Via King5 News

Just spotted this nice report/update on the world’s tallest (5-story-tall) tunnel boring machine (TBM), Bertha, which will begin work in Seattle’s Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement project (SR 99 Tunnel Project). Bertha’s deep-bore tunnel will replace the aging Alaskan Way Viaduct, which will eventually be torn down. She should begin digging next summer.  As reported below, Bertha’s 41 pieces – the largest weighing up to 900 tons – are being loaded on a single ship in Japan, leaving around mid-March and arrive in Seattle later this month, if all goes well in the choppy seas.

For those curious about the name Bertha, it was chosen as part of a contest for school-aged kids across Washington state. While we are at it, don’t forget to follow the live tweets from Bertha @BerthaDigsSR99, the only TBM in the world with it’s own twitter account (at least until the project finishes).  Pretty cool stuff, right? Also, you can follow the WSDOT blog to stay updated on the project’s progress.

Related articles

• Bertha, world’s largest tunneling machine, heading for Seattle
• World’s largest tunnel boring machine to be shipped from Japan to Seattle
• Tunnel boring machine in pieces for voyage to Seattle

Iteris, Inc. has a dynamic opportunity available for a Regional Sales Director, Latin America (RSDLA) based in Mexico, South or Central America. This position will be responsible for all Roadway Sensor sales and marketing activities within the region. The qualified professional will leverage existing contacts within the highway transportation/traffic management market to generate new business opportunities for Iteris. We are seeking an individual with previous

experience in achieving sales targets who is presently leading a regional business development program ideally for a company in Intelligent Transportation Systems. The RSDLA will have excellent technical presentation and negotiation skills as well as an enthusiastic approach to new business with multilingual communication skills. Visit our website: www.iteris.com Contact Anne Bologna, Senior Recruiter: amb@iteris.com. All correspondence will be kept strictly confidential. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Say hello to Honk, a neat little app (now available on iOS platform for $0.99) that solves two of the biggest headaches (especially in urban environments that you are unfamiliar) – remembering where you parked and also remembering if your meter time is up.  Here are some  of the features as mentioned in the app store:

• Simplest interface to set the parking meter alarm. A single swipe for most situations!
• Updates your remaining time on its App Icon. A quick glance at your home screen, your mind at peace.
• Smooth handwritten memo/photo/voice memo to mark the parking spot.
• Honk uses the highest level accuracy available for the phone and marks your location when you set the meter alarm automatically. Manually move the parking pin on the map when the GPS accuracy falls short. Shows how far the car is from your current location.
• Innovative bread-crumb trails to help quick orienting yourself as well as built-in compass.
• Different types of meter with long (up to 24 hours) and short time limits.
•  Soft, regular as well as the Library- and the Shopping Mall- alarm level options.
• Uses the background processing and local notifications for reliable, accurate alarms. Supports Retina display.

Pretty cool, right? Check out the little video from Mashable that explains all this:

via InsuranceQuotes.org

Here is a neat infographic that shows the benefits of moving towards autonomous vehicles.. Though some of the statistics seen in the graphic are old and needs revision (esp. fatality numbers, which continues to see a steady decline every year), it still reminds you of the sheer size and scope of the problems we encounter in the current scenario of human-piloted vehicles.  Oh, Google Cars is not the only game in town when it comes to autonomous vehicles.  Not anymore.  Most auto OEMs are ramping up their research to make sure they remain relevant when Google’s project materializes. That said, the transportation systems that are currently developed for the coming decade looks quite promising!

Moral of the story, don’t hesitate to use your darn mobile phone when you are standing at that unassumingly boring plain vanilla bus stop.  In this campaign, mobile electronics firm Qualcomm put up a poster featuring a URL and waited for people to visit the mobile site. When the visitors got to the website, the fun began. Watch to see what happens at probably what I call the best bus stop ever. Sigh! I wish my bus stop would offer something like this to spice up my sleepy mornings.

