Design and Development of an Automated Truck Mounted Attenuator

Truck-Mounted Attenuators (TMAs) are energy-absorbing devices added to heavy shadow vehicles to provide a mobile barrier that protects work crews from errant vehicles entering active work zones. While the TMA is designed to absorb and/or redirect the energy from a colliding vehicle, there is still significant risk of injury to the TMA driver when struck, which has happened at an increasing rate in Virginia since 2011. Although various efforts have been made to improve TMA driver crashworthiness, the most effective way to protect TMA drivers may be to remove them from the vehicle altogether. During this project, a consortium consisting of Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI), Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), DBi Services, and Transurban collaborated to design and build an automated TMA system (ATMA) that will remove the driver in future phases from the TMA vehicle in mobile and short duration work zone operations using a short following distance leader-follower control concept. The resulting ATMA successfully operates at speeds up to 15mph in environments with dependable global positioning system (GPS) signal and at commanded following distances between 50-400 feet. The ATMA features a LIDAR-based system to detect and respond to obstacles and has an extensive internal and external human-machine interface to support communications between system operators and external road users.

• Dataset URL:
  https://doi.org/10.15787/VTT1/AT0RHF
• Record URL:
  https://safed.vtti.vt.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Ready-for-Site-Safe-D-Final-Research-Report_ATMA_VTTI-00-022.pdf
• Summary URL:
  https://safed.vtti.vt.edu/projects/automated-truck-mounted-attenuator/
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/56912
• Dataset URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/57014
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program. Supporting datasets available at: https://doi.org/10.15787/VTT1/AT0RHF; https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/57014
• Corporate Authors:

  Safety through Disruption University Transportation Center (Safe-D)

  Virginia Tech Transportation Institute
  Blacksburg, VA  United States  24060

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • White, Elizabeth A
  • 0000-0003-2854-4301
  • Mollenhauer, Michael A
  • 0000-0002-7595-8489
  • Vilela, Jean Paul Talledo
• Publication Date: 2021-5

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Maps; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 44p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automated vehicle control for ground vehicles; Intelligent vehicles; Prototypes; Truck mounted attenuators; Vehicle design; Work zone safety
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01776666
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: VTTI-00-022
• Contract Numbers: 69A3551747115
• Files: UTC, NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Jul 19 2021 9:40AM