Dartmouth Events

Mobile devices have advanced safety through improved emergency communications and response time. They are, however, also associated with increased injury risks, particularly due to device distractions. This raises the question whether mobile devices could do more to mitigate such risks. Can devices assess increased risks in traffic situations and communicate such information to the involved parties? One example is detecting stepping from sidewalks into streets, which could facilitate warning of distracted pedestrians or raising awareness among drivers. This is particularly difficult in environments with positioning and mapping challenges. I will discuss inertial and camera-based sensing techniques to improve detection and how learning from crowds could help mobile devices interact synergistically with future connected and automated vehicles to improve safety. 

Bio:  Marco Gruteser is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering as well as Computer Science (by courtesy) at Rutgers University's Wireless Information Network Laboratory (WINLAB). He directs research in mobile networking and is particularly interested in its applications to traffic safety and connected vehicles. He has delivered nine conference and workshop keynotes and served as program co-chair for ACM MobiSys, ACM WiSec, and IEEE VNC as well as general co-chair for ACM MobiCom’16. He received his MS and PhD degrees from the University of Colorado in 2000 and 2004, respectively, and has held research and visiting positions at the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center and Carnegie Mellon University. His recognitions include an NSF CAREER award, a Rutgers Board of Trustees Research Fellowship for Scholarly Excellence, a Rutgers Outstanding Engineering Faculty Award, as well as best paper awards at ACM MobiCom 2012, ACM MobiCom 2011 and ACM MobiSys 2010. His work has been regularly featured in the media, including NPR, the Wall Street Journal, Fox News TV, and CNN TV. He is an ACM Distinguished Scientist.