AUS team among recipients of best paper presentation award at international conference

A paper written by a team from American University of Sharjah (AUS) was among the recipients of the Best Paper Presentation Award at the fifth International Conference on Smart Grid and Smart Cities held in Tokyo, Japan, recently.

Entitled “IoT-Based Shared Community Transportation System Using e-Bikes,” the paper focused on solar-powered electronic bikes that are operated by a system supported by Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. Supported by a grant from the AUS Research Office, it was co-authored by Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Ali, Professor in Computer Science and Engineering and lead researcher, Dr. Ra’afat Aburukba, Assistant Professor in Computer Science and Engineering, Ahmad Al Nabulsi, Lab Instructor at College of Engineering, and computer science and engineering alumni Ahmed Riaz, Danayal Khan, Shavaiz Khan and Moustafa Amer. 

Based on a senior design project proposed by Dr. Al-Ali, the paper was presented virtually by alumnus Riaz at the international conference, which highlighted topics related to recent trends in the field of smart grid, smart cities applications and other advanced energy systems.

“Transportation models are changing today, moving from individual ownership to the shared and distributed and we see that in Uber, uDrive and Lyft, which utilize the distributed vehicles model all over the world. Such a model is used to serve commuters for inter- and intra-city travel. However, short-range urban transportation services such as bicycles available within campuses, residential compounds and public parks es are not being explored fully compared to the distributed vehicle model,” said Dr. Al-Ali.

He explained that the proposed e-bike design can be used in a wide range of smart city applications and is environmentally friendly since it depends on solar energy for recharging.  

“Our paper proposed a novel generic device for short-range sustainable smart transportation. We then went about implementing this device (e-bikes) by utilizing adequate communication technology for short-range environments, developing a mobile application that integrates with the device to allow users to rent the e-bikes. We also developed a web portal for the administrators to manage and view the status of the e-bikes and users,” said Dr. Aburukba.

Computer engineering alumnus Riaz presented the core concepts of the paper during a 15-minute presentation at the conference followed by a question-and-answer session. Working on the research paper and presenting it proved to be an enriching experience for Riaz, who said: “After this experience, I understood how much work goes into publishing a paper like ours. Also, watching presentations by other conference participants gave me a newfound respect for the academics and experts present as well as for our professors at AUS. This win is just a confirmation that Dr. Al-Ali has a great eye for good projects.”

Riaz, who is about to embark on new challenges and pursue a master’s in computer science and cybersecurity at Simon Fraiser University in Canada, added: “AUS has prepared us for international conference and events. Presentations are part of most of the courses we do at CEN, but honestly there is nothing like giving your first presentation in front of international industry experts who have been working in the field for as long as – if not longer – than I have been alive!”

For more information on the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at AUS, visit: www.aus.edu/cen/department-of-computer-science-and-engineering