Author: sshao45

“Researching Highway Infrastructure Ideas for the Future”

ABSTRACT: In his talk, Dr. Carlson will cover two areas.  In the first area, he will review the possible safety benefits of ADAS features such Lane Departure Warning and Lane Keep Assist. Both of these innovations rely on consistent detection of road markings.  To understand how the markings need to perform, on-going research is currently underway at TTI. The preliminary findings of this research will also be described.  The second area of the presentation will cover a technology approach to asset management where vehicle sensors used for ADAS and AV are being repurposed with crowd sourcing strategies to provide almost real-time inventories and condition assessment information, all geo-coded and provided in a variety of formats for DOT purposes.

BIO: Dr. Carlson is a Research Engineer at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI), a member of The Texas A&M University System. He is the Division Head of the Traffic Operations and Roadway Safety Division, where he is responsible for leading a research program broadly focused on safety, design, and operations. He coordinates the state traffic safety and design research, promotes national research initiatives, facilitates sponsor interaction, and manages a number of research projects.

To see the video from the transporation seminar click on the links below:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aGI6QYAWvE

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYdvP6sy0c4

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX7ZJIoc0fc

Date and time: 

Thursday, October 12, 2017 – 10:45 to 11:45

Location of Event: 

Mason BLDG 1133

Event Type: 

Seminars

“Traffic Signal Control with Connected and Autonomous Vehicles in the Traffic Stream”

ABSTRACT:

The presentation will discuss on-going work to develop optimization algorithms, simulation tools, and sensor capabilities for enhancing traffic signal control operations when the traffic stream consists of connected vehicles, autonomous vehicles, and conventional vehicles.  Early versions of the optimization were deployed and tested at the Traffic Engineering and Research Laboratory (TERL), an FDOT closed-course facility. The results from the field test confirmed the feasibility of the concept and are now used to enhance it for future testing and ultimately for field deployment.  The research, led by UF, is funded by NSF and FDOT, and involves two industry partners: ISS and Econolite

BIO:

Dr. Elefteriadou is the Director of the UF Transportation Institute (UFTI), and the Barbara Goldsby Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Florida.  Her research focus is traffic operations, traffic flow theory and simulation. Dr. Elefteriadou has served as the principal investigator for numerous federal and state projects, funded by the US DOT, NCHRP, NSF, PennDOT, and FDOT.  She has authored or co-authored more than two hundred publications and reports related to traffic operational quality and highway design, as well as a textbook titled “Introduction to Traffic Flow Theory”.

To see the video from the transportation seminar click on the links below:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVsysMPNp6o

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knJNIftPoCE

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLGmT4ZiBR8

Date and time: 

Thursday, September 28, 2017 – 10:45 to 11:45

Location of Event: 

Mason BLDG 1133

Event Type: 

Seminars

“Modeling and Understanding Factors Affecting the Demand for Electric Cars Fast Charging”

ABSTRACT: 

Fast chargers have the capability to charge an electric car battery from 0% to 80% within thirty minutes. This technology is expected to be a key factor in the transportation electrification revolution. The first mass production battery electric vehicle, the Nissan LEAF, was introduced in 2010 with fast charging capability. It was soon followed by the first fast chargers in Japan, the USA, and Europe. Along with researchers and planners worldwide, we at the UC Davis PH&EV Research Center began to create models that estimate the spatial and temporal demand for chargers using driving patterns of ICEV drivers. We then adapted our models based on interviews and surveys of electric car drivers. Shortly after, an expansion of charging infrastructure enabled the collection of empirical data from both the chargers and the users that suggested the models may be wrong again.

In this presentation, I will discuss charging infrastructure demand forecasting, different modeling approaches, data needs and data limitations.  I will explore the insights from empirical data that includes 1.6 million DC fast charging events, surveys of 26,000 EV owners, and GPS travel traces of 4,200 households. Our results suggest that in most cases the major use cases for fast charging are not corridor charging on the way from origin to destination, but local charging at the trip origin or destination. The usage distribution does not change as expected when factors such as pricing or battery size are considered and may reflect future usage patterns of the infrastructure. Finally, I will discuss the potential short term (2020-2025) impact of shared and autonomous vehicles on charging demand. 

BIO: 

Dr. Gil Tal is a Research Director at the Plug-in Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Research Center at the University of California, Davis.  His expertise includes understanding the electric vehicle market, travel behavior and usage patterns of plug-in vehicles, infrastructure modelling and the demand and travel impacts of new mobility services and technology. Dr. Tal’s new work is also looking at the impact of shared automated and electrified mobility on the vehicle market and the demand for transportation related energy. He is currently working on projects for the California Air Resources Board, the California Energy Commission, and the Department of Energy, as well as car companies and utility companies. As part of this research, Dr. Tal has produced methodological innovations in online travel surveys and EV charging location modeling that include GIS-based mapping.

