11/06/2023
By Danielle Fretwell

The Francis College of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, invites you to attend a Master's Thesis defense by James Edward Bednar on "Systematic Design of Blockchain-Based Continuous Authentication Towards Vulnerable Road User (VRU) Safety."

Candidate Name: James Edward Bednar
Degree: Master’s
Defense Date: Monday, Nov. 20, 2023
Time: 1 to 3 p.m.
Location: Ball Hall 302

Committee: Advisor: Chunxiao (Tricia) Chigan, Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, UMass Lowell

Committee Members

  • Kavitha Chandra, Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, UMass Lowell
  • David Claudio, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, UMass Lowell

Brief Abstract:
The recent proposal of next-generation Connected and Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) transportation systems provides an opportunity to evaluate how collaboration between connected vehicles (CV), autonomous vehicles (AV), and roadside unit (RSU) devices can promote improved roadside safety for vulnerable road users (VRU) such as bicyclists and pedestrians. There is a real need for engineering solutions which advance and promote VRU safety, as highlighted by the modern phenomena of fatal AV-to-VRU collisions. The development of a VRU collision avoidance (VCA) system which aids faulty AVs in collision avoidance through collaboration between vehicles and traffic intersection-based RSU devices is of particular interest. Further, the development of a continuous authentication mechanism for RSU devices is of critical importance, as such devices represent valuable targets for cybersecurity threat actors due to their centralized role in the proposed VCA system. This thesis applies a systematic approach to explore the viability of the proposed VCA system and promote its security through the development of a blockchain-based continuous authentication mechanism.