CMU joins Smart Belt Coalition

by Sherry Stokes

Carnegie Mellon University joins “Smart Belt Coalition” (SBC), a multi-state partnership formed to allow transportation agencies, academic institutions and others to work together on connected and automated vehicle initiatives.

Carnegie Mellon University is announcing their participation in the “Smart Belt Coalition” (SBC), a multi-state partnership formed to allow transportation agencies, academic institutions and others to work together on connected and automated vehicle initiatives.

The SBC was formed to:

  • Establish a high-profile, high-impact, and long-distance network of transportation innovations in connected automation.
  • Support testing and deployment of various applications of connected and automated vehicles.
  • Operate connected and automated applications on varying terrain during all weather conditions.
  • Validate innovations across a diversity of urban and rural roadways.
  • Share data for research and future deployment of technologies.
  • Provide a forum for key transportation decision-makers.
  • Seek joint funding opportunities for large-scale transportation research and implementation projects.

The SBC membership is comprised of the following transportation agencies and universities:

Michigan
 Michigan Department of Transportation, University of Michigan, American Center for Mobility, Kettering University

Ohio
Ohio Department of Transportation, Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission, Ohio State University, Transportation Research Center

Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Carnegie Mellon University

The SBC has met several times in 2016, and will officially formalize their partnership through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in the coming months. Currently the coalition is preparing a strategic plan, which focuses on connected and automated applications in work zones, traffic incident management and commercial freight.

Activities of the coalition will support expanded research, development and deployment for Carnegie Mellon’s Metro21, the university’s smart and connected city initiative; Traffic21 Institute; and two U.S. Department of Transportation University Transportation Centers—Technologies for Safe and Efficient Transportation (T-SET) and Mobility21. These interdisciplinary initiatives at Carnegie Mellon led by Electrical and Computing Engineering Professor Raj Rajkumar include faculty and students from the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy, School of Computer Science, School of Design, Tepper School of Business, Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences along with the College of Engineering.