FHWA R&T Now

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POLICY & PARTNERSHIPS

FHWA Provides Training to NHTSA Special Crash Investigation Members

In collaboration with FHWA’s Office of Safety Research and Development, the Resource Center 

recently developed and delivered 2 days of training at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research 

Center (TFHRC). 

The training was for members of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 

Special Crash Investigation (SCI) team who will be working with FHWA to conduct crash 

investigations in several States as part of FHWA’s Pilot In-Service Performance Evaluation (ISPE) of 

Guardrail End Terminals. 

A news update of research, technology, and development from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), 

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

November/December 2015

FHWA R&T Now

 NHTSA's SCI team attends training at TFHRC

NHTSA's SCI team studies guardrails at TFHRC
 FHWA R&T Now

The objective of this study is to evaluate the inservice crash performance of some of the most 

common W-beam guardrail end terminals 

currently installed throughout the United States.

For each device, the evaluation will address: 

• Crash performance in terms of vehicle 

occupant risk. 

• The sensitivity to varying effects, such as 

environmental conditions, site characteristics,

and impact conditions. 

• The degree of sensitivity to improper 

installation, maintenance, and repair.

Active partners in this effort include staff from 

NHTSA, FHWA divisions, and departments of 

transportation (DOTs) in four States where 

FHWA plans to collect data. 

For more information, contact Monique Evans, 

202-493-3074, monique.evans@dot.gov. 

FHWA to Help NCHRP Accelerate Research 

Results

On October 21 and 22, 2015, FHWA Associate 

Administrator for Research, Development, and 

Technology, Michael Trentacoste, participated 

in the National Cooperative Highway Research 

Program (NCHRP) Project 20-44, a process 

improvement taskforce seeking to accelerate 

the NCHRP process and the implementation of 

research results. The panel, consisting mostly of 

representatives from State DOTs, is reviewing 

potential methods to speed up the 

consideration and application of results. 

Potential methods include the consideration and 

incorporation of future implementation issues 

(e.g., an audience for the product, 

implementation steps, and costs, etc.) into each 

project contract at inception and added 

communication of final results by the 

Transportation Research Board (TRB). Under 

consideration is the use of FHWA’s Technology 

and Innovation Deployment Program activities—

such as the Every Day Counts (EDC) initiative 

and Accelerated Innovation Deployment (AID) 

Demonstration grants—to support quick 

implementation of priority, market-ready 

results. Results of the panel’s deliberations 

should start to find their place in new contracts 

issued by TRB in NCHRP’s 2016 fiscal year and in 

upcoming recommendations to FHWA for the 

fourth round of EDC.

The NCHRP, which produces about 30 to 40 

research reports each year, is an applied 

research program intended to address the dayto-day issues faced by practitioners in State 

DOTs through products that can be readily 

implemented.

For more information, contact Hiwot Abdi, 202-

493-3999, hiwot.abdi@dot.gov. 

FHWA Discusses Common Interests with Army 

ERDC

On October 28 and 29, 2015, staff from FHWA’s 

Office of Infrastructure Research and 

Development met with a delegation from the 

U.S. Army Engineering Research and 

Development Center (ERDC). 

The objective of the meeting, which took place 

at TFHRC, was to share current and planned 

activities and identify areas of common interest 

and opportunities for collaboration. These areas 

include highway materials, asset management, 

structures, hydraulics, geotechnology, and 

infrastructure security.

 FHWA and Army ERDC staff at TFHRC
 FHWA R&T Now

For more information, contact Cara Fitzgerald, 

202-493-3376, cara.fitzgerald@dot.gov.

