NTCIP C2F: NTCIP Center-to-Field Standards Group (Standard* Activities Group)

The National Transportation Communications for ITS Protocol (NTCIP) family of standards, created jointly by AASHTO, ITE and NEMA, addresses primarily the interfaces between a transportation management center, the ITS field devices it manages, and other centers. They provide both the rules for communicating (called protocols) and the vocabulary (called objects, data elements, and messages) necessary to exchange information between ITS systems.

The NTCIP Center-to-Field (NTCIP C2F) Group of Standards addresses the communications protocols between a center and the ITS field devices it manages. The family includes the communications profiles that cover the interfaces between a traffic management center and dynamic message signs, ramp meters, environmental sensors, CCTVs, and other field equipment under its control. These protocols are common across all Center-to-Field interfaces in the National ITS Architecture, and rather than repeat the entire list for each architecture flow, we have created this summary entry – the NTCIP C2C Group of communications standards.

The "vocabulary" (objects) is specific to the actual architecture flow in the National ITS Architecture and is therefore mapped to the corresponding Data Object standard. In the example above, "NTCIP 1203: Object Definitions for Dynamic Message Signs (DMS)" standard would be mapped to the specific control and data flows between the Traffic Management Subsystem and the Roadway DMS equipment.

In order to satisfy a wide spectrum of system and regional communications requirements, Center-to-Field ITS deployments should each implement the combinations of the following NTCIP C2F communications protocols that best meet their needs.

This Group includes the following Standards Activities:

Source Architecture Flow Destination
Archived Data Management data collection and monitoring control Roadway
Emergency Management secure area surveillance control Security Monitoring
Emissions Management pollution sensor control Roadway
Maintenance and Construction Management environmental sensors control Roadway
Maintenance and Construction Management roadway information system data Roadway
Maintenance and Construction Management roadway treatment system control Roadway
Maintenance and Construction Management speed monitoring control Roadway
Maintenance and Construction Management video surveillance control Roadway
Other Roadway signal control data Roadway
Roadway roadside archive data Archived Data Management
Roadway area pollution data Emissions Management
Roadway environmental sensor data Maintenance and Construction Management
Roadway field device status Maintenance and Construction Management
Roadway roadway information system status Maintenance and Construction Management
Roadway roadway treatment system status Maintenance and Construction Management
Roadway speed monitoring information Maintenance and Construction Management
Roadway traffic images Maintenance and Construction Management
Roadway signal control data Other Roadway
Roadway environmental sensor data Surface Transportation Weather Service
Roadway environmental sensor data Traffic Management
Roadway hov data Traffic Management
Roadway lane management information Traffic Management
Roadway lighting system status Traffic Management
Roadway reversible lane status Traffic Management
Roadway right-of-way request notification Traffic Management
Roadway roadway information system status Traffic Management
Roadway roadway warning system status Traffic Management
Roadway shoulder management information Traffic Management
Roadway signal control status Traffic Management
Roadway signal fault data Traffic Management
Roadway speed monitoring information Traffic Management
Roadway traffic flow Traffic Management
Roadway traffic images Traffic Management
Roadway traffic metering status Traffic Management
Roadway traffic probe data Traffic Management
Roadway variable speed limit status Traffic Management
Roadway environmental sensor data Weather Service
Security Monitoring secure area surveillance data Emergency Management
Surface Transportation Weather Service environmental sensors control Roadway
Traffic Management environmental sensors control Roadway
Traffic Management lighting system control data Roadway
Traffic Management roadway information system data Roadway
Traffic Management roadway warning system control Roadway
Traffic Management signal control commands Roadway
Traffic Management signal control device configuration Roadway
Traffic Management signal control plans Roadway
Traffic Management signal system configuration Roadway
Traffic Management speed monitoring control Roadway
Traffic Management traffic metering control Roadway
Traffic Management traffic sensor control Roadway
Traffic Management variable speed limit control Roadway
Traffic Management video surveillance control Roadway
Weather Service environmental sensors control Roadway