BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Center for Smart Streetscapes - ECPv6.15.20//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-CALNAME:Center for Smart Streetscapes
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://cs3-erc.org
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Center for Smart Streetscapes
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/New_York
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20220313T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20221106T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20230312T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20231105T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20240310T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20241103T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20250309T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20251102T060000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:UTC
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+0000
TZOFFSETTO:+0000
TZNAME:UTC
DTSTART:20220101T000000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240319T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240319T200000
DTSTAMP:20260418T112940
CREATED:20241210T220104Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241210T225820Z
UID:4119-1710871200-1710878400@cs3-erc.org
SUMMARY:Community Partners in Residence (CPR) Program - Meeting 8
DESCRIPTION:On Tuesday\, March 19\, 2024\, the NSF Center for Smart StreetScapes (CS3) held its eighth Community Partners in Residence (CPR) Program workshop. The session was moderated by Ester Fuchs. The focus of this workshop was to “flip the script” of session flow by having CPRs begin to present the focus areas of the work they do in the Harlem community as well as their perspectives on where there may be opportunities for improvements through tech. The session’s presentations highlighted the work of Curtis Archer\, the President of the Harlem Community Development Corporation (HCDC) as well as Janet Rodriguez\, Founder and CEO of SoHarlem after opening remarks by Ester Fuchs. \nCurtis Archer\, President of HCDC opened with a description of the mission\, vision\, and overarching goals of HCDC. He emphasized the scope of HCDC being an agency that is tasked with strengthening the Upper Manhattan communities through effective and accessible community revitalization programs and initiatives focusing on small business services\, community development\, and weatherization. A subsidiary of New York State’s Empire State Development\, HCDC is responsible for the areas including East Harlem\, Central Harlem\, West Harlem\, and Washington Heights and has a broad influence across the community. Curtis highlighted the work of the agency in helping to support small businesses through webinars\, certification assistance as well as financial and technical trainings. Further\, economic development initiatives include the Community and Economic Revitalization Support Program (CERSP) which provides grant funding in support of projects and programs including tourism\, direct community services and economic development\, and minority & women-owned business support . The grants range from twenty-five to forty thousand dollars and beyond depending on the size of the recipient organization and were in part established as give-backs through contributions from Columbia University during their expansion into Manhattanville. In 2023\, the CERSP program received numerous applications and approved over $707\,747 in grant funding. \nCurtis also detailed the influence of the corporation\, both historically and currently\, in real estate development such as the recent renovation and grand opening of the Victoria Theater on 125th Street\, which is owned by HCDC. Of late\, HCDC has been focused on providing heating and cooling conversion help for low to moderate income families through new appliances\, insulation\, lighting\, heaters\, etc. Beyond weatherization there are also efforts\, building on the previous history of real estate development by the corporation\, to convert more properties into affordable housing or new office space. It was noted that HCDC’s recent focus has shifted heavily towards supporting small businesses and developing the local economy. When asked about the future and impact of technology in this space\, he was quick to note that the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one that is of particular interest to HCDC and local small businesses. He’s excited about the possibilities that AI can provide to small businesses and looks forward to further connections between the research community and all the businesses in which HCDC holds interest\, such as the new Victoria Theater. \nFollowing Curtis Archer’s presentation was a discussion by Janet Rodriguez\, the Founder and CEO of SoHarlem\, which is a 501c3 organization she founded in 2011 with a focus on creating equitable opportunities for community members working at the intersection of the arts and economic development inits surrounding communities of Central Harlem\, West Harlem\, Washington Heights\, and the South Bronx\, . The organization serves as an incubator for creative entrepreneurs by providing affordable spaces and access to the necessary equipment for artists particularly those in the fashion industry. Beyond helping to develop the next generation of fashion brands\, SoHarlem offers apprenticeships\, skill-based workshops for underemployed community members\, and external community engagement through pop-up events and local shopping opportunities. Janet’s hope is that the CS3 program and technology in general can help to increase visibility and awareness of SoHarlem in the community. In particular\, an ability to generate greater awareness of SoHarlem’s program outside of its building\, where it is not at the street level but on the third floor\, will encourage more community members – especially those with disabilities- to find their way in and participate in all the available programming. \nCore programs of SoHarlem include the aforementioned entrepreneurial incubation program\, which provides local designers with space to practice and develop their craft; and the Designer Apprenticeship Program\, which gives individuals the resources they need to break into the fashion industry and build careers. SoHarlem also offers a Creative Economy Training Institute\, which seeks to teach unemployed and underemployed Harlem residents new\, marketable sewing skills and place them in jobs locally. Aside from these core programs\, SoHarlem also participates in public art programs\, including a joint mural project which involved a local church and artist Manu Vega\, a “Street Park Rangers” program which seeks to educate children on the importance of environmental health and caring for street tree installations\, and some art programs such as a cultural tourism program with expert guidance and a partner curriculum\, as well as programs for previously incarcerated women. SoHarlem has also experimented with entering the retail space\, conducting a 4-month-long experimental showroom in the Malt House building next door. It was noted that spreading awareness for the program on the street level has been challenging due to the obscured nature of being housed on an upper floor. Currently\, SoHarlem also operates a small retail shop for individual shoppers within its incubation space called Shop SoHarlem. Janet emphasized that all of these programs aim to more deeply connect SoHarlem as an integrated resource for a variety of the many needs within its service area which is vital to its mission\, as opposed to allowing the organization to simply become an arts organization which is somewhat insulated in its purpose. SoHarlem’s successes are demonstrated by the roster of successful artists affiliated with the incubator\, including Gladys Perez\, Blue Olive\, Valerie Deas\, and Milan. Results from regular SoHarlem impact surveys also suggest that the organization is perceived to have helped the community greatly with its opportunities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is despite SoHarlem’s relatively constrained budget of <$1M per year. \nUpon conclusion of both Curtis and Janet’s presentations\, the CPRs dispersed into break-out sessions with CS3 researchers and staff in the room all participating in this session. Many CPRs agreed with Janet’s assessment that visibility and awareness for businesses suffer if they are not located directly at the street level. Which calls for a need for all buildings that house businesses above street-level and that provide accessibility features\, to increase their promotional efforts to any pedestrians who may want to enter if only they were aware of all that was inside. To this end\, some suggested the implementation of more digital signage and informative mobile applications. In addition\, some suggested that they would all benefit from sharing information about their individual organizations and companies between each other. \nThe next presentation was delivered by Cristian Capotescu\, Associate Director of The Trust Collaboratory at Columbia University and CS3 affiliate. He presented on the MyStreetScapes Summer Research Institute for High School Seniors\, a summer program launched by CS3’s public interest technology thrust. Students who participate are trained in the social sciences and work hand-in-hand with CS3 engineers in new technologies. They also participate in the development of a neighborhood survey and report on interactions between technology and the citizens of West Harlem. As of the time of this presentation\, the program was recruiting for its second summer cohort seeking a maximum of 15 students. Local high school students\, with a preference for those in Harlem schools\, were encouraged to apply. The CPRs were immediately receptive to the idea\, suggesting improvements such as having the students visit places further out in Harlem’s footprint and having them encounter some of the more pressing community issues beyond West Harlem\, as long as logistics could permit. CPRs also suggested that the students should also join community board meetings as part of their education\, to which Cristian responded enthusiastically. CPRs agreed to assist in sharing the information with their networks. \nFernanda Martinez\, Workforce Development Manager at CS3\, delivered the final presentation of the session. The CS3 Research Experience for Teachers (RET) is a paid summer research experience for K-12 STEM teachers who work in NYC. The goal is to help these teachers learn the fundamentals of technology with a streetscape focus\, learn more about culturally inclusive pedagogy\, and to allow teachers to bring new knowledge back to their students\, often in the form of a lesson plan. Eligibility extends to math- or science-certified US citizens or permanent residents teaching at public middle or high schools in NYC\, with a particular preference for teachers in the Harlem area. Again\, CPRs were immediately receptive to the idea\, and agreed to share this information with their networks. Two new CPR presenters were selected to present at the next meeting\, and the session adjourned. \nCPR workshops are invite-only. If you are interested in attending a workshop or learning more about CS3’s community engagement process\, please contact our team at streetscapes@columbia.edu.
