Achievement

Encouraged by his advisor to add a computer science based component to his transportation research, Karl Sturm, an IGERT fellow in Civil and Materials Engineering, utilized the computer science knowledge he obtained through the IGERT program to supplement his transportation experience. Over the past year he has extracted and preprocessed digital maps and employed map-matching algorithms to analyze the results of a GPS survey of the Chicago area. This work, as well as work with choice set algorithms, feeds into the development of a behavioral route choice model which can result in the development of better network simulators. He incorporates a wide variety of variables such as age and income into routing decisions. The development of network simulators that incorporate local driver demographics and biases into its routing mechanisms can enhance the predictions upon which local urban planning decisions are based.