Author: Ryan Hall

OmniAir Coordinating Council to Hold Inaugural Meeting

OmniAir Consortium announces the formation of a Coordinating Council.  The new council will issue technical advice and recommendations to help guide on policies and programs to OmniAir’s Board of Directors and principal stakeholders. It will help to guide the future direction of OmniAir’s certification programs, technical and professional activities.

The Coordinating Council will consist of the chairs of OmniAir‘s four working groups, and two subgroups. OmniAir’s Board Chair will serve as an ex-officio member. 

Appointed members include: 

Mike Brown, Southwest Research Institute

Frank Perry, WSP

Tom Hutchinson, HNTB Corporation

Jimmy Upton, Integrity Security Services

Jim Lansford, Qualcomm

Hassen Alwalie, Danlaw

Steve Novosad, HNTB Corporation (ex officio)

The initial meeting of the working group is scheduled for 11 am EDT on Friday, April 17. 

For more information, please contact Aaron Moore, Manager, Technology Programs.

 

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FETC International Earns OmniAir Certification: 6C Tolling Protocol Reader

OmniAir Consortium® is excited to announce that the FETCi Victoria ORT RFID Reader successfully met the requirements to earn OmniAir Certified® status.

FETC International is a leading Intelligent Tolling Enabler. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of its parent company, Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Company (FETC) in Taiwan.

Since its establishment in 2004, FETC was officially commissioned by the Taiwan government to build and operate the ETC system and associated service operation for a nationwide freeway network. In early 2006, FETC successfully launched Single Lane Free Flow (SLFF) ETC operation in 23 toll plazas. That experience helped shape this high-performance RFID Reader. The FETCi Victoria ORT RFID Reader promises to raise the bar within the ITS field due to its reliable performance and a wide variety of features.

All OmniAir Certified RFID tags and readers for tolling, including the FETCi Victoria ORT RFID Reader, as well as devices certified for the connected vehicle market, are listed on OmniAir’s searchable directory. Deploying agencies and end-users are encouraged to verify any claims of OmniAir Certification on our certified devices listing page located online at https://omniair.org/certified-products/.  If a device is not registered, it is not an OmniAir Certified device.

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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National Chiao Tung University (“NCTU”), one of Taiwan’s leading institution of higher education, has joined OmniAir Consortium­­®  as an Executive Level Member.

NCTU is a top-rated research university based in Hsinchu City, Taiwan. Located close to Hsinchu Science Park (HSP) –the “Silicon Valley” of Taiwan, the University serves as a hub of academic and industrial collaboration. NCTU, along with its sister campus in China, boasts the largest alumni network in the entire Asia Pacific region.

“OmniAir is honored that National Chiao Tung University has chosen to join our growing ranks of Executive Members,” said Jason Conley, Executive Director of OmniAir Consortium. “Their deep experience and expertise will help OmniAir to continue to advance our testing and certification programs around the world.”

NCTU has always been at the forefront of the world’s newest technologies. From establishing the first semiconductor laboratory in Taiwan to developing new cutting edge research on the internet of things (IOT), bio-inspired information and communication technology (BIO-ICT), biomedical technologies, AI, green energy, intelligent hospitals, and connected and automated vehicle technologies (V2X).

NCTU has already joined several of our technical working groups, and we look forward to their unique perspective and expertise to help shape and drive our connected vehicle certification programs. Working groups are only open to OmniAir Members. If you or your colleagues are interested in joining an OmniAir Working Group, we have an easy sign-up form on our website, or you can contact Kate Oldham, Sr. Director of Meetings & Membership.  If you are not yet an OmniAir member, it is easy to join.

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.

About National Chiao Tung University

NCTU has 12 colleges that offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs in Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Semiconductor Technology, Computer Science, Science, Biological Science and Technology, Photonics, AI, Green Energy, Management, Law, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Hakka Studies. There are around 700+ teaching faculty members, 300+ research staff, and 14,700+ students (including about 5,600 undergraduates and 9,100 graduates) in NCTU. Among them, more than 10% are international students.

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OmniAir Consortium® is offering its members opportunities to engage and collaborate remotely on a range of technical initiatives, advancing V2X and tolling technologies.

We understand that the shift from office to remote work can be challenging.  OmniAir’s use of online tools helps to facilitate collaboration among our members and staff.

