Abstract
This chapter introduces the TRB 2013 Workshop on Road Vehicle Automation, which was the original source for the papers that are included in this volume. The TRB organization and its functions are explained, providing the context for this workshop and its significance. The reasons for creating the workshop are explained, in the context of the history of road vehicle automation work in the U.S. The structure and organization of the meeting are explained, showing its mixture of plenary talks, breakout discussions, technical demonstrations and ancillary meetings. The chapter concludes with a discussion of future directions and thoughts about the future meetings in this series