Montclair Researchers Receive NSF Grant to Advance Interdisciplinary Research on Human-Machine Interaction

An interdisciplinary group of researchers at Montclair State University has received a $533,798 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to enhance the understanding of interactions between humans, machines, and environments through simulated driving experiments.

Led by Montclair professor Rui Li with co-PIs Stefan Robila, Jennifer Yang, and Gustavo Heidner, the project brings together expertise in multimodal interaction and affective computing, computational sensing, psychology and spatial cognition, as well as human biomechanics and motor control to conduct cutting-edge research focused on humans and machines. This research will be tested and deployed on the Montclair extended reality-based driving simulator (XR-Drive), sponsored by the NSF, over the three-year project.

“The success of this NSF project is a very important step for me and my team’s research at Montclair. It enables us to explore the interactions among humans, machines, and environments collaboratively. Most importantly, the interdisciplinary nature of this project will allow innovative collaborative studies that integrate expertise across multiple disciplines centering on intelligent machines, human factors, and environmental factors. It will serve as a new platform for STEM training. For example, students can develop and deploy software content on this new hardware,” says Li.

Housed within Montclair’s School of Computing, the XR-Drive simulator will enable an immersive simulation of various driving scenarios as well as the safe engagement of humans in a large true-to-life virtual environment via driving, a skill highly desired in daily life.

“This project highlights the transformative computing research taking place in Montclair’s School of Computing,” says School of Computing Director Md Liaquat Hossain. “Our faculty are creating truly hands-on research opportunities for students and interdisciplinary connections that will pay dividends for years to come. Students need an environment where they are able to interact with all corners of the institution, and this project is a testament to what can be developed when this occurs.” 

“This is another example of how the faculty of Montclair State University are committed to both research and education,” says College of Science and Mathematics Dean Lora Billings. “This interdisciplinary project will provide hands-on experiences that prepares our students for the future STEM workforce.”

“This project highlights the transformative computing research taking place in Montclair’s School of Computing,” says School of Computing Director Md Liaquat Hossain. “Our faculty are creating truly hands-on research opportunities for students and interdisciplinary connections that will pay dividends for years to come. Students need an environment where they are able to interact with all corners of the institution, and this project is a testament to what can be developed when this occurs.”

“This is another example of how the faculty of Montclair State University are committed to both research and education,” says College of Science and Mathematics Dean Lora Billings. “This interdisciplinary project will provide hands-on experiences that prepares our students for the future STEM workforce.”

How an Extended Reality-based Driving Simulator works

The XR-Drive simulator can replicate immersive and realistic driving scenarios in a safe, interactive, and programmable form. It includes an immersive audio-visual system generating driving-related visual information as well as synchronized auditory information to enhance realism and immersion. The powerful driving operation units and motion base allow users to have realistic vehicle driving experiences. A set of high-performance computing units installed with versatile software enables programmable vehicle control as well as customizable simulation of driving conditions. The integration with programmable extended reality technologies can enhance the delivery of an immersive and realistic driving experience to users.

The simulator will be the first of its kind on the Montclair campus, creating experiential STEM-related research and training opportunities for students.

“By supporting interdisciplinary studies, the equipment will also serve as a powerful training platform that enables students to be involved in corresponding science and engineering tasks while developing interdisciplinary skills,” says Li.

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This research is supported by the National Science Foundation MRI Program under Grant (2407953), which aims to support the acquisition of a state-of-the-art extended reality-based driving (XR-Drive) simulator to enhance user-centered interdisciplinary research and education at Montclair State University. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.