The RAV for freight movement project awards $10,000,000 to the university of oklahoma and a consortium consisting of university of california, berkeley, the university of new mexico, and GLD partners

The Department of Transportation awarded a $20 million Cooperative Agreement to the University of Oklahoma on February 23, 2026, under the Autonomous Vehicle Research in Rural Communities Program (CFDA 20.944) to conduct research, demonstration, and full deployment of rural autonomous vehicles for freight movement in rural and tribal communities.

The University of Oklahoma, operating through its Office of Research Administration, leads the Autonomous Cargo Carriers for Enhanced Logistics in Rural and Tribal Areas (ACCEL-RT) program in consortium with the University of California, Berkeley, the University of New Mexico, and GLD Partners. The project addresses unique challenges of autonomous vehicle operations in rural areas—including weather variables and differing roadway types—to bring the benefits of autonomous freight and delivery vehicles to rural and tribal Americans.

Phase 1, the demonstration phase, focuses on establishing foundational plans, conducting early and full-scale demonstrations, and engaging stakeholders. Deliverables include a comprehensive program management plan to guide research, demonstration, and deployment activities; an advisory committee representing academia, industry, government, and rural and tribal communities; expansion of the ACCEL-RT consortium to include freight, logistics, and autonomous vehicle stakeholders; development and refinement of a training program on rural autonomous vehicles; and regular updates to the program management plan alongside quarterly and bi-annual reports.

The cooperative agreement runs through February 22, 2032, with place of performance in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The program obligates $20 million total. Federal grant program requirements mandate that recipients obtain matching funds from non-federal sources equal to 50 percent of the USDOT award amount, with all funds to be expended by fiscal year 2029.

To conduct research, demonstration and full deployment of rural autonomous vehicles (RAV) for the movement of goods. The project will conduct research and work with rural communities to address the additional challenges, including weather variables and differing types of roadways, of bringing the benefits of autonomous vehicles, including freight and delivery vehicles, to rural americans. The purpose of this cooperative agreement is for university of oklahoma through its autonomous cargo carriers for enhanced logistics in rural and tribal areas (accel-RT) program, to assist usdot/OST-r in this endeavor. The intended beneficiaries will be the citizens of the united states, in particular rural and tribal communities. Award purpose: the RAV freight movement project has a total of two phases covering initial technology research, demonstration projects and full deployment of RAV in rural and tribal communities. In phase 1: demonstration, the accel-RT program focuses on establishing foundational plans, conducting early and full-scale demonstrations, and engaging key stakeholders. This phase begins with the creation of a comprehensive program management plan (PMP) to guide research, demonstration, and deployment activities, detailing governance structures, partner roles, and operational processes. Regular updates to this PMP, alongside quarterly and BI-annual reports, ensure alignment with DOT feedback and project progress. The phase includes forming an advisory committee composed of representatives from academia, industry, government, and rural/tribal communities, alongside expanding the accel-RT consortium to encompass freight, logistics, and AV stakeholders. A training program on rural autonomous vehicles (RAV) will be developed and refined, with ongoing reporting on participation and curriculum progress. Demonstrations are staged in two steps including early launch projects using mature technologies to assess readiness and acceptance, followed by larger-scale demonstrations addressing transportation challenges in targeted rural and tribal communities. Tasks include creating systems engineering plans for each project, capturing results through demonstration reports, fostering community engagement, and developing a RAV roadmap report to guide future infrastructure planning. Phase 2: deployment builds on phase 1 findings to implement selected use cases in real-world community settings, focusing heavily on refinement, execution, and measurement of deployment success. The PMP and training program are updated as needed, with continuous reporting through quarterly and BI-annual reviews. Consortium updates document evolving membership and engagement, while deployment plans specify locations, timelines, and operational details for three targeted RAV projects. Systems engineering plans ensure efficient, cost-effective implementation with clear kpis for technology and community impact assessment. Deployment results are compiled in detailed reports, complemented by community engagement outputs that capture stakeholder input and participatory research from the deployment sites. This phase culminates in drafting and finalizing a comprehensive technical report summarizing all demonstrations, deployments, and roadmap achievements, integrating findings from both phases and presenting them to the government PM for review. Through these activities, phase 2 transitions accel-RT from demonstration to sustainable real-world integration of RAV technology in rural and tribal logistics networks.subrecipients will be consortium members or industry partners as needed.