Automated Vehicles and Meteorology Summit: Recap and Next Steps

In June 2024, the American Meteorological Society and Transportation Research Board convened the second Automated Vehicles and Meteorology Summit at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan alongside the Mcity vehicle testbed. The first summit was held in October 2018 at the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington, D.C. During these six years between meetings, vehicle automation has continued its rapid development and deployment; however, weather-related challenges and solutions remain less developed. Advanced driver assistance systems and automated driving systems have expanded into the consumer and shared mobility markets. The mission of the most recent summit was to “advance the future of autonomous transportation through weather intelligence.” It served as a dedicated forum that brought together scientists, engineers, policy makers, industry specialists, and practitioners involved in research and implementation of transportation weather solutions for the autonomous vehicles sector. Discussions were abundant on topics including recent research findings, emerging practices, and innovative approaches that span operational activities, long-term planning, and policy making.

Now is the time to capitalize on this momentum and continue identifying future research and development needs at the intersection of weather, transportation, and autonomy. As electric and alternative fuel vehicle technologies reach the consumer market, additional weather considerations present new challenges alongside automation. Existing key partners, such as the National Weather Service and the private sector weather enterprise, must define their respective roles and coordination for the effective and timely dissemination of life and property critical information. Federal agencies and industry organizations must provide the necessary guidance, standards, and regulations to ensure a consistent and interoperable weather paradigm exists irrespective of the make, model, ownership, and liability of future automated vehicles. The research community must continue to partner and collaborate to identify, explore, develop, and implement suitable, sustainable, and equitable solutions for the automotive, transportation, and meteorological communities.

The American Meteorological Society (AMS) Intelligent Transportation Systems and Surface Transportation Committee (ITS/STC) and its Mobile Observations Subcommittee, serve under the AMS Board on Enterprise Economic Development (BEED) and the Commission on the Weather, Water, and Climate Enterprise (CWWCE). The AMS ITS/STC seeks to foster broad cross-disciplinary collaboration to promote the safe and reliable implementation of automated vehicles. Similarly, the Transportation Research Board Road Weather Committee provides a forum promoting the exchange of information on the effects of weather on surface transportation with the goal of minimizing the impacts of weather on the surface transportation system, especially with respect to safety and mobility. This presentation will provide an overview of the highlights from the recent summit and provide a roadmap for potential future directions in advance of a third summit.