On November 18, 2015, Professor Mozumdar presented his research on the development of Micro Wireless Sensor Platforms for collecting data of passenger-freight interactions to students, staff, and faculty at the University of Southern California. He introduced the concept of using micro wireless sensors to replace the traditional inductive loop sensors. Mozumdar shared that these micro sensors are more intelligent, accurate, cost-affordable and are easy to implement. He explained that the sensors  are self-charged whenever a passenger or a car goes over them, utilizing a technique called piezoelectricity. The micro wireless sensor platform can categorize different vehicles using the data it collects as well as a decision algorithm. Mozumdar pointed out that if this platform is implemented in roads and high ways within one area, that area will have a smarter underground vehicle sensor platform with higher accuracy of data collection and more information on what kind of cars are passing. He believes this device will help policy makers and transportation planners to make better transportation decisions.

Students from the Viterbi School of Engineering and Sol Price School of Public Policy were engaged in learning about the new technology and asked questions about the durability of the technology and how it could be implemented. A student in the Master of Public Policy program asked if this technology could be used to collect traffic collision data for the government, for example, and another inquired if two sensors might interfere with each other’s data collection. Professor Mozumdar answered these questions in detail, providing insight into the design process. Practitioners also showed great interest in those sensors. Matt Benjamin, a transportation planner at Fehrs & Peers, suggested that Professor Mozumdar expand the use of this sensor platform to the broader area of vehicle-to-infrastructure communication.

Shichun Hu

Shichun Hu is a Student Associate at the METRANS Transportation Center. She is a first year student in the Master of Industrial and System Engineering Program at the University of Southern California. Her Interests are urban logistics, supply chain and industrial engineering, with the goal of making supply chains more convenient for people’s life.