The U.S. Department of Transportation recently launched a new initiative to optimize and modernize the American transportation system.
[Above photo by AASHTO]
Aligned with President Trump’s Genesis Mission Executive Order, the effort is one of the new Genesis Mission National Science and Technology Challenges unveiled by White House and it will use artificial intelligence or AI to fundamentally transform how the nation builds, operates, and maintains its physical transportation infrastructure.
USDOT said that this initiative is a part of a broader, cross-agency effort with the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation to reimagine the design, operation, and resiliency of America’s physical infrastructure to lower costs, improve safety, and increase efficiency.
USDOT pointed to research by the National Bureau of Economic Research that indicates boosting transportation efficiency delivers a 2.3 times multiplier effect throughout the manufacturing and service sectors.
Key pillars of USDOT’s effort include increasing housing availability and affordability; shortening construction and maintenance time; extending infrastructure service life; reducing operational costs through predictive maintenance; and reducing both urban gridlock and supply chain friction.
“We’re leveraging cutting-edge technologies to deliver a better travel experience for American families and stronger supply chains for businesses,” said Sean Duffy, USDOT secretary, in a statement.
“For the first time in history, we possess the computational power to treat our transportation network as a single, solvable mathematical equation,” added Seval Oz, senior advisor within the USDOT’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology.
“We are using advanced AI to lower costs and transform the lifecycle of physical transportation infrastructure,” she noted. “By leveraging generational leaps in science and technology, we will fortify our national transportation framework to optimize American mobility and drive economic dominance for generations to come.”
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