To see the video from the transportation seminar click on the links below:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SU-hqFEXlAI&t=1192s

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo7u-6_Cjsk

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSUzSxIKveE&t=5s

Date and time: 

Thursday, September 21, 2017 – 10:45 to 11:45

Location of Event: 

Mason BLDG 1133

Event Type: 

Seminars

Join GTI for this Transportation Speaker Series event, featuring Professor James Tsai. James Tsai will be speaking on the topic of “Smart Cities Transportation Asset Health Condition Assessment Using Emerging 3D Technology and Artifical Intellegence”.

ABSTRACT: Roadway infrastructures, including pavements, bridges, and signs are deteriorating rapidly due to material aging, improper usage, harsh environments, and damages resulting from natural or man-made hazards. With the advancement of sensor technologies, it become feasible to collect the large-scale in-field detailed infrastructure data, such as 3D pavement surface data, using high-performance cameras, lasers, LiDARs, and Inertial Navigation System (INS) to gain better insight understanding of the large-scale in-filed infrastructure behavior. An intelligent sensing system will be presented, using 2D Imaging, Laser, LiDAR, and GPS/GIS Technologies with artificial intelligent and pattern recognition to automatically detect pavement surface distress, including rutting, cracking, raveling, etc. along with an innovative crack fundamental element (CFE) model that is a topological representation of cracks to support crack classification, diagnosis, and intelligent pavement management. Cases of automatic roadway health condition assessment and intelligent infrastructure system management will be presented. In addition, utilization of 3D technology for roadway safety improvement study will also be presented.

BIO: Dr. James Tsai is a professor of School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and an adjunct professor of School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech. After working as a senior research engineer in the Center of GIS at Georgia Tech for 10 years, Dr. Tsai has joined the faculty in CEE in 2007. Dr. Tsai has received his Ph.D. and MS degrees from Georgia Tech in 1994 and 1996 respectively. Dr. Tsai’s research focuses on the development of spatial information and sensing optimization methodologies, using 2D imaging, 3D Laser, LiDAR, UAV, mobile devices, and GPS/GIS technologies along with artificial intelligence and pattern recognition. Dr. Tsai and his research team have developed a large-scale pavement asset management system and it has been successfully implemented by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) to cost effectively manage its 18,000 centerline miles of highway system for the past 19 years. Dr. Tsai was selected as a Chinese Changjiang Scholar in 2009, one of the most prestigious scholar’s honor awarded by the Chinese government, in recognition of his research on applying sensor and information technology to infrastructure management. His research project, “Implementation of automatic sign and pavement condition evaluation on Georgia’s interstate highways”, sponsored by GDOT has been competitively selected to receive the 2017 AASHTO High Research Value Award.  He also initiated a Smart City Infrastructure Vertically Integrated Project (VIP), an interdisciplinary and problem-solving oriented undergraduate course. 

To see the video from the transportation seminar click on the links below:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4A6PXEsLG0

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyxYR9fxmW4

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mgJ8_PelWU

Date and time: 

Thursday, September 7, 2017 – 10:45 to 11:45

Location of Event: 

Mason BDG 1133

Event Type: 

Seminars

Join GTI for this Transportation Speaker Series event, featuring GDOT Chief Engineer Meg Pirkle. Ms. Pirkle will be speaking on the topic of “Interstate 85 Overpass Collapse”.

ABSTRACT: Georgia DOT is following an aggressive schedule for replacing the critical sections of I-85 affected by the fire and re-opening the interstate as quickly as possible after the collapse on March 30, 2017. The extent of the fire-related damage necessitates extensive reconstruction activities to ensure the safety of motorists. In addition to the collapsed section on the northbound bridge, Georgia DOT bridge inspectors have determined that adjacent northbound sections and the corresponding southbound sections of I-85 received damage from the fire requiring the replacement of those sections as well. The demolition and reconstruction of the I-85 bridge near Piedmont Road is currently underway.  Georgia DOT is committed to replacing and reopening I-85 by June 15, 2017, returning motorists to one of the main arteries through metro Atlanta approximately 10 weeks after its collapse. Chief Engineer Meg Pirkle will discuss Georgia DOT’s process on the demolition, engineering, design and construction of the replacement I-85 overpass over Piedmont Road.

BIO: Meg Pirkle has served GDOT as the Chief Engineer since January 1, 2015. She is responsible for the Divisions of Engineering, Construction, Operations, Intermodal, and P3/Program Delivery as well as the offices of TIA and Engineering Services. Ms. Pirkle began her career with GDOT in 1989 as an engineering trainee and has served in a variety of roles throughout her career. Her experience consists of Transportation Planning Engineer, State Scheduling Engineer, Assistant Director of Preconstruction, and Executive Assistant to the Chief Engineer, where she was the Program Manager for the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA). Prior to being named Chief Engineer, she served as the Director of Operations for three years. Ms. Pirkle earned a Bachelor of Civil Engineering in 1989 from Vanderbilt University and a Masters of Civil Engineering in 1997 from the Georgia Institute of Technology and is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Georgia.

Date and time: 

Thursday, April 13, 2017 – 11:00

Location of Event: 

Mason Building, Room 1133

Event Type: 

Seminars

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