ADVANCED RESEARCH

EAR Program Funds New Research on Data 

Mining and Freight Modeling

FHWA’s Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) 

Program funded four new research projects in 

the areas of data mining techniques and freight 

modeling. Two projects, with the Palo Alto 

Research Center and with CUBRC (in conjunction 

with SUNY at Buffalo), will explore suitable 

methodologies for handling, processing, and 

analyzing massive data sets relevant to safety 

data. These projects are being undertaken in 

response to the Second Strategic Highway 

Research Program. The two freight projects, 

with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

and with the Resource Systems Group (in 

conjunction with University of Washington, 

University of Toronto, Significance, and 

Washington State Department of 

Transportation), will look to create innovative 

and applicable methods and tools to collect, 

develop, and integrate freight-related data. 

These two projects, which will have a special 

emphasis on geographic, temporal, and cost 

elements enhancements for use at the national 

level, will also aim to demonstrate approaches 

for a national-level, disaggregated, behavioralbased, and multimodal freight demand 

modeling tool that provides a significant 

enhancement over current methods for 

evaluating freight policy alternatives and their 

impacts.

For more information about the EAR Program or 

the new research projects, contact David Kuehn, 

202-493-3414, david.kuehn@dot.gov. 

FHWA Opens Door for U.S. Entities through 

Infravation Program

Together with European road authorities and 

the European Commission, FHWA is funding a 

pooled fund research program called 

Infravation—the convergence of infrastructure 

and innovation. With FHWA’s contribution, the 

door was opened for U.S. entities—universities, 

States, and contractors—to bid on the work 

either as leads or participants.

Grant agreements totaling about $11 million are 

going to nine teams who came out on top of a 

highly competitive process. Of the nine teams, 

seven of them include members from the U.S. 

entities, and three of the projects are being led 

or coordinated by a U.S. entity. FHWA provided 

around $1.5 million of the total. U.S. entities 

include: Arizona State University, Georgia 

Department of Transportation, Georgia Tech, 

Texas A&M University, University of California 

Los Angeles, University of Miami, Western 

Research Institute, Alta Vista Solutions, Owens 

Corning, and Pointivo.

FHWA involvement in Infravation not only 

provides employment for the U.S. entities 

directly involved, but also opens the door for 

them to provide technology and innovation 

transfer directly to the European road 

authorities and eventually contractors who will 

be picking up the innovations.

For more information, contact David Kuehn, 

202-493-3414, david.kuehn@dot.gov.

New Technologies Guide Blind Pedestrians 

Safely

FHWA’s EAR Program is sponsoring research 

that is adapting sensor and guidance technology 

found on luxury passenger vehicles for use by 

blind and vision impaired pedestrians. As related 

projects are nearing the end of program 

funding, researchers are demonstrating proof of 

concept systems. Recent demonstrations 

brought together leaders across government, 

potential future funders, and community 

stakeholders. 

For more information, visit 

www.fhwa.dot.gov/advancedresearch/pubs/15

040/index.cfm or contact David Kuehn, 202-493-

3414, david.kuehn@dot.gov. 
 FHWA R&T Now

Turner-Fairbank Hosts Workshop on 

Cementitious Materials

On October 22 and 23, 2015, FHWA’s Office of 

Infrastructure Research and Development in 

coordination with FHWA’s EAR Program held a 

workshop at TFHRC that brought together 

investigators from EAR-funded projects on 

cementitious materials, collaborators, 

researchers, and potential end users to discuss 

technical and potential downstream 

development issues.

These EAR projects focus on the mechanisms of 

hydration and setting of ordinary portland 

cement (OPC); novel alternative cementitious 

materials for the development of the next 

generation of sustainable transportation 

infrastructure; and inorganic polymers—novel 

portland cement free binders for transportation 

infrastructure.

Several researchers discussed new methods for 

measuring, understanding, and modeling 

cement reactions at the molecular, nano, and 

microparticle scale, as well as progress on 

recent TFHRC cooperative research and 

development projects with two developers of 

commercial technologies for making concrete 

without OPC. Researchers from the materials 

and structures laboratories at TFHRC are helping 

to advance these projects through the 

development of techniques, understanding, and 

performance specifications. 

