Grant: Canada Research Chairs

Connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) that can “see”, “talk”, “hear” and drive themselves are transforming the automobile from a purely “selfish mode” to a more “socially-aware” yet efficient one. Depending on how they are deployed, the emergence of CAVs will bring tremendous opportunities, complexities, challenges, and research needs. For instance, CAVs can collect and ubiquitously disseminate information in the traffic network through vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-device and infrastructure-to-device (X2X) communication. This hyperconnected web of reciprocity will enable integrative decisions which are inclusive of individual travellers' needs while also meeting desired system-wide societal objectives. This proposed CRC program in Integrative Transportation Systems aims to advance the theory and deployment of emerging transportation technologies in Canada to achieve the explicit objectives of improved efficiency, equity, reliability, and reduction of negative externalities. At the crux of this proposal are four synergistic CAV-based themes working in synchrony to shape CAV deployment into a “meaningful disruption” that meets the societal and sustainability aspirations of our future cities. These themes provide integrative solutions to design the next generation of traffic and transit control tools, devise novel accompanying policies, and instrument the road network to better predict travel demand fluctuation. Our vision is to provide ground-breaking solutions for urban transportation networks by developing novel concepts, policies, models, methodologies and algorithms. Our scientific approach capitalizes on advancements in traffic flow theory, traffic management, transit control, network modelling and simulation, mathematical modelling and programming, game theory, agent-based modelling, data-driven insights, predictive analytics and machine learning. This research has important implications for the Canadian economy and is vital for the multi-disciplinary training of the next generation of transportation policymakers, researchers, academics, and engineers. This research will thus directly and significantly contribute to the welfare of Canadians by enhancing equity, safety, accessibility and mobility, reducing emissions and diversifying the economy.