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The #FREEtheMIBS Campaign Celebrates a Year’s Worth of Successes as More Organizations Join
The hits keep on coming as Rapid Flow Technologies and Mid American Signal join, continuing momentum into second year.
November 10, 2020
As the FREEtheMIBs campaign celebrates its first anniversary and a wild year of growth, advocacy and increasing influence, two prominent new members join the effort. Rapid Flow Technologies, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania based developer of Surtrac adaptive traffic signal control, and ITS distributor, Mid American Signal have joined the campaign.
Tom Stiles, #FREEtheMIBs founding partner and executive vice president of urban solutions at Q-Free, says the pace of the campaign continues to accelerate. “We’re very aware that many advocacy organizations hit a sophomore slowdown, but this campaign is doing the opposite,” he said. “I believe it’s because people understand this is a right side of history moment and something that can fundamentally change the way our industry operates, and its practitioners interact.”
The two members embody the diversity within #FREEtheMibs’ membership. Rapid Flow Technologies was founded five years ago out of Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute as part of the Traffic21 research initiative. The company spun out to commercialize its proprietary adaptive signal controls that use artificial intelligence to adjust traffic signals in real time.
Company Founder and Chief Technology Officer Greg Barlow says the campaign goals of opening management information bases or MIBs, mirror Rapid Flow Technologies’ commitment to open standards in the traffic management industry. “Open MIBs are better for customers and vendors. Closed standards are designed for vendor lock in; but being an expert is the biggest lock in you can get.”
Rapid Flow Technologies is joined as a new campaign member by Kansas City based Mid American Signal, the first distributor of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) to join the campaign.
Bill Droessler, president of Mid American Signal said, “Many vendors do not want other solution providers to be able to fully interact with their products, essentially handicapping an agency’s ability to select the best possible solutions to address their needs.”
Founded 40 years ago, Mid American Signal has considerable experience with the evolution of both closed and open standards across ITS applications. “Opening standards can have a negative impact on bottom-line sales for distributors and the vendors they represent,” said Droessler. “But ultimately, it’s not about profit but delivering the best possible solution for the greater good of our communities.”
That sentiment is a common thread among the members of the FREEtheMIBs campaign. With advocates representing state departments of transportation, academia, traffic controller manufacturers, network organizations and consultants, they span the spectrum of traffic control stakeholders. Stiles said, “Our first anniversary is an important moment, but I feel like we’re just getting out of the gate. I am excited about all we’ve accomplished, and equally confident even bigger things are ahead.”
About FREEtheMIBS
#FREEtheMIBS is a collaborative campaign to encourage traffic signal controller and ITS device manufacturers, and public sector agencies to unite behind opening and sharing device NTCIP protocols – specifically, management information bases (MIBs). To learn more about the freeing the MIBs or to join the movement, visit FREEtheMIBS.org.