Modern society is increasingly dependent on software-integrated systems, whose science and engineering is often guided by societal values and preferences. Such systems require the understanding of complex, interacting processes, as well as societal preferences, laws, and policies, such that they operate in a regulated environment, often interacting with a multitude of existing information systems.

  • Transportation cyber-physical systems
  • Smart cities, smart buildings, connected communities
  • Distributed energy systems: microgrids, energy and power management, policy-driven and market-based solutions
  • Emergency response systems for communities
  • Geographic-scale monitoring of the biome for outbreak prediction and prevention
  • Architecture for societal-scale systems that can be parameterized with social context
  • Manufacturing systems: monitoring and control, including quality assurance

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Societal Scale Infrastructure
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SCC: CIVIC-PG Track B: Community-based Gunshot Alert System

Gun violence and the reckless use of firearms have been a pervasive and growing problem in the United States, especially in low-income communities and communities of underrepresented minorities. The problem has only become exacerbated by increasingly permissive gun control laws, easy access to firearms, and an increasing mistrust of law enforcement that often inhibits reporting by the community.

Microgrid Control/Coordination Co-Design (MicroC3)

UC3Today’s microgrids are one-off configurations of commercially available equipment and some custom software that implements some microgrid control functions, as well as integrates the components.

Decision Support System for Integrated Corridor Management using Artificial Intelligence

During the past two decades, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has invested heavily in researching, piloting, and demonstrating that Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) strategies and systems are a viable alternative to mitigating congestion when lane expansion is not possible. The vision of ICM is that transportation networks will realize significant improvements in the efficient movement of people and goods through institutional collaboration and aggressive, proactive integration of existing infrastructure along major corridors.

CPS: TTP Option: Medium: Collaborative Research: Smoothing Traffic via Energy-efficient Autonomous Driving (STEAD)

Studies show five of the top 10 most-gridlocked cities in the world are in the United States. Traffic congestion puts undue burden on transportation systems across the United States, raising transportation costs and the energy footprint. Vehicle automation creates an opportunity to reduce traffic and improve efficiency of the transportation infrastructure.

Collaborative Research: CPS: TTP Option: Medium: Coordinating Actors via Learning for Lagrangian Systems (CALLS)

This project will improve the ability to build artificial intelligence algorithms for Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) that incorporate communications technologies by developing methods of learning from simulation environments. The specific application area is connected and automated vehicles (CAV) that drive strategically to reduce stop-and-go traffic. 

CIRCLES: Congestion Impact Reduction via CAV-in-the-loop Lagrangian Energy Smoothing

The CIRCLES Website https://circles-consortium.github.io contains more detailed information on this project. 

Study and analysis of an I-24 Smart Corridor Open Road Test Bed

TDOT is currently developing the Interstate 24 SMART Corridor Project, which takes a comprehensive approach to managing the existing infrastructure and improving travel time reliability between Rutherford and Davidson Counties.

Purpose and Need

Signatures and Barcodes: Data-driven Understanding of Transportation System Performance during Extreme Events

This project focuses on understanding the effects of extreme events such as natural disasters on urban transportation systems necessary for emergency response and recovery services. Motivated both by continued urbanization and the frequency of extreme weather events, this project will investigate novel methods to quantify infrastructure performance and resilience at city-level scales. Outcomes of the project work will provide data-driven insights relevant to authorities responsible for extreme event mitigation and response.

Managing epidemics by managing mobility

This NSF grant will study the coupling between personal mobility and the spread of infectious disease. Recent experiences with COVID-19 have highlighted the importance of directly modeling transportation flows within epidemiological models and understanding the impacts of complex, local-scale travel patterns and their network effects. In particular, the project will help address questions of the following nature: i) Which communities are most likely to accelerate disease propagation throughout the network? ii) Which recurrent travel patterns are most likely to become disease vectors?

CPS: TTP Option: Medium: Collaborative Research: Cyber-Physical System Integrity and Security with Impedance Signatures

Cyber-physical systems (CPS), such as automobiles, planes, and heavy equipment rely on complex distributed supply chains that source parts from manufacturers across the world. A fundamental problem that these systems face is ensuring the safety, security, and integrity of both the cyber components and physical parts that they receive through their supply chain.

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