to Cities. Direct aid significantly reduces the 

overhead and administrative costs often associated with Federal funds. We especially appreciate the acknowledgement in recent grants that federalized procurement requirements will slow down rapid pilots and partnerships. U.S. DOT 

and DOE have been terrific pioneers with the Smart Cities and ARPA-e 

NEXTCAR programs. These, along with the recommendations from the White 

House PCAST report published earlier this year on urban development districts, 

will greatly help American cities move with technology changes. They help cities 

come to the table to create partnerships with private companies. 

• Realigned and Flexible Funding. The tradition of using gas taxes and parking 

revenues to fund transportation initiatives will become obsolete. Connected autonomous vehicles may not need to park. Electric vehicles don’t use gas. Instead, we expect to see digital services provided to users with fees for levels of 

service. Additionally, new modes like electric powered, shared automated vehicles require regulatory and funding streams that are convoluted under current 

programs. 

• Require tech to be built into transportation at the most fundamental levels. Infrastructure to vehicle communication capability should be required in all transportation construction from Bus Rapid Transit and roads to bike lanes and freeway construction. 

• Pivot from expansion to modernization and management to account for the impacts of automated vehicles. Existing roadway space will be used more efficiently through connected technology, making new capacity irrelevant in the 

near future. Transportation planning at all levels should refocus on modernizing 

existing expressways with instrumentation for new technology for traffic management. Traffic management will remain a public sector function even in a future dominated by private mobility providers. 

• Data sharing: the need for accurate and timely data underlies everything that 

is changing, especially in the digital world. Our access to the data needed for 

planning and operating cities is increasingly siloed. The Federal Government 

can be a strong proponent of open data, data sharing and storage, and, of 

course, data standards. Data-sharing requirements can substantially reduce the 

millions of dollars spent annually on technologically primitive data collection, 

both from regular traffic operation and from traffic crashes. 

• Ongoing investment into mass transit like high-capacity rail. One of the most 

precious resource in cities is space. Even if automation allows us to be more efficient and move more vehicles, we will not have the curb space to accommodate 

continuous pick-ups and drop-offs. We will always need an urban network for 

people and possibly, for goods in the future. 

• Preparing our workforce—We must proactively give people the skills to be able 

to consume and understand data and technology for better planning, management and project evaluation. 

As you can see, L.A. is an exciting place to be right now. We are on the cutting 

edge for implementation and regulation of technology in infrastructure. We have an 

important role to play in protecting our residents and businesses and to support the 

mobility marketplace. We must be at the table in planning for an increasingly automated future. Future visioning for automated vehicles should begin from the inside 

out, from the centers of our economy, looking at land use as well as transportation. 

Theories of automation that focus simply on fitting more vehicles into an expressway lane every hour are beginning from the product of the economy rather than the 

motor of the economy. Great cities generate traffic; traffic does not generate great cities. Technology has the power to help communities achieve their visions both for 

transportation and for land use, taking public space back from congestion, traffic 

and parking. 

I want to again thank Chairman Fischer, Ranking Member Booker and the Committee members for the opportunity to testify today. Our cities are changing, perhaps nowhere as quickly as Los Angeles, and we need the Federal Government to 

work with us on funding, standardizing, and exploring the future. 

Senator FISCHER. Thank you very much. 

Next, I’m going to go to Mr. Doug Davis, who is the Senior Vice 

President and General Manager of Intel Corporation. Welcome. 

16 

STATEMENT OF DOUG DAVIS, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND 

GENERAL MANAGER, INTEL CORPORATION 

Mr. DAVIS. Good morning, Chairwoman Fischer, Ranking Member Booker, and Senator Ayotte. I really appreciate the opportunity 

to be able to testify this morning. 

As head of Intel’s IoT group, I am responsible for the company’s 

IoT strategy and the underlying technologies, and all of that includes transportation and automotive. Intel has been delivering integrated or embedded computing for things for over 35 years. The 

investment, innovations and standard leadership we’ve driven during that time provide the foundational elements of that IoT strategy. 

Intel defines IoT quite simply as devices which are securely connected through the network to the data center or cloud. And it is 

the data from these things that can be shared and analyzed to 

solve problems. 

In fact, we believe that security is the foundation of the Internet 

of Things. Our hardware and software are designed from the beginning to be secure. We build security into the transistors or the way 

that we design our chips. 

In addition, we build security into the layers of software in these 

things as well as the way in which data is moved from those things 

into the cloud. So we fully realize that safety and security are essential for the promise of the Internet of Things to be fulfilled. 

Transportation is one of the most promising sectors in the IoT. 

In fact, IDC has projected that global revenue from the transportation sector will reach $325 billion just by the year 2018. 

By converting vast amounts of data into meaningful, actionable 

intelligence, the IoT will help support solutions in terms of transportation safety, efficiency, mobility, and some of the infrastructure 

challenges. Indeed, innovations in the transportation sector are at 

the heart of the global race for IoT leadership, and that race is 

really competitive. 

In addition to the U.S., we see self-driving car trials on public 

roads in the U.K., China, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Sweden, 

South Korea, the Netherlands, and in Dubai, and that is just a 

handful. It’s kind of a big handful. But this is a big deal for U.S. 

technology leadership. 

Autonomous vehicles require highly advanced sensors to see the 

things around the car: a variety of technologies to enable collision 

avoidance; powerful in-vehicle computing and capabilities to calculate those vehicle trajectories; and secure, high-speed ultrareliable connectivity back to the advanced data centers of the cloud. 

These autonomous vehicles must become the ultimate learning 

machines. They are going to need to be able to make smarter and 

safer decisions than even the most skilled human driver. 

In fact, cars will become known as data centers on wheels. And 

in order for this to occur, these autonomous and 5G technologies 

will evolve at the pace of innovation, because they are going to 

have vast global industry support and rapid marketplace adoption. 

Autonomous vehicles will also improve our efficiency and productivity, as I think has already been mentioned a few times. The average American commuter spends 38 hours per year stuck in trafVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:46 Nov 02, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\GPO\DOCS\22359.TXT JACKIE
17 

fic, which collectively costs the U.S. economy about $121 billion per 

year in just wasted time and fuel. The U.S. freight transportation industry alone could save $168 

billion per year in fuel reduction, not to mention the benefit in reducing harmful emissions. 

For the U.S. to lead the world in IoT transportation and capture 

these vast economic and societal benefits that a modernized transportation infrastructure, autonomous vehicles, and 5G connectivity 

will deliver, Intel recommends that policymakers collaborate with 

the high-tech and transportation industries to develop an ambitious national IoT transportation strategy based on five principles. 

Number one, prioritize safety to reduce the number and severity of 

crashes. Number two, prioritize security from the outset. Three, 

promote technology neutrality by relying on marketplace innovation and competition. Encourage open, global standards based on 

transportation platforms to enable a commercialization path that is 

scalable, interoperable, and reusable across deployments. And then 

finally, number five, invest in public-private partnerships. That 

will help launch and scale future looking transportation testbeds, 

especially in areas like 5G, to develop trusted data and secure computing, machine learning, open standards, and, of course, security. 

So I want to thank you for this opportunity to share Intel’s policy 

recommendations for a U.S. IoT transportation leadership, and I 

look forward to questions a little bit later. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Davis follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF DOUG DAVIS, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT

AND GENERAL MANAGER, INTEL CORPORATION

Intel Corporation (Intel) respectfully submits this statement for the record in conjunction with the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee, Surface 

Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security Subcommittee, hearing on ‘‘How the Internet of Things (IoT) Can Bring U.S. Transportation and Infrastructure into the 21st Century.’’ Our statement focuses on the opportunity to unleash the enormous potential of the IoT to enable vastly improved 

transportation safety, mobility and efficiency—and, in doing so, seize a leadership 

opportunity for the U.S. by ensuring that the Nation’s intelligent transportation 

technology evolves at the forefront of innovation. 

Witness: Doug Davis is the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Intel’s 

worldwide IoT Group (IoTG). Doug has been an Intel employee for 32 years, and 

began his career as a product engineer in the company’s Military and Special Products Division. Over the last decade, Doug has run Intel’s worldwide Embedded and 

Communications Group, managed wafer factory operations, and now leads the IoT 

Group. This organization is responsible for the company’s IoT strategy and solutions—consisting of hardware, software, security and services across a wide range 

of market segments, including transportation, manufacturing, healthcare, retail, 

smart home, smart buildings and smart cities. For more than 30 years, Intel has 

made significant investments, driven exciting innovations, led standards activities, 

and supported what has evolved to become the IoT. At Intel, we like to say that 

the IoT is an overnight transformation thirty years in the making. 

Background 

The Internet of Things. At its simplest, the IoT is: ‘‘Things’’ (devices) securely connected through a network to the cloud (datacenter), from which data can be shared 

and analyzed to create value (solve problems). The IoT enables us to connect 

‘‘things’’ like phones, appliances, machinery and cars to the Internet, share and analyze the data generated by these things, and extract meaningful insights that create 

new opportunities and solve problems. These opportunities are extensive and exciting with the ability to transform entire industries and our lives for the better. The 

IoT encompasses two major segments: Consumer IoT and Industrial IoT. The ‘‘Consumer IoT’’ connects devices like game consoles, smart TVs, household appliances, 

wearables and smart phones. The ‘‘Industrial IoT’’ connects devices in industrial enVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:46 Nov 02, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\GPO\DOCS\22359.TXT JACKIE
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1The Vote Is In, Intel Corp. (Feb. 2014), http://newsroom.intel.com/community/intellnews room/blog/2014/02/10/the-vote-is-in-citizens-support-smart-cities-with-driverless-cars-public-ser 

vice-drones-and-surroundings-that-sense-activities. 2 Intel Labs: http://www.intel.eu/content/www/eu/en/research/intel-labs-europe.html 3 ADAS Demo: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/automotive/advanced-driver-assistance-systems-video.html 4Self-Driving Car Technology and Computing Requirements, Intel Corp. http:// 

www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/automotive/driving-safety-advanced-driver-assistance-systems-self-driving-technology-paper.html. 5 Intelligent Traffic Management: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0ZN8El6lfY 6 Real-Time Interactive Transit Displays: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/intelligent-systems/tech-today/transportation-digital-signage-video.html. 7 Intel Bulking Up Safety and Security of Self-Driving Car Efforts, Fortune (April 2016) (‘‘Intel 

Self-Driving Car investments’’), http://fortune.com/2016/04/05/intel-self-driving-car/. 

vironments like factory equipment, security cameras, medical devices and digital 

signs. 

Transportation is one of the most promising sectors for the IoT. By converting 

vast amounts of data into meaningful and actionable intelligence, the IoT can help 

solve many of modern society’s automotive safety, transportation efficiency, mobility, 

and infrastructure challenges. The IoT is rapidly enabling innovations like connected cars, ‘‘smart’’ fleet management, intelligent transportation infrastructure 

and, of course, self-driving (autonomous) cars. Notably, almost half of Americans aspire to live in a driverless city where cars, buses, and trains operate intelligently 

and automatically without people driving them, and over one-third expect a driverless city by 2024.1 A policy framework that harnesses the full potential of these 

transformational IoT opportunities in the automotive and transportation sector is 

critical to U.S. economic leadership and productivity in the 21st century. 

Intel Leadership in IoT Transportation. As an IoT leader, Intel is committed to 

driving innovation across all market sectors, with a significant focus on IoT transportation. We are collaborating with policymakers, automakers, suppliers, academia, 

and cities worldwide—utilizing the IoT to accelerate innovation. Intel is collaborating with our automotive industry partners and governments that seek to not only 

reimagine the car, but also restructure the idea of transportation as a whole. 

To realize the full potential of this new vision, industry must undertake the appropriate and comprehensive testing to ensure that all systems operate flawlessly. 

Consequently, Intel is building Centers of Excellence (CoEs) to road test autonomous vehicles in our home states of Arizona, California, Oregon and California, as 

well as Germany.2 Working with the automotive industry, our CoEs will enable improvements in AV development by gathering data needed to build the machine 

learning models that will provide the intelligence for these vehicles. We’re focusing 

on what it will take to realize safe, secure, fully autonomous driving, and for vehicles to reliably communicate with each other and the world around them. We are 

exploring how valuable data can bring new services to market and how smart 

human-machine interfaces can make autonomous driving intuitive and enjoyable. 

For example, we are partnering with automakers to enable platforms with fundamental advanced driver assist features like lane-keeping assistance, collision warning, and automated parking assist,3 which are early capabilities on the path to selfdriving cars.4 We also are helping businesses use IoT technology to optimize fleet 

management and freight transport, using real-time data analytics to make drivers 

safer and more efficient while reducing fuel consumption. We are also partnering 

with city governments to deliver cutting-edge IoT transportation infrastructure solutions like intelligent traffic management (using advanced data analytics to enable 

integrated transportation coordination, emergency traffic response, and congestion 

reduction)5 and enhanced public transportation experiences (using real-time interactive digital signage to make multi-modal transit easier and more engaging for citizens).6

Intel’s Vision for IoT in Transportation. Intel’s vision for the future of transportation is one of zero accidents, mobility for all, environmental sustainability, reduced 

congestion, increased efficiency and innovation that evolves at the pace of technology 

to ensure U.S. global leadership. We are making large investments 7 to enable a future of autonomous vehicles with highly advanced sensors; connected cars using advanced cellular technology like 5G (5th generation cellular) for real-time vehicle-tovehicle (V2V) collision avoidance; powerful in-vehicle computing capabilities to deliver driver strategy and trajectory computing and self-driving capabilities; and secure, high-speed, ultra-reliable communications with advanced data centers in the 

cloud. All of this will be driven by the IoT and will transform our lives and economies for the better. 

19 

8Letter Report: Review of the Status of the Dedicated Short-Range Communications Technology 

and Applications [Draft] Report to Congress, TRB at 5–6 (April 2015), http://onlinepubs.trb.org/ 

onlinepubs/reports/DSRClAprill28l2015.pdf. 9 5G provides reliable safety prioritization by optimally managing both the communication 

channel and the prioritization of safety information through the network, while supporting a 

highly scalable broadcast mechanism for vehicles. 10 Huawei to introduce 5G networks for 2018 FIFA World Cup (Nov. 2014), http:// 

www.trustedreviews.com/news/huawei-to-introduce-5g-networks-for-2018-fifa-world-cup. 11PyeongChang 2108, the ‘‘5G Olympics’’ Korea Info. Soc. (April 2016), http:// 

www.koreainformationsociety.com/2016/04/pyeongchang-2018–5g-olympics.html. 12 Nokia, NTT DoCoMo prepare for 5G ahead of 2020 launch, Reuters (2015), http:// 

www.reuters.com/article/us-telecoms-mwc-ntt-docomo-idUSKBN0LY0FD20150302 13DOCOMO Successfully Conducts 5G Trials in Actual-use Environments (2015), https:// 

www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/info/medialcenter/pr/2015/1126l00.html. 14 Continental, Deutsche Telekom, Fraunhofer ESK, and Nokia Networks Showcase First Safety 

Applications at ‘‘digital A9 motorway test bed’’ (2015): https://www.telekom.com/media/company/293064 

With the advent of new business models like transportation-as-a-service and the 

growth of the car sharing economy, the transportation sector is poised to make the 

leap from technologies and business models grounded in the 20th Century to exciting and empowering technologies firmly anchored in the 21st Century. To successfully compete in the forward-looking global economy, U.S. policymakers must enable 

a transportation ecosystem that is safe, secure, flexible and interoperable. Global 

leadership will accrue to those markets that address these goals in the most efficient manner possible. 

The challenges for the stakeholder industries are numerous. For example, industry must profitably transition from its current legacy business models to business 

models that focus less on the human as a ‘‘driver.’’ Technology industry suppliers 

also must pivot to intelligently utilize increasing amounts of data, while addressing 

the needs of two vastly different generations of consumers—baby boomers who want 

to maintain mobility and millennials who are challenging the status quo of vehicle 

ownership. We must adapt as new technologies become the foundation of our transportation ecosystem. 

Of particular importance to the stakeholder industries will be how the U.S. Government addresses some of the key foundational technologies that will serve as the 

core architecture for future capabilities. Most significantly, policymakers should be 

aware that it is widely expected that 5G cellular (the rapidly emerging successor 

to today’s 4G) will be a foundational technology for the IoT overall and critical to 

the success of IoT in transportation. For the U.S. to lead in the global IoT transportation future, it is vital that the Nation’s transportation strategy recognizes the 

global marketplace direction and enormous global industry investment in 5G—and 

that the U.S. pragmatically invest its own limited Federal resources in 5G to keep 

pace with the transportation industry worldwide. 

