Institute of Transportation Studies Labs (ITS Labs)Berkeley RIC

The Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS) at UC Berkeley operates a premier Autonomous Vehicle (AV) test track and Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) laboratory, located at the Richmond Field Station. This facility serves as a critical proving ground for the future of mobility, bridging the gap between digital twin simulation and public road deployment. At the core of the facility is a fully connected smart intersection, instrumented to rigorous Caltrans standards. This high-fidelity infrastructure provides a realistic environment for testing complex transportation scenarios, including the interaction between signal controllers, roadside units, and autonomous systems. The site is designed to support a wide spectrum of research, including:

• Autonomous Vehicle Validation: Testing navigation algorithms, sensor fusion, and safety protocols in a controlled environment.
• V2X Communications: Evaluating connectivity between vehicles (V2V), between vehicles and smart infrastructure (V2I), and between vehicles and the grid (V2G).
• Robotics: Stress-testing mobile robotic systems under varying conditions.

By offering a testbed that mimics real-world highway and intersection standards, the facility enables researchers and industry partners to safely advance the technologies that will define the next generation of smart, connected transportation.