Intelligent transportation breakthroughs

Transpo2008, one of the nation’s largest Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) conferences, will bring together experts from around the nation to share technology breakthroughs that are improving transportation in Florida and nationwide. The conference, Sept. 22-25, 2008, in Orlando, Fla., also features leading experts on Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII). The VII initiative is a national effort involving teams from the auto industry and state and national departments of transportation, working collaboratively to solve congestion and safety challenges through technology.

The updated Transpo2008 schedule also offers an opportunity for attendees to tour the Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) District Five and the Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise’s Regional Traffic Management Centers, both located in Orlando. Included in the Turnpike tour is the SunWatch Center, which monitors all toll-collection devices in the state and repairs failures automatically if possible, provides expert assistance to local technicians for more serious problems, or dispatches the closest roving technician for the most serious failures.

Among featured speakers are Scott Belcher, president and CEO, ITS America; Ken Voigt, president-elect, Institute of Transportation Engineers International; James Christian, assistant division administrator, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA); and Debbie Hunt, assistant secretary, FDOT.

Transpo2008 also features a technology exhibition that will preview VII initiatives and other technologies that will be on display in November at the ITS World Congress in New York City, the world’s largest gathering of ITS experts.

The Intelligent Transportation Society of Florida, the Florida Section of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, FDOT, and the Florida Division of FHWA are hosts of Transpo2008. This event is held every other year.

For more information on Transpo2008 and to register, visit www.itstranspo.org.