[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 13, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38590-38592]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12621]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

[Docket No. DOT-OST-2023-0092]


Potential Research and Development Areas of Interest for the 
Advanced Research Projects Agency--Infrastructure (ARPA-I); Request for 
Information

AGENCY: Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice; request for information (RFI).

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SUMMARY: The Advanced Research Projects Agency--Infrastructure (ARPA-I) 
is a newly-designated agency within the U.S. Department of 
Transportation (DOT) that was authorized by the Infrastructure 
Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA) November 15, 2021 (also known as 
the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law). ARPA-I was established by Congress 
``to support the development of science and technology solutions that 
overcomes long-term challenges and advances the state of the art for 
United States transportation infrastructure.'' ARPA-I will have a 
single overarching goal and focus: to fund external innovative advanced 
research and development (R&D) programs that develop new technologies, 
systems, and capabilities to improve transportation infrastructure in 
the United States. The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is 
to obtain input from interested parties on potential areas for future 
innovative advanced research and development programs to be funded and 
managed by ARPA-I, subject to the availability of appropriations.

DATES: Written submissions must be received within 45 days of the 
publication of this RFI.

ADDRESSES: Please submit any written comments to Docket Number DOT-OST-
2023-0092 electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
https://regulations.gov. Go to https://regulations.gov and select 
``Department of Transportation (DOT)'' from the agency menu to submit 
or view public comments. Note that, except as provided below, all 
submissions received, including any personal information provided, will 
be posted without change and will be available to the public on https://www.regulations.gov. You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act 
Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 
19477) or at https://www.transportation.gov/privacy.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions about this RFI, please 
email [email protected]. You may also contact Mr. Timothy A. Klein, 
Director, Technology Policy and Outreach, Office of the Assistant 
Secretary for Research and Technology (202-366-0075) or by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Advanced Research Projects Agency--
Infrastructure (ARPA-I) is a newly-designated agency within the U.S. 
Department of Transportation (DOT) that was established by Congress 
``to support the development of science and technology solutions that 
overcomes long-term challenges and advances the state of the art for 
United States transportation infrastructure.'' (Pub. L. 117-58, Section 
25012, November 15, 2021; 49 U.S.C. 119). ARPA-I is modeled after the 
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) within the U.S. 
Department of Defense, and ARPA-E (Energy) within the U.S. Department 
of Energy. It will offer a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve 
our nation's transportation infrastructure, both physical and digital, 
and will support DOT's strategic goals of Safety, Economic Strength and 
Global Competitiveness, Equity, Climate and Sustainability, and 
Transformation. ARPA-I will focus on developing and implementing 
technologies, rather than developing policies and processes or 
providing regulatory support. An ARPA-I funded technology should have a 
clear pathway to commercialization and widespread cross-modal 
deployment within 5-10 years, to have a substantial and transformative 
beneficial impact on DOT's priorities. A typical ARPA-I program might 
run for multiple years, have a significant budget, and include multiple 
actively-managed R&D projects within that single program.
    ARPA-I will augment and complement existing R&D activities within 
DOT's Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology 
(OST-R) and DOT's Operating Administrations, and will not supplant or 
duplicate those efforts. Those efforts

[[Page 38591]]

currently include the U.S. DOT Research, Development and Technology 
(RD&T) Strategic Plan as well as the activities of the University 
Transportation Centers (UTCs). ARPA-I will fund innovative teams of 
researchers and developers that might include academic institutions, 
innovators, industry, Federally funded research and development centers 
(FFRDCs), infrastructure owners and operators (IOOs), and others. These 
teams will be funded to develop commercializable technologies that 
solve persistent problems in infrastructure design, development, 
construction, and deployment.
    The aims of ARPA-I include ``lowering the long-term costs of 
infrastructure development, including costs of planning, construction, 
and maintenance; reducing the lifecycle impacts of transportation 
infrastructure on the environment, including through the reduction of 
greenhouse gas emissions; contributing significantly to improving the 
safe, secure, and efficient movement of goods and people; promoting the 
resilience of infrastructure from physical and cyber threats; and 
ensuring that the United States is a global leader in developing and 
deploying advanced transportation infrastructure technologies and 
materials.'' (IIJA, 2021)

Specific Questions

    Responses to this RFI are intended to inform DOT on areas of focus 
for future innovative R&D funding programs to be undertaken by ARPA-I.
    DOT is providing the following specific questions to prompt 
feedback and comments. DOT encourages public comment on any of these 
questions, and also seeks any other information commenters believe is 
relevant.
    DOT is requesting information from all interested entities and 
stakeholders, including innovators and technology developers, 
researchers and universities, transportation system operators, 
transportation-focused groups, organizations and associations, and the 
public.
    DOT is interested in receiving succinct and relevant responses to 
the following six questions:

Safety

    Improving the safety of our transportation system users is of 
critical importance to achieving the objectives of the DOT's National 
Roadway Safety Strategy (https://www.transportation.gov/NRSS) and DOT's 
vision of zero fatalities and serious injuries across all modes of 
transportation. There are many current and existing DOT safety R&D 
efforts that span the full spectrum from roadway and intersection 
design, active and passive vehicle safety systems, policy and 
regulatory support, human factors and human behavior research, to 
vulnerable road user safety improvements (such as the U.S. DOT 
Intersection Safety Challenge), and more. Safety spans all 
transportation modes and is an all-pervasive overarching goal at DOT. A 
number of safety research programs are currently underway at DOT, 
including the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Improving Highway 
Safety for All Users Program Request for Information, the National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Vehicle Safety Research 
Program, and many others. In this current RFI, DOT is seeking 
information on additional, complementary, and supplemental program 
areas that ARPA-I can address in developing innovative new 
infrastructure technologies that enhance Safety across our 
transportation system.
    Question 1: Are there new and emerging areas of innovation, 
including external early-stage research and development, that ARPA-I 
should contemplate funding as a part of its Safety area of 
concentration, noting the agency's high-risk, high-reward focus? If 
yes, what are these areas, and why should DOT consider funding them?

