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Advanced Traveler Information System
ATIS
Implementation and Integration

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Task 11: Evaluation Report

Prepared for:

New York Department of Transportation
In Association with
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
Cornell University
CUBRC/General Dynamics

Prepared by:

Prof. John C Falcocchio, Ph.D., P.E.
Principal Investigator
Raman K. Patel, Ph.D., P.E.
Associate Investigator

Final Report

Date
May 16, 2007

Urban ITS Center (UITSC)
Polytechnic University
Six Metrotech Center
Brooklyn, NY 11012
718-260-3612

Table of Contents

 

List of Acronyms

  List of Acronyms and Tables
ATIS Advanced Traveler Information System
ALK ALK Technologies, Inc.
CUBRC/GD CALSPAN – University of Buffalo Research Center / General Dynamics
DSRC Dedicated Short Range Communications
FHWA Federal Highway Administration
GPS Global Positioning System
HVCC Hudson Valley Community College
ITS  Intelligent Transportation Systems
NYSDOT New York State Department of Transportation
PDA Personal Digital Assistant
RFP Request for Proposal
RPI Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
TIRC Transportation Infrastructure Research Consortium
TEA-21 Transportation Efficiency Act for 21 Century 
TMC Traffic Management Center
UITSC Urban ITS Center at Polytechnic University
USDOT United States Department of Transportation

List of Tables

Executive Summary

Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) are an integral component of the concept of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS).  ATIS are envisioned to enhance personal mobility, safety and the productivity of transportation.   The primary services of ATIS include pre-trip and/or en-route traveler information concerning traffic conditions and route guidance. In addition, "yellow page-type" information related to traveling as well as entertainment, dining and other services may be included. In recent years, significant number of regional real-time traveler services has been developed across the country to aid travelers using different modes. 

Realizing the potential benefits of such ATIS services in the Capital District Region, the Advanced Traveler Information System Implementation and Integration Project (referred herein as the “ATIS Project”), was initiated by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT).

Background

The ATIS project sponsors included the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT). The project team was led by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), and included Cornell University, Polytechnic University, CUBRC/GD, and ALK Technologies Inc. Sprint PCS provided wireless services. NYSDOT was the project director and contracting authority. Cornell University administered the contact under the Transportation Infrastructure Research Consortium (TIRC) for the team. The contract was awarded in 2001 and the project ended in 2007.

Evaluation Categories

This evaluation report presents key findings in eight categories of interest to NYSDOT and the other partners;

  1. Request for Proposal (RFP) Process - The key issues related to the RFP and the impacts on the actual project later on.
  2. Contracting Process - Efficiency of the contracting process; the impacts of contract delays on project development and schedule.
  3. Project Team Development Process - Conclusions about the building of the project team; the challenges in selecting appropriate partners and developing working relationships. 
  4. Institutional Coordination Process - Cooperation between the public agencies and the academic institutions; comments on their infrastructure systems and issues faced during the project.
  5. Project Management - What technical issues and conflicts developed and how they were addressed by the team. Knowledge gained from the resolution of hardware, software, connectivity and the project management issues will help NYSDOT in their future ITS work.
  6. Contribution to the ATIS Business Case - Did the project create a better understanding of the infrastructure needs, and make a viable ATIS business case for New York State?
  7. Project Expectations - Conclusions on whether the project met the expectations of its sponsors and research partners. 

Key Findings 

Table 1 presents a brief summary of the key findings and effectiveness of the processes used in the ATIS project. These findings are based on the evaluation methodology adopted by the evaluation team (Polytechnic University), which included reviews of task reports issued by the team, interviews with project partners and sponsors, and attendance at the workshops held by the team.

  Table 1 Summary of Key Findings and Effectiveness of Processes 

#

Category

Summary of Key Findings/Effectiveness

1

RFP Process
  • The technical solution should not have been proposed by NYSDOT at the project onset.

2

Contracting Process
  • Significant contracting delays occurred and could have been avoided by better communication and administrative controls. Project schedule was severely impacted.

3

Partnering  Process
  • Partnering with the private sector was very effective and the RPI team was prepared to deal with emerging technology.

5

Project Management
  • Project team exercised flexibility during both the technology selection process and the development and testing efforts. Team coordination requirements were significant. NYSDOT provided ongoing support to keep the project moving.
  • Technical issues were addressed based on the ongoing rigorous field testing. Product development followed the user needs assessment.

6

ATIS Business Case
  • This project demonstrated to NYSDOT that it should be the private sector that should own the infrastructure to develop ATIS applications like this in the region. 

7

Project Expectations
  •  Partners and sponsors have different expectations from ATIS services and different measures of user satisfaction.
  • This demonstration has brought public, private and research partners together, and has shown how the different expectations can be managed.

