Albany Visualization and Informatics Lab (AVAIL)

What Albany Visualization and Informatics Lab (AVAIL) does

Albany Visualization and Informatics Lab (AVAIL) is an applied research laboratory embedded in SUNY Albany, founded under the direction of Dr. Catherine T. Lawson, that develops web-based data science, visualization, and geospatial analytics applications for government agencies and foundations. Its portfolio comprises roughly nine discrete projects spanning transportation performance measurement (NPMRDS Congestion Analytics / PM3 Tools), real-time transit data interoperability (MTA GTFS Realtime-to-SIRI API), microsimulation (Bus Stop Level Transit Demand Modeling), border-security analytics (SAMBAS), hazard mitigation planning (Mitigate NY portal), atmospheric data access (NY State Mesonet landing portal), entrepreneurial-economy visualization (Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Atlas), and multi-state traffic data administration (FHWA Pooled Fund Study module for six state DOTs). The underlying technology stack combines open-source web application development, REST APIs, GIS, and structured-data analytics over federal datasets such as NPMRDS, LEHD, LODES, QCEW, BDS, and HPMS, with code released on GitHub (github.com/availabs) at project completion.

AVAIL operates a non-commercial, grant-funded business model with no disclosed pricing for its outputs; revenue is generated exclusively through research grants and project contracts awarded by public agencies (NY State DOT, MTA, NJDOT, FHWA, NYSERDA) and foundations (Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation). Its go-to-market motion is event- and community-led, combining grant acquisition, academic and professional conference presence (notably the Transportation Research Board), and open-source distribution to transportation professionals and researchers. The customer base is concentrated in US Northeast government transportation, with the FHWA Pooled Fund Study extending operational reach to Connecticut, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, North Carolina, and Michigan. The lab employs approximately nine staff — a director, principal investigator, program manager, lead developer, four developers, and a GIS specialist — supplemented by student fellows, and holds a TRB Blue Ribbon Award for contributions to urban transportation data collection and archiving.

Name

Albany Visualization and Informatics Lab (AVAIL)

Legal name

Albany Visualization and Informatics Lab (AVAIL)

Website

https://availabs.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Short description

AVAIL is an applied research lab at SUNY Albany that builds open-source, web-based data visualization and analytics tools for government transportation, economic development, and homeland security agencies, funded by research grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Transportation Analytics Software

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

API Documentation & Developer Portals (BPAMAOAH)

Keywords

• Transportation analytics software
• Geospatial data visualization
• Transit data integration
• Open source government tools
• Regional planning analytics

Headquarters

HQ city

Albany

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Research Grants and Project Funding: AVAIL operates primarily through grant funding from government agencies, foundations, and research institutions. Major funding sources include NY State DOT, MTA, NYSERDA, Federal Highways Administration, and Kauffman Foundation.
2. Transit Demand Modeling Project Phase II: Awarded Project Phase II funding for Bus Stop Level Transit Demand Modelling Project pursuing microsimulation software development.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

AVAIL is an applied research laboratory at SUNY Albany that develops web-based data science tools, geospatial visualization applications, and analytics software for transportation, hazard mitigation, economic development, and homeland security use cases. Its offerings are funded through grants from government agencies and foundations and made open source via GitHub upon project completion.

Product overview

AVAIL is an applied research laboratory within SUNY Albany specializing in data science and regional planning. Their portfolio consists of multiple standalone web-based analytical tools rather than a unified platform. The core offerings include NPMRDS Congestion Analytics Tools for transportation performance measurement; the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Atlas for economic analysis; Mitigate NY for hazard mitigation planning; SAMBAS for border security simulation; Transit Demand Modeling microsimulation software; the Federal Highways Web-based Data Administration Module; the New York State Mesonet Portal for atmospheric data; and the NJDOT Traveler Information Application for mobile mobility. A notable API product is the MTA Real-time Data Conversion API which converts GTFS Realtime to SIRI format. The tools are designed to be user-friendly, visually immersive, and open source upon project completion, with code shared on GitHub.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NPMRDS Analytics Tools: Performance measurement dashboard and analytics tools for NPMRDS data, providing visualization tools for network performance analysis, corridor analyses, and project analyses at various geographic and temporal resolutions.
• MTA Real-time Data Conversion API
• Mitigate NY
• NJDOT Traveler Information Application

