PARC Secures ARPA-E Funding to Build Energy-Saving Travel Preferences Attractive to Individual Travelers

Palo Alto, CA, Feb. 23, 2016 -- PARC, a Xerox company, today announced it has secured funding from the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) under the Traveler Response Architecture using Novel Signaling for Network Efficiency in Transportation (TRANSNET) Program.

In partnership with VTTI, PARC will build an elegant mobile travel application model, offering automatically generated travel suggestions that are energy efficient and likely to be accepted by the traveler. Energy can be saved by mode shifting, departure time optimization, driving behavior modifications, and/or carpooling – whether it’s peer-to-peer or via third-party services such as Lyft or Bridj.

The goal of the project is to demonstrate the possibility of 12% energy savings for consumer transportation in Los Angeles, even when only 10% of its population is using the app.

This project leverages PARC’s competencies in model based control of complex systems combined with human cognitive modeling, and VTTI’s recognized leadership in transportation modeling and control, along with Xerox’s substantial incumbency as a provider of transportation services to US cities to create a project that is meaningful, executable, and scalable.

“Phase 1 will be evaluated on a micro-simulation model of Los Angeles, built by our team members at the VTTI,” said Christian Fritz, Principal Investigator of PARC's project. “If the project is proven successful, we will work with Xerox and the city of LA to deploy it as an extension to the recently launched Xerox Go LA app.”

Traveler Response Architecture using Novel Signaling for Network Efficiency in Transportation

TRANSNET project teams will design and test new network optimization approaches, coupled with novel transportation and mobility simulations, to improve the energy efficiency of personal transportation. Project teams will each design a system model that dynamically simulates an urban transportation network and its energy use. To construct the system model, project teams will use data that can be measured and obtained from currently available sources. Each project team will also design a control architecture that combines wireless signals with personalized incentives to affect real-time energy use. These innovative teams will then use their model and control architecture to demonstrate the level of energy-efficiency gains that can be accomplished.

About PARC

PARC, a Xerox company, is in the Business of Breakthroughs®. Practicing open innovation, we provide custom R&D services, technology, expertise, best practices, and intellectual property to Fortune 500 and Global 1000 companies, startups, and government agencies and partners. We create new business options, accelerate time to market, augment internal capabilities, and reduce risk for our clients. Since its inception, PARC has pioneered many technology platforms – from the Ethernet and laser printing to the GUI and ubiquitous computing – and has enabled the creation of many industries. Incorporated as an independent, wholly owned subsidiary of Xerox in 2002, PARC today continues the research that enables breakthroughs for our clients' businesses. To learn more about PARC, visit our website or contact [email protected].

PR Contact | Kelly Brieger | PARC, a Xerox company | 650-704-1748| [email protected]