Hyperloop Becomes Closer To Reality In Colorado

DENVER (CBS4)– Colorado is well positioned to be a leader in the hyperloop revolution.

(Reposted from: http://denver.cbslocal.com/2017/09/14/hyperloop-travel-cdot/)

On Thursday, the leading company Hyperloop One announced 10 international finalists, with five in the U.S.

The route from Cheyenne, Wyo. to Denver with travel to Pueblo was picked as a finalist and immediately the Colorado Department of Transportation, AECOM, and Hyperloop one entered into a public-private partnership.

“It’s kind of a right place, right time, right tech. we are just trying to say Colorado is open for business for these innovative companies,” said CDOT Executive Director Shailen Bhatt.

CDOT Executive Director Shailen Bhatt (credit: CBS)

CDOT says it’s starting a feasibility study to see how this concept can become a reality.

“The question is, ‘Can I build it in a way, so that it pays, or it gets paid for’ and I think that’s the unknown,” Bhatt said. “I would say it’s realistic from a technology perspective, what I don’t know yet is if it’s financially feasible.”

The feasibility study could cost up to $1 million and could take years. CDOT regularly spends millions of dollars each year studying transportation projects throughout Colorado.

“What we want to look at is, what is feasible, what is constructible, where can we get access to land, and that’s where we’ll start. We’re talking about a study that probably leads to a segment that leads to a much bigger network,” Bhatt said.

The Eastern Plains of Colorado could be perfect for the first Hyperloop because it’s relatively flat and the land between Denver International Airport and Greeley is cheaper than other metropolitan areas.

The technology is an issue Hyperloop One is dealing with. It’s proposing pods that would magnetically levitate off of the track. Air is sucked out of the travel tube to allow the pods to reach speeds near 700 mph without drag or disruption. But a recent test at a quarter-mile facility near Las Vegas reached only 70 mph.

While the technology may take years, Bhatt admits the governmental studies and procedures could take just as long.

“Here comes a new mode of transportation potentially if not us then who would look at it,” Bhatt said. “Just so many different applications and again we’re so early in this but shame on us if we’re not part of that conversation and we wait for someone else to take the lead. “

Jeff Todd joined the CBS4 team in 2011 covering the Western Slope in the Mountain Newsroom. Since 2015 he’s been working across the Front Range in the Denver Headquarters. Follow him on Twitter @CBS4Jeff.

ATPIO and TRG Webinar: The Kumbh Mela Experiment

ATPIO and TRG jointly hosted a webinar on “The Kumbh Mela Experiment (KME): Measuring and Understanding the dynamics of mankind’s largest crowd – Experiences from Kumbh Mela 2016 in Ujjain” on 22nd August, 2017; 9:00 AM IST (11:30 PM ET 21st Aug).

Recorded Webinar Link: https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/p2mbuts3towf/

Abstract:

The Kumbh Mela Experiment (http://www.the-kumbh-mela-experiment.com/) is an ongoing Indo-Dutch collaborative research project funded jointly by Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY), Govt. of India and Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), Netherlands. The aim of the project is to use big data and Internet of Things (IOT) for understanding crowd dynamics in mass gatherings and develop crowd management solution particularly focusing on crowd risk. The project aims to deliver the core components of an entire crowd management solution, all the way from designing and building personnel devices for tracking movement (or more precisely human-to-human interaction) to developing advanced computational models to help predict how the crowd may evolve.
As name clearly suggests, the data collection was done during the recently held Kumbh Mela (Simhasth-2016) in Ujjain, M.P., India during 22nd April to 21st May 2016. This presentation on KME will explain the scientific aspects of the project and initial results of various experiments done/ongoing under the project.

About the Speaker, Dr. Ashish Verma:

Dr. Ashish Verma is a Ph.D. from IIT Bombay and currently serving as Associate Professor of Transportation Engg. at Dept. of Civil Engg., Centre for infrastructure, Sustainable Transportation, and Urban Planning (CiSTUP), and Robert Bosch Centre for Cyber Physical Systems (RBCCPS) at Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, India. Further, he was a Visiting Professor at ITMO University, Saint Petersberg, Russia during 2016. He has authored more than 100 research publications in the area of sustainable transportation and road safety.
He is the Founding and Current President of Transportation Research Group of India (TRG). He is presently serving as Country Representative from India, Vice Chair (Conference) of Scientific Committee, and Steering Committee Member of World Conference on Transport Research Society (WCTRS) based in University of Leeds, UK.

TRB Applying Census Data for Transportation: 50 Years of Transportation Planning Data Progress: Call for Abstracts Due May 25th

Dear Colleague,

It is a pleasure to invite you to the “Applying Census Data for Transportation: 50 years of Transportation Planning Data Progress Conference”. The conference is organized by The Transportation Research Board, and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Census Transportation Planning Products (CTPP) program and will take place in Kansas City, MO on November 14-16, 2017.

