Note: The information contained is over 20 years old. The document is intended to aid startups seeking to do their first SBIR. We find that knowing what the end product looks like is helpful to getting underway.

The OPTIMUS Corporation together with its principal subcontractor Wile Coyote, Inc. is pleased to submit this proposal to develop a Pedestrian Alert System (PAS) in response to Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) SBIR solicitation 00-FH1. The background of our team is particularly appropriate for the task of developing a Driver Early Warning Alert of Pedestrian Presence because of our depth of experience in both pedestrian safety and the development of the Problem Driver Detection System (PDDS) for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). PDDS is an analogous system to the system sought for this effort but PDDS is focused on identifying drivers with suspended licenses who are still in the traffic stream.

The extensive relevant experience of the OPTIMUS/Coyote team will enable us to establish requirements for a PAS that are both highly effective and totally realistic. Our work in pedestrian safety enables us to appreciate the problems that such a system faces in today’s environment and in the future world of the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS). The development and testing of the PDDS provides us with a solid grounding in the applicable technologies and the real world issues surrounding the widespread fielding of a detection system in the traffic environment.

Rather than biasing us towards what we have already accomplished, our expertise tells us that we must proceed through the total design process including problem definition, functional analysis, systems analysis, and system integration and testing. Although our previous work permits us to do this efficiently and rapidly, we still must proceed rigorously to ensure the optimum system solution that is focused on actual safety and operational problems.

The study of pedestrian safety took a quantum jump with the publication of the 1971 study by Speedy and Gonzalez that identified specific crash types and their main causal factors.1 This study spawned numerous countermeasure development and testing efforts, many of which were conducted by Wile Coyote, Inc. For each of these efforts, crash data, either new data or those collected by Speedy and Gonzalez (1971), were first analyzed to highlight the true nature of the problem. Then, potential countermeasures were enumerated, assessed and field-tested.

Speedy and Gonzalez (1971) listed detection of the pedestrian by the motorist and vice versa as one of the fundamental “function/events” needed to avoid collisions. Simply, if a motorist fails to detect a pedestrian, there is no basis for evaluating the threat the pedestrian poses, and selecting and executing an appropriate countermeasure or evasive action.

Thus, when the motorist fails to detect a pedestrian, the burden of crash avoidance either falls completely on the pedestrian or is totally probabilistic if the pedestrian also fails to perform properly.

Runner, Dynamite and Stick(1984) conducted a detailed examination of the issue of motorist detection and recognition of pedestrians, particularly at night. 2 They found that motorist detection of pedestrians was often a primary crash cause. The detection failure could have resulted from a sub- threshold pedestrian signal (i.e., the pedestrian was too dark to see), a supra-threshold signal that was inconspicuous (e.g., the pedestrian blended into the background) or a pedestrian that was screened from view by something in the environment (e.g., a child darting out from in front of a parked car).

They concluded that motorist detection of a pedestrian in sufficient time to avoid a crash is problematic unless the pedestrian’s conspicuity is significantly enhanced by retroreflective materials, active light sources or removal or negation (such as by a flag or mirror) of the visual screen. They did not, however, examine an early warning system such as proposed here because it was not then technologically and economically feasible. Today’s state-of-the-art technology can certainly provide a driver with assistance in detecting pedestrians that goes beyond the driver’s acquisition of a visual target. As discussed below under determining system requirements, this enhancement of the driver’s senses can potentially have a meaningful and realistic impact on pedestrian safety.

The research of Runner, Dynamite, and Stick(1984) and, in fact, virtually all existing examinations of the role of detection in pedestrian crashes assumes a motorist who is actively searching the traffic environment for threats. In the future, this may not be an accurate model. One of the objectives of ITS development is to remove workload and monotonous tracking tasks from the motorist. The driver of the future may enter an automated roadway and turn the controls over to the system’s automation. Under this scenario, a technologically based pedestrian detection and tracking system will be essential if pedestrians are to share the ITS roadway of the future. Some means other than the visual acquisition of a pedestrian by a driver will be required to notify the entire system of the presence of the pedestrian.

In many ways, this situation is analogous to the current air traffic control environment. While designed for high-speed transport aircraft, it still must accommodate small, slow, and difficult to detect general aviation planes. As visual detection by pilots and controllers is not reliable, and traffic tracking radar is too expensive for every aircraft, air safety required an automated, traffic proximity alert system be developed. Now all aircraft are required to use Mode C transponders to ensure their detection by traffic controllers, and an on-board Traffic Alerting And Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) that automatically alerts pilots to a potential close encounter. The basic TCAS architecture is a model for the PAS; a low cost, short range transmitter, a receiver that determines collision risk, and a pilot (user) interface that provides unambiguous alerts.