So what do we mean by 5G, how does it impact the transportation sector specifically, and why does it matter so much? Advanced cellular communications such as 

next generation 5G technology offer uniquely superior characteristics that are critical for V2V real-time collision avoidance: very low latency (especially in dense vehicle environments),8 ultra-high reliability, consistent safety prioritization,9 very high 

speeds, advanced security, and cost effectiveness to enable scale—and therefore 

many more saved lives. This next generation of cellular also will have the backing 

of huge global private industry investment and strong consumer demand which propels technologies to the forefront and enables them to evolve at the pace of innovation, which will be key for the long term evolution of IoT solutions. 

Evidence of the global race to secure leadership in this space is everywhere and 

should be viewed by U.S. policymakers as both a wakeup call as well as a challenge 

to move intelligently and swiftly. Leading examples include 5G deployments that 

are underway for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia 10 and the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea,11 followed by the 2020 Summer Olympics in 

Tokyo, Japan.12 Moreover, 5G transportation use cases—and specifically V2V safety 

real-time collision avoidance—already have been demonstrated in major countries, 

with more following suit this year. For example, Japanese mobile operator NTT 

DOCOMO (along with Nokia, Samsung, Ericsson, Fujitsu and Huawei) successfully 

conducted 5G vehicle trials in actual-use environments in 2015.13 Also in 2015, 

Deutsche Telecom (along with Continental, Fraunhofer ESK, and Nokia) successfully demonstrated ‘‘near-5G’’ communication between vehicles via the cellular LTE 

network on the ‘Autobahn A9 motorway testbed’ in Germany.14 And Korean mobile 

20 

15SK Telecom announces the foundation of 5G Open Trial Specification Alliance with 

NTTDOCOMO, Verizon and KT (2016): http://www.sktelecom.com/en/press/detail.do?idx=1156 16Mortality—Motor Vehicle Traffic Deaths, CDC, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/injury.htm (site last visited June 26, 2016). 17Driverless cars could reduce traffic fatalities by up to 90 percent, says report, Science Alert 

(‘‘Science Alert’’), http://www.sciencealert.com/driverless-cars-could-reduce-traffic-fatalities-byup-to-90-says-report; National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey, U.S. Dept. of Transportation, at 25 (2008), http://wwwnrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pubs/811059.pdf. 18 Autonomous cars—game-changers for safety?, FANCI (Jan. 2016), http://fanci-project.eu/ 

autonomous-vehicles-changer/ 19Science Alert. 20Preparing a Nation for Autonomous Vehicles: Opportunities, Barriers and Policy Recommendations, Eno Center for Transportation, at 8 (Oct. 2013), https://www.enotrans.org/wpcontent/uploads/wpsc/downloadables/AV-paper.pdf. 21The ‘Internet of Things’ Is Now Connecting the Real Economy, Morgan Stanley (April 2014), 

http://www.technologyinvestor.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/internet-of-Things-2.pdf. Spe- cifically, $488B savings from accident avoidance, $507B productivity gain from autonomous cars, 

$158B fuel savings, $138B productivity gain from congestion avoidance, and $11B fuel savings 

from congestion avoidance. 22Ten ways autonomous driving could redefine the automotive world, McKinsey & Co., (June 

2015), http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/automotive-and-assembly/our-insights/ten-waysautonomous-driving-could-redefine-the-automotive-world. 23 Commuting in the United States 2009, US Census Bureau (Sept. 2011), https:// 

www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/acs-15.pdf 

operator KT plans to conduct early 5G trials and commercialization between 2016 

and 2018.15 Clearly, the race is on and it’s a crowded field. 

Why Congress Should Care: The Societal and Economic Impact of IoT in 

Transportation 

So why should policymakers care and why should they spend so much time making sure the benefits are realized in a way that enables technology in the U.S. to 

keep pace with global marketplace innovation? The potential impact of IoT technology to address important societal and economic challenges in the automotive and 

transportation sector is remarkable, compelling and exciting. The benefits that will 

flow from broad deployment of IoT technology in transportation is what energizes 

our team at Intel, and we are optimistic that enthusiasm will be contagious here 

in Congress. 

The following is a summary of some of the many benefits of smart utilization of 

the IoT that have been identified for the transportation ecosystem: 

Safety and Economic Savings. Improved vehicle safety is, and will remain, the 

consistent top priority and foundation for Intel’s IoT transportation efforts. The statistics with respect to preventable automobile accidents are devastating. Every year, 

more than 30,000 people in the U.S. die from preventable automobile accidents,16

and human error is the primary reason for over 90 percent of U.S. crashes.17 An 

EU study found that distracted and drowsy driving were responsible for 13 percent 

of traffic deaths in 2014.18 These accidents take an enormous emotional and physical toll on the driving public and their loved ones, at a cost of approximately 

300,000 lives each decade in the U.S. and a cost of $190 billion each year in 

healthcare costs associated with accidents.19

Self-driving vehicles—where the vehicle senses its environment and navigates 

without human input—are widely expected to dramatically reduce crashes: 

If only 10 percent of vehicles were self-driving: 

• US traffic deaths could decrease by 1,100; and 

• save almost $38 billion per year. 

If 90 percent of vehicles were self-driving: 

• traffic deaths could decrease by 21,700; and 

• save $447 billion per year.20

And, when 100 percent of vehicles are self-driving, the U.S. could save $1.3 trillion per year.21

McKinsey similarly projects that autonomous vehicles could drastically reduce accidents, including reducing the lethality of vehicle crashes in the U.S. from second 

to ninth amongst accident types. They estimate that this would reduce the annual 

cost of roadway crashes in the U.S. from $212 billion to $22 billion—a cost savings 

of nearly 90 percent per year.22

Efficiency and Productivity. According to the United States Census Bureau, the 

average American commute to work is 25.4 minutes, and Americans spend 157 

hours per person each year traveling on the Nation’s roads and highways.23 MoreVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:46 Nov 02, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\GPO\DOCS\22359.TXT JACKIE
21 

24The American Commuter Spends 38 Hours a Year Stuck in Traffic, The Atlantic (Feb. 2013), 

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/02/the-american-commuter-spends-38- 

hours-a-year-stuck-in-traffic/272905/. See also The Massive Economic Benefits Of Self-Driving 

Cars, Forbes (Nov. 2014) (estimating the savings could go up to $500B/year), http:// 

www.forbes.com/sites/modeledbehavior/2014/11/08/the-massive-economic-benefits-of-self-driving-cars/#6bb4e79e68d9. 25 How Driverless Cars Could Turn Parking Lots into City Parks, The Atlantic (Aug. 2015), 

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/08/driverless-cars-robot-cabs-parkingtraffic/400526/ 26 Imagining the Driverless City, Urban Land Magazine (Oct. 2015), http://urbanland.uli.org/ 

infrastructure-transit/imagining-driverless-city/ 27Transportation Difficulties Keep over Half a Million Disabled at Home, USDOT Bureau of 

Transportation Statistics (2003), http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/speciallreportslandlissuelbriefs/issuelbriefs/numberl03/html/entire.html. 28Facts about Equity in Transportation for People with Disabilities, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (site last visited 6/25/16) http://www.civilrights.org/transportation/disability/facts.html. 29 Roundup of Internet of Things Forecasts And Market Estimates, 2015, Forbes (citing IDC) 

(Dec. 2015), http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2015/12/27/roundup-of-internet-ofthings-forecasts-and-market-estimates-2015/2/#3060c5e34a10. 30 National Transportation Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Table 3–23 (July 2013), 

http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/nationalltransportationlstatistics/html/tablel03l23.html. 

over, the average American commuter spends 38 hours per year stuck in traffic, 

which collectively causes urban Americans to travel 5.5 billion more hours and purchase an extra 2.9 billion gallons of fuel; the cost to the U.S. economy of this wasted 

time and fuel is $121 billion per year.24 IoT technologies like self-driving vehicles 

(where citizens can engage in productive activity while in transit) and more intelligent transportation infrastructure (with better traffic management) could enable 

a far more productive and efficient U.S. citizenry. 

And for making our lives better, autonomous vehicles could free as much as 50 

minutes a day for users, who will be able to spend traveling time working, relaxing, 

or accessing entertainment. The time saved by commuters every day might add up 

globally to a mind-blowing one billion hours—equivalent to twice the time it took 

to build the Great Pyramid of Giza. It could also create a large pool of value, potentially generating global digital-media revenues of €5 billion (over $5.5 trillion 

USD) per year for every additional minute people spend on the mobile Internet 

while in a car.50

Reduced traffic congestion. Traffic congestion continues to have significant impacts 

on urban design, land usage, and overall time usage for travelers whether for work 

or pleasure. This issue is in large part based on the need for vehicle parking. In 

a recent study, the Transportation Alternatives group found that in one Brooklyn 

neighborhood, 64 percent of the local cars were on local roads merely because they 

were searching for a parking spot.25 Autonomous vehicles would change that by selfparking themselves in less congested areas and therefore enable city planners and 

developers the flexibility to reshape and improve how we use land in cities. According to Rowe,26 one of the most profound effects of driverless vehicles would be to 

drastically reduce the need for parking structures and surface lots, which today take 

up a third of land inside cities. Some of the garages and underground structures 

could be converted into storage spaces for urban dwellers who live in micro units, 

while the unneeded surface lots would be available for commercial or residential development or green space. 

New mobility options for the disabled and elderly. Nearly 15 million people across 

the U.S., including 6 million disabled individuals, have challenges getting the transportation they need on a daily basis.27 These individuals often become dependent 

on family members or must resort to costly modes of transportation in order to travel around their communities for business, medical and social activities. Autonomous 

vehicles—because they do not require a human driver—can open up better transportation and mobility options for these individuals. This will both increase their individual quality of life, as well as improve our overall society. Indeed, ‘‘without access 

to transportation, people with disabilities will not be part of society’s economic environment and will continue to be alienated from the economic mainstream, thus 

causing a myriad of other problems, like homelessness and institutionalization.’’ 28

Revenue and Growth. The automotive and transportation industries will be among 

the first to see immediate growth from the IoT, with global IoT revenue from the 

transportation sector reaching $325 billion in 2018.29 With almost nine percent of 

the U.S. labor force employed in the transportation sector 30 and the U.S. spending 

roughly $160 billion annually on highway infrastructure (about one-fourth funded 

22 

31Statement of Joseph Kile, Before the U.S. Senate Cmte. on Finance, The Highway Trust 

Fund and Paying for Highways (May 17, 2011), http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/ 

cbofiles/ftpdocs/121xx/doc12173/05-17-highwayfunding.pdf. 32 Accenture Digital at 4. 33 Id. Specifically, savings from labor ($70B), fuel efficiency ($35B), productivity ($27B), and accident savings ($36B). 34 ‘‘The new road to the future Realising the benefits of autonomous vehicles in Australia,’’ 

Accenture Digital at 10 (2014) (‘‘Accenture Digital’’), https://www.accenture.com/t00010101 

T000000lwl/au-en/lacnmedia/Accenture/Conversion-Assets/DotCom/Documents/Local/engb/PDFl3/Accenture-Realising-Benefits-Autonomous-Vehicles-Australia.pdf 35 China’s roadmap to self-driving cars, Fortune (April 2016), http://fortune.com/2016/04/ 

23/china-self-driving-cars/?iid=sr-link2; Inside China’s Plan to Beat America to the Self-Driving 

Car, Wired (June 2016), https://www.wired.com/2016/06/chinas-plan-first-country-self-drivingcars/ 36Scania to test Ericsson 5G for V2X applications, Safe Car News (May 2016), http:// 

safecarnews.com/scania-to-test-ericsson-5g-for-v2x-applications-ma7311/ 

by the Federal Government) 31—America’s share of this transportation IoT revenue 

(and cost savings from IoT technologies) could be significant. 

Fuel savings and reduction in harmful emissions. Experts such as former GM executive Larry Burns, believe driverless trucks could reduce costs in the line-haul 

trucking industry by 40 percent. By switching from traditional car ownership models to a shared driverless model, the costs of car ownership (based on U.S. modelling) could fall from $0.70 per mile to around $0.15 per mile—a 78 percent reduction.32 Notably, the potential savings to the U.S. freight transportation industry 

alone—one of the most compelling use cases for self-driving vehicles—is estimated 

at $168 billion per year.33

First Responders. Another important benefit of mass adoption of autonomous vehicles could have a huge impact for first responders and thus the public at large. With 

access to driverless vehicles, emergency services could collaborate with analytics 

providers to improve response times and elevate the level of healthcare provided to 

residents while potentially lowering costs.34

Global Trends 

But the U.S. is not alone in wanting to realize those benefits. We see a number 

of initiatives globally that will shape the evolution of technologies, industrial capabilities, and environmental infrastructure for autonomous vehicles to become a 

mainstream capability that this Committee should note as it develops its own IoT 

transportation vision for the U.S. A review of what is being done globally must be 

an essential component of your deliberations and the following may help illuminate 

some of the key activities that merit attention. 

Country Investments in Autonomous Vehicles. The race to an autonomous vehicle 

world is a global one. It is important for Congress to appreciate not only the amount 

of funding other countries are investing in IoT transportation, but most importantly 

the future proof technologies in which they are investing. In short, they are largely 

investing in AV technologies and 5G connectivity—both of which are widely expected to achieve rapid and widespread voluntary adoption worldwide. If America 

seeks to lead the world in IoT transportation, policymakers may find interesting the 

countries large and strategic investments that other countries are making to drive 

a successful IoT transportation future and keep pace with innovation for years to 

come. 

• China’s search giant, Baidu, has partnered with BMW and released a semi-autonomous vehicle prototype, and has tested their technologies on highways in 

China. The semi-autonomous vehicle is a modified 3-Series BMW that drove an 

18.6-mile route around Beijing.35

• Japan is investing in a multimillion dollar research center, called the National 

Innovation Complex, opened at Nagoya University last year. A key project is to 

develop self-driving car technology.36

• Germany’s Chancellor Merkel told carmakers that they should soon be able to 

test self-driving vehicles on German roads by promising to remove legal barriers.18 The stretch on the A9 autobahn—which links Munich and Berlin—will 

give the industry the opportunity to ‘‘test and optimize new innovations in an 

adapted infrastructure that offers data connections and measuring tools.19

• Sweden is sponsoring a large-scale trial of 100 Volvo driverless cars to begin 

on the public roads of Gothenburg in 2017. This pilot is part of the Swedish 

government’s vision of zero traffic fatalities, and will give insights into the technological challenges at the same time as receiving valuable feedback from real 

customers driving on public roads.17

23 

37Gov’t pledges 145.5 billion won for self-driving technology, Korea Joon Gang Daily (April 

2016), http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/Article.aspx?aid=3018172 38Driverless car technology receives £20 million boost (Feb. 2016), https:// 

www.gov.uk/government/news/driverless-cars-technology-receives-20-million-boost; Driverless 

cars to be tested on UK motorways in 2017, Wired.uk (March 2016) http://www.wired.co.uk/ 

article/budget-support-driverless-car-trials-uk-motorways-2017. 39Driverless car market: Gearing up to save lives, reduce costs, resource consumption (‘‘SelfDriving Forecast’’), http://www.driverless-future.com/?pagelid=384 (site last visited 6/22/16). 40 Next-gen Audi A8 drives better than you, Motoring (Oct. 2014), http://www.motoring 

.com.au/next-gen-audi-a8-drives-better-than-you-46963/. 41 Volvo’s 2020 pledge: No one will die in our cars, CS Monitor/AP (Jan. 2016), http:// 

www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2016/0121/Volvo-s-2020-pledge-No-one-will-die-in-our-cars 42 Volvo to test autonomous cars with ordinary drivers on public roads by 2017, The Guardian 

(Feb. 2015), https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/24/volvo-test-autonomous-carsordinary-drivers-public-roads-by-2017 43Sergey Brin on driverless car future, Driverless Car Market Watch (Oct. 2012), http:// 

www.driverless-future.com/?p=323 44 Elon Musk Says Tesla Vehicles Will Drive Themselves in Two Years, Fortune (Dec. 2015), 

http://fortune.com/2015/12/21/elon-musk-interview/ 

• Korea. The Korean government has pledged 145.5 billion won ($127.7 million 

USD) to develop key technologies for self-driving cars in hopes of beating out 

global competitors, including leading IT companies, beginning in 2017.37

• The UK announced £20 million (over $27 million USD) of its £100 million Intelligent Mobility Fund will be invested in autonomous vehicle advancement, including current trials to test driverless cars on the streets of Bristol, Coventry 

and Milton Keynes, and Greenwich, and developing autonomous shuttles to 

carry visually-impaired passengers using advanced sensors and control systems.38

A review of what the auto industry has undertaken to date also is vital for your 

strategic planning. Again, we see advancements occurring worldwide: 

