CE 625/725- FALL SEMESTER 2015

General Course Information

Course Description

Dr. Virginia P. Sisiopiku vsisiopi@uab.edu Updated CV (December 2016) Class Times: Tue and Thu, 12:30-1:45 PM Course Materials Course Schedule

This course encompasses technical and policy aspects emerging from the application of advanced technologies to transportation problems, also known as Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). The course is intended to familiarize students with key components of Advanced User Services Areas as well as legal, institutional and planning issues for ITS. Tools for application of advanced technologies will be highlighted and case studies of ongoing operational tests in the U.S. and abroad will be reviewed. Current impediments and future challenges in ITS research will be also addressed.

Part of the course will be offered as a web-based class and the rest as a regularly scheduled one. Students are expected to review assigned handouts, perform literature search, write a technical paper, give oral presentations, and actively participate in class discussions.
Upon completing the course students will be familiar with:

• ITS concepts and applications
• Current and emerging technologies used in ITS
• Difficulties and impediments in ITS development and deployment
• Future directions of ITS research and development

Course Requirements and Grading

1.  20% Class participation, discussion and oral presentations
2.  30% Research Paper
3.  10% Quiz 1
4.  10% Quiz 2
5.  30% Final Exam

Additional Information

Research Paper
Students will work on research papers in teams. Group formation and topic assignment will be done in a random fashion on 9/10. The group will meet outside the class as often as needed.

The research problem statement is due on 9/29 and should be submitted to the instructor electronically. This should be a paragraph-long topic description explaining the need for the study and the objectives of the research effort. An oral briefing on the progress of the paper by each team is scheduled for 11/5. The complete research paper is due by 12/1. The paper shall not exceed 12 double spaced pages (inclusive of tables, figures, and abstract). The research paper assignment counts for 30% of each student’s overall grade (20%-written; 10% oral). A research paper typically includes the following:

•  Abstract;
•  Introduction;
•  Study Objectives;
•  Literature Review;
•  Methodology;
•  Results;
•  Conclusions & Recommendations, and
•  References

References should follow TRB guidelines available at http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/AM/InfoForAuthors.pdf

In-Class Discussion and Presentations
Students will be expected to ask and answer questions and participate in in-class discussion sessions. Students should submit assignments electronically prior to in-class discussion dates. Late submissions will not receive credit. 10% of the grade will be assigned based on students' performance in in-class assignments.

Formal presentations of the students' research paper topics are scheduled on 12/1 and 12/3. A PowerPoint presentation (PPP) should be prepared for this purpose and submitted to the instructor electronically by 12/1. The formal presentations will be graded by the instructor for each student individually and will account for 10% of the overall course grade. Criteria for grading include student's ability to present the topic clearly, knowledge of the material presented, ability to address questions properly, presentation style, and organization.

In-Class Quizzes
In-class quizzes will be given to students on 10/8 and 11/19. The quizzes will be graded by the instructor and the correct answers will be discussed in class. Quizzes will not be repeated, thus if a student is absent during an in-class quiz the assigned grade for the quiz will be zero (no exceptions; please plan accordingly). 20% of the overall class grade will be based on the grades from the in-class quizzes.

Final Exam
The final exam will be an in-class exam. It counts for 30% of the overall course grade and will cover class materials since the beginning of the course. The exam is scheduled for 12/8 from 10:45 to 1:15 PM, assuming availability of IITS classrooms. Please reserve this time. Each student is expected to work alone on homework, quizzes, and exams. The penalty for cheating and/or assisting others during the final is failure of the course.

Computer Use
ITS is a fast growing field. Many of the recent advancements in ITS research and deployment worldwide, useful announcements, and report summaries are often posted on the world wide web. Check the internet frequently for material, but always be very careful regarding the source of information, references provided, etc. Peer reviewed articles published in respectable journals are always the safest sources of information one can obtain. Use them as your primary resources for answering questions in your assignments and obtaining background information for your research paper.

Reference Resources
There are countless papers, technical reports, and websites that provide valuable information related to the ITS topics addressed in this course. The following websites are offered as a starting point.

http://ntlsearch.bts.gov/tris/index.do?&d=tr
http://www.its.dot.gov/
http://www.itsa.org/

 
Access to the Course Materials

Study materials, Power Point presentations, homework assignments, reference materials etc. are posted on the course website. There is a lot of material covered so students are expected to visit often and study based on the course study schedule provided. The information below helps you to access the materials. The password information will become available to you in class. The course materials are for your personal use and for your reference only and are protected by intellectual property rights. Please do not share the course link or passwords with others without the permission of the instructor.

To access the reading materials at the CITE website go to:
Web Site = http://www.citetraining.org/atutor/
Login Name = u_alabama The password will become available to you in class.

Course Schedule

WEEK	DATE	TOPIC	TYPE
1	25-Aug	Course requirements; ITS Definitions, Components, and Stakeholders	In-Class
	27-Aug	ITS Definitions, Components, and Stakeholders	Internet
2	1-Sep	ITS System Architecture and Standards	Internet
	3-Sep	ITS System Architecture and Standards	In-Class
3	8-Sep	Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS) Tools	Internet
	10-Sep	ATMS Concepts and Applications –Research Paper topics assigned	In-Class
4	15-Sep	Incident, Emergency Management	Internet
	17-Sep	Corridor Management	Internet
5	22-Sep	Incident, Emergency, and Corridor Management	In-Class
	24-Sep	Dynamic Route Guidance and In-Vehicle Systems (ATIS)	Internet
6	29-Sep	Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) Overview – Research Problem Statement Due	In-Class
	1-Oct	Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO)	Internet
7	6-Oct	Quiz 1	In-Class
	8-Oct	Intermodal Transportation Systems	Internet
8	13-Oct	Review of CVO and Intermodal Transportation Systems	In-Class
	15-Oct	Advanced Public Transportation Systems (APTS)	Internet
9	20-Oct	Advanced Public Transportation Systems (APTS)	In-Class
	22-Oct	Intelligent Vehicle Initiative and AVCS Systems	Internet
10	27-Oct	Advanced Vehicle Control and Safety Systems (AVCS)	In-Class
	29-Oct	Field trip- ALSITE Fall Meeting – Prattville, AL	No class
11	3-Nov	Telecommunications Issues in ITS	Internet
	5-Nov	Telecommunications Issues in ITS - Report on Paper Status	In-Class
12	10-Nov	What's new in ITS?	Internet
	12-Nov	ITS Evaluation and Future Challenges	Internet
13	17-Nov	ITS Evaluation and Future Challenges	In-Class
	19-Nov	Quiz 2	In-Class
14	24-Nov	Fall Break/Thanksgiving Holiday	No class
	26-Nov
15	1-Dec	Research Paper Presentations - Research Paper Due	In-Class
	3-Dec	Research Paper Presentations- As needed	In-Class
16	8-Dec	Final Exam (10:45-1:15 PM)	In-Class