U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology
Exploratory Advanced Research Program
"Highway transportation researchers are collecting and analyzing an increasing amount of video data. While the research community is fortunate to be able to collect more and better data, the amount of data has the potential to overwhelm the capacity to assess the data using current methods. FHWA’s Exploratory Advanced Research Program working with the Office of Safety R&D is exploring breakthroughs in machine learning for automating extraction of safety data from video files to dramatically reduce the costs of using these data, making them accessible to the widest possible pool of researchers." [more]
A recent summary report from the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program provides an overview of research into the potential of a hypothetical driverless vehicle to improve access to and use of an available rapid-transit rail service. Investigators for the EAR-Program–sponsored project examined whether the use of rapid transit might be increased by implementing an automated high-frequency community shuttle service to the transit station and improving urban design near the stations to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists. [More]
"Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC): Investigation of Key Human Factors Issues" is an Exploratory Advanced Research Program project designed to investigate CACC as a way to address congestion and safety issues on today’s highway system [More]
FHWA plans to issue a Broad Agency Announcement (DTFH61-16-R-00036) for the Exploratory Advanced Research Program to conduct research that addresses (1) Computation Methods for Analysis of Mobile Device Data, (2) Behavioral Science and Experimental Economics Approaches for Transportation, and (3) New Methods in Simulation with proposals due by October 14, 2016. [More information is located at https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=
1e0c1bbde5c88669a3902a10544aee3a&tab=
core&_cview=0]
The Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC) conducts research across a wide range of topics and disciplines. To supplement the expertise of the permanent staff, it is important to bring in researchers with the appropriate backgrounds to investigate specific problems at short-term basis. Through the Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) Program, FHWA utilizes the Resident Associates (or Postdoctoral Fellows) program of the National Research Council (NRC) for this purpose. The NRC provides a process for selecting candidates on a competitive merit basis and subsequently for administration of the Resident Fellows during their tenures at FHWA. [More]
