Research in transportation covers many areas including: human performance and behavior, driver interfaces, sensors, vehicle controls, and methodologies for crash mitigation. Recent activities have been directed towards keeping the driver in the loop, using sensing technologies, control and communication systems and improved human-machine interfaces to reduce driver error, and thus prevent crashes before they happen. Several major national initiatives are underway, two in particular include developing new approaches to: (1) reduce the high incidence of fatalities at rural unsignalized intersections and (2) use high accuracy sensing and haptic feedback to the driver so that buses can operate in narrow lanes or on road shoulders, where there are only inches to spare. There is significant effort on developing new sensor technologies, especially for high accuracy vehicle location, for measurement of traffic flow rate, weigh-in-motion and measurement of tire-road friction coefficient.
A goal of the NSF supported ERC for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power Center is to utilize fluid power to enable more energy efficient vehicles. A hydraulic hybrid passenger vehicle is one of the test beds in which new fluid power technologies will be demonstrated.
Laboratories:
Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power
Intelligent Vehicles Laboratory
HumanFirst Program
Advanced Controls and Microsensors Laboratory
ITS Institute |
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