Digital Physical Nexus
A framework for decision support in the face of uncertainty
PI: Azza Abouzied, Division of Science, NYUAD
In an increasingly digitized city, decision support systems are permeating every sector from healthcare, emergency response, traffic management to advanced agriculture. Such systems gather information from a multitude of sources to infer the current state of a system and consequently suggest an appropriate set of actions. Despite the information provided by sensors, the true state of a system is often uncertain. This research aims to build a generalizable framework for decision making in the face of uncertain data to benefit society through a variety of applications. Our novel framework will model our knowledge of potential states with probabilistic density functions and adopt strategies from AI reinforcement learning to suggest an optimal sensing and action plan with respect to cost.
Minimizing energy consumption and maximizing human comfort with smart urban infrastructure
PI: Kemal Celik, Division of Engineering, NYUAD
Despite decades of research, the dynamics of thermal exchange in densely constructed urban environments is not well understood. This research project aims to develop and validate geospatial urban thermodynamic models, leading to the application of optimized energy consumption in an urban setting through continuous monitoring and feedback. These models will be used to design innovative building materials with self-cleaning abilities, reduced and controllable thermal transfer, and better heat transfer regulation into buildings. The results of the research have a long term potential to contribute towards technological innovations in building materials; heating and cooling technologies; climate control systems; and overall urban design.
The design of a last-mile transportation network in Abu Dhabi
PI: Ali Diabat, Division of Engineering, NYUAD
The rapid growth in Abu Dhabi’s population — it has tripled in a span of less than ten years — translates into more people driving cars in their daily routines, creating severe traffic congestion and, in turn, increasing pollution from CO2 emissions. While a transit system currently exists, it does not cover the entire city and the climate drives people away from using it year-round. The development of an efficient last-mile transportation network in Abu Dhabi, would reduce the walking distance to a bare minimum. This project aims to study the challenges of Abu Dhabi’s last-mile transportation problem and design a model that captures its intricacies and delivers cost-effective solutions.
Physical Social Nexus
A tale of three cities: harnessing techno-social networks for spatial equity
PI: Surabhi Sharma, Division of Arts and Humanities, NYUAD
The proliferation of smart devices is a global trend. Their connectivity has had a radical impact on how we consume and share information. Media regulation, however, has received limited attention, largely due to how the idea of free flow of information has been contrasted with authoritarianism and state censorship. This project focuses on media networks constituted by the multiplication of technologies that promise access and equity, but which often exacerbate spatial and information inequities that may interact and compound. In particular, the project will compare three Indian Ocean cities: Abu Dhabi, Mumbai, and Singapore, and contribute to comparative research in a globalizing world.
Electric vehicle carsharing
PI: Saif Jabari, Division of Engineering, NYUAD
Due to incentive programs offered by governments worldwide and based on observed technology adoption rates, electric vehicle (EV) market penetration is projected to increase at an exponential rate and is expected to dominate vehicle fleets in the coming 20-30 years. Carsharing services have been shown to be effective in reducing the number of cars on the road. However, EV carsharing is a risky investment that adds operational constraints that can make a system unsustainable in some cities. The underlying problem is that one-way carsharing systems, like other Mobility-on-Demand (MOD) systems, require some degree of rebalancing to be effective in meeting demand, depending on the service area covered and demand patterns. Through this research, carsharing service providers will gain access to new rebalancing code and test results that measure effectiveness with non-EV and EV systems, thereby reducing operating costs for EV carsharing and other EV-based MOD systems.
Social Digital Nexus
Social Media platforms as sensors for investigating urban dynamics
PI: Kinga Makovi, Division of Social Science, NYUAD
Digital-social networks are self-organizing systems that channel information and influence via naturally occurring processes of network formation and change. Comprehending such systems requires understanding the resulting topology as well as the dynamical process that lead to that state. In this project, we aim to utilize traces of digital activity to develop methods for monitoring urban activity focusing on two key areas: urban group formation and evolution, and information propagation in digital networks. This project will leverage observational social media data that covers WeChat public account posts, Sina Weibo posts, and posts from some major online forums in China, with the aim of advancing basic research in network science, aiding the processing and analyses of large digital data sets produced by social media activity.
Intra-Inter-City Nexus
The role of AI, robotization and other technologies in fostering prosperous, safe, connected cities
PI: Pablo Hernandez-Lagos, Division of Social Science, NYUAD
Nowadays, to quantify the effects of new technologies on socio-economic outcomes it is imperative to study the interactions between humans and machines within and across cities. The rise of AI tools, for example, has spawned anxieties as to what is their actual impact on human well-being. If cities are connected, then the impact of AI not only depends on its adoption locally, but also on other cities in the network, as prior research shows that links between cities lead to more innovation. This project aims to analyze how cities will prosper economically when AI algorithms, robots, and sensors replace human activity, and which entities will suffer. It will produce data and tools for a better understanding and evaluation of the effects that new technologies have on the socioeconomic development of cities.
Documenting urban change
PI: Felix Beck, Division of Engineering, NYUAD
To understand the current era of urbanization and better manage the use of natural resources, it is necessary to understand the historical trends that shaped cities into their current form. Documenting modern heritage not only helps to preserve such knowledge for future generations, but it sheds light on how future changes might play out. This project aims to transform urban landscapes into information landscapes using digital models to create an environment to simulate various scenarios regarding urban life. The objective is to combine the perspectives of the physical, social, and digital spheres, with the ultimate goal of enabling CITIES network members to interact in multiple ways in between those fields.
Special mobility zones for automated demand responsive transit
PI: Monica Menendez, Division of Engineering, NYUAD
Traffic congestion is a challenge across cities worldwide, with multiple transport modes for limited road space. At the same time, new technologies are triggering rapid changes in mobility. Thus, it is crucial to develop alternative strategies that leverage automated vehicle technology and user-generated data to provide sustainable transport solutions that improve overall mobility within and across cities. In this project, we will develop novel modeling and optimization tools for designing, operating and controlling special mobility zones (SMZ) for the transition period where conventional and automated vehicles coexist. It aims to produce tools that promote a more efficient use of the road space in urban networks by stimulating new forms of transit leveraging the advantages provided by automated vehicles and user-generated information.