NO DRIVERS NEEDED
Stress-free driving. Sounds great, right? Several engineering students at UL think so. Research recently conducted by a team of Electrical Engineering students and their mentors introduces completely autonomous highway travel with specially equipped vehicles.
What does this mean? According to the group, including Theogene Lavergne Jr. and Eric Decuir, it means computers - instead of human drivers - would control vehicles on designated highway lanes.
“A network of small computers installed in vehicles and along the sides of certain roads could coordinate the flow of traffic, increasing both efficiency and passenger safety,” Lavergne said. “The goal of this research will be to design and build a scaled-down model of an autonomous highway system, which will include the design and implementation of the vehicle and the necessary highway the vehicle will travel.”
Both Lavergne and Decuir presented this research at a summer research conference for the Louis Stokes Association of Minority Participation. They placed second in a group of 200 students from 14 states.
“These are truly outstanding students. I can honestly say that these students represent the best that this university has to offer,” said Shelby Williams, project mentor. “They serve as a shining example for other students.”
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