Status of Autonomous Vehicles. Both traditional automakers and new automotive 

innovators are racing to deliver a self-driving vehicle world—largely predicting 

mainstream autonomous vehicles on market by or before 2020.39

Highly Autonomous Cars on Market Today 

• 2015 Infiniti Q50S: Intelligent Cruise Control, Predictive Forward Collision 

Warning, Forward Emergency Braking, Lane Departure Warning/Prevention, 

Active Lane Control 

• 2015 Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG Coupe: Distronic Plus with Steering Assist, 

Adaptive Brake Technology, Active Lane-Keeping Assist 

• 2016 Tesla Model S P85D/P90D: Autopilot, Autosteer, Auto Lane Change, 

Autopark, Traffic-Aware Cruise Control 

• 2016 Volvo XC90 T6/T8 Hybrid: Intellisafe Autopilot 

• 2016 Honda Civic: Semi-autonomous ADAS 

• 2016 BMW 750i xDrive: Driver Assistance Plus, Active Driving Assistant Plus 

Near-Term Highly Autonomous Prototypes 

• Lexus GS 450h: Intelligent Safety Concept 

• Faraday Future FFZERO1 EV Concept: Self-driving, almost fully autonomous 

• Audi RS7: Driving Concept Car 

• Acura RLX Sedan: Self-Driving Prototype 

Fully Autonomous Cars 2017–2021 

• Audi expects its A8 to be capable of fully autonomous driving next year in 

2017.40

• Volvo pledged no accidents in its cars by 2020 due to autonomous technology 41

and announced a 100-car public trial with Swedish authorities where members 

of public will be behind wheel.42

• Google plans to have its driverless cars on the market no later than 2018.43

• Tesla Founder expects first fully autonomous Tesla vehicles by 2018.44

24 

45 China’s Baidu Could Beat Google to Self-Driving Car with BMW, The Guardian (June 

2015), https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jun/10/baidu-could-beat-google-selfdriving-car-bmw. 46Self-Driving Forecast; see also Die Zukunft nach dem Abgas-Skandal, Focus Magazine 

(April 2016), http://www.focus.de/finanzen/news/wirtschaft-und-geld-die-zukunft-nach-demabgas-skandallidl5457885.html 47Ford’s self-driving cars likely around 2020, USA Today (Jan. 2016), http:// 

www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2016/01/05/ford-reaffirms-multi-pronged-auto-tech-approachces/78301192/ 48 Inside China’s Plan to Beat America to the Self-Driving Car, Wired (June 2016), https:// 

www.wired.com/2016/06/chinas-plan-first-country-self-driving-cars/ 49Daimler tests autonomous big-rig convoy on public roads, Road & Track (March 2016), 

http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/car-technology/news/a28548/daimler-tests-autonomous-big-rig-convoy-on/ 50 After considering Tesla, Uber reportedly placed an order with Mercedes for 100,000 self-driving cars, Electrek (March 2016), http://electrek.co/2016/03/18/uber-order-mercedes-100000-autonomous-cars/. 51 Nissan’s autonomous drive car, Nissan USA (March 2014), http://www.nissanusa.com/ 

blog/autonomous-drive-car 52Toyota to launch first driverless car in 2020, Wired UK (Oct 2015), http:// 

www.wired.co.uk/article/toyota-highway-teammate-driverless-car-tokyo 53GM executive credits Silicon Valley for accelerating development of self-driving cars, WSJ 

(May 2016), http://www.wsj.com/articles/gm-executive-credits-silicon-valley-for-accelerating-development-of-self-driving-cars-1462910491 54 BMW will launch the electric and autonomous iNext in 2021, new i8 in 2018 and not much 

in-between, Elektrek (May 2016), http://electrek.co/2016/05/12/bmw-electric-autonomous-inext2021/ 

• Baidu expects a large number of self-driving cars on the road by 2019, with 

mass-production in full swing by 2021.45

• Volkswagen expects the first self-driving cars to appear on the market by 

2019.46

• Ford CEO expects to have self-driving cars by 2020.47 Similarly, Changan 

(Ford’s partner in China) said a self-driving model should be on the market in 

2–3 years, with the automaker spending 5 billion yuan ($773 million USD) to 

further the technology by 2020.48

• Daimler, the maker of Mercedes Benz, plans to have its driverless trucks ready 

by 2020.49 Uber placed an order for 100,000 Mercedes self-driving sedans for its 

ride-sharing service by 2020.50

• Nissan will make fully autonomous vehicles available to the consumer by 

2020.51

• Toyota, the maker of Lexus, plans to bring its first models capable of autonomous highway driving to the market by 2020.52

• GM predicts that most industry participants now think that self-driving cars 

will be on the road by 2020 or sooner.53

• BMW CEO Harald Krueger said that BMW will launch a self-driving electric 

vehicle, the BMW iNext, in 2021.54

IoT Automotive Technologies 

There also is good reason to review the fact that, within the transportation sector, 

there are two distinct yet often conflated technologies: the ‘‘connected car’’ and the 

‘‘autonomous vehicle’’ (self-driving car). The first—with the rapid evolution to 5G 

cellular technology—may precede the second, but provides a great example of how 

technologies and capabilities rapidly advanced once the foundational capability for 

connecting cars was established. The same will likely hold true for autonomous vehicles once the foundational technologies are in place. 

Connected car. The connected car has existed for many years with increasingly sophisticated capabilities. From the initial built-in cellular connectivity, the capabilities today include real-time navigation and traffic updates as well as Internet web 

connectivity for on-board apps. In most countries, ‘‘connected car’’ is a broad term 

indicating that the vehicle is equipped with one or more technologies that enable 

Internet access—most often via a wireless network using advanced cellular (like 4G/ 

LTE, 5G) and/or Wi-Fi technologies. A ‘‘connected car’’ shares Internet access with 

other devices both inside as well as outside the vehicle, enabling passengers to access features including in-car entertainment, smartphone apps, navigation, roadside 

service and car diagnostics. (By contrast, USDOT tends to narrowly use the term 

‘‘connected vehicle’’ to refer only to a vehicle with the agency’s preferred V2V safety 

25 

55 5.9 GHz and 5G are entirely different things. 5.9 GHz is the embattled spectrum band in 

which DSRC technology would operate. Whereas 5G is a cellular technology (that operates in 

non-5.9 GHz spectrum bands). 56See, e.g., Connected Car Report, Gartner (2015), http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/ 

2970017. 57 Id. 58 Id. 

technology: Dedicated Short Range Communications or DSRC in the 5.9 GHz 55

spectrum band.) These solutions will rapidly evolve to use two-way Internet 

connectivity to communicate with not only other vehicles V2V but also infrastructure (V2I) and other ‘‘things’’ (V2X). 

While this hearing is not intended to delve into spectrum policy, we would note 

that U.S. policymakers will ultimately need to address the path for various technologies. For example, nearly all studies projecting future marketplace penetration 

of connected vehicles are using the broader definition to reflect the projected pervasiveness of advanced cellular (5G), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and satellite communications— 

not DSRC.56 For example, Gartner predicts that by 2020, there will be a quarter 

billion connected vehicles on the road.57 This connected car market is projected to generate new services revenue from connected cars at approximately $40 billion annually by 2020.58

With 4G LTE now deployed in nearly every major market, the rapid evolution and 

market demand for cellular technologies like LTE-Advanced (LTE–A) and 5th generation cellular (5G), along with next generation Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, are driving 

this connected car innovation. These cellular technologies are the product of a competitive marketplace with significant and constantly evolving industry R&D, strong 

industry investment in wide-scale deployment, and very rapid and high marketplace 

adoption. If the U.S. seeks to capture a strong portion of this $40 billion per year 

connected car services market, it is imperative that the Nation’s policies and resources support public and private investment in these advanced cellular technologies, including testbeds for cellular V2V safety critical communications and realtime safety messaging and collision avoidance. 

Autonomous vehicle (AV). As its name implies, the self-driving vehicle is capable 

of operating without a driver. It uses a complex array of tools to help it navigate 

real world conditions of day-to-day driving. For example, the Google self-driving car 

uses a mix of radar, LIDAR (measures distances by illuminating a target with laser 

light), HD cameras, advanced GPS and HD mapping to sense its environment and 

surroundings. There is no DSRC connectivity in the Google car; although it is widely 

expected that 5G connectivity will be added to many self-driving cars. 

Autonomous cars also have the ability to make driving decisions based on complex 

analysis of data from these sensing elements. Self-driving cars also may have (but 

need not) Internet connectivity; for example, they may use 4G or 5G cellular communications as secondary source of information for V2V real-time collision avoidance, in addition to the on-board sensor-based systems which provide their primary 

source of data. In short, the vehicle is increasingly becoming smarter, more complex, 

processing more data and effectively becoming a ‘‘data center on wheels.’’ Intel has 

been leading the industry in data center technology for decades and appreciates the 

importance of secure, efficient and reliable computing. 

There are a number of technologies that are essential to the evolution of these 

solutions. Sensors have been and will continue to evolve rapidly. As noted, cameras 

and LIDAR as well as radar and ultrasound are used to help the car ‘‘see’’ what’s 

around it. These sensors are being refined to be more purpose built for this specific 

application. Data from these sensors must then be integrated (sometimes called sensor fusion) at a first order to provide very fast initial indications of the environment. 

That data is then fed into very high performance computing platforms that can then 

process the data and make decisions about the control of the vehicle. The processing 

today is largely done according to algorithms that have been refined based on environmental understanding and knowledge of driving decisions. Going forward 

though, these decisions will be made using sophisticated ‘‘machine learning’’ (ML) 

and ‘‘deep learning’’ (DL) technologies like vision-based object recognition which allows the vehicle to ’see’ the objects in the environment around it—pedestrians, other 

cars, road signs, etc. These systems will gather data from vehicles on an on-going 

basis (called ‘‘scoring), send that data to the datacenter or cloud, continuously 

‘‘learn’’ from what is happening from the fleet of vehicles on the road (called ‘‘training’’), improve the driving model, and then send the improved model back down to 

the fleet. These systems must become well integrated end-to-end solutions that have 

persistent connectivity to the datacenter, and are able to evolve rapidly to meet the 

needs of more and more sophisticated transportation solutions. 

26 

59Looking Forward: Vehicle Technology Preferences Among Mature Drivers, The Hartford Center for Mature Market Excellence® and MIT AgeLab (2016), http://extramile.thehartford.com/ 

auto/vehicle-technology-preferences-mature-drivers. 60Developing Innovation and Growing the Internet of Things Act (2016), https:// 

www.fischer.senate.gov/public/lcache/files/03de7771-088b-45ac-8552-f82ddc0aa480/digit2016lfinal-bill-for-filing.pdf. 61The Future of Intelligent Transportation: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/automotive/experiencing-future-intelligent-transportation-video.html 62 A Self-Driving Car Will Create 1 GB of Data per Second, SmartData Collective (July 2013) 

(‘‘Smart Data’’), http://www.smartdatacollective.com/bigdatastartups/135291/self-driving-carswill-create-2-petabytes-data-what-are-big-data-opportunitie. 

In the last few years, there has been a remarkable acceleration in autonomous 

vehicle investment, innovation and testing around the world. Discussions of IoT innovations and autonomous vehicles have quickly migrated from niche engineering 

and auto industry websites to mainstream publications. Seemingly from out of the 

blue, the term ‘‘self-driving car’’ has entered into our everyday lexicon—with U.S. 

and global consumers of all ages demanding (and even expecting) sensor-based collision avoidance technologies like predictive collision warning, automatic breaking, 

parking assist and active lane control when purchasing new cars. A recent study 

by The Harford and MIT AgeLab found that, like younger generations, 76 percent 

of drivers age 50–69 purposefully seek out high-tech autonomous vehicle safety features.59

Moreover, the pace of autonomous vehicle investments and announcements 

around the globe have further accelerated in just the last 6 months. Over this time 

period, Intel has seen ship dates from our auto industry customers ‘‘pull in’’ (move 

up) by as much as 5 years, as these companies have come to fully realize that they 

must accelerate their technology innovation time-to-market or be left behind. Indeed, these self-driving technologies—which seemed like a far off ‘‘Jetsons’’ fantasy 

just five years ago—seem just around the corner today. 

In order to turn this autonomous vision into a reality, the auto industry and 

transportation providers of the future must harness rapidly evolving technologies, 

collaborate with new partners like the high-tech industry, and embrace disruptive 

opportunities to innovate. This autonomous driving future will only continue to accelerate as technology advancements and the competitive marketplace further enable automakers to go to market with new autonomous vehicle innovations in an 

increasingly expedited manner to deliver on the vision of a zero accidents future. 

Policy Recommendations for a National IoT Transportation Strategy 

Countries around the world are moving aggressively ahead on establishing national plans and blueprints with time-bound measurable goals, investing substantial 

funding in AV and 5G cellular V2V safety research and deployments, and launching 

PPPs to jumpstart these opportunities to quickly enable scale. As these other countries have recognized, a forward-looking IoT transportation strategy that will keep 

pace with global innovation is essential. It is critical for U.S. policymakers to enable 

a vibrant and state-of-the-art transportation system to ensure the Nation’s global 

competitiveness and economic stability in the 21st century. By adopting and implementing a National IoT Transportation Strategy for autonomous vehicles and 5Genabled connected cars, the U.S. will be poised to secure a worldwide leadership position in this next evolution of transportation. 

As a part of our larger U.S. National IoT Strategy (that would be developed pursuant to the new USDOC/NTIA IoT green paper process and the pending bipartisan 

DIGIT Act),60 Intel recommends that the following principles drive our National IoT 

Transportation Strategy: 

Prioritize Safety and Security. Enhanced safety is vital to the success of America’s 

IoT transportation future. Safety means (i) reducing the number and severity of 

crashes and (ii) protecting consumers and businesses from security breaches of the 

vast amount of data generated by their vehicles. With respect to crashes, self-driving vehicles will remove the risk of human error, and thus are widely expected to 

reduce U.S. traffic deaths by tens of thousands per year, as discussed in detail 

above. With respect to security, future vehicles will generate a tremendous amount 

of ‘‘data exhaust’’ as they seamlessly connect to each other, infrastructure and consumer electronic devices and enable autonomous tasks.61 For example, a self-driving 

car could generate as much as two petabytes of data per year.62

Security. Intel values security first and foremost. We believe that security is the 

foundation of IoT transportation and it is fundamental to Intel’s roadmap planning. 

Our hardware and software are being designed from the beginning to be secure. This 

is important for trusted data exchange in the IoT, as data generated by devices (including vehicles) and infrastructure must be able to be shared among the cloud, the 

27 

63 A gateway is a node on a network that serves as an entrance to another network. 64SCMS relies on sporadic connection between the vehicle and infrastructure to validate and 

revoke certificates initiated by the Certifying Authority. This sporadic connection can cause 

large delays in revoking security certificates and can erroneously permit non-secure and 

unauthenticated messages to be transmitted to/among vehicles. By contrast, cellular networks 

use mechanisms to robustly protect vehicles from cybersecurity incidents; persistent cellular 

connections help accelerate certificate update, distribution, and revocation, making certificate 

management much more effective, secure and reliable. 

network, and intelligent devices for analysis. This enables users to aggregate, filter 

and share data from the edge of the network all the way to the cloud with robust 

protection. Data also must be accurate to be beneficial. Intel prioritizes the security, 

accuracy, privacy and integrity of data in all market sectors, and especially in the 

industrial (including transportation) domain where the safeguarding of critical infrastructure can be vital to economic and social stability. 

Intel appreciates that we must deliver and evoke consumer and industry trust 

through these hardened security solutions to motivate adoption and participation in 

the IoT marketplace. We believe it is critical to integrate security into the hardware 

and software, from the smallest microcontroller (MCU) at the edge of the network 

to the most advanced server central processing unit (CPU) in the cloud and all gateways 63 and devices in between. These hardware-and software-level security capabilities create redundancies which prevent intrusions and enable a robust, secure, 

trusted IoT end-to-end solution. 

Hardware. Intel’s hardware provides transistor-level security on the actual compute device itself. By integrating security into the device itself from the outset (rather than layering it on top at a latter point in the design cycle with other, less secure 

external features), Intel’s IoT solutions enable our customers to know the exact 

unique identity of every device on their network. This technology also has the capability for encrypting that unique identity to provide anonymity properties in addition to hardware enforced integrity. Because each compute device can have an immutable identification to enable secure provisioning, a non-approved device will not 

be allowed to access the network. The MCU or CPU itself will provide the ‘‘baked 

in’’ (irremovable, non-changeable) identity of the device, making the level of security 

significantly more robust. 

On top of this immutable device identification, Intel’s IoT solutions employ advanced hardware level security capabilities such as ‘‘whitelisting,’’ which prevents 

harmful applications like viruses, control agents, and malware from ever being activated on the device. What this means is that, if the CPU ever ‘‘sees’’ an application 

that is not on its known good list (‘‘whitelist’’) try to run on the device, it will automatically lock out that device and not allow it turn on. At other layers in IoT solutions, Intel also uses another advanced hardware security capability called ‘‘blacklisting,’’ which blocks a defined list of known malware from entering the device and 

the network. 

