Scientists from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will lead a team to create and test smarter intersections, where drivers will spend less time idling at red lights, and cars will know what speed to drive to clear every green light.
“This project is a huge opportunity for us,” said Mina Sartipi, director and principal investigator at the university’s Center for Urban Informatics and Progress.
The Department of Energy awarded a $1.89 million grant to the collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the city of Chattanooga. The grant was one of just three awarded in this category in the nation, and the work could lead to less fuel consumption and safer roads, Sartipi said.
“This is the largest grant we have gotten,” said Sartipi, who has led the Center for Urban Informatics and Progress since it launched two years ago. “Our existing infrastructure, the MLK Smart Corridor, will be the cornerstone for this work, as it gives us a precedent for applied research – research with a real-world nuance.”
The existing Smart City ‘test bed’ along M.L. King Boulevard records everything that happens, from cars passing through intersections to pedestrian and cyclist patterns. The road is a rich source of data, and a good foundation for future work, Sartipi said.