Selina Pan

Selina Pan was a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University from 2014 to 2016.  She received the Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering from UC Berkeley in 2014, the M.S. degree in mechanical engineering from UC Berkeley in 2009, and the B.S.E. degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan in 2008.  Her doctoral research was in unmanned aircraft and automotive engine control.   Her current research interests are in ethics, driver-vehicle interaction, and integrated path planning and tracking in autonomous vehicles.   Interaction between the vehicle and driver is a key area for examination before autonomous capabilities are deployed onto roads.  Selina is working on safe feedback interactions between the driver and vehicle and how to best mutually communicate intent.  Additionally, beyond function, autonomous vehicles must also be designed to operate ethically, responsibly, and safely.  Selina is working on control algorithms that address path planning and following in a safe manner, as well as a larger framework incorporating ethical issues that balance safety, mobility, and legality within the development of the algorithm design.  The choices that human drivers make are instantaneous and intuitive, and as engineers working on autonomous vehicles, it is key to demonstrate that these vehicles can be programmed to "intuit" responsibly before they can be socially accepted and incorporated onto roadways en masse.

Publications

Motor learning affects car-to-driver handover in automated vehicles

Incorporating Ethical Considerations Into Automated Vehicle Control

Prescriptive and proscriptive moral regulation for autonomous vehicles in approach and avoidance