IDSS News February 2021
Munther Dahleh photo by Lillie Paquette MIT School of Engineering
IDSS is uniquely positioned to address many challenges in transportation and mobility, as they require a perspective that accounts for interaction between physical and technological systems, human behavior, and policy. From electric cars to ride-sharing apps, accessibility to autonomy, many in our community are imagining the future of mobility.

Data plays a key role in these challenges at all scales. Advances in AI and machine learning often drive new technology development, but these advances will cause and/or require big changes in transportation networks and infrastructure. How we navigate the evolution of mobility has impacts on climate change, justice, and public health.

I'm delighted to share snapshots from around IDSS of work in this domain — including the work of some exceptional students in SES and TPP.

Munther Dahleh, Director
William A. Coolidge Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
ELECTRIC AND AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
A new study from IDSS professor Jessika Trancik examines the kinds of infrastructure policies needed to enable a shift to electric vehicles — including where to install charging stations.
Jessika Trancik's team calculated the carbon dioxide emissions and full lifetime cost for nearly every new car model on the market. They found electric cars were more climate friendly, and often cheaper.
Comparison of the performance of different algorithms predicting pedestrian trajectories
Understanding pedestrian behaviors is crucial for safe navigation of self-driving vehicles in intelligent transportation systems. A new algorithm from a team of LIDS researchers led by Jonathan How learns continuously and outperforms other models at intersection scenarios.
The GNC algorithm finds the optimal alignment despite noisy measurements with up to 70–90 percent of outliers
The lab of LIDS professor Luca Carlone is developing a new generation of algorithms called 'certifiable perception algorithms' that are able to compute a robust world model and assess its correctness in real-time.
IMPACT OF COVID-19
IDSS affiliate Jinhua Zhao discusses the post-pandemic future of transportation, from public transit to ride-sharing to electric cars.
Kate Turner, an IDSS Research to Policy Engagement Fellow and Media Lab researcher, explores how the pandemic has completely changed the logistics of travel and mobility for people in the Greater Boston area.
Cate Heine
SES student Cate Heine studies models of human mobility during the pandemic in order to understand movement throughout cities — and access to resources within them.
INFRASTRUCTURE
IDSS affiliate Saurabh Amin focuses on making infrastructure more resilient against disruptions — including transportation, electricity, and water.
LIDS professor Cathy Wu uses reinforcement learning to study how traffic systems behave, and how autonomous vehicles in those systems ought to behave to get the best possible outcomes.
The MIT big data Living Lab office in South Australia
An MIT team from Connection Science and the Mobility Initiative uses mobility & transportation data to inform infrastructure development through the MIT Big Data Living Lab. Explore their dashboard: Atlas of Opportunity
SES student Manxi Wu builds models of transportation networks that can help reduce congestion and infrastructure overuse by addressing human decision makers, physical constraints, and the dynamics of engineering systems.
PUBLIC TRANSIT AND RIDE SHARING
Researchers including IDSS affiliate Jinhua Zhao examine the effects of protecting user data privacy on the efficiency and service quality of ride-sharing applications.
Location of jobs paying $1250 per month or less in 2017 in the Detroit area
TPP student Russell Glynn & alum Kevin X. Shen highlight the social and political stakes of transportation in justice for Black and low-income people. Russell's thesis develops a critical political economy of transport technologies and Kevin's explores the possibilities of a collaborative accessibility tool.
WATCH: MIT MOBILITY FORUM
IDSS faculty contribute to the MIT Mobility Forum, a weekly seminar organized by the MIT Mobility Initiative — directed by IDSS affiliate Jinhua Zhao.
Jinhua Zhao
MIT Mobility Initiative director Jinhua Zhao reflects on the changing field of mobility and transportation.
IDSS and Media Lab professor Alex 'Sandy' Pentland explores how an understanding of social structures can impact data-driven mobility research.
Alex Sandy Pentland
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MIT Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems logo
MIT Statistics and Data Science Center logo
MIT Technology and Policy Program logo
Sociotechnical Systems Research Center logo