Robotics Institute Research Guide : Campus-wide Initiatives

Traffic 21 - Campus-wide Initiative

The RI has a long history of development of technologies relevant to transportation applications. This expertise is contributing to the recent University-wide effort in developing transportation technology. In particular RI faculty contribute to the Traffic21 multi-disciplinary research initiative spearheaded through the Heinz College starting in 2010, whose goal is to design, test, deploy and evaluate technology solutions to address the transportation problems facing the Pittsburgh region.

According to the Traffic21 website, “…the Pittsburgh region will serve as a ‘learning lab', deploying solutions that can be applied around the nation and the globe. Traffic21 will leverage Carnegie Mellon's leadership in relevant areas such as critical infrastructure, transportation access, transportation routing, human factors, artificial intelligence, web applications and autonomous vehicles. Traffic21 is directed from Carnegie Mellon University's H. John Heinz III College, consisting of a School of Public Policy and Management and a School of Information Systems and Management…” (ParkPGH Press Conference Pittsburgh Cultural Trust December 15, 2010). Due to the interdisciplinary and campus-wide nature of the program, faculty and students from a variety of Carnegie Mellon schools and colleges contribute to Traffic21 research.

RI faculty contribute to technology in a wide range of areas, including:

new sensing solutions for inspecting roads,
information systems for real-time transit schedule information,
analysis of video data for vehicles and infrastructure, and
scheduling algorithms for traffic control.
real-time scheduling and management of Paratransit transportation.

Multi-disciplinary RI research in the transportation area addresses directly the needs of the Traffic21 initiative and RI researchers are dedicated to supporting it as it develops into large-scale post-2010 efforts.