UW-Madison ISyE alums on the forefront of autonomous vehicle safety

On October 9-10, 2024, the “Workshop on Computational Models of Human Road User Behavior for Autonomous Vehicle Evaluation” was held at Kasteel de Wittenburg in the Netherlands. This exclusive, invitation-only event brought together 24 leading researchers in driver modeling to share innovative research and identify model-based methods for improving driving safety.

Among the participants were three distinguished alumni from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (UW-ISyE): Dr. Azadeh Dinparastdjadid, Shu-Yuan Liu (MS), and UW-ISyE Associate Professor Dr. Tony McDonald. All three graduated under the advisement of Professor John Lee, a leader in Cognitive Engineering research with a focus on human-automation interaction.

Participants discussed the crucial role of computational road user behavior models in evaluating autonomous vehicles (AVs). These models are essential for benchmarking AV behavior and simulating interactions with human road users.

Creating models that accurately capture the complexities of human road user behavior—such as decision-making, adaptation, and social interactions like merging—remains a significant challenge. Talks at the conference focused on novel methods to address this challenge and applications of these methods to improve the safety and reliability of human interactions with AVs. UW-ISyE contributions included presentations on new approaches to modeling and methods to integrate model-based predictions and safety evaluation. These contributions highlight UW-ISyE’s significant impact on the field of AV research and future vehicle safety.

The workshop was organized by Waymo, providers of the world’s first autonomous ride-hailing service, and a key supporter of the important research in AV technology currently underway at UW-ISyE.