ATSSA Signal May June 2020

The Signal | May/June 2020 23 Innovation ATSSA’s annual Innovation Awards put thebest newproducts fromroadway safety manufacturers around the coun - try in front of the very audience that can deploy them—representatives of state departments of transportation. The 2020 awards program presented as partof theNewProductsRollout (NPRO) at ATSSA’s 50thAnnual Convention&Traffic Expo in NewOrleans in January. It shows howproduct developers are increasingly looking to the power of immersive and connected technologies tosolve roadway safety problems. Developers of the20 innovativeproducts selectedtopresentat theNPROweregiven fiveminutes each topitch their product to apanel of judges that includeddepartment oftransportation(DOT)officialsfromacross the country. The judgespicked three Inno - vation Awardwinners, evaluating entries on their overall level of innovation, the problems solved, unique safety qualities, and the degree of need for the product. Thisannual processgivesproductdevelop - ers a chance to connect with their poten - tial audience. By encouragingdevelopers to bring innovative roadway safety prod - ucts tomarket, the InnovationAwardshelp fulfill ATSSA’s mission of moving Toward Zero Deaths on American roads. “We are trying to get the newest prod - ucts in front of theDOTs and the users as quickly as possible so that the implemen - tation can go more smoothly,” said Eric Perry, director of Innovation and Techni - cal Services at ATSSA. FIRST PLACE Virtual-RealityWorkZoneTraining–Royal Innovative Solutions, Coopersburg, Pa. Properlypreparingwork zoneemployees requires simulating the intenseconditions theywillfaceonthejob.Pennsylvania-based Royal InnovativeSolutions recognizedthat virtual reality (VR) offered an innovative way to provide effective training. “Wenoticed that therewas a lackof consis - tent, repeatable training that could prop - erlyprepareworkers for the challengesof anactivehighwaywork zone,” said Jessica Roy, Royal’s vice president of sales. “We wanted tobeable toprovideabetter solu - tion that could fill this void.” ATSSA Innovation Award winners use technology to improve safety By Emily Freehling for The Signal Innovation Award winners are Jessica Roy with Royal Innovative Solutions, first place, and, on left, representatives from third-place winner VER-MAC, Todd Foster and Ricky Stone. Adam Selevan of Pi Variables placed second.