Software. In addition to the advanced hardware security capabilities in Intel’s IoT 

solutions, Intel Security (formerly McAfee) integrates advanced security capabilities 

that provide robust software-level protection. This means that the software is continually monitoring the activity of its networked devices-and looking for any abnormalities or possible threats. If the monitoring software identifies a threat, it 

proactively notifies users and/or automatically quarantines any devices on the network that could be at risk. By employing this combination of transistor-level security, along with advanced hardware and software level security, from devices on the 

edge of the network all the way to the data centers in the cloud, Intel protects IoT 

assets and information in ways few others can. We know that security is critical to 

protect the integrity of IoT solutions, so we will design it in from the outset. 

We also must account for the distinct security challenges of autonomous and connected features, harnessing appropriate technical and policy strategies to mitigate 

risks and enable a safe, secure vehicle that evokes trust from drivers and passengers on U.S. highways. Autonomous vehicle solutions use local sensors and ‘‘intelligence’’ to provide a highly secure, self-contained, robust source of data. By contrast, a vehicle’s ‘‘connected’’ features exchange data between two ‘‘things’’—with the 

Internet, other cars, and infrastructure—potentially making this threat landscape 

more vulnerable. This is one of many reasons why it is exceedingly important that 

we look to advanced cellular technologies like today’s 4G and the soon-to-arrive 5G 

for applications like V2V safety critical communications (vs. a system with multiple 

known vulnerabilities like USDOT’s proposed DSRC Security Credential Management System).64

Encourage Innovation and Competition. Self-driving vehicle technology, connected 

cars, ‘‘smart’’ fleet management and intelligent transportation infrastructure have 

28 

65 H.R. 22, Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (2015), https://www.congress.gov/ 

114/bills/hr22/BILLS-114hr22enr.pdf. 66 Joint Explanatory Statement of the Committee of the Conference at 10 (2015), http://transportation.house.gov/uploadedfiles/jointlexplanatorylstatement.pdf. 67See, e.g., DSRC Confronts a Battle for relevance at ITS World Congress (2014): https:// 

www.strategyanalytics.com/access-services/automotive/powertrain-body-chassis-and-safety/reports/report-detail/dsrc-confronts-a-battle-for-relevance-at-its-world-congress?Related#.VwgurlkrJD8 68 It is critical that the Nation’s limited funding be invested in 5G and AVs independent of 

DSRC, as AVs and 5G connectivity operate independently of (and without need for) DSRC. Yet, 

USDOT investment in AVs and cellular to date primarily have encouraged a DSRC aspect to 

the test bed or project. Despite many comments by high-tech industry advocating advanced cellular/5G for V2V safety and questioning a DSRC mandate in the agency’s 2014 V2V ANPRM, 

USDOT still has not funded any advanced cellular testbeds for V2V safety communications that 

would enable a head-to-head comparison with DSRC. 

enormous potential to improve driving safety, mobility, energy use, and transportation efficiency—paving the way for U.S. smart cities of tomorrow. Innovation and 

market competition—in tandem with light-touch, adaptive, technology neutral, performance-based regulation—must drive our Nation’s policy framework and guidelines to enable the U.S. to lead the world in the automotive and transportation sector of the future. 

As we know, regulation of technology, however well intended, will always lag marketplace innovation and often thwart innovation. This can be true even in areas of 

extreme importance such as building secure networks and technologies. In order to 

position the U.S. to lead the rest of the world in the globally competitive IoT transportation future, USDOT R&D funding should help enable and accelerate industrydriven investment. The agency should never seek to choose, mandate or direct the 

technologies which U.S. companies develop or in which they invest, nor should it 

put its thumb on the scale or try to drive a specific market outcome. Public policies 

that encourage innovation, competition, and market-driven investment are critical 

to enable U.S. leadership in IoT technologies like connected cars and self-driving vehicles to reach their full potential, realize maximum economic and safety benefits, 

and become widely available in a timely and globally competitive manner. 

Promote technology neutrality. Pursuant to the FAST Act 65 Joint Explanatory 

Statement: 66 ‘‘The FAST Act ensures that [USDOT] programs are implemented and 

Intelligent Transportation Systems are deployed in a technology neutral manner. 

The Act promotes technology neutral policies that accelerate vehicle and transportation safety research, development and deployment by promoting innovation and 

competitive market-based outcomes, while using Federal funds efficiently and 

leveraging private sector investment across the automotive, transportation and technology sectors.’’ As drafted by bicameral and bipartisan Members of Congress, this 

statement should serve as a constant guiding principle; it is critical that USDOT 

drive technology-neutral policies based on competitive market-based outcomes to ensure U.S. consumers benefit from the life-saving capabilities of the most advanced 

technologies, which stay apace with technology evolution for decades to come. 

It is imperative that the U.S. align our future transportation strategy with the 

realities and direction of the worldwide open, competitive marketplace and the areas 

of largest global investment. We must architect and adopt a leading-edge, futureproof strategy that invests primarily in AVs (self-driving cars) and 5G cellular technology starting with V2V real-time collision avoidance applications. However, 

USDOT is not promoting—or even seriously researching—advanced cellular technologies like 5G for V2V safety critical applications, which many industry experts 

believe will be the leading global V2V safety technology.67 For the U.S. to stay apace 

our global competitors, Congress should direct USDOT to undertake a meaningful, 

technology-neutral cost-benefit analysis vs. DSRC 68 to ensure that U.S. consumers 

are poised to reap the benefits of the best V2V safety technology(ies) that will evolve 

at the pace of marketplace innovation—and enable U.S. IoT transportation leadership now and in the future. 

Most of the world is developing and testing AVs and 5G connectivity for real-time 

collision avoidance independent of DSRC (if they are testing DSRC at all). Let the 

technologies’ capabilities determine marketplace winners and losers, rather than 

force industry investment in a technology (DSRC) chosen in 1999 before mobile 

broadband even existed—and that will put the U.S. behind other countries. Seventeen years later, we should be investing in the future (aligned with the greater global marketplace), rather than forcing U.S. investment in an old technology. If we invest the time now to do broader technology R&D and transition to a more futureproof strategy, policymakers will be ensuring that U.S. consumers have the benefit 

of the best collision avoidance technolology(ies) that will evolve at the pace of innoVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:46 Nov 02, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\GPO\DOCS\22359.TXT JACKIE
29 

69 5G–PPP Automotive White Paper (Oct. 2015). 70Smart Data. 

vation. Without this, we risk thwarting U.S. global leadership and, more importantly, the potential to save more American lives. 

DSRC has been slow to develop (in testing phase for nearly two decades) and is 

not poised to evolve at the pace of innovation because the marketplace is unlikely 

to see the global industry support or voluntary widespread market demand that 

would enable economies of scale. Also, unlike 5G, which industry is evolving from 

existing 4G networks and infrastructure, DSRC will require entirely new infrastructure at massive taxpayer expense for years to come; the cost of building and deploying new infrastructure for DSRC and covering all necessary rural and urban areas 

is estimated to be approximately $3,000/mile.69 For these reasons, innovations like 

next generation cellular 5G are developed, tested, built out and commercialized at 

a far faster pace than DSRC—and will continue to evolve on pace with innovation. 

In the end, the losers will be U.S. consumers deprived of the best cellular V2V safety technologies that evolve on pace with a competitive marketplace. 

Encourage Open Platforms. Open IoT technology platforms are critical to the ability of U.S. companies to compete globally because they ensure cross-industry support and agreement. Open platforms allow multiple manufacturers to ‘‘plug in’’ their 

technologies, while proprietary platforms only allow use of a single manufacturer’s 

proprietary technology. This encourages developers to create solutions that span 

from car to cloud in a simple way. Government should encourage industry to collaborate on open platforms for autonomous and connected vehicles. 

Open platforms are necessary to accelerate and maximize innovation across the 

increasingly broadening automotive and transportation industries and enable economies of scale. For example, Intel is widely deploying ’’state of the art’’ autonomous 

reference platforms that are open, standards-based and scalable to support safe and 

secure computing both in the vehicle and the connected data center. This enables 

other stakeholders and innovators to contribute core technology including platform 

software, machine learning algorithms and data collected from vehicle sensors to enable a safe and secure driving experience. 

Support Open Standards and Consortia Efforts. Global standards and consortia 

efforts are critical to maintain the long term viability of technology advancements. 

They enable a commercialization path that is scalable, interoperable and reusable 

across a variety of use case deployments, vendors and sectors. Accordingly, a certain 

level of standardization and interoperability is vital to the successful commercialization of self-driving vehicles, connected cars, ‘‘smart’’ fleet management and the intelligent transportation ecosystem. Industry-led voluntary global standards can accelerate adoption, drive competition, and enable cost-effective introduction of new technologies, while providing a clearer technology evolution path that stimulates investment. 

Industry is in the best position to lead development of technological standards and 

solutions to address global transportation ecosystem opportunities and challenges to 

enable self-driving vehicles, connected vehicles, ‘‘smart’’ fleet management and intelligent transportation systems. Policymakers should refrain from mandating specific 

technologies, standards, or protocols and, instead, let the marketplace determine 

technology winners and losers. Government should encourage industry to collaborate in global, open-participation standardization efforts to develop technological 

best practices and standards, and it should participate in the development of standards where there is a government interest and encourage the use of commercially 

available solutions to enable the benefits of these new technologies to become reality 

sooner. Invest in Public-Private Partnerships. The tech industry is critical to the future 

of U.S. transportation policy dialogue. A vehicle is an increasingly complex data center on wheels, requiring evermore high-powered processors and Internet 

connectivity—with self-driving cars expected to process at 1 GB of data per second.70 As part of a National IoT Transportation Strategy, policymakers should encourage Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to launch and scale globally competitive 

transportation test beds. These testbeds are necessary to accelerate deployment of 

technologies such as 5G which is critical to U.S. leadership in V2V safety-critical 

and V2X communications and machine learning which is critical to autonomous 

driving. 

Government and industry collaboration can be one of our Nation’s best assets to 

accelerate the adoption of world-class transportation systems. Viable PPPs between 

government and the auto and tech industries must entail logical investments for 

both government and industry, as well as ensure scalability of automotive innovations and sustainability of transportation infrastructure in the long term. Using 

30 

71 Intel commits to mitigating automotive cyber security risks, Intel Corp. (Sept. 2015), https:// 

newsroom.intel.com/news-releases/intel-commits-to-mitigating-automotive-cybersecurity-risks/. 72 Intel Acquires Yogitech to Strengthen its Internet of Things Group, Venture Capital Post 

(April 2016), http://www.vcpost.com/articles/119131/20160407/intel-yogitech-altera-corp-autonomous-vehicles.htm 

public and private resources to facilitate U.S. research leadership, and governance 

for in 5G connectivity and autonomous driving, while leveraging existing industry 

standards and investments, will accelerate our future toward self-driving vehicles, 

connected cars, ‘‘smart’’ fleet management, and intelligent transportation infrastructure. 

Intel recommends that policymakers encourage PPPs in the following areas that 

are critical to the success of safe and secure autonomous and connected vehicles: 

• Trusted Data and Secure Compute—Fully autonomous driving will require the 

processing capabilities of a ‘‘mini data center on wheels.’’ A self-driving car will 

require up to 40 Teraflops of computer graphics processing speed, which is the 

equivalent to 20 HD TVs inside each vehicle. Compare: A Play Station 4 uses 

only 1.84 Teraflops. Along with this enormous computing power, every data exchange to and from the vehicle must be trusted, safe and secure. As discussed 

above, powerful computing with integrated security is Intel’s core competency, 

and what our data center customers have required for decades. 

• 5G Connectivity—As discussed at the outset, soon-to-be launched 5G—boasts 

superior key performance indicators for vehicle connectivity use cases, especially 

V2V safety-critical applications. To align the Industry, Intel is driving standards workgroups in 3GPP and the Wi-Fi Alliance to influence new standards, 

converge protocols and demonstrate functionally safe and secure safety-critical 

use cases. Intel and our partners around the world in the academic, auto and 

technology industries are working collaboratively to drive robust, open, secure 

and scalable 5G standards for V2V safety-critical communications. 

• Security as a Foundation—Intel has long touted security as a foundation for the 

IoT. Securing connected vehicles and the supporting infrastructure is 

foundational to keeping passengers safe and secure and requires an end-to-end 

system (vehicle to cloud) approach. Not only must every vehicle be safeguarded 

against cyber threats, but every device connected to the vehicle and the personal information available via these devices, must also be kept private as it 

moves between the vehicle, connected devices, connected infrastructure, and the 

cloud. Intel formed the Automotive Security Review Board 71 to help align the 

tech and automotive industries and cybersecurity experts on guidelines and best 

practices to make vehicles secure. 

• Machine Learning—The fully autonomous vehicle must become the ultimate 

learning machine. It will be relied upon to make smarter and safer decisions 

than even the most skilled human driver. Intel has been investing in companies 

with expertise in functional safety 72 and doing foundational research in Deep 

Learning for many years and is working to ensure that our products both in 

the vehicle and in the data center are capable of bringing the intelligence needed for the vehicle to sense and adapt. 

• Open, Standards-Based Platforms—Intel is working with fellow tech and auto 

industry leaders to define industry standards to accelerate autonomous driving 

deployments and create economies of scale that enable rapid marketplace adoption. This will enable industry leaders to contribute core technology including 

platform software, machine learning algorithms and data collected from vehicle 

sensors to enable a safe and secure driving experience. 

Conclusion 

Intel appreciates the opportunity to share our perspective on the enormous opportunity of the IoT in the transportation sector. We look forward to working with this 

Committee and other policymakers to develop a strategy for U.S. leadership in the 

next evolution of transportation—one that is poised to evolve at the pace of innovation. 

Senator FISCHER. Thank you very much. 

Next, we have Dr. Robert Edelstein, Senior Vice President of 

AECOM. Welcome. 

31 

STATEMENT OF DR. ROBERT EDELSTEIN, SENIOR VICE 

PRESIDENT, ITS PRACTICE LEAD, AECOM 

Dr. EDELSTEIN. Chairman Fischer, Ranking Member Booker, 

members of the Subcommittee, on behalf of AECOM, I would like 

to thank you for the opportunity to testify on the advancement of 

new technologies to enhance our transportation and infrastructure 

across the country. 

AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm where we integrate design, build, 

operations, maintenance, as well as finance of infrastructure programs. According to Engineering News-Record, we ranked number 

one in transportation as well as other market sectors. 

Over the years, we have seen transportation management centers, or TMCs, evolve from becoming single-dimensional to multidimensional, multimodal, and multijurisdictional. We look at the 

next wave as incorporating predictive algorithms and automated 

decision support systems so we can stay ahead of congestion rather 

than reacting to it. 

AECOM is a global leader in TMCs. Our forte is really in the 

area of operations where we operate at over 40 facilities throughout 

the United States. In Florida and California, we developed dynamic 

pricing software to support the managed lane systems. In Virginia, 

we’ve operated the reversible roadway systems. In New Jersey, 

we’ve worked with IBM in developing the next generation of advanced traffic management systems software, positioning themselves to incorporate the predictive algorithms and decision support 

systems in the future. In Michigan, we operate four TMCs, and 

that is really the hotbed of all connected vehicle testbeds as well 

as research. As well as Missouri, where we are operating the gateway TMC, which will be accommodating the new innovations of the 

Road to Tomorrow program in the near future. 

The pace of change in this area really creates a critical need for 

extensive technology partnerships. Strong and adaptive technology 

partnerships allow communities to build upon the lessons learned 

from previous efforts across the country. 

AECOM has collaborated with firms like Xerox, where we developed the dynamic pricing software, with IBM working on smart 

city projects over in India, as well as work that we have done in 

New Jersey. Next month, we were selected and will be starting 

work with the Colorado Department of Transportation on the 

RoadX program. We’ve also been supporting the Missouri DOT on 

their Road to Tomorrow program and coming up with new technology partnerships and new innovations. 

The Internet of Things provides endless opportunities for TMCs 

to grow. As no one owns the Internet, nor the controls or the information that is transmitted across it, the same can be said about 

the Internet of Things. There are about 75 million servers that operate the global Internet. There are 1.2 billion cars on roadway systems throughout the world, more than 20 percent here in the 

United States. But cars are inefficient. They are parked 95 percent 

of the time. Our transportation systems outside the peak hours and 

the middays are significantly underutilized. 

So there is a reason why leading global Internet companies are 

looking at connected and autonomous vehicles as they understand 

32 

the issues are similar to the decentralization that created the 

Internet many decades ago. 

