Author: Ryan Hall

OmniAir Consortium®, the leading industry association promoting interoperability and certification for ITS, tolling, and connected vehicles, announces that the Transportation Research Center Inc., (TRC) has joined OmniAir Consortium as an Associate Level Member.

TRC is the most comprehensive independent vehicle test facility and proving grounds in the United States. It includes a 4,500-acre, full-service automotive proving ground and labs, and the SMARTCenter, TRC’s automated and connected vehicle test facility.

TRC has been an acknowledged leader in transportation research and innovation since 1972. Located in East Liberty, Ohio, TRC offers the world’s leading vehicle manufacturers, systems makers, and other transportation innovators a full range of engineering, research, and testing capabilities as well as compliance and certification testing.

As a wholly independent 501(c)(3) organization, TRC provides these services with the strictest respect for each client’s security, confidentially, and proprietary interests.

“I can not think of a better way to start off the New Year and am excited to add TRC to our roster of members,” said Jason Conley, Executive Director for OmniAir Consortium. “TRC strengthens our connected vehicle ecosystem as their SMARTCenter is designed to test connected and automated vehicles. TRC shares in OmniAir’s mission to deliver trusted communications technologies for transportation.”

TRC programs are designed to test for safety, energy, fuel economy, emissions, durability, performance, noise, crash simulation, and crashworthiness. Programs evaluate the performance of passenger cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, airplanes, off-road, tracked, alternative-fueled vehicles, and their components.

TRC operates 24/7 and in a full range of seasonal conditions on various advanced research facilities, including road courses, rural lanes, a 7.5-mile high-speed oval test track, and a 50-acre vehicle dynamics area.

In early 2021, OmniAir will launch a certification program for OmniAir Authorized Field Test Sites. This program will evaluate field testing facilities for Connected Vehicles, as well as Tolling.

About OmniAir Consortium
OmniAir Consortium is the leading industry association promoting interoperability and certification for ITS, tolling, and connected vehicles. OmniAir’s membership includes public agencies, private companies, research institutions, and independent test laboratories. Learn more about OmniAir at www.omniair.org.

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OmniAir Consortium®, the leading industry association promoting interoperability and certification for ITS, tolling, and connected vehicles, announces its leadership team’s re-election for 2021 and beyond.

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Chair

 Steve Novosad, Associate Fellow, Associate Vice President HNTB Corporation

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Vice chair

P.J. Wilkins, Executive Director E-ZPass Group

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Treasurer

Jason JonMichael, Assistant Director, Smart Mobility, Enterprise Parking, & Mobility Services Austin Transportation Department

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secretary

Frank Perry, Assistant Vice President, Technical Principal, Connected and Automated Vehicles WSP 

The election came as part of OmniAir’s December 2nd Board Meeting. The newly re-elected officers represent a broad cross-section of public and private sector leaders in V2X and tolling technologies.  Officers will serve a three-year term. 

In addition, OmniAir’s Board of Directors unanimously approved a five-year contract extension for OmniAir Executive Director Jason Conley.

Jason Conley joined OmniAir in 2016. Mr. Conley has focused on growing OmniAir’s membership, expanding its certification programs, and fostering industry and international partnerships to help advance interoperability and certification for trusted communications devices in transportation.

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Executive director

Jason Conley, OmniAir Consortium

“I am honored to have the opportunity to work together with recognized transportation leaders to help advance this great organization into 2021 and beyond,” said Jason Conley, Executive Director of OmniAir. “I look forward to working with our members and leading our team of industry experts to deliver trusted, critical of life safety devices.” 

Over the past four years, OmniAir has grown into a global organization, with a 150% increase in membership, with members located in over 20 countries.

The rapid membership growth directly correlates with our DSRC-V2X certification programs’ development and launch and our vast network of OmniAir Authorized Test Laboratories offering independent, third-party testing and certification programs for RFID tolling and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) connected vehicle technologies.

