Artificial Intelligence, Real Safety

Designing, building, experimenting and exploring have always been my comfort zone. With two engineers for parents, I have been drawn to the STEM fields from a young age. Engineering is about using science and technology to solve problems and make our lives better. One of the biggest problems that our communities face today is distracted driving. I have only had my license for two years and have avoided any traffic accidents. I consider myself lucky as several of my friends have been involved in traffic accidents. Fortunately, they were not injured, but that is not always the case. There were 1004 traffic fatalities in my home state of Illinois alone in 2019 and nearly 40,000 nationwide. 25% of those fatalities were completely avoidable because they were caused by distracted driving (according to statistics from IIHS and teensafe.com).

I want to study computer engineering in college because I want to use artificial intelligence to design new control systems. AI enhanced control systems would be very helpful in making driving safer. Many safe driving programs focus on a primary source of distraction, mobile phones, but there are some drawbacks with phone app-based solutions. First, there are many distractions other than mobile phones. Radios, passengers and food are other common distractions that can cause traffic accidents. Also, passengers might want to use their mobile phones while driving and most apps that use accelerometers do not distinguish between drivers and passengers. I read an article about how marketing companies use eye tracking devices to determine how people view packaging and advertising. I would use similar technology, enhanced with AI, to reduce distracted driving. A camera at the base of the windshield would track the drivers eye movement. We all learned in drivers’ ed that safe drivers should keep their eyes forward and scanning for potential hazards. The camera would feed eye movement data into the cars computer system. Evaluated along with all the other sensors on the car, the eye tracking data would help the autonomous driving system determine risks when the driver’s eyes were not on the road.

I found my specific passion for AI and computer engineering while attending the SEE Engineering Camp at the University of Michigan and the Purdue Seminar for Top Engineering Prospects over the past two summers. I was introduced to Arduino and robots and learned later in my AP computer science classes, how integrated software and hardware tools can solve tangible problems – like distracted driving. Among the dynamic students and faculty at the University of Michigan, and eventually as a professional engineer, I will use AI to design advanced autonomous driving systems and improve vehicle safety. Michigan is a leader in computer engineering and the application of many engineering disciplines in auto manufacturing, so it is a great fit for my interests. A world-class engineering education at Michigan does not come cheap though, so scholarship support from Robert J. DeBry and Associates and elsewhere will be critical to making my dreams a reality.