No matter where your “office” is located, if it is in the backyard, the dinner table, or a small corner of the house we encourage you to log in, join and contribute on one, or all of OmniAir’s projects.

As a member-driven organization, we realize the importance of supporting and empowering our members and we are committed to providing more virtual content, to inspire and enable productivity, and to continue OmniAir’s mission of promoting interoperability and certification for connected vehicles, ITS, and transportation payment systems.

Here are just a few highlights of what we have happening:

  • For the first time we are opening up our Monthly Membership Meeting to the connected vehicle community at large, no membership required! Virtual seating is limited to 251 guests.  The March 26 meeting is at 1:00 PM EDT and will feature Maureen Bock, Chief Innovation Officer, Oregon Department of Transportation, discussing Oregon’s OreGo program for road usage charging.
  • OmniAir’s Certification Working Group is developing a new OmniAir Authorized Test Track Program, for field test facilities for both CAV and tolling testing
  • OmniAir’s Certification Working Group is also in the process of finalizing a Standards Consideration Criteria policy
  • OmniAir’s C-V2X Subgroup is developing the world’s first comprehensive testing and certification program for C-V2X devices, as well as guidelines for authorizing C-V2X test equipment and test labs
  • OmniAir’s V2X Applications Testing Subgroup (our newest group) is developing test cases for important V2V and V2I applications.
  • OmniAir is scheduling a series of free public webinars in the weeks and months to come, highlighting advances in testing and deployment programs for V2X, tolling, and ITS, powered by the collective intelligence and expertise of our members and staff

Here is how you can get involved:

  • Volunteer to be a presenter on a monthly membership call or webinar
  • Recommend a colleague or friend
  • Submit topics for webinars or monthly membership calls
  • Join one of OmniAir’s Working Groups or Subcommittees (must be an OmniAir member)

To participate in any of our working groups or to volunteer please contact Kate Oldham, Sr. Director of Meetings and Membership.

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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I would like to provide an update to OmniAir members, partners, and transportation stakeholders on new and ongoing OmniAir Consortium activities, considering the COVID-19 pandemic.

The past weeks have been unusually challenging for many of us.  The Coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak has reached nearly every corner of the world. With an unprecedented number of people confined to their homes, we are reminded of the fact that we are all in this together.

We applaud our members who are actively engaged in the fight against the virus in ways large and small.  From 3M accelerating production of protective equipment for healthcare workers, to GM and Ford’s converting automotive factories to produce ventilators, to many tolling agencies moving to all-electronic tolling for hygienic purposes.

In time, we hope to highlight many of the stories that demonstrate the resolve and resilience of our members and the broader transportation community.

OmniAir Consortium, for its part, remains committed to its core mission of promoting interoperability and certification for ITS, tolling, and connected vehicles.   Together with our members, we will continue to develop the necessary testing and certification programs to ensure that trusted communications devices are available for potentially-lifesaving V2X technologies.

As an organization, OmniAir is well-situated for operating in a virtual environment.  Our staff is highly distributed, so telework has long been our daily reality.  Likewise, OmniAir’s membership spans the globe. We routinely rely on virtual meeting and cloud services that allow our members to share knowledge and collaborate on developing testing and certification programs—wherever they might be.

OmniAir continues to press forward on several significant initiatives. If you find yourself newly working from home, and you have time to contribute to one of our many projects and working groups, we encourage you to do so.

In addition, we are taking immediate actions to ensure that our members, and the broader transportation community, will be able to continue to participate during this challenging time:

  • Registration fees for OmniAir Lone Star Plugfest may be applied to the rescheduled event or to future certification testing fees;
  • OmniAir is offering free location accuracy testing for members who have purchased OmniAir Lone Star Plugfest device testing tickets;
  • OmniAir Monthly Membership calls for North America, Europe, and Asia, will be open to non-members for the remainder of 2020; and
  • OmniAir is scheduling a series of free public webinars in the weeks and months to come, highlighting advances in testing and deployment programs for V2X, tolling, and ITS.

If there is anything else that we can do to help during this difficult period, please do not hesitate to ask me or another member of the OmniAir staff.

I would like to conclude by thanking each of you for your continued support of this organization, and for your help in advancing our shared mission.   Stay healthy, well and engaged during these challenging times.

Jason M. Conley
Executive Director
www.omniair.org

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