Maryland Transportation Research & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (M-TRAIL)
Welcome to M-TRAIL!
Greeting! Maryland Transportation Research & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (M-TRAIL) is a research lab located at the University of Maryland, College Park. The primary goal of M-TRAIL is to use integrated data-driven and engineering approaches to improve traffic safety, develop smart mobility technologies, and leverage artificial intelligence such as machine learning to deal with transportation problems.
The research interest of M-TRAIL includes both artificial intelligence applications in transportation and traditional transportation problems: machine learning for smart mobility, connected automated vehicles, traffic management and operations, traffic safety, infrastructure resilience, transportation equity, computer vision for transportation, etc.
Research Highlight
Key Bridge Impact Analysis
The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, MD, experienced a catastrophic collapse on March 26, 2024, when it was struck by the container ship MV Dali. The incident occurred at 01:27 EDT, leading to the main spans of the bridge collapsing after the ship, having lost power, collided with a support pillar of the bridge. This disaster was declared a "mass casualty event", with several vehicles underwater, two people rescued, the bodies of two more recovered, and the remaining four presumed dead. Maryland Governor Wes Moore declared a state of emergency in response.
In collaboration with Mogan State University, this research aims to study the impact of the key bridge collapse on mobility, logistics, and safety. Please see some results below:
How Much will the Detour Cost? Impacts on Road Freight Transportation by the Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse [PDF Download]
Unveil Short-Term Traffic Change in Baltimore After Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse [PDF Download]
Bridge the Distance: Surveying a Path Forward Post the Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse [PDF Download]
Research Areas
Machine Learning, Computer Vision, Reinforcement Learning, etc.
Traffic Operation under CAV environment, CAV Trajectory Control; Rural CAV Applications, CAV Safety, etc.
Intersection Safety; Freeway Safety; Crash Data Analysis; CMF Development, etc.
Transportation Data Screening and Cleaning, Data-Driven Decision Making, Data Privacy, etc.
Traffic Signal Control, Freeway Variable Speed Limit Control, Ramp Metering Control, etc
Infrastructure Condition Assessment, Winter Road Performance Monitoring, Infrastructure Readiness for Smart Mobility, etc.
2024 Lab News
12/2024 [Grant]
Being a part of the team led by Baltimore City DOT, the $2M project "Smart Traffic Signal Systems to Mitigate Bridge Collapse Impact in Baltimore City" has been awarded by the FHWA Smart Grant program.
11/2024 [Research]
Our research paper "An optimization-free approximation Framework for Connected and Automated Vehicles Eco-Trajectory Planning Under Limited Computing Capacity" has been accepted for publication by Transportation Research Part C.
09/2024 [Research]
Our research paper "Unraveling Stochastic Fundamental Diagrams with Empirical Knowledge: Modeling, Limitations, and Future Directions" has been accepted for publication by Transportation Research Part C.
09/2024 [Grant]
M-TRAIL has been awarded a $400K project "The Baltimore City Safety: Study Bridge Collapse Impacts" by the Federal Highway Administration.
08/2024 [Grant]
M-TRAIL has been awarded a $85K project "Accelerating the Deployment of Autonomous Trucks in Rural Areas" by the NDSU VPR Office.
08/2024 [Grant]
M-TRAIL has been awarded a $75K project "SCC-CIVIC-PG Track B: Night Moves - Enhancing Mobility Accessibility and Safety for Night Shift Workers in Baltimore, Maryland" by the NSF, in collaboration with Morgan State University.
07/2024 [Grant]
M-TRAIL has been awarded a $100K project "Unraveling stochastic fundamental diagrams considering empirical knowledge: modeling, limitation and further discussion" by the USDOT CMMM.
05/2024 [Research]
Our research paper "Discrete macroscopic traffic flow model considering the lane-changing behaviors in the mixed traffic environment" has been accepted for publication by Transportation Research Part C.
04/2024 [Grant]
M-TRAIL has been awarded a $200K project "RAPID: Multifaceted Data Collection on the Aftermath of the March 26, 2024 Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse in the DC-Maryland-Virginia Area" by the NSF, in collaboration with Morgan State University and George Mason University.
03/2024 [Grant]
M-TRAIL has been awarded a $592K project "Excellence in Research: Towards Data and Machine Learning Fairness in Smart Mobility" by the NSF, in collaboration with Morgan State University.
03/2024 [Grant]
M-TRAIL has been awarded a $120K project "Development of a Pedestrian Collision Avoidance System for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles with Cooperative Perception" by the USDOT SMARTER, in collaboration with Morgan State University.
03/2024 [Grant]
M-TRAIL has been awarded a $160K project "Exploring the joint relationship between mobility and safety by mining connected vehicle data: A case study in Maryland" by the USDOT CMMM, in collaboration with Morgan State University.
Questions?
Contact: m-trail@umd.edu or xtyang@umd.edu