URL:https://cs3-erc.org/event/community-partners-in-residence-cpr-program-meeting-8/
LOCATION:Harlem\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Community
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cs3-erc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/PXL_20240124_004437512-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240305T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240305T200000
DTSTAMP:20260418T112940
CREATED:20241210T201223Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241210T201223Z
UID:4091-1709661600-1709668800@cs3-erc.org
SUMMARY:Community Partners in Residence (CPR) Program - Meeting 7
DESCRIPTION:On Tuesday\, March 5\, 2024\, the NSF Center for Smart StreetScapes (CS3) held its seventh Community Partners in Residence (CPR) Program workshop. The session was convened and led by Barbara Askins\, president & CEO\, 125th Street BID and Senior Advisor to CS3. The focus of this week’s workshop was on using AI-enabled systems to monitor and warn residents of environmental issues such as urban flooding. In a change of format\, the latter half of the workshop was dedicated to presenting the needs of a CPR-associated organization\, the 125th Street BID. \nAfter opening remarks by Barbara Askins\, Marco Tedesco\, Professor of Columbia University\, Climate Impact LLC\, and CS3 Researcher\, presented on flooding response using cameras and AI with a focus on developing a community-based approach. Prof. Tedesco began the presentation by establishing the importance of flood preparedness within the United States and globally\, flooding is the most costly climate-related disaster by human lives claimed and economic damage. He emphasized the dangers posed by flooding in an urban setting\, making a point to mention that mud and debris can mix into the water to make a flood more hazardous. However\, he pointed out the fact that those most slowly evacuated\, tend to be the most socially vulnerable due to a lack of resources and organizational incentive. While satellites and computer models are not optimal for capturing urban flooding at the scales needed for early warning and post-disaster management\, clouds can blind satellites\, models require a lot of data to construct. After explaining about these backgrounds\, he raised a question: why is it important to collect data on urban flooding? He posited that it aids in the development of early warning systems\, enables more accurate post-damage estimates (e.g.\, by helping inform parametric insurance policies\,) helps delegate resources via more effective policy making. Also\, data collection helps track the emergence of certain health-related issues and document the resilience of individual communities. In particular\, the ubiquity of cameras\, whose numbers are increasingly used on the streetscape with approximately 70M in use as of 2018\, can be leveraged to collect data and monitor flooding. Marco introduced an AI-based flood monitoring system which detects flooding and measures water levels using camera feeds so this can be used to monitor which areas and MTA stations suffer from flooding most often\, and to which degree of severity. He concluded his presentation by highlighting the importance of educating communities on the dangers of flooding. \nFollowing Professor Marco’s presentation\, CPRs engaged in a discussion about the potential for this technology and its applications within the Harlem streetscape. Topics included coping with rising sea levels\, interior drainage projects\, and the increasing resilience of certain communities post-Hurricane Sandy. The CPRs also touched on the urgent need to improve public education surrounding flood preparedness and the environmental dangers of storm water runoff. \nCPRs proceeded to breakout sessions and discussed the contents of Prof. Tedesco’s presentation. Many participants commented on their newfound awareness of the frequency and severity of flooding\, particularly within the New York City area. Several seemed excited regarding AI systems for tracking flooding\, and there was common agreement that people\, particularly those in vulnerable communities\, should be prepared or made aware about the dangers that flooding poses. Some suggested issues that could be solved using the technology presented – enhancing awareness of flooding\, determining where greenspaces should be built to hold and clean water runoff\, and marking out the best locations to designate as evacuation centers in the event of a major flood. There was a pervasive sentiment that more funding and expertise should generally be dedicated to an issue as pressing as flooding. \nFinal remarks delivered by Prof. Tedesco made note of issues with using commercial cubesats for urban flood detection\, as well as the development of auditory notification systems to assist people with vision impairments become aware of ongoing flood events. He concluded with a friendly offer to lend his support for events to educate the public on the dangers of flooding. \nThe next presentation was delivered by Barbara Askins\, President and CEO of the 125th Street BID. Ms. Askins presented on the specific needs of the 125th Street BID and what the organization hopes to gain from the application of novel streetscape technology. Ideally\, the technology would “activate the streetscape\,” providing expanded opportunities for pedestrians and shoppers along the street’s business district to express themselves and become immersed in the area’s heritage. Now would be an especially appropriate time\, given the recent expansions of several retail drivers–namely Whole Foods and AMC Theaters–into the region. Efforts already underway include interactive “smart” trees\, adorned in lights and speakers\, which try to bring people out onto the streets at night as a deterrent to criminal activity. \nHowever\, several issues still plague the area and make drawing customers–in particular visiting customers–to the street difficult\, such as drug use and dealing\, unregulated street vending\, and vandalism. This leads into Ms. Askin’s main point: is there any technology that can help alleviate these problems or engage pedestrians and expand 125th Street’s entertainment and cultural impact? Digital signage could provide locations dedicated to pedestrian engagement\, and the aforementioned smart trees are undergoing modification to integrate internet-based interaction\, as well as methods to deter people from vandalizing them. \nA brief discussion amongst the CPRs followed the presentation. Suggestions to improve the situation on 125th Street included exploring ideas similar to a “window-swap” or “golden shipping container.” The former refers to a system of cameras connecting locations through the internet which allow visitors to see the alternate location’s streetscape\, while the latter is in reference to a program which sets up golden shipping containers with a screen and camera inside to show the view from a twinned container in another city elsewhere in the world and vice versa. \nThe workshop concluded with the selection of two new community presenters for the next meeting\, as well as a brief discussion on distribution of materials of the Accelerator program. \nCPR workshops are invite-only. If you are interested in attending a workshop or learning more about CS3’s community engagement process\, please contact our team at streetscapes@columbia.edu.
