FCC Announces Device Testing Schedule

/in /by

On October 7, the Federal Communications Commission Office of Engineering and Technology (OET)  issued a Public Notice, announcing a schedule for testing U-NII-4 devices.

Phase I of the Test Plan involves testing at the FCC Laboratory in Columbia, Maryland, to determine the technical characteristics of prototype unlicensed devices and how they are designed to avoid causing harmful interference to DSRC.  The testing is being done in coordination with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Department of Transportation.

The Test Plan follows the June 1 Public Notice to refresh the record in the Commission’s pending proceeding that is evaluating the potential for unlicensed national infrastructure (U-NII) devices to share the 5850-5925 MHz frequency band with Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) systems operating under the Intelligent Transportation Service (ITS).

The Commission also announced the Office of Engineering and Technology will hold a DSRC Test Plan Open House on October 21, 2016 at its Laboratory to review the Phase I testing. The Open House will take place from 10 a.m. to Noon.  Those wishing to attend must register their interest by October 17.

USDOT Connected Vehicle PlugFest

/in /by

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) will hold its next Connected Vehicle PlugFest in Novi, Michigan on November 15-18, 2016.

These events provide a venue for vendor-to-vendor connected vehicle device testing as needed to develop certification services for multi-vendor connected vehicle networks.

Three certification service providers (Danlaw, OmniAir, and 7Layers) will be on site to demonstrate certification testing products developed through the USDOT Certification Testing Program. Testing will focus on verifying conformance to current baseline standards (i.e., SAE J2945/1, IEEE 802.11, IEEE 1609.2, IEEE 1609.3, and IEEE 1609.4.) developed for V2V (safety) and V2I applications.

Click here to register.

 

OmniAir Consortium Elects New Board Members

/in /by

CONTACT: Jason Conley
OmniAir Consortium
Phone: 202-441-9313

Washington, DC – OmniAir Consortium’s Board welcomes three new Directors.  Elected to the Board are Suzanne Murtha of ATKINS, Tim Baker from MTA Bridges and Tunnels, and Dmitri Khijniak of 7layers, Inc.

Suzanne Murtha is Project Director for ATKINS, and brings over 20 years of experience in the ITS and automotive industries.  From 2013 through last month, Suzanne served as Executive Director for OmniAir Consortium and OmniAir Certification Services.

Tim Baker serves as Assistant Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at MTA Bridges and Tunnels. He brings over 20 years of toll industry experience in operations and financial management for the largest U.S. toll collection agency.

Dmitri Khijniak is Business Development Services Manager for 7layers, Inc. He brings over 15 years of automotive experience, and 10 years of experience working with DSRC.  He is also a Program Manager for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Connected Vehicle certification project.

ABOUT OMNIAIR CONSORTIUM: OmniAir is a membership association formed in 2004 to advocate connected vehicle interoperability (IOP) through independent certification programs that offer a one-stop shop for standards conformance and interoperability assurance. Members are leading RFID and DSRC device makers, consultants, integrators and operators. OmniAir’s mission is to advance connected vehicle interoperability through collaboration on certification services designed and maintained by the organizations first to use them.

ABOUT OMNIAIR CERTIFICATION SERVICES (OCS): OCS is a non-profit, independent test and certification entity created by OmniAir in 2010. OCS manages the certification program and issues OCS-certified marks. It is led by its own Board of test experts and facility operators. In conjunction with the 6C User Group (operators with a preference for 6C RFID-based toll systems), OCS developed a 6C-for-Tolling Requirements Document and developed an apparatus to test compliance to the specification. The result will be OCS-certified suppliers of interoperable 6c tags and readers and other technologies as the OCS program expands to other protocols as requested by the transportation community.

