New ‘CAVE’ to house UB’s autonomous vehicle research

The UB CAVE — short for Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Enclosure — is being constructed in the parking lot of Crofts Hall, adjacent to the drone facility on Service Center Road on the North Campus, and will serve as the signature building for the Stephen Still Institute for Sustainable Transportation and Logistics at UB.

Site work already has begun.

Researchers call the long-awaited project a “key piece” to an ecosystem that UB faculty members in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have been building for the past decade to support cutting-edge research in self-driving vehicles, autonomous systems, AI applications in transportation and big data analytics in transportation.

It will help establish UB as a leader in “leveraging technology to address the critical issues of improving mobility and accessibility while transforming public transportation and social services,” says Adel Sadek, founding director of the institute and professor in the Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering.

UB currently has three self-driving vehicles: a car (Lincoln MKZ), a shuttle (Olli) and a bus (ADASTEC). The autonomous bus is parked and charged in a leased facility downtown, where it’s deployed on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. The other two vehicles are temporarily stored at locations on the North Campus.

The new 3,300-square-foot facility will have three temperature-controlled working bays that will allow UB to modify and maintain up to four research vehicles, as well as acquire additional instrumentation for testing.

Inspired by its acronym, the building’s bold design includes a striking cantilever creating a cave-like entry, says Michael Tuzzo, the project architect from the firm Architectural Resources.

The all-electric facility will be energy efficient. It will be erected using structural insulated panels that exceed building code minimums and reduce energy demands, Tuzzo says. A metal panel façade system will protect the insulated panels from the weather using a pattern with cave-inspired designs in mind, he adds.

Sadek says he’s excited to see construction begin and grateful for UB’s continued support of the project.

The new $3.5 million facility is funded largely through the university, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Stephen Still institute, Sadek says. The project also received $290,000 from Empire State Development and $500,000 from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

“We have identified a total of 27 faculty members from across the different departments of UB’s school of engineering who would directly benefit from the research ecosystem being developed herein,” says Victor Paquet, professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. 

Several additional faculty members from engineering, management, urban and regional planning, architecture, geography, economics and the School of Public Health and Health Professions stand to benefit, as well.

“The ecosystem, of which CAVE constitutes a central piece, will transform Buffalo into a leading national hub for transportation innovation by serving as a prototype for wireless connectivity and transportation automation technologies,” says Chunming Qiao, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

Outdoor working areas attached to each bay and the building’s location next to the Structure for Outdoor Autonomy Research (SOAR) will act as an active outdoor laboratory that should attract attention from students, faculty and staff, Tuzzo says.

“This building, along with the SOAR facility, will create a synergy to build and work on various types of autonomous vehicles and how they may interact with one another,” says Sean Brodfuehrer, assistant director of campus planning.

Construction is expected to be substantially completed in October.