Rutgers University has chosen Iteris to support a transport initiative led by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) and Middlesex County.

The university’s Centre for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT) will use the company’s expertise to design and implement the Middlesex County – Smart Mobility Testing Ground (MC-SMTG).

The MC-SMTG platform will be used by the state and local agencies for connected and autonomous vehicle (AV) research.

CAIT will work with Iteris to design and implement a vehicle test site near Rutgers’ New Brunswick campus in New Jersey.

Iteris will also participate as a partner in the public-private-and-academic partnership (PPAP) team, which will execute the proposed construction and testing ground development phase.

CAIT professor and director Dr Ali Maher said: “The MC-SMTG is a critical element in accelerating the delivery of the benefits that can be derived from these new smart mobility technologies.

“The project will further establish Rutgers CAIT as a centre of excellence in transportation innovation in the connected and AV arena.

“Iteris will play a key role as a supporting private-sector partner, providing its design, implementation and smart mobility application development expertise.”

The MC-SMTG project will initially focus on delivering safety applications, such as those offered by Iteris, to improve safety and travel conditions.

Iteris will design and implement an environment for smart mobility application testing to address issues such as congestion, safety, environmental, energy and community equity issues.

Iteris Consulting Solutions regional vice-president Dr Moe Zarean said: “We are proud to support Rutgers University, NJDOT and Middlesex County’s forward-thinking development and testing initiative with our design and smart mobility application development expertise.

“Our continued involvement in the growing connectedness of multimodal road users positions us well to help communities around the nation get ready for the future, and ultimately improve the safety and efficiency of our nation’s transportation networks.”

Earlier this month, Iteris secured funding from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for the intelligent transportation systems (ITS) reference architecture programme.