Princeton University & FMERA to Create Center for
Autonomous Vehicle Research, Testing and Deployment
at Fort Monmouth
Under the auspices of its School of Engineering and Applied Science, Princeton University and the Fort Monmouth Economic Redevelopment Authority (FMERA) plan to create the Northeast’s premier center for research, development, testing, and commercialization of autonomous technology for collision avoidance and automated driving for autos, buses and trucks. To Launch the effort and recruit partners, Princeton and FMERA will convene and host a technology and development summit at Fort Monmouth in the spring of 2014.
To lead the effort, Dr. Alain Kornhauser, Princeton Professor of Operations Research and Financial Engineering, will chair a panel of distinguished researchers, business executives and government officials, the Consortium for Automated Roadways and Transit Systems of New Jersey (CARTS-NJ). CARTS-NJ members include former State Senator S. Thomas Gagliano, Charles McManus, of Stantec Consulting and former Chief Engineer of the Garden State Parkway, John Gagliano, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of EPS Corporation, Dr. Barbara Reagor, Director of Monmouth University’s Rapid Response Institute, Dr. Jerome Lutin, former Senior Director of Statewide and Regional Planning for NJ TRANSIT, and Harry Voccola, former Chairman of the Board of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America.
With more than 30,000 roadway-related fatalities each year in the US and more than 1.2 million annual road-related fatalities world-wide, vehicle collision-caused injuries and deaths have reached epidemic proportions. Billions of dollars are lost in crashes and even more in lost productivity due to traffic incidents and congestion. Studies show that most collisions are caused by driver error. The potential exists to eliminate virtually all vehicular collisions through the development and commercialization of autonomous collision avoidance and automated driver assist technologies.
The focal point of the activity will be in a converted firehouse. Constructed in 2001, he Fire Station is a 10,070 square foot (940 m2) building that contains three high-bays, offices, bedrooms, a day room and a kitchen. Early research activities will involve Princeton robotics faculty/student teams developing and testing configurations that will allow vehicles to be retrofitted with autonomous collision avoidance and driver assist systems.
The legislation establishing FMERA also created the Fort Monmouth Transportation Planning District in which the authority is charged with developing a multi-modal “comprehensive, future-oriented district transportation plan.” This plan could allow the operation of automated vehicles within the site under a variety of real-world conditions.
Various roads included in the two square mile facility will serve as the testing grounds for the collision avoidance and self-driving technologies. It is envisioned that self-driving vehicles will become the primary circulation system for Fort Monmouth as well as a model for future mobility systems in New Jersey and worldwide.
The vision for the center includes creation of a public-private partnership to bring together the extensive talent and technical expertise of New Jersey’s universities and research centers to meet the needs of transportation companies and vehicle manufacturers as they enter a new age. Automated systems will be adapted to create unprecedented levels of safety and productivity on the nation’s streets and highways. The vision also includes the creation of global partnerships that will bring together a talented international work force and establish world-wide markets for innovative technologies.
A 1,127 acre (456 ha) former US Army base, Fort Monmouth has been identified as the ideal site to host the center for autonomous vehicles. As a result of the base closing, New Jersey created the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) to implement a 20 year development plan to accommodate 1,585 residential dwelling units, 2,100,000 square feet (195,000 m2) of commercial offices, 390,000 square feet (36,000 m2) of retail use, 325,000 square feet (30,000 m2) of hotel/conference space, and 525,000 square feet (49,000 m2) of community buildings. Extensive amenities already in place include recreational facilities, riverfront access and access to the New Jersey Shore, less than three miles (5 km) away.
With access to the vast East Coast markets for auto makers, served by a statewide transit system and the major truck traffic corridor created by the Port of Newark and Elizabeth and the New Jersey Turnpike, Fort Monmouth will serve as a showcase for new automated vehicle technology in the largest market area in North America.
This initiative offers the unique synergy of an extraordinary facility, Fort Monmouth, in combination with Princeton University, an internationally recognized center of academic excellence, located at the center of major US and international markets.