Preparing to Use Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) in Transportation Operations: Phase II

About the report:

Vehicle infrastructure integration (VII) is an emerging approach intended to create an enabling communication capability to support vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications for safety and mobility applications. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has been an active participant in the national VII development effort. This research project critically assessed national development activities and quantitatively evaluated two potential VII-enabled system operation applications: traffic monitoring and signal control. The results of the research effort provide tangible evidence of the potential that VII holds in helping VDOT improve its ability to operate the transportation system. The benefits demonstrated in traffic monitoring and signal control indicate that VDOT should remain active in VII development. However, the research results also illustrate the uncertainty that currently exists in the national VII development effort. Because of this uncertainty, large investments in field deployment of "early" VII equipment were found to constitute an unnecessarily risky action. The results of the research support the conclusion that VDOT should partner with other states and the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop the new generations of system operations applications that will take full advantage of VII capabilities once the technology development converges at the national level. In addition, VDOT should critically examine current equipment standards to ensure that new purchases of items, such as traffic signal controllers, provide the flexibility for VII upgrades in the near future.

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