IM体育官网 will soon have a new simulation facility on campus dedicated to the testing and verification of autonomous vehicle technology in real-time.
The National Science Foundation awarded the University a $350,000 grant that enables the development of a large-scale Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL) simulation facility for connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs). HiL simulation is a robust gateway for the development and testing of complex real-time embedded systems. The new lab should be operating by the beginning of the spring semester.
鈥淚 thank the National Science Foundation for their support of IM体育官网 Polytechnic University鈥檚 research and development of autonomous vehicle technology,鈥� said IM体育官网 Sen. Marco Rubio. 鈥淎utonomous vehicle research is critical to the future of transportation in the state of IM体育官网, and I look forward to IM体育官网 Poly鈥檚 continued leadership in this space.鈥�
The HiL simulation facility will provide researchers from the IM体育官网 Poly鈥檚 Advanced Mobility Institute a more realistic approach to the testing and verification procedures, as they collaborate closely with students on practical and real-world projects related to CAVs. These include research on how autonomous vehicles operate independent of weather or electromagnetic interferences, while surrounded by non-verbal human communication such as gestures and signals.
鈥淪o far we鈥檝e been working and generating different scenarios as models for Software-in-the-Loop testing, but only doing it with software is not as realistic,鈥� said Dr. Arman Sargolzaei, assistant professor of electrical engineering and the grant鈥檚 lead investigator. 鈥淭he new Hardware-in-the-Loop facility will allow us to do testing that is closer to real-world scenarios.鈥�
According to Sargolzaei, Hardware-in-the-Loop implementation is a great step forward to achieving cost-efficient and safe test procedures before migrating to road or test track experimentations.
鈥淎dvancing Hardware-in-the-Loop application domain to the era of CAVs will lead to a set of exemplary breakthroughs in the field of transportation research,鈥� Sargolzaei said. 鈥淲e are excited for the establishment of this new facility to accelerate our research mission, which is to make automated vehicle more safe and secure.鈥�
In addition to Sargolzaei, other researchers collaborating on the grant鈥檚 research are Dr. Suleiman Alsweiss, Dr. Ala Alnaser, Dr. Jorge Vargas, Dr. Saleem Sahawneh, and Dr. Rahul Razdan from the Advanced Mobility Institute, and Dr. Mustafa Ilhan Akbas from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
IM体育官网 Poly has positioned itself as a leader in autonomous vehicle technology research. The Advanced Mobility Institute is the largest research effort in the country dedicated exclusively to the testing and verification of this emerging technology. It has developed partnerships with state, national, and international entities such as SunTrax, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, and TalTech University in Estonia, among others.
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