Craig Beal

As a member of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Bucknell University, my teaching interests lie in the fields of system dynamics, controls, robotics, mechatronics and vehicle dynamics. My research focus is in developing high performance human-vehicle interactions to assist drivers in maintaining control of their vehicle at the friction-dependent handling limits. My research also provides foundational knowledge for the development of autonomous systems. This webpage offers insight into my background and interests as well as listing my current activities.

In person:

office: 119 Academic East Building
phone: 570.577.2347
email: cbeal@bucknell.edu

On the web:

Current CV Google Scholar ORCID ResearchGate LinkedIn BU Profile

Education:

• Stanford University - Stanford, CA
  Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering - 2011
  Thesis: Applications of Model Predictive Control to Vehicle Dynamics for Active Safety and Stability
• Stanford University - Stanford, CA
  M.S. Mechanical Engineering - 2007
• Bucknell University - Lewisburg, PA
  B.S. with Honors in Mechanical Engineering - 2005
  GPA: 4.0/4.0 (Summa Cum Laude)

Grants:

• PA Manufacturing Fellows Initiative: Design, Development, and Construction of a Sports Mat Joining Machine with Resilite Sports Products ($69,373 : 2023-2024)
  In this project, Bucknell students serve as fellows to design and build a new machine to bond fastening material to welding mats, supporting a product patented by Resilite Sports Products. The project is expected to deliver a design and prototype for a machine with more consistent output, better ergonomics, and an expected increased reliability.
• PA Manufacturing Fellows Initiative: Portable Test & Measurement System for Performance Evaluation of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines ($66,560 : 2022-2023)
  In this project, Bucknell students serve as fellows to build test equipment to provide scientific data for performance evaluation of a unique vertical axis wind turbine design invented and patented by Harmony Turbines, LLC.
• CPS: Medium: Collaborative Research: Automated Discovery of Data Validity for Safety-Critical Feedback Control in a Population of Connected Vehicles ($1,195,333 total : $124,143 Bucknell/Beal : 2020-2022)
  In this project, the research team intends to collect data from a fleet of connected vehicles to examine the relationships of data collected in time and spatial dimensions. The application to vehicle friction sensing will allow the fleet of vehicles to more accurately determine the conditions across a roadway network and to use the available information to proactively adjust vehicle maneuvering to avoid safety-critical situations.
• PA Manufacturing Fellows Initiative: Product and Manufacturing Innovations for Water Sports Equipment for Gilson Snow, Inc. ($70,000 : 2019-2020)
  In this project, Bucknell students serve as fellows to leverage the Gilson Snow intellectual property for a new water sports product. In addition to generating concepts for the product, the fellows supply market research, modeling, experimental fluid dynamics testing, and instrumentation of prototypes for live testing.
• MRI: Acquisition of Automotive Tire Force and Moment Sensors ($154,840 : 2018-2019)
  This NSF grant provided support for the acquisition of a pair of six degree-of-freedom load sensors for measurement of the forces and moments generated by the interaction of the tires with the road. Key results include a library of publically available data from the vehicle, enhanced models of steering torque behavior, and improved friction sensing techniques.

Student Research Advising:

• Adaptive Steering Alignment via Wheel Force and Steering Torque Sensing
  Students: Nick Shopis (UG)
  Determination of key measurable steering torque and wheel force components that affect steering alignment. Subsequent development of algorithms that measure steering misalignment and correct to ensure good handling, efficient rolling, and low tire wear.
• Automotive Control Development using Digital Twin Technology
  Students: Hannah Kim (UG)
  Development of a ``digital twin'' of the P1 research vehicle drivetrain using Simulink software and Arduino hardware. The digital twin implements the control logic and physical dynamics of the system in order to provide a bench-top test platform for controller development.
• Eliciting Emergency Driver Responses with In-Vehicle Stimuli
  Students: Y. Zhou (UG)
  Exploration of the potential for the vehicle to recognize adverse road or environmental situations and use in-vehicle sensory stimuli to provoke a desired and rapid driver reaction.
• Detection of Road Surface Friction Conditions from Steering Torques
  Students: Serena Tramm (UG)
  Faculty Collaborator: S. Brennan (PSU)
  Determination of sufficient excitation conditions and development/refinement of algorithms for detecting road surface friction conditions from on-board steering torque measurements.
• Control of Vehicle Maneuvers on Uncertain Road Surfaces
  Students: C. Boyd (UG/Masters)
  Development of systems for responding to changes in road friction, enabling human-driven and autonomous vehicles to maneuver appropriately in adverse or uncertain road conditions.
• Virtual and Small Scale Vehicle Dynamics Testing
  Students: J. Ferrara (UG), Z. Slavitz (UG), A. Dillon (UG), H. Doherty (UG)
  Development of scale vehicles and sensing to create an environment for friction estimation and safe experimentation with limit-handling vehicle control.