URL:https://cs3-erc.org/event/community-partners-in-residence-cpr-program-meeting-7/
LOCATION:Harlem\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Community
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cs3-erc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/PXL_20231206_010010522-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240220T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240220T200000
DTSTAMP:20260418T112940
CREATED:20241210T191430Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241210T191430Z
UID:4088-1708452000-1708459200@cs3-erc.org
SUMMARY:Community Partners in Residence (CPR) Program - Meeting 6
DESCRIPTION:On Tuesday\, February 20\, 2024\, the NSF Center for Smart StreetScapes (CS3) held its sixth Community Partners in Residence (CPR) Program workshop. The session was convened and led again by Ester Fuchs\, Chief Social Impact Officer of the CS3 and Professor of International and Public Affairs and Political Science at Columbia University. The focus of this week’s workshop was on the subjects of public safety\, emergency response\, and individual privacy as it pertains to the deployment of streetscape technology. \nAfter opening remarks by Ester Fuchs\, Mubarak Shah\, Chair Professor in University of Central Florida\, Director at the Center for Research in Computer Vision\, Situational Awareness Research Lead\, CS3\, presented a summary of his research on the use of “computer vision situational awareness” in order to interpret and identify actions that occur in an image or a video. He discussed that the aim of classifying human actions can take several forms such as activity recognition\, that is\, classification of human actions and their application in the real world to situations\, and anomaly detection\, recognition when someone is behaving abnormally or an accident occurs. However\, he acknowledged that along with development of this technology are the twin drawbacks of privacy and bias; it’s important to protect the privacy of those being captured on camera as the majority of the time their actions are benign\, while the accuracy of an activity recognition program suffer from bias in its ability to identify certain actions based on the traits of the subjects in the video. Specifically\, bias is caused largely by the system learning false associations between subject attributes and behavior and could be combated by using more materials to better inform the program. Mubarak highlighted that the future direction of the team is to continue to work to resolve the issues of privacy and bias. \nFollowing Professor Mubarak’s presentation\, CPRs posed questions centered around the potential of computer vision situational awareness for public safety\, such as “What if we don’t want the identity of shoplifters to remain anonymous?” and “How does this converge with the law and help to combat recidivism?” He clarified that if there should be something where the police wanted the video\, it can be revealed\, ideally while the privacy of people who are not doing anything illegal is preserved. In response to concerns about malicious training data\, he explained that the idea of this research is to make systems more robust against these kinds of attacks by producing a system that looks at the activity of the individual and not the person’s physical characteristics. \nThe second presentation was delivered by Andrew Smyth\, Professor of Civil Engineering and Mechanics at Columbia University\, Principal Investigator & Chair of the CS3\, offering a use case from his prior work where additional camera technology and machine learning can be used to improve city services beyond the current capabilities. Initiated in 2021 as response times became increasingly slower\, his project aimed to optimize the FDNY EMS response operations using historical data from the 1.1 million hospital transport emergencies that occur per year. The typical decision for the dispatch is to send the patient to the nearest hospital based on location and issue as identified through “critical care codes” using a static computerized map\, while the location choices do not take into account traffic patterns or times of day/week. He demonstrated that new routing patterns developed using data analytics demonstrate a crucial one minute improvement to routing times\, though they are not currently being used by the city. Without having access to the Google Maps data\, having more accurate/real-time data through cameras would go a long way to advancing response times\, which ideally could operate streetlights or change traffic patterns to assist. Andrew concluded his presentation by introducing his second aspect of the project focusing on pandemic hospital load balancing where streetscapes camera data can be used to route patients to alternative hospitals when the nearest option is at-capacity. \nCPRs reacted to Andrew’s presentation with questions such as “How does level of trauma impact response times?” and “How do street alterations such as planters\, bike lanes\, etc. impact response times?“ He clarified that the ambulance will take different approaches to how they move on the street based on the level of care needed and that the more data there is the more it can accommodate changes to the street\, and we can collect some forms of data in real-time from Streetscape-level cameras. \nThe meeting then moved into breakout sessions\, where CPRs shared ideas\, feelings and questions about public safety\, emergency response\, and individual privacy. As for new learning from today’s presentations\, many showed their awareness of bias issues around computer vision applications and concerns about privacy when collecting data. Moving to the discussion to identify practical problems on the streetscapes that you think might be addressed through this kind of research\, there were many suggestions using real-time data from CPRs such as finding alternative routes for emergency vehicles and during festivals\, the most appropriate hospitals\, putting those ideas in application for consumer use. \nCPR workshops are invite-only. If you are interested in attending a workshop or learning more about CS3’s community engagement process\, please contact our team at streetscapes@columbia.edu.
URL:https://cs3-erc.org/event/community-partners-in-residence-cpr-program-meeting-6/
LOCATION:Harlem\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Community
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cs3-erc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/PXL_20231206_0046224752-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240216T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240216T130000
DTSTAMP:20260418T112940
CREATED:20241211T162126Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241211T162126Z
UID:4174-1708084800-1708088400@cs3-erc.org
SUMMARY:CS3 Monthly Research Exchange
DESCRIPTION:At each CS3 Monthly Research Exchange\, three faculty and student researchers in the field of smart urban planning will take the stage to share their latest findings\, breakthroughs\, and urban projects. \nSevin Mohammadi\, Ph.D. Student at Columbia University \n\nPresentation Abstract: Sevin will present her ongoing and completed research\, which converges to enhance urban mobility and operation by leveraging data and advanced machine learning techniques. The main focus of her presentation will be enhancing Emergency Medical Services response in urban environments through data-informed decision-making and policy optimization.\n\nAdditional presenters to be announced. \nThe CS3 Monthly Research Exchanges are internal and open only to CS3 affiliated students\, faculty\, and staff. If you are interested in learning more about the research happening at CS3\, please contact our team at streetscapes@columbia.edu.