Development of a successful and widely used PAS implies several key system requirements that must be met in the design. The PAS must exhibit high alert integrity so that the warning consistently and correctly indicates a hazardous situation. Otherwise the system will be ignored and perhaps bypassed. This overall system requirement decomposes into requirements on the system’s components; the transmitter, receiver, and user interface. The receiver must only alarm when a PAS transmitter is in range; a low false alarm rate. To limit alerts to a potentially hazardous situation, a short-range transmitter reduces the alert range to the area immediately around the pedestrian, and the receiver and its antenna(s) must discriminate between transmitters in the direction of vehicle travel and any other nearby transmitters.

However, as the alert must activate in time for the driver to react safely, the receiver’s signal integration and processing time are limited. The form of the driver interface and the operational procedures will be very important in the system effectiveness. Given the potentially large numbers of pedestrians in certain traffic environments, the task of developing a detection system that achieves the required degree of discrimination at an acceptable cost may be beyond the ability of technology alone. In other words, it is likely that any PAS will be a true human-machine system. If this is the case, operating rules and limitations will have to be developed along with the hardware and software in order to yield an operationally realistic and effective system.

Thus, the overarching technical task we envision for this effort is to develop a system of hardware, software, deployment guidelines, and usage instructions that has immediate applicability to the current pedestrian safety problem and long term suitability for inclusion in future ITS implementations.

In addition to developing a technically viable system, we recognize that a system that is not implemented widely will squander the societal benefits that the FHWA hopes to reap from their R&D investment. To achieve widespread deployment, the system must either be mandated or be commercially feasible. Legal mandates require long, financially and politically expensive campaigns that have uncertain outcomes. The OPTIMUS team thinks the best approach is to design the PAS to be a market driven success that provides a needed public service for a modest cost.

In addition to Coyote’s extensive research on pedestrian safety, the OPTIMUS team has significant relevant experience and existing technology that we can leverage to reduce the PAS development risk. OPTIMUS (prime contractor) and Coyote have been working together for several years to develop the PDDS for NHTSA. The system consists of a watch-sized transmitter worn by the subject and a low cost, receiver/antenna unit for police cars, which together alert the police to nearby driving while suspended subjects. The system has ¼ mile range, determines the direction to the transmitter, and has been shown to provide about 20 seconds of warning when approaching at 45 mph. This R&D project is drawing to a successful close with testing in an actual police jurisdiction (likely in Connecticut) in the fall of 2000. The system previously yielded nearly flawless performance in NHTSA supervised and police executed controlled field tests in Maryland.

The first tasks on the PDDS project were to define the system requirements and perform an exhaustive survey of all applicable commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology. The major requirement for the technology was a portable, all weather device for signaling nearby police, which was not to be so obvious as to cause the “scarlet letter” effect on the subject. OPTIMUS extensively researched possible optical, acoustic, and radio frequency components both passive and active before selecting the current architecture. As OPTIMUS has invested in the PDDS for commercialization, we have continually updated our initial research to ensure our system had the components that would best fulfill its mission requirements. This puts us in an excellent position to efficiently augment this body of knowledge about available technology to focus on the specific requirements of the PAS. Further, the existence of the PDDS equipment provides an effective way of determining and validating those PAS requirements in Phase I.

The PDDS, as it is currently embodied, is not suitable for the PAS mission because it requires a portable computer in the police car, a wireless Internet modem (CDPD), and the software was developed to retrieve and display subject pictures and offense information in real-time. However, it does provide the basic PAS functions of omni-directional, all weather, electronic beaconing, real-time detection and alarm in a moving vehicle, transmitter bearing determination, alarm discrimination (user defined conditions), and sophisticated but intuitive, multimedia user interface.

Having this development experience and the existing system will permit the OPTIMUS team to reduce the PAS system development risk by performing meaningful analysis and testing in Phase I.

This test and analysis work will allow the team to define the operational scenarios that provide the best potential for the greatest safety benefit and technical success. These high potential, operational scenarios in turn will drive the system requirements analysis necessary for developing an optimum design. Phase I testing also can provide information on the present hardware’s limitations as applied to the PAS mission, which will illuminate the areas of risk in the system design and development efforts. The result will be a more accurate Phase I assessment of PAS feasibility and a well-vetted design for Phase II development; our overall goals for the Phase I effort.

The OPTIMUS team thinks that this combination of pedestrian safety knowledge, traffic safety electronic beaconing system experience, Phase I scenario and requirements testing, upfront consideration of multi-use requirements, and experience with commercialization of similar systems results in a low risk, innovative approach to PAS development.

As mentioned above, OPTIMUS and Coyote have been working together for several years on three different traffic safety research and development projects, the Problem Driver Detection System (PDDS) and Automated Documentation of Crash Scenes using GPS (AutoDOCS-GPS) both for NHTSA, as well as the development of a bicycle safety resource guide CD-ROM for NHTSA and FHWA. The team works well together, and is well balanced with Coyote’s experience with safety research and the traffic safety community, and OPTIMUS’s extensive experience and capabilities in transportation system design and development.

Coyote is invaluable to OPTIMUS’ traffic safety system development by making major contributions to delineating realistic and effective system requirements, including applicable scenarios, operational techniques, and human factors. OPTIMUS in turn has system and software engineers experienced in transportation system design, development, and testing that convert the requirements to an effective system solution. Coyote has no direct involvement in the development so they can perform realistic and semi-independent alpha and beta testing on the prototype systems.