IoT approaches will allow people and cargo to be transported 

more efficiently across multimodal transportation networks at designated pickup and drop-off times. This will enable the balancing 

of transportation supply and demand in real-time and allow the 

user, the end-user, to optimize their trips based on what’s right for 

them in terms of the modes that they use, the schedules, and the 

routes. 

In recent years, there have been several innovations that have 

been incorporated into our transportation systems—smart roadways, data management systems, integrated corridor management, 

and now most of the attention is being focused in on the connected 

and autonomous vehicles. 

I would like to leave you with my vision of the future for the 

TMC of the future, at least in my perspective. The TMC of the 

present continues to focus in on traffic operations and safety, and 

rightfully so, while the TMC of the future will start accommodating 

these next-generation ITS strategies—managed lanes, active traffic 

management, et cetera. 

The Internet of Things will start to include both transportation 

and nontransportation functions together. While this integration 

may be virtual or it may be a collocation of operations staff, and 

there are some advantages and disadvantages to both approaches, 

the integration has the potential to open up new areas to apply the 

IoT and big data to operate our systems more efficiently, so I would 

ask that you consider the TMC of the future when we start building our Smart Cities. 

And my testimony that I’m submitting for the record has included a number of policy recommendations that I would like you 

to consider as you deal with these issues in the future. So on behalf 

of AECOM, I would like to thank you for receiving my testimony. 

I look forward to your questions. 

[The prepared statement of Dr. Edelstein follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF DR. ROBERT EDELSTEIN, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, 

ITS PRACTICE LEAD, AECOM 

Chairman Fischer, Ranking Member Booker, and members of the Subcommittee, 

on behalf of AECOM, I thank you for this opportunity to testify on the advancement 

of new technologies to enhance infrastructure and transportation across the country. 

Whether we are discussing the so-called ‘‘Internet of Things’’ (IoT) in transportation 

and infrastructure, or more broadly, the application of technology, and the utilization and analysis of data to evaluate, manage and improve system performance, 

there is much being accomplished in this area. 

My name is Robert Edelstein, and I am a Senior Vice President and Intelligent 

Transportation Systems (ITS) Practice Leader for AECOM. 

When I joined AECOM in 1978, my focus was largely on the planning, design and 

construction of transportation facilities including roadways, transit systems, airports, seaports, and multimodal transportation centers. This focus has transitioned 

to making these infrastructure projects more efficient in terms of operational integration. This is now facilitated through the advent IoT and big data applications. 

About AECOM 

AECOM is a premier, fully integrated professional and technical services firm positioned to design, build, finance, operate and maintain infrastructure assets around 

the world for public and private sector clients. We have nearly 92,000 employees— 

including architects, engineers, designers, planners, scientists and management and 

construction services professionals—serving clients in over 150 countries around the 

33 

world. AECOM is ranked—for the seventh consecutive year—as the #1 engineering 

design firm by revenue in Engineering News-Record magazine’s annual industry 

rankings, and has been recognized by Fortune magazine as a World’s Most Admired 

Company. The firm is a leader in all of the key markets that it serves, including 

transportation, facilities, environmental, energy, oil and gas, water, high-rise buildings and government. AECOM provides a blend of global reach, local knowledge, innovation and technical excellence in delivering customized and creative solutions 

that meet the needs of clients’ projects. A Fortune 500 firm, AECOM companies, including URS Corporation, Tishman Construction and Hunt Construction Group, 

have annual revenue of approximately $18 billion. 

Evolution of Transportation Management Centers (TMCs) 

Over the years, transportation management centers (TMCs) have transformed 

from being single-dimensional (e.g., focusing on signals, freeways, transit systems) 

to becoming more multi-jurisdictional and multi-modal. The ‘‘TMC of the Future’’ is 

anticipated to evolve in applying predictive models and automated decision support 

systems to stay ahead of congestion rather than reacting to it. 

AECOM is a global leader in TMCs in all aspects of master planning, design, software development, systems integration, construction, and operations. Our forte is in 

the area of operations where we have worked in over 40 TMCs, thereby giving us 

an end-user’s perspective of ITS and how to take it to the next level. 

In Florida and California, we developed dynamic pricing software to operate their 

managed lanes networks. In Virginia, we designed, operated and maintained their 

reversible roadways systems. In New Jersey, we developed the next generation of 

Advanced Traffic Management System software to support predictive analytics and 

decision support systems. In Michigan, we are operating four TMCs where Connected Vehicle test beds are operating. In Missouri, we are operating the Gateway 

TMC in St. Louis which we anticipate will accommodate ‘‘Road to Tomorrow’’ innovations in the future. 

Performance measures are reported on a monthly and annual basis for many of 

these TMCs. For example, the most recent annual report for the Florida DOT TMC 

in Miami shows a benefit-cost ratio of 53, meaning that for every dollar invested 

in the program, $53 is being returned in terms of travel time savings and safety 

benefits. This considers the fact that for every minute that a lane is blocked it 

translates to 4 minutes of delay and the probability of a secondary accident occurring increasing by 2.8 percent. Therefore, if you can clear the blocked lane 15 minutes faster, then you can avoid a one-hour delay and reduce the probability of a secondary accident occurring by over 40 percent. 

Technology Partnerships and Smart Cities 

The pace of change in this area creates a critical need for extensive technology 

partnerships. Innovation is occurring through these numerous and varied partnerships, and Federal, state, and local policy should do everything possible to encourage and facilitate continuation of dynamic partnering opportunities. Project sponsors 

need to pursue platforms that are flexible and will allow them to grow and develop 

over time as the community sets its priorities and develops its blueprint to guide 

future decision-making. 

Strong and adaptive technology partnerships allow communities to build upon lessons-learned from previous efforts across the country. We recommend integrating 

the transportation technology strategy with the long-range regional transportation 

plan to connect the dots between existing conditions, forecast future conditions, and 

transformative technologies. Further, being creative and catalyzing new partnerships with the private sector is what enables adaptive solutions to be developed to 

new and changing challenges. 

AECOM collaborates with many of the technology giants including Xerox with 

whom we developed the Los Angeles dynamic pricing system, and with IBM where 

we are developing software systems for the New Jersey Turnpike and collaborating 

on developing smart cities in India. 

We were recently selected for the RoadX program in Colorado, and we are assisting the Missouri DOT on the ‘‘Road to Tomorrow’’ program in developing technology 

partnerships and innovations. In response to these emerging trends, the Colorado 

DOT is forming a technology-driven innovation venture called ‘‘RoadX’’. This initiative is aiming to make traveling in Colorado crash-free and delay-free, and will improve the efficiency of the state’s transportation system within the next 10 years. 

The collaborative project focuses on building partnerships and entrepreneurial relationships that will deliver innovative solutions to reduce the cost of transporting 

goods, turn a rural state highway into a zero-death road, and improve congestion 

on Colorado’s critical corridors. The program will employ a multi-pronged deployVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:46 Nov 02, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\GPO\DOCS\22359.TXT JACKIE
34 

ment, operations, innovation and technology approach with several efforts to be 

completed in the next five years. The Missouri DOT ‘‘Road to Tomorrow’’ program 

is looking at a broad suite of innovations including solar roadways, ‘‘Internet of 

Things’’ applications for smart traffic control, safety and road assistance, as well as 

smart pavement applications and truck platooning. Aggressive approaches to innovation such as these efforts require strong technology partnerships. 

Internet of Things (IoT) 

As no one owns the Internet, nor the controls and routes used to transmit data, 

the same could be said about the IoT. While there are 75 million servers running 

the global Internet, there are 1.2 billion cars driving global transportation (of which 

20 percent are in the U.S.). Personal vehicle ownership is grossly inefficient: cars 

are estimated to be parked 95 percent of the time and our transportation systems 

are under-utilized during non-peak periods. 

There is a reason the leading global Internet companies are looking at connected 

and automated vehicles as they understand the issues are similar to the decentralization of car ownership that created the Internet decades ago. 

IoT approaches will allow people and cargo to be transported more efficiently 

across multimodal transportation networks at designated pickup and drop off times. 

This will enable the balancing of transportation supply and demand in real time by 

optimizing routes, modes, and schedules while eliminating human errors, thereby 

reducing accidents. 

Working IoT strategies into our short and long-range transportation plans is a 

challenge. AECOM is currently supporting the New Zealand Transportation Authority in preparing them for connected and automated vehicles by assessing various 

scenarios of technology adoption rates and identifying the appropriate technology infrastructure improvements that will support it. 

Innovations 

In recent years, several innovations have surfaced to embed technology into our 

transportation systems to enable them to operate safer and more efficiently. Many 

DOTs have embraced a Transportation Systems Management & Operations approach which focuses on developing a higher level of operational integration across 

transportation modes while being aligned with performance measures used to improve operations. Other strategies include smart motorways, smart parking, data 

management, dynamic pricing, integrated corridor management, and electric vehicle 

charging systems. In addition to ITS, our ‘‘New Ventures’’ Practice seeks innovations in all aspects of our business such as the Hyperloop program which will eventually transport pods of people and cargo at speeds in excess of 700 mph. Meanwhile, smart cities, connected and automated vehicles have been receiving the most 

attention. 

Examples of innovative projects where a great deal of the excitement is focused 

include: 

• Lake Tahoe Smart Parking: This is a demonstration of how this technology improves the user’s experience in mobility. Estimates indicate that 30 percent of 

urban congestion is created by people circling city streets looking for parking. 

• LA Metro Mobility Hubs: The mobility hub model brings multiple technologyenabled transportation choices together in a single place to create a more 

streamlined experience for commuters, visitors or residents going about their 

daily business in the Los Angeles region. This project, funded by the Jobs Access Reverse Commute program, is also a way to make the benefits of a smarter 

transportation system accessible to those without access to the Internet at 

home. 

• Connected Vehicle Data Applications for TMCs: Transportation agencies understand the importance of connected and automated vehicles and the impending 

emergence of this technology on the roads. AECOM is helping agencies figure 

out how to integrate this more holistically into the transportation ecosystem. 

Each new innovation brings with it unique benefits, such as better management 

of infrastructure, and more responsive government services. Innovations can stretch 

limited resources to address greatest demand, bringing operational efficiencies that 

save taxpayers money, including: 

• On-demand services: Improve garbage collection efficiency sending garbage 

trucks to collect trash based on sensors that indicate the need for service. 

• Waste reduction: An estimated 2.1 trillion gallons of clean, treated water is lost 

every year to leaks in water infrastructure. For example, during 2013, Houston 

lost 15 percent of its water—15 billion gallons—to leaking pipes. Even aggresVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:46 Nov 02, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\GPO\DOCS\22359.TXT JACKIE
35 

sive efforts to fix leaks will not keep up with the rate of new leak formation. 

We need to better manage the flow of water by embedding sensors in water 

pipes throughout the distribution network which will save energy and water. 

• Optimized systems: We can better manage storm water to minimize runoff and 

maximize capacity. Kansas City, Missouri is using sensors at critical points 

across the city for advance notification of potential flooding issues. Jacksonville, 

Florida is using a combination of cameras, sensors and analytics tools to quantify the passage of cars, pedestrians and bikes to measure the high rate of fatalities and injuries, inform planning staff of the need for new bike/pedestrian 

infrastructure as well as tracking and evaluating resulting behavior change, 

thereby increasing safety for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. 

• Use of data to preempt and predict problems before they occur: Infrastructure 

sensors can provide an ongoing assessment of the lifespan of major bridges, and 

even detect structural problems. For example, on the Brooklyn Bridge, sensors 

monitor cracks and temperature fluctuation. 

• Expanding the capacity of government to reach more people: Digital kiosks in 

Kansas City and New York City, for example, are making it possible for citizens 

to access city services without needing to have access to smartphones or the 

Internet at home. This is essential in helping local government bridge the digital divide. 

• Better communication to stakeholders: This includes real-time tracking of transportation (where is my bus) and other services such as snow plows (when will 

my street be plowed). When Pennsylvania was hit with a major snow storm last 

year that crippled traffic on the interstates, the DOT used its partnership with 

Google Waze to provide information to drivers stuck in traffic/snow when the 

highways were shut down 

TMC of the Future 

I would like to leave you with my vision for the ‘‘TMC of the Future’’. While the 

‘‘TMC of the Present’’ continues to focus on our core functions related to traffic operations and safety (i.e., incident, traffic, special event, and work zone management); 

and the ‘‘TMC of the Future’’ will accommodate next generation ITS strategies (e.g., 

active traffic management, managed lanes, integrated corridor management, connected vehicles, predictive modelling, decision support systems); the Internet of 

Things has the potential for integrating transportation operations with other city 

services (e.g., smart parking, public safety, smart buildings, security, air quality, 

emergency management, water & waste water management, and smart energy grid 

systems). 

While this integration may be virtual or a physical collocation of operations staff, 

and there are pros and cons to each approach, the integration has the potential to 

open new ways to apply the IoT and big data to utilize our transportation resources 

to its highest and best use while enabling the user to customize their trips based 

on their specific needs and desires. I suggest that consideration be made to incorporating the ‘‘TMC of the Future’’ concept into Smart Cities. 

Enabling Policies 

Innovation is occurring at an incredibly rapid pace across this country. To address 

these changes, and continue to foster innovation, Congress may wish to consider the 

following: 

Revisiting policies at the Federal and state levels to attract technology partnerships. For example, public-private partnerships may be considered where the auto 

manufacturers/original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) build new capacity (e.g., 

an additional traffic lane) to accommodate autonomous vehicles. As the penetration 

of autonomous vehicles grows over time, more vehicles would likely use this dedicated lane. Funding for all infrastructure remains a challenge. Through the current 

available and developing technologies, it would be possible to enable the assessment 

of user fees which would generate revenue to offset the costs of construction, operations and maintenance. This also opens the possibility for revenue sharing arrangements that could expedite the phase in of autonomous vehicles while generating revenue for both parties. 

Relieving regulatory constraints that may hinder implementation of new technologies. Much of our public policy is built around the technologies of the past and 

can make it difficult to introduce new alternatives. This is particularly relevant 

when you think about how cities function—if an inspector has access to real-time 

data in the field, he or she may be empowered to make different decisions than if 

he were to simply respond to the issue at hand. 

36 

Providing expanded funding for ‘‘Smart City’’ grants to allow more cities to participate across the Nation. As 78 cities applied for the USDOT Smart City Challenge 

grant, and only one (Columbus) was selected, the interest in these technology developments is significant, and demand for resources is high. Dedicated resources for 

Smart Cities would provide an expanded national showcase of how IoT and big data 

can be applied in a diverse range of applications. Federal funding for the implementation of new technology applications can remove the risk for project sponsors and 

provides technology partners (large and small) the opportunity for a return on investment to cover their R&D costs. 

Provide Federal funding for programs similar to RoadX (Colorado) and Road to 

Tomorrow (Missouri). These programs are seeking technology partnerships to innovate new technologies and apply them to our transportation systems. While RoadX 

is funded by the Colorado DOT, the Road to Tomorrow is primarily reliant on revenue generated from new sources and innovative partnering strategies. New grant 

programs (such as the nationally significant freight and highway (FASTLANE) 

grant program included in the FAST Act can be helpful, as can funding provided 

through the TIGER Grant Program. At the end of the day, sustainable revenue 

streams are critical for major innovations to be implemented in meaningful ways. 

Areas for Future Focus/Opportunities 

Standardization is critical: This will further help the scalability of these solutions: 

data management (ownership, sharing, privacy, security and future monetization 

strategies). 

Open architecture and interoperability of systems: It is important to maintain 

flexibility to adapt systems over time as technology evolves so quickly. Communities 

need to be sure that they are building a platform that can adapt as the technology 

changes. 

Workforce Development: Managing digital infrastructure requires new skill sets 

and there is a foundational need to focus on digital literacy at all levels within government (from the field technician to supervisors and management). We need to 

build local capacity for data analysis which requires the ability to contract with and 

hire talent equipped for the new world of big data. 

Closing 

On behalf of AECOM, I would like to thank you for receiving my testimony and 

look forward to addressing your questions. 

37 

ATTACHMENT


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Senator FISCHER. Thank you very much. 

Next, Mr. Jordan Kass, the President of Managed Services at 

C.H. Robinson. Welcome. 

STATEMENT OF JORDAN KASS, PRESIDENT OF MANAGED 

SERVICES, C.H. ROBINSON 

Mr. KASS. Chairman Fischer, Ranking Member Booker, and 

members of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify at today’s hearing. 

As one of the Nation’s largest third-party logistics providers, C.H. 

Robinson has a unique view of how goods and commerce flow from 

manufacturer to consumer. My name is Jordan Kass, and I am 

President of Managed Services for C.H. Robinson. I joined Robinson 

in 1999 by way of an acquisition. 

At that time, I created a startup within Robinson trying to figure 

out how to leverage Internet technology within the supply chain. 

