A Tier 1 University Transportation Center taking on today’s mobility challenges

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An image of a car underneath a wifi symbol, indicating mobility options with smart technology.
The image of a person, a vehicle, and a shield, meant to evoke safety.
The image of a smart phone with people on it, meant to be evocative of shared transportation modes.
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As transportation is increasingly electrified, understanding travel and charging choices of electric vehicle drivers and users of shared electric mobility systems is crucial for service planning and operations. Ultimately, quantitative models of users’ behavior enable the estimation of local and regional demand impinging on transportation and electricity networks and the development of approaches to manage the demand so that such networks can operate efficiently. Developing realistic models of individual behavior to use as “users’ digital twins” in planning and operations is challenging enough, due to the inherent uncertainties of how individuals make everyday choices and their heterogeneity in approaching decisions. Even more challenging is the attempt to anticipate how users might respond to new technologies and changes in infrastructure or services. In this case choice data from systems’ operations or “revealed preference” users’ surveys may not exist, be available only from early adopters, or relate to the system before the change. In this case, often the only option available is to generate new data using choice experiments. In the first part of this seminar, Dr. Daina presented pioneering work adopting these techniques to model electric vehicles driver’s charging choices under smart charging. While in the near term e-mobility is and will be dominated by human drivers, on demand e-mobility services delivered by fleets of autonomous vehicles are on the horizon. In the second part of this talk, he presented recent work on reinforcement learning approaches to smart charging management of shared autonomous electric vehicle fleets. Dr. Nicolò Daina is a Research Scientist in the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics and a Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. Using data science approaches, econometric techniques and experimentation Dr. Daina seeks to characterize and model the behavior of users of integrated transportation and energy systems. By developing realistic behavioral models and embedding them in systems’ simulation and optimization, Dr. Daina’s research aims to harness the flexibility and the cooperation of end users in both planning and operations of integrated transportation and energy systems as they transition to net-zero. Dr. Daina obtained his PhD in Transport from Imperial College London in 2014. Following his PhD, he worked at Imperial College London’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering first as a postdoctoral research associate then as a research fellow. Before moving to Columbia University, Dr. Daina was appointed as a faculty (Chancellor’s Fellow and Lecturer in Transport Policy) at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow in the United Kingdom. Dr. Daina is currently an Honorary Lecturer in the School of Government and Public Policy of the University of Strathclyde. He is also a member of the US’ Transportation Research Board’s Standing Committee on Alternative Fuels and Technologies. Hosted on December 2, 2022
Smart Electric Vehicle Charging: Modeling Drivers’ Choices and Autonomous Vehicles’ Strategies
YouTube Video UC-JzRVBnWGJ3_Jv5iYmpo6A_84ML2QaeodA
The USDOT Connected Vehicle (CV) Pilot Program sought to test vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) applications to improve transportation systems, mobility, and safety with real-world deployments in New York City, Tampa, and Wyoming. This roundtable discussion focuses on these recently completed connected vehicle pilots and the lessons learned. Our panelists feature practitioners, decision-makers, and researchers involved in CV deployments and leading the way for their wide-scale adoption. This roundtable caps off C2SMART’s State of the Field: Connected Vehicle Applications series, and there will be a synthesis of prior presentations and a discussion on future directions and applications for research, testing, and deployment. Sisinnio Concas serves as Program Director at the Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) and Research Associate Professor the University of South Florida (USF) College of Engineering. He has performed numerous research projects for the U.S. Federal Transit Administration, Federal Highway Administration, the Florida Department of Transportation, state and local transportation authorities. Dr. Concas leads the Performance Measurement Evaluation and Support of the Tampa CV Pilot Deployment. Dr. Mohamad Talas is the Deputy Director of ITS System Engineering, New York City Department of Transportation. He brings long standing career experience in traffic engineering and continue with over 27 years in Traffic Engineering and Operation experience in New York City Department of Transportation. He currently serves as the Director for the NYC Department of Transportation ITS project Management, Research and Development where he supervises the Intelligent Transportation System projects and initiatives in New York City. He has earned his PhD in Transportation Planning and Engineering at NYU -Poly University, Master degrees in Transportation, Planning and Engineering and a Masters in Electrical Engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Billy Chupp is a data analyst and engineer at the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Volpe Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mr. Chupp most recently served as the technical lead on Volpe’s independent safety evaluation effort for the three connected vehicle pilot programs in New York City, Tampa, and Wyoming, and continues to support the ITS JPO on data documentation and strategy efforts within the connected vehicle space and beyond. Dr. Karl Wunderlich holds a joint appointment at Noblis in Washington, DC., serving as both is the Director of the Surface Transportation Division and the Director of the Noblis Autonomous Systems Research Center. He is a published author and patent-holder in orchestrated autonomy, which leverages blockchain to create efficient and collision-free path planning among heterogenous, unfamiliar, and autonomous machines. Dr. Wunderlich holds a Ph.D. in Operations Research from the University of Michigan. Dr. Kaan Ozbay is a Professor at New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering, and Director of C2SMART Center, a Tier 1 USDOT University Transportation Center. Dr. Ozbay served as Principal Investigator (PI) of the NYU/C2SMART team as part of the NYCDOT-led New York City Connected Vehicle Pilot, under USDOT’s Connected Vehicle Pilot Program. He joined NYU’s Department of Civil and Urban Engineering and Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP) in August 2013, and is also Global Network Professor of Civil and Urban Engineering, NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) and Global Network Professor of Engineering and Computer Science, NYU Shanghai (NYUSH). Moderated by: Jingqin (Jannie) Gao completed her Ph.D. in Transportation Planning and Engineering at NYU Tandon, where she works with C2SMART Director Kaan Ozbay. She studied Science and Technology of Optical Information and received her B.S. from Tongji University in China and her M.S in Transportation Planning and Engineering from New York University. Her research interests lie in offline and real-time simulation modeling, big data and machine learning approach for transportation, and transportation economics. She also worked for the New York City Department of Transportation on modeling and data analysis to support the agency’s internal planning, technical review processes and coordinated with external agencies on regional projects since 2012. Jingqin is the former president of NYU’s joint Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS) Student Chapter during 2018-2019, through which she organized various company visits, tech talks, women in transportation events and the 2019 ITE Northeastern District Traffic Bowl.
