Ayan Mukhopadhyay, senior research scientist at the Institute for Software Integrated Systems at Vanderbilt University, has received a U.S. National Science Foundation grant to develop technology that uses artificial intelligence to address unauthorized road closures in Nashville, Tennessee.
The $697,211 award is part of NSF’s CIVIC Innovation Challenge Phase 2. The effort, known as SENTRY (Sensor-enabled Enforcement of Non-Compliant Traffic Right-of-Way Closures), will combine heterogeneous sensor networks, real-time data integration, and novel AI/ML algorithms to automatically detect illegal closures and guide city inspectors more efficiently.
“By enabling faster identification of violations and optimizing inspection routes, the system has the potential to save millions in unpaid permit fees, reduce external inspection costs, and minimize disruptions for residents, commuters, and local businesses,” said Mukhopadhyay, the grant’s principal investigator.
Vanderbilt Co-PIs are Daniel Work, professor of civil and environmental engineering and computer science; Meiyi Ma, assistant professor of computer science; and William Barbour, senior research scientist at the Institute for Software Integrated Systems, who are working in collaboration with the Nashville Department of Transportation and Metro Nashville Information Technology Services.
The team’s innovations are expected to advance neural architectures for anomaly detection with limited data, create dynamic routing algorithms that blend human and AI decision-making, and deliver a real-time, scalable software platform for civic infrastructure management.
“This work not only addresses a pressing urban challenge but also contributes fundamental advances in AI for real-world, high-stakes applications,” Mukhopadhyay said.
Contact: Lucas Johnson, lucas.l.johnson@vanderbilt.edu