Clarus
Cooperative Intersection Collision
Avoidance Systems
Electronic Freight Management
Emergency Transportation
Operations
Integrated Corridor Management
Systems
Integrated Vehicle-Based Safety
Systems
IntelliDriveSM
Mobility Services for All Americans
Next Generation 9-1-1
| ITS Initiatives |
Clarus
 | Clarus Points-of-Contact |
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 | ITS Joint Program Office's Clarus Initiative Website |
| The Clarus (Latin for "clear") Initiative aims to deploy an integrated road weather observational network and data management system that is national in scope. The initiative will build upon the road weather information systems (RWIS) that many state departments of transportation have been deploying for years, primarily in support of winter maintenance activities. This website presents the goals, background, approach, milestones, and points-of-contact for the initiative. Cost: Free To Access This Resource: Access the website address http://www.its.dot.gov/clarus/index.htm. | |
| Clarus Initiative Website |
| This site is a compilation of resources related to the Clarus Initiative. The website contains a Clarus flier, frequently asked questions (with answers), briefings presented at past meetings of the Clarus Initiative Coordinating Committee (ICC), the Clarus Concept of Operations, project design documents, the status of state agency contributions to Clarus, information on the Clarus regional demonstrations, contacts, and related links. The website also links to the Clarus System software tool, which is currently available to the transportation community on an experimental basis. Cost: Free To Access This Resource: Access the website address http://www.clarusinitiative.org. | |
 | Clarus System |
| The Clarus System is a software tool currently available for use by the transportation community on an experimental basis. The Clarus System compiles and distributes weather observations from environmental sensor stations (ESSs) in 29 U.S. states, three U.S. local agencies and three Canadian provinces. Users can search the system's total population of ESSs by contributing agency or by geospatial coordinates (latitude and longitude). Data may be downloaded in several formats compatible with many common database management software systems. Users may choose to receive weather observations at 5-, 10-, 15-, 20- 25- or 30-minute intervals from selected ESSs on a subscription basis. (The Clarus System generates a subscription-specific link on the http://www.clarus-system.com website, where a user guide is available for download.) This prototype software has been made available to the transportation community for the purposes of demonstration, evaluation, and refinement of future versions of the software. Cost: Free To Access This Resource: Access the website address http://www.clarus-system.com. | |
 | The Clarus Initiative: An Update to the Stakeholder Community (2009) |
| This document is an MS PowerPoint presentation from a Webcast that took place Tuesday, January 6, 2009. The Webcast provided an update on a wide variety of topics related to the Clarus Initiative, including Clarus regional demonstrations, upgrades to the Clarus software, research into the next generation of prediction algorithms, plans for the Clarus 2009 Annual Meeting, and integration of Clarus with the Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) Initiative. The presentation also discussed a recently published National Research Council (NRC) report on weather mesonets (i.e., networks of networks) and reviewed the calendar of upcoming Clarus-related events. Cost: Free To Access This Resource: Access the website address http://www.clarusinitiative.org/documents/Clarus%20Webcast%20January%202009.pdf. | |
| Clarus: A Clear Solution for Road Weather Information (2007) |
| This flier describes the Clarus system as the 21st century's answer to the need for timely, high-quality road weather information. The flier describes Clarus' benefits for transportation managers, weather information providers, and the traveling public. The flier also includes perspectives of state department of transportation personnel who will benefit from the system's ability to standardize road weather data across multiple jurisdictions and multiple regions. Cost: Free To Access This Resource: To order a hardcopy, contact Paul Pisano, FHWA Office of Transportation Operations, (202) 366-1301, Paul.Pisano@dot.gov. For the online version, access the website address http://www.clarusinitiative.org/documents/Clarus_TRB_2007flyer_rev.pdf. | |
| Clarus Incentive Program Request for Applications (2007) |
| This document is a Request for Applications (RFA) for the Clarus Incentive Program (CIP), which provides up to $21,000 to state departments of transportation to help offset costs associated with participation in the Clarus Initiative. Costs covered under the program include travel to environmental sensor station (ESS) sites to collect metadata, compilation of climate metadata, equipment needed to acquire metadata from individual ESS sites, and modification of data collection software to conform to Clarus interface standards. This RFA was first issued in 2007. Applications are reviewed continuously and decisions regarding applications are made within 30 days of receipt. Two Webcasts from 2007 (http://www.clarusinitiative.org/documents/Clarus%20Webcast%20June%202007.ppt and http://www.clarusinitiative.org/CIP/Clarus%20CIP%20Webcast%20Sept%2007.ppt) give more information about the program. Cost: Free To Access This Resource: Access the website address http://www.clarusinitiative.org/CIP/CIP%20Request%20for%20Applications.pdf. | |
| 3rd National Surface Transportation Weather Symposium (3NSTWS) (2007) |
| This document provides a summary of the 3rd National Surface Transportation Weather Symposium (3NSTWS), held July 25-27, 2007, in Vienna, Virginia, and co-sponsored by the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research (OFCM) and FHWA. The symposium provided a forum for representatives from three different aspects of surface transportation – operations, research and users – to work together to improve road weather products and services. The goal of this collaboration and these improved products and services is to reduce crashes and delays caused by inclement weather. This document summarizes each of the plenary speeches and breakout group sessions. The document concludes with action items to be accomplished as follow-up to the meeting. Cost: Free To Access This Resource: Access the website address http://www.ofcm.gov/wist/3NSTWSP-Summary-Report-Final.pdf. | |
| Weather Applications and Products Enabled through Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII): Feasibility and Concept Development Study (FHWA-HOP-07-084) (2007) |
| Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) involves two-way wireless transmission of data from vehicles to other vehicles and from vehicles to the roadside. If implemented nationwide, VII has the potential to make enormous amounts of data available to many different types of ITS applications, including road weather applications. This report assesses the feasibility of using VII-enabled data to enhance road weather products and services. The report inventories what weather data elements are already available on board most vehicles, such as temperature, humidity, precipitation and light level. The report provides an analysis of existing road weather products and services that could be enhanced by vehicle-based weather data, as well as entirely new products and services that these data could make possible. The report presents the results of a case study from Detroit, Michigan that evaluated the accuracy of on-board data elements as compared with data from conventional weather monitoring equipment. The report concludes with recommendations for future research. Cost: Free To Access This Resource: Access the following website addresses:
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| Clarus Concept of Operations (FHWA-JPO-05-072) (2005) |
| This provides a high-level definition of how the Clarus system works. The document identifies the needs of stakeholders, who have various requirements for the types of content, timeliness, level of detail, extent of value-added processing, and reliability of surface transportation weather data. The document also outlines how the Clarus system can be structured to meet these needs. The document concludes with several scenarios showing how various stakeholders will be served by the system. Cost: Free To Access This Resource: Access the following website addresses:
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