URL:https://cs3-erc.org/event/cs3-monthly-research-exchange-5/
LOCATION:Hybrid
CATEGORIES:SLC
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cs3-erc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2.16.23-TBA-CS3-Monthly-Research-Exchange-1.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240206T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240206T200000
DTSTAMP:20260418T112940
CREATED:20241210T190431Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241210T190431Z
UID:4083-1707242400-1707249600@cs3-erc.org
SUMMARY:Community Partners in Residence (CPR) Program - Meeting 5
DESCRIPTION:On Tuesday\, February 6\, 2024\, the NSF Center for Smart StreetScapes (CS3) held its fifth Community Partners in Residence (CPR) Program workshop. The session was convened and led once again by Ester Fuchs\, Chief Social Impact Officer of the CS3 and Professor of International and Public Affairs and Political Science at Columbia University. The focus of this week’s workshop was on the subjects of security\, privacy\, and fairness as they pertain to emerging streetscape technology. \nRoxana Geambasu\, an assistant professor of computer science at Columbia University\, opened the session by addressing privacy\, fairness\, and transparency issues in streetscape technologies. She acknowledged the significant potential of these technologies but also highlighted risks such as compromised sensors\, potential hacker attacks\, and the misuse of city data. Geambasu proposed a comprehensive approach to enhance security\, privacy\, and fairness through community engagement\, emphasizing the need for a programming framework for future streetscape applications. \nThe presentation delved into the tradeoff between accuracy and privacy in real-time data feeding to streetscape applications\, introducing the concept of “anonymization” as the first level of data protection. This process involves edge computers for object detection and tracking\, providing real-time anonymized data to applications. Geambasu acknowledged the drawbacks of anonymization\, leading to the discussion of an advanced protection level that involves sharing noisy aggregates over the dataset instead of raw data. This method prevents accurate reconstruction of individual entries\, striking a balance between privacy and meaningful tradeoffs for streetscape applications. Geambasu concluded by emphasizing the crucial role of effective researcher-community engagement in navigating this tradeoff\, providing specific and actionable guidance. \nFollowing Prof. Geambasu’s presentation\, the floor was opened to the CPRs for questions. Participants seemed primarily concerned with the security and ownership of data\, with a majority of questions being devoted to ascertaining who would control the data generated by smart streetscape infrastructure\, as well as how demands to access the data by third parties would be handled. In addition\, CPRs floated questions regarding the anonymization of data and protection of individual privacy. Prof. Geambasu’s responses generally served to assure CPRs that data security and anonymization would occur as soon as possible within the pipeline\, minimizing risk for people being observed. CPRs were also informed of the existence of Columbia University’s independent internal review board for the project. \nThe second presentation by Salvatore Stolfo\, a computer science professor at Columbia University\, highlighted current security challenges\, including the risks associated with compromised IoT sensors and edge server hacking. He emphasized the need for policies and transparency in handling data collected by third parties and underscored the importance of further research on AI failures. The CPR survey results revealed concerns about data misuse\, particularly with companies\, and discomfort with technologies like facial recognition and AI. Stolfo also discussed the community’s interest in understanding how the technology is engaged with community application and how they can be abused. Stolfo emphasized the significance of finding the right tradeoff\, acknowledging the benefits of technology in preventing crimes and terrorist attacks. He presented ongoing research addressing the protection of physically deployed sensors and the overall system\, including centralized command and control for managing security technology and self-protecting streetscape security systems. Additionally\, he highlighted research efforts focused on AI failures and trustworthiness to enhance identity authentication\, scene analysis\, and situation awareness accuracy. \nAfter Prof. Stolfo’s presentation\, CPRs raised questions regarding the accuracy of facial recognition technology when used on people with darker skin and in a crowd setting\, as well as the identification of legitimate data. Their concerns were acknowledged\, with Prof. Stolfo reassuring the audience that facial recognition technology is rather robust in certain contexts. He admitted that there are ongoing difficulties in applying the technology to finding a subset of individuals within a set of many faces\, and also warned participants of the difficulties in discerning legitimate software from malicious imitations. He also acknowledged the possibility that a well-intentioned actor may accidentally cause harm to a system. \nThe meeting transitioned into breakout sessions\, where the groups of CPRs shared today’s insights facilitated by CS3 staff. A prevalent concern raised by the majority was the privacy risk associated with valuable data\, even if being anonymized. They expressed the need for a deeper understanding and discussion regarding the tradeoff between privacy and functionality of data. Facilitators initiated discussion on challenges of the streetscapes impacted by privacy security and transparency. In active discussions\, CPRs highlighted the demand for protective measures for physical technology\, transparency in politics and procedures\, and the trustworthiness of the systems. They emphasized the importance of decentralized control of data acquisition\, addressing environmental and contextual biases in facial recognition\, and mitigating the risk of hackers maliciously controlling streetscapes. Additionally\, there was a collective awareness of the significance of education required to find a balance between functionality and privacy\, with CPRs proposing discussion among community reporters on TV and at community board meetings to further address this issue. \nCPR workshops are invite-only. If you are interested in attending a workshop or learning more about CS3’s community engagement process\, please contact our team at streetscapes@columbia.edu.
URL:https://cs3-erc.org/event/community-partners-in-residence-cpr-program-meeting-5/
LOCATION:Harlem\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Community
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cs3-erc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/PXL_20240207_001315288-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240129T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240129T130000
DTSTAMP:20260418T112940
CREATED:20241210T233131Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241210T233131Z
UID:4164-1706529600-1706533200@cs3-erc.org
SUMMARY:CS3 Spring Welcome Session
DESCRIPTION:The Center for Smart Streetscapes (CS3) presents the Spring Welcome Session! We will be introducing the engineering research center’s goals and discussing the unique opportunity to engage with the Center for Smart Streetscapes\, its Student Leadership Council\, and upcoming events for the year. Lunch will be provided. \n\nStudents of all majors are welcome\nFaculty & Staff are encouraged to join\n\nIn-Person Locations: \n\nColumbia University\nLehman College\nFlorida Atlantic University\nUniversity of Central Florida
URL:https://cs3-erc.org/event/cs3-spring-welcome-session/
LOCATION:Hybrid
CATEGORIES:SLC
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cs3-erc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Spring-Welcome-Session-2024-4.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240123T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240123T200000
DTSTAMP:20260418T112940
CREATED:20241210T181807Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241210T182036Z
UID:4076-1706032800-1706040000@cs3-erc.org
SUMMARY:Community Partners in Residence (CPR) Program - Meeting 4
DESCRIPTION:On Tuesday\, January 23\, 2024\, the NSF Center for Smart StreetScapes (CS3) held its fourth Community Partners in Residence (CPR) Program workshop. The session was convened and led once again by Ester Fuchs\, Chief Social Impact Officer of the CS3 and Professor of International and Public Affairs and Political Science at Columbia University. Topics covered this week included applying modeling and simulation techniques to improving streetscape safety\, as well as expanding the opportunities for dialogue between community members and technologists to better guide the progress of the initiative. \nAfter opening remarks by Ester Fuchs\, Sharon Di\, an Associate Professor in Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics affiliated with Columbia University\, discussed the potential in improving urban traffic management systems using “digital twins” of locations within the city. Prof. Di began by discussing the state of current urban traffic management systems\, including an overview of conventional induction loop and camera-based approaches. Said conventional approaches are limited in precision and predictive ability. By comparison\, future approaches could include the use of a “digital twin:” a replica of a location of interest\, such as an intersection or subway station\, that has been virtually reconstructed. Objects detected in the real world could be brought into the simulation\, and their vectors of motion could be more accurately modeled and predicted. This has promising implications for accident avoidance and accessibility for impaired persons\, particularly when combined with low-latency compute technologies. \n“Digital twins” would also have applications in discovering new ways to improve the accessibility of city locations. They would allow the more precise study of mobility patterns within twinned locations\, providing crucial data for both urban planners and researchers involved in the development of assistive technologies. The technology involved in their creation could also help with modeling driving patterns\, allowing those displaying symptoms of dementia and similar disorders to be contacted and provided with appropriate care as soon as possible. These applications grow in importance as the average age of the New York City population continues to trend upwards. \nFurthermore\, “digital twins” could help protect the privacy of individuals benefiting from the technology\, as they could be produced using purely sensor-based implementations\, instead of relying on high-resolution camera captures. \nFollowing Professor Di’s presentation\, CPRs posed questions primarily focused on technological accuracy\, such as “How does this project consider animals and jaywalkers?” and “How will you address people illegally crossing the road?” It was clarified that the project exclusively focuses on humans\, and addressing specific cases poses an ongoing challenge\, balancing safety and efficiency. \nThe second presentation\, delivered by Brian Smith\, Associate Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University\, concerned itself less with any one particular technological innovation\, but rather focused on how to approach technology design\, and encouraged the CPRs to more deeply engage and exchange proactively with the technologists working on the CS3 project. This presentation broadly outlined the “Three Needs” of technology design: inclusion\, community\, and information. “Inclusion” includes ensuring the accessibility and useability of technology\, including providing real benefit to the people who interact with it. Relaying information from computers to people\, regardless of ability\, is an important aspect of this tenet. “Community” refers to the ability of technology to facilitate interpersonal interaction\, particularly in in-person settings. One example given was ongoing research into using augmented reality to move experiences along the streetscape into learning about historic locations. Another example included communal entertainment screens at city bus stop shelters. Finally\, “information” regarding some of the novel ways of moving information from computers to people in a more general sense than what was mentioned in “inclusion.” For instance\, using the LinkNYC kiosks\, city employees are able to relay information regarding weather\, history\, and community events in a highly localized fashion and in real time. \nFollowing the presentation\, CPRs inquired about the technical capability of detecting errant behavior\, including scenarios like a car swerving towards people. The researchers explained that the computers only detect behaviors that have come to be learned as errant. Regarding coordination with accessibility consultants and disabled individuals\, Prof Smith emphasized his history of working in close relationships with blind communities\, specifically\, where many tech opportunities exist to support individuals and communities with different lived experiences. \nThe meeting then moved into breakout sessions\, where CPRs shared ideas\, feelings and questions about technological advances in cities\, such as sensors and AR. They expressed the need for increased accessibility for the visually impaired\, flexibility\, and responsiveness to human needs\, and encouraged collaboration with tech engineers. As for practical problems on the streetscape that might be addressed through the presented research\, specific suggestions from CPRs focused on safety improvements\, including detecting and warning against oncoming poor/unsafe driving habits\, informing the public about street hazards\, and identifying areas for infrastructure improvement\, and a desire to see AR incorporated into Harlem’s cultural streetscape to specifically recall historical sites and figures that once existed throughout the neighborhood that should remain actively accessible via technology among the current streetscape so as never to be forgotten. \nCPR workshops are invite-only. If you are interested in attending a workshop or learning more about CS3’s community engagement process\, please contact our team at streetscapes@columbia.edu.
