Connected Vehicle Infrastructure University Transportation Center
In collaboration with the Virginia Science Festival, Blacksburg Transit, and Virginia Department of Transportation, VTTI hosted the Virginia Smart Road Annual Open House on October 23, 2015 as part of the 2015 Virginia Science Festival. The Virginia Science Festival is a month-long, state-wide event with hands-on experiences, live performances, and interactive demonstrations that inspire a wonder in science for all ages. Interactive tours of the Virginia Smart Road demonstrated CVI-UTC research to individuals, families and small groups during the 2015 Virginia Smart Road Annual Open House.
Click the logo to learn more about the Virginia Science Festival events in your area.
The CVI-UTC participated in the First Annual Hampton Roads Transportation Career Expo on October 21, 2015. VDOT Hampton Roads District hosted the event to expose more than 1,500 area high school students to careers in transportation. Crowds of students gathered around the CVI-UTC research display to learn more about the latest advancements in connected vehicle technology. VTTI Research Associate, Reginald Viray, spoke with students about connected vehicles and the diversity of STEM aspects associated with careers in new vehicle technology and design.
Federal and state officials received hands-on experience with “hands-off” automated and connected driving as they traveled a 10-mile stretch of an interstate highway in Northern Virginia in cars sporting the latest automated- and connected-vehicle technology.
The demonstration was part of the Virginia Connected Corridors and the Virginia Automated Corridors initiatives, which represent partnerships between the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, Transurban, and HERE (a high-definition mapping business), respectively. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, the Virginia Department of Transportation, and Transurban, which operates the express lanes, conducted the demonstration.
Officials boarded sedans outfitted with connected vehicle and automated technologies developed by researchers from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, with funding in-part by the CVI-UTC. U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, U.S. Department of Transportation Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology Greg Winfree, Virginia Tech President Timothy D. Sands, Virginia Secretary of Technology Karen Jackson, Virginia Department of Transportation Commissioner Charles Kilpatrick, and Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Richard Holcomb were among officials who participated in the demonstration.
Follow this link for the full VT News article.