Led by Xiaoyu “Sky” Guo, Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) engineering graduate student worker, the Aggie Vision team is one of two student finalists for the second annual Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Vision Zero Design Sandbox Competition. The team includes Sruthi Ashraf, TTI engineering graduate student worker; Zihao Li, TTI graduate research assistant; Chaolun Ma; Xiao Xiao, TTI graduate student worker; and Cheng Zhang, TTI graduate research assistant. Representing Texas A&M University, the team members are Ph.D. students in Texas A&M’s Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Speaking to working as a team since January, Guo reflects, “Participating in the competition was an amazing experience — getting to work on data from a local agency, and leverage machine learning to proactively select safety countermeasures at intersections. As team leader, I learned how to be communicative, accountable, flexible, and decisive, and I’m looking forward to presenting our solution together this coming July!”
TTI Senior Research Engineer Kevin Balke, Guo’s supervisor, says, “TTI is lucky to have some of the best and brightest students in the research community. Using advanced technologies and concepts, they’re taking a fresh look at ongoing safety and operational issues. I applaud Guo and the rest of the Texas A&M team for their vision and accomplishments.”
This year’s topic was Vision Zero data analytics. Vision Zero is a multinational road safety project to end road fatalities and serious injuries. To support Vision Zero, the Aggie Vision team proposed a machine-learning approach using conflict points observed from the field for improving intersection safety and achieving transferability, as compared to a conventional method. The team will present at ITE’s Virtual Annual Meeting July 20, 2021, 4–5:30 p.m. (EDT).
“Guo has very strong leadership and teamwork skills. She has been actively involved in student organizations and professional societies at Texas A&M and the national level, and has a track record of working well with other graduate students on different research areas,” says Guo’s faculty advisor, Yunlong Zhang, professor and associate department head of graduate programs in Texas A&M’s Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “The Aggie Vision team’s success in the ITE Vision Zero Sandbox Competition is a testament to her organizational and research abilities.”