*Please note: Webinars will be pre-recorded and posted when available.
Campus Automated Shuttle Service Deployment Initiative
Most mid-size and large open-campus universities, theme parks, commercial campuses, airports, and other low-speed environments have courtesy shuttle or bus service as an important mode of transportation around campus and in nearby vicinities. Given the nature of short-distance trips within or around campus, and difficulty with finding parking spaces, low-speed automated shuttle service has been recognized as a promising solution to alleviate these problems. In the past couple of years, the demonstration or testing of autonomous shuttles has begun to draw attentions in the US.
The University of South Florida (USF) is a major US university with approximately 50,000 students enrolled. For a successful deployment of autonomous shuttles on USF Tampa campus in the future, a demonstration and introduction of autonomous shuttles to students, faculty, and staff that allows them to have actual riding experience are valuable and essential.
This webinar will present a week-long campus automated shuttle demonstration held on the USF Tampa Campus in February 2019. The demonstration environment was of a dynamic nature with the automated shuttle maneuvering through pedestrians, bicyclists, and skateboarders along a wide walkway. The webinar will share many findings from the onboard opinion survey of 500+ shuttle riders and field observation of the shuttle operations during the demonstration. The onboard survey results showed an overwhelmingly positive attitude towards participants’ rider experience during the demonstration, and indicated their willingness to use these automated shuttles as a mode for travel on campus. The results also showed the potential for autonomous shuttle to replace some campus trips currently undertaken via other modes. The onboard survey indicated a growing user trust when exposed to automated vehicles and their subsequent ride in the shuttle. The field observation showed the capability of an automated shuttle to gradually adjust its speed and direction when the shuttle faced with the prospect of interacting with road users. The shuttle was able to take passive action and avoid conflicts with other road users. From field observation, there were also instances where the shuttle executed evasive movement due to safety reasons. In addition to the survey results and field observations, the webinar will also provide some recommendations for future demonstrations in this arena.
This automated shuttle demonstration on the USF Tampa Campus, in which respondents were exposed to new/emerging technologies, can serve as important benchmarks to assess the progression of public opinion and preferences towards the autonomous shuttle and autonomous vehicle technologies in a rapidly-evolving world.
Presenter: Pei-Sung Lin, Ph.D., P.E., PTOE, FITE, Center for Urban Transportation Research
Dr. Pei-Sung Lin is the Director of ITS, Traffic Operations and Safety Program at the USF’s Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR). He is also the Director of Florida Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Center. Dr. Lin obtained his Master’s Degree from the University of Texas at Austin and his Ph.D. from the University of Florida. He is a PE, PTOE and ITE fellow. Dr. Lin served as a chair of Intelligent Traffic Signal Operations Committee for the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) from 2005 to 2015, and the President of International Chinese Transportation Professionals Association from 2013 to 2015. He was the recipient of the prestigious Edward A. Mueller – District 10 Transportation Engineer of the Year award presented by the Florida Section ITE in 2017. Dr. Lin has 27 years of work and research experience in transportation. Dr. Lin’s expertise includes traffic signal systems, transportation systems operations and management, pedestrian and bicycle safety, wrong-way driving research, intelligent transportation systems, automated shuttle demonstration and evaluation, emerging technology evaluation, and mitigation of railroad trespasser and suicide fatalities. He has published and presented numerous research papers via national and international conferences.
