BU College of Engineering receives NEXTCAR grant to develop smart car technology

The Boston University College of Engineering announced it is a co-investigator for a $3.36 million grant received by Oak Ridge National Laboratory from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) NEXTCAR program. The grant focuses on developing novel control technologies for connected and automated vehicles with the goal of achieving a 20 percent improvement in vehicle energy efficiency.

The cost of commuter delays has risen by 260 percent over the past 25 years, and road congestion is responsible for about 20 percent of fuel consumption. In the United States, the estimated cumulative cost of traffic congestion by 2030 will reach $2.8 trillion—roughly equal to current U.S. annual tax revenue. Additional traffic congestion costs to individual consumers will rise from 2014 levels of $1,740 per person to $2,900 per person, an increase of over 60 percent.

"Through this initiative, vehicle energy efficiency will increase by more than 20 percent, reducing oil consumption per mile and cutting greenhouse gas emissions," said Boston University College of Engineering Professor Christos Cassandras, who leads the university's component of this project.

Provided by Boston University