For more information, contact David Kuehn, 

202-493-3414, david.kuehn@dot.gov.

INFRASTRUCTURE

FHWA Offers Expertise on UHPC Connections 

Technology

FHWA recently offered its technical expertise 

during two activities that focused on discussing 

and demonstrating the benefits of ultra-high 

performance concrete (UHPC) connections for 

prefabricated bridge elements—an Every Day 

Counts (EDC3) innovation and initiative. 

The first activity was held October 19 and 20, 

2015 at the Pulaski Skyway in Newark, New 

Jersey, where a bridge redecking project is 

underway. It brought together three members 

of FHWA’s EDC3 UHPC Connections Deployment 

Team (Ben Graybeal, Mark Leonard, and Jamal 

Elkaissi) and representatives from the 

Minnesota Department of Transportation. 

Graybeal, who heads FHWA’s Bridge and 

Foundation Engineering Research team and its 

Structural Concrete Research Program, 

explained how UHPC connections technology is 

being used to redeck the 3.5 mile long bridge 

(just west of the entrance to the Holland 

Tunnel), which serves as a vital surface 

transportation link. 

The second activity, held on October 21, 2015, 

was a full-day workshop on UHPC Connections 

technology that Graybeal delivered to the 

Vermont Department of Transportation and its 

local consultants. The workshop was well 

received by 35 attendees who each are playing a 

role in advancing Vermont toward its first 

deployment of this technology in early 2016. 

For more information, contact Ben Graybeal, 

202-493-3122, benjamin.graybeal@dot.gov.

New Book to Feature Wood Trusses and 

Covered Bridge Construction

FHWA’s Office of Infrastructure Research and 

Development and the Historic American 

Engineering Record (HAER), a division of the 

National Park Service (NPS), Heritage 

Documentation Programs, have maintained a 

joint research and technology program for 

historic covered bridges since 2002. This 

partnership has included a variety of initiatives, 

such as documentation for the HAER collection 

at the Library of Congress, engineering studies, 

National Historic Landmark designations, 

conferences, and a traveling exhibition. All of 

these products are the result of cooperative

research under FHWA’s National Historic 

Covered Bridge Preservation (NHCBP) Program. 

One of the culminations of this multiyear 

program is the publication of Covered Bridges 
 FHWA R&T Now

and the Birth of American Engineering, edited by 

Justine Christianson and Christopher H. 

Marston. 

The book examines the development of wood 

trusses and covered bridge construction, 

profiles the pioneering craftsmen and engineers 

involved, explores the function of trusses in 

covered bridges, and looks at the preservation 

and future of these distinctly American bridges. 

The book is generously illustrated and includes 

photographs and drawings chosen from a vast 

collection at the Library of Congress. It also 

includes historic images and engineering 

diagrams. The book is intended to show a new 

appreciation for the role that covered bridges 

played in the development of the Nation and in 

American bridge engineering.

The publication is scheduled to be released in 

December 2015 and will be available via 

http://woodcenter.org. For more information, 

contact Christopher Marston, 202-354-2162, 

christopher_marston@nps.gov, or Sheila 

Duwadi, 202-493-3106, sheila.duwadi@dot.gov.

FHWA’s NDE Project to Assist SCDOT, Advance 

Assessments of Flooded Pavements

An FHWA research project focused on the 

nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of pavements 

subjected to flooding in South Carolina is 

expected to generate guidelines for assessing 

flooded pavements. Findings from this project 

could help the South Carolina Department of 

Transportation (SCDOT) and other State DOTs 

more accurately predict the condition of floodaffected pavements and inform decisions 

regarding the opening or closing and repair of 

roads.

Led by a University of New Hampshire multiinstitution team, the project involves collecting 

and analyzing in-place data to validate and 

calibrate the results of theoretical analyses and 

laboratory testing. Researchers from Worcester 

Polytechnic Institute and Infrasense will conduct 

falling weight deflectometer (FWD) and ground 

penetrating radar (GPR) testing of a set of road 

sections that have been recently subjected to 

flooding in South Carolina. 

