Pedestrian and Cyclist Detection Devices for Transit Buses

This SBIR proposal presents a robust and cost-effective pedestrian and cyclist detection and collision warning system for transit buses. It uses inexpensive but robust sensors and incorporates state-of-the-art object detection techniques to enable effective pedestrian and cyclist detection near transit buses in different environmental conditions. The proposed collision warning system exploits measurements and estimates from different sensors about the presence, relative locations, and dynamics of pedestrians and cyclists near the bus, and assesses the risk of collision by combining this information with the movement of the bus and environmental variables. Upon detection of an alert, a warning is relayed to the bus operator in an intuitive fashion for an immediate response. The proposed system leverages recent innovations and developments in the areas of sensors, sensor exploitation, robotics, and commercial vehicles. The Phase II effort will build upon the success of the Phase I and will focus on advancement of the core technologies, transitioning the technologies to the prototype system, and beta testing on operational transit buses.