University at Buffalo (UB)
Reimagining Grant St: Vulnerable Road User Safety Analysis and Improvement using Virtual Reality Technology
Utilize virtual reality and eye tracking technologies to understand bicyclist and pedestrian perceptions of alternative multimodal roadway designs for real-world application through community engagement.
Project description
The Reimagining Grant Street project is a comprehensive multimodal improvement project in collaboration with community partner GObike Buffalo, Buffalo’s local advocacy program for vulnerable road user safety and design. The project presents two design alternatives that focus on uplifting the surrounding community’s businesses and diversity through the reimagining of the Grant St. corridor infrastructure, functionality, and amenities with emphasis on safety and mobility improvements for all road user types including walking, biking, public transit, and driving.
This project takes a multidisciplinary approach towards solving a real-world problem by integrating transportation engineer design, human factors experimentation, physiolocal sensing, and social equity into the decision-making process of roadway design. The funded undergraduate student will play a key role in the development of the experimental design and virtual environment utilizing state-of-the-art virtual reality and physiological sensing technologies while contributing to the broader goal of community engagement and urban revitalization.
Project outcome
Virtual Environments and Technologies – students will get hands-on experience with state-of-the-art virtual reality technology and software and develop skills in the creation of immersive virtual environments including digital modeling and human-machine interface design.
Human Factors Design – students will learn human factors experimental design principles and practice through developing research questions and methodologies, running experiments, and analyzing human-centric data.
Interdisciplinary Research Methods – students will be exposed to the interdisciplinary nature of research and learn how to utilize multimodal data to understand real-world problems. This project will expose undergraduate students to transportation engineering safety design, urban form, and physiological sensing and interpretation.
Project details
| Length of commitment | longer than a semester; 6-9 months |
| Start time | Summer (May/June) |
| In-person, remote, or hybrid? | In-Person Project (can only function with in-person engagement) |
| Level of collaboration | Small group project (2-3 students) |
| Benefits | Stipend |
| Who is eligible | Freshman, Sophomores and Juniors who are experienced in coding (preferable C# and Python), experience with game development engines (preferably Unity), interest in transportation safety and multimodal design, interest in machine learning and AI development |
Core partners
- GObike Buffalo: https://gobikebuffalo.org/
Project mentor
Austin Angulo
Assistant Professor
Civil, Structural, and Environmental Engineering
Phone: (716) 645-2783
Email: avangulo@buffalo.edu
Start the project
- Email the project mentor using the contact information above to express your interest and get approval to work on the project. (Here are helpful tips on how to contact a project mentor.)
- After you receive approval from the mentor to start this project, click the button to start the digital badge. (Learn more about ELN's digital badge options.)
Preparation activities
Once you begin the digital badge series, you will have access to all the necessary activities and instructions. Your mentor has indicated they would like you to also complete the specific preparation activities below. Please reference this when you get to Step 2 of the Preparation Phase.
- Read report on the Re-Imagining Grant Street project developed by GObike Buffalo.
- Read research paper published by mentor demonstrating the use of virtual reality simulation for understanding vulnerable road user safety.
Keywords
transportation, engineering, virtual reality, computer engineering, human factors, CSEE