Integrated Roadways, a technology startup from Kansas City, Missouri, will be trialling its patented Smart Pavement system in Colorado, with the revolutionary technology promising to offer real-time traffic data collection, automated accident alerts, and high-speed connectivity.
Integrated Roadways is partnering with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) under the agency’s RoadX initiative to use next-generation innovations to solve infrastructure challenges. The project features Integrated Roadways’ patented Smart Pavement technology, which makes roadways touch-sensitive to vehicle positions. The system uses durable, precast concrete sections embedded with digital technology and fiber-optic connectivity to transform ordinary roads into smart highways.
Each interlocking Smart Pavement slab incorporates accessible and upgradable digital technology that connects vehicles to the internet and provides real-time information to drivers about traffic, road conditions and accidents. Operating in a similar way to the touchscreen on a smartphone or tablet, sensors in the pavement can ‘feel’ the positions, weights and velocity of every vehicle on the road, providing superior navigation and telemetry for Level 4 autonomous vehicles, and capturing valuable traffic and usage data.
Integrated Roadways, in conjunction with partners Kiewit Infrastructure Company, Cisco Systems, WSP Global, and Wichita Concrete Pipe, will install half a mile (0.8km) of Smart Pavement on US 285 near Fairplay, to collect data on run-off-the-road (ROTR) accidents, and send automatic notices of ROTR accidents to CDOT over a five-year demonstration period.
The Colorado project will be watched by many government agencies and local municipalities that are interested in the potential of the new technology, and Integrated Roadways is currently evaluating projects with a number of other states and municipalities.
“Smart Pavement is the future of our roadways, transforming roads into a digital platform for advanced mobility applications,” explained Tim Sylvester (right), Integrated Roadways founder.
“Smart Pavement identifies vehicle positions and behaviors in real time, simplifying autonomous vehicle operation, providing dynamic traffic information, automatic notification for accidents, permanent vehicle counts, pavement condition indexing, and data-driven safety improvements. Future versions will make the road financially self-sustaining by selling access to data, connectivity and services.”
Sylvester added, “The internet and cell networks have revolutionized so much of our daily lives, yet roads haven’t improved for decades. Our technology re-envisions roads as digital mobility networks, paving the way for greater improvements in everything from sustainable transportation funding to improved safety to mass adoption of autonomous cars.”
Peter Kozinski, director of the CDOT’s RoadX Program, commented on the pilot project, “RoadX is all about finding new opportunities and demonstrating, often on a smaller scale, that they work or bring value, so other DOTs have a higher level of confidence that they’re making a solid investment.”
