Steve Roop

Texas A&M Transportation Institute Assistant Agency Director Steve Roop was honored by the Texas A&M Office of Technology Commercialization for three patents he received as part of the Freight Shuttle System, an innovative freight-movement system.

The annual Patent and Innovation Awards Luncheon was held Friday, April 26, at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center at the George Bush Presidential Library. Roop and numerous other Texas A&M University System employees were recognized for a total of 38 patents issued during the 2012 calendar year.

Roop’s 2012 patents represent various elements of the Freight Shuttle, including the guideway and the rotating loading dock.

“We are in the process of protecting the various features of the Freight Shuttle, and several other patents have been applied for,” Roop explains. “There have been numerous recent developments that indicate the construction of a prototype will be the next step.” Roop says he expects a prototype will be built over the next 24 months, with a system projected to be operational over the next 3 to 5 years.

The Freight Shuttle will move freight with a series of transporters that operate on a specially designed guideway. The propulsion system includes a linear-induction-motor assembly with virtually no moving parts. The transporters use flangeless steel wheels that run on a steel running surface. Designed to reduce energy consumption, congestion and pollution while delivering cargo more securely and faster, the Freight Shuttle could be used at border crossings or shipping ports. The patent for the overall Freight Shuttle concept was issued in 2010.

Other key research area presentations by TTI personnel included:

• Steve Roop provided a status update on the Freight Shuttle System, which was conceived to resolve freight transportation’s most pressing deficiency: the lack of a system suitable for high-volume traffic between two points located less than 600 miles apart.
• John Mounce briefly reviewed the Center for Transportation Safety’s 10-year history and highlighted several key program areas including distracted and impaired driving.
• Paul Carlson and Jeff Miles lead a tour of the Visibility Research Laboratory.
• Bill Stockton provided an update on the groundbreaking transportation planning I-35 project.
• David Ellis reviewed transportation financing mechanisms and The Transportation Revenue Estimator and Needs Determination System (T.R.E.N.D.S.)

The presentations concluded with a presentation from Roger Bligh on roadside safety and physical security.

Steve Roop, Leslie Olson and Curtis Morgan were honored for their patent, described simply as a freight transportation system and method. The Freight Shuttle is a revolutionary cargo-movement concept consisting of a series of specially designed transport vehicles that carry freight containers and truck trailers. The containers travel on an elevated guideway, propelled by electric linear induction motors.

Patent number 7,656,203 was issued to the trio and former TTI employee Craig Roco in February of last year.

Akram Abu-Odeh, Dean Alberson, Roger Bligh, Lance Bullard and Gene Buth were issued patent number 7,694,941 in April. It’s described as a guardrail safety system for dissipating energy to decelerate the impacting vehicle.

“This system is the first guardrail terminal to meet the new national standard, `Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware,’ also known as MASH,” Bullard explains. “It is a tension terminal that has the potential to withstand a second impact, which is different than current guardrail systems.” TTI is currently in discussion with Trinity Industries regarding a licensing agreement, which is the first step before production.

The Texas A&M University System Office of Technology Commercialization handed out a total of 24 Patent Awards to 40 A&M System employees this year.

Marine shipping contributes a fundamental component to the nation's overall freight system.

Business and individual needs for product delivery continue to evolve due to technological advancements, economic globalization, increasing competitiveness and changing market demand. The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) is investigating innovative solutions that support the use of multiple modes of transportation, facilitate freight transfer, reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality, and provide alternative fuel and funding options.

“Freight transportation is a dynamic environment, and innovations that result in higher efficiency or lower costs quickly change the way freight moves,” says Steve Roop, assistant agency director of TTI. “Nobody likes to pay to transport freight, so low-cost solutions have a considerable potential return on investment.”

Despite rapid incremental changes in freight transportation, significant innovations are rare. Major changes in freight shipments have materialized only every 50 years or so — horse and wagon to railroads to motorized vehicles to just-in-time deliveries. According to the 50-year theory, the next major change is due, and TTI research has identified a key candidate — the Freight Shuttle.

TTI‘s Freight Shuttle concept consists of electric vehicles running on specialized guideway rails. An automated control system with few moving parts and no onboard drivers transports cargo containers along the rails. The Freight Shuttle system is a natural complement to trucking, water and rail operations, serving as a short-distance shipping partner as well as a long-distance option.

“The Freight Shuttle will produce two public revenue streams,” says Roop. “The first comes from leasing public facilities and right-of-way, and the second is from resources saved by reducing pavement damage, decreasing maintenance and relieving congestion. The public also benefits through improved safety and air quality.”

TTI researchers are also working with the Texas Department of Transportation and other sponsors on projects to discover further innovative multimodal freight solutions, such as improved grade-crossing warning systems, tank-car placards, alternative fuels and emissions-reduction strategies.

Another way to prevent potential freight-movement disruptions is through balancing transport across transportation modes and regional boundaries. An upcoming TTI project being undertaken in cooperation with the National Center for Freight and Infrastructure Research and Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will look at air-cargo operations and activity levels in the 10-state Mississippi Valley Freight Coalition region. Researchers will inventory regional facilities, classify cargo types and examine market demand. The project team will develop resources for planners to use in connecting intermodal traffic to air-cargo operations.

“This project will establish a better understanding of the air-freight system in the Midwest and, ultimately, provide a basis for a long-term strategic plan to integrate increasing air-cargo demand into a coordinated freight system,” says Jeff Borowiec, associate research scientist in TTI‘s Economics, Trade and Logistics Program.

In overland freight, truck traffic on roadways has outpaced growth of the roadways themselves, creating a need for ways to prevent congestion and unpredictability of deliveries. In response to the growing number and size of trucks on Texas roads, current TTI projects are exploring management of oversize and overweight truck loads. Other possible solutions include onboard warning systems and advances in highway design in primary truck corridors.

For waterborne freight, a critical component of the freight circulation system, TTI researchers are looking for ways to capitalize on the benefits of waterborne transportation, including air-quality credits for low emissions and ways to maximize the use of unused waterway capacity.

“Achieving a proper balance of road, water, rail and air transportation that moves freight most efficiently will be important in the coming years,” says Curtis Morgan, manager of TTI‘s Multimodal Freight Transportation Program.

Whether it travels by road, rail, water or air, freight that moves safely, efficiently and cost-effectively keeps our state and national economies thriving. TTI research is providing a basis for future innovations that will move freight quickly and safely, and serve individuals and businesses dealing with rapidly changing economic and social needs.

TTI's futuristic Freight Shuttle will serve as a partner to other modes of freight movement, helping achieve an efficient balance of shipping choices.

Commentary on Freight Movement

Randy Mullett
Vice President for Governmental Relations
Con-way Freight

Freight movement is the lifeblood of our economy. The recent economic downturn proves that every sector depends on moving products efficiently to keep the economy itself moving forward.

Historically, the goal of increasing efficiency has been a hallmark of the freight industry as it has evolved in America. Speed, capacity and reliability were the measures of that success as technological innovation and consumer demand drove the way we shipped products. As the world’s economies have become more interdependent, new markets have developed, bringing with them both opportunities and challenges. The opportunities are obvious; the challenges less so.

For example, different countries have different weight regulations for goods crossing national borders. Freight packaged and loaded one way in China must be repackaged before entering the United States and vice versa. These days the inefficiencies in the system are less related to technology than policy. In fact, thanks to advances in information technology, innovations like just-in-time inventories allow us to invest dollars in research and development instead of renting warehouses.

The near future will see significant changes in the way freight moves. Rising middle classes in China and India will create huge markets for U.S. manufacturers. Our previous example of packaging and repackaging goods is an unacceptable inefficiency if we’re to fully exploit those markets. Further, the intersection of shifting markets, climate change and technological innovation challenges us to find a better way to move goods.

Moving freight is and will continue to be vital to our way of life. Good policy depends on decision makers having reliable research by unbiased agencies like the Texas Transportation Institute. These data are critical to shaping sensible regulations aimed at maximizing opportunity, preserving safety and creating market share. We have the rare opportunity to know with some certainty the role freight movement will play in the next few decades. Shaping that future begins in the present.

This Issue

Solving the Transportation Puzzle

Volume 46, Number 3
September 2010
Issue Overview