Advanced Construction Materials and Methods

    The development of advanced infrastructure construction materials 
and methods, including for roads, highways, bridges, airports, ports, 
railways, and pipelines, has long been a priority for DOT. There are 
considerable efforts ongoing including at the Federal Aviation 
Administration (FAA) and FHWA in the development of low embodied carbon 
materials, new construction materials and new construction methods for 
infrastructure. For example, these might include 3D concrete printing 
of large structures such as bridges, culverts, and roadways, and 
related advanced construction methods.
    Question 2: Are there new and emerging areas of innovation, 
including external early-stage research and development, that ARPA-I 
should contemplate funding as a part of its Advanced Construction 
Materials and Methods area of concentration, noting the agency's high-
risk, high-reward focus? If yes, what are these areas, and why should 
DOT consider funding them?

Digital Infrastructure

    Advances in digital infrastructure and digitalization abound. These 
include (but are not limited to) new technologies for mapping, sensing, 
connectivity and communications, networking, and computation. 
Transportation infrastructure is one of the largest sectors of our 
economy that has only begun to participate in the `digital revolution' 
of information technology. The potential advantages of digitalization 
are pervasive, from the development of advanced centralized traffic 
management systems to advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), GPS 
(or GNSS) applications, machine vision and artificial intelligence. 
There is a considerable body of work being conducted across DOT in 
digital infrastructure, including at FHWA, FAA, the Intelligent 
Transportation System Joint Program Office (ITS JPO), and the Highly 
Automated Systems Safety Center of Excellence (HASS COE) within OST-R.
    Question 3: Are there new and emerging areas of innovation, 
including external early-stage research and development, that ARPA-I 
should contemplate funding as a part of its Digital Infrastructure area 
of concentration, noting the agency's high-risk, high-reward focus? If 
yes, what are these areas, and why should DOT consider funding them?

Freight and Logistics Optimization

    The seamless movement of freight across transportation modes is an 
essential requirement for our economic health and well-being. The 
COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerability of our economy to 
disruptions in freight and logistics operations, as part of the larger 
breakdown in supply chains and their continuity. Increasing the 
resilience of freight and goods movement across our nation is essential 
to ensuring the uninterrupted flow of food, fuel, commodities, and 
consumer and industrial products from source to destination. DOT 
conducts research across all transportation modes in the area of 
freight and logistics and has recently instituted the Office of 
Multimodal Freight Infrastructure and Policy within the Office of the 
Secretary (OST), as established by the IIJA, Section 21101 (49 U.S.C. 
118).
    Question 4: Are there new and emerging areas of innovation, 
including external early-stage research and development, that ARPA-I 
should contemplate funding as a part of its Freight and Logistics 
Optimization area of concentration, noting the agency's high-risk, 
high-reward focus? If yes,

[[Page 38592]]

what are these areas, and why should DOT consider funding them?

Climate and Resilience

    Our transportation infrastructure is increasingly susceptible to 
damage from climate-related events, from drought to floods to sea level 
rise. Increasing the resilience of our infrastructure and mitigating 
negative effects on our transportation system across all modes is an 
imperative for DOT. Climate and resilience research is being conducted 
across all transportation modes at DOT, including in the newly 
reestablished DOT Climate Change Center, and includes the reduction of 
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation, the reduction of 
embodied carbon in infrastructure materials, and increasing physical 
and cyber resilience across the transportation system.
    Question 5: Are there new and emerging areas of innovation, 
including external early-stage research and development, that ARPA-I 
should contemplate funding as a part of its Climate and Resilience area 
of concentration, noting the agency's high-risk, high-reward focus? If 
yes, what are these areas, and why should DOT consider funding them?

Other Areas in Transportation Infrastructure

    DOT currently conducts a considerable amount of R&D work, both 
internally and externally, in many areas pertinent to transportation 
infrastructure.
    Question 6: Are there other new and emerging areas of innovation 
associated with transportation infrastructure, including external 
early-stage research and development, that ARPA-I should contemplate 
funding, noting the agency's high-risk, high-reward focus? If yes, what 
are these other areas, and why should DOT consider funding them?

Confidential Business Information

    Do not submit information disclosure of which is restricted by 
statute, such as trade secrets and commercial or financial information 
(hereinafter referred to as Confidential Business Information ``CBI'') 
to Regulations.gov. Comments submitted through Regulations.gov cannot 
be claimed as CBI. Comments received through the website will waive any 
CBI claims for the information submitted.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on June 6, 2023.
Robert C. Hampshire,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology.
[FR Doc. 2023-12621 Filed 6-12-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-9X-P