EAGER: A Unified Solution of Mixed Traffic Sensing, Tracking and Acceptable Active Accident Avoidance for On-Demand Automated Shuttles in a Smart City

Abstract: It is expected that in 25 years, Americans who are 65 years or older will account for about 20% of the whole population. As smart cities are also expected to become a reality within the same timeframe, starting to address the needs and concerns of such a large group becomes an essential part of the design of a future smart city. Here we specifically address the mobility needs of the elderly and those with limited means of transportation. We consider multiple small vehicle options that might provide on-demand or scheduled means of door-to-door transportation. The NSF-EAGER project focuses on examining basic research aspects of sensing and tracking potential sources of vehicle pedestrian collisions in densely crowded situations and socially acceptable distance for collision avoidance. The project will be providing input to the OSU/Columbus Global City Teams Challenge activity SMOOTH (Smart Mobile Operation: OSU Transportation Hub) and related demonstrations and help develop a working system. The key innovative contributions of this EAGER project are: development of a unifying framework for sensing and tracking in mixed traffic situations, acceptable automated driving within pedestrian zones, and evasive road maneuvering to avoid colliding with conventional human driven vehicles.