Transportation's Future Eyed at SXSW This Week
The agency is hosting five interactive sessions and a demonstration room at the hotel on March 12 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Experts will be on hand to discuss featured projects.
The U.S. Department of Transportation is offering several sessions, special events, and demonstrations March 11 and 12 at the Courtyard by Marriott Austin/Downtown Convention Center in Austin, Texas, as part of SXSW 2019. DOT invites those interested in the future of transportation to take part at #USDOTatSXSW to learn about how DOT supports innovation and discuss key technologies that will shape transportation during the next 10 to 20 years.
The agency is hosting five interactive sessions and a demonstration room at the hotel on March 12 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Experts will be on hand to discuss featured projects.
A March 11 "special event," from 5-6 p.m. at the Hilton Downtown, is a panel discussion on the topic, "Transportation Innovation at a Crossroads." Several panelists are scheduled to discuss how transportation is the latest sector to be disrupted by Silicon Valley-style innovation and how federal investments can augment private sector innovation and address potential market failures.
The sessions are taking place March 12:
- 11 a.m. – noon, The New Urban Mobility Partnership, focused on what public-private partnerships mean for the future of transportation in cities and the federal government's role in enabling cities to exchange data that improves mobility, safety, and national interoperability
- 12:30 – 1:30 p.m., By Land, Air, and Sea: The Future of Freight, looking at automation's effects on the U.S. freight transportation system, specifically how to ensure the technologies improve throughput and safety and meet the needs of communities
- 2 – 3 p.m., Accessible Transportation for All, discussing how automation and other technologies can improve the mobility of travelers with disabilities
- 3:30 – 4:30 p.m., Cybersecurity in the Age of Automation, showcasing emerging efforts to improve the cybersecurity of the U.S. transportation system
- 5 – 6 p.m., Step Aside Cities: Innovations in Rural Mobility
The demonstration room will include information on CARMA (Cooperative Automation Research Mobility Applications); the Safety Data Initiative, which seeks to build DOT's capacity to translate the successes of predictive data analytics tools to identify systemic factors contributing to serious crashes; the Work Zone Data Exchange, which allows infrastructure owners and operators to make harmonized work zone data available for third party use in order to make travel on public roads safer and more efficient through ubiquitious access to data on work zone activity; and the Integrated Mobility Innovation, which represents DOT's vision for a safe, reliable mobility ecosystem.
SXSW began March 8 and continues through March 17.