Faculty and students from the University of Florida Transportation Institute (UFTI) attended this year’s Florida Automated Vehicles (FAV) Summit held September 6 – 8 at the Marriott Water Street Hotel in downtown Tampa, Florida, where I-STREET projects were showcased and valuable connections were made with industry.
UFTI Director Dr. Lily Elefteriadou presented ongoing research on autonomous vehicle technology associated with I-STREET. I-STREET is a living lab on the University of Florida campus where advanced technologies such as AVs, smart devices and sensors are developed, tested and deployed to enhance mobility and safety.
The I-STREET testing area includes a network of roads on the University of Florida campus, in the City of Gainesville, and specific locations on Interstate 75. It is an ideal location for transportation technology companies to develop, test and deploy their technology because of the multimodal nature of the UF campus and city roads. For example, pedestrians, bicyclists, e-scooters, buses and vehicles abound on the UF campus, making a perfect open-air, real-world lab experience for researchers and technology companies to test and deploy various technologies collaboratively.
To raise awareness about UFTI and I-STREET amongst the transportation technology community and to actively engage them in considering a possible collaboration, UFTI teamed up with Nick Cole, Director of Development of UF’s Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering’s Foundation Office, to host a Gator Engineering Alumni Reception during the FAV Summit. Attendees met with Dr. Elefteriadou, including other vital researchers and graduate students, where they learned about the benefits of collaborating with I-STREET. Attendees also learned about the UFTI’s Industry Partnership Program (IPP).
The IPP is a paid membership that affords companies access to UF facilities and allows them to become partners on proposals for national, state, and local projects, including collaboration on intellectual property. Through this program, transportation technology companies also have access to a great pool of talented graduate students highly trained in autonomous vehicles and other emerging technologies. To learn more about the IPP, visit https://www.transportation.institute.ufl.edu/overview/ufti-industry-partnership-program/.
I-STREET Manager Dr. Pruthvi Manjunatha was also in attendance at the FAV Summit, engaging with industry representatives through the I-STREET booth, which had a variety of educational videos related to projects associated with the living lab. Graduate students Orestis Karamouzis, Leonida Kibet, Mukundhan Narasimhan and Gustavo Zschaber attended the event; all work directly on I-STREET-related research.
Learn more about the I-STREET Living Lab at the UFTI by visiting https://www.transportation.institute.ufl.edu/.
By: Ines Aviles-Spadoni, M.S.
Coordinator, Research Programs/Services