Related articles

• Qualcomm’s New Ingenious Web Ad Series Shows the Merits of Waiting at a Bus Stop
• Qualcomm asks: sled dogs or the bus today, ma’am?
• Qualcomm’s new ‘Born Mobile’ ad series makes the bus stop fun again
• Qualcomm details ‘always-on’ Snapdragon voice activation features

Sponsored by ITS America and the Southwest Research institute, the Student Essay Competition is designed each year to encourage student interest and future participation in the development of Intelligent Transportation Systems and solutions. The objective of the essay competition is to provide an opportunity for today’s transportation and engineering students to apply their knowledge in a thought-provoking and enjoyable competition and to build awareness of ITS as a career path with unlimited potential.

Students are asked to submit a 2,000-word essay on any one of the following topics:

• “Next Generation Cooperative Systems, how will they evolve?,” “How is ITS evolving?,” and
• “What are the technological barriers to near term realization of fully autonomous systems on U.S. highways?”

The first, second and third place winners will receive $1,500, $1,000 or $500 respectively. Additional recognition includes:

• The 1st place winner will be invited to attend the Awards ceremony at the ITS America Annual Meeting on Tuesday, April 23rd and be assisted financially to cover trip expenses.
• Receive a complimentary full registration to attend the conference.
• Have the opportunity to present their winning essay at the dedicated Interactive Session area in the exhibit hall.
• Have their winning essays displayed on the Student Essay Competition Web page of ITS America’s website.
• All three winners will be featured in nationally-distributed press releases.

Click here for the official for guidelines and application information.

The USDOT ITS Joint Program Office recently published “An Open Dialogue On The Draft Focus And Themes For The Next ITS Strategic Research Plan,” available at http://www.its.dot.gov/strategicplan/.  The purpose of this document is to establish a starting point for creating the next ITS Strategic Plan. The goal of presenting themes is to enable continuity of the current research programs while establishing new or redefined goals and objectives to meet emerging research needs. The themes fall into three broad categories:

• Maturing Connected Vehicle Systems – Focuses on what is needed to accelerate the maturity of vehicle-based communications with surrounding systems

• Piloting and Deployment Readiness – Focuses on the security, policy, business opportunities, capabilities, pilots, and incentives needed to support vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) implementation

• Integrating with the Broader Environment – Focuses on the integration and decision support capabilities to enable V2V and V2I (collectively termed V2X) interaction with other governmental services and public utilities.

We invite the community to consider providing input to the draft themes by visiting http://itsstrategicplan.ideascale.com/.  The USDOT is seeking your input on the following key questions, although other input is highly welcome:

·         What technological changes will occur in the near future that will impact transportation?

·         Are the themes outlined here addressing the technological and societal changes that affect transportation?

·         Are there other themes we should be considering? If so, why?

·         Are there themes that should not be considered, or moved to a different timeframe?

·         What is the appropriate federal role in technology and transportation that best assists the private sector and travelers at large?

Your input is requested no later than Friday, March 15, 2013.  Your attention and consideration of this request is greatly appreciated.

Despite the bold predictions (75% of vehicles on road will be autonomous by 2040!!!), the infographic below visually captures some of the benefits of autonomous vehicles.. 

From: Bankrate Insurance’s InsuranceQuotes.com

Heard of talking cars? Teen drivers of today would probably think of an internet-connected car like Ford Focus offering interactive feedback via Sync. But the older (or teens of the 80s!?) folks would fondly remember the KITT, a real talking supercar that was a central feature in the TV Series, Knight Rider. This story of a lone crimefighter battling the forces of evil with the help of an indestructible and artificially intelligent supercar captured the minds and hearts of many gearheads back in the 80s.  As years grew, so have the fascination and sophistication of the cars used by Hollywood.  We have left the KITT behind and arrived in the era of the Batmobile.  Here is a visual walkthrough compiled by AutoInsurance.us that crisply captures the greatest cars in Hollywood history. Check it out.

Post Made Possible by AutoInsurance.US