DOT 55-08
Friday, April 18, 2008

News Digest

U.S. DOT Seeks Innovative Research Proposals from Small Businesses to Solve Multimodal Transportation Challenges. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) announced the first of two Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program solicitations for 2008, inviting small businesses to submit innovative research proposals that address high priority national transportation goals. RITA has set a new strategic direction for the program this year, with a heightened emphasis on proposals that would provide cost-effective, multi-modal solutions to the nation’s most pressing transportation challenges in areas such as bridge condition monitoring technology and data collection, hazardous materials tracking and incident response, adaptive traffic signal control, and rail, motorcycle and pedestrian safety research. The SBIR program is administered by RITA’s Volpe National Transportation Systems Center on behalf of DOT’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. Proposals are due by June 3, 2008. The solicitation is available online at http://www.volpe.dot.gov/sbir/current.html.  Contact: Kim Riddle: 202-366-5128.


U.S. Department of Transportation Approves Continuation of Inland GPS Operations. The U.S. Department of Transportation approved a decision to continue the inland component of the Nationwide Differential Global Positioning System (NDGPS), which provides an accurate, highly-reliable, real-time GPS correction signal. The decision is based on the results of the NDGPS user assessment conducted by the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA).  RITA followed the plan announced in the Federal Register notice on NDGPS (72 FR 42219), assessing the current user needs and systems requirements for the inland component of NDGPS.  The notice listed 10 factors for consideration.  Information was gathered on these 10 factors through public responses to the notice (including responses from state and local governments, the private sector, and the non-profit sector), and through quantification of the mission requirements of other federal agencies using inland NDGPS. Discussions are ongoing regarding the future funding mechanism for inland NDGPS, and will be addressed in future budget submissions. This decision was endorsed by the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Executive Committee at their meeting of March 20, and publicly announced at the PNT Advisory Committee meeting on March 27.  Contact: Kim Riddle 202-366-5128.