In many cooperative networks, individuals participate actively as long as they recognize a sufficient value in participation, which depends not only on the number, but also on the …
Due to increasing concerns about environmental impact, operating costs, and energy security, public transit agencies are seeking to reduce their fuel use by employing electric …
The emergence of blockchains and smart contracts have renewed interest in electrical cyber-physical systems, especially in the area of transactive energy systems. However, despite …
To slow down the spread of COVID-19, governments worldwide are trying to identify infected people, and contain the virus by enforcing isolation, and quarantine. However, it is …
Public transportation infrastructure is an essential component in cultivating equitable communities. However, public transit agencies have historically struggled to achieve this since they are often severely stressed in terms of resources as they have to make the trade-off between concentrating service into routes that serve large numbers of people and spreading service out to ensure that people everywhere have access to at least some service. A solution that holds great promise for improving public transit systems is the integration of fixed-route services with microtransit systems: multi-passenger transportation services that serve passengers using dynamically generated routes and may expect passengers to make their way to and from common pick-up or drop-off points. However, most microtransit systems have failed in the past due to the lack of community engagement, inability to handle the uncertainty of operations when integrating the fixed transit, and inability to handle the system-level optimization challenges.
Power grids are undergoing major changes due to the rapid adoption of intermittent renewable energy resources and the increased availability of energy storage devices. These trends …
The COVID-19 pandemic has not only disrupted the lives of millions but also created exigent operational and scheduling challenges for public transit agencies. Agencies are struggling to maintain transit accessibility with reduced resources, changing ridership patterns, vehicle capacity constraints due to social distancing, and reduced services due to driver unavailability. A number of transit agencies have also begun to help the local food banks deliver food to shelters, which further strains the available resources if not planned optimally. At the same time, the lack of situational information is creating a challenge for riders who need to understand what seating is available on the vehicles to ensure sufficient distancing. In partnership with the transit agencies of Chattanooga, TN, and Nashville, TN, the proposed research will rapidly develop integrated transit operational optimization algorithms, which will provide proactive scheduling and allocation of vehicles to transit and cargo trips, considering exigent vehicle maintenance requirements (i.e., disinfection). A key component of the research is the design of privacy-preserving camera-based ridership detection methods that can help provide commuters with real-time information on available seats considering social-distancing constraints.
As the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) becomes more ubiquitous in critical application domains, such as smart water-distribution and transportation systems, providing security …
In recent years, state-of-the-art traffic-control devices have evolved from standalone hardware to networked smart devices. Smart traffic control enables operators to decrease …
Traffic networks are one of the most critical infrastructures for any community. The increasing integration of smart and connected sensors in traffic networks provides researchers …