With over 85 members, OmniAir represents the entire connected vehicle ecosystem from device manufacturers, engineering firms, test laboratories, test equipment providers, automotive OEMs, Tier One suppliers, and deploying agencies.

OmniAir’s leadership team is committed to keeping the organization at the forefront of testing and certification services for transportation technologies. In the coming months, OmniAir is planning to launch new programs for:

  • C-V2X (PC5) Radio Certification
  • Multi-protocol RFID Tolling Certification
  • Authorized Field Test Site Facilities 

OmniAir will work on new initiatives for V2X-based tolling, module certification and continue to build its international partnerships to advance interoperability and certification across North America, Europe, and Asia.

About OmniAir Consortium
OmniAir Consortium is the leading industry association promoting interoperability and certification for ITS, tolling, and connected vehicles. OmniAir’s membership includes public agencies, private companies, research institutions, and independent test laboratories. Learn more about OmniAir at www.omniair.org.

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OmniAir Consortium®, the leading industry association promoting interoperability and certification for ITS, tolling, and connected vehicles, announces the election of three new Directors:

The new Directors, elected at the OmniAir® Annual Board Meeting on December 2nd, will serve three-year terms.

“OmniAir’s newly elected Directors bring deep experience and valuable industry insights,” said Steve Novosad, Chair of OmniAir’s Board of Directors and Associate Fellow, Associate Vice President ITS, HNTB Corporation. “As OmniAir Directors, they will help to guide the organization’s strategy, and to advance its mission of ensuring the availability of trusted communications technologies for transportation.”

With over 85 members worldwide, OmniAir’s membership includes device manufacturers, engineering firms, test labs, test equipment providers, automotive OEMs, Tier One suppliers, and deploying agencies. OmniAir offers independent, third-party testing and certification programs for RFID tolling and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) connected vehicle technologies.

“We are excited to welcome these recognized transportation and technology leaders to OmniAir Consortium’s Board of Directors,” said Jason Conley, Executive Director of OmniAir. “These new Directors will help OmniAir to advance our independent, third-party testing and certification programs for vehicle connectivity and transportation payment systems.”

The following Directors were re-elected to OmniAir’s Board of Directors and will serve three-year terms:

About OmniAir Consortium

OmniAir Consortium is the leading industry association promoting interoperability and certification for ITS, tolling, and connected vehicles. OmniAir’s membership includes public agencies, private companies, research institutions, and independent test laboratories. Learn more about OmniAir at www.omniair.org.

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Last week, the FCC voted to reallocate spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band (5.850-5.925 GHz), designating the lower 45 MHz for unlicensed operations and authorizing the use of Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) in the upper 30 MHz portion of the band. The decision was, as a practical matter, unanimous and bipartisan, with Chairman Pai, Commissioners O’Reilly and Carr approving, and Commissioners Rosenworcel and Starks concurring. The final Report & Order was published on Friday.

The decision to give away over half of the spectrum for unlicensed Wi-Fi devices found opposition by numerous transportation and automotive organizations.  OmniAir Consortium® has long supported preserving the full 75 MHz of spectrum for use by Intelligent Transportation Systems.  At the same time, OmniAir® fully supports the decision to authorize, for the first time, the use of C-V2X technologies in the upper 30 MHz of the spectrum.

For those who have worked to advance the development and deployment of Dedicated Short range Radio Communication (DSRC), last week’s vote was a difficult one. However, for far too long, the ITS industry has dealt with regulatory uncertainty regarding the 5.9 GHz spectrum.  This uncertainty has hampered industry and government’s ability to make long-term investment decisions in lifesaving connected vehicle technologies.

Last week’s decision by the FCC opens a path for C-V2X deployment in the United States—and new opportunities for those engaged in the work of standards, testing, pilot projects, and early deployments.  There will be challenges—no doubt.  However, OmniAir is ready and uniquely positioned to guide deploying agencies and automotive OEMs as they pivot to a new communications media.

