Award Data

Current access to and analysis of the Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) dataset requires significant time and technical skill. Data analysis tools are often general-purpose, designed to support the analysis of any dataset, and do not easily support the types of questions many transportation and safety engineers ask of the FARS data. Visualizations can help users understand relationships betwe ...

In Phase II, ZKxKZ designed, developed and demonstrated an approach for fabrication and rapid installation of low cost modular mini-roundabouts made from recycled plastic boards. Phase II culminated in the installation of one full modular mini-roundabout in both Georgia and Virginia. In addition, 3 modular mini-roundabouts were commercially sold and installed in Canada prior to the SBIR funded sit ...

Knowledge Based Systems, Inc. (KBSI) is pleased to propose the further design and development of MySidewalk mobile application facilitating the crowd-sourced collection of sidewalk inventory and condition data. The MySidewalk application utilizes advances in social networks and data mining to provide integrated sidewalk datasets. Phase I and II research was facilitated by inputs from City of Colle ...

An optical, non-contact roof deformation monitoring system will be designed based on an existing multi-point, non-contact, multi-axis optical sensor-based measurement system that is currently used to measure chest deflection in crash-test dummies. The research involves determining suitable components to be used in the optical path, from high-power LED arrays through lenses and optical sensors. T ...

More that 52% of the U.S. highway congestion in urban areas is a direct result of highway incidents. Federal and State transportation authorities are searching for quick, low-cost and efficient highway incident detection and warning systems. Several solutions have been proposed but none could meet the requirements of transportation authorities. Central Signal, funded by federal agencies, has done ...

Detection, classification, and characterization are the key to enhancing motorcycle safety, operations and travel estimation. Motorcycle fatalities are currently estimated at 30 times those of auto fatalities per Vehicle Mile Traveled (VMT). Although it has been an active research area for many years, motorcycle detection and classification still remains as a challenging task. The goal of Phase I ...

This project addresses the specific need for an improved method for cleaning insulators that electrically isolate the third rail. Current methods are labor intensive and expensive, but the insulators should be cleaned regularly to avoid even greater expense. This project is to adapt an innovative photolytic paint stripper to cleaning insulators for the third rail. The overall objective is to de ...

The FRA has identified cab car end door kick panels as possible emergency egress panels. They could be used in circumstances where the convential emergency exits are unusable. The industry has operational and maintenance concerns. The objectives of this SBIR are to define the requirements for end door emergency egress panels and identify alternative design approaches and assess their effectiven ...

Railroad freight car safety and maintenance cost is directly related to knowledge of the actual braking force provided by a brake shoe. If the brake force is too low, safety is at risk. If the brake shoe is replaced before the end of it's lifetime to ensure safety, maintenance and thus operating costs are increased. Currently there is no system in place to monitor brake shoe force during train ...

The TEXAS Model for Intersection Traffic is a high-quality single-intersection microscopic traffic simulation model developed at The University of Texas at Austin. It analyzes in sub microscopic detail the behavior of driver-vehicle units as they go through an intersection and intermix with other traffic flows. It has detailed intersection geometry, path following, microscopic car following, lan ...