8

Conclusion
  • The ATIS project made the partners and sponsors aware of the opportunities for changing policies in infrastructure development. Mobility and congestion management in the region can be further improved if such ITS applications are expanded with a greater role played by the private sector.
  • This project was a successful demonstration for ATIS development, verification of what the user needs are and what roles should be played by the NYSDOT and other partners to meet user needs.

Summary of Benefits for Partners and Sponsors

The following summarizes the benefits resulting from this research project:

Conclusion

The overall conclusion of this evaluation report is that this project has demonstrated how NYSDOT will come to rely on the private sector for sources of information to support its operations. And given the proper partnering environment, the private sector can serve NYSDOT needs in the region.

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Project Background

The ATIS project was initiated by the Transportation Infrastructure Research Consortium (TIRC) under the auspices of the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) under proposal # Z-01-02. The project development and management team was lead by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), with the collaboration of Cornell University, and CUBRC/ GD.

The ATIS contract was awarded in 2001, work began in 2003 and the project ended in 2007.

1.2 Objectives of the ATIS Project

The goal of the project was to create and test a wireless ATIS in the area of the proposed ITS Test Bed Laboratory. This original goal was to meet the needs of the highway users and transit customers in the project area and to aid the transportation operating agencies in meeting these needs. In addition, the system was to be compatible with and be integrated into the existing Capital District ITS infrastructure through the Traffic Management Center (TMC). This effort was to be supported by the regional ITS Architecture [1].

1.3 Polytechnic University Role

The Urban ITS Center (UITSC) of Polytechnic University was retained as subcontractor by RPI to provide assistance in the following task:  Task 11: Prepare the Evaluation Report: “The report evaluates issues such as the effectiveness of the partnering relationships, the effectiveness and means used to resolve technical issues, and techniques used with the private sector, including finances.”

This report presents key findings for the primary benefit to the members of the Transportation Investment Research Consortium (TIRC) and will be a reference for the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) for future work.

1.4 Purpose of the Evaluation Report

The purpose of this evaluation report is to present a set of key findings from the tasks performed during the development of the ATIS system (Task 1 through Task 11).  The information presented in this report is based on the task reports developed by the project team, the discussions at meetings and interviews with the project team members.

The report focuses on the processes used during the project development and contract management, development of technical solutions and partnering relationships, and roles played by the public and private sectors during the project. 

2.0 Evaluation Methodology

2.1 Evaluation Definition 

According to the ITS Evaluation Guidelines-TEA-21 Evaluation Guidelines, “evaluation is the reasoned consideration of how well the project goals and objectives are being achieved. The primary purpose of the evaluation is to cause changes in the project so that it eventually meets or exceeds its goals and objectives”. [2]

2.2 Evaluation Methodology

Based on the above definition and the project requirements, the following evaluation methodology is used:

2.3 Key Evaluation Questions  

The following questions were posed by the evaluation team to the concerned parties: 

2.4 Summary of Findings on Key Issues

The evaluation team has identified the key issues based on the interviews and discussion with NYSDOT and the project team partners, and then reviewed the information presented in the detailed project task reports [3].

This section states key issues explored in the ensuing sections of this report.

The next six sections provide a detailed account of the key findings for these categories.

3.0 Key Findings on the Request for Proposal 

3.1 Background

The funding for this project was identified with a highway development project in the Capital District region, and this dedicated funding was allocated to create an ITS test-bed laboratory environment at RPI as well as the associated research. Once the funding was secured, NYSDOT prepared the Request for Proposal (RFP). The RFP process was overseen by the Transportation Infrastructure Research Consortium (TIRC), administered by Cornell University. Proposals were submitted in August 2001. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) was the overseeing body and ensured that the project objectives were met.

This section outlines key issues encountered during and after the RFP Process.

3.2 Pre-selection of the Technical Solution

At the onset of the project, a technical solution was proposed by NYS DOT that included a specific vendor, U.S Wireless, and their RadioCamera as the sensor technology of choice for the project. However, in the last months of 2002, U.S Wireless filed for bankruptcy and ceased to become a viable technology option. The RPI project team later noted that the viability of U.S. Wireless solution had never been established, beyond the company claims. This was supported by two separate studies:

After the failure of U.S. Wireless, the RPI team searched for an alternate technical solution. 

The following observations are made with respect to technology selection:

3.3 A Search for an Alternate Technical Solution 

With the loss of U.S. Wireless, a search began for a new technology.  Work continued on the requirements for the in-vehicle portion. During 2003, the project team conducted extensive research into available and emerging technologies. Work being started by AirSage showed promise as a passive sensing system, but was later dismissed due to cost.