Products and services

• NPMRDS Congestion Analytics Tools Performance measurement dashboard and analytics suite that analyzes and reports network performance, runs corridor analyses, and conducts project analyses using NPMRDS data at multiple geographic and temporal resolutions, intended for state DOTs and metropolitan planning organizations.
• Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Atlas Web-based tool for entrepreneurial landscape analysis that visualizes business climate change over time using LEHD, LODES, ZBP, QCEW, BDS, Startup Genome, Crunchbase, and NETS datasets, intended for foundations and economic development researchers studying job creation and economic activity.
• Mitigate NY (New York State Hazard Mitigation Plan Portal) Web-based hazard mitigation planning portal that maintains up-to-date risk data for New York State, supporting state and local mitigation planning with dynamic, accessible data visualizations.
• SAMBAS (Simulation Analysis and Modeling for Border Apprehension and Security) Border security simulation software providing probable pathway analysis integrating smuggler behavior intelligence at the Sector level, processing queries in under one hour and delivering updatable probable pathways across user-defined locations and time periods for federal border security stakeholders.
• NJDOT Traveler Information Application Mobile traveler application delivering real-time information on traffic conditions, travel times, transit availability, and parking availability for the Routes 1 and 18 corridors, with decision support capabilities for travelers and transportation operators.
• Transit Demand Modeling Microsimulation Software State-of-the-art microsimulation software for Bus Stop Level Transit Demand Modeling, providing advanced simulation capabilities for transit planning and operations analysis.
• MTA Real-time Data Conversion API API that converts MTA subway GTFS Realtime feeds on the fly into SIRI format, unifying MTA's disparate data streams so developers and travelers can access complete real-time transit data in the largest mass transit market in the country.
• Federal Highways Web-based Data Administration Module Web-based traffic data analytics and administration module developed for the FHWA Pooled Fund Study covering six state DOTs (Connecticut, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, North Carolina, Michigan), providing visualization software focused on continuous counts data, WIM, and HPMS.
• New York State Mesonet Portal Weather and atmospheric data landing portal developed in partnership with the SUNY Earth and Atmospheric Sciences department and the Atmospheric Science Research Center, supporting the New York State Mesonet's public-facing atmospheric data delivery.

Quantifiable outcome

• For every $1 spent on mitigation, an average $6 is saved in disaster recovery costs

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• NJDOT Bureau of Research and Division of Mobility EngineeringcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2017NJDOT Bureau of Research and Division of Mobility Engineering partnered with University of Albany and Info Logistics in August 2017 to develop a mobile traveler application for Routes 1 and 18 Corridors.
• Info LogisticsmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2017Info Logistics partnered with University of Albany and NJDOT on the Traveler Information Application Pilot Project.
• Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAVAIL was awarded a grant by MTA and NYSERDA to create an API for converting MTA's Subway GTFS Realtime data into SIRI format to unify transit data streams for the largest mass transit market in the country.
• SUNY Earth and Atmospheric Sciences DepartmentmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAVAIL teamed with the SUNY Earth and Atmospheric Sciences department and the Atmospheric Science Research Center to develop the landing portal for the New York State Mesonet.
• Federal Highways Administration (FHWA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAVAIL is developing a web-based traffic data analytics administration module as part of a FHWA Pooled Fund Study for six state DOTs (Connecticut, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, North Carolina, and Michigan). Software will be open-source upon completion.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Remix (by Via): Transit planning software platform serving transit agencies and MPOs with web-based mapping and scenario tools. Comparable to AVAIL's Transit Demand Modeling microsimulation work and broader transit analytics portfolio.
• Citilabs: Transportation modeling software vendor (Cube, Streetlytics) serving DOTs and MPOs for travel demand modeling, microsimulation, and analytics. Comparable to AVAIL's Transit Demand Modeling microsimulation and NPMRDS analytics work.
• StreetLight Data: Commercial transportation analytics platform serving state DOTs, MPOs, and federal agencies with big-data analytics over NPMRDS, GPS, and other mobility datasets. Closest commercial analog to AVAIL's NPMRDS Congestion Analytics Tools in target customer and analytical problem.
• University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program: Federally funded university-based transportation research consortiums that produce open-source tools, datasets, and reports for state DOTs and federal agencies. AVAIL itself operates in this model via SUNY Albany; the UTC network is its closest institutional peer.

Broad incumbents

• Iteris: Public transportation analytics and intelligent transportation systems vendor serving state DOTs, MPOs, and federal agencies with traffic data, performance measurement, and ClearMobility solutions. Comparable to AVAIL's transportation performance measurement and FHWA pooled fund work.
• Cambridge Systematics: Transportation planning and analytics consulting firm serving state DOTs, MPOs, and federal agencies. Closely comparable to AVAIL's transportation modeling, transit demand modeling, and economic analysis practices.
• Esri: Geographic information system (GIS) platform widely used by DOTs, MPOs, and federal agencies for geospatial analytics, web maps, and dashboards. Comparable to AVAIL's geospatial visualization and GIS-specialist-driven approach.
• HERE Technologies: Global location data and mapping platform providing traffic, transit, and geospatial APIs and analytics used by governments and transit agencies. Comparable to AVAIL's GTFS-to-SIRI transit API and broader transportation data integration work.
• INRIX: Commercial traffic data and analytics provider serving DOTs, MPOs, and developers worldwide. Comparable to AVAIL's traffic analytics, NPMRDS analytics, and traveler information application efforts.

Emerging players

• Posit (RStudio): Open-source data science software company (R, Shiny, Tidyverse) widely adopted by government researchers and academic labs for building interactive web analytics applications. Comparable to AVAIL's web-based open-source analytical tool approach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights1 record

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/availabs
• GitHubgithub.com/availabs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Albany Visualization and Informatics Lab (AVAIL)