DFI Speaker Series: Dr. Xuan (Sharon) Di - Urban Transportation Digital Twin Speaker: Dr. Xuan (Sharon) Di

Transportation digital twins have become increasingly popular tools to improve traffic efficiency and safety. However, the majority of effort nowadays is focused on the “eyes” of the digital twin, which is object detection using computer vision. I believe the key to empowering the intelligence of a transportation digital twin lies in its “brain,” namely, how to utilize the information extracted from various sensors to infer traffic dynamics evolution and devise optimal  control and management strategies with real-time feedback to guide the transportation ecosystem toward a social optimum. My research aims to employ engineering tools to develop an urban transportation digital twin, leveraging data collected from the NSF PAWR COSMOS city-scale wireless testbed being deployed in West Harlem next to the Columbia campus. In this talk, I would like to demonstrate a few case studies we developed for the intersection of Amsterdam Ave and 120TH St outside the TC building.

Bio: Dr. Xuan (Sharon) Di is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at Columbia University in the City of New York and serves on a committee for the Smart Cities Center in the Data Science Institute. Dr. Di directs the DitecT (Data and innovative technology-driven Transportation) Lab. Her field of research is transportation systems engineering, with a focus on reshaping technological innovation for social good. Her research lies at the intersection of game theory and machine learning. She specializes in autonomous vehicle control in mixed traffic, cyber physical transportation systems, multi-modal mobility optimization, and transportation and health, using innovative tools including physics-informed deep learning and mean-field games. Details about DitecT Lab and her research can be found here.