MRI 1 will investigate ways to fully leverage the promise of emerging connected vehicle and infrastructure technologies and improve access to critical resources for residents of rural communities. Adopting a community-driven approach, MRI 1 promotes the engagement of rural communities through participatory planning to enable methodological and analytical breakthroughs that can be used to develop, calibrate, and apply new planning paradigms in these contexts. 

Project 1-1. Designing Tools for Assessing Readiness of Rural Communities for New Technologies

PIs: Jerry Everett (UTK), Asad Khattak (UTK); Sudhagar Nagarajan (FAU); Venktesh Pandey (NCAT)

Duration:  08/01/2023 to 07/31/2025; Funding: $799,000 (Federal: $380145; Non-Federal: $418,855); Status: Completed

Project 1-3. Benefit-Cost Analysis of Rural CAV Deployment

PIs: Jun Liu (UA)

Duration: 08/01/2023 to 07/31/2025 ; Funding: $412,917 (Federal: $255,715; Non-Federal: $157,201); Status: Completed

Project R1-5. The Efficiency and Affordability of Automated Vehicle Passenger Services in Rural and Under-Served Communities

PIs: Gregory D. Erhardt, (UKY)

Duration: 01/15/2024 to 07/14/2025; Funding: $100,000 (Federal: $50,000; Non-Federal: $50,000) ; Status: Completed

Project 1-1-2: Techniques for Assessing Community Technology Readiness for Rural Development: Planning for Community Readiness Using Digital Twins   

PIs: Asad Khattak (UTK), Usman Ahmed  (UTK); Jerry Everett (UTK); Sudhagar Nagarajan (FAU); Venktesh Pandey (NCAT), Xu Zhang (UKY)

Duration: 06/01/2025 to 05/31/2027; Funding: : $687,651 (Federal: $268,619; non-Federal: $419,032); Status: Active

Project 1-3-2: Data-Driven Policy Guidance for CAV Deployment in Rural Southeastern Communities

PIs: Praveena Penmetsa (UA), Reginald Souleyrette (UKY), Steven Jones (UA), Evangelos Kaisar (FAU)

Duration: 01/02/2026 to 05/31/2027; Funding: $4323,023 (Federal: $185,280; Non-Federal: $137,743); Status: Active