A brief overview of OPTIMUS projects should provide an indication of our capabilities. More details are found in section 4. For the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), OPTIMUS has worked on safety-of- life system development and analysis to design, develop, and deploy the continent spanning, wide area differential GPS system (DGPS) for satellite based navigation of aircraft, as well as our modeling and simulation of the performance of the primary air traffic control (ATC) radar, the ARTS III, to determine airport capacities now and in the future. We also are providing requirements analysis for the replacement of obsolete ATC computers at all terminal radar sites (ARTCCS) in the US. Development of NHTSA’s AutoDOCS-GPS includes designing and writing sophisticated software for a custom, multimedia user interface and for the proprietary GPS processing software consisting of a kinematic, DGPS Kalman filter.

OPTIMUS also is a contributor to national transportation policy as the only contractor supporting the Volpe study for the Presidents Critical Infrastructure Protection Initiative on the vulnerability of transportation modes’ relying on GPS and the future navigation requirements of transportation. In addition, OPTIMUS developed a pioneering, wireless Shuttle inspection and maintenance system for NASA that is in use today at Kennedy Space Center. In 1996, that system won the award for NASA’s Most Innovative Software of the Year.

Coyote’s capabilities are indicated by its acknowledged leadership role in the pedestrian and bicycle safety fields. As one of the initial organizations involved in the application of human factors and systems analysis principles to transportation safety, Coyote has advance the state-of-the-art of pedestrian safety in numerous studies for NHTSA, FHWA and various localities. It is virtually impossible to conduct a literature review on pedestrian safety problems or countermeasures without finding multiple studies conducted by Coyote including landmark efforts that are detailed more fully in subsequent sections of this proposal and the resumes of the proposed Coyote staff.

Phase I SBIR projects are for determining system requirements and configuration, assessing design and development feasibility, and planning for the Phase II development. The technical objectives OPTIMUS has chosen for Phase I, therefore, are designed to provide the government with a complete assessment of the potential utility of the PAS design and of the development plan.

This will be done by first developing detailed PAS performance requirements based on the team’s knowledge of pedestrian safety research, consultation with the FHWA, and on testing performed using the existing PDDS equipment. Then based on these requirements and all available technology, OPTIMUS will determine the best design configurations, which will be assessed for feasibility. The most feasible and effective design will be used to specify a plan for Phase II development. The results will be a well- vetted design and a detailed Phase II development plan. Together these products will provide FHWA the information it needs to determine the desirability and feasibility of the proposed Phase II system development. In addition to setting the stage for Phase II, Phase 1 will yield products that are independently valuable including PAS system requirements and a database of applicable technology.

The specific technical objectives for Phase I are listed in summary below.

♦ Developed detailed, realistic system requirements

♦ Develop an optimized, effective, feasible system design

♦ Specify the Phase II development plan

OPTIMUS has developed the Phase I work plan to achieve the technical objectives listed in the previous section. The six-month work plan is designed to be effective, be realistic, and have minimal schedule and technical risks. Figure 3.1 shows a 26 week (6 months) schedule for this work plan. Each task is discussed in detail in the subsections below.

All optimized and effective system design efforts are based on a detailed and well thought out requirements document. The requirements document specifies the functions, characteristics, limitations, and operational environment of the new system. The system designer uses the document to focus their design and bound their design options. The requirements document forms an agreement between the system developer and the user for whom the system is being developed. It ensures that the final product is what the user wanted, and it also protects the developer from unexpected design changes.

OPTIMUS Corp. has extensive experience developing effective requirements documents as part of critical system designs for such clients as the FAA, NHTSA, and NASA. Coyote has worked with OPTIMUS on two traffic safety projects to help determine detailed requirements for NHTSA system development efforts.

For the PAS, the determination of system functional requirements will be driven by data focused on the users and mission. Overall, there are two applicable operational environments of interest when establishing requirements; the current traffic setting and the future ITS implementation. There are also two data dimensions; user characteristics and needs, and problem or mission definition. Table 3.1 below summarizes the methods we will employ to obtain information on each of these dimensions.

The methods represent two complementary approaches; research study (literature/user survey) and controlled experimentation.

For the research approach, much actual data and analyses are available for the current environment. We will, therefore, rely heavily on developing requirements for performance, deployment, and use based on actual, well-researched crash situations with which our team is thoroughly familiar. Likewise, Coyote has extensive experience conducting focus groups and surveys of pedestrians to determine their needs and preferences. This will be important in determining how realistic it is to expect specific populations of pedestrians to equip themselves with a PAS device. it is likely that any current benefits will come mostly from defining situations in which voluntary use is likely or can be “sold” to the populations at risk.

Prompting current use has a double benefit. First, it can reduce existing crashes. Second, it will provide valuable operating experience for a future ITS implementation.