OmniAir Consortium Announces Agreement with Wi-Fi Alliance® to Cooperate on DSRC Certification and Announces First CV Certification Town Hall Event

/in /by

CONTACT: Suzanne Murtha
OmniAir Consortium
Phone: 202-689-4802

Washington, DC – OmniAir Consortium announces a Memorandum of Understanding with the Wi-Fi Alliance® to cooperate on certification for 5.9 GHz WAVE equipment. OmniAir will focus on certifying the upper layers of the WAVE protocol stack and will require Wi-Fi certification for the MAC and PHY layers. Wi-Fi Alliance’s existing body of work in interoperability certification has proven the organization to be a great fit for a partnership with OmniAir’s development of DSRC certification standards development.

“OmniAir and our members are excited to begin work with the Wi-Fi Alliance to enable wide-scale certification of 5.9 GHz WAVE devices, both in-vehicle and aftermarket equipment.” said Suzanne Murtha, Executive Director of OmniAir and OCS.

“Wi-Fi Alliance looks forward to our relationship with OmniAir to collaborate on information dedicated short range communications for connected vehicles,” said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance. “Wi-Fi CERTIFIED delivers interoperability, industry-standard security protections, and the best possible user experience.”

OmniAir also announces its first Certification Town Hall event to be held in Tampa on January 26, 2016. The Town Hall gives local deployers the opportunity to understand certification and contribute to connected vehicle certification programs currently under development. Connected vehicle solution providers will have access to local deployers and certifying organizations will have access to clients as well. The Tampa event exhibition is nearly sold out, and several other events are planned for the first half of 2016.

ABOUT OMNIAIR CONSORTIUM: OmniAir is a membership association formed in 2004 to advocate intelligent transportation interoperability (IOP) through independent certification programs that offer a one-stop shop for standards conformance and interoperability assurance. Members are leading RFID and DSRC device makers, consultants, integrators and operators. OmniAir’s mission is to advance connected vehicle interoperability through collaboration on certification services designed and maintained by the organizations first to use them. Visit www.omniair.org for more information.

ABOUT OMNIAIR CERTIFICATION SERVICES (OCS): OCS is a non-profit, independent test and certification entity created by OmniAir in 2010. OCS manages the certification program and issues OCS-certified marks. It is led by its own Board of test experts and facility operators. In conjunction with the 6C User Group (operators with a preference for 6C RFID-based toll systems), OCS developed an apparatus to test compliance to the specification 6C specification. The result is OCS-certified suppliers of interoperable 6c tags and readers and other technologies as the OCS program expands to other protocols as requested by the transportation community.

OmniAir Consortium Announces New Members

/in /by

Washington, DC – OmniAir Consortium announces new members San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), 7Layers, eTrans2020, Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co.KG. OmniAir looks forward to integrating input from its new members into the development of certification requirements for tolling, back office, connected vehicles and autonomous vehicles. The OmniAir approach to certification requires input from all aspects of the ITS industry to help develop high quality certification requirements. The more member input OmniAir can provide to this process, the better for the industry.

Among these new members is our third certification lab, 7Layers, which has announced plans to become accredited to certify DSRC equipment through OmniAir Certification Services. ETrans2020 provides cyber and software testing solutions for the transportation industry. The Rohde & Schwarz electronics group is a leading supplier of solutions in the fields of test and measurement, broadcasting, secure communications, and radiomonitoring and radiolocation. OmniAir is proud to announce two new agency members, MTC and SANDAG, both of whom are at the forefront for technological deployment for intelligent transportation systems.

“OmniAir is excited to have so many new members at this very exciting time in the ITS industry. We look forward to building role as the organization dedicated to certification and accreditation of connected vehicle equipment” said Suzanne Murtha, Executive Director of OmniAir and OCS.

“Over the next four years as part of the first phase of the Bay Area Express Lanes, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) plans to deploy approximately 90 dual-protocol readers with 6C OmniAir Certification and Title 21 capabilities. Title 21 is the California statewide protocol. MTC is also interested in Connected Vehicle deployments using OmniAir as the potential certifier of 5.9 GHz Connected Vehicle devices” said Andrew Fremier, Deputy Executive Director, Operations.