Working closely with FHWA and SCDOT, the 

team plans to identify sections of roads to test 

that represent a wide variety of road structures 

in terms of materials, thickness, traffic, and 

layout. Pavement sections that have not been 

subjected to flooding will also be tested to 

collect baseline/control data. The GPR data will 

help identify areas with voids and base and 

subgrade saturation, any discontinuities in 

layers, and determine thickness and moisture 

contents of different layers. The FWD and the 

GPR data will help identify any structurally weak 

areas and help ascertain the stiffness of the 

different layers, which could be used for 

estimating the structural capacity of the road 

sections. 

In coordination with SCDOT, researchers have 

begun the testing and will continue it at specific 

intervals in the near future to monitor the 

gradual gain in strength of the pavements. 

These data, along with material, construction, 

and before-flooding FWD data from SCDOT, 

could prove instrumental in understanding the 

loss of structural capacity of different types of 

roads during and immediately after flooding, 

and the recovery of the capacity over time. 

For more information, contact Katherine Petros, 

202-493-3154, katherine.petros@dot.gov.

LTBP Program Holds Webinar on Bridge Portal

On October 15, 2015, FHWA’s Long-Term Bridge 

Performance (LTBP) Program held a Webinar to 

provide information about its Bridge Portal 

Version 1, a Web-based application interface 

capable of providing storage, access, analysis, 

and visualization of various data sources related 

to bridge performance on a network or 

individual basis. 

The Webinar was well-attended and introduced 

the Bridge Portal to division and field offices and 

State highway agencies. It provided information 

on how to gain access to the application and 
 FHWA R&T Now

offered a broad overview and demonstration of 

the Portal’s capabilities. The Webinar also 

included a short question and answer session 

and allowed attendees to comment on the 

usefulness of the application.

The LTBP Bridge Portal is currently populated 

with historical National Bridge Inventory data 

(from 1992 to the present). National Bridge 

Element data, LTBP field-collected data, and 

other bridge-related data that support capturing 

bridge performance will be incorporated into 

the data warehouse of the Portal as they 

become available. Future versions of the LTBP 

Bridge Portal will provide additional capabilities 

such as deterioration and forecasting models, 

and enhanced geographic information system 

(GIS) mapping. The Portal is expected to be of 

particular interest to FHWA division bridge 

engineers and their counterparts at State DOTs

and local agencies who are interested in bridge 

performance-related information. 

Employees of FHWA, State DOTs, and local 

agencies can access the LTBP Bridge Portal 

through FHWA’s User Profile Access Control 

System (UPACS). FHWA users must log in with 

UPACS credentials, while State DOT and local 

agency employees must log in with Operational 

Research Consultants (ORC) credentials. Access 

to UPACS as well as instructions for State DOT 

and local agency employees on obtaining ORC 

credentials can be found at 

https://fhwaapps.fhwa.dot.gov/upacsp/. Other 

users will need to request access to and register 

for the Portal via 

https://fhwaapps.fhwa.dot.gov/ltbpp/. 

For more information, contact Robert Zobel, 

202-493-3024, robert.zobel@dot.gov.

Pavement Software Features New Traffic 

Defaults from LTPP

This fall, the American Association of State 

Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) 

implemented new traffic loading defaults 

developed by the Long-Term Pavement 

Performance (LTPP) program in its 

AASHTOWare® Pavement ME Design Software. 

In 2012, the LTPP program completed a data 

analysis project that evaluated the applicability 

of the existing global traffic loading defaults 

used in the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement 

Design Guide (MEPDG). The project used weighin-motion (WIM) data from the LTPP program’s 

Specific Pavement Study experiments to 

improve the global axle loading values included 

in the original 2008 defaults. 

