But just as important as what they want is what they don’t. Here’s a rundown of the department’s six problem statements (three general and three AI-focused), their goals and how to participate in the upcoming in-person demo in October:
Problem Statement 1: Work Zone and Field Crew Safety
It should come as no surprise that the safety of road crews and the traveling public was the top priority outlined by officials. They’re looking for ways to improve work zone visibility, driver and worker safety and push out real-time safety alerts.
The solution requirements include a real-world improvement to safety and visibility, while also being scalable across the entire state.
Problem Statement 2: Asset Protection
Officials are looking for solutions that can be deployed in a variety of scenarios and environments to prevent theft, vandalism and other damage, while also improving response time to address these issues.
The requirements outlined for this problem statement include prevention of theft and damage, deterrence of potential tampering with “high-risk” assets, location monitoring, cost reduction and statewide scalability.
Copper theft from infrastructure like lighting and signage was provided as one example of the sort of assets the department is hoping to protect.
Problem Statement 3: Pothole, Pavement and Local Road Conditions
Another obvious fit for a transportation department is monitoring roadway conditions for damage, like potholes. Caltrans is looking for solutions to identify and track repairs on problem areas.
The key goals for a solution in this area are detection, repair prioritization and tracking, maintenance efficiency enhancements and statewide scalability. Officials underscored that the goal here is not to identify new repair solutions.
The department has considered autonomous vehicle operator partnerships and drone technology as potential opportunities in this space.
AI-Focused Problem Statement 4: Monitoring the State Highway System and Decision Support Capabilities
Caltrans, specifically its Traffic Management Center (TMC), is looking for AI technology that can leverage its existing CCTV infrastructure to help monitor the roadways. The goals for this focus area include proactive roadway detection, real-time alerts and decision support, non-subscription solutions and statewide scalability.
Officials made it clear that they are not interested in cloud-based or subscription solutions, and instead want to own their on-prem technology, noting that cloud has historically been difficult for them to implement at the TMC.
AI-Focused Problem Statement 5: Modernizing DBE Bidder’s List Collection and Reporting
Modernizing the department’s bidding list and the reporting around it was another priority officials believe is ripe for AI innovation. Ideally, a solution would be able to automate some of the existing manual processes and improve operational efficiency while also providing expanded access to the full range of bidder data. Compliance with federal requirements and scalability are also priorities here.
AI-Focused Problem Statement 6: Automated Data Extraction and Digital Twin
The department also sees opportunities to use AI tools to automate the extraction of engineering and survey information from imagery and LiDAR data — the goal being to produce “digital twins” of projects and environments. The key outcomes were improved efficiency, the creation of digital visualizations from various data sources, scalable processing and quality assurance and validation.
How to Participate
To participate in the upcoming in-person demos in October, vendors must create an account and apply through this link.
It’s important to note that this is being classified as market research rather than a procurement activity. Officials also noted that proposed solutions can address part or all of the problem statement, and vendors are not limited to just one problem statement.
The submission portal officially opened Aug. 11 and will close Aug. 27. Vendors will be notified if their solution has been selected for the in-person demonstration the week of Sept. 14, and those demonstrations are scheduled for Oct. 5.
