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Keep your eyes out for a new vehicle traveling through downtown Chattanooga, folks. UTC’s Center for Urban Informatics and Progress (CUIP) recently purchased its first autonomous vehicle to serve as a new data-gathering tool.

CUIP will deploy the vehicle along the MLK Smart Corridor + throughout downtown to gather real-time data on “interactions between other cars, cyclists, pedestrians, and other travelers.”

Note: A human driver will remain in the vehicle at all times.

The data collected will be used in efforts to address public safety and efficiency. Think: Smoother traffic flows, increased pedestrian safety, and monitored air quality and noise levels.

“This technology unlocks new understanding about how our city works and moves,” said Mina Sartipi, executive director of the UTC Research Institute and CUIP's founding director. “Urban mobility is changing in a lot of ways and cities like Chattanooga owe it to ourselves to prepare for this future today."

Curious about CUIP? Read more about its urban mobility research.