Discovery Park to host information session, panel on future of autonomous vehicles in Indiana

Discovery Park will host an information session and panel discussion, "The Future of Autonomous Vehicles & Transportation," from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Feb. 27 in the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship, Room 121. Faculty, staff and students are invited to attend.

Autonomous vehicles will have far-reaching societal implications, influencing domestic and international transportation, automotive, engineering, software and hardware development firms. It will increase demand for transportation research and development, which will be the driving force for realizing the growth of the industry.

The purpose of this information session is to learn more from Indiana-based developers and entrepreneurs about the future of the auto mobility ecosystem, gain the perspective of faculty and staff in this sector, and capture applicable research and areas of convergence that complement this fast-growing industry.

John Fairbanks, president and principal broker of the Fairbanks Investment Group, will participate in the info session and discuss the potential for a new technology hub, the Indiana Transportation Research and Development District, which would accelerate automotive and autonomous component validation.

Topics to be addressed in the information session include: 

* Integrated technology systems/AI.

* Sensor and software evaluation technologies.

* Security and safety testing/cyber.

* Transportation planning and design standards.

* Research and development assets.

* Public policy and regulatory considerations.

Following the session, a panel of Purdue faculty featuring Laurel Weldon (Political Science), Srinivas Peeta (Civil Engineering), and Greg Shaver (Mechanical Engineering) and others will discuss their research and innovation needs for the future and answer questions about possible contributions to the potential project. Parking is available on the west side of the Burton D. Morgan Center.

Richard Voyles, professor and director of the Robotics Accelerator, will also hold a demonstration, "Autonomous Stunt Driving – Self-Driving Cars in Extreme Conditions," beginning at 1 p.m. in the Morgan Café. The Collaborative Robotics Lab and IEEE RAS Purdue Student Chapter are exploring autonomous vehicle control in difficult and highly dynamic driving conditions, such as slippery roads, sandy off-road conditions and high-speed racing. These highly dynamic and unstable driving scenarios present safety risks and technical challenges to self-driving cars if they inadvertently experience such situations.

Writer: Amy Schlueter, 765-496-7823, aschlue@purdue.edu

Source: Cliff Wojtalewicz, 765-496-3961, cliffw@purdue.edu