Connected Vehicle Applications: Lessons Learned and Future Research & Deployment Roundtable
YouTube Video UC-JzRVBnWGJ3_Jv5iYmpo6A_qCG6z2wJUWw
The USDOT Connected Vehicle (CV) Pilot Program sought to test vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) applications to improve transportation systems, mobility, and safety with real-world deployments in New York City, Tampa, and Wyoming. This discussion focuses on recently completed connected vehicle pilots and the lessons learned. This lecture features Dr. Kaan Ozbay, a researcher and decision maker involved in CV deployments and leading the way for their wide-scale adoption. This roundtable caps off C2SMART’s State of the Field: Connected Vehicle Applications series, and there will be a synthesis of prior presentations and a discussion on future directions and applications for research, testing, and deployment. Dr. Kaan Ozbay is a Professor at New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering, and Director of C2SMART Center, a Tier 1 USDOT University Transportation Center. Dr. Ozbay served as Principal Investigator (PI) of the NYU/C2SMART team as part of the NYCDOT-led New York City Connected Vehicle Pilot, under USDOT’s Connected Vehicle Pilot Program. He joined NYU’s Department of Civil and Urban Engineering and Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP) in August 2013, and is also Global Network Professor of Civil and Urban Engineering, NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) and Global Network Professor of Engineering and Computer Science, NYU Shanghai (NYUSH).
Connected Vehicle Applications: Lessons Learned and Future Research & Deployment Roundtable
YouTube Video UC-JzRVBnWGJ3_Jv5iYmpo6A__RMv_oCnsmE
The PED-SIG application supports cellular communications to receive localized Signal Phase and Timing (SPaT) and MAP messages broadcast by the local Roadside Unit (RSU) to provides audio alerts and haptic prompts to assist pedestrians with vision disabilities in safely crossing streets at instrumented intersections. Volunteer participants with vision disabilities were recruited to participate in the field tests where Personal Information Devices (PIDs) were given to participants. This seminar will present how the pedestrian application was designed, deployed and tested along with several valuable lessons learned throughout the deployment.
Assisting Pedestrians with Vision Disabilities in Navigating Urban Streets
YouTube Video UC-JzRVBnWGJ3_Jv5iYmpo6A_nXjaT9dWim0
In this event series, C2SMART leverages its consortium of researchers and experts to share a vision of the future of mobility and transportation systems. They’ll share advances, opportunities, predictions, research bottlenecks, and what perspectives and skills are needed from researchers and the workforce of tomorrow towards tackling one area of today’s most pressing problems. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), the Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment (CVPD) Program which piloted the technology in three sites, New York City (NYC), Wyoming, and Tampa, is a national effort to deploy, test, and operationalize cutting-edge in-vehicle, mobile and roadside technologies and enable multiple connected vehicle (CV) safety and mobility applications. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), speeding was a factor in more than one in four deaths and human factors were the critical cause in about 94% of all crashes. The NYC CVPD has undertaken connected vehicle technology as another tool that could be used to help further the city’s Vision Zero goals. The experimental design included equipping 3,000 vehicles with Aftermarket Safety Devices (ASD) for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), and pedestrian applications. This seminar will present the data cleaning, evaluation methodology, performance measurement, and safety evaluation results of the 12 CV safety applications that was conducted during the Phase 3 operational phase of the deployment. Speaker Dr. Di Yang is a tenure track Assistant Professor in the Department of Transportation & Urban Infrastructure Studies at Morgan State University. His research focuses on developing novel statistical and data-driven methods at the intersection of transportation safety, connected and autonomous vehicles, human factors, policy analysis, and shared mobility. His research contributions have led to 27 publications in various journals and conferences, featuring 11 first-author papers, and recognized by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Northeastern District Daniel B. Fambro Student Paper Award in 2021.
Improving Safety Through Connected Vehicle Technology – NYC Connected Vehicle Pilot Performance
YouTube Video UC-JzRVBnWGJ3_Jv5iYmpo6A_F1eabC4SUsQ
REGISTER TO HACK HERE: https://c2smart.engineering.nyu.edu/smart-trucking-hackathon/ Updated Dates: Oct 15-23, 2022 Kickoff at the TransportationCampNYC Event on Oct 15! C2SMART is hosting a Virtual Hackathon in partnership with NYC DOT from October 15 -23, 2022 with a kickoff event hosted on October 15 at TransportationCamp NYC. We invite you to use your creativity and intelligence to design 3D visualizers to help truck drivers navigate the complexities of the city and identify the best route for reaching their destination. In New York City, all vehicles defined as a truck are required to follow the truck route network and are reliant on a static map to know which roads they must use in NYC. When events like construction or a crash require rerouting, truck drivers’ options are often limited as most free navigation tools do not include truck route priorities, height restrictions, turn restrictions, tolls, or other details specific to their needs. Register today to develop your own visualizer to be added to NYCDOT's current dataset, which may potentially be leveraged by truck drivers all throughout the city!
C2SMART Virtual Hackathon Promo Video Oct 15 - 23
YouTube Video UC-JzRVBnWGJ3_Jv5iYmpo6A_MB8sHWRWpY0
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