VII TACTICAL DEPLOYMENT

Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) Tactical Deployment is an idea OmniAir developed to assist in the deployment of 5.9GHz DSRC technology. Why?
The OmniAir Consortium is developing for the USDOT and greater ITS community a DSRC Standards Compliance Certification Program. This independent service is meant to increase the integrity of DSRC technology, spur innovation, ensure interoperability between vendor products, and provide assurance to implementers that DSRC technology under procurement works – all to improve the environment for and increase the probability of successful DEPLOYMENT.

In spite of sound technology and a robust certification program, another crucial element absent today is a viable business model for DSRC deployment.

Given the challenges in the political environment, whatever modal is selected cannot unfortunately be one that counts heavily on federal funding. There must be another approach, a ‘Plan B.’ And, this plan must be tactical, or, reflecting the reality at hand.

Enter VII Tactical Deployment (VTD). VTD is a deployment concept that supports the ultimate objective of the USDOT’s VII and IntelliDrive Program — saving lives. But, as opposed to the original vision of VII which depended on a few, fully-publicly-funded giant leaps to reach these goals, VTD is a ’steps and stages’ approach with some key differences:

1. VTD addresses the real-world challenges of the present day VII operating environment, as mentioned above.
2. VTD deploys VII technology sooner.
3. Each successive step – or level – of deployment forms the foundation for the next.
4. VTD complements existing ITS communication protocols rather than competing with them (see the illustration and accompanying materials below)
5. VTD is financially self-sustainable, not relying on 100% full, continued public funding.

VTD is a concept, but its potential is clear. The aim of OmniAir is to work with the transportation and ITS community to identify and build the technical, operational and business requirements and tools to enable VII technology (emphasis on 5.9GHz DSRC) to evolve organically, incrementally, cooperatively, quickly, and attractively. Eventually – through VII Tactical Deployment – we can reach the ultimate goal of the VII/IntelliDrive program: the national deployment of interoperable 5.9GHz DSRC-based active safety critical V2V and V2I applications that save lives, improve mobility, and do so in a sustainable way.

A visual representation of VTD’s Data-Out / Info-In model.

Supporting Documents
These documents can help you learn more about VTD.

• VII Tactical Deployment Workshop Proceedings, May 2008 . (1.75MB PDF)
  A report of a workshop OmniAir held in McLean Virginia. Over 60 experts attended and shared their recommendations on how to move VII from vision to reality.
• VTD Workshop Overview . (277kb PDF)
• 'Small Town Attitude,' ITS International, Nov/Dec 2007 . (292kb PDF)
  This article explains the rationale for VTD and illustrates it’s “Data Out/Info In’ approach. The gist is that VTD may be an attractive alternative that complements other technologies and thus is a more comfortable fit for those uneasy about the USDOT program’s current grander, strategic approach. It is Part 1 of a two-part series. Download »
• 'Sell by cell,' ITS International, Jan/Feb 2008 . (135kb PDF)
  This is Part 2 of the series and goes into more detail about the specific roll-out strategy for DSRC-based VTD. Its emphasis is on the technical evolution of the onboard equipment and how the degree of an OBE’s ‘embeddedness’ relates to its functionality and how that, in turn, sets the foundation for the next sustainable deployment phase. Download »
• Probe Data Marketplace . (105kb PDF)
  The ITS architecture identifies producers and users of probe data. This document describes a theoretical means of creating a market for such data, compensating producers for their effort, and in effect, monetizing VTD. It is modeled after the concept of commodities exchanges.