/
Back to MOVE hub

LAB · 02 / SML

Smart Mobility Lab

A research platform for Mobility-as-a-Service, intelligent traffic operation, and last-mile micro-mobility. We design, prototype, and evaluate digital-physical mobility systems that make Vietnamese cities safer, cleaner, and more inclusive — starting on campus and scaling to the region.

MaaS Adaptive Signals Micro-mobility CE-M Program Low-Carbon Campus
INTELLIGENT URBAN MOBILITY · ISCM · UEH

Transit-Oriented Development
& Smart Mobility Operations

Smart Mobility Lab advances intelligent transportation systems and sustainable urban mobility through three integrated research tracks: TOD-driven urban structure research, smart mobility & traffic operations management, and last-mile micro-mobility systems. Through the Campus EV Micro-Mobility (CE-M) Program, solutions are tested in real-world conditions and scaled across Vietnamese cities.

Transit-Oriented Development MaaS & Smart Routing Traffic Operations Last-Mile Micro-mobility CE-M Program
Smart Traffic Operations Center — Adaptive Signals · Live Flow · TOD Corridors — Click Intersections
SML · SMART TRAFFIC OPERATIONS CENTER
Signal Green
Signal Red
BRT Corridor
TOD · MaaS · ADAPTIVE SIGNAL CONTROL
CLICK AN INTERSECTION NODE to see adaptive signal data, throughput metrics, and TOD planning parameters. Drag to orbit.
🏙️
Transit-Oriented Development
Researching urban development models around major transit stations — optimising land use density, mixed-use zoning, and public transport connectivity for sustainable city growth in HCMC.
GIS · Open Data · Urban Structure Simulation
🚦
Smart Traffic Operations
Adaptive Signal Control for mixed two-wheeler traffic; AI-powered demand forecasting and route optimisation; MaaS platform integrating bus, rail and shared mobility with real-time scheduling and integrated payment.
VISSIM · AIMSUN · AI Forecasting
🛵
Last-Mile & Micro-mobility
Designing and testing shared micro-mobility systems — e-bikes, scooters — for first- and last-mile urban connectivity. Hub and stop planning with GPS data and vehicle safety analytics.
GPS Trackers · Field Pilots · CE-M Program
⚡
CE-M Program — Campus Living Lab
Campus Electric Micro-Mobility: e-motorbikes and e-shuttle buses in a geofenced UEH network. Smart booking platform, SYM/Honda partnerships, and campus-first incentive policies forming a full-scale testbed.
Real-World Testbed · Policy Package
SMART MOBILITY SYSTEM · SML RESEARCH FRAMEWORK
Smart mobility intelligence for Vietnam's urban future
TOD PLANNING · URBAN STRUCTURE RESEARCH Transit node density · Mixed-use zoning · HCMC corridor analysis · GIS-based urban structure modelling TOD TRAFFIC OPERATIONS · ADAPTIVE SIGNAL CONTROL Mixed-flow signal optimisation · VISSIM/AIMSUN simulation · AI demand forecasting · Real-time control Operations MaaS INTEGRATION · MULTI-MODAL ROUTING Integrated bus · rail · micro-mobility routing · Smart card payment · Real-time scheduling · Trip planning MaaS UEH CAMPUS LAST-MILE MICRO-MOBILITY · CE-M CAMPUS PROGRAM E-motorbike fleet · UEH geofenced testbed · Smart booking · SYM partnership · Incentive policy design CE-M SML PLATFORM Smart Mobility & Urban Analytics Simulation · Field Testing · Data Platform TOD Policy · MaaS Integration · CE-M Living Lab SIGNAL CONTROL adaptive systems MaaS APP multi-modal trip planning TOD POLICY urban planning SMART MOBILITY INTELLIGENCE FOR VIETNAM'S URBAN FUTURE
Vo Dao Chi
LAB LEAD
Vo Dao Chi, PhD
Smart Mobility · ISCM–UEH
MaaS and CE-M Program

TOD · INTERACTIVE SIMULATION

Transit-Oriented Development City Model

An interactive simulation of how smart mobility layers — TOD zoning, traffic signals, EV micro-mobility, and real-time data — integrate around a transit hub. Click elements to explore.

LAYERS
Transit Hub
EV Stations
Smart Signals
Mixed-use Zone

01 · RESEARCH THEMES

Three research themes

SML is organised around three interlocking streams — together they connect travellers, vehicles, and infrastructure into a single learning system.

T1

MaaS & Smart Routing

Designing Mobility-as-a-Service architectures that unify routing, ticketing, and transfer experiences across bus, rail, and micro-mobility — with a strong emphasis on transparent data and user trust.

  • Real-Time Transportation — live feeds, multi-modal routing and ETA.
  • Optimization Platform — matching demand and supply across operators.
  • Integrated Payment & Transparency — one account, auditable fare logic.
T2

Smart Mobility & Traffic Operation

Building data-driven tools for traffic operators — from adaptive signal control in mixed two-wheeler traffic to AI-based demand forecasting and corridor-scale route optimisation.

  • Adaptive Signal Control — reinforcement-learning signals for mixed traffic.
  • AI Forecast Demand & Route Optimization — spatio-temporal models for OD flows.
T3

Last-Mile & Micro-mobility Systems

Closing the first-and-last-mile gap with shared e-motorbikes, e-shuttles, and walkable infrastructure — safely and efficiently, especially for students and women.

  • Micro-mobility Hub / Stops Planning — siting, sizing and charging logic.
  • Data Efficiency & Small Vehicle Safety — trip analytics & crash avoidance.

