Figure 1
Civil Engineering
Team 15
Team Members |
Faculty Advisor |
Sal Luzzi |
John Ivan Sponsor Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center |
sponsored by
The Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Test Facility was designed to simulate a diverse set of road environments that will be used for the research and development of autonomous vehicle technology. The Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center tasked the senior design group with designing the facility and preparing preliminary cost estimates for it to be built in the near future. UConn and the State of Connecticut share an interest in building an autonomous vehicle test facility because as self-driving technology is rapidly developing, confidence in the technology and the safety of road users needs to be assured. The facility was designed with three main traffic environments: urban, rural, and highway. This range of settings will provide users the ability to simulate a variety of possible situations that autonomous vehicles may encounter on the road. Throughout the country there are test facilities for autonomous vehicles being built, but the senior design group’s goal for the UConn project was to improve on similar designs by incorporating a plethora of features and creating a realistic roadway environment, while maintaining a feasible project cost. Designing the facility allowed the senior design students to gain practical experience in roadway design, cost estimation, and apply many concepts that were learned throughout their time at the University of Connecticut.