WSRTTIF Update - December 10th, 2014

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UPDATE: Wednesday, December 10th, 2014

Save the Date! The 10th annual Western States Rural Transportation Technology Implementers Forum is scheduled for June 16-18, 2015, in Yreka, California. We are seeking presentations and live demonstrations on actual rural ITS projects and applications. Check out the recently released Call for Abstracts for more information. If you have a project implemented or improved because of participation in a past Forum, we would particularly encourage you to submit an abstract about the project for this year’s Forum.

Participants at the 2013 Forum listen to a technical presentation.

Photo by Doug Galarus

The Forum presentations and demonstrations are very technical, detailed reviews of how ITS projects work, or didn’t work. A wide variety of topics related to ITS design and engineering in rural areas can be discussed, 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)
At the 2014 Forum, Sean Campbell, Caltrans Division of Research, Innovation and System Information (DRISI), presented the CWWP2 system and how Caltrans’ traveler information data is being shared with third party developers. Here he answers questions from Oregon DOT’s Doug Spencer about CMS data flow.

Photo by Doug Galarus

 At the 2014 Forum, Keith Calais demonstrates the Remote Operating Asset Management (ROAM) system used in WSDOT’s adaptive lighting project.

Photo by Doug Galarus
At past Forums, Caltrans District 2 has presented different aspects of the private point-to-point microwave system they have developed. At the 2014 Forum, ITS Engineer Jeremiah Pearce brought everything together by presenting the development and evolution of the overall microwave system. Here he shows a map with some of the ITS sites discussed in the presentation.

Photo by Doug Galarus

 At the 2013 Forum, Doug Galarus shows some weather data as he explains the challenges associated with determining quality and correct data provided from external sources and his team’s approach to data quality control.

Photo by Jeff Worthington

The topics presented at previous Forums have been very diverse with speakers coming from multiple state DOTs, universities, and other transportation related offices. Here is a brief list of previous Forum presentations to give you a better understanding of the content discussed at the Forum:

One of the more unique aspects of the Forum is that questions and discussion are encouraged throughout the presentation, not just at the end. Here, Ian Turnbull provides more information and answers a question during Jeremiah’s presentation. (2014)

Photo by Doug Galarus
Questions and dialogue during technical presentations are a unique and important aspect of the Western States Forum. Here, Travis Swanston, a Software Engineer from the Advanced Highway Maintenance & Construction Technology Research Center at UC-Davis, asks Lynne Randolph a question about her experiences using Bluetooth technology for calculating travel times. (2012)

Photo by Leann Koon

 Having equipment on display for demonstration during networking sessions and presentations is an asset to the Forum and its participants. These pictures show the various equipment on display at the 2014 Forum including an LED light fixture (WSDOT), a Model 2070 controller (Caltrans HQ), and a variety of systems and field elements from Caltrans District 2.

Photos 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 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 2015 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 submitting an abstract is Friday, January 23, 2015.

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