URL:https://cs3-erc.org/event/community-partners-in-residence-cpr-program-meeting-4/
LOCATION:Harlem\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Community
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cs3-erc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/PXL_20231206_005208852-2-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240116T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240116T200000
DTSTAMP:20260418T112940
CREATED:20241210T175343Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241210T175706Z
UID:4066-1705428000-1705435200@cs3-erc.org
SUMMARY:Community Partners in Residence (CPR) Program - Meeting 3
DESCRIPTION:On Tuesday\, January 16\, 2024\, the NSF Center for Smart StreetScapes (CS3) held its third Community Partners in Residence (CPR) Program workshop. This meeting was originally scheduled for January 9th\, but had to push to the next week due to a snowstorm in NYC on the 9th. \nOnce again convened and led by Ester Fuchs\, Chief Social Impact Officer of the CS3 and Professor of International and Public Affairs and Political Science at Columbia University\, the purpose of this workshop was how 5G bandwidth\, latency\, and density capabilities meet situational demands\, while protecting privacy and community trust; and Exploring next-generation wireless network design\, edge-cloud coordination\, and real-time optimization infrastructures. \nThe session began with a presentation by Jorge Oritz\, Assistant Professor of ECE at the Rutgers School of Engineering and Streetscape Apps Lead for CS3\, who overviewed the potential for a new generation of wireless communication technology to further CS3’s goals. He began by reiterating broad objectives of the project\, namely\, to improve the livability of Harlem as defined by the criteria of “safety” and “inclusivity.” “Safety” refers to the level of access residents have to critical services such as traffic monitoring and first response infrastructure\, while “inclusivity” encompasses the degree to which the streetscape can facilitate interactivity between its community members. He then continued to introduce the advantages of new 5G and Wi-edge computing systems\, as pertains to their applications in streetscape improvements. Firstly\, they allow for low-latency transmission and processing\, meaning deployed computer systems can communicate with each other more rapidly on-site. Secondly\, they may be used within a hyper-local scope\, such as a single intersection\, allowing for a notably higher degree of camera and sensor precision. These properties were then demonstrated via a video of a blind individual using a mobility assistance system to cross an intersection. In the video\, the subject gestured to the system before being directed using a personal navigation application. Cameras picking up the subject’s gesture were able to identify and subsequently allow the system to direct the person within a matter of seconds via an installed app on their phone. Concerns by CPRs regarding the potential vulnerability of someone visibly using the system and thereby marking his or herself as a target for bad actors were assuaged by being informed of a new model being developed so as to detect and identify individuals in need of assistance without any overtly visual cueing needed whatsoever. \nThe session then continued with a presentation by Gil Zussman\, Vice Chair of the Electrical Engineering Department at Columbia University and Wi-Edge Research Lead for CS3. Prof. Zussman focused on introducing the purpose and capabilities of the COSMOS test bed\, a section of Harlem between Columbia University and City College of New York’s campuses denoted by the FCC for wireless technology experimentation. He provided a brief overview of the various “nodes” being deployed for use in experiments\, including antennae deployed atop the roof of Columbia’s Mudd building on 120th Street and Amsterdam Avenue\, and other camera clusters across the COSMOS area. The purpose and intent of the COSMOS area is to be more of a testbed that provides capabilities to various researchers—remotely or otherwise—to run experiments using this new class of technology\, such as the aforementioned crosswalk demonstration. Importantly COSMOS itself is not designed to provide a solution to any one specific research question\, i.e. it does not serve as a public safety\, health\, or surveillance mechanism in and of itself. Aside from the main area\, COSMOS also includes small\, indoor systems within controlled settings that are similarly for-rent to researchers. The project also includes a K-12 education kit. \nThere were questions from the CPRs on how this project could work alongside the citizens on the streets within the COSMOS area\, given existing hostility towards telecom companies which have purchased rooftops for their own network infrastructure\, in addition to public concerns regarding the health and safety implications of 5G networking. Prof Zussman addressed these questions by assuring that any rooftops being used for this project are all already owned by Columbia (in part due to a lack of budget to purchase additional rooftop space)\, and that the wavelengths of light in question are generally safe for use in human-oriented contexts. The ubiquity of Wi-Fi and cell service demonstrates this. \nOnce presentations concluded\, the CPRs were given time to collaborate and reflect via breakout sessions & whiteboards facilitated by the CS3 CPR Comm Engagement staff. The CPRs then reconvened to report back to the room. Overall\, many expressed that they had learned much pertaining to how the technology could be used\, in no small part due to the videos\, examples\, and layman’s explanations provided during the presentations. They were also reassured by CS3’s intentions to explore similarly in international initiatives\, and by the fact that Columbia is collaborating with a number of universities on this project\, though it is still in its early stages. \nWith this in mind\, there were still several concerns left unaddressed. CPRs mentioned that educating the public on these types of technologies would be critical for their adoption as things stand. Questions on how the technology could be compromised\, either digitally or physically\, were also common amongst all 3 breakout groups. In addition\, they mentioned wanting to expand the use cases for edge computing and mm-wave enabled technologies to address public safety concerns\, such as cyclist-originating traffic incidents\, the need to create a true translational language for all of the science and tech for regular citizens to be able to fully understand\, and the need to bolster historical education efforts with the opportunity that AR presents\, given Harlem’s collective identity. There were also the expected information privacy concerns. \nThe workshop concluded with Prof. Fuchs informing everyone that a deck with a data sample from the pre-workshop survey that all CPRs completed prior to the start of these sessions would be shared and discussed in more detail at the next session. \nCPR workshops are invite-only. If you are interested in attending a workshop or learning more about CS3’s community engagement process\, please contact our team at streetscapes@columbia.edu.
