About the project
Cycling is an increasingly popular travel mode, but is plagued by a poor road safety record. This project will address this gap by developing technological solutions for monitoring behaviours, models for trajectory and conflict prediction, and actions and mechanisms for preventing collisions.
Cycling is an increasingly popular mode of travel in cities due to the great advantages that it offers in terms of space consumption, health and environmental sustainability. Yet, the low perceived safety of cyclists is a major hurdle to the desired uptake of cycling as an alternative to the private car, with a particular source of hazard appearing to originate from the interaction of cyclists with motorised traffic at low speeds in urban areas.
However, a practical solution for their prevention has yet to be developed. This is because there is currently a lack of understanding of the mechanics and behavioural traits of cyclist-vehicle near-miss and crash situations due to the absence of the relevant enabling technology for their analysis on the one hand, and of accurate trajectory prediction models that would allow preventive action to the taken on the other.
The aim of this PhD project is to address this gap through a three-pronged approach:
- by developing a technological solution that will allow accurately mapping bicycles and motorised vehicles in relation to one another;
- by formulating and validating trajectory and conflict prediction models with a time horizon of 5-10 seconds;
- by designing relevant preventive actions and mechanisms.
To this end, it is planned to nurture the potential of key research facilities available at the Transportation Research Group (TRG), such as a fully instrumented vehicle and bicycle for field data collection, and a driving simulator or a 360-degree virtual reality facility for validation.
The School of Engineering is committed to promoting equality, diversity inclusivity as demonstrated by our Athena SWAN award. We welcome all applicants regardless of their gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or age, and will give full consideration to applicants seeking flexible working patterns and those who have taken a career break. The University has a generous maternity policy, onsite childcare facilities, and offers a range of benefits to help ensure employees’ well-being and work-life balance. The University of Southampton is committed to sustainability and has been awarded the Platinum EcoAward.
