Toyota And University Of Michigan To Expand World's Largest Real-World V2X Communications Test

As vehicles become more connected, cybersecurity is critical – (source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)

Since 2012, Ann Arbor, Mich. has been the site of the world’s largest real-world test of vehicle-to-external (V2X) communications through the Safety Pilot Model Deployment (SPMD) run by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI). Toyota and UMTRI have just announced a significant expansion of that test program and opened it up to new participants.
V2X communications encompasses vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) and vehicle to everything else including pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. The system uses a variant of the WiFi technology used in homes, businesses and mobile devices to transmit and receive short messages about position, speed, road conditions, traffic signals and driver activity such as emergency braking. The intent is provide real-time alerts about what is happening nearby that might not be within line-of-sight of the driver.
As semi and fully-autonomous vehicles are deployed in the coming years, V2X communications will also enable vehicles to communicate with each other about their intentions which should help avoid accidents like the recent collision between one of Google’s self-driving prototypes and a Mountain View, Calif. bus.
The original SPMD program in Ann Arbor was a three year test funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation. More than 2,800 vehicles owned by residents of the Ann Arbor area were equipped with V2X communication devices and GPS sensors. In addition, traffic infrastructure in the northeast part of the city was equipped with similar radios. These devices transmitted position and speed data and were used to test and develop the communications protocols and security of the system as well as verify interoperability of equipment from several suppliers.
“As the original SPMD program wound up, we worked with our partners including Toyota to extend and expand the program,” said UMTRI spokeswoman

Read More

University rankings: QUT named among best in world

Queensland University of Technology has been named among the best young universities in the world by the prestigious Times Higher Education.
The list, which recognises universities less than 50 years old, ranked the top 150 universities in the world.

Queensland University of Technology has been named among the best young universities in the world. Photo: GLENN HUNT

QUT came in 28th place, making it the second-highest ranked university in Australia, narrowly beaten by the University of Technology in Sydney, which was ranked 21.
Times Higher Education editor Phil Baty said QUT's strong relationships with industry were a big part of its success in the rankings.
"I think the biggest factor pushing them in the rankings is they have really good industry links," he said.
"You get a really strong sense, as a tech uni, they are leveraging relationships with business and industry."

Advertisement

QUT's successful research and its international relationships also earned it accolades.
"They are doing work that has real-world applications that can be transferred out of the laboratory into the world," Mr Baty said.
"Plus also their international outlook - they are a globally facing university creating strong relationships outside Australia."
Other Queensland universities were also recognised in the list including James Cook University at 38 and Griffith University at 48.
Central Queensland University ranked outside the top 100 but within the top 150.
The Times Higher Education 150 Under 50 ranks universities against 13 performance indicators covering research, teaching, knowledge transfer and international activity.
More than 10,000 senior academics from around the world are surveyed alongside the examination of more than 11 million research papers to assess research excellence.
Australia can boast of the second highest number of universities that made the list with 19 higher education facilities ranking among the top 150.
Mr Baty said Australia's performance in the rankings was impressive but also unsurprising.
"We have been producing this ranking for several years so we have been watching Australia getting stronger and stronger," Mr Baty said.
He said the diverse higher education institutions meant Australia was likely to continue performing well in worldwide rankings.
"The great strength is in the diversity in Australian education," he said.
"You have great universities in Melbourne that are older and the University of Queensland and the traditional older unis doing well but in Australia you also have universities from the '70s, '80s and beyond that are innovative and dynamic.
"They have a very strong international outlook, drawing in global talent, and have good relationships with the west but also with east Asian countries."
The highest-ranked young university in the world was École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland.
The rankings were announced at the Times Higher Education Young Universities Summit at Pompeu Fabra Univerisity in Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday morning (AEST).
Next year Times Higher Education will bring the rankings announcement to Brisbane during a summit focusing on the strength of young universities to be held at QUT.

Read More

University of Notre Dame student wins the world moot comp Read more: http://www.afr.com/business/legal/university-of-notre-dame-student-wins-the-world-moot-comp-20160410-go2t83#ixzz46oUNiJj2 Follow us: @FinancialReview on Twitter | financialreview on Facebook

An Australian law student, Rebecca Lennard, 24, from the University of Notre Dame Australia, is a co-winner of the world's biggest commercial law moot, this year's Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot.
Ms Lennard, who is completing her final year of a post-graduate Bachelor of Laws, tied for the Martin Domke Award for best speaker along with two  students from the Netherlands and United States. The competition brought 311 law schools together from across 67 countries.
It was the first time the university competed in the event which fosters study in international commercial and arbitration. Eleven other Australian universities also took part, among whom, University of Sydney reached the final eight teams and University of New South Wales and Monash University came among the final 16 teams.
Ms Lennard said she previously completed an undergraduate degree in international and global studies at Sydney University but chose to study law at Notre Dame for its more intimate student experience.

"The smaller class sizes means you get more time with the teachers, you get to know your peers better and the opportunities that come up are easier to take advantage of," Ms Lennard said.
This included mentoring programs that resulted in her tutelage by Geoffrey Watson, SC, and helped her land paralegal roles at two commercial firms before she gained a summer clerkship at Gilbert+Tobin which she just completed.
"In the legal industry, it's about getting the experience and meeting people who can help you get further experience, so it's been very valuable," she said.
A top level student, Ms Lennard said she participated in other extra-curricular activities to get her ahead in the search for graduate jobs especially given no one in her family was in the legal profession.

She was successful in obtaining a graduate position at Gilbert+Tobin.
Damian Sturzaker, the vice president of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Australia, which offers $1500 grants to participating universities to help support the teams,  said developing Sydney as an arbitration centre, required the fostering of local lawyers and this started at the law school level.
Mr Sturzaker said that along with the courts' continued encouragement of arbitration for commercial disputes, it was hoped that boosting Australia's profile would lead to more arbitrators seeking to develop their careers in the country rather than flock offshore for opportunities in top arbitration centres such as London, New York, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Australia's distance from the major economic centres worked to its disadvantage but its stable judicial system and cost competitive practitioners could help change minds, he said.

The Notre Dame team were coached by lecturer Svetlana German and Angus Macinnis of commercial boutique StevensVuaran Lawyers.
Dean of Notre Dame Law School professor Michael Quinlan said alternative dispute resolution had always been part of the  university's law course and, while arbitration had not been something other law schools focused on in the past, they were now including it in their curriculums.
Professor Quinlan said the university admitted no more than 120 students a year for its law degree compared to up to 700 a year at top schools which gave students a more interactive experience in education.
"Students are better able to engage in dialogue in the course of classes. It's important students learn not only to analyse the law but also interpersonal skills, competence in public speaking, mediation to be successful as a practising lawyer," he sai

Read More