Cleveland State professors Hongkai Yu, Ph.D., and Jacqueline Jenkins, Ph.D., have joined forces as Principal Investigators to develop comprehensive driving simulations for the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT).
In an effort to better train snow plow drivers to take on the adverse weather conditions of the winter months, Dr. Yu, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), has been awarded a $400,000 grant over two years to craft snow plow training simulations.
Dr. Jenkins, an associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), joins Yu on this project.
Alongside their disciplinary team, they are working to create an advanced snow plow driver simulation that builds on ODOT’s existing truck driver simulator—a Doron Precision 660 Truck Plus. To improve upon the existing model, they plan to incorporate visual elements such as “plowable snow” and replicate real weather scenarios that will expose inexperienced drivers to what they will likely witness on the job.
These simulations will work towards maintaining road surface quality and ensuring safety during Ohio’s winters.
Dr. Yu is CSU’s leading director of the Cleveland Vision and IA Research Lab. Learn more here.