The MEPDG methodology, which was developed 

under National Cooperative Highway Research 

Program Project 1-37A, requires actual traffic 

inputs. Since the cost to collect these inputs is 

not possible for the majority of highway 

agencies, most pavement designs developed 

using the MEPDG rely on regional, agency-wide, 

or national traffic loading defaults. Therefore, it 

is important for the default values to be 

representative of the actual truck loadings for a 

project site.

The original traffic default values used in the 

MEPDG were based on LTPP traffic data 

collected by highway agencies prior to 1999. At 

that time, these data represented the best 

available and most comprehensive national set 

of WIM and automated vehicle classification 

data. Since 1999, the LTPP program has 

generated high-quality traffic loading 

information for some of its test sites. These data 

are being collected using standard protocols for 

data collection consistency and improved data 

quality assurance. As a result, these new data 

provided an opportunity to improve the axle 

loading traffic defaults in the MEPDG for 

highway agencies. 

For more information, contact Deborah Walker, 

202-493-3068, deborah.walker@dot.gov. 
 FHWA R&T Now

OPERATIONS

Saxton Lab Demonstrates Multivehicle 

Platooning Using CACC

Together with its partners, FHWA’s Saxton 

Transportation Operations Laboratory recently 

conducted a five-vehicle platoon test on an 

inactive air base in Willow Grove, PA. The team 

that conducted the test was comprised of 

transportation experts, researchers, and 

engineers from California Partners for Advanced 

Transportation Technology, Leidos, FHWA, and 

TORC Robotics. To demonstrate platooning and 

expand on current connected vehicle (CV) 

research, the team spent two weeks at the base 

testing a fleet of Cadillacs equipped with 

cooperate adaptive cruise control (CACC). 

Using CACC and dedicated short-range 

communication, the Cadillacs were able to 

wirelessly communicate their speeds and 

distances with surrounding vehicles to avoid 

following too closely or stopping too abruptly. 

The connectivity between the vehicles allowed 

them to accelerate and decelerate based upon 

fixed following distance settings and speeds. It 

also established precise distances between each 

vehicle and allowed the vehicles to come to a 

complete stop in unison. 

The team demonstrated a number of different 

maneuvers and showcased a selection of them 

to leadership from TFHRC. This groundbreaking 

technology, which is essential for improving 

roadway safety and efficiency, could be a future 

solution to congestion and traffic incidents as it 

can prevent unnecessary braking and establish 

safe and constant speeds with other vehicles.

For more information, contact Taylor Lochrane, 

202-493-3293, taylor.lochrane@dot.gov. 

SBIR Program to Advance Safety through 

Smartphone App

FHWA, through the U.S. Department of 

Transportation (USDOT) Small Business 

Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, recently 

awarded a contract to Savari Inc. to develop a 

traffic signal interface application (app) for 

smartphones called SmartCross. The app will 

interface with traffic signal systems that control 

traffic lights and receive information about 

pedestrian signals. 

The technology will be able to send signals 

between the pedestrian’s phone and the 

nearest traffic signal box, notifying pedestrians 

when it is safe to step into the crosswalk. It will 

also allow users to request pedestrian signals. 

For enhanced safety, the app will provide audio, 

visual, and haptic (typically vibration) feedback 

to the user.

Four vehicles using CACC

Two Cadillacs demonstrate CV technology.
 FHWA R&T Now

The technology will feature different modes for 

pedestrians, bicyclists, visually impaired 

individuals, and people in wheelchairs. For 

example, to assist the elderly and the physically 

impaired, the app will be able to send a request 

for extra pedestrian crosswalk time. Drivers will 

also benefit from this technology. Vehicles 

equipped with an onboard unit will be notified 

of a pedestrian in an active crosswalk via an invehicle display. The screen will also display the 

colors of the changing light and how much time 

remains for each color. 

The app is currently under further development, 

but will soon be available to iPhone and Android 

users. After its launch, developers will continue 

to update the app to leverage the latest 

technology. Enhancements to the application 

are expected to advance new research for 

accessibility and mobility. 

