Traffic Control Device (TCD) Challenge for Students

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) Standing Committee on Traffic Control Devices (AHB50) and the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) have joined together to sponsor and conduct an exciting new design competition, the Traffic Control Device (TCD) Challenge, to promote innovation and stimulate ideas in the traffic control devices area with a goal to improve operations and safety.

2020 Theme: Connected and Autonomous Innovations for Improving Work Zone Safety

Guidelines for Participation

The TCD Challenge is open to individual high school, junior college, college, or university students or teams of students with an interest in transportation and an understanding of traffic control devices. Students in relevant fields such as transportation-, human factors-, and technology- related curricula are particularly encouraged to participate.

The TCD Challenge submittals will help to encourage innovation and creative thought in the transportation community. Contest participants will receive the opportunity to vet their designs in a public forum. Three winning teams will receive recognition at national transportation forums.

Problem Statement
The theme for the 2020 TCD Challenge is: Connected and Autonomous Innovations for Improving Work Zone Safety. In 2016, there were approximately 158,000 crashes in work zones in the United States; resulting in about 61,000 injuries and 780 fatalities. These alarming statistics include both motorists traveling through work zones and highway workers who maintain and rebuild roadways. While improving work zone safety has been a focus area for many years, connected and autonomous innovations provide new opportunities to alert motorists, warn workers, mitigate crashes, and get everyone home safely. Connected and autonomous innovations may also change the way we design and set up work zone traffic control, navigate through the work zone, and conduct the job within the work zone. The objective for the 2020 TCD Challenge is to devise an innovative connected and/or autonomous traffic control solution to help improve work zone safety. Both vehicle and non-vehicle based systems may be considered.

(read more in the application)

Submission Deadline for the 2020 Challenge: October 1, 2019
Awards
Place
Award
First
  • Present your concept in a "Traffic Talk" at the ATSSA Traffic Expo
  • Travel expenses for one speaker
  • Registration for up to two speakers
  • $1,500 cash prize
  • First place plaque*
Second
  • Present your concept in a "Traffic Talk" at the ATSSA Traffic Expo
  • Travel expenses for one speaker
  • Registration for up to two speakers
  • $1,000 cash prize
  • Second place plaque*
Third
  • Present your concept in a "Traffic Talk" at the ATSSA Traffic Expo
  • Travel expenses for one speaker
  • Registration for up to two speakers
  • $500 cash prize
  • Third place plaque*
Honorable mentions
Certificate of Recognition for up to seven honorable mention entries.
*In addition to the opportunity to present the idea in a “Traffic Talk,” the three place winners will be provided a (joint) exhibit booth to display their posters. The placing prize winners will be announced at the ATSSA Convention's Opening General Session. ATSSA will also include an article in their industry magazine, The Signal, the placing winners and, with their agreement, a home town press release.
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ATSSA Tuesday Topics Webinar Recording:
This special webinar was open to the general public, including universities, students, and TRB, as well as ATSSA members to promote the TCD Challenge to those interested in the design competition and the roadway safety industry.

Held on Tuesday, April 16, 2019, 2:00 - 2:30 p.m. Eastern
ATSSA-TRB Traffic Control Device Challenge (TCDC Announcement)
Speaker: Paul Carlson, Road Infrastructure Inc.
Register for Webinar

Winners of the 2018 Traffic Control Device (TCD) Challenge

Winners of the 2018 TCD Challenge were chosen during the TRB Annual Meeting, Jan. 7-11, 2018 in Washington, D.C. The winners attended ATSSA's 48th Annual Convention & Traffic Expo in San Antonio, Texas and displayed their posters in booth #448, as well as presented their traffic control devices at the "Traffic Control Device Challenge for Students" Traffic Talk session on Sunday, Jan. 28 and Monday, Jan. 29, 2018 at the ATSSA Pavilion in San Antonio, Texas.

1st Place ($1,500)

Title: Vision-Based Pedestrian Indicator Light for Signalized Intersections

Student team: Jacob Kaltenbronn and Zhu Qing

School: University of Missouri

2nd Place ($1,000)

Title: Flashing Yellow Arrows

Student team:  Cadell Chand, Zach Barlow, Hisham Jashami, and Dylan Horne

School: Oregon State University

3rd Place ($500)

Title: Application of RFID at Signalized Intersections in School Zones
Student team: Michael Zhou, Nikitha Sridhar, Joy Zou, and Eric Mao

School: Auburn High School and Newport High School