Page 17 - Inventing Tomorrow

To nd ways to better manage this area and locations like it, Hourdos and his colleagues rely on a network of video and radar detectors, which pro- vide continuous coverage and trans- mit the data back to the observatory. Along with live video footage, the data include individual vehicle speeds and headways as well as complete trajecto- ries of vehicles involved in crashes and near-crashes.
All together, this technology makes the MTO laboratory feel like a top-secret operation. Enter the Civil Engineering Building on the East Bank, take the elevator down seven oors, and you’ll nd a room full of screens and projec- tions of our bustling traf c landscape. MnDOT supplies the MTO with 16 switchable video feeds from across the metro area.
Hourdos is drawing on this informa- tion to develop new connected vehicle systems, which he considers “the real- istic stage before autonomous vehi- cles.” This technology enables wireless communication among vehicles, the infrastructure, and the passengers’ communications devices, ultimately improving driver safety and traf c mobility.
The rst stage of Hourdos’ work is reminiscent of the talking LED sign in the early ’90s lm, “L.A. Story.”
Using existing sensors and infrastruc- ture, the sign displays warnings for drivers depending on their location. In a few months, we’ll see the signs in action around the I-94 test site.
Hourdos hopes to implement the second stage, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) technology, within a test vehicle sometime next spring or summer.
With V2I technology, the driver will receive messages targeted to that vehicle.
And the “dream stage,” said Hourdos, is to implement advanced vehicle- to-vehicle technology (V2V) in pilot locations. In that stage, everything will happen within the vehicle. Cars will communicate directly with each other, alerting drivers when they should slow down, avoid changing lanes, and so on. Blind spots will no longer be an issue.
“The problem with V2V communica- tion is it only works if all vehicles are instrumented, and it will be at least 20 years until the entire eet is replaced,” Hourdos said. If that sounds like the distant future, remember growing up without power windows, cruise con- trol, mobile navigation, and airbags? Seems like only yesterday.
Chen-Fu Liao: Safer crossings
Today, more than 20 million Americans are visually impaired,
and more than 80,000 of them live
in Minnesota. That’s just the people who reported vision loss, as many are reluctant to identify themselves. By 2030, the numbers are expected to double nationwide.
If we don’t have vision loss, it’s easy to take our sight for granted. But for the visually impaired, who rely on walk-
ing and public transit to get around, everyday tasks like crossing the street present a lot of challenges.
Current pedestrian signal systems aren’t the answer. There’s no standard location for push-button audio sig- nals, so visually impaired pedestrians must deviate from their path to re- quest a signal, making it even harder to navigate. And not all intersections are equipped with this technology, which, incidentally, costs a lot to maintain.
Fortunately, Chen-Fu Liao, Center for Transportation Studies researcher, has developed a solution. It’s called the Mobile Accessible Pedestrian Signal (MAPS) system, and it provides signal and intersection geometry informa- tion at signalized intersections via a smartphone app.
“You use a single tap to survey the en- vironment and nd out street names, direction and other information, and a double tap to con rm the crossing direction and request a walk signal,” he explains. The app wirelessly requests signal timing and phasing informa- tion from the traf c signal controller. Along with auditory cues, the phone vibrates when the walk sign is on, and again when time is running out.
In the early stages of development, Liao interviewed 10 visually impaired Minnesotans to nd out what kind
of app they would nd most useful. Based on the survey feedback, he came up with a simple yet effective inter- face. It won’t replace or interfere with the white cane, but rather serve as a supplement.
MAPS has already been eld-tested at intersections in Minneapolis and Golden Valley, Minn., with promising results. Now, Liao is working with central traf c control vendors to implement the system in a 10 by 10
Visit z.umn.edu/hourdos to view a one-minute video about John Hourdos' research.
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