Transportation Technology Research

• Future Mobility Research Branch
• Transportation System Management and Operations Research (TSMO) Branch
• Rural ITS and Special Projects Branch
• Connected & Automated Vehicles (CAV) Research Branch
• Multimodal Transportation & ITS Research Branch

Future Mobility Research Branch

FMR Branch and in-house expertise supports three programs:

Design Program:

• Focuses on Roadway Design, BIM4I, VDC, CIM, EVCS, and Landscape Architecture, including district initiatives.
• Conducts research in design, safety, project delivery, roadside management, landscape, erosion control, hydraulics modeling, and stormwater management.

Traffic Operations Program:

• DRISI Lab: Advances connected transportation research, focusing on autonomous vehicles, real-time data processing, and data-driven decision-making.
  • Supports V2X technology development and deployment.
  • Optimizes transportation systems through data analysis and cloud-based solutions.
  • Coordinates interaction with FHWA on PCB Resources (Trainings, Tools, Tech support, Saxton Lab).
  • Facilitates collaborations with FHWA on Standards, regulatory interpretation, and policy guidance/Resources on V2X deployments/CA Testbeds.
    
    
• GoMentum Station Testbed: Manages the 2,100-acre secure testing facility for connected and automated vehicle research.
  • Conducts projects on WZDx using smart cameras.
  • Evaluates AI capabilities to enhance intersection safety and performance.
  • Implements MMITSS to improve traffic flow and prioritize multi-modal transportation.
    
    
• UC Berkeley Future Mobility Research Center (FMRC): Committed to research enhancing safety, sustainability, efficiency, information, and reliability in transportation using ITS and Connected vehicle technologies. Key deliverables include:
  • Safety & Equity: Highway geometry extraction, automated safety data collection, AI-based calculation -TMI & VRU, work zone data exchange, and safety impact testing.
  • Sustainability & Efficiency: Eco-driving demonstration, energy savings simulation, VMT/energy/emissions evaluation, climate action project prioritization, and heavy-duty truck fueling infrastructure assessment.
  • Information & Reliability: ECR and DTI research roadmaps, ECR data dashboard, cloud-based connectivity exploration, digital infrastructure data standardization and exchange.
  • Transformative Transportation Solutions: Annual reporting on transformative solutions.
  • Workshops & Partnership Building: Collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Safety Program:

• Supports the Division of Safety Programs (DOSP) by providing data-driven insights for safety planning and decision-making.
  
  
• Analyzes crash data and safety metrics to evaluate existing measures, identify emerging trends, and prioritize projects.
  
  
• Informs key plans such as the SHSP and SHSMP.
  
  
• Collaborates with DOSP to assess program outcomes and align with the Safe System Approach and the goal of zero fatalities and serious injuries by 2050.

Transportation System Management and Operations Research Branch

Our primary responsibilities include facilitating research contracts in the corridor management, connected vehicle, freeway operations, and traffic incident management areas. Some of the secondary duties performed under this branch are: implementing innovative solutions to transportation challenges, evaluating new technologies, participating in various technology forums, and performing technical analysis of various legislative bills.

• Corridor Management Research Program
  Assist in the evaluation, development, demonstration, and deployment of new technologies and products in Transportation research. Through the Corridor Management Research Program, we solve traffic safety and mobility problems through the development and deployment of aggressive and proactive integration and management of major transportation corridors.

• Connected Vehicle Research Program
  Evaluate, develop, deploy, and demonstrate test-beds and applications for connected vehicle technology. The connected vehicle program is focused on solving traffic safety and mobility problems through developing connected vehicle applications for infrastructure, vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists.

• Freeway Operations Research
  Assist in the evaluation, development, demonstration, and deployment of new Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technologies and products for freeway operations research. The Freeway Operations Research program is focused on safely and efficiently solving freeway traffic mobility problems through the development and deployment of innovative and proactive management tools that can be used on daily freeway operations.

• Vehicle Detection Systems Validation and Diagnosis
  Validate and diagnose various existing and newly installed vehicle detection systems, which are often used for transportation management and traffic control

Rural ITS and Special Projects Research Branch

Responsibilities include managing in-house and external rural research projects, as well as providing technical support to Caltrans rural districts.