02 · FLAGSHIP PROGRAM

CE-M · Campus Electric Micro-Mobility

CE-M is SML's flagship living-lab: a campus-scale electric micro-mobility system that combines e-motorbikes and e-shuttle buses inside a geofenced UEH network. It is the place where our research meets real students, real streets, and real operators — and where smart platforms, private-sector partnerships, and campus-first policy come together.

The program is structured as a three-pillar architecture, each pillar jointly owned by researchers, operators, and the university — so that technical choices, commercial viability, and policy legitimacy move in lock-step.

2
Vehicle classes
5+
Hubs planned
100%
Electric fleet
Pillar 01

Smart & Interactive Platform

  • Interactive usage — student ID login, booking, payment, reporting.
  • Integrated network — e-motorbike and e-shuttle bus on one app.
Pillar 02

Private-Sector Cooperation

  • Engage potential enterprises (SYM, Honda) for vehicle supply.
  • Identify an operating partner to run day-to-day fleet service.
  • Engage charging / battery and insurance partners.
Pillar 03

Policy Package

  • Campus-first incentives — ride credits, priority access for students and staff.
  • Operating rules — speed limits, geofenced zones, parking, safety compliance.

03 · INTERACTIVE DEMO

MaaS Route Planner

Click any two points on the campus map to plan a multi-modal trip. The planner picks the nearest e-shuttle stop or e-motorbike, then assembles a walk → ride → walk route. Switch the mode to compare time, emissions, and cost.

Distance: 2.4 km · 12 min · 0.2 kg CO₂

04 · ROADMAP

Timeline

A staged rollout from foundational platform to regional positioning.

  1. 2026 – 2027

    Phase 1 — Foundation

    Stand up the CE-M pilot: first e-shuttle route, booking and payment MVP, baseline OD surveys, and the first adaptive-signal experiments on a single UEH corridor.

  2. 2028 – 2029

    Phase 2 — Integration

    Integrate e-motorbike sharing, extend the geofenced network across UEH campuses, and wire up operator partners. Launch the MaaS Route Planner as a public tool and publish first impact papers.

  3. 2030

    Phase 3 — Positioning & Scaling

    Position SML as a regional reference on campus-scale low-carbon mobility: transfer the CE-M playbook to partner universities and municipal districts across Southeast Asia.

05 · PROJECTS

Projects

Ongoing and recent work underpinning SML's programmatic agenda.

GTALK 2022 – 2023

Gender and Transport Assemblage of Learning and Knowledge

A multi-country program building a shared evidence base and curriculum on gender-responsive transport planning, co-designed with practitioners in Ho Chi Minh City and partner cities.

Gender & Transport Capacity Building
ADAS 2021 – 2023

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems

Comparative acceptance and behaviour study of ADAS technologies in Vietnam and Belgium — driver trust, use patterns, and policy implications for mixed-traffic emerging markets.

ADAS Behavioural Safety
Walkability 2023 – 2024

Developing an Intersectional Equity Framework to Support Walkability Transitions

An intersectional framework for walkability audits — combining street audits, interviews, and equity metrics to guide low-carbon street transitions in Southeast Asian cities.

Walkability Equity

06 · FACILITIES

Facilities & Instruments

SML pairs an immersive simulation suite with a field-grade sensing stack — so ideas can move from virtual prototype to instrumented pilot without leaving the lab.

VR/AR Systems & Interactive Simulation

A mixed-reality environment for traffic scenario testing, driver behaviour experiments, and participatory co-design of street futures.

Unity / Unreal Eye-tracking VISSIM / AIMSUN Camera 360

Traffic Data Sensors & Simulation

Field-deployable sensing stack and calibration bench for mixed-traffic studies — from two-wheeler safety to intersection-level flow analysis.

AI Traffic Camera GoPro 2 Physical bicycles + Virtual Env GPS Trackers Analysis Sensors Traffic Simulation Model

07 · METRICS

Ambition in numbers

Targets tracked across the 2027 / 2029 / 2030 milestones.

Indicator
2027
2029
2030
Active projects
2
5
7
Papers published (cumulative)
3
5
15
Policy reports
4
10
15
Policies adopted
1
3
5

08 · PUBLICATIONS

Publications

Selected peer-reviewed outputs and policy reports.

  1. 2022

    Trinh, T. A., Pham, N. H., & Mateo-Babiano, I.

    GTALK Report Series: Safer Cities in Asia — Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

    Gender and Transport Assemblage of Learning and Knowledge, Report Series.

  2. 2024

    Trinh, T. A., & Pham, H. N.

    Public Transport Policy through a Gender Lens in the Post-Pandemic World.

    Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, 15, 659–675.

  3. 2024

    Khattak, M. W., Brijs, K., Tran, T. M., Trinh, T. A., et al.

    Acceptance towards Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).

    Transportation Research Part F, 105, 284–305.

  4. 2024

    Brijs, K., Vu, A. T., Trinh, T. A., et al.

    A Comparative Study of Factors Influencing ADAS Acceptance in Belgium and Vietnam.

    Safety, 10(4), 93.

09 · STAKEHOLDERS

Stakeholders & Benefits

Who SML works with — and what each of them gains.

Students

  • Safe, affordable on-campus mobility.
  • Paid research internships & theses.
  • Hands-on training in data & design.

Universities & Educational Institutions

  • Living-lab infrastructure on campus.
  • Shared curriculum & exchange.
  • Joint publications and grants.

Authorities & Government

  • Evidence for mobility & climate policy.
  • Replicable campus-first playbook.
  • Capacity-building for officials.

Industry Partners & Operators

  • Real-world pilot environment.
  • Data-driven product iteration.
  • Pathway to public-sector contracts.