Today, that startup business manages over $3 billion of logistics 

spend in 170 different countries on behalf of our customers. Our 

mission is to develop innovative technology platforms paired with 

managed services that help our customers connect, automate, and 

optimize their supply chains. 

C.H. Robinson has over 150 offices around the world networked 

through our common proprietary platform called Navisphere, which 

provides our employees, our customers, and our carriers visibility 

to freight shipments around the country and globe. 


628POWER7.eps
41 

Today, we are also speaking on behalf of the Transportation 

Intermediaries Association, which represents 1,500 3PLs of all 

sizes. 

We do not own any commercial trucks ourselves, but build technology platforms and logistics services that streamline complex 

transportation management on behalf of our customers. Our diverse carrier base includes motor carriers, railroads, airfreight, and 

ocean carriers. 

The division of Robinson that I lead works with some of the largest companies in the world, and this platform that we have developed serves as the platform these companies use to gain visibility 

and control over our supply chain. Our customers include companies like Microsoft, Delphi Automotive, and Ocean Spray. 

A major component of our value proposition is routing massive 

amounts of information and money quickly and accurately around 

the world. This is enabled by technology and automation. From the 

truck driver using our cell phone app to find available loads to the 

customer who needs to find desired landed costs tracked to the 

item level, data and the Internet of Things is driving change in our 

business. We are rapidly expanding these tools and information 

available to all trading partners across the supply chain. 

For example, a single truck owner-operator uses our app to check 

in like a GPS-equipped truck, and similarly a global shipper can 

view tracking updates anywhere in the world via a PC, smart 

phone, or tablet. 

Businesses today are part of global cross-functional teams of coordinating production, customer service, sales, finance, and transportation. They work together toward an end goal of customer experience and agile market response. 

As Congress considers the implications an increasingly connected 

world has on policy, we see things differently, from a supply chain 

and flow of goods viewpoint. 

Today, others have discussed privacy and IT infrastructure. However, we think that Congress also needs to look at practical issues 

regarding freight movement brought about by the Internet of 

Things. We fully understand that the Subcommittee does not have 

jurisdiction over all the issues I will mention. However, the Internet of Things forces us to look holistically with our customers at 

end-to-end supply chain practices. We want to reiterate that the 

greatest challenge Congress and subcommittees may have with the 

Internet of Things is that it will force the government to work 

across silos or be left behind by more agile governments. The following are our recommendations. 

First, tax rates. Many of the companies leading the revolution 

around the Internet of Things are operating with a tax code designed for the 1980s. For example, C.H. Robinson is a service company with no assets and we pay full U.S. corporate tax of 35 percent. Even though we are 208 on the Fortune 500, we are a Fortune 100 corporate taxpayer. If Congress wishes to incubate globally leading countries, a corporate tax reform is a prerequisite. 

World-class customer customs agency. We see the U.S. customs 

clearance process as a significant risk to supply chains. When the 

ACE system goes down for 2 hours during produce season in San 

Diego, it impacts supply chains across the Nation. Congress needs 

42 

to make sure our U.S. customs agency provides world-class service 

and works well with agencies to ensure safe and efficient movement of goods. 

Increasing resources for cargo theft deterrence. Cargo thieves are 

using the Internet to target specific freight. Law enforcement is 

challenged to investigate cargo thefts and victims in many locations. A stolen load of almonds may originate in California, be stolen in Nevada on a truck based out of Missouri. We recommend increasing penalties for cargo theft and providing law enforcement 

resources to fund cargo-theft specific units. 

Land use and planning around the rise of megacities. Increasingly, freight moves between a handful of global cities seeing huge 

population and density growth, including Chicago, Houston, New 

York, and LA. Issues of land use, truck parking, congestion, vehicle 

size, and operating hours all interact with the growth of things and 

the speed of change of delivery direct to the consumer. 

Thank you for the opportunity to provide insight into how the 

Internet of Things is impacting supply chains. We look forward to 

working with the Committee on policy that allows U.S. logistics 

companies to continue leading the world. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Kass follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF JORDAN KASS, PRESIDENT OF MANAGED SERVICES, C. H. ROBINSON ON BEHALF OF TRANSPORTATION INTERMEDIARIES ASSOCIATION

Chairwoman Fischer, Ranking Member Booker, and members of the Commerce, 

Science and Transportation Committee, thank you for the invitation and the opportunity to testify at today’s hearing. As one of the Nation’s largest third party logistics providers, C. H. Robinson has a unique view of how goods and commerce flow 

from manufacturer to consumer. The transportation brokerage and third party logistics industries have grown substantially the last 10 years and I will provide you an 

overview of our role in the marketplace and policy recommendations to consider 

around the Internet of Things as it relates specifically to supply chains. 

Introduction of Jordan Kass 

My name is Jordan Kass and I am the President of Managed Services for C. H. 

Robinson. I joined C.H. Robinson in 1999 via the way of an acquisition. At that time 

I created a startup within the framework of CH Robinson. You may recall that was 

the peak of the dot.com boom and everyone was trying to figure out how to leverage 

Internet technology. The business I began for CH Robinson was focused on bringing 

the Internet into the world of logistics and supply chain. Today, that business has 

grown tremendously and we manage over $3Billion dollars of logistics spend in 170 

different countries on behalf of our customers. Our mission is to develop innovative 

technology platforms paired with managed services that help our customers connect, 

automate, and optimize their supply chains. 

Introduction of C.H. Robinson 

C. H. Robinson was founded in 1905 and facilitates the movement of over 17 million shipments per year. We have been named the #1 3PL for five years in a row 

by Inbound Logistics magazine and have pioneered many industry innovations. We 

are also speaking today on behalf of the Transportation Intermediaries Association, 

which represents 1500 3PL’s of all sizes. C.H. Robinson is a leading member of TIA 

and serve on their board of directors. C.H. Robinson is the 10th largest publicly held 

company headquartered in Minnesota, and we have over 150 offices across the 

United States. All of our offices are networked through a common proprietary platform, called Navisphere, which provides our employees, our customers and our contracted carriers’ visibility to freight shipments across the country and across the 

globe regardless of mode. 

We are a Fortune 250 company with annual revenues of more than $13.5 billion 

serving manufacturing, retail and wholesale customers of all types across the economic spectrum. We do not own any commercial trucks ourselves, but rather build 

technology platforms and logistics services that allow us to streamline complex 

transportation management on behalf of our customers. We have developed the largVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:46 Nov 02, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\GPO\DOCS\22359.TXT JACKIE
43 

est and most diverse carrier base in the U.S. in order to transport our customer’s 

freight. Our carrier base includes motor carriers, railroads, air freight, and ocean 

carriers. Leveraging our technology platform, our expert talent worked with approximately 68,000 transportation providers in 2015. 

As I mentioned, the division of C.H. Robinson that I lead is focused on delivering 

technology and services that connect, automate, and optimize global supply chains. 

We work with some of the largest companies in the world and our platform serves 

as the technology these companies use to gain visibility and control over their supply chain. Our customers include companies like Microsoft, Delphi, John Deere, and 

Ocean Spray. 

A major component of our value proposition is to route massive amounts of information and money quickly and accurately around the world. Our platform vis-a`-vis 

the Internet formulates the information and visibility pipes our customers require. 

Again, I want to emphasize that we do this on a massive scale. 

This is enabled by increasingly sophisticated technology and automation across 

the supply chain. From the truck driver using a cell phone to search for available 

loads on our Navisphere Carrier app to railroads sending massive tracking data in 

electronic formats to customers desiring to know landed costs tracked to the item 

level, data and the Internet of Things is driving incremental change in our business. 

One example of the massive role data plays can be seen in our every increasing machine to machine communication. Every day, C.H. Robinson transmits and receives 

over 20 million electronic communications. 

We are rapidly expanding the tools and information available to all trading partners across the supply chain. For example, single truck owner operators can use our 

app to perform a tracking check call just like a GPS equipped truck without ever 

picking up the phone and similarly a global shipper can view that tracking update 

anywhere in the world via a phone, PC, or tablet. 

Businesses and transportation departments are part of global cross functional 

teams coordinating sophisticated supply chains across many silos. Production, customer service, sales, finance and transportation all work together towards an end 

goal of customer experience and agile market response. As Congress rightly considers the implications of how an increasingly connected world impacts policy and 

society, we would like to provide insights we see from a supply chain and flow of 

goods viewpoint. While other witnesses will discuss issues of privacy, security, and 

IT infrastructure, there are many practical issues Congress should also consider regarding supply chain changes coming from the Internet of Things and how U.S. 

companies can lead in this industry. 

We fully understand that this subcommittee does not have jurisdiction over all the 

issues we will mention. However, the Internet of Things crosses many of our company’s silos and has forced us to look holistically with our customers at end-to-end 

supply chain practices. We want to reiterate that the greatest challenge Congress 

and this subcommittee may have with the development of the Internet of Things 

is that it will force the U.S. Government to break down silos and work in cross-functional teams or be left behind for smaller countries and more agile governments to 

lead the way. Following are recommendations the Internet of Things working should 

consider: 

Tax Rates 

Many of the company’s leading the revolution around the Internet of Things are 

operating with a tax code designed for manufacturing in the 1980s. For example, 

C.H. Robinson is primarily a service company with no assets and we pay the full 

U.S. corporate tax rate of 35 percent annually in addition to state taxes. Even 

though we are #208 on the Fortune 500, we are a Fortune 100 corporate taxpayer 

when the Fortune 500 is ranked in terms of raw corporate tax paid. Over the last 

11 years, our company alone has paid more than $2 billion in Federal corporate tax. 

• If Congress wishes to promote and incubate globally leading companies in the 

Internet of things based in the US, corporate tax reform is a pre-requisite. 

World Class U.S Customs Agency 

The Internet of Things provides companies the ability to source parts and inputs 

and sell globally. Consumers can now buy directly from overseas retailers and manufacturers and with the increase in the de minimis value by Congress from $200 

to $800, we increasingly see the U.S. Customs clearance process as a significant risk 

to supply chains. When the ACE system goes down for 2 hours during produce season in San Diego, or U.S. EPA holds up a shipment at the port of Baltimore because 

they are understaffed, it impacts supply chains across the Nation. Just as successful 

companies are now forced to work across silos, one of the biggest challenges that 

44 

the Internet of Things will place on the U.S. Government is on the customs service 

and their coordination with other government agencies of all types. 

• Congress needs to make sure our U.S. Customs agency provides world class 

services and that they are able to work well across agencies to ensure a safe 

and efficient movement of goods or the U.S. will not hold a leadership position 

regarding the Internet of Things. 

Increasing Resources for Cargo Theft Deterrence 

While many will be focused on personal privacy and the data collected on individuals through the Internet of Things, please also remember to strengthen cargo theft 

penalties. One of the unintended consequences of increased technology in the supply 

chain is the increased ability of cargo thieves to target specific freight across the 

country. Law enforcement is challenged to prioritize and investigate cargo thefts 

with victims and stakeholders in many diverse locations. For example, a stolen load 

of almonds may originate in California, be stolen in Nevada, on a truck based out 

of Missouri and brokered by a company in Chicago. 

• We recommend that Congress increase penalties for cargo theft and provide law 

enforcement resources to fund local and regional cargo theft specific law enforcement units. 

Land Use and Planning around the rise of Mega Cities 

A trend that we are monitoring closely is the trend of megacities. Increasingly, 

freight movement is concentrated in and between a handful of global cities that are 

seeing huge population and density growth, including cities in the U.S. like Chicago, 

Houston, New York, and Los Angeles. Providing goods to these urban populations 

is a growing logistics challenge Congress should monitor and prioritize. Issues of 

land use, truck parking, congestion, vehicle size, and operating hours all interact 

with the growth of the Internet of Things and the speed of change of delivery directly to the consumer. 

Thank you for the opportunity to provide insight into how big data and the Internet of Things is impacting supply chains. We commend the Committee on their 

focus on this important topic, but emphasize that the rate of change in the market 

continues to accelerate. We look forward to working with the Committee and the 

working groups established by this legislation to quickly and specifically identify 

policy areas that will allow U.S. companies to continue to lead the world. 

Senator FISCHER. Thank you very much to the entire panel. We 

will begin our first round of questions, 5 minutes for each member. 

I would like to start with one issue that I’ve been concerned 

about, and that is the creation of these regulatory silos. I’m worried 

about the lack of coordination between government agencies where 

we may see duplication take place, and cross purposes happen on 

this with regulations. 

When my Ranking Member and I and two other Senators introduced the DIGIT Act, one thing we wanted to be sure to do was 

have a working group created, and we did that. That is a working 

group with government and also private stakeholders. And we 

want to make sure that we can look at streamlining and having 

complementary regulations between agencies when we address the 

Internet of Things. 

So I would like to ask all the members of the panel, what do you 

believe is causing these regulatory silos? And what do you think is 

the best way that we can encourage cooperation among agencies in 

order to look at how best to allow that innovation and creativity 

to continue to take place with the Internet of Things? 

Who would like to start? Yes, Doctor? 

Dr. EDELSTEIN. I think the departments of transportation, including the U.S. Department of Transportation, have already taken 

that first step. That first step is really transportation systems management and operations, or TSM&O. The way I look at it, with 

45 

TSM&O and IoT, when those two worlds collide, it is going to unleash really unlimited potential. 

Transportation systems management and operations is creating 

operational integration between the various modal partners, 

whether it be buses, trains, toll roads, freeways, or arterial operations. It is also aligned with performance metrics so everybody 

has some skin in the game with regard to defining those performance metrics, tracking those performance metrics, and making sure 

we are making certain improvements that are noticeable by the 

end-user, which is that the traveler. 

So, again, it’s not a regulatory issue, but it is more of an operational issue, and I think that it is starting to come together rather 

quickly in many States throughout the country. 

Senator FISCHER. Mr. Davis? 

Mr. DAVIS. Chairwoman Fischer, I think you are asking a great 

question. Let me touch on a couple things. 

First, I want to applaud the work that has been done on the 

DIGIT Act and the goals that that is trying to achieve. I think that 

is a very important direction for us to be taking with regard to the 

Internet of Things. 

You asked an interesting question about the history in terms of 

why we have these silos, and I think it’s really been because of the 

optimization that has been needed in those various different industries. We want to optimize what is happening in shipping, optimize 

what is happening in retail, in the network infrastructure, so I 

think that’s been a very natural kind of evolution. 

But as we think forward around the Internet of Things, that will 

be one of our challenges to scale, to have these local optimizations, 

because we are seeing that these technologies needed to create the 

connectivity between things and the data center or cloud will need 

to become more and more common. 

That is why we are advocating the implementation of open platforms to allow for much greater flexibility to break down some of 

those silos. That will be essential for the Internet of Things to be 

able to scale. 

We look at 5G technologies. We look at what we are trying to accomplish across the industries with regard to security. These 

things are going to have to become much more open. They’re going 

to have to be driven by public-private partnerships to define the 

right capabilities. That is what is going to enable scalability as we 

go forward in the Internet of Things. 

Senator FISCHER. Do you think we are going to have to see a collision take place before we will have that openness? Or will we be 

proactive in trying to head it off before we get there? 

Mr. DAVIS. Well, obviously, I am hoping that we can be proactive 

and avoid a collision, but I think that is really why it is important 

to think about this globally and think about what is happening in 

other parts of the world and have that national IoT strategy for the 

U.S. to really be in a leadership position to help shape how that 

evolves. 

I think as far as we can think ahead and be proactive, that will 

avoid that ultimate collision. 

Senator FISCHER. Thank you. I’m running out of time, but if the 

other three witnesses can give me a short answer? 

46 

Yes? 

Mr. MONJE. Senator, your question is exactly right. It’s something that we’ve been driven to do by the White House directives. 

We are working very closely with the Federal Trade Commission 

when it comes to privacy. They are in charge, but we have a huge 

stake in it, and we’re working very closely with them, the national 

NTIA on issues of cybersecurity broadband access, and the FCC 

when it comes to spectrum. 

We are not only reaching across the Federal Government but 

also down into the States as well. NHTSA is establishing their regulatory framework working very closely with the States, because 

what you don’t want to have is patchwork. 

Senator FISCHER. OK. 

Ms. Reynolds, did you have a comment? 

Ms. REYNOLDS. I appreciate the question. Obviously, government 

silos are nothing new. They are something that we have struggled 

with for quite a long time. I think that what it really comes down 

to is the way that we measure success is often at odds. 

To Dr. Edelstein’s point about having a shared performance metric and hearing a clear signal, which we’ve heard from U.S. DOT 

and the Federal Government, that the road to funding is paved 

with partnerships and that if you want to be at the table, you need 

to bring private partners along with you, you need to bring the 

State, you need to bring your region, are really bringing up some 

very uncomfortable sacred cows that we have to wrestle with. 

