Awards

Award Process Overview

IEEE ITSC 2025 received 54 nominated papers for the Best Paper Awards. The Program Committee conducted a first-level quality and eligibility review and shortlisted 44 papers:

• 18 papers nominated for the Best Paper Award
• 26 papers nominated for the Best Student Paper Award

During the conference, 9 onsite volunteers with diverse backgrounds and expertise in Intelligent Transportation Systems evaluated the presentations and selected the Top 5 finalists in each category.

Best Paper Award – Nominated Papers (18)

(Sorted by paper number and the shortlisted finalists appear in bold)

• (28) H. Toss, K. Karlsson, P. Duthon, Y. Poledna — “Rain Reflectivity Distribution and Detectability in Automotