What's New in ARC-IT

What's New in ARC-IT Version 9.3

ARC-IT Version 9.3 is a modest update of the US National ITS Architecture Reference focusing on improvements to learning and information sharing tools. While it includes some updates to content, the focus with this release is squarely on enabling users to learn from and leverage ARC-IT content in new ways:

• Firstly, the Architecture Structured Query Tool (ASQ-IT) provides a means for users to interrogate ARC-IT and ask questions that were previously very difficult to answer because they required dedicated database expertise and a deep knowledge of ARC-IT structure. Ever wonder which service packages use position or time data? What standards-related issues apply to an entire service? Now you can find out. Of course, you can also learn simpler things that are reproduced elsewhere on the ARC-IT website, and that's because we are all different-some of us learn in different ways, so the ARC-IT has been updated to provide new ways to learn about ITS architecture.
  
• A second new way to learn is with micro-learning videos. The first tranche of these are available with version 9.3, and are focused on topics related to the use of RAD-IT. These videos all demonstrate particular actions within the tool, sometimes from an overview perspective, and sometimes tackle a particular thorny topic (e.g., how and when to define a custom physical object). Additional micro-learning videos will be published from time to time, in areas such as SET-IT support and overall architecture principles.
• Standards Maps provide a third new way to look at ARC-IT content, this time focused on the applicability of standards and specifications. The first few of these are on the 'Standards Use' menu item of the 'Architecture and Standards Use' tab. The V2X Standards Map is clickable, with relevant information for the identified standards behind each hyperlink. Future updates will bring hyperlinks to the Multimodal and Accessible Travel (MAT) map and additional standards maps that appeal to particular interests.

There are a few content changes in ARC-IT. As in version 9.2, service packages and diagrams with revised content are highlighted in blue, and those that are completely new are in yellow. Changes of particular note:

• PT09: Transit Signal Priority: enhancements to support priority for light rail
• VS04: Special Vehicle Alert: new flows to reflect commercial implementations using cellular communications
• VS16: Maneuver Coordination: new service package reflecting highly automated operations for lane change and merge
• Updates to standards used in the United States, chiefly those published by IEEE, NTCIP, SAE

If the term "ARC-IT" is new to you or it has been a few years since you've visited the National ITS Architecture, you may find the Key Concepts document helpful.