• ITS Special Projects
  Provides in house expertise and solutions for ITS challenges throughout the state.
  
  
• Rural Program Steering Committee
  Provides technical leadership by structuring a research agenda and selecting research projects within the rural program area that most effectively supports Caltrans' mission, vision and goals.
  
  
• Western States Rural Transportation Consortium Coordination
  Facilitates and enhances safe, seamless travel throughout the western United States by promoting innovative partnerships, technologies and educational activities. Provides a collaborative mechanism to leverage research activities in a coordinated manner to respond to rural transportation issues among western states related to technology, operations and safety. Western States Rural Transportation webpage.
  
  
• Western States Rural Transportation Technology Implementers Forum Coordination

  Sharing technical information on best practices and field deployment experience using Intelligent Transportation Systems in rural environments. Western States Forum webpage.
  

• Department Traveler Information Data Deployment
  Coordinates and maintains traveler information data website for Caltrans known as the Commercial Wholesale Website Portal Version 2 CWWP2. Current, real time data sets include CCTV images, Changeable Message Signs message data, Lane Closure System data, Roadside Weather Information Systems data and Chain Control data.

Connected & Automated Vehicles Research Branch

Responsibilities include developing, upgrading, maintaining and operating the Connected Vehicle (CV) Test-Bed located in Palo Alto, California. Additional responsibilities include developing enabling technologies and applications for successful CV implementation.

• Strategic Research Program Management
  Identification of transformational opportunities and emerging technologies that, when integrated into vehicles and the transportation infrastructure, will lead to improvements in safety and system performance as well as greenhouse emissions reductions.

• Connected & Automated Vehicle Technology Outreach
  Building awareness, create partnerships and facilitate the adoption of CV technologies that are under development.

Multimodal Transportation & ITS Research Branch

Responsibilities include managing research projects that engages with universities, other state and federal agencies, regional and local governments, and private industry, evaluating new technologies, and deploying multimodal transportation and ITS research. The multimodal transportation research are focused on, but not limited to, the subjects of intermodal connectivity, bus transit, passenger rail transportation, and aeronautics, relating to solving passenger transportation problems that affect the safety, accessibility, equity, convenience, user friendliness, and affordability of the State's public transportation systems. The Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) research projects are related to traffic detection technology evaluation and development, innovations in traffic signal operations strategies, machine vision-based traffic incidents detection, and wrong-way driving mitigation strategies.

• Intermodal Connectivity
  Assist in the evaluation, development, demonstration, and deployment of new technologies and products to improve interconnectivity for the State's public transportation systems.
  
  

• Bus Transit Research Program
  Assist in the evaluation, development, demonstration, and deployment of new technologies and products for Bus Transit Research. Working closely with our partners, we facilitate the sharing of knowledge and innovation in effort to increase the speed, efficiency, equity, safety and reliability of high-capacity bus service throughout California.

• Rail Research Program
  Assist and evaluate research and other technical activities in a variety of rail subject areas, including: design, construction, maintenance, operations, safety, security, policy, planning, human resources, and administration.

• Aeronautics Research Program
  Assist and evaluate research projects related to the development of a safe, efficient, dependable, and environmentally compatible air transportation system.

• Travel Behavior/Real Time Traveler Information
  Improve delivery of real-time traveler information to the public via web and mobile phone for better planning and operation of the State's transportation network.
  

• Traffic Detection Technology
  Evaluate commercial and experimental traffic detection devices to compare accuracy, range, and resolution; and to determine the appropriateness of various technologies for different detection scenarios.
  

• Traffic Signal Operation
  Provide technical expertise on ITS and general traffic engineering to the Department and our partners. Perform research on traffic engineering topics with a focus on developing standards that can be reused.
  

• Video Incident Detection
  Develop machine vision systems that automatically recognize certain types of incidents and other traffic behavior. These systems are generally developed to alert Traffic Management Center operators for incident management and to collect information for safety and incident mitigation planning.