The process of establishing requirements will, therefore, iterate among technical capabilities, user preferences, and the delimitation of operating environments. For example, it may not be possible to equip enough vehicles and pedestrians to use the PAS for it to be effective as a general countermeasure. It also may not be possible to achieve a sufficiently high detection rate with acceptably low false alarm rate (a quality known as the receiver operating characteristic or ROC) in a crowded traffic environment. Under these circumstances, requirements would be established specific to a mission description where PAS could generate a good ROC and yield a significant safety benefit. Examples of such situations we know exist from existing crash data include:

These are only a few examples of situations that could arise from the further analyses of the current pedestrian crash data; these are not final recommended missions or requirements. Space limitations preclude presenting a more comprehensive list of possibilities. The major point is that there is much available data from which to draw inferences on the current situation. These will lead directly to specific PAS requirements. For example, the fact that there is a significant incidence of pedestrian collisions just after or during the process of making a turn suggests the possible need for a system that predicts the path of the vehicle (e.g., from directional signal activation) and assigns the highest risk to transmitters in that direction. This is not unlike the premise of the cornering lights with which many vehicles are already equipped.

The future ITS system obviously cannot rely as heavily on crash or existing user acceptance data. Some analogies to other domains may be possible. On the whole, however, we must rely on detailed analyses based on the DOT’s ITS system architecture and the ITS literature. OPTIMUS has just completed evaluating all aspects of the current ITS architecture to assess the degree of GPS reliance, and the potential effects of GPS signal disruption on this transportation mode for a Volpe NTSC and Asst.

Secretary of Transportation’s office sponsored study in response to the President’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Directive. This information base will be supplemented with discussions with ITS government and industry experts. Enough is known about the potential operating characteristics of ITS systems to form a valid basis for the functional and systems requirements analyses.

The availability of the PDDS system will allow us to conduct controlled experiments to determine or confirm a feasible requirement or mission. It is probably inevitable that the analysis will uncover some crucial aspect of a user or mission requirement that cannot be determined without experimentation.

Unless that aspect is tested, the requirements and design will be less than optimal; over specification is costly and adds technical risk. Alternatively, experimentation can be used to confirm analytically determined requirements that would impose significant risk or cost on the system development. For example, it may be important to determine the minimum effective driver response time or distance during which the system must detect a pedestrian, evaluate risk, and provide an alert to the driver that allows him to safely avoid the person. This response time (distance) may vary depending on the roadway type and traffic environment, and will significantly affect the requirements for the transmitter power, message repetition rate, battery life, size, weight, and cost.

An excellent traffic safety test track is available in Maryland near OPTIMUS. We used the Maryland State Patrol Driver Training Facility (MSPDTF) for controlled PDDS testing and anticipate that we can get permission to use it again. It has both a rural and urban course complete with working traffic signals, signs, and pavement markings so mission scenarios or performance requirements can be tested effectively and efficiently.

To this point, the discussion has been on what might be termed macroscopic system requirements or applicable use situations. We will also focus a careful, user-centered approach to the more microscopic system requirements such as range, coverage, power consumption, and service and storage life. Our experience developing the PDDS has provided us with a wealth of useful experience concerning the capabilities and limitations of radio or microwave frequency beaconing in a traffic environment. Table 3.2 summarizes some of the expected requirements for the signaling, receiving and user interface components of the system.

To vet user interface requirements, OPTIMUS has the capability of rapidly developing look and feel graphical user interfaces (GUIs) using Orcad, Visual Basic, or Java. These can be used in interviews and focus groups conducted by Coyote with target user populations.

Another potentially important consideration is future compatibility with automobile electronics. Although it is likely that the initial versions of PAS will be designed as an add-on system, the requirements should provide for the eventual integration of the system into all new automobiles. Automobile electronics are currently undergoing a revolution as computers and microcontrollers are replacing and augmenting mechanical components. At present, there is little standardization in the communication or bus formats between manufacturers.

However, telematics, products and systems that provide information and communications to the driver, must be standardized to achieve economies of scale for reduced prices, and to maximize customer and supplier market options. Some common standards such as Control Area Network (CAN) and the Local Interconnect Network (LIN) are becoming mainstream in automotive design. CAN, used by European automakers and for industrial controls, is replacing the J1850 SAE standard due to the international mergers of automobile companies. If the future PAS system is compatible with these emerging standards, it may become simply another low cost sensor input to the overall telematic system.

As important as understanding the problem (requirements), is knowing what tools are available to solve the problem. In this task, OPTIMUS will augment its existing database of signaling technologies that it has accumulated during the PDDS project. The initial task of the PDDS project was to perform a survey of existing and near-term technologies that could be applied to the problem of detecting a nearby suspended license driver. The problem is very analogous to the pedestrian alert system problem, and has similar requirements. During this task, we examined optical, electromagnetic (microwave, radio frequency, ultra-wide band), and acoustic communication and sensing technologies. We also considered positioning systems such as GPS or Loran.

The traffic environment and an all-weather requirement limited the feasible technologies to electromagnetic communication and sensing systems. GPS was considered too expensive and the equipment too bulky, plus it will not work under covering such as heavy foliage, inside a car, or under a shelter. Preliminary, assuming all-weather and non-line-of-sight operation requirements, these conclusions seem valid for the PAS mission as well.

OPTIMUS expects that the most feasible technology solution will involve a radio or microwave frequency communication system. A leading candidate for the PDDS, RF backscatter tags, turned out to be impractical because of the strict requirements on the transmitter to reflector geometry and the very high interrogator power required that can be dangerous to animals and humans. Although, a millimeter- wave radar system coupled with a unique pedestrian reflector could perhaps meet the performance requirements it is likely to be too expensive, and there are spectrum allocation and licensing issues with any powerful transmitter. Other less expensive radars such as those being developed under ITS for collision avoidance are too short range or indiscriminate. A low power RF or microwave communication system minimizes false alarms and can avoid FCC transmitter licensing requirements under Part 15 regulations.

Even limiting the options to radio and microwave frequency communications systems, leaves many potential combinations of formats, modulations, and frequency bands that must be evaluated for the suitability of their characteristics to the PAS requirements. Characteristics that must be evaluated include communication link frequency, modulation, and polarization. Frequency or equivalently wavelength has a great impact on propagation characteristics, angular discrimination, and antennas size. A communication scheme's modulation will impact message format, battery life, bit error rate, and transmitter size. The modulation can also affect angular discrimination capability as in the PDDS. The PDDS uses On-Off- Keying (OOK) that conserves battery power well because when the bit is 0 there is no signal present.

This non-continuous signal makes it difficult to do angular discrimination using Doppler or time- difference-of-arrival (TDOA) techniques. Signal polarization affects interference noise levels and may be used in multipath discrimination.

In this task, OPTIMUS will research the latest technologies that may be applicable to the PAS. We will consider the latest optical, acoustical, and positioning system technologies to insure that we select the optimum technology for the PAS. In addition, will do an in depth analysis of the available RF and microwave technologies focusing on those that are commercially available. Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components are desirable because of the lower costs and development risk, as well as known licensing regulations.

Modified COTS or MOTS is also typically a better choice than development from scratch. When we selected the PDDS technology, we rejected an ultra-wideband communication system although it had a great propagation and data characteristics because its technology was too new. We correctly anticipated that the FCC would have a hard time determining how to regulate the novel spectrum allocation issues presented by a communication system that spans 500 MHz of spectrum.

Nearly four years later the regulation issue is still not resolved.

With the detailed requirements developed and the database of applicable technologies updated, the OPTIMUS team will proceed to develop candidate system designs. We will mix and match technologies, techniques, and components to satisfy the system requirements. The designs will be delineated to the detail required to perform a performance, feasibility, cost, and user acceptability analysis.

The possible system configurations, even when limited to RF and microwave communication systems, are too numerous to discuss completely here. However, we will use the PDDS configuration as an example of the engineering trade-offs we will make, as some of the technology may be applicable.

The configuration similar to the existing PDDS would have a watch-sized or smaller transmitter on the pedestrian (Fig. 3.1). Using OOK modulation, one milliwatt omni-directional power output, a unique number message, and a repetition rate of four hertz would result in about one-quarter mile range and a battery life of several months. This power level and modulation at 915 MHz does not have to be licensed according to FCC regulations part 15. In quantity, these transmitters can be purchased for less than $10 each. An antenna and receiver would be mounted in participating vehicles, and it would have to be able to discriminate the signal arrival angle at least to within 60 degrees sectors over the full 360 degrees.

Due to the modulation scheme, angular discrimination would have to be done by signal strength, which requires multiple antennas. A higher frequency would provide better signal directionality and receiving antenna isolation but it may affect the desired omni-directional broadcast pattern.

The signal strength technique, however, is susceptible to multipath especially with such a low power signal. Therefore, an alternate design would use different modulation such as spread spectrum or binary shift keying, both of which allow for a continuous carrier. This would allow us to use more accurate time difference of arrival (TDOA) or Doppler techniques to determine the signal angle of arrival but the continuous carrier would reduce battery life significantly. System cost is probably increased as well.

Battery life could be extended and nearby pedestrians who are safely on the sidewalk could be ignored if the transmitter on the pedestrian was only activated when it was interrogated by a focused signal from the components in the vehicle. (The PDDS design for the transmitter watch includes circuits for reception as well as transmission.)

The current PDDS requires a portable computer to communicate with the receiver board, store offender data, communicate wirelessly with a server, and to provide the multimedia user interface. In its place, the PAS would use a much less expensive microcontroller and dedicated warning indicators. In the future, the PAS could interface with the telematics so that neither the microcontroller nor the dedicated indicators will be required, further lowering the system cost.

After all possible system permutations have been examined, OPTIMUS expects that there will be several potentially feasible design configurations. These candidate design configurations will be analyzed in the next task to select the best design for phase II prototyping.

Up to four design configurations that appear viable will be analyzed in greater detail to determine their relative feasibility. Feasibility is determined by the expected system performance, cost, development risk (including the ability to conduct a valid and reliable test of the system), and user acceptability.

Expected system performance will be determined by estimating key specifications such as detection range, signal propagation characteristics, angular discrimination, multipath susceptibility, interference susceptibility and potential, warning latency, bit error rate (integrity), and false alarm threshold. These estimated specifications then will be compared to the system requirements that we developed earlier. Each candidate configuration will be scored against the requirement in each category on a percentage- satisfied scale.

The system cost of each configuration will be estimated based on the component's or similar component's prices. Since we're trying to estimate the relative market cost that affects equipage rates, will use commercial prices for lots of 500 pieces each. Although every component will not have been identified at this stage, the total cost of each of the configuration's major components will provide a valid comparison of the relative costs. We, also, will consider the impact of a marketing approach that provides the equipment for low monthly fees.

Estimation of the development risk is based on the maturity and availability of the technology, as well as the complexity of the system development. Maturity is gauged by how long the technology has been on the market, market share, the release version, or its generation. Availability is quantified as single source, two sources, or multiple sources. Judging the complexity of a development effort is more subjective, especially without a detailed design, but we will base this metric on the relative number of significant new, unproven functions that must be devised and implemented for each configuration, and the technology readiness level of the components being used. We will also include in the development risk the ability to conduct a realistic and meaningful test of a prototype of the system. Some promising designs may be extremely difficult or even impossible to verify adequately in a controlled field test.

User acceptability will be judged by how well each configuration meets the requirements determined from user needs, as well as on expected system specifications that primarily affect the user. The specifications include size, weight, operational requirements, battery life, and aesthetics. Operational requirements would consider procedures enforced on the user. For example, requiring the transmitter to be worn on top of the head would not be as acceptable as being able to wear it under the clothes. As part of this assessment, a judgment must be derived of the likelihood that the user will wear/use the device sufficiently frequently to achieve the expected safety benefits.

Each of the four categories of metrics will provide 25 percent of the overall feasibility score. The system design configuration that is determined to be the most feasible will be further developed, and form the basis of the phase II proposal. In case of equivalent scores, OPTIMUS will both solicit the COTR's input and consider our team's strongest capabilities in choosing the design configuration to recommend for Phase II prototyping.

The recommended system configuration will be expanded into a more detailed system design. This is required to accurately scope the development effort to be proposed for Phase II. This design will address both hardware and software required for the system.

For the hardware design, OPTIMUS will identify specific components by part numbers, and their vendors. Where possible, a second source will be identified. Custom design and integration efforts required will be described in detail and their duration and cost estimated. However, in our experience only significant or critical components need to be included in the design at this time. The delay between this task and procurement in Phase II could be six to nine months, an eternity by high-tech evolution standards. In Phase II, it will probably be desirable to revisit our choices so that we are assured to use the best and least expensive components in the prototype.

At this time, OPTIMUS does not expect that this system will require a fully capable computer or sophisticated software, which may make the system too costly for widespread acceptance. It is more likely that the user interface and the receiver unit(s) will be operated by a low-cost microcontroller. A microcontroller uses much less complex software or firmware then a full computer but the software is less versatile and more oriented toward specific tasks. It also can perform more like a real-time system as it does not have to accommodate the overhead tasks continually performed by the operating system of full computers. OPTIMUS currently is developing two systems under government contracts that utilize microcontrollers. In this task, will identify major software functions, and their required variables, processes, and algorithms. If COTS software can be used, the product and version will be identified.

In this task, the OPTIMUS team will specify a plan for Phase II development. The plan will identify the technical objectives, work tasks, and schedule. Development risks will be identified and quantified. The result will be much less detailed than the actual Phase II proposal but it will provide another indicator of project feasibility, a primary goal of all phase one efforts.

A draft of the final report will be submitted to the COTR three weeks before the end of phase I. The final version of the report will be delivered at the six-month mark.

OPTIMUS also will provide the two interim reports at their required times during Phase I.

Agency name: NHTSA Contract number:

Contract Value: $540,000 Period of Performance: October 1996 to Jan 2001

Repeat DWI offenders make up 33% of the DWI convictions each year. Many motorists who have been caught and convicted of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) continue to drive even though their licenses have been suspended or revoked. As one way of dealing with this problem, NHTSA is developing an automated system that alerts the police when a passing motorist may be driving on a suspended license. Such a system would provide the officers with key information about the suspended offender so that it would be unlikely other (innocent) drivers would be stopped or otherwise inconvenienced. PDDS is a three phase research effort to: (1) investigate the feasibility of developing a Problem Driver Detection System (PDDS); (2) if feasible, develop prototypes of the PDDS; (3) test the PDDS for effectiveness under real world conditions.

In Phase I, OPTIMUS, as the prime contractor, developed requirements for the system, and performed an exhaustive survey to identify technologies that could meet the requirements. Once the technology was identified, OPTIMUS developed the system architecture. This architecture was used by OPTIMUS’ subcontractors, Coyote as traffic safety subject matter experts and a team of legal scholars to determine user (police, judges, and prosecutors) and legal acceptability. Based on the positive reports of Phase I, OPTIMUS recommended development of the system. With Coyote, OPTIMUS determined operational constraints and user acceptability.