Publications:

Journal papers

• Boxes-based Representation and Data Sharing of Road Surface Friction for CAVs
  Liming Gao, Juliette Mitrovich, Craig E. Beal, Wushuang Bai, Satya Prasad Maddipatla, Cindy Chen, Kshitij Jerath, Hossein Haeri, Lorina Sinanaj, Sean Brennan. In Data Science for Transportation, 5:2, 1-9, 2023.
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42421-023-00071-0BibTeX Entry
• Granulation of Large Temporal Databases: An Allan Variance Approach
  Lorina Sinanaj, Hossein Haeri, Satya Prasad Maddipatla, Liming Gao, Rinith Pakala, Niket Kathiriya, Craig Beal, Sean Brennan, Cindy Chen, Kshitij Jerath. In SN Computer Science, 4:1, 1-19, 2023.
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42979-022-01397-2BibTeX Entry
• Near-optimal Moving Average Estimation at Characteristic Timescales: An Allan Variance Approach
  Hossein Haeri, Craig E. Beal and Kshitij Jerath. In IEEE Control Systems Letters, 5:5, 1531-1536, 2021.
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/LCSYS.2020.3040111BibTeX Entry
• At What Cost? How Planned Collisions with Pedestrians May Save Lives
  Michael D. Robinson, Craig E. Beal and Sean Brennan. In Accident Analysis & Prevention, 141, 2020.
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2020.105492BibTeX Entry
• Modeling and Friction Estimation for Automotive Steering Torque at Very Low Speeds
  Craig E. Beal and Sean Brennan. In Vehicle System Dynamics. 59:3, 458-484.
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00423114.2019.1708416BibTeX Entry
• Friction Detection from Stationary Steering Manoeuvers
  Craig E. Beal and Sean Brennan. In Vehicle System Dynamics. 58:11, 1736-1765, 2020.
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00423114.2019.1645862BibTeX Entry
• Rapid Road Friction Estimation using Independent Left/Right Steering Torque Measurements
  Craig E. Beal. In Vehicle System Dynamics, 58:3, 377-403, 2020.
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00423114.2019.1580377BibTeX Entry
• Vehicle control synthesis using phase portraits of planar dynamics
  Carrie G. Bobier-Tiu, Craig E. Beal, John C. Kegelman, Rami Y. Hindiyeh and J. Christian Gerdes. In Vehicle System Dynamics, 57:9, 1318-1337, 2019.
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00423114.2018.1502456BibTeX Entry
• Coupled lateral-longitudinal vehicle dynamics and control design with three-dimensional state portraits
  Christina E. Boyd and Craig E. Beal. In Vehicle System Dynamics, 57:2, 286-313, 2019.
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00423114.2018.1467019 BibTeX Entry
• Model Predictive Control for Vehicle Stabilization at the Limits of Handling
  Craig E. Beal and J. Christian Gerdes. In IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, 21:4, 1258-1269, 2013.
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TCST.2012.2200826BibTeX Entry

