SAM #693JJ3-26-BAA-0005

USDOT Solicitation for Cooperative Driving Automation (CDA) Industry Prototypes and Demonstrations

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), through the Federal Highway Administration and the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office, is seeking industry-led prototypes for Cooperative Driving Automation (CDA) technologies. - Government Buyer: - U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) - Federal Highway Administration - Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office - Office of Acquisition and Grants Management - OEMs and Vendors: - No specific OEMs or vendors named; proposals must include an OEM or Automated Driving System (ADS) developer, Tier 1 supplier, Infrastructure Owner-Operator, independent evaluator, and testbed provider - Products/Services Requested: - Development, testing, and demonstration of CDA prototypes at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6-7 - Focused use cases: Work Zone Management, Traffic Incident Management, Cooperative Perception, Emergency/Transit Vehicle Awareness - Validation of interoperability, functional safety, cybersecurity, and data sharing between vehicles and infrastructure using V2X communication - Industry-ready prototypes for controlled and real-world testing environments - Unique/Notable Requirements: - Partnerships required between OEMs, infrastructure operators, and evaluators - Emphasis on safety, cybersecurity, standards compliance, and scalable national deployment - Deliverables include system architecture, safety plans, operational data, evaluation reports, and recommendations for standards and investment - Two-phase project: Phase 1 (controlled environment demonstration), Phase 2 (optional real-world demonstration contingent on successful Phase 1 review) - Estimated funding of $5 million over 24 months - Data-driven insights to inform national CDA deployment strategy across rural, suburban, and urban roadway systems

Description

This is a presolicitation for the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) that will be issued in late July 2026.

BACKGROUND:

The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) envisions a future transportation ecosystem where Cooperative Driving Automation (CDA) complements both human-driven and automated vehicles to improve roadway safety, mobility, and operational efficiency. While standalone vehicle automation has advanced, it continues to struggle with complex edge cases such as occlusion, complex merging, or identifying pedestrians hidden behind buildings at corners, and vehicle sensors alone cannot adequately resolve these issues.

Prior USDOT-supported research projects have successfully demonstrated the technical proof-of-concept at technology readiness levels (TRL) of 3-5 for CDA applications in laboratory and closed environments. However, most new vehicles are not equipped with CDA capabilities and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) remain reluctant to integrate these technologies into production lines due to a lack of consumer awareness and unclear regulatory, policy, and institutional frameworks.

This acquisition seeks to build on foundational CDA research by bridging the gap between research concepts and commercial viability. There is a critical need to develop and test pre-production, industry-led prototypes at a TRL of 6-7, to validate that the data shared between vehicles and roadside infrastructure is accurate, secure, and reliable enough to support functional safety. By demonstrating CDA technologies in operational conditions, researchers will gain a better understanding of cooperative systems and if they are more valuable in terms of improving roadway safety, than standalone automation or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technologies alone.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this requirement is to demonstrate industry-led CDA prototypes in controlled and real-world conditions in order to generate data-driven insights that will support the development of a national strategy to deploy CDA across rural, suburban, and urban roadway systems. This effort prioritizes industry-ready CDA technology for use cases with clear safety and/or mobility benefit potential, specifically focusing on: (1) Work Zone Management, (2) Traffic Incident Management, (3) Cooperative Perception, and/or (4) Emergency/Transit Vehicle Awareness.

Contractors will first validate the prototype's interoperability, functional safety, and cybersecurity in a relevant, controlled testbed environment. Following successful controlled testing, the effort will progress into a small scale real-world demonstration on public roads with mixed traffic to validate operational readiness and generate data-driven insights. Additional Links:Technology Readiness Level Guide

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