USDOT announces new topics each year through 

its solicitations, supporting projects like the 

SmartCross app to develop technological 

innovation using the highest level of expertise in 

the small business community. 

For more information, contact James Pol, 202-

493-3371, james.pol@dot.gov. 

ATTRI and ODEP Host Online Dialogue

The Accessible Transportation Technologies 

Research Initiative (ATTRI)—a joint USDOT

initiative, co-led by FHWA and the Federal 

Transit Administration (FTA), with support from 

the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint 

Program Office—together with the U.S. 

Department of Labor’s Office of Disability 

Employment Policy (ODEP) recently hosted an 

online dialogue to promote innovation around 

the design of accessible transportation options 

related to employment.

The online dialogue was focused on gathering 

insights and ideas for the future generation of 

accessible transportation solutions, including 

connected and automated vehicles, to further 

develop and enhance transportation options as 

an effective employment support for people 

with disabilities. The mobility of travelers with 

disabilities, including veterans and older adults, 

is hindered by a lack of accessible transportation 

options. A number of emerging personal 

mobility options can change this and provide 

better options for all travelers to get from Point 

A to Point B, which includes to and from places 

of employment. Whether it be on-demand 

operations, virtual concierge travel assistance 

through mobile devices, or assistive robots, 

research in accessible transportation has gained 

new momentum in recent years.

During the online dialogue, the following 

questions were posed: What new technologies 

should be developed to enhance personal 

mobility and accessible transportation options 

for older adults and people with disabilities 

(such as wearable devices—for example, 

smartphones, smartwatches, smartdevices, and 

social media sources)? What existing application 

programming interfaces (APIs) and open source 

code could be used to create new 

transformative accessible transportation 

applications?

Ensuring that more workers remain employed 

despite a challenging health condition will 

require strong policy leadership, targeted 

research, effective social marketing, and a 

sustained attention to essential technical details 

regarding payment mechanisms and data 

capture. Input from this online dialogue will be 

 SmartCross app
 FHWA R&T Now

used to help inform the development of an 

innovation challenge to support the 

development of innovative accessible 

transportation solutions that benefit all 

travelers, including those with disabilities.

For more information, contact Mohammed 

Yousuf, 202-493-3199, 

mohammed.yousuf@dot.gov.

USDOT Hosts Enabling Technologies Workshop

On November 9, 2015, USDOT hosted an 

enabling technologies workshop at its 

headquarters in Washington, DC. The workshop 

encouraged participants to consider what 

technologies are necessary for self-driving 

vehicles, whether USDOT should standardize 

mapping for automated vehicle technologies, 

and the importance of artificial intelligence in 

vehicle automation.

Vehicle automation relies heavily on 

technologies such as wireless communications, 

mapping, positioning, navigation, timing, and 

sensing. Applications planned within USDOT’s 

automation research roadmap depend on 

understanding these technologies and their 

applicability. The workshop focused on recent 

technological advances that have potential to 

enable vehicle automation. Participants were 

encouraged to consider how these advances 

relate to USDOT’s vehicle automation program. 

For more information, contact Mohammed 

Yousuf, 202-493-3199, 

mohammed.yousuf@dot.gov.

ATTRI Mentioned in Committee’s Report to 

President

ATTRI was recently mentioned in “Leveling the 

Playing Field: Improving Technology Access and 

Design for People with Intellectual Disabilities,” 

a report by the President’s Committee for 

People with Intellectual Disabilities. Focused on 

the role of technology in improving the quality 

of life for people with intellectual disabilities 

and ensuring their full citizenship rights, the 

report recognizes that “ATTRI research focuses 

on the needs of three stakeholder groups: 1) 

people with disabilities, 2) veterans with 

disabilities, and 3) older adults.” The report goes 

on to point out that ATTRI “proposes areas of 

technology development on: information and 

technology services and accessible 

transportation; automation and robotics; data 

integration; wayfinding and navigation; and 

enhanced human service transportation.” ATTRI 

would also like to see the advancement of 

cloud-based navigational systems, wearable 

devices, and interactive pedestrian crossing 

supports.