Conference papers

• Analysis of Friction Utilization Within a Roadway Network Using Simulated Vehicle Trajectories
  Juliette Mitrovich, Srivenkata Satya Prasad Maddipatla, Liming Gao, Ilgin Guler, Craig E. Beal, Sean BrennanIn Proceedings of the 2023 IEEE Conference on Control Technology and Applications. Bridgetown, Barbados. September 2023.
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/CCTA54093.2023.10253155BibTeX Entry
• Vehicle Model Predictive Trajectory Tracking Control with Curvature and Friction Preview
  Liming Gao, Craig Beal, Juliette Mitrovich, Sean Brennan. In Proceedings of the 10th IFAC Symposium on Advances in Automotive Control. Columbus, OH, USA. August 2022.BibTeX Entry
• Analytical Longitudinal Speed Planning for CAVs with Previewed Road Geometry and Friction Constraints
  Liming Gao, Craig Beal, Daniel Fescenmyer, Sean Brennan. In Proceedings of the 2021 IEEE International Intelligent Transportation Systems Conference (ITSC). Indianapolis, IN, USA. September 2021.BibTeX Entry
• A Micro-simulation Framework for Studying CAVs Behavior and Control Utilizing a Traffic Simulator, Chassis Simulation, and a Shared Roadway Friction Database
  Liming Gao, Srivenkata Satya Prasad Maddipatla, Craig Beal, Kshitij Jerath, Cindy Chen, Lorina Sinanaj, Hossein Haeri, Sean Brennan. In Proceedings of the 2021 American Control Conference (ACC). New Orleans, LA, USA. May 2021.BibTeX Entry
• Vehicle Stabilization during critical cornering scenarios using sliding surface control
  Christina Boyd and Craig E. Beal. In Proceedings of the 2017 ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Conference. Tyson's Corner, VA, USA. October 2017. BibTeX Entry
• Stabilization of a Vehicle Traversing a Short Low-Friction Road Segment
  Craig E. Beal. In Proceedings of the 2017 IEEE Conference on Control Technology and Applications. Kohala, HI, USA. August 2017. BibTeX Entry
• An Interactive Professional Ethics Case Simulation
  Craig E. Beal and James G. Orbison. In Proceedings of the 2017 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition. Columbus, OH, USA. June 2017. BibTeX Entry
• Miniature Electric Vehicle Laboratory for Introductory and Advanced Coursework
  Craig E. Beal. In Proceedings of the 2017 American Control Conference. Seattle, WA, USA. May 2017. BibTeX Entry
• Independent Wheel Effects in Real Time Estimation of Tire-Road Friction Coefficient from Steering Torque
  Craig E. Beal. In Proceedings of the 2016 IFAC Symposium on Advances in Automotive Control. Norrkoping, Sweden. June 2016. BibTeX Entry
• Vehicle Road Departure Detection Using Anomalies in Dynamics
  Hang Yang and Derek McBlaine and Christina Boyd and Craig Beal and Sean Brennan. In Proceedings of the 2016 American Control Conference. Boston, MA, USA. June 2016. BibTeX Entry
• Dynamic Rear-End Collision Mitigation for a Vehicle About to be Struck
  Luke Giugliano and Craig E. Beal. In Proceedings of the 2015 ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Conference. Columbus, OH, USA. October 2015. BibTeX Entry
• Controlling Vehicle Instability through Stable Handling Envelopes
  Craig E. Beal and J. Christian Gerdes. In Proceedings of the 2011 ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Conference. Arlington, VA, USA. November 2011. BibTeX Entry
• A Method for Incorporating Nonlinear Tire Behavior into Linear Model Predictive Control for Vehicle Stability
  Craig E. Beal and J. Christian Gerdes. In Proceedings of the 2010 ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Conference. Boston, USA. September 2010. BibTeX Entry
• Experimental Validation of a Linear Model Predictive Envelope Controller in the Presence of Vehicle Nonlinearities.
  Craig E. Beal and J. Christian Gerdes. In Proceedings of the 2010 IFAC Symposium on Advances in Automotive Control. Munich, Germany. July 2010. BibTeX Entry
• Predictive Control of Vehicle Roll Dynamics with Rear Wheel Steering.
  Craig E. Beal and J. Christian Gerdes. In Proceedings of the 2010 American Control Conference. Baltimore, USA. June-July 2010. BibTeX Entry
• Enhancing Vehicle Stability Through Model Predictive Control.
  Craig E. Beal and J. Christian Gerdes. In Proceedings of the 2009 ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Conference. Hollywood, USA. ASME Dynamic Systems and Controls Division, October 2009. BibTeX Entry
• Rollover Event Prevention through Predictive Control of Coordinated Actuators.
  Craig E. Beal and J. Christian Gerdes. In Proceedings of the 21st International Symposium on Dynamics of Vehicles on Roads and Tracks. Stockholm, Sweden. IAVSD, August 2009. BibTeX Entry
• Evaluation of Pulse-Width Controllers for Multi-Link, Revolute-Jointed Robotic Arms.
  Buffinton, K.W., Perkins, A.D., Beal, C.E., and Berg, M.C. Proceedings of the IASTED International Conference on Robotics and Applications. October-November, 2005.

Theses

• Vehicle Stabilization During Critical Cornering Scenarios Using Sliding Surface Control
  Christina Boyd. Bucknell University Master's Thesis. May 2017. (click here) for abstract and link to full-text.
• Automobile Safety Systems: Improvement of a Method to Estimate Tire Friction Coefficients in Passenger Vehicles
  Mauro David Lifschitz Arribo. Bucknell University Master's Thesis. May 2015. (click here) for abstract and link to full-text.
• Applications of Model Predictive Control to Vehicle Dynamics for Active Safety and Stability
  Craig E. Beal. Stanford University Ph.D. Dissertation. May 2011. (click here) for abstract and link to full-text.
• Pulse-Width Control Criteria and Evaluation for Serially Connected Flexible Robotic Arms
  Craig E. Beal. Bucknell University Honors Thesis. May 2005. (click here) for abstract and link to full-text.