The ITS Program recognizes that technology evolves rapidly and that the community is filled with new, creative ideas for approaches to connectivity, safety, mobility, and environmental mitigation. While the programs of research described in this document will lead to solid benefits, these are not the only areas of research with potential. The ITS Exploratory Research program is intended to provide an avenue to solicit creative ideas for new technology options that are deserving of further attention and that further the ITS Strategic Research Plan goals for the next five years.

At this point in time, one activity has been defined under the Exploratory Research element of the ITS Program:

The Connected Vehicle Technology Challenge is soliciting short descriptions of novel, implementable ideas for products or approaches that utilize Dedicated Short-Range Communication to offer benefits to travelers or society at large.  The six best submissions will be awarded a trip to the premier global conference on advanced transportation technology, the 2011 Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) World Congress, to be held in Orlando in October 2011.  Awardees will be the guests of honor at a special session of the ITS World Congress.  In the session, they will present their winning idea to an audience of ITS experts, business professionals, and potential investors in the development of their concepts.

• Connected Vehicle Insights: Fourth Generation Wireless - Vehicle and Highway Gateways to the Cloud [PDF 607KB]
• Announcement on Secretary LaHood’s blog
• Press release
• Official Challenge site