SC State STEM Showcase: Graduate student advances scooter safety
ORANGEBURG, S.C. – A South Carolina State University graduate student is using artificial intelligence to help solve a growing problem in urban traffic: scooters going undetected and causing accidents.
Nancy Kasamala, a transportation engineering student, recently presented her research at the university’s annual STEM Showcase, where students in various fields related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) presented the research they conducted with faculty mentors. Topics included cancer, cybersecurity, nuclear engineering, clean energy, plastics, environmental science, agronomy, biochemistry, transportation and more.
Kasamala’s efforts focus on a solution to improve how scooters are recognized by traffic cameras and autonomous vehicles. Her work addresses a common and often overlooked danger — missed detections.
“There are many accidents caused just because scooters aren’t detected by other vehicles or traffic systems,” Kasamala said. “My goal is to reduce those incidents.”
Offering convenient, affordable and environmentally friendly mobility, scooters have grown in popularity on college campuses and urban areas in recent years. Unlike cars or bicycles, however, scooters are often missed due to their smaller size and frequent occlusion by larger objects.
“I was motivated to enhance scooter detection because there are many accidents caused by failure to detect them,” Kasamala said. “Other vehicles and traffic systems often miss them, especially when they’re obstructed.”
Drawing from advances in artificial intelligence, Kasamala is developing a hybrid detection model that merges convolutional neural networks (CNNs) with transformers — a method designed to improve object recognition even when scooters are partially hidden. While CNNs are commonly used for image processing, transformers bring a self-attention mechanism that analyzes different parts of an image simultaneously, offering a more comprehensive understanding of complex traffic scenes.
“If a scooter is partially blocked by a car or pole, the transformer can still recognize that it’s there,” Kasamala explained. “It’s designed to pick up on small details, like a wheel or handlebars, that other models might miss.”
Her project is still in development, but the potential applications extend into the broader field of intelligent transportation systems — an area Kasamala hopes to pursue professionally.
The annual STEM Showcase, organized by SC State’s College of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Transportation, provides a platform for students to present their research to peers, faculty, and industry representatives. This year’s event was the largest to date, according to Dr. Courtney Thomas, associate professor of biochemistry and event organizer.
“We want students to showcase their research not just within the university but to external companies and graduate schools,” Thomas said. “It’s about opening doors for them — whether that’s internships, jobs, or graduate programs.”
In addition to fostering connections, the showcase highlighted SC State’s recent elevation to R2 research status, recognizing the university’s expanding research portfolio. From biological sciences to transportation engineering, the breadth of topics on display illustrated the university’s commitment to innovation.
As the event continues to grow, Thomas hopes students like Kasamala will motivate others to explore research paths they might not have considered.
“When students see their classmates leading these projects, it makes the work feel attainable,” Thomas said. “It shows them they can be part of this, too.”
The STEM Showcase is not just for show – a panel of judges reviews the work and awards prizes for oral and visual presentations.