The report is available to download at 

www.acl.gov/programs/aidd/Programs/PCPID/d

ocs/PCPID-2015-Report-to-President.pdf. For 

more information, contact Mohammed Yousuf, 

202-493-3199, mohammed.yousuf@dot.gov.

SAFETY

FHWA Releases 2015 Version of IHSDM

FHWA recently released version 11.0.0 of the 

Interactive Highway Safety Design Model 

(IHSDM), a suite of software analysis tools for 

evaluating safety and operational effects of 

project-level geometric design decisions on 

highways. The new version includes major 

enhancements to the policy review module, 

which was expanded to include policy checks for 

rural multilane highways. The software is 

available to download for free at 

www.ihsdm.org. 

IHSDM, which supports the Data-Driven Safety 

Analysis initiative that is part of FHWA’s Every 

Day Counts 3 efforts, includes six evaluation 

modules applicable to rural two-lane highways: 

crash prediction, design consistency, 

intersection review, policy review, traffic 

analysis, and driver/vehicle. The crash 

prediction module serves as a faithful 

implementation of the American Association of 

State Highway and Transportation Officials’ 

Highway Safety Manual, Part C: Predictive 

Method. The module deals with two-lane rural 

highways, multilane rural highways, urban and 
 FHWA R&T Now

suburban arterials, freeways and 

ramps/interchanges. 

IHSDM training courses are available through 

the National Highway Institute. For a 2-day, 

onsite training course, visit 

http://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/training/course_s

earch.aspx?tab=0&key=IHSDM&sf=0&course_n

o=380071. For a Web-based, instructor-led 

course, 

visit http://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/training/cou

rse_search.aspx?tab=0&key=IHSDM&sf=0&cour

se_no=380100. IHSDM technical support is 

available at IHSDM.Support@dot.gov and 202-

493-3407. 

The IHSDM Web site, www.ihsdm.org, includes 

information related to case studies, past 

Webinar materials, and frequently asked 

questions. 

For more information, contact Abdul Zineddin, 

202-493-3288, abdul.zineddin@dot.gov. 

Human Factors Lab to Install New Highway 

Driving Simulator Vehicle

The Human Factors Laboratory in FHWA’s Office 

of Safety Research and Development replaced 

its original Highway Driving Simulator (HDS) 

vehicle, a 1998 Saturn SL1, with a 2013 Ford 

Fusion. 

Since the Saturn was installed in 1999, more 

than 20 safety and driver behavior studies have 

been conducted in the HDS, in which 

approximately 1,800 participants drove the 

vehicle for over 90,000 miles of simulated travel. 

On July 15, 2014, President Barack Obama drove 

the Saturn when he visited TFHRC. 

The Ford Fusion is equipped with several 

modern features and functionalities, such as a 

programmable liquid-crystal display center 

console. 

This new HDS vehicle will enhance the Human 

Factors Team’s ability to continue conducting 

cutting-edge research in a variety of areas, 

including connected vehicles and automation. 

Installation of the new vehicle is scheduled to be 

completed before TRB’s Annual Meeting in 

January 2016.

For more information, contact David Yang, 202-

493-3284, david.yang@dot.gov. 

Human Factors Team Demonstrates Prototype 

Technology at Auburn

On August 17, 2015, the Human Factors Team in 

FHWA’s Office of Safety Research and 

Development visited Auburn University for a 

progress review and a hands-on demonstration 

of a prototype system for the project, “Extended 

Event Horizon Navigation and Wayfinding for 

Blind and Visually Impaired Pedestrians in 

Unstructured Environments.” 

