Invited Speaker: Alain L. Kornhauser
             Professor, Operations Research & Financial Engineering, Princeton University
             Co-Founder & Board Chair, ALK Technologies, Inc.

Abstract

After years of trying to get computers, cameras and radios (cell phones and GPS) to actually help me get from A to B, I may have finally made some progress. Talk will span three different applications. The first will focus on the challenges involved in enabling drivers to get to their destination by the fastest way. Described will be the practical elements of the stochastic routing problem and some of the accomplishments of a practical demonstration of Real-time Minimum ETA routing by a group of individuals commuting to and from the Troy, NY region. The focus will be on the architecture of the real-time data exchange system and the challenges involved in doing a North American and European-wide roll out of the technology. Also presented will be a description of the stereo vision system that distinguished the Princeton University entry in the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge. While respectably completing 9.4 miles in the actual Challenge, Prospect Eleven returned to the desert and, after changing literally one line of code, it autonomously traverse what remained of both the 2005 and the 2004 Grand Challenge courses. The focus will be on the stereo image processing system that kept Prospect Eleven on desert "roads" for roughly 270 miles. Finally, time permitting, I will give a few reflections on the concept of an area-wide automated mass transit system that could serve essentially all of New Jersey's personal travel demand.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Kornhauser is currently a Professor of Operations Research & Financial Engineering at Princeton University (1972 to present) and Director of Transportation Research Program and Co-Director for the New Jersey Center for Transportation Information and Decision Engineering (NJ Tide). Prior to that, he was Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering at University of Minnesota. His research interests are: Optimization of Flows in Stochastic Networks; Computer Vision and Automatic Control of Vehicles; Design of Decision Support Systems for Individuals. He is co-editor of several books and author of over 100 scholarly papers, and Team Leader for Princeton’s entry, Prospect Eleven, in the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge which earned a 10th seed and autonomously completed 9.4 miles. He has Founded ALK Technologies, Inc. in 1979, serves as its Board Chairman. ALK designs and builds real-time customized decision systems for major transportation companies and develops, markets, maintains and supports transportation routing software and databases. Its brand products PC*Rail, PC*Miler and FleetCenter are leaders in the rail, motor carrier and logistics sectors. Its TravRoute subsidiary produces the CoPilot family of in-vehicle navigation systems for North America, Europe and Australia. CoPilot is well recognized as an industry leader in portable route guidance systems winning numerous awards including the 2006 LBS (Location Based Services) Challenge Grand Prize. Among his other activities he Finished 13 New York City Marathons. Dr. Kornhauser’s degrees are: BS '66, MS '67 Aerospace Engineering, Penn State University, MA '69, Ph.D. 71 Aerospace & Mechanical Sciences, Princeton University.

Location: CEE Conference Room, Phillips Hall 6^th Floor
          The George Washington University, 801, 22nd ST, NW, Wash. DC 20052
Time: Friday, April 21, 11:00 AM-12:00 PM