Job Alert: USDOT Looking for Transportation Specialist to Coordinate Connected Vehicle and Automated Vehicle Research Programs

November 12, 2013 at 6:04 am
The Federal Highway Administration has an exciting and challenging research position available in the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office. The position is located at U.S. DOT headquarters in Washington, DC.

The selectee will serve as the focal point within the ITS Joint Program Office (JPO) formanaging, coordinating and supporting activities related to the connected vehicle safety and vehicle automation portions of the Department’s ITS program.

The candidate for this position will have excellent communications skills, expertise in ITS research and development topics, such as technology-based vehicle safety and road vehicle automation.  They will work closely with the vehicle safety, highway, motor carrier, rail, and transit industries to promote ITS initiatives and will work with the ITS community to ensure that vehicle safety systems needs are being accommodated.

The selectee will work with the ITS community to develop and implement a road vehicle automation program and will champion the capabilities and interests of the ITS community, often to a constituency that is not knowledgeable about or sympathetic to its needs.  In this capacity, the incumbent works to increase consensus building among its partners and work towards meeting National ITS program goals and objectives related to improvement of roadway safety and transportation mobility through the use of ITS solutions.

The vacancy announcement closes on Wednesday, November 13, 2013.

Click links below to see the full vacancy announcement

U.S. Citizens: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/354504900

Current or former federal employee with status OR Veterans eligible under VEOA:

https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/354505000

[Video] Your Next Car Will Drive Itself – All things autonomous vehicles discussed in one video

October 17, 2013 at 5:01 pm

via Jalopnik

Chanced up upon this awesome video on /Drive’s YouTube channel, with some of my favorite automotive writers (Travis Okulski and Mike Spinelli of Jalopnik with Andrew DelColle from Popular Mechanics) talking about the nagging questions many of us have about autonomous vehicles. I’d say that this video  is more like a e-Primer for all things on autonomous vehicles for those interested (and some more) but offered in a nice, and conversant package without getting you all bored. Check it out.

Video description: When are the first self-driving cars coming, how will they work and — the most important question — will I be able to take a nap in traffic? All of those questions and more will be answered. With Andrew Del-Colle, associate editor of Popular Mechanics magazine and Travis Okulski, senior writer at Jalopnik.

Related resources

Job Alert: Human Factors Professional to work on Automated Vehicle Systems – Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI)

September 18, 2013 at 5:57 pm

The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) seeks qualified and ambitious human factors professionals with a strong background in psychology and engineering to assess the system-wide impact of innovative transportation technologies. The ideal candidate is an experienced researcher capable of independently running transportation projects and working in multidisciplinary teams to improve transportation safety through cutting-edge research.

Research projects range from test-track experiments using a single vehicle to large-scale naturalistic driving studies that involve collecting data from hundreds of vehicles on public roadways. Research projects often use VTTI’s internally-developed data acquisition system (DAS). The DAS enables unobtrusive measurement of driver behavior, vehicle operation, and the environment. The collected data are analyzed to address specific research questions that typically focus on existing transportation problems (e.g. crash causation) and/or the performance/development of advanced vehicle systems (e.g. crash warning and autonomous vehicle technologies). Questionnaire, focus group, and survey data collection methods may also be used in these experiments. This position is expected to predominantly focus on research and development relating to driver interaction with automated vehicle systems, such as automated driving systems and automated collision warning/avoidance systems.

The successful applicant will perform work involving conventional human factors research practices, however the work includes a variety of complex features such as working with fluctuating requirements, cycles of field and/or office work, and developing and implementing novel approaches to evaluating transformative transportation technologies. The employee will contribute to the conceptualization of research and proposal development with principal investigators. With assistance, the successful applicant will manage the day-to-day operations of research projects including: literature reviews, research design, research execution, data analysis, report writing, presentations, and publications.

Experience with human factors research in transportation or related fields and expertise in statistical analyses is preferred. Proficiency with data collection and working knowledge of analysis software packages is desired. The applicant must be interested in improving transportation safety and be willing to work on multiple projects in a fast paced research environment. VTTI provides opportunities for professional advancement and a pay for performance structure.

Assignments include:

  • Aid in the development of proposals
  • Research and assist in the composition of literature reviews
  • Assist with the conceptualization and creation of work plans, protocols, and procedures
  • Review and critique research plans and reports
  • Coordinate and collaborate with subcontractors and interface with stakeholders
  • Manipulate and analyze data
  • Interpret results and develop robust conclusions
  • Write research reports
  • Present research findings
  • Travel to research sites (requirement fluctuates but will generally be <15%)

Directions given and received:

Receive instructions on project objectives, feedback on proposed research plans, and project logistics from principal investigators and project managers. May supervise or coordinate the work of graduate research assistants, students, technicians, and others who assist in specific assignments. Must be able to work effectively independently as well as within multidisciplinary project teams as appropriate.

Required Qualifications:

  • Master’s degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering with a Human Factors specialization or equivalent. Candidates with a lesser degree and significant experience in lieu of master’s degree will also be considered.
  • Experience in transportation or related field is desired
  • Thorough understanding of experimental design and methods
  • Proficiency with descriptive and inferential statistical analysis techniques
  • Basic understanding of electrical and mechanical systems
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Strong organizational skills
  • Willingness to work in a fast-paced flexible research environment
  • Proficiency with programming languages including Matlab and SQL is desired.

Click here to learn more and to apply

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Infograph: Driverless Cars and Eliminating Human Error

February 21, 2013 at 4:10 pm

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!

Driverless Cars and Eliminating Human Error

Infographic: Self-Driving Cars – What does the car of the future look like?

January 7, 2013 at 12:42 pm

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

Google’s Self-Driving Car Demo With Legally Blind Driver Shows a World of Possibilities

April 3, 2012 at 5:54 pm

(Source: Google)

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdgQpa1pUUE&hd=1′]

Google hits a home-run with this real-life demonstration of  its autonomous vehicle by putting a vision-impaired person behind the driving wheel in the regular streets.  Steve Mahan, the man behind the wheel, is legally blind (95% gone) and he goes about what most of us drivers do in a normal day – runs errands, stops by a drive-through window for a burrito, picks up his dry cleaning, etc – all this without touching the steering wheel.   For people like him this self-driving car should feel like a god-sent and the level of autonomy it offers should be priceless.