1998 Saturn SL1 being removed from the HDS

Arrival of the 2013 Ford Fusion

Today, the new simulator vehicle is undergoing 

careful installation and rigorous calibration.
 FHWA R&T Now

Funded through FHWA’s EAR Program, the 

multiyear project is focused on developing 

technology that provides guidance assistance to 

blind and visually-impaired pedestrians 

navigating in large, unstructured environments, 

such as parks, parking lots, airports, complex 

intersections, and underground transportation 

locations. The navigation assistance will be 

accomplished by a combination of advanced 

inertial sensing technology, dedicated shortrange communication, and computer vision 

systems. Information gathered from the 

environment is processed in real-time and 

provides point-to-point guidance and 

wayfinding to the pedestrian via a humanmachine interface (HMI) consisting of a tactile 

feedback belt.

The image above represents all known sidewalk 

pathway map nodes surrounding a university 

engineering building. During the hands-on 

demonstration, the Human Factors Team 

navigated from Point A to Point B (as shown 

with the red line) using only the information 

relayed via the HMI from the prototype device. 

For more information, contact Jim Shurbutt, 

202-493-3420, jim.shurbutt@dot.gov. 

STAC Awards Task Orders to Support SHRP2 

Safety Data Training

The Safety Training and Analysis Center (STAC) 

in FHWA’s Office of Safety Research and 

Development has awarded two separate task 

orders to provide support to STAC staff to 

develop training related to safety data from the 

Second Strategic Highway Research Program 

(SHRP2). This support will include identifying 

and documenting requirements to establish 

secure remote access to SHRP2 safety data, 

including data containing personally identifiable 

information. 

The safety data from SHRP2 is an 

unprecedented collection of detailed 

information on driver behavior, vehicle use, the 

roadway, and other information about recorded 

trips. The driver, vehicle, and trip information 

are referred to as Naturalistic Driving Study 

(NDS) data. The roadway data is referred to as 

the Roadway Information Database (RID). The 

NDS support task order was awarded to Virginia 

Polytechnic Institute and State University and 

the RID support task order was awarded to 

Leidos. 

For more information, contact Aladdin Barkawi, 

202-493-3312, aladdin.barkawi@dot.gov.

RECENT PERIODICALS

Public Roads—September/October 2015

This issue includes: Taming Cyber Risks; An Array 

of Possibilities; Making Virtual a Reality; A 

Golden Opportunity to Make Travel More 

Golden; The Pennsylvania Turnpike Turns 75; 

Check Out Your Latest FP; and Powering an 

Energy Revolution.

It is available online via 

www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/16

sepoct/index.cfm. 

For more information, contact TaMara McCrae, 

tamara.mccrae@dot.gov. 

Innovator: Accelerating Innovation for the 

American Driving Experience—

November/December 2015

This issue includes: STIC Incentive Projects Help 

States Standardize Innovations; Using Regional 

Models of Cooperation; Connecting with UltraHigh Performance Concrete; WANTED: New 

Ideas for Innovation Implementation; Adaptive 

Signal Control Technology Spreads Nationwide; 

Demonstration Grants Support Cutting-Edge 

Projects; States Innovate; and Events.

Sidewalk pathway map nodes
 FHWA R&T Now

The issue is available online via 

www.fhwa.dot.gov/hfl/innovator/eversion/issue_51/

NOTE

Correction:

In the September/October 2015 issue, the name 

of the report, “Evaluation of Long-Term 

Pavement Performance (LTTP) Climatic Data for 

Use in Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design 

Guide (MEPDG) Calibration and Other Pavement 

Analysis” had a typo in the abbreviation and 

should be “Evaluation of Long-Term Pavement 

Performance (LTPP) Climatic Data for Use in 

Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide 

(MEPDG) Calibration and Other Pavement 

Analysis.”

LINKS

Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center: 

www.fhwa.dot.gov/research/ 

Resource Center:

www.fhwa.dot.gov/resourcecenter/ 

National Highway Institute: 

www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/home.aspx 

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think might find it interesting and/or useful.

Suggestions may be submitted to:

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