U.S. DOT Announces Winners of the Intersection Safety Challenge

Winners announced during the 2024 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting  

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) announced the winners of the U.S. DOT Intersection Safety Challenge Stage 1A at the TRB Annual Meeting. The Challenge aims to transform roadway intersection safety by incentivizing new and emerging technologies that identify and address unsafe conditions involving vehicles, and vulnerable road users at intersections. The Challenge draws on the expertise of researchers and practitioners from universities, State and local agencies, private sector developers, and other organizations. 

“As Secretary Buttigieg says, the number of fatalities occurring on our roadways is unacceptable. We need to act swiftly on several fronts, and the U.S. DOT Intersection Safety Challenge represents one concrete step forward towards achieving our goal of Vision Zero,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Chief Scientist Dr. Robert C. Hampshire. “Congratulations to the Stage 1A winners today, and we look forward to the further development, validation, and testing of their intersection safety system concepts in the near future.” 

For the first stage of the Challenge, Stage 1A, participants submitted   proposed design concepts for their proposed intersection safety systems. U.S. DOT received 120 innovative concept papers and selected 15 for prize awards. Each of the 15 winning teams in Stage 1A will receive a prize of $100,000 and an invitation to participate in Stage 1B: System Assessment and Virtual Testing, subject to final verification of each team’s eligibility status. In Stage 1B, teams are expected to develop, train, and improve algorithms for the detection, localization, and classification of vulnerable road users and vehicles using U.S. DOT-supplied sensor data collected at a controlled test roadway intersection.   

The winners of Stage 1A of the U.S. DOT Intersection Safety Challenge are: 

Improving the safety of pedestrians, bicyclists, and other vulnerable road users is of critical importance to achieving the U.S. DOT’s vision of zero roadway deaths and serious injuries. The Intersection Safety Challenge supports these Departmental priorities, aligns with the U.S. DOT’s National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS), and aims to set the stage for the future deployment of roadway intersection safety systems nationwide. 

Given the overwhelming interest in Stage 1A, U.S. DOT is exploring ways to engage all interested parties in future stages of the Intersection Safety Challenge. For updates on opportunities to participate in the Intersection Safety Challenge in the coming year, please visit https://its.dot.gov/isc/.