One meeting was also held with managers of the OnStar system at General Motors to brief them on the project and its goals. This meeting did encourage the team to see how well the project fit with General Motors’ view of the future of vehicle technologies.

3.3.1 Selection of ALK Technology

During a presentation on Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) systems, the team became aware of on-going work with ALK Technologies. An academic relationship already existed between the project’s principal investigator, Professor George List and Professor Alain Kornhauser of Princeton University, who is also the founder of ALK. Direct communications with ALK began in late 2003. These meetings with ALK resulted in an agreement to proceed in modification of their existing CoPilot product to meet the goals of this ATIS project. The onboard device would be a pocket PC with a wireless connection to the Internet to transmit data and receive updated travel information. This system would not require any new fixed infrastructure, 

4.0 Key Findings on the Contracting Process  

4.1 Background on TIRC Contracting Process/Mechanism 

NYSDOT used an umbrella contract mechanism with TIRC (administered by Cornell University) to engage universities to conduct research projects.  In order to create the ATIS project, TIRC sent out request for proposals in July 2, 2001, which resulted in a fully executed ATIS contract on April 1, 2003.

Several project extensions were granted by TIRC and NYSDOT during the course of the project. In October 2004, a revision to the contract was submitted to TIRC that included, among other things, an extension of the project beyond the expiration date of April 2005. The TIRC umbrella contract with NYSDOT was also expiring in August 2005, which meant the ATIS project could not be extended beyond that date. The extension to the ATIS project scope was not completed until October 2005. During the period from April 2005 until October 2005, no bills could be processed by Cornell for the project team or its subcontractors. A lesson to be learned from this experience is that NYSDOT and TIRC should initiate and complete umbrella contract renewals quickly to accommodate ongoing research projects. [4]

4.2 Contracting Process for the Project

The project team and NYSDOT have reported that the contracting process used for this research was too slow, and caused significant delays in the schedule and frustrations to the team.

4.3 Impact on the Project Schedule

The RFP called for a project duration of 16 months (excluding Task 10, the regional deployment, which was unfunded). The project reviews show that the slow pace of contract processing and changes in scope contributed to delays in the schedule. For example:

4.4 Administrative Hurdles

The administrative hurdles at various levels, including at RPI, Cornell University and NYSDOT contract management contributed to delays that could have been avoided with better administrative support.  The following observations are made to support this effect:

4.5 Frustrations to the Team

Contract processing delays not only hurt the project schedule, but they also cause frustration among the team members. It is difficult to hold keep any project team together and long delays force allocation of resources to other projects that are chargeable.

4.6 Learning to Deal with Rapidly Evolving Technology 

The evaluation team has identified the following two dominant themes:

  1. Prepare contract mechanics to deal with a sudden change needed to respond to new situation on hand.

    2. Technology is evolving so quickly, normal contract mechanics and technology evolution follow different time lines. Wireless technology in particular has gone through a rapid cycle of standards, services and products, and abilities of business entities to survive in the competitive environment.

    ALK, a vendor who is part of the ATIS industry, has a strong view on the rapid changes in the cell phone industry making an affordable portable navigation and travel information device a reality. ALK has adopted this development in its business model and created a marketing focus at the company. ALK believes that cell phones capabilities (memory, video, GPS etc.) have altered the landscape of the “industry”.

  2. Remain flexible in decision-making.

    3. In this case RPI and NYSDOT Project Managers had to remain flexible in dealing with the ongoing issues and their resolutions (such is the nature of a research project).

    NYSDOT emphasized that the project initially was not correctly set up at the local level and the current project manager did the best he could. (He became a project manager by default, when the previous project manager retired.) There was a realization that both project management skills and the familiarity with the internal organizational mechanics at NYSDOT are essential requirements for effective management of projects dealing with emerging technology.  

    NYSDOT further stated that ALK has shown a great deal of flexibility in product development and technical management.

5.0 Key Findings on the Project Team Partnering Process

5.1 Challenges in Partnering

The assembling of an appropriate team to conduct research is central to a successful outcome. RPI had realized that a project of this scope demanded multiple partners and looked beyond a single unit to strengthen their proposal.  RPI also realized that trust among partners was an essential ingredient in development of the team. Relationships existed among the TIRC members and RPI was able to draw upon those relationships and bring the appropriate members and their strengths into the project team. However, finding commercial partners was a greater challenge.

The challenge was to find companies that had a research focus matching the objectives of this project. Most companies are not willing to compromise on their intellectual property and they are not willing to advertise the fact that a technology being tested does not work. A marketing-oriented business model that sells products and generates revenues doesn’t allow for research and partnering without adequate returns.  This eliminates large number of potential partners. For example, MapInfo, a company located in the Rensselaer Technology Park, was a logical choice for partnering, but this project did not fall within their research interests.

