DOE and DOT collaborate to support smart transportation systems and alternative fuel technologies
30 April 2016
The US Departments of Energy (DOE) and Transportation (DOT) announced a collaboration to accelerate research, development, demonstration, and deployment of innovative smart transportation systems and alternative fuel technologies.
The agencies formalized this collaborative relationship through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was unveiled at a symposium this week called Achieving Zero-Emission Mobility: The Role of Innovative Electric Vehicle Companies, hosted by the University of California Center on Economic Competitiveness in Transportation in Berkeley, California.
The MOU will facilitate coordinated actions to leverage the two agencies’ expertise in transportation energy technology and safety systems to accelerate analysis, tools, and applications of those technologies.
This joint initiative follows DOT Secretary Foxx’s announcement of the Smart City Challenge (earlier post), which aims to select one US city to be awarded up to $40 million in Federal Highway Administration money and $10 million from the department’s private sector partner, Vulcan Inc., for demonstrating and deploying vision-forward smart city and mobility solutions.
This city will become the US’ first to integrate innovative technologies such as self-driving cars, connected vehicles, and smart sensors into their transportation network. After receiving 78 applications, DOT has chosen seven Smart City Challenge finalists to receive a $100,000 grant to refine their full proposals.
DOE intends to provide in-kind support of DOT’s Smart City Challenge in the form of expertise and resources including DOE’s extensive experience in transportation electrification and alternative fuel vehicle fleet deployment through the DOE SMART Mobility consortium, EV Everywhere, and Clean Cities.
I hope it's somewhere nearby, not Chicago, I wouldn't be upset if it were Kansas City... But it'd be neat to see as this city would be more or less setting the 1st generation standard for autonomous vehicles. I just hope it goes somewhere where they take it seriously, and not as a ploy to get more funds to fix an ailing city.
Auto braking will save so many lives, and lane keeping will help immensely too, full autonomy means planned city traffic, superior independence for almost all ages, reliable taxi service.
Car ownership is something that is becoming less and less desirable to younger generations...autonomous driving could be the future taxis for them. Cheap, green, and shared rides to lower the cost.
Posted by: CheeseEater88 | 30 April 2016 at 05:50 AM