University of Michigan Wins the 2022 Transportation Technology Tournament
Student Team Tackles Pedestrian Safety with a Connected and Automated Vehicle Solution

With a focus on pedestrian safety using Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) technology, the student team from University of Michigan took top honors at the 2022 Transportation Technology Tournament, held on August 1 at the 2022 ITE Annual Meeting.

The annual Transportation Technology Tournament challenges student teams to solve real-world transportation problems by leveraging existing infrastructure and maximizing the use of operations and Intelligent Transportations Systems (ITS) strategies. The problems are defined by transportation agencies and students collaborate with agency representatives to develop better understanding of the issues and needs. The tournament – a partnership of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s ITS Joint Program Office Professional Capacity Building Program (ITS JPO PCB) and the National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE) – seeks to build on transportation curriculums by teaching problem solving, communications, and team building skills with students with a variety of educational backgrounds.

The winning team from University of Michigan addressed pedestrian safety by proposing improvements to signal timing and CAV-pedestrian signaling systems to protect pedestrians from vehicles. The solution also exhibited innovation with lit crosswalks as well as a focus on community needs and wants.

Finalists delivered a 10-minute presentation to the panel of judges from the public and private sectors and academia. Judges ask detailed and pointed questions to challenge the teams on their solution’s approach, cost, lifecycle benefits, maintenance, and overall feasibility. The two other finalist teams this year were from Florida International University and the University of Memphis, which tackled problems featuring integrated corridor management solution for southeast Florida and safety in the City of Nashville.

The 2022 finals marked a return to the in-person finals at ITE Annual meeting after being held virtually in 2020 and 2021. NOCoE and the USDOT’s ITS JPO PCB will be announcing plans for the 2023 tournament within the next few months.

For more information on participating in the tournament, please see the Transportation Technology Tournament homepage or contact Adam Hopps.