USDOT Awards $10 Million to OU-Led Autonomous Freight Movement Project

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NORMAN, Okla. – As products and supplies flow across America’s roadways each day, they pass through rural and tribal communities often facing unique logistical and safety challenges. Researchers from the University of Oklahoma’s Gallogly College of Engineering are helping address these challenges through a major research project in Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona, backed by federal funding.

Dong Zhang is the lead principal investigator of the Autonomous Cargo Carriers for Enhanced Logistics in Rural and Tribal Areas (ACCEL-RT) project, with Musharraf Zaman serving as co-principal investigator. This initiative has received a $10 million award from the U.S. Department of Transportation with an additional $10 million in matching funds from ACCEL-RT institutions. The project is led by OU, with the University of California-Berkeley and the University of New Mexico joining as key collaborators under the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rural Autonomous Vehicle (RAV) Research Program.

Through ACCEL-RT, researchers will study how freight systems powered by autonomous vehicles can optimize logistics along the Interstate 40 corridor, with a particular focus on rural and tribal regions. Zhang is also directing an autonomous vehicle initiative aimed at improving the public transit efficiency in Atoka, Okla.

“Transporting goods across states is relatively efficient, but the real challenge begins when you try to move them from urban centers into rural and tribal areas,” said Zhang, an assistant professor in the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering and the recipient of an active CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation. “These traffic routes are often not well coordinated and logistics around them are far from optimal. That creates both challenges and opportunities for innovation.”

The research team plans to examine the unique challenges facing rural and tribal communities in Oklahoma and New Mexico and see how the autonomous trucks and ground vehicles can help – such as through improving food and medical supplies delivery. They will also study how these tribal and rural settings affect the challenges and opportunities surrounding autonomous freight transportation, compared to urban environments.

Autonomous vehicles offer the potential to decrease transportation costs, improve efficiency and reduce crash risks, which the researchers will measure along with other potential advantages. According to Zaman, the Director of the Southern Plains Transportation Center (SPTC), a USDOT Region 6 Regional University Transportation Center based out of OU, autonomous vehicle-related infrastructure could also provide critical rural and tribal workforce development and training opportunities, his area of expertise for the project.

“In SPTC and ACCEL-RT, we focus on a new-generation workforce that is willing to use new technologies,” said Zaman, who is also a David Ross Boyd Professor and the Aaron Alexander Professor in the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, and is the Alumni Chair Professor in the Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering. “Things are changing extremely rapidly, and autonomous vehicles are one of them. But deployment of such evolving technologies would need to be integrated with the right kind of infrastructure.”

The ACCEL-RT team will provide USDOT initial demonstrations of their autonomous vehicle technology before identifying which long-term RAV applications to pursue through the project. They will also look to engage with rural and tribal communities, understanding their needs to help shape the project’s direction. Zhang noted how his work in Atoka highlighted the value of thoughtful discussion with Choctaw Nation citizens.

“Many residents in rural communities have understandable concerns about safety and new technologies,” Zhang said. “Engaging directly with communities is essential to ensuring these solutions are practical and accepted.”

While the project is centered on Oklahoma and New Mexico, its findings could have a more far-reaching impact: freight represents up to 50% of total traffic volume on the I-40 corridor, with the highest concentration in rural areas, said Zaman. The researchers’ safety and optimization efforts could have a significant regional and national economic impact.

“If an individual bridge is closed on this corridor, the amount of loss could be $2.4 million or more per day,” Zaman sad. “This is extremely, extremely important in terms of the economic health of the country.”