UTC Center for Urban Informatics and Progress Awarded $1.37 million grant, will create Smart Corridor+

Researchers at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s (UTC) Center for Urban Informatics and Progress (CUIP) have been awarded a $1.37 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

According to UTC, the funds will create “Smart Corridor+” along a section of the existing M.L. King Boulevard Smart Corridor, a 1.2-mile stretch in downtown Chattanooga used by CUIP to study traffic flow, public safety and transportation, environmental impacts and other quality-of-life issues.

“Smart Corridor+ is a major step forward for Chattanooga’s Smart City research community,” said Kevin Comstock, director of Smart City for Chattanooga.

CUIP works with university and laboratory researchers across the country, and Smart Corridor+ gives it the capability to collaborate with even more. An online portal will enable researchers from around the world to study Smart Corridor+ through video, high-speed internet connectivity, computer analysis, performance-measuring tools, continuously updated data and other technology to reduce pedestrian injuries and coordinate autonomous and connected vehicles.

The National Science Foundation grant also provides funds to expand the existing MLK Smart Corridor to include a portion of U.S. 27 and its on and off ramps.

Smart Corridor+ also will be available to Chattanooga area high school students, advancing education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

“We have been working toward this for some time now, and it wouldn’t have happened without our close collaboration with the City of Chattanooga, EPB and The Enterprise Center,” said Mina Sartipi, CUIP director. “Securing funding for this initiative is exciting. We want Chattanooga to advance as a hub for smart and connected community research and development,” she said.

Smart Corridor+ is “another major step in the effort to utilize Chattanooga’s Smart City infrastructure to research and pioneer solutions that can enhance quality of life for the people in our community,” said David Wade, EPB president and CEO. “This effort exemplifies how smart infrastructure can serve as a platform for innovation that can really make a difference in people’s lives in terms public safety, improved traffic flow, positive environmental impacts and more.”