So I think that is one of the major ways that there has been kind 

of a happily forced arranged marriage among different sectors of 

the public and private side. 

Senator FISCHER. And, Mr. Kass, shortly, if you could condense? 

Mr. KASS. My expertise is supply chain and technology. It’s not 

government. So having said that—— 

Senator FISCHER. You’re the best one to answer the question. 

[Laughter.] 

Mr. KASS. Having said that, as I said in my testimony, these 

walls need to be broken down. If we don’t do this, what’s going to 

happen—there are two supply chains at work. There is a physical 

one and a virtual one. The virtual supply chain is about moving information and money. In the Internet of Things, that’s going to be 

visible. If we don’t fix this problem, all of the problems that exist 

today, the nodes, the failure nodes, those are going to be exposed 

on a massive scale. So we have to get out in front of this and get 

out in front of it quickly. 

Senator FISCHER. Thank you very much. 

Senator Booker? 

Senator BOOKER. Thank you very much. 

When I was Mayor of my city, I discovered, in just getting accountability for my team members, that if I started encouraging 

constituents to tweet at me problems, that I would begin to find 

out about things. And it worked better than I knew. I could find 

out about potholes before my road engineers. I could find out about 

traffic lights out. I started crowdsourcing what was going wrong in 

the city. Obviously, that’s a very rudimentary, inefficient way, 

when you can set up cities like Los Angeles where you could have 

sensors detecting problems and funneling information at the speed 

47 

of light. So the Smart Cities Initiative to me, as a former Mayor, 

is really exciting. 

Would you please give Mayor Garcetti my best when you get 

back to Los Angeles? I studied with him at Oxford. He still owes 

me 10 pounds. At this point, it’s worth only like $.50, the way the 

pound is going. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator BOOKER. But tell him I want my money. 

Would you tell me what kind of challenges you guys are facing 

in implementing what is a cutting-edge vision to try to make Los 

Angeles—what are the biggest obstacles to being a smart city that 

you are finding? 

Ms. REYNOLDS. So thank you for the question. I will say it is two 

things. 

One, fundamentally, public and private sides are going to have 

to get way outside our comfort zones in order to achieve the kind 

of partnership that we need. Our procurement practices, for example, I would say, are probably the single biggest hurdle to really 

getting public partners to the table. As soon as it takes us 18 or 

24 months to write a request for proposals and bring a vendor on 

board, the technology has passed us by. The Federal Transit Administration and others have done a really good job signaling that 

they are willing to waive some of the Federal procurement requirements to allow cities to have access to these funds. I would identify 

that. 

Second, I would say that the role of government—our most rudimentary tool is that we can say no. I think that oftentimes we find 

ourselves in that position when we are encountering the sort of disruption or introduction of new technologies in transportation in our 

cities. We need to pivot to using one of the other sort of lesser used 

powers of government, which is to bring people together, to convene, possibly to regulate, and to make sure that the price of entry 

into our cities is that you have to serve them equitably. 

I will just give one example. Mayor Garcetti executed a datasharing agreement with Waze. One in four drivers in the City of 

Los Angeles is using Waze to get around our city with positive and 

potentially negative impacts. 

The way we have been using it is bringing Waze data into our 

ATSAC system, fusing the data streams that we have to make our 

system even smarter. We save Los Angeles drivers over 40 hours 

every year because we have a smart transportation signal system. 

That is just the tip of the iceberg, and it points to the other big 

challenge, which is that we don’t have the skillsets inside government. I don’t have a civil service classification for data scientists 

in the City of Los Angeles, and we desperately need those kinds of 

skillsets and capacity-building inside government so that we can 

really come to the table as an equal partner. 

Senator BOOKER. I appreciate that. That is what the White 

House is finding out with their innovation team. Procurement is 

one of the biggest problems we have. The procurement process is 

set up for dealing with big, massive companies, not the small 

innovators who are at the cutting edge. I appreciate that. 

In the 1 minute and 30 seconds I have left, Mr. Kass, Mr. Davis, 

I get very annoyed when I watch other countries who are beginning 

48 

to out-innovate us. We should be the innovation capital of the 

globe. I’m a competitive guy. I want us to be number one. 

But when I see government regulations choking things like the 

drone industry, for example, in watching innovation in that sector 

go over to Europe as opposed to here because we haven’t created 

an environment that is best for that. So to the two men who are 

in the private sector, could you guys just tell me what are other 

countries doing better than us that we should be doing better than 

them? 

Mr. DAVIS. I think it’s a great point. That is one of the reasons 

we have been advocating for public-private partnerships, to be able 

to bring private industry alongside what is happening from a regulatory standpoint as well as what is happening in areas like academia, to be able to provide those kinds of partnerships to go off 

and define what needs to happen. Again, the emphasis is on what 

as opposed to the very specific how of the implementation. 

That is what we often find ends up happening when we try to 

put regulation in place too early as the technology is still rapidly 

evolving. We should agree on what we are trying to accomplish as 

opposed to the very specific implementation. 

That is one of the things that we find as we look at what is happening globally, the opportunity to innovate much more openly. 

Senator BOOKER. Jordan, why don’t you hold on, because I want 

to be respectful to Senator Cantwell. She is a dear friend, and I 

don’t want to make her angry, and I’ll let her go. We will come 

around to another round. 

Mr. KASS. Yes. No problem. 

Senator FISCHER. Senator Cantwell? 

STATEMENT OF HON. MARIA CANTWELL, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM WASHINGTON 

Senator CANTWELL. Thank you, Madam Chair. And thank you to 

the panelists. 

Is it Monje? 

Mr. MONJE. Monje. 

Senator CANTWELL. Monje. Thank you so much for your work. 

I wanted to talk to you and Mr. Davis about freight because this 

is something we want to be strategic about in the United States. 

The opportunity to ship more goods to markets overseas from the 

U.S. is a very important economic strategy for us, but it has to 

move in a timely fashion. And obviously, there are lots of challenges. 

So how is the Department of Transportation—we have had this 

strategic freight plan—working with the Internet of Things? We 

had I think it was one of the California ports here last year, and 

they talked about the efficiencies that you can roll out at our ports 

by having this kind of data and information on cargo movements 

and on trucks. 

Mr. MONJE. Yes, ma’am. Thank you for the question. 

Freight is the lifeblood of our economy, and this Congress has 

been on the record in really pushing us as a department to come 

up with a strategic plan to work with States. 

In terms of the Internet of Things, it has tremendous potential. 

We know we are going to see 45 percent more freight over the next 

49 

30 years on our roads, on our ports, across our seaways. Some of 

the things we are doing include testing and improving the quality 

of the technology called FRATIS, which we are implementing at the 

Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, and it is helping operators 

get cargo off ships and to where they need to go a lot quicker. 

We have a connected vehicle pilot in Wyoming that is really focused on speeding truck traffic along Interstate 80, which has 

major weather events. So how are we using technology to move 

that forward? 

As part of our Smart City Challenge, we actually got a lot of really neat examples of communities that are trying to figure this out 

for themselves. Columbus is proposing, and they won, so they are 

going to be able to implement, the ability to practice truck 

platooning along smart corridors, better ways to do urban parking. 

One of the neater ideas that came is from Austin, which is actually looking at shared urban delivery lockers, so people as they get 

off the bus will be able to pick up their groceries or a package, and 

they don’t have to make an extra trip to get there. 

So we are doing a lot of foundational research in the maritime 

area. We know that this is a tremendous area of opportunity, and 

that we need to be partners in that process. 

Senator CANTWELL. Mr. Davis, I think the average tractor-trailer 

gets something like 6 miles per gallon, so anything we can do to 

increase the fuel efficiency there is going to be a huge savings. 

I know that, again, DOT has SuperTruck. Is that what you were 

referring to? The SuperTruck program? I didn’t get the acronym 

you used. 

Mr. DAVIS. FRATIS is what I referred to. 

Senator CANTWELL. How do you spell that? 

Mr. DAVIS. F-R-A-T-I-S. 

Senator CANTWELL. OK. Well, I also know that you have a 

SuperTruck program, and it is focused on getting more like nine, 

almost 10 miles per gallon. So how do you think that some of these 

tools could be used to help the transportation sector on timing on 

deliveries? 

Mr. DAVIS. I think we’ve seen some really exciting technologies 

in the early stages. I think that Mr. Monje talked about a couple. 

Mr. Kass even described a few, which is to be able to put technologies in trucks that enable us to understand how they are being 

driven and to be able to provide feedback to the driver about he 

or she can drive more efficiently. 

We have seen this implemented in a couple of large trucking 

firms already, and they see some of those pretty impressive improvements in fuel efficiency. I think that is one. 

We are seeing technologies evolve that allow us to be very costeffectively identify the location and the conditions of high-value 

freight so that we know where it is, we know what kind of conditions it is being subjected to. 

And then to be able to use autonomous technologies, to be able 

to identify maybe containers that are coming in on a ship with 

where trucks are located to be able to synchronize the way they are 

offloaded to take advantage of the trucks or the traffic conditions 

to move that material effectively. 

50 

So we are seeing some very interesting early stage technologies. 

The challenge is how we make that more and more common across 

all of those applications to enable it to scale. 

Senator CANTWELL. I think we learned in air transportation now 

that there is a cell lot and everybody hangs out in the cell lot. 

I think that statistic is quite impressive, a 45 percent increase 

in freight traffic. I mean, we want the United States to make 

things. We want to sell things. We want to move them. But the 

congestion level at the ports is so great, so a strategy that could 

ease that traffic in there and move it in a more systematic way 

would mean huge savings and would help us with our competitiveness in manufacturing, so I hope that we will stick with it. 

Thank you, Madam Chair. 

Senator FISCHER. Thank you. 

Senator Markey? 

STATEMENT OF HON. EDWARD MARKEY, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM MASSACHUSETTS 

Senator MARKEY. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

The Internet of Things leads also to the Internet of threats, because, obviously, every device that has the Internet built into it 

then becomes subject to hacking. That’s just the bottom line. So 

you have to basically deal with the digital tale of two technologies. 

It is the best of technologies, it is the worst of technologies simultaneously. 

So if you don’t deal with threats, then all you are doing is ignoring the inevitable problems that are going to be created. 

So really, today’s new cars are just computers on wheels. That’s 

all they really have become. That is why in 2013, and again last 

year, Senator Blumenthal and I asked 20 automakers what they 

are doing to protect our computers on wheels, and here is what we 

learned. 

Thieves no longer need a crowbar to break into your car. They 

just need an iPhone. 

Last year, we witnessed firsthand how easily cars could be 

hacked. We watched as hackers remotely took control of the brakes, 

the steering, and the acceleration of a Jeep Cherokee. Chrysler had 

to recall 1.4 million vehicles to fix this cybersecurity problem. 

But in this new Internet of Things era, cybersecurity just cannot 

be an afterthought. Rather than addressing cybersecurity problems 

after a hack has occurred, we have to ensure robust cybersecurity 

protections are built into these technologies right from the beginning. 

That means that we need enforceable rules of the road to protect 

driver privacy and security. That is why I introduced legislation 

with Senator Blumenthal, the Security and Privacy in Your Car 

act, or SPY Car Act, that directs the National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration and the Federal Trade Commission to establish Federal standards to secure our cars and protect our drivers. 

So for all the panelists, please, answer yes or no. Do you believe 

that cars should have mandatory cybersecurity standards, including hacking protections to protect all access points in a car; data 

security measures that prevent unwanted access to all collected inVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:46 Nov 02, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\GPO\DOCS\22359.TXT JACKIE
51 

formation; and hacking mitigation technologies that can detect, report, and stop hacking attempts in real-time? 

Dr. Edelstein? 

Dr. EDELSTEIN. Definitely, yes. 

Senator MARKEY. Yes. OK. 

Mr. Davis? 

Mr. DAVIS. Definitely yes. The one thing I would add is that I 

think it is important to define what we need to accomplish to address the things that you described, but also to allow technology to 

evolve quickly. 

Senator MARKEY. But if it evolves and it is still not installed, we 

should mandate that is installed? 

Mr. DAVIS. Yes, we should define requirements to ensure these 

things are secure. 

Senator MARKEY. Mr. Kass? 

Mr. KASS. Yes, we need the appropriate controls, but I agree we 

need to do it in a very balanced way that doesn’t kill innovation. 

Innovation is like a whack-a-mole, right? You try to beat it down, 

it is just going to pop up someplace else. So we really need a way, 

a mechanism, of ensuring that if we are going to put controls in 

place, that it is not offsetting the innovation that is about to take 

place, but rather helping it and making sure it thrives. 

Senator MARKEY. But haven’t you found over the years, Mr. 

Kass, that if people can get away without building in the protections against hacking or privacy, that they just do it to save 

money? 

Mr. KASS. People never cease to amaze me. 

Senator MARKEY. Thank you so much. So it’s not just whack-amole. It’s just whack-a-bad-person. 

Mr. KASS. Well, no, I was speaking of innovation. We can’t policy 

our way out of it. Someone is going to innovate, and it needs to be 

us. We need to lead. 

Senator MARKEY. Right. We have to do it, but at the same time, 

we then have to tell people who don’t want to install the safety protections that they have to do it. 

Mr. KASS. Fair enough. 

Senator MARKEY. OK, thank you. That’s all I’m really saying. 

And, Ms. Reynolds? 

Ms. REYNOLDS. I think the answer is certainly yes, and I will add 

that there is a role for smart infrastructure as well. One of the few 

benefits to having started our connected signal system in the 1980s 

is that it is all hard fiber and it is virtually unhackable. There will 

be a role for infrastructure to manage not just the hacking but the 

12 or 20 different vehicle software technologies that are out there. 

Senator MARKEY. But again, I didn’t get the correct answer from 

the auto manufacturers. 

Ms. REYNOLDS. Yes. 

Senator MARKEY. Thank you so much. I mean, seatbelts are good 

but not just yet. Airbag is good, but not just yet. We just want the 

technology to evolve a little bit more. So when, Lord, will you put 

those seatbelts, those airbags, those hacking protections in? 

Mr. Monje? 

Mr. MONJE. Thank you, Senator. And thank you for your leadership on this issue. 

52 

You know, cybersecurity is going to be a continuous challenge for 

the rest of this century. There is substantial motivation on our part 

to get it right on behalf of safety, certainly from the manufacturers. 

NHTSA is doing everything we can. We have established standards, a security credential management system for V2V technology 

to ensure that those packets of information can be shared safely. 

We are going to continue to work with industry, continue to work 

with experts to make sure we continue to fight this threat. 

Senator MARKEY. Dr. Edelstein—if I can just have one more 

minute, please? Thank you. 

Do you believe also that we should make owners explicitly aware 

of collection, transmission, retention, and use of driving data and 

provide owners the right to say no to data collection and retention 

without losing access to key navigation or other features? 

Dr. EDELSTEIN. Yes. 

Senator MARKEY. Yes. 

Mr. Davis? 

Mr. DAVIS. Yes. 

Senator MARKEY. Yes. 

Mr. Kass? 

Mr. KASS. Yes. And just generally speaking, with all the information that is going to be available, this concept of opting out I think 

is important. 

Senator MARKEY. Excellent, thank you. 

Ms. Reynolds? 

Ms. REYNOLDS. Yes. 

Senator MARKEY. Excellent. 

Mr. MONJE. Yes, sir. It’s very important to only collect the information you need and make sure consumers know what they are 

sharing. 

Senator MARKEY. Thank you. 

So I think that is a great balance here. It’s not all good. Like any 

other technology, there is the bad as well. And we just have to 

make sure that we build in the protections at the same time that 

we build in the opportunities. And if we do that, then I think we 

discharge our responsibility as policymakers. 

I thank you, Madam Chair, Mr. Ranking Member, for this hearing. 

Senator FISCHER. Thank you, Senator Markey. 

Dr. Edelstein, in your written testimony, you discuss several innovative transportation projects that you are currently working on. 

For example, you mentioned that AECOM employs sensors to 

monitor the Brooklyn Bridge for cracks and also for temperature 

fluctuation. What is the impact of real-time data monitoring on our 

Nation’s critical transportation infrastructure assets, especially as 

it relates to public spending on maintenance? 

Dr. EDELSTEIN. We’re not monitoring the Brooklyn Bridge. That 

was a case example that other people are doing, but it has nothing 

to do with AECOM. I just wanted to get that out. 

Again, my vision for the control centers of the future, I really see 

it getting into not only moving people and cargo more efficiently, 

but also asset management in real-time. This way we can put sensors out on our bridges. We can monitor smart buildings with regard to energy systems. We can put sensors out on water systems 

53 

to see if there are any potential leaks in the pipes that will cause 

inefficiency. 

So what I am looking at is a control center—again, it can be a 

virtual control center; it doesn’t have to be one massive building— 

a control center that would monitor all of the assets that the agencies own, operate, and maintain. 

