"An in-vehicle navigation system is incredibly useful if it gives you directions to a desired destination, but virtually useless if it isn't compatible as you drive across the United States," said Jerry Pittenger, Vice President in Battelle's Transportation Market Sector.

Battelle has been named prime contractor for the project and will work with several partners. The partners include Lockheed Martin, California's state transportation agency, and ARINC, a leader in transportation-related communications subsystems.

Over the course of the 30-month contract Battelle and its partners will study about 80 different standards and how they interrelate. Researchers will do field testing, gather and analyze data, and disseminate the results to stakeholders in ITS.

Stakeholders in ITS - including auto makers, state departments of transportation, and the federal government - want consistency in systems to keep prices down and ensure system compatibility.

While Battelle has experience in the ITS arena, it has no tie to ITS products. "One of the reasons we were selected was because of our unbiased and independent status," Pittenger said. "Users of standards must believe they are ready to make the investment to adopt them. Battelle's reputation brings credibility to the operational performance proclamations."

Battelle will provide an independent assessment of standards developed by organizations such as the Society of Automotive Engineers, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the Institute of Transportation Engineers, and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

"It's really very critical to the whole ITS program," said Jerry Pittenger, Vice President for ITS in Battelle's Transportation Market Sector. "The U.S. Department of Transportation is entrusting an important role to us, making sure these standards have the performance necessary to allow compatible and consistent ITS systems across the country."

Intelligent Transportation Systems include various technologies such as in-vehicle devices with global positioning systems, and collision avoidance systems. ITS also includes infrastructure such as highway cameras, changeable message signs, highway advisory radio and advanced traffic management control systems.

ITS can be applied to transit, rail, commercial, and personal vehicles and marine systems. Recently, Battelle has been involved with major ITS deployments in Seattle, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. It also provided major contributions to regional ITS plans for Gary, Ind., Milwaukee, Chicago, Indianapolis, Oklahoma City, the Dayton-Springfield, Ohio, area, and Akron, Ohio.

These systems are expected to become commonplace within the next decade. "The revolution has been prompted by the application of computers into transportation," Pittenger said.

The market is competitive and potentially lucrative. Some experts have estimated $450 billion will be spent on ITS over the next 20 years.

For more information, contact Tom McClain, (614)424-7728.

Battelle, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, focuses on technology development and commercialization and product development. With 7,500 employees at more than 60 locations, Battelle develops technologies and products for industry and government. Annual revenues are approximately $1 billion.

For more information regarding Battelle, visit Battelle's web site at www.battelle.org, or contact Katy Delaney, Media Relations manager, (614) 424-5544.