URL:https://cs3-erc.org/event/community-partners-in-residence-cpr-program-meeting-3/
LOCATION:Harlem\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Community
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cs3-erc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/PXL_20240116_232859067-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231205T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231205T200000
DTSTAMP:20260418T112940
CREATED:20241210T172959Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241210T180313Z
UID:4058-1701799200-1701806400@cs3-erc.org
SUMMARY:Community Partners in Residence (CPR) Program - Meeting 2
DESCRIPTION:On Tuesday\, December 5\, 2023\, The NSF Center for Smart StreetScapes (CS3) held its second Community Partners in Residence (CPR) Program workshop. Ester Fuchs\, Chief Social Impact Officer of the CS3 and Professor of International and Public Affairs and Political Science at Columbia University convened the workshop and moderated the discussion. She opened the conversation with an overview of the role of CPRs at the Center and invited everyone to introduce themselves. Lynda Hamilton\, the CPR Community Engagement Manager organized the workshop and has been working closely with community partners to ensure that the CPR program has effective community representation. As a result\, since the first meeting\, the CPR list has grown to include 2 more members of the Harlem community. \nAfter introductions\, Andrew Smyth\, Center Director & Principal Investigator\, kicked off presentations by providing an overview of the research being conducted at the Center. He highlighted that the mission is to create livable\, safe\, and inclusive communities through real time\, hyper-local streetscape applications. As opposed to macro-level research\, the Center focuses on local level innovation built through partnerships to improve live on streetscape for all. There are five current focus areas including\, road safety\, public safety\, assistive technology\, the future of outdoor\nwork\, and hyper-local environmental sensing. The community engagement fostered within the CPR program will serve as the mechanism for inspiration to influence these focus areas. \nFollowing Andrew was a presentation by Jennifer Laird\, Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Lehman College and Deputy Director of Inclusive Education. Jennifer outlined the workforce development and K-12 education programs that CS3 has developed including the Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program which gives local high school teachers the opportunity to do research over the summer and bring that experience back into the classroom during the school year. Additionally\, CS3’s My Streetscape Summer Research Institute gives local high school juniors and undergraduate students mentoring opportunities in engineering research as well as the social sciences by offering hands-on training in the lab and social science research in the community. Both programs offer participants a stipend as part of the process. CS3 hopes that the CPR program can facilitate recruitment for these programs from their networks\, fostering a virtuous\, and immediate\, cycle of impact. Registration and more information about opportunities found through these links: \nTeachers – https://cs3-erc.org/research-experience-for-teachers/\nHigh School Students – https://cs3-erc.org/my-streetscape-summer-research-institute/\nUndergrad Students – https://cs3-erc.org/research-experiences-for-undergraduates/ \nNext\, Sharon Sputz\, Industry Outreach Lead of CS3 and Executive Director of Strategic Programs at Columbia’s Data Science Institute provided background on CS3’s business partnerships\, the value it provides to CS3’s research\, and opportunities & memberships available for participants. \nLastly\, Barbara Askins\, President & CEO\, 125th Business Improvement District\, and Senior Advisor for CS3 offered an overview and goals of the partnership with the community. She emphasized the need to be able to educate the community\, bringing together the technology and the community. She also noted that there is immense potential for harnessing the energy of Harlem\, to think differently about how to engage with the community\, how to bring in their perspective\, and how to apply the technology to the real world. There are great opportunities to learn from both sides\, so the partnership isn’t just a one way street. Ideally\, by the end of the experience the researchers will be able to incorporate Harlem’s identity into the tech\, not just the tech into Harlem. \nAfter presentations concluded\, the CPRs had an opportunity to offer their own insights. First by filling out a one-page survey about what such a partnership might look like; and then by breaking into 3 groups of 4 people each to discuss what the program will have to do to ensure the partnership is impactful. From the breakout groups\, the insights were shared with the larger group. CPRs connected with one another\, offering perspectives from the slice of the community they represented and filled several white boards with ideas. The activity was insightful\, engaging\, and fun! Themes from the discussion that were shared by each group included: having a safe place to express fears and concern\, meeting the community where they are at\, listening and building trust\, transparency\, and developing ongoing communication. A deeper review of the ideas\, initial thoughts\, and hopes expressed by the CPRs in the survey will be conducted by the CS3 team and shared in a future meeting. \nCPR workshops are invite-only. If you are interested in attending a workshop or learning more about CS3’s community engagement process\, please contact our team at streetscapes@columbia.edu.
URL:https://cs3-erc.org/event/community-partners-in-residence-cpr-program-meeting-2/
LOCATION:Harlem\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Community
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cs3-erc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/PXL_20231102_225247233-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231117T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231117T130000
DTSTAMP:20260418T112940
CREATED:20241210T232729Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241210T232729Z
UID:4161-1700222400-1700226000@cs3-erc.org
SUMMARY:CS3 Monthly Research Exchange
DESCRIPTION:At each CS3 Monthly Research Exchange\, three faculty and student researchers in the field of smart urban planning will take the stage to share their latest findings\, breakthroughs\, and urban projects. \nAriana Galindo\, Undergraduate Student at Florida Atlantic University \n\nPresentation Abstract: This project investigates the development of scalable data processing tools for large-scale spatiotemporal data.\n\nDimitris A. Pados\, Professor and I-SENSE Fellow at Florida Atlantic University \n\nPresentation Abstract: We examine the problem of dynamically optimizing arbitrary multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless waveforms in potentially heavily utilized frequency bands with applications to near-field (or far-field) autonomous machine-to-machine communications. We look at the problem from the point of view of spectrum sharing and autonomous interference avoidance. In this context\, we seek the transmitter beam weight vector and the pulse code sequence that maximize the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) at the output of the maximum SINR joint space-time receiver filter. We derive two novel model-based solutions: (a) Disjoint\, space first (transmit weight vector) then time (pulse code sequence) waveform optimization and (b) jointly optimal transmit weight vector and pulse code sequence optimization (a mixed integer programming problem.) The proposed formally derived algorithmic solutions are studied in extensive simulations under varying waveform code length\, near-field/far-field and spread-spectrum/non-spread-spectrum interference\, in light and dense interference scenarios. The findings highlight (a) the effectiveness of the described methods compared to static conventionally designed optimal-receiver MIMO links and (b) the remarkable ability of the joint space-time optimized waveforms to avoid heavy interference.\n\nNavid Salami Pargoo\, Ph.D. Student at Rutgers University \n\nPresentation Abstract: In this talk\, join me on a journey into transformative assistive technologies for the visually impaired\, crafting a synergy between interactive AI agents and the smart streetscape. Discover our innovative strides in machine learning\, deep learning\, computer vision\, and sensing\, forming the heartbeat of this human-centric AI agent. I will show how they harmoniously integrate into streetscapes\, enhancing safety\, inclusivity\, and enriched urban interactions.\n\nThe CS3 Monthly Research Exchanges are internal and open only to CS3 affiliated students\, faculty\, and staff. If you are interested in learning more about the research happening at CS3\, please contact our team at streetscapes@columbia.edu.
