Dr. Bryan Reimer

Bryan Reimer, Ph.D., is a Research Scientist in the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, a researcher in the AgeLab, and the Associate Director of The New England University Transportation Center at MIT. Bryan’s research seeks to develop theoretical and applied insight into driver behavior. His work aims to find solutions to the next generation of human factors challenges associated with driver attention management, distraction, automation and the use of advanced driver assistance systems to maximize mobility and safety. His work leverages laboratory experimentation, driving simulation, field testing, and naturalistic driving studies to develop a comprehensive understanding of visual, physiological, behavioral, and overall performance characteristics associated with how drivers respond to the increasing complexity of the modern operating environment. His research is multidisciplinary, drawing together traditional psychological methods with big data analytics in computer vision, deep learning, and predictive modeling. He is an author on over 250 technical contributions in transportation and related human factors areas. His work informs technology development, business strategy, and public policy.

He founded and leads three academic partnerships with industry. The Advanced Human Factors Evaluator for Attentional Demand (AHEAD) consortium, aims to develop the next generation of driver attention measurement tools. The Advanced Vehicle Technology (AVT) consortium, seeks to understand how drivers use emerging, commercially available vehicle technologies including advanced driver assistance systems and automated driving systems. Finally, the Clear Information Presentation (Clear-IP) consortium explores the impact of typography and other design features on usability in glance-based environments such as during driving or while using smartphones.

Dr. Reimer collaborates with industries worldwide on the topics of driver safety, vehicle automation and other technological concerns related to human factors. In addition to his work with students and a multi-disciplinary team at MIT, he is a strategic advisor to Affectiva and an active consultant to the entrepreneurial community. He is a Contributor to Forbes and regularly featured in the press as a mobility futurist and as an expert in automotive safety. A seasoned conference and event presenter, Reimer has provided keynote addresses on the topics of driver attention and vehicle automation. In his 2018 TEDx talk, “There’s more to the safety of driverless cars than AI”, he discusses the undertreated health crisis on our roads and the limits of focusing on automation alone as a solution. He suggests that the modernization and automation of our mobility ecosystem will require increased transparency and collaboration between the public and private sectors to enhance consumer trust and make vehicle automation the most critical life-saving technology of the century.

Dr. Reimer is the 2019 recipient of the Jack A. Kraft Innovator Award from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES). He received an inaugural 2018 Autos2050 Impact Award for his innovative contributions to the automotive industry, along with members of Congress, a governor, state senator, two CEOs, and several other leaders deeply concerned with the future of transportation, His academic contributions have been acknowledged through several paper awards including a highly selective 2017 CHI best paper.

He is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering, an M.S. in Manufacturing Engineering and a Ph.D. in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering.