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The U.S. Department of Transportation recently launched the Complete Streets AI (artificial intelligence) Initiative through the department’s Small Business Innovation Research Program.
The initiative will allow small businesses to leverage advancements in AI that improve transportation. There will be multiple phases with the goal of developing new decision-support tools for state, local, and tribal transportation agencies that assist in the siting, design, and deployment of Complete Streets.
“Innovation in the AI and transportation sector is happening at unprecedented speed and has the potential to address some of our most pressing transportation challenges,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “This funding supports our country’s small businesses and startups to harness cutting-edge technologies, deploy them in local communities, and make our streets safer.”
Complete Street are streets and networks that prioritize safety, comfort, and connectivity to destinations.
“Complete streets are easier to plan with more complete data,” Dr. Robert C. Hampshire, principal deputy assistant secretary for research and technology and chief science officer, said.
“This is a bold effort to build out that data along with the technology platforms that make it easy to use.”
The department will award up to 10 phase one contracts to small businesses that develop data and analytics capabilities that drive insights.