WSRTTIF Update - November 30th, 2012

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UPDATE: Friday, November 30th, 2012

Save the Date! The 8th annual Western States Rural Transportation Technology Implementers Forum is scheduled for June 18-20, 2013, in Yreka, California. The Call for Abstracts just went out and we are again seeking both presentations and live demonstrations about actual rural ITS projects and applications. A speaker or speakers who could discuss and/or demonstrate a project implemented or improved because of attendance at a past Forum is particularly encouraged to submit an abstract for the 2013 Forum.

Sean Campbell, Caltrans DRI, presents at the 2011 Forum.

Photo by Doug Galarus

Jon Dickinson, Nevada DOT, demonstrates their mobile ITS hotspot trailer, a project developed after seeing a similar trailer at the 2008 Forum.

Photo by Leann Koon

Forum presentations and demonstrations are very technical and get down to the “nuts and bolts” of how rural ITS projects work, or don’t work. They can cover a variety of topic areas related to ITS design and engineering in rural areas such as:

  • Design, engineering and installation of rural ITS field applications, such as warning and safety systems
  • Design, installation, calibration and evaluation of roadside traffic detection equipment (loop or non-intrusive)
  • Applications of microwave, radio, cellular, 802.11 WiFi and/or WiMax communications
  • Custom IT application development
  • Innovative applications of commercial IT applications (e.g., Google Earth™)
  • Lessons learned with application and development of standards and specifications (e.g., NTCIP, DOT specifications)

The topics presented at the Forum have been diverse. Speakers have come from eight different western states, four universities, five Caltrans districts, three Caltrans offices, the California Highway Patrol, and the USDOT. Here is a short list of presentations from previous Forums to give you an idea of the content discussed at the Forum over the years:

John Batarseh, CHP, demonstrates their Rapid Response Vehicle at the 2012 Forum.

Photo by Leann Koon

Keith Koeppen, Caltrans District 2, demonstrates the Information Relay at the 2011 Forum.

Photo by Doug Galarus

At the 2011 Forum, Kin Yen (AHMCT, UC-Davis) discusses challenges the project team encountered during development of the IRIS system.

Photo by Doug Galarus

To get a feel for the depth and breadth of technical content expected for the Western States Forum, visit the Forum website at http://www.westernstatesforum.org/PastForums/.

If you are involved with a rural ITS project you think would be of interest to other technology practitioners, we would encourage you to consider submitting an abstract for presentation and/or demonstration at the 2013 Forum. For more information about the Forum and instructions on how to submit an abstract, please go to the Call for Abstracts page on the Forum website.

The deadline for abstract submission is Friday, January 25, 2013.

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