Environment

Short-Term Planning and Policy Interventions to Promote Cycling in Urban Centers: Findings from a Commute Mode Choice Analysis in Barcelona, Spain

Braun, L
Rodriguez, D
Cole-Hunter, T
Ambros, A
Donaire-Gonzalez, D
Jerrett, M
Mendez, M
Nieuwenhuijsen, MJ
Nazelle, A De
2016
Cycling for transportation has become an increasingly important component of strategies to address public health, climate change, and air quality concerns in urban centers. Within this context, planners and policy makers would benefit from an improved understanding of available interventions and their relative effectiveness for cycling promotion. We examined predictors of bicycle commuting that are relevant to planning and policy intervention, particularly those amenable to short- and medium-term action. We estimated a travel mode choice model using data from a...

Improved Power Grid Stability and Efficiency with a Building-Energy Cyber-Physical System

Piette, Mary Ann
Bayen, Alexandre M.
2009

This position article outlines some challenges of demand response in the context of the power grid and its interaction with buildings. We describe significant issues in energy-efficient operation of buildings, in particular questions such as system reliability, risk management and environmental impact. We also outline a strategy for the development of new technologies for a cyber-physical infrastructure system that integrates management of smart buildings with management of the power grid. Specific emphasis is given to the interaction of physical and computational processes through sensing,...

Improved Power Grid Stability and Efficiency with a Building-Energy Cyber-Physical System

Piette, Mary Ann
Sohn, Michael
Bayen, Alexandre M.
2009

This position article outlines some challenges of demand response in the context of the power grid and its interaction with buildings. We describe significant issues in energy-efficient operation of buildings, in particular questions such as system reliability, risk management and environmental impact. We also outline a strategy for the development of new technologies for a cyber-physical infrastructure system that integrates management of smart buildings with management of the power grid. Specific emphasis is given to the interaction of physical and computational processes through sensing,...

Real-Time Estimation of Pollution Emissions and Dispersion from Highway Traffic

Samaranayake, Samitha
Glaser, Steven D.
Holstius, David
Monteil, Julien
Tracton, Ken
Bayen, Alexandre
2014

Traffic-related air pollution is a serious problem with significant health impacts in both urban and suburban environments. Despite an increased realization of the negative impacts of air pollution, assessing individuals' exposure to traffic-related air pollution remains a challenge. Obtaining high-resolution estimates are difficult due to the spatial and temporal variability of emissions, the dependence on local atmospheric conditions, and the lack of monitoring infrastructure. This presents a significant hurdle to identifying pollution concentration hot spots and understanding the...

Occupancy Detection via Environmental Sensing

Jin, Ming
Bekiaris-Liberis, Nikolaos
Weekly, Kevin
Spanos, Costas
Bayen, Alexandre M.
2018

Sensing by proxy (SbP) is proposed in this paper as a sensing paradigm for occupancy detection, where the inference is based on “proxy” measurements such as temperature and CO2 concentrations. The effects of occupants on indoor environments are captured by constitutive models comprising a coupled partial differential equation–ordinary differential equation system that exploits the spatial and physical features. Sensor fusion of multiple environmental parameters is enabled in the proposed framework. We report on experiments conducted under simulated conditions and real-life circumstances,...

Daily Data Assimilation of a Hydrologic Model Using the Ensemble Kalman Filter

Malek, Sami A.
Bayen, Alexandre M.
Glaser, Steven D.
2019

Accurate runoff forecasting is crucial for reservoir operators as it allows optimized water management, flood control and hydropower generation. Land surface models in mountainous regions depend on climatic inputs such as precipitation, temperature and solar radiation to model the water and energy dynamics and produce runoff as output. With the rapid development of cheap electronics applied in various systems, such as Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), satellite and airborne technologies, the prospect of practically measuring spatial Snow Water Equivalent in a dense temporal scale is...

Using Automated Vehicle (AV) Technology to Smooth Traffic Flow and Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Almatrudi, Sulaiman
Parvate, Kanaad
Rothchild, Daniel
Vijay, Upadhi
2022

Passenger and heavy-duty vehicles make up 36% of California’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Reducing emissions from vehicular travel is therefore paramount for any path towards carbon neutrality. Efforts to reduce GHGs by encouraging mode shift or increasing vehicle efficiency are, and will continue to be, a critical part of decarbonizing the transportation sector. Emerging technologies are creating an opportunity to reduce GHGs. Human driving behaviors in congested traffic have been shown to create stop-and-go waves. When waves form, cars periodically slow down (sometimes to a stop) and...

Using Automated Vehicle (AV) Technology to Smooth Traffic Flow and Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Almatrudi, Sulaiman
Parvate, Kanaad
Rothchild, Daniel
Vijay, Upadhi
2022

Passenger and heavy-duty vehicles make up 36% of California’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Reducing emissions from vehicular travel is therefore paramount for any path towards carbon neutrality. Efforts to reduce GHGs by encouraging mode shift or increasing vehicle efficiency are, and will continue to be, a critical part of decarbonizing the transportation sector. Emerging technologies are creating an opportunity to reduce GHGs. Human driving behaviors in congested traffic have been shown to create stop-and-go waves. When waves form, cars periodically slow down (sometimes to a stop) and...

Connected and Automated Vehicle Technology is Not Enough; it Must also be Collaborative

Patire, Anthony D.
Dion, Francois
Bayen, Alexandre M.
2023

Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) will revolutionize the way we travel; however, what impact this revolution will have on advancing broader societal goals is uncertain. To date, the private sector technology rollout has emphasized the automation side of CAVs and neglected the potentially transformative possibilities brought by a more collaborative notion of connectivity. This may have significant downsides from a broader societal perspective. For example, CAVs (including those on the road today) collect a vast amount of data gathered through onboard systems (e.g., radar, lidar,...

Modifying Adaptive Cruise Control Systems for String Stable Stop-and -Go Wave Control

Wu, Fangyu
Carpio, Joy
Bunting, Matthew
Nice, Matthew
Work, Daniel
Sprinkle, Jonathan M.
Lee, Jonathan
Hornstein, Sharon
Bayen, Alexandre M.
2024

This letter addresses the important issue of energy inefficiency and air pollution resulting from stop-and-go waves on highways by introducing a novel controller called the Attenuative Kerner's Model (AKM). The objective of AKM is to enhance an existing Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system to improve vehicle following in stop-and-go waves. It is designed as a hybrid controller that is compatible with a wide range of commercial vehicles equipped with ACC. The article demonstrates the local string stability of the controller. Next, it presents a comparative analysis of AKM against two...