5.2 Project Partners

The project partners in the ATIS were as follows: 

6.0 Key Findings on Project Management 

6.1 General

To ensure the successful outcome of this research project, the project team made a concerted effort to exercise a great deal of flexibility during the organization of the experiment (Task-6), selection and acquisition of the component technologies and implementation (Task-7), and conduct of the experiment (Task-8).  

6.2 Project Coordination

A project of this size and one involving so many players depends heavily on effective management, on coordination, and on communication.  Keeping all members informed about progress and status of the overall project would be very important.  Furthermore, taking advantage of everybody’s experience and inputs across subtasks would be an excellent mechanism by which to keep everybody involved and feeling like true stakeholders. These mechanisms will also heighten everybody’s sense of responsibility for the successful conduct and timely completion of such a major project. The project would greatly benefit from these inputs and interactions.

This project and its schedule were seriously affected by the dependence on an outside vendor for software development. These delays were inevitable when a change in the principle source of data was no longer a viable option.  Just over two years from signed contract to field test on a never before seen technology could be considered a reasonable development platform for a complex system,

This project has shown that for a successful outcome, good project management, coordination and, above all, communication are the essential ingredients for succeeding in a large research project with a number of subcontractors.

7.0 Key Findings on the ATIS Business Case 

NYSDOT, private sector partners, and research team members believe that the project has created a better understanding of the wireless infrastructure requirements and for the business case for ATIS like this.

This project has made NYSDOT realize that the emerging wireless infrastructure developed by the private sector offers a mechanism to deploy ATIS, and the agency need not be engaged in such infrastructure development itself.  There was a strong feeling that the State should not in any way compete with the private sector, but rather should partner with them to develop such services. The thrust behind this conclusion is that the State’s mindset of infrastructure ownership is changing. 

The following observations were made by NYSDOT:

8.0 Key Findings on Project Expectations 

The goal of this ITS research project was “to use wireless technologies in highway transportation to provide real-time information to drivers in support of their decision-making.” This goal had the following specific objectives:

  1. To assist drivers in making better travel decisions by altering their route based on real-time information of highway travel times.
  2. To understand how the private sector can create the infrastructure that NYSDOT needs to provide traveler information.
  3. To enable the field testing of ITS products and customers’ acceptance.
  4. To assist USDOT in demonstrating the driver mobility benefits of ITS integration, architecture, and standards.

These technical objectives were successfully accomplished by this research project. 

On the institutional side, however, some NYSDOT’s managerial staff felt that this ATIS project was competing with more “important” projects.  Thus, although the technical aspects of this ATIS project were successfully executed, the impact that this project will have on NYSDOT’s ITS program depends on the agency’s priorities and the contextual content of its mission.

From its inception, NYSDOT, like many other state DOTs, has operated within the traditional technology of civil engineering: structures, materials, geotechnical engineering, and project management. However, with ITS, the world of DOTs is changing to include electronics, sensors, information systems, and communications. Advancing the integration of ITS technologies into an existing transportation systems to achieve greater efficiencies and to provide real-time information to travelers system-wide, will require new arrangements with the private sector

As shown by this project, the private sector would like to develop ATIS services (i.e., real-time traveler information) based on the emerging GPS-based wireless solutions, integrated with cellular phones. The private sector asks: “How do we sell this technology to provide for the ATIS needs in New York State?” The answer will have to wait. At this time NYSDOT has no plans to extend the findings of this project to other parts of the Capital Region. 


9.0 References

  1. ATIS Implementation and Integration-Project Work scope, RFP Z-01-02, Transportation and Research Consortium, NYSDOT, August 14, 2002
  2. ITS Evaluation Guidelines-TEA-21 Evaluation Guidelines, USDOT
  3. RPI project team task reports, 2005-2006.
  4. TIRC Administration, Cornell University, Internal Memo to Evaluation  Team, October 2006.
  5. Persons Contacted by the Evaluation Team:
    1. Manny Insignares, ConSysTech, Region-1 ITS Architecture Team Member
    2. Dr. Alain L. Kornhauser, ALK Technologies, Inc., President
    3. Prof. George F. List, RPI (formerly RPI Team Manager, currently at North Carolina State University)
    4. Dr. Earl E. Lee, RPI Project Manager
    5. Brian Menyuk, NYSDOT Project Manager
    6. Dr. John R. Mbwana, Cornell University
    7. Dr. Armin H. Meyburg, Cornell University
    8. Mike Schauer, ITS Specialist, FHWA New York Division Office
    9. Prof. William A.  Wallace, RPI, Program Manager