In Phase II, the PDDS prototype was developed and tested successfully. OPTIMUS developed the detailed system design, and contracted with a manufacturer to produce the transmitters and receiver electronics.

OPTIMUS designed the multimedia user interface and developed all the system software using Java and C++. The prototype system is composed of a watch-sized transmitter affixed to the offender with tamper evident bands, a central database of offenders, and a receiver/antenna array unit and database/display unit (portable computer) for the law enforcement vehicles. The transmitter continuously sends a number that is indexed to a database of PDDS offenders. The transmitters are low power with a range of between about ¼ mile.

The main database is installed on any Windows desktop computer that has access to the Internet, or a CDPD network. Each new offender is added to the main database at the Probation Office by entering their sentence information, and taking and attaching a digital picture to the file. Each law enforcement vehicle will have a receiving antenna array, a receiver module, and a database/display computer. The database/display computer is connected wirelessly to the central computer through a CDPD modem. The deployed computer contains a copy of the offender database that is kept updated by regularly scheduled, autonomous wireless updates. Records of offenders encountered are automatically sent back to the central computer.

When the offender transmitter is within range of the receiver in the law enforcement vehicle, the database/display in the law enforcement vehicle:

♦ Sounds an alarm

♦ Describes the offender using synthetic voice

♦ Displays the offender’s picture and sentence information

♦ Indicates a rough direction to the transmitter

♦ Records the encounter

The officer must then locate the offender and vehicle to determine if the PDDS subject is violating the law by driving without a license.

In Phase II Controlled Field Testing at the MSPDTF, the PDDS performed nearly flawless under realistic urban and rural traffic conditions, and operated by real police officers. All transmitters produced an alarm and there were no false alarms. Average alarm distance was about ¼ mile, which resulted in an average warning time of 17 and 21 seconds for speeds of 50 and 40 mph respectively. Discrimination of the car containing the transmitter was 100% successful. The two officers had only five minutes of training but still rated their confidence in the system alert as 4.6 out of 5, and said that more training or experience would not improve their performance at determining the car and whether the subject was driving. Both officers rated the system’s detection ability as “very effective”.

In Phase III, OPTIMUS is deploying the system to a volunteer jurisdiction for testing. OPTIMUS will support this testing, and oversee the data collection and analysis done by our subcontractor. Wile Coyote will design, supervise, and analyze the data for the field test in a jurisdiction in Phase III.

4.1.2 Automated Documentation of Crash Scences using GPS (AutoDOCS-GPS)

Agency name: NHTSA Contract number:

Contract Value: $375,000 Performance Period: September 1997 to May 2001

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) performs research on the causes and circumstances of automobile and truck crashes. One of the most important sources of data for this research comes from the analysis of crash scenes. The position and orientation of vehicles relative to each other and roadway features is important to attempt to determine the crash dynamics and cause. Skid mark positions and lengths also provide clues.

Currently, crash scene measurements are done manually with wheel and tape measures. The data are recorded by hand and the analysis is done through manual calculation. NHTSA has contracted with the OPTIMUS Team through the SBIR program to design and develop a low cost, compact system that will significantly enhance the speed and accuracy of crash scene documentation. The system will use highly accurate, kinematic, Differential GPS (DGPS) measurements to geolocate crash scene elements and reference points. The Team consists of OPTIMUS, and Wile Coyote (Coyote).

OPTIMUS’ proposed system, AutoDOCS-GPS, will consist of a portable computer, a turn-key software package utilizing a Graphical User Interface (GUI), GPS receivers, and GPS antennas. Using AutoDOCS, a single surveyor will be able to accurately and rapidly, measure and document a crash scene. To perform the crash scene measurements, the researcher will power up the pen or laptop computer, and initiate the turnkey software.

The turnkey software will feature a user friendly, graphical interface that can provide step-by-step prompts, if the user desires. The processing software will take the raw GPS data from both receivers and determine the relative position of each point to about centimeter accuracy. The AutoDOCS software will then automatically develop a Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) quality graphical representation of the scene. The AutoDOCS software will then call the word processing program, Microsoft Word to automatically complete a text report.

Phase I work included developing the system requirements to which Coyote contributed significantly, performing feasibility testing, system design, and a feasibility analysis. Phase II, currently underway, consists of system development, and alpha and beta testing. The technical objectives of Phase II are listed below.

♦ Optimize functional design and processing algorithm design

♦ Develop two AutoDOCS-GPS prototypes

♦ Test prototypes to ensure fidelity to design specifications

♦ Test prototypes with AutoDOCS’ options

♦ Test prototypes in actual field situations

♦ Modify prototypes for peak performance as NHTSA instruments

OPTIMUS work includes system design, processing algorithm development, software development, and test. Coyote is providing expertise on system and operational requirements and, and will lead the beta testing.

