Aug. 2, 2018

Live Demo: Students Use Artificial Intelligence to Make Self-Driving Cars Safer

• What: CAT Vehicle Demonstration
• When: Aug. 7, 7-9:30 a.m.
• Where: UA parking lot No. 3039, next to the Electrical and Computer Engineering building by Second Street and North Palm Drive.

TUCSON, Ariz. — Eight students from across the U.S. will put their ideas and tech to the test as they remotely drive the University of Arizona's Cognitive and Autonomous Test, or CAT, vehicle on Tuesday.

The students are taking part in the National Science Foundation's Research Experiences for Undergraduates, or REU, program, which gives students from diverse backgrounds valuable research opportunities at major U.S. universities.

Students from the University of Alabama, College of Wooster, Lipscomb University, University of Michigan, Stetson University, Tennessee Technological University, Wofford College and Yale University will take part in the event.

"The students are working on different technologies for self-driving cars, including wireless protocols for connected vehicles, sensors for autonomous operation and safety, and human-machine interaction," said Tamal Bose, head of the UA Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "One of main focus areas of this year's program is using cognitive algorithms to make self-driving cars safer."

Bose is a co-investigator on the REU program, which he runs while principal investigator Jonathan Sprinkle is on assignment at the NSF in Washington, D.C.

The CAT vehicle demonstration is open to the public, and students will be on hand to discuss their research and experiences with the REU program.

Media contact:
Pete Brown
UA College of Engineering
520-621-3754
pnb@email.arizona.edu