SMARTER Center CAV Testbed Digital Twin
This project advances transportation safety and mobility by developing a high-fidelity digital twin of the SMARTER Center’s Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) testbed at Morgan State University. The proposed platform synchronizes key infrastructure states, sensor observations, and traffic dynamics with a virtual environment in near real time, enabling safety and mobility interventions to be evaluated in a controlled, repeatable setting without exposing road users to risk. Currently, CAV safety validation faces a well-documented gap: physical testing is costly, slow, and may introduce safety concerns, while purely virtual simulations often lack real-world calibration. This project addresses that gap by integrating live testbed data—including LiDAR, CCTV cameras, roadside units, and V2X messages—with simulation-based scenario testing using CARLA, sensor fusion methods, and validated data pipelines. The system targets low latency and high spatial accuracy suitable for behavioral and safety analysis under representative traffic conditions. The platform demonstrates multi-modal capability through two application scenarios: (1) pedestrian crossing conflict analysis at signalized intersections under varying speeds, visibility, and occlusion conditions, and (2) transit signal priority evaluation using U.S. DOT bus trajectory data to assess potential operational impacts, including delay reduction. Validation is conducted using RTK-GPS probe vehicles and annotated video data, with trajectory similarity and time-to-collision metrics quantitatively assessed. Key outcomes include a functional digital twin system, evaluation of safety-critical scenarios with agreement between digital and physical testbed behavior on key performance indicators, a 5-hour annotated dataset with DCAT-US metadata, and three software modules released via GitHub. The extensible platform architecture supports future applications such as emergency vehicle preemption, freight operations, and micromobility, with documented APIs enabling replication across diverse testbeds and agencies.
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Active
- Funding: $240,000.00
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Contract Numbers:
69A3552348303
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Sponsor Organizations:
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
University Transportation Centers Program
Department of Transportation
Washington, DC United States 20590 -
Managing Organizations:
Safety and Mobility Advancements Regional Transportation and Economics Research Center
Morgan State University
Baltimore, MD United States -
Performing Organizations:
Safety and Mobility Advancements Regional Transportation and Economics Research Center
Morgan State University
Baltimore, MD United States -
Principal Investigators:
Scott, Craig
Jeihani, Mansoureh
Yang, Di
Mehryaar, Ehsan
Yang, Xianfeng
- Start Date: 20260301
- Expected Completion Date: 20270901
- Actual Completion Date: 0
- USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Autonomous vehicles; Connected vehicles; Digital twins; Test beds; Traffic safety
- Identifier Terms: Morgan State University
- Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01982072
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: Sustainable Mobility and Accessibility Regional Transportation Equity Research Center
- Contract Numbers: 69A3552348303
- Files: UTC, RIP
- Created Date: Mar 11 2026 3:33PM