The purpose of this project was to develop and demonstrate a requirements-based prototype capability whereby a commercial motor vehicle is able to reliably transmit onboard information on the driver, vehicle status, and load directly to a static roadside device (reader) via the use of off-the-shelf 802.11 wireless technology.  A needs assessment workshop was conducted with enforcement and transportation agency personnel to identify the types of data that would need to be communicated to roadside to allow for screening of vehicle and/or driver.  Upon completion of the software and communications elements, a demonstration was conducted at Volvo NA's HQ in Greensboro, NC to show ability to communicate between an en-route commercial motor vehicle and a moving, or mobile, enforcement asset (patrol vehicle).

Partners: I-95 Corridor Coalition, North Carolina State Highway Patrol (NCHSP), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Highway Safety Research Center (HSRC), Volvo Trucks of North America, Inc. (VTNA),Volvo Technology America, Inc. (VTA), Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA).

Procurement Agency: North Carolina DOT
Project Contact:  Marygrace Parker
Freight, Mobility, Safety & Security Coordinator
I-95 Corridor Coalition
Phone: (518) 852-4083
E-mail: i95mgp@ttlc.net

One objective of this project was to develop hardware and software that could relay information regarding a driver’s identity to a fixed weigh station, while the vehicle remained in motion. We also wanted to examine what factors pertaining to the vehicle’s operating condition could be reported through this same transfer of data. The submission was to be sent wirelessly over an off-the-shelf 802.11 application.

Additional objectives involved the development of the system that would transmit the desired information, and hosting stakeholder meetings to gather input from those groups that remain interested in promoting the concept of wireless inspections of commercial motor vehicles.

Our final objective was the demonstration of a successful transmission of real time and accurate data regarding a test vehicle, based upon the parameters that would be identified by the various stakeholders.

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Our first step was to host a stakeholders workshop, to gather information from enforcement, research, and industry representatives, to learn about what information was the most important to capture as a truck passes by a weigh station. The workshop was hosted in February 2006 in Greensboro NC, by our project partners with Volvo Trucks of North America. Having learned what items were the most urgent to capture through this study, software developers with Volvo then went to work to develop a data system capable of submitting the required information while the test vehicle traveled by a simulated station at highway speeds. The study was designed to offer a demonstration of the newly developed software at a second workshop before the project’s end date of March 2007.

A formal evaluation of the project has been completed by Dr. Ron Hughes, of NC State University’s “Institute for Transportation Research and Education,” (ITRE). A copy of the evaluation was accompanied by a 5-minute DVD video that summarizes that project.

The most difficult challenge of this project was the fact that there are so many stakeholders interested in promoting wireless truck inspections, it was difficult to bring them together. The project did succeed in bringing this diverse group of researchers, sworn law enforcement officers, truckers, engineers, and software designers together. This initiative also succeeded in taking a first step towards the ultimate goal of making wireless truck inspections a reality throughout the Interstate 95 Corridor.

$ 144,000.00 Total project costs.
$ 72,000.00 in Coalition funds.

Volvo Trucks of North America and Volvo Technology America provided a total in-kind match of $36,000. The majority of this match consisted of internal staff time devoted to software development and other engineering activities, and equipment procurement.

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol provided an additional $36,000 in matching funds. These funds originated from the Highway Patrol’s Asset Forfeiture Fund. The Highway Patrol’s cost share was devoted to contractual services provided by HSRC, CVSA, and the engineers at Volvo.