The conference will focus on the use of census data for transportation applications by exploring the results of current research, sharing experiences of practitioners who are using census data, and defining potential strategies for practical improvements in data use for current and emerging data needs.

Call for Abstracts:

Please submit your abstracts electronically at https://s.zoomerang.com/r/Censustrans and limit your abstract to no more than 400 words by May 25, 2017.

Final enhanced abstracts for publication in the conference proceedings will be due by October 15, 2017. Enhanced abstracts may be up to 1,200 words or two pages. Complete papers may also be submitted.

All submitters will be notified via email by June 26, 2017. Authors whose abstracts are accepted will be asked to confirm their conference registration and attendance by July 18, 2017.

Direct all questions to Mai Le at 202-334-2827 or mqle@nas.edu.

Student Paper Competition:

Papers should be NO longer than 7,500 words including the abstract, text, references, figures, and tables. Each table, figure, or photograph counts as 250 words. Papers should conform to generally accepted guidelines for academic quality papers. TRB criteria may be used (http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/am/2017/PreparingPapersforPublicationTRR.pdf)

A paper or written description must accompany any submissions that are media oriented.

Completed submissions are due to Ms. Mai Le of TRB at MQLe@nas.edu by midnight onAugust 1, 2017. Accompanying the submission should be an electronic pdf file of a letter signed by both a faculty advisor and the entrant attesting that the paper satisfies the eligibility conditions. Authors will be notified of their status via email by September 1, 2017.

Direct all questions to Ed Christopher, Conference Chair at edc@berwyned.com.

Please register now if you would like to participate in the conference. An Early Bird registration will be due on September 13, 2017.

Best Regards,
Transportation Research Board

PIARC gathers international experts on Disaster Management in Japan

The World Road Association (PIARC)’s Technical Committee E.3 “Disaster Management” with PIARC’s National Committee of Japan, in cooperation with the Japan Road Association and other partner organizations such as the Road Engineering Association of Asia and Australasia (REAAA), organize an International Workshop on “Disaster Management for Roads” in Tokyo (Japan), next 31st May 2017.

The main objective of the workshop is to provide a common platform for experts to share experiences and discuss issues and challenges related to disaster management for roads.

It will gather national and international representatives of public and private organizations and will foster dialog and exchange of knowledge, ideas and experiences related to disaster management for roads. It will feature disaster management experts as keynote presenters.

In conjunction with this workshop, PIARC’s Technical Committee E.3 will hold its third meeting in Tokyo on May 29-31, 2017.

These events should prove insightful and they confirm the standing of Japan as a very active member of the World Road Association.

Webinar: A Case Study from Maricopa County Connected Vehicle Test Bed

A Case Study from Maricopa County Connected Vehicle Test Bed: How have Traffic Signal Systems Transitioned to Connected Vehicle Enabled Systems?

Webinar on APRIL 20, 2017 (Thursday) at 1:00 PM (US Eastern Daylight Savings Time)

Webinar link: https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/atpio/

Registration: Please register for the webinar by sending email to atpio.secretary@gmail.com, with the subject line: “Webinar April 2017 Registration”

Abstract:

The foundation of rapidly advancing connected vehicle technology was the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocation of 75 MHz of spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band to be used by intelligent transportation systems (ITS). The primary purpose of this allocation is to drastically reduce crashes and improve road safety through the Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communications and applications. USDOT is leading the connected vehicle program and the program has advanced to pilot deployment stages. The three pilot deployment sites – New York, Tampa and Wyoming are in the deployment process. The national test beds including the Maricopa County test bed in Anthem, Arizona developed through the MCDOT SMARTDrive ProgramSM and in partnership with Arizona State DOT and University of Arizona continue to facilitate the development, testing and implementation of technology and applications with emphasis on traffic signals.

The presentation will provide overview of the connected vehicle technology and will focus on the deployment of MCDOT SMARTDrive test bed and applications in Maricopa County, Arizona.

About the Speaker, Faisal Saleem:

Faisal Saleem is the Intelligent Transportation Systems Branch Manager for Maricopa County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) in Arizona. He is responsible for the overall supervision and management of MCDOT and AZTech ITS Projects, REACT Incident Management Program and MCDOT Traffic Management Center. He is the Chairperson of the AZTech Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) Working Group. Saleem also serves as the MCDOT SMARTDrive Program Manager and is the Chair of Deployment Guidance Technical Working Group of the National Vehicle -to– Infrastructure Deployment Coalition.

Saleem has a Bachelor and Masters Degree in Civil Engineering and is a graduate of University of Maryland Operations Academy Senior Management Program. He is the former President of Intelligent Transportation Society of Arizona (ITSA) and founder President of Indian Engineers Forum in the Middle East.