Among the projects CUIP is pursuing would improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists.
Jeremy Roland has no fear standing in front of the Chattanooga City Council and asking for money.
“None,” said Roland, who is pursuing a master’s degree in computer science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
His fellow researcher feels the same.
“No nerves! I believe we all have the same goals so I am very excited!” said Austin Harris, who graduated from UTC in 2015 with a bachelor’s in computer science and earned his master’s in computer science from the University in 2017.
Asking for money is what they’ll do Tuesday at the City Council meeting.
Roland and Harris will give presentations on two projects being conducted in a collaboration between the Chattanooga Department of Transportation and UTC’s Center for Urban Informatics and Progress (CUIP). Both projects—part of the ongoing Smart City initiative—need approval from the council because city funds will help the projects continue and add expanded lines of research.
Chattanooga Smart City Director Kevin Comstock said CUIP was approached in January to partner on the projects.
“We work with CUIP on a near-daily basis, and these projects show how the city and the university’s work go hand-in-hand in making Chattanooga a safer place,” he said.
Among other research, CUIP studies Smart City projects focusing on energy, mobility for city residents, healthcare, public safety and social science.
One of the projects being pitched to the City Council seeks to accurately predict where vehicle accidents are most likely to occur in Chattanooga, explained Roland, who graduated from UTC in fall 2018 with a bachelor’s in software systems.
The second CUIP project focuses on improving safety for pedestrians and cyclists on city streets.
With ity support, the accident prediction project can continue “to understand why crashes are happening and how/if we can prevent them,” said Mina Sartipi, director of CUIP.
Findings will be handed off to the Chattanooga Police Department, which can use the information to station patrol cars and other emergency vehicles closer to well-documented accident zones and lessen response times, Roland said. The information also offers suggestions on structural changes to improve safety, including more driving lanes, additional stop and yield signs and other items, he added.
Money for the pedestrian safety research will make it possible to install Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) technology, which will give more-accurate results than the current camera-based system, Sartipi said.
“We are working with CDOT to evaluate technologies that can provide solutions for many types of data collection, not only pedestrians,” said Harris, who is leading the project. “We aim to build the foundation for how the city can cost-effectively gather high-precision pedestrian data, which is not a straightforward task.”
CDOT and CUIP frequently collaborate on Smart City projects for the city, Sartipi said.
“Working with CDOT is always fruitful,” she said. “Not only does our research contribute to the community in tangible, visible ways, but our students and staff are involved in our local government process. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