I think by doing that, you will get more efficiencies, and I think 

it will dovetail very nicely with the smart city concept. With the 

smart city concept, I think the platforms that they will be using allows everything to be interconnected, but there needs to be something there, a control center, that monitors all of these assets in 

real-time to gain more efficiencies with the systems. 

Senator FISCHER. As you have this control center that is monitoring in I would assume a more timely and also more accurate 

manner, how do you see that affecting safety in the future? And 

also looking at the reliability of our infrastructure, using the example of the Brooklyn Bridge? 

Dr. EDELSTEIN. OK. Well, with regard to safety, if it was the 

Brooklyn Bridge and you had another incident with regard to I–35, 

the bridge up in Minnesota, hopefully by having the sensors out on 

the bridge, we could be more proactive in detecting if there is something wrong with the bridge ahead of time so we could make some 

corrections to it before you have a catastrophe, something like that. 

In terms of reliability and other forms of safety, the traffic management centers are already doing that. They are able to detect an 

incident or a lane closure or an accident a lot faster than the way 

that we used to do it without the technologies embedded into the 

systems. 

For example, we’ve been working on a project down in Miami for 

about the last 10 years operating their control center. When we 

first started, it took about 15 minutes or so to clear a lane blockage 

incident. Now it is about half the time. That half the time translates to safety benefits as well as travel time reliability. 

In terms of safety benefits, for every minute that we save in a 

lane-blocking event and clearing that lane that much faster, it 

translates to nearly 3 percent of probability of a secondary accident 

happening. So if you take a 15-minute lane-blocking event, take a 

lane-blocking event and you can clear it 15 minutes faster, you are 

talking about improving the probability that you won’t have a secondary accident by about 40 percent. 

In terms of travel time reliability, the formula is, I think for 

every minute that you save, it translates to 4 minutes of saving. 

So, again, a 15-minute clearance improvement would translate to 

about an hour backup delay that you are saving. 

So I think it all ties together, whether you are managing assets, 

or you are managing traffic as well as safety. 

Senator FISCHER. Do you see cities and States and also private 

businesses stepping forward and willing to embrace these new 

technologies? Is there enthusiasm on their part? Or is it balanced 

with I guess reality in looking at the cost? 

Dr. EDELSTEIN. It is more so the latter. There is definitely enthusiasm. No doubt about it. But many cities are struggling, just paying the day-to-day bills. They have to deal with potholes. They 

have to deal with physical safety improvements as well as infraVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:46 Nov 02, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00057 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\GPO\DOCS\22359.TXT JACKIE
54 

structure improvements that may increase capacity in some of 

their roadway systems. 

Technology is nice. They are looking at that as a long-term solution. But balancing the firefighting issues that they deal with on 

a day-to-day basis and the budget and the evolution of technology 

as it comes online, it’s pretty tricky. 

But I would have to say that most cities and States, they are 

very enthusiastic about technology innovations. But again, there is 

just so much money to go around. 

Senator FISCHER. Thank you very much. 

Senator Booker? 

Senator BOOKER. Chair Fischer, Senator Klobuchar has asked if 

she could go next. She has a committee to return to. 

Senator FISCHER. Senator Klobuchar? 

STATEMENT OF HON. AMY KLOBUCHAR, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM MINNESOTA 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Thank you very much. I am the ranking 

member on this hearing we are having on a bill that we passed last 

year on sex trafficking, but I want to thank you all for coming. I 

especially want to thank Mr. Kass who represents here C.H. Robinson, which is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, with his 

22 years of experience in freight logistics. 

As you may know, C.H. Robinson has evolved from a wholesale 

produce brokerage house to a major third-party logistics provider, 

is the largest network of motor carrier capacity in North America, 

had gross revenues of $13.5 billion in 2015, and is one of 17 Fortune 500 companies based in my State. So we are proud of the 

work that they do and what they can bring to this discussion. 

Mr. Kass, could you talk about how you have leveraged the Internet of Things at your company to increase the efficiency of 

multimodal shipments? 

Mr. KASS. Sure. When you think about our company, its focus is 

on developing technology platforms and services to connect, automate, and optimize supply chains. What the Internet of Things has 

done is allowed us to create algorithms that quickly and easily select the most optimal mode of transportation. 

Many shippers today can’t respond in the time, they don’t have 

the resources, they may not even have the expertise, to take a look 

at what their freight network looks like in real-time and, frankly, 

shift from a truckload shipment to an intermodal shipment, which 

poses significant advantages. 

The intermodal obviously is going to reduce the carbon footprint. 

It is going to lower the overall cost. And it is going to take capacity 

off the road, and I think put it in a safer environment. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. Very good. Thank you very much. 

One of the things that we’ve learned in our state, which I guess 

we share with all three members who are here today, New Jersey, 

Nebraska, and Wisconsin, is that you can have all the networks 

you want for transportation, but if you have snow and the trucks 

can’t move, then we have a problem, or the trains can’t go. 

I know the Minnesota Department of Transportation has applied 

for a grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies 

55 

Deployment Program—that is quite a mouthful—that is used to improve the effectiveness of snowplows. 

It is no small thing in our State. We are pretty proud of how 

quickly we clear out our roads, but technology can always make us 

better. Let’s just say it works a lot better in Minnesota than Washington, D.C. 

Dr. Edelstein, how will the new communications opportunities 

from the Internet of Things improve public safety and the delivery 

of government services with things like snowplowing? 

Dr. EDELSTEIN. Well, if you look at it, let’s start with the enduser. The end-user wants their street snowplowed within a certain 

time-frame or they want to know at least when their street is going 

to be plowed. By having the Internet of Things, this could provide 

the communication between the individual and the agency responsible for the plowing, so you open up the communications. 

Also, you are opening up the potential to optimize where you 

have the snowplows, which roads deserve the highest priority. And 

you can monitor that in real-time, so if you have to do multiple 

runs of a street because the snow is still coming down, again, you 

have the potential of using the IoT and big data to optimize the 

routing of snowplows, assuming that they have automated vehicle 

location devices on them, or some type of sensors. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. I think that is just a great example because 

I really am stunned by how long it takes. 

My daughter went from the public schools of Minnesota, where 

she had no snow days for 7 years, and then when she got to the 

Arlington Public Schools, which are very good, she had 2 weeks off 

in her first year. 

So I do think that there has to be a better way to do that. I understand areas that have more snow are more affected by it. 

I guess my last question is just along those same lines, the need 

to have broadband installation and fast speed broadband to make 

this work. One of the bills that we have in the MOBILE NOW Act 

would actually require focus more on dig-one switches to try. When 

you have highway projects, you try to put the Internet in at the 

same time to make it more efficient. And obviously many of us on 

this committee are working on expanding access for broadband in 

rural areas as well. 

Any comments you have about the need to have Wi-Fi to make 

all of this work? 

Dr. EDELSTEIN. That’s really outside my expertise, so I’ll take a 

pass on that. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. OK. Can you assume you need Wi-Fi if we 

are going to have these things on snowplows? 

Dr. EDELSTEIN. Yes. 

Senator KLOBUCHAR. All right. OK, thank you. 

Senator FISCHER. Thank you, Senator Klobuchar. 

Senator Booker? 

Senator BOOKER. I just want to finish up on the question I was 

in before about what other countries are doing that is better than 

the United States, what we can be learning so we can, again, continue to be the global exporter of innovation on the planet Earth. 

56 

So, Mr. Davis, you were sort of finishing your answer. I didn’t 

know if you wanted to add any more before I go to Mr. Kass or Dr. 

Edelstein. 

Mr. DAVIS. I’ll just add one example. A great technology enabler 

for the Internet of Things is going to be 5G wireless infrastructure. 

We see a number of countries moving very quickly there, creating 

testbeds, creating opportunities to do trials. We’ll see it not only in 

fixed infrastructure that needs to be able to communicate back to 

a data center or cloud, but even mobile infrastructure. 

We see in Germany they are running trials now on the autobahn 

to learn how to maintain high data rate connectivity when a car 

is moving very fast down the freeway. We see around the Winter 

Olympics, Summer Olympics coming up in the future in South 

Korea and Japan, doing, again, early pilots, early testbeds. I think 

the more that we can do things to foster—— 

Senator BOOKER. Why aren’t we doing those here? 

By the way, with the 5G, some of the innovation is because you 

have a more predictable, understandable marketplace for innovation and patents and the like over in Europe now than you necessarily do here. Is that some of the reason why? 

Mr. DAVIS. I think it is much more about just creating the opportunity. We see these big events like the Winter Olympics or the 

Summer Olympics. That becomes kind of a focal point for that 

country to say let’s go put a lot of resources in. 

Senator BOOKER. So we’re not, maybe government is not creating 

sandboxes where people can—— 

Mr. DAVIS. I think we want to look for more testbeds. We want 

to look for opportunities where we can say, hey, let’s go all in, let’s 

create a solution to really kind of force the technology to get deployed, for us to understand where we need to do more optimization. I think it is looking for those kinds of opportunities. 

Senator BOOKER. OK, thank you. 

Jordan, I mean, Mr. Kass, first of all, I want to just echo, because you put in your comments, and it is something that I feel 

very strongly about, that we have a ridiculously bad tax environment to incentivize companies here. And I see it in biotech with a 

lot of New Jersey firms inverting now because of the bad environment. 

So please don’t think that I haven’t gotten that point and don’t 

say, basically, hallelujah, amen, and join your chorus of conviction 

to change that. 

But what else are other countries doing besides creating a better 

tax environment? 

Mr. KASS. Firstly, thank you for reading my mind. I appreciate 

that. That was going to be the way I answered the question. 

But secondarily, when I look at our global base of talent and the 

diversity of it, there is something that is happened here where we 

are just not developing math students the way that other countries 

are. And I think that is core to engineering, and it is core to where 

the Internet of Things is going. 

Don’t get me wrong, we have talent. But if we are not developing 

it at the speed and pace that some of these other—— 

Senator BOOKER. No, we’ve fallen from number one for graduating engineers, math majors. Now we are out of the top 10. 

57 

Other countries are realizing that this new economy is going to necessitate having STEM folks, and America is falling behind. 

Mr. KASS. Yes, and then I would add to it the ones that we do, 

there is a male bias to it, and we need to figure out how to get that 

neutralized as well. So I would point you in the direction of how 

we get that fixed. 

Senator BOOKER. Great. 

Dr. Edelstein, do you have anything to add, especially port efficiency is something that even the Secretary of Transportation and 

I have talked about, about how in the Northeast people are choosing to use Canadian ports because they are more efficient than 

ours are. Is there anything that other countries are doing in terms 

of the Internet of Things for freight logistics that we could be 

learning from here and catching up on? 

Dr. EDELSTEIN. Other countries’ freight—— 

Senator BOOKER. I’ll tell you what, Dr. Edelstein, let me move to 

my last question and try to get it in 10 seconds each. If you had 

a government dollar, if we were going to be investing, where would 

you focus your government dollar, Mr. Davis, in terms of getting 

the biggest return? 

Mr. DAVIS. As I said earlier, I think creating these partnerships 

and these opportunities to really move technology forward, between 

the private sector, the regulators, and academia. 

Senator BOOKER. Jordan? 

Mr. KASS. It may surprise everybody, but it would be infrastructure. 

Senator BOOKER. Be more specific? 

Mr. KASS. Specifically, the road infrastructure. If I painted a picture of the United States, and I showed you the traffic flows 

around the United States, you would see very clearly on a map 

where those arteries were unbelievably constricted in major cities 

around the world. 

And there is a trend of urbanization. It is clear. There were 10 

megacities, cities over 10 million in population. There were 10 

megacities I believe 10 years ago. Now there are 23. People are 

moving into cities because they need access to products. That trend 

is clear. 

If we don’t fix the infrastructure, whatever we do with the Internet of Things is just going to expose the fact that we don’t have 

the infrastructure to move the flow of goods properly. 

Senator BOOKER. Tax reform, infrastructure investment. I really 

like you, Mr. Kass. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator FISCHER. Thank you. 

Senator Blumenthal? 

STATEMENT OF HON. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, 

U.S. SENATOR FROM CONNECTICUT 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. Thank you very much. Thanks for your 

help and your service. 

Because we have a vote, I’m just going to ask you one quick 

question. Positive Train Control, what can we do to achieve it more 

quickly and implement it around the country? 

58 

Mr. MONJE. Well, I will start. Thank you, Senator. We’ve been 

pushing positive train control, and thank you so much for your 

leadership on this issue. 

I think we are very excited at the Department of Transportation that we have $199 million to spend thanks to the FAST Act to help 

commuter rails get on board. There are still significant challenges 

across the rail industry to implementing this, including access to 

spectrum, including equipment issues. 

We are doing everything we can. We are working with the FCC. 

We are working with the class ones. We are working with short 

lines, with commuter rails. We are doing everything we can to hold 

their feet to the fire and to make sure we get this technology deployed quickly and safely. 

We know that technology would’ve prevented the crash in Philadelphia. The opportunities for safety are substantial, and we are 

dedicated to this technology. 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. Any other thoughts? How about sensors at 

rail-grade crossings? These are practical, rail safety measures that 

will save lives. 

Dr. EDELSTEIN. Yes, I think it’s an excellent idea. Unfortunately, 

it takes probably a good mile or so for the train to slow down to 

get to the point where that person that might be in the railroad 

crossing would avoid getting hit. 

I live in Florida. We just had an incident like that last week, 

where a family of four was at the railroad crossing. Three of them 

got out, but one of them got hit by the train. 

The communications need to be, obviously, with the driver of the 

train. To bring it back to the control center wouldn’t give you 

enough time to react. 

In urban areas where you have railroad crossing spaced three or 

four per mile, it becomes a real tricky situation. Now with the 

Internet of Things, this might be able to be managed a little bit 

more efficiently than the way we used to do it in the past. 

But I think there is a lot of upside potential in addressing these 

issues in railroad crossings. 

Senator BLUMENTHAL. Thank you all. 

Thank you. 

Senator FISCHER. Thank you, Senator Blumenthal. 

I want to thank the witnesses for being here today. I think we 

had a great hearing, and I appreciate your answers. 

The hearing record will remain open for 2 weeks. During this 

time, Senators are asked to submit any questions for the record. 

Upon receipt, the witnesses are requested to submit their written 

answers to the Committee as soon as possible. 

With that, the hearing is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 11:06 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.] 

(59) 

A P P E N D I X 

RESPONSE TO WRITTEN QUESTION SUBMITTED BY HON. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL TO

HON. CARLOS MONJE, JR. 

Question. In 2008, Congress passed the Rail Safety Improvement Act, which required DOT to issue regulations ensuring that each passenger and freight railroad 

develop and implement a Risk Reduction Plan ‘‘to reduce the numbers and rates of 

railroad accidents, incidents, injuries, and fatalities.’’ One of the components mandated within the Risk Reduction Plan was a Technology Implementation Plan. The 

Technology Implementation Plan requires railroads to specify how they will use 

‘‘current, new or novel technologies’’ to reduce safety risks. 

The 2008 law mandated these regulations governing Risk Reduction Plans—including Technology Implementation Plans—by October 2012. Almost four years 

since the deadline, there are no final rules ensuring railroads have these plans that 

incorporate technology into their safety practices. 

Mr. Monje, the premise of this hearing is that new technology can enhance safety. 

Congress mandated that DOT take action to ensure railroads are using technology 

to save lives. That mandate is outstanding. When will the Department of Transportation carry out the Congressional mandate? When will each railroad be required 

to have a Technology Implementation Plan? 

Answer. The Department’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has initiated 

two rulemakings to implement this mandate: the System Safety Program (SSP) 

rulemaking for commuter and intercity passenger railroads and the Risk Reduction 

Program (RRP) rulemaking for Class I railroads and railroads with inadequate safety records. Both rulemakings would require certain railroads to develop and implement an SSP or RRP to improve the safety of their operations. As part of its SSP 

or RRP, a railroad would be required to set forth a technology implementation plan. 

To ensure commuter and intercity passenger safety is achieved through an informed 

rulemaking process, the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) assisted FRA 

with both rulemakings. The SSP final rule was issued on July 29, 2016 and is expected to be published in the Federal register soon. 

An advance notice of proposed rulemaking for the RRP rulemaking was published 

in the Federal Register on December 8, 2010. 75 FR 76345. Two public hearings 

were held in July 2011. The RRP NPRM was published February 27, 2015 with the 

comment period ending October 21, 2015. 80 FR 10949 & 80 FR 60591. FRA held 

a Public Hearing on the RRP NPRM on August 27, 2015. Once again, in an attempt 

to develop an informed final rule, the RSAC’s Risk Reduction Working Group met 

on September 29, 2015 to review and discuss comments submitted in response to 

the NPRM. FRA is currently drafting the RRP final rule. 

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