NSF Award
2400153
Non-Technical Abstract: Research Initiation Awards provide support for junior and mid-career faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities who are building new research programs or redirecting and rebuilding existing research programs. It is expected that the award helps to further the faculty member’s research capability and effectiveness, improves research and teaching at the home institution, and involves undergraduate students in research experiences. The award to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) supports research in civil engineering. More specifically, the project supports research addressing food logistics problems in underserved communities through collaborative vehicle-and-robot delivery solutions. Additionally, it aims to make significant contributions to education by better preparing engineering students at FAMU for advanced studies in civil engineering and attracting underrepresented students to STEM careers by enhancing their learning experiences in transportation optimization. The outreach initiatives are designed to motivate K-12 students in the disadvantaged Florida Big Bend region, which has some of the lowest educational attainment rates in the state, to embrace STEM education and pursue careers in this field.<br/><br/>Technical Abstract: The overall project goal is to propose and evaluate an innovative scheme for food distribution from suppliers to residents in food deserts, utilizing advanced autonomous vehicle technologies. The central research hypothesis posits that significant cost savings and socioeconomic benefits can be achieved at the systemic level by implementing a distinctive food delivery paradigm that efficiently coordinates the traditional vehicles and autonomous robots. The research team proposes a hybrid optimization method that integrates integer programming and machine learning for the collaborative scheduling and routing of vehicles and robots. This involves developing a suite of learning-based algorithms for predicting critical performance metrics, such as total delivery cost, based on the configuration of robots and for food delivery, and decision-making frameworks that operate both sequentially and concurrently to facilitate collaboration among vehicles and robots. This award reflects NSF’s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation’s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