4.2 OPTIMUS’S RELATED WORK

OPTIMUS has a great deal of transportation and transportation system design experience. Space constraints limit this section to two examples.

Wile Coyote, Inc., is an employee-owned small business organization founded in 1948. The company provides research-consulting services specializing in the application of the behavioral and systems sciences to the solution of human/machine/environment problems. Our clients include federal, state and local government agencies, industrial organizations and the military.

As pioneers in the field of human factors research and engineering, our primary focus has always been on the human element. Emphasis has been on the development, enhancement, measurement and evaluation of safety, human performance, motivation and health. Since our inception, we have completed over 2,000 assignments ranging from single-day consulting efforts to multi-million dollar research and development undertakings.

Pedestrian safety research has been a prime focus of our efforts for almost 30 years. From major, landmark studies, such as the determination of the relative risk of alcohol use by pedestrians in pedestrian crash causation, to consulting with individual school districts on their pupil transportation pedestrian problems, Coyote professionals have been among the leaders in pedestrian safety efforts.

Space limitations prevent the presentation of a more exhaustive list of Coyote’s pedestrian safety efforts for federal, state, regional and local agencies. The skill of the Coyote professionals in developing and testing overall system functional requirements as well as specific requirements for user interfaces are particularly germane to the proposed effort.

Personnel from OPTIMUS include the proposed PI, Sr. Systems Engineer, System Engineer, and a Software Engineer (if required). Space limits us to the resumes of the key personnel only; the PI and Sr. Systems Engineer that will lead the technical effort. Coyote will provide expertise in pedestrian safety research, as well as traffic safety systems’ requirements and test.
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Phase I will develop detailed requirements for the PAS system based on pedestrian safety research, high potential missions definition, and testing of critical requirement or mission parameters using the existing PDDS equipment. OPTIMUS will use the system requirements to develop candidate design configurations that will be analyzed for feasibility. The most feasible and desirable design will be further defined to facilitate a Phase II System Development Plan identifying resource levels and risk.

A detailed test plan will be developed, and laboratory and controlled field tests will be conducted. Coyote and Assoc. will develop and administer the field tests. Modifications suggested by the testers will be incorporated before a Government Acceptance Test. A final report will completely document the design, software, test procedures, test results, and conclusions and recommendations.

OPTIMUS Corporation will perform all Phase I activities (except controlled testing) at its 15,000 ft2 facility in Silver Spring, MD. Our facility is equipped with a Rapid Application Development (RAD) laboratory, and extensive computing assets. The facility includes offices for technical and support personnel, two conference room, and a hardware test and assembly room that has electronic test equipment for hardware development and troubleshooting. OPTIMUS also has PDDS software and equipment available for requirements/mission testing during this phase. OPTIMUS provides a high speed Internet connection for all technical employees.

OPTIMUS is a Microsoft Certified Software Developer that access to all Microsoft beta software, technical support, and development environments. OPTIMUS uses Rational Rose for software design, documentation, project control, and testing. The office meets all state and federal environmental laws and regulations. The nearby Maryland State Patrol Driver Training Facility (MSPDTF), described in section 3.1, can probably be used for controlled testing.

Equipment includes: 20 Pentium II & III Computers, 4 Pentium II laptops, 3 Laser Printers, 1 Production Laser Printer, 2 color printers, 1 E-Sized Plotter, 1 E-Sized Scanner, and two Internet server. Electronic test equipment includes: oscilloscopes, signal generators, spectrum analyzers, and a data analyzer

There will be no consultants. However, Wile Coyote is a subcontractor in this effort. They will provide expertise on pedestrian traffic safety research and PAS requirements.

The PAS can increase its chances of widespread use by being capable of performing other functions besides pedestrian safety. These other applications will increase the deployed equipment, reduce prices, expand coverage, and increase the specific PAS effectiveness. Therefore, it is very desirable to commercialize these applications around the base technology. OPTIMUS is actively commercializing its present products, and thinks that the PAS represents a great opportunity for both societal and commercial benefits.

If the system is determined to be a RF or microwave communication system, it would have commercial applications including location of lost/stolen property such as bicycles, vehicles, or even appliances. It also can be used in inventory control at retail stores, shipping yards, warehouses, and factories. It could be used in airports for cargo and luggage sorting. Disoriented patients (Alzheimer’s disease) and lost or kidnapped children could be located. Lost children in malls and amusement parks could be located quickly if the transmitters could be rented for a nominal fee. A system for protecting pets that wander into traffic could be called PAWS (Pet Ahead Warning System).

Government applications are just as myriad and include some of the commercial applications. Depending on the design, it might have applications in monitoring probation subjects. Prisoners’ movement can be determined and restricted within facilities. It is possible, that it could be applied to automating commercial truck and driver regulation. The military will have the largest need for logistics tracking by PAS but other agencies have similar applications, It also could be used at entrance gates for gate security and on the base for restricted parking access. The military also needs the pedestrian safety application as well. If it could be made small enough, smart licenses that broadcast information to police after a stop are a possibility.

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