SCC-IRG Track 2: Making Micromobility Smarter and Safer (M2S2)

随着新的微型移动选项的引入，城市交通正在经历快速变化。这些包括共享电动滑板车、坐着滑板车、电动自行车和一系列其他选择。在这种新交通方式的组合中，行人在美国街道上面临着大量且日益增长的风险，因为道路设计迎合了司机的需求，汽车在数量上占主导地位。2018年，超过6000名行人死于美国街头，比2015年增加了14%，比2014年增加了27%。人类行为、道路设计、环境条件和技术都会影响撞车事故的发生率，而改善所有用户的交通安全可能需要在这些方面进行改进。与电动滑板车相关的行人死亡和受伤的情况很少见，这使得理清原因变得困难。因此，这个项目的重点是车辆与行人、电动滑板车、电动自行车和自行车之间的“险情”。该项目的目标是(A)使用新方法收集关于决定行人和微移动风险的更好数据，(B)创建工具，与行业微移动合作伙伴Bird合作提供更综合的解决方案，以及(C)测试工具，以满足新泽西州新不伦瑞克和高地公园真实社区的需求。这些工具将明确整合社会和技术解决方案，以提高安全性。项目任务包括：(A)使用多个视觉传感器和先进的计算机视觉技术创建增强的险些侦测能力；(B)使用传统工具(指示牌、临时道路重新配置)和智能城市工具(配备传感器和联网的移动参与者和十字路口)进行行为实验；(C)为行人、电动滑板车、电动自行车和司机进行整合到基于手机的应用程序原型中的技术实验；以及(D)召开社区审议进程，为当地智能交通计划的发展提供信息。这个拟议项目的智力价值在于，首先，开发了一个试验台，配备了评估社会、技术和综合减少风险战略的设备，以供脆弱的道路使用者使用。其中一个组成部分是计算机视觉算法的改进，以更准确地检测行人、电动滑板车、电动自行车和车辆；测量轨迹(方向、速度)；测量险些失手(减速、接近、回避行为)；以及区分关键用户属性(服装亮度、性别、种族、尺码)。一个相关的贡献是使用建筑环境的数字模型来改进计算机视觉算法的性能，并允许对不同实体的空间显式跟踪。第二个主要贡献是确认社会和技术战略的先后顺序和分层，作为综合减少风险组合的一部分。弱势老年人、儿童以及代表不足的少数族裔行人和骑自行车者将受益，因为他们目前面临着不成比例的风险。该项目将通过多学科顶石设计课程、夏季罗格斯大学阿雷斯蒂本科生研究计划和夏季RISE(科学与工程研究)计划，让本科生和研究生参与研究活动。该计划通过与研究小组的暑期工作，向优秀的少数族裔学生介绍研究生水平的研究。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Urban transportation is experiencing rapid changes with the introduction of new micro-mobility options. These include shared e-scooters, sit-down scooters, e-bikes, and a range of other options. Within this mix of new modes, pedestrians face substantial and growing risks on American streets where road designs cater to drivers and automobiles dominate numerically. Over 6,000 pedestrians died on U.S. streets in 2018, an 14% increase over 2015 and a 27% increase over 2014. Human behavior, road design, environmental conditions, and technology each influence the prevalence of crashes and improving traffic safety for all users likely requires improvements along several of these dimensions. The rarity of pedestrian fatalities and those injuries associated with e-scooters makes disentangling the causal factors difficult. Hence, this project focuses on “near misses” between vehicles and pedestrians, e-scooters, e-bikes, and bicycles. The objectives of this project are to (a) use new methods to gather better data on what determines pedestrian and micro-mobility risk, (b) create tools that deliver more integrated solutions in collaboration with industry micro-mobility partner Bird, and (c) test the tools in the service of the needs of the real communities of New Brunswick and Highland Park, NJ. These tools will explicitly integrate both the social and technology solutions to improve safety. Project tasks include: (a) create an enhanced near miss detection capability using multiple visual sensors and advanced computer vision techniques; (b) perform behavioral experiments using both traditional tools (signage, temporary road reconfigurations) and smart-city tools (sensor-equipped and networked mobile actors and intersections); (c) conduct technological experiments integrated into a prototype mobile-phone-based app for pedestrians, e-scooters, e-bikes, and drivers; and (d) convene a community deliberation process that informs development of a local smart transportation plan. The intellectual merit of this proposed project resides, first, in the development of a test bed equipped to evaluate social, technological, and integrated risk-reduction strategies for vulnerable road users. One component is the refinement of computer vision algorithms to much more accurately detect pedestrians, e-scooters, e-bikes, vehicles; measure trajectories (direction, velocity); measure near misses (deceleration, proximity, avoidance behavior); and distinguish key user attributes (clothing brightness, gender, race, size). A related contribution is to use digital models of the built environment to improve the performance of the computer vision algorithms and allow spatially explicit tracking of different entities. The second major contribution is to acknowledge the sequencing and layering of social and technological strategies as part of an integrated risk reduction portfolio. Vulnerable elderly, children, and under-represented minority pedestrians and cyclists will benefit because they are currently at disproportionate risk. The project will involve undergraduate and graduate students in the research activities through multidisciplinary capstone design classes, the summer Rutgers' Aresty Undergraduate Research Program, and the summer RISE (Research in Science and Engineering) program which introduces outstanding minority students to graduate-level research through summer jobs with research groups.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.