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established by UTC in 2019 along M.L. She said the first year of the new life of citizens, including ride sharing,
King Boulevard. The test bed location three-year grant, forecasted to begin in improved sidewalk infrastructure, bike
was chosen, she said, because of the a few months, will concentrate “on the sharing, real-time road navigation and
urban environment, and the bike lanes, development of the architecture and the intelligent traffic signals.
crosswalks and bike and electric vehicle ConOps as well as the procurement of CUIP is an independent research
stations in the area. the devices.” entity housed at UTC, designed to
When that 2019 testbed project first “In the second year, we will install and help Chattanooga become one of the
was initiated, it became clear that its test the equipment. Relevant algorithms worldwide leaders in smart city research.
use of cameras and sensors yielded will be developed and baselines will be Millions of data points stream into CUIP
informative (yet anonymous) data established. During the third year, we every day—audio, video, air quality,
in terms of vehicle traffic, pedestrian will collect data, analyze it and measure RADAR, LIDAR (Light Detection
activity and bicyclist volumes. For the impact,” she said. And Ranging)—all of this used to
example, at Peeples Street and M.L. King Understanding the EV Charging Needs of learn how Chattanooga “moves.” The
Boulevard, cameras and sensors detected Center’s mission is enhanced by using
that some pedestrians were jay walking Mid-Sized Cities technological advances identifying
and some vehicles are veering into the “The state of Tennessee plans to have problem spots, and crafting solutions.
bike lane. This information is useful 200,000 EVs on the road by 2028. As we A recent Popular Science Magazine
because it helps determine if additional scale, the equity and inclusion must be article on the new three-year project said
safety measures are needed, such as a considered to equalize the accessibility that “while connecting EV drivers with
flashing crosswalk in the area, or the of the charging stations,” Sartipi said. She charging stations is the main focus of the
widening of bike lanes. added that the information gleaned will $4.57 million grant, having nearly 100
Sartipi said researchers also are looking help in understanding “the challenges intersections with rich sensor data flowing
at multiple uses of the data, including and opportunities in all neighborhoods from them should allow researchers to
how they might synchronize traffic lights with EV charging,” as well as traffic study various aspects of them and ideally
to make them more efficient. The test management in a mid-sized city. optimize the streetscape.”
bed also has sensors to help measure air CUIP researchers say that urbanization Of Note: CUIP Testbed Manager
quality, and can also monitor 5G data. can create significant pressure on Austin Harris, UTC Assistant Professor
In addition to the original 12 many vital city transportation systems, of Electrical Engineering Vahid Disfani
monitored MLK “smart intersections,” including public transit, traffic and UTC Professor of Civil Engineering
the new project helps create 86 new management infrastructure, and trucking Ignatius Fomunung are key contributors
sensor-monitored intersections. Sartipi and delivery systems. They maintain that to the project. Collaborators included
said the new funding “will not only while traditional modes of transportation experts from the Colorado School of
expand the footprint of the testbed, but it are critical, smart cities are shifting Mines and industry partners Ouster,
also brings EVs and their charging needs toward deployment of more sustainable, Seoul Robotics, Cubic, Iteris, Applied
into the picture.” efficient, and accessible mobility Information and Temple.
solutions that improve the quality of

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