OmniAir Well Prepared for Transition to C-V2X

In 2017, OmniAir launched the world’s first independent third-party testing and certification DSRC-V2X radios, including On-Board Units (OBUs) and Roadside Units (RSUs).  We will continue to offer certification and readiness testing for DSRC devices in the U.S. during the transition period and in other markets.

OmniAir is well-prepared for the transition to C-V2X.  Since our first demonstration of C-V2X testing two years ago at the OmniAir Texas Plugfest, we have seen a steady increase in C-V2X devices and test equipment participating in OmniAir Plugfests. During last month’s Global Plugfest, 17 of 20 devices tested were C-V2X radios—destined for the U.S. marketplace.  Each of the nine participating test equipment providers and all six participating test laboratories offered C-V2X testing capabilities.

OmniAir will continue its mission to ensure that deploying agencies and automakers worldwide can rely on OmniAir Certified devices for trusted communications, regardless of the underlying radio technology.

In December, OmniAir will launch the world’s first comprehensive certification program for C-V2X (LTE-V2X PC5) radios.

Over the past year, OmniAir and its members have developed hundreds of new test cases for C-V2X testing and have validated these through our testing at our recent OmniAir Global Plugfest. We have received several applications for the OmniAir Qualified Test Equipment (OQTE) and OmniAir Authorized Test Laboratory (OATL) programs for C-V2X testing within days of opening registration.

Next year, we plan to help a broad cross-section of stakeholders navigate this change through webinars and workshops, Plugfests, and ongoing Working Group activities.

Join us on December 2 for our OmniAir Annual Meeting to learn more about our C-V2X testing and certification plans in 2021 and beyond.

About OmniAir Consortium

OmniAir Consortium is the leading industry association promoting interoperability and certification for ITS, tolling, and Connected Vehicles. OmniAir’s membership includes public agencies, private companies, research institutions, and independent test laboratories. Learn more about OmniAir at www.omniair.org.

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OmniAir Consortium’s ® Working Groups have approved a set of new policies and specifications that will lay the groundwork for launching our new certification program later this year.

Over 300 new test cases for Cellular-Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X), validated through device testing at last month’s OmniAir Global Plugfest, have been approved by OmniAir’s Technical Working Group.

In addition, OmniAir’s Certification Working Group approved two new policies that will be critical to the future of OmniAir’s Certification Testing, including the OmniAir Connected Vehicle Conformity Assessment Program Version 2.0, and the OmniAir Authorized Field Site Test Program Manual.

The OmniAir Board of Directors will consider adopting the new program at their next meeting in December.  OmniAir Members may review the draft test cases and policy documents by logging into the ‘Members Only’ section of the OmniAir website.

OmniAir plans to launch its C-V2X Certification Program in December 2020, which will allow for test equipment qualification and laboratory authorization to begin immediately.  In early 2021, OmniAir will issue Release 1 based on the new standard and regulatory releases.

OmniAir’s C-V2X certification program closely mirrors our highly successful V2X certification program for Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) that launched in October 2017.

“OmniAir was the first to launch a certification program for DSRC-based V2X technologies 2017, and we will be the first again, this time with the first comprehensive certification program for C-V2X radios,” said Jason Conley, Executive Director for OmniAir Consortium. “OmniAir Certification ensures that infrastructure owner-operators and automotive OEMs are able to rely on trusted communications devices, regardless of the underlying radio technology.”

OmniAir Certified® devices conform to industry standards and meet minimum interoperability and security requirements.

If you are interested in OmniAir’s certification program or would like to learn more, contact Ryan Hall, Senior Director of Business Development, for more information.

About OmniAir Consortium

OmniAir Consortium is the leading industry association promoting interoperability and certification for ITS, tolling, and Connected Vehicles. OmniAir’s membership includes public agencies, private companies, research institutions, and independent test laboratories. Learn more about OmniAir at www.omniair.org.

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