North Carolina A&T State University has unveiled a new test facility in Greensboro to improve traffic safety. The Smart Intersection Test Facility is a collaboration between A&T, the city and the state Department of Transportation.
It functions as a living laboratory at East Market and Dudley streets, allowing researchers and students to test emerging transportation technologies, like automated vehicles, under real-world conditions. The outdoor site is equipped with advanced sensing, including radar and LiDAR, which uses lasers to measure distances and create precise, 3D representations of environments.
A&T PhD student Bijoy Bhowmik says the combination of multiple technologies is key.
"If you have only cameras, the cameras have some drawbacks, like on the sunlight, it cannot see as humans can see, right?" says Bhowmik. "So this problem can be solved with the other sensors."
The facility will provide research opportunities for A&T students in smart mobility, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.
Practical applications for the broader Greensboro community include traffic flow analysis, crash risk modeling and enhanced pedestrian safety monitoring.