URL:https://cs3-erc.org/event/cs3-monthly-research-exchange-4/
LOCATION:Hybrid
CATEGORIES:SLC
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cs3-erc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/11.17.23-CS3-Monthly-Research-Exchange.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20231116T100000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20231116T110000
DTSTAMP:20260418T112940
CREATED:20231019T205404Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241126T213914Z
UID:981-1700128800-1700132400@cs3-erc.org
SUMMARY:Panel Discussion: Scaling and Piloting Frontier Tech
DESCRIPTION:  \n\nView Event Recording \nTopic: The New York City Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI) has launched the Smart City Testbed Program to streamline and accelerate the citywide process for piloting emerging technologies in New York City. To find more information and to apply\, visit the Smart City Testbed website: nyc.gov/testbed \nModerator: Paul Rothman from NYC OTI  \nPanelists:  \n\nAndrew Smyth from the Center for Smart Streetscapes (CS3)\nJenny Tromski from the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation\nJohn Petinos from the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC)\nLauren Wang from the Trust for Governors Island
URL:https://cs3-erc.org/event/testbeds-scaling-and-piloting-frontier-tech/
LOCATION:Center for Smart Streetscapes\, 2276 12th Ave\, New York\, NY\, 10027\, United States
CATEGORIES:Public Sector
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cs3-erc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Testbed-Panel-Flyer-Small-1.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231102T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231102T200000
DTSTAMP:20260418T112940
CREATED:20241120T221625Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241210T180351Z
UID:3898-1698948000-1698955200@cs3-erc.org
SUMMARY:Community Partners in Residence (CPR) Program - Orientation and Informal Meet & Greet
DESCRIPTION:On Thursday\, November 2\, 2023\, The NSF Center for Smart StreetScapes (CS3) held its inaugural Community Partners in Residence (CPR) Program workshop. We were excited to welcome our first group of Harlem CPRs to the program. Ester Fuchs\, Chief Social Impact Officer of the CS3 and Professor of International and Public Affairs and Political Science at Columbia University convened the workshop and moderated the discussion. Barbara Askins\, Senior Advisor to the CS3 and President of the 125th Street Business Improvement District opened the conversation with an overview of the role of CPRs at the Center. Barbara invited all CPRs and researchers to introduce themselves and discuss their interests. Sharon Sputz\, Industry Outreach Lead of the CS3 and Executive Director of Strategic Programs at Columbia’s Data Science Institute provided background on the Center and the type of technology it hopes to develop. Other researchers from Columbia and Rutgers briefly described their areas of focus\, which launched a lively discussion with community members and CS3 leadership. Lynda Hamilton\, the CPR Community Engagement Manager organized the workshop and has been working closely with community partners to ensure that the CPR program has effective community representation. \nThe Community Partners in Residence program is critical to the success of the Center’s work\, ensuring that research on solving streetscape problems is developed in partnership with the Harlem community. The workshops provide opportunities for interaction and collaboration\, where researchers will share their ideas for improving the quality of life on the streetscape and CPR’s will learn about transformative technology. The program is designed for continuous feedback\, so that CPRs will play an integrated and continuous role in determining what research gets done and whether research is transformed into practical applications to pilot at the streetscape. CPRs were recruited from community organization partners and are leaders in Harlem\, all are active in Harlem civic life\, and interested in technology as well as the various community needs that technology can address. \nCPR workshops will meet twice a month through mid-May 2024. It is the convergence between research\, community engagement\, and social impact that will ensure that all technological applications developed by researchers will adequately reflect and respond to the stated needs of\nHarlem residents. \nCPR workshops are invite-only. If you are interested in attending a workshop or learning more about CS3’s community engagement process\, please contact our team at streetscapes@columbia.edu.
URL:https://cs3-erc.org/event/community-partners-in-residence-program-orientation-and-informal-meet-greet/
LOCATION:Harlem\, NY\, United States
CATEGORIES:Community
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cs3-erc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/PXL_20231102_224800406-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231020T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231020T133000
DTSTAMP:20260418T112940
CREATED:20241210T232442Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241210T232442Z
UID:4158-1697803200-1697808600@cs3-erc.org
SUMMARY:CS3 Monthly Research Exchange
DESCRIPTION:At each CS3 Monthly Research Exchange\, three faculty and student researchers in the field of smart urban planning will take the stage to share their latest findings\, breakthroughs\, and urban projects. \nChinwendu Enyioha\, Assistant Professor at University of Central Florida (UCF) \n\nPresentation Abstract: In the talk\, I will present some results on fully distributed cooperative state estimation in communication-constrained environments. I will show how agents can effectively manage communication bandwidth by compress state information being shared with neighbors and summarize stability guarantees.\n\nZhaobin Mo\, Ph.D. Student at Columbia University \n\nPresentation Abstract: For its robust predictive power (compared to pure physics-based models) and sample-efficient training (compared to pure deep learning models)\, physics-informed deep learning (PIDL)\, a paradigm hybridizing physics-based models and deep neural networks (DNN)\, has been booming in science and engineering fields. One key challenge of applying PIDL to various domains and problems lies in the design of a computational graph that integrates physics and DNNs. In other words\, how physics is encoded into DNNs and how the physics and DL components are represented. We present a variety of architecture designs of PIDL computational graphs and how these structures are customized to different tasks in transportation\, i.e.\, traffic state estimation and car-following behavior modeling.\n\nSonia Moshfeghi\, Ph.D. Student at Florida Atlantic University \n\nPresentation Abstract: As in-vehicle telematics technologies advance\, they offer applicable techniques for monitoring and evaluating driving behavior. Telematics systems can combine telecommunication and information processing to capture various types of driving data\, such as acceleration\, GPS\, and onboard diagnostics (OBD) data. Identifying significant patterns and behaviors with feature extraction techniques provides insights into driver performance for applications like autonomous vehicles\, demand estimations\, insurance pricing strategies\, driver training programs\, and accident prevention strategies.\n\nCS3 VALIDATE Accelerator Program:\nAttendees of this month’s CS3 Research Exchange are welcome to stay after the presentations for an informational session (1:00 – 1:30PM) on the CS3 VALIDATE Accelerator Program. \nThe NSF Engineering Research Center for Smart Streetscapes (CS3) VALIDATE Accelerator is a 9-week non-dilutive program focused on validating and scaling successful early-stage ventures through in-depth education\, mentorship\, and business model design. It offers early stage teams a customized program with education from industry and academic research experts\, hands-on value-added workshops\, active mentoring\, and venture creation opportunities. \nThe program will run February through April of 2024. \nThe CS3 Monthly Research Exchanges are internal and open only to CS3 affiliated students\, faculty\, and staff. If you are interested in learning more about the research happening at CS3\, please contact our team at streetscapes@columbia.edu.
URL:https://cs3-erc.org/event/cs3-monthly-research-exchange-3/
LOCATION:Hybrid
CATEGORIES:SLC
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cs3-erc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/10.20.23-CS3-Monthly-Research-Exchange-Updated.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20230927T170000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20230927T200000
DTSTAMP:20260418T112940
CREATED:20230804T220949Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241210T233348Z
UID:789-1695834000-1695844800@cs3-erc.org
SUMMARY:My Streetscape Photovoice Exhibit
DESCRIPTION:Join us for the Opening Night of the My Streetscape Photovoice Exhibit\, an event organized by The Trust Collaboratory at Columbia University in collaboration with the Center for Smart Streetscapes (CS3)\, exploring the intersection of urban technology and trust. Register here. \nThe exhibit will explore questions regarding the proper balance between security\, privacy\, and trust as new technologies are introduced in Harlem and other communities\, such as wireless and optical communications\, edge and cloud computing\, situational awareness systems\, and other technological solutions. The Opening Night is the culmination of the My Streetscape Summer School\, a six-week-long program for local high school students to help them foster critical thinking and productive dialogue on how urban technology could be implemented in ways that elicit trust\, safeguard privacy\, and serve the needs of the local community. \nPhotovoice is a participatory action-research method that empowers communities through visual techniques\, such as photography or video\, and narrative accounts to explore the lived conditions of a community. In this context\, our focus will be on the vibrant neighborhood of Harlem and the promises and challenges of introducing urban technology in CS3’s testbed. \nThe Opening Night will welcome members of the public\, local non-profits\, industry partners\, technology experts\, scholars\, and residents\, to explore the exhibit’s themes and issues. Join us! \nThe exhibition will be free and open to the public. Drinks and appetizers will be provided during the Opening Night on September 27\, 2023. Gates will open at 5 PM. \nJoin us for a transformative opportunity to engage in a dialogue about the future of urban technology and learn more about how to participate in the My Streetscape Summer School in the future. \nMore information about the My Streetscape program can be found here. \nFind out more about our work and visit CS3 and the Trust Collaboratory online!
URL:https://cs3-erc.org/event/my-streetscape-photovoice-exhibit/
LOCATION:The Forum at Columbia University\, 601 West 125th Street\, New York\, NY\, 10027\, United States
CATEGORIES:Community,Education
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://cs3-erc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Streetscapes-Exhibit-2023-32-of-125-scaled-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230922T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230922T140000
DTSTAMP:20260418T112940
CREATED:20230906T230159Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241210T231939Z
UID:870-1695387600-1695391200@cs3-erc.org
SUMMARY:A conversation with Dr. Berk Birand\, co-founder and CEO of Fero Labs
DESCRIPTION:Join us for a conversation with Dr. Berk Birand\, who served as the Vice President of another ERC SLC before becoming the co-founder and CEO of Fero Labs! Berk\, a Columbia Electrical Engineering and WiMNet Lab PhD ’15 alumnus\, will share insights from his journey. This event is open to students from NSF CS3-ERC institutions (Columbia\, FAU\, UCF\, Rutgers\, Lehman).
URL:https://cs3-erc.org/event/a-conversation-with-dr-berk-birand-co-founder-and-ceo-of-fero-labs/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:SLC
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cs3-erc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/unnamed.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230915T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230915T130000
DTSTAMP:20260418T112940
CREATED:20230906T225024Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241210T231731Z
UID:858-1694779200-1694782800@cs3-erc.org
SUMMARY:CS3 Monthly Research Exchange
DESCRIPTION:At each CS3 Monthly Research Exchange\, three faculty and student researchers in the field of smart urban planning will take the stage to share their latest findings\, breakthroughs\, and urban projects. \nAbhishek Adhikari\, M.S/Ph.D Student at Columbia University \n\nPresentation Abstract: Beyond-5G and 6G wireless networks can sense the nearby environment in addition to performing traditional communication responsibilities via Joint Communications and Sensing (JCAS). A potential application of JCAS could be to sense vehicles crossing a street intersection and communicate to pedestrians who may be visually impaired. In this talk\, we share preliminary vehicle detection results at a street intersection in NYC using a Nokia Bell Labs 28 GHz channel sounder traditionally used for propagation modeling in communication.\n\nStepan Mazokha\, Ph.D. Student at Florida Atlantic University \n\nPresentation Abstract: In this presentation\, I will discuss the details of my recent paper entitled\, “MobLoc: CSI-based Location Fingerprinting with MUSIC”. The objective of the project has been to implement and evaluate a passive WiFi localization method using Channel State Information. The latter has been designed using a fingerprinting method using a 1D MUSIC algorithm and was able to achieve meter-level localization in several indoor environments.\n\nJorge Ortiz\, Assistant Professor at Rutgers University \n\nPresentation Abstract: This talk focuses on human-AI interaction through multimodal learning and interaction\, highlighting my lab’s past and future work on intelligent agents that utilize and integrate multimodal learning techniques to infer human intent and enable innovative forms of interaction. We explore interaction within vehicles\, robots that assist disabled individuals\, and investigate methods to close the learning loop through interactive learning agents. Additionally\, we examine various forms of intervention in a vehicular context and assess how these techniques translate to future Streetscape interactive systems.\n\nThe CS3 Monthly Research Exchanges are internal and open only to CS3 affiliated students\, faculty\, and staff. If you are interested in learning more about the research happening at CS3\, please contact our team at streetscapes@columbia.edu.
URL:https://cs3-erc.org/event/cs3-monthly-research-exchange-2/
LOCATION:Hybrid
CATEGORIES:SLC
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cs3-erc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/9.15.23-CS3-Monthly-Research-Exchange.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20230818T120000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20230818T130000
DTSTAMP:20260418T112940
CREATED:20230814T180728Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241210T231302Z
UID:829-1692360000-1692363600@cs3-erc.org
SUMMARY:CS3 Monthly Research Exchange
DESCRIPTION:At each CS3 Monthly Research Exchange\, three faculty and student researchers in the field of smart urban planning will take the stage to share their latest findings\, breakthroughs\, and urban projects. \nSharon Di\, Associate Professor at Columbia University \n\nPresentation Abstract: Transportation digital twins have become increasingly popular tools to improve traffic efficiency and safety. However\, the majority of effort nowadays is focused on the “eyes” of the digital twin\, which is object detection using computer vision. I believe the key to empowering the intelligence of a transportation digital twin lies in its “brain\,” namely\, how to utilize the information extracted from various sensors to infer traffic dynamics evolution and devise optimal control and management strategies with real-time feedback to guide the transportation ecosystem toward a social optimum. My research aims to employ tools including machine learning and game theory to develop an urban transportation digital twin.\n\nAbigail Joseph\, Undergraduate Student at Florida Atlantic University \n\nPresentation Abstract: Integrating Unity with real data\, AI technology\, and C# scripting is used to a create digital twin environment of West Palm Beach\, where multiple agents’ traveling behaviors are defined at a streetscape level\, including walking at a particular speed\, stopping at an intersection to look for cars before crossing\, and avoiding other pedestrians. It is anticipated that the methods which produced these results will be used to simulate the interactions between vehicles and pedestrians with substantial accuracy.\n\nCarl Vondrick\, Associate Professor at Columbia University \n\nPresentation Abstract: Computer vision algorithms need to combine many skills — spatial\, physical\, mathematical\, geometrical\, and cognitive — in order to accurately analyze the visual world. In this talk\, I will show how large generative models equip neural networks with these skills\, thereby providing versatile representations for reconstructing 3D\, answering questions\, and recognizing objects. Through a series of experimental results\, I will moreover show how this approach naturally provides inherent explainability of the decision making process\, while also achieving state-of-the-art zero-shot performance across different tasks and benchmarks. In some cases\, this framework can even perform super-human perception.\n\nThe CS3 Monthly Research Exchanges are internal and open only to CS3 affiliated students\, faculty\, and staff. If you are interested in learning more about the research happening at CS3\, please contact our team at streetscapes@columbia.edu.
URL:https://cs3-erc.org/event/cs3-monthly-research-exchange/
LOCATION:Hybrid
CATEGORIES:SLC
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://cs3-erc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/8.18.23-CS3-Monthly-Research-Exchange-1.png
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR