Sustainable Urban Mobility and Intelligent Transportation Lab prepares for 2026 grand opening
By CSEE staff
Published June 1, 2026
Recent funding from the Stephen Still Institute for Sustainable Transportation and Logistics (SS ISTL) has helped make the Sustainable Urban Mobility and Intelligent Transportation (SUMIT) Lab operational. It serves as a state-of-the-art transportation research lab within the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering (CSEE).
The 800-square-foot facility includes key infrastructure designed to support research on safety and operational efficiency in next-generation transportation systems. Features include an ultra-high-definition, full-wall multi-panel display by Creston Technologies that supports real-time analysis of traffic management systems. The lab also includes a miniature autonomous vehicle (AV) testbed with roads, intersections and traffic control devices, as well as three small autonomous ground vehicles that follow researchers to safely examine AV scenarios indoors.
The AV system uses Autoware, an industry-standard open-source software platform for autonomous driving that supports the development, testing and deployment of self-driving vehicles. SUMIT researchers are also building a digital twin of the testbed, allowing research to be conducted in both physical and virtual environments.
The SUMIT Lab is directed by Ziqi Song, associate professor in CSEE. Song’s research interests include transportation network modeling, transportation electrification, intelligent transportation systems, traffic operations analysis, driving simulation, crisis management, mobility planning and forecasting.
The lab will expand Song’s research capabilities across several areas:
- strategic planning for dedicated AV lanes and AV/toll lanes in transportation networks
- analysis of factors affecting perceived and observed aggressive driving behavior
- the effectiveness of pavement rehabilitation treatments
- next-generation approaches to roadway construction, maintenance, rehabilitation and preservation
The SUMIT Lab also creates new opportunities for collaboration with other emerging SS ISTL research facilities, including the Transportation Research and Visualization Laboratory (TRAVL) in Ketter Hall and the UB Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Enclosure (UB-CAVE) near Crofts Hall, which is expected to open in late 2026.
Together, these research spaces will support scaled and full-size examination of AV technologies through physical, virtual and mixed-reality environments. These capabilities will strengthen SS ISTL’s competitiveness for future grants and contracts related to AV training, education, human factors and basic research.
Members of the UB community are encouraged to visit the SUMIT Lab in room 115 of Ketter Hall and follow future updates as the facility continues to develop in 2026 and beyond.