ABOUT OMNIAIR CONSORTIUM: OmniAir is a membership association formed in 2004 to advocate connected vehicle interoperability (IOP) through independent certification programs that offer a one-stop shop for standards conformance and interoperability assurance. Members are leading RFID and DSRC device makers, consultants, integrators and operators. OmniAir’s mission is to advance connected vehicle interoperability through collaboration on certification services designed and maintained by the organizations first to use them.

ABOUT OMNIAIR CERTIFICATION SERVICES (OCS): OCS is a non-profit, independent test and certification entity created by OmniAir in 2010. OCS manages the certification program and issues OCS-certified marks. It is led by its own Board of test experts and facility operators. In conjunction with the 6C User Group (operators with a preference for 6C RFID-based toll systems), OCS developed a 6C-for-Tolling Requirements Document and developed an apparatus to test compliance to the specification. The result will be OCS-certified suppliers of interoperable 6c tags and readers and other technologies as the OCS program expands to other protocols as requested by the transportation community.

OmniAir Certification Services Issues Interoperability Certification Award to GeoToll and Star Systems

/in /by

Washington, DC – OmniAir Certification Services, Inc. (OCS) granted GeoToll and Star Systems International an OmniAir- Certification award for their 6C products tested in OCS’s 6C-for-Tolling Certification Program.

The 6C Certification Program is designed to ensure tolling tag and reader interoperability (IOP) across equipment vendors and toll facilities that choose to deploy equipment certified as compliant to the 6C Requirements Document as defined by the 6C Toll Operators Committee. It is based on the ISO/IEC 18000-6 (Type C) RFID protocol.

6C Certification includes testing for baseline interoperability and applied interoperability. Baseline IOP ensures that tag and reader pairs can transition successfully from one state to another and to validate memory data. Applied IOP ensures that tags and readers can withstand the toll environment; it includes performance, UV, humidity and temperature testing under various parameters.

GeoToll submitted the Smartphone Sleeve with RFID tag for testing. The Star Systems International/Start-RFID Co. submitted two tags: ARIES headlamp tag and VENUS windshield tag.
“The Board of OmniAir Certification Services is proud to announce three more certified 18000-6C devices,” says Ted Osinski, Chair of OCS, “our program is growing with acceptance from the vendor and the agency community. We look forward to offering the 6C Certification Program to other suppliers in 2013 and beyond.”

ABOUT OMNIAIR CERTIFICATION SERVICES (OCS): OCS is a non-profit, independent test and certification entity created by OmniAir in 2010. OCS manages the certification program and issues OCS-certified marks. It is led by its own Board of test experts and facility operators. In conjunction with the 6C User Group (operators with a preference for 6C RFID-based toll systems), OCS developed a 6C-for-Tolling Certification Program and developed an apparatus to test compliance to the requirements. The result are OCS-certified suppliers of interoperable 6c tags and readers and other technologies as the OCS program expands to other protocols as requested by the transportation community.

ABOUT OMNIAIR CONSORTIUM: OmniAir is a membership association formed in 2004 to advocate connected vehicle interoperability (IOP) through independent certification programs that offer a one-stop shop for standards conformance and interoperability assurance. Members are leading RFID and DSRC device makers, consultants, integrators and operators. OmniAir’s mission is to advance connected vehicle interoperability through collaboration on certification services designed and maintained by the organizations first to use them.

OmniAir’s Year in Review

/in /by

A Year in Review of the Key Elements Relating to Interoperability

logo_e470

  • Enhanced LPT Billing System
  • Colorado DMV Collaborations:
    • Temporary Permit (Plate) Redesign
    • Temporary Permit Data Entry
    • Vehicle Registration Hold Program
  • Equipment Enhancements:
    • OCR Retrain
    • Lane, RFID and Imagery
  • AAMVA Region IV Meeting Sponsor
  • Additional State DMV IGAs

omniair-color-340

  • Leadership transition: Re-energize membership, business development and OmniAir certification efforts
  • Client Request for Republishing of OmniAir’s Electronic Payment Systems National Interoperability Specification
  • Several New OmniAir Memberships
  • Confer with USDOT and FHWA: Interoperability
  • OmniAir work for USDOT: Sustained Connected Vehicle Certification
  • New ISO 18000-6C Certifications

Download OmniAir Year in Review PowerPoint Presentation.

OmniAir Certification Services Charts a ‘Measured’ Feature for Connected Vehicle Interoperability

/in /by

At the June 8th webinar, OmniAir Certification Services presented the scope, objectives and schedule for a national certification program for the ISO 18000-6C-based toll tags and readers.  It suggests that large resources are not needed to advance interoperability; what is needed is support for standards and interoperability assurance services.  OCS plans a July 22nd open meeting about the certification program at the IBTTA AET Workshop in Atlanta.

The future of interoperable connected vehicle technology is of concern to anyone who operates a transport facility, develops or procures connected vehicle systems, supplies components to integrators or depends on efficiently-managed transportation systems.  In the public sector, operations managers have the added pressure of addressing these challenges in light of tight budgets.

Private sector organizations have their own pressure to enter and succeed in markets where access is impeded due to a lack of interoperability.  One approach to addressing these challenges is to develop new technology and new infrastructure platforms that support interoperability.

Another approach is less grandiose and considers not just the technology in our vehicles and at our roadsides, but how organizations procure, manage, integrate and maintain their systems today – incrementally, but with purpose and a goal.

Webinar Attendance and Input Reflects High Interest

OCS’s Ted Osinski and Dusmantha Tennakoon presented the scope, objectives and schedule of the certification program to an audience of more than 70 – an impressive turnout out for a niche subject.

They asked many questions, most of which could not be answered due to time constraints.  The 6C-for-Tolling Certification Program presentation and the Q & A Report is available below via the links.  To learn more about this program, please contact info@omniair.org.

July 22nd Meeting

Delegates planning to attend IBTTA’s “technology workshop” – the largest IBTTA event outside its Annual Meeting – are welcome to attend a session by OmniAir and OCS about the 6C-for-Tolling Certification Program occurring at the event hotel Sunday morning July 22, 11:00AM to 12:00PM.  Prior to that OmniAir is holding a Summer Board meeting which is open to guests.

6CTOC members will be there for people who want to learn more about the group’s objectives, the 6C requirements document created in conjunction with OCS, and the details of ‘OmniAir-Certified’ Certification Programs.

OmniAir Transitions to New Interim Executive Director

/in /by

Reston, VA – OmniAir Consortium, Inc., the trade association dedicated to growing the market for certification of intelligent transportation and supporting national toll interoperability, announced that it has appointed an Interim Executive Director.

In addition to continuing her role as Business Development Executive at TÜV Rheinland Mobility, industry veteran Suzanne Murtha will work with the OmniAir Board of Directors to facilitate the transition of the organization to an industry-leading certification development force.

OmniAir Certification Services Awards 2nd Certification to 6C Tolling Device Manufacturer

/in /by

OmniAir Certification Services, Inc. (OCS)  issued a certification award to Confidex, a supplier of specialty RFID tags, for the company’s 6C RFID Windshield Label.

OCS is an independent, technology neutral testing and certification affiliate of OmniAir, a member association created to further the deployment of interoperable advanced transportation technologies and applications.  The OCS certification award positions Confidex as a certified RFID tag provider to North American electronic toll facility operators seeking interoperable products.

The OCS certification program ensures tolling tag and reader interoperability across certified tags and readers and toll facilities who adopt the certified devices.  The test program includes testing for baseline and applied interoperability.  OmniAir Certification Services worked in collaboration with the ‘6C Toll Operators Committee’ – a group of entities who standardized on the protocol –  to develop the 6C-for-Tolling Certification Program.

Confidex, as another officially-certified supplier offering products for real-world toll deployments, is an exciting testament to the hard work of the OCS staff and the supplier community, as well the commitment of toll operators to request and procure certified products.

Together, this advances the mission of OmniAir – Interoperability Through Collaboration; and OCS – Interoperability Through Certification, as both organizations work hand in hand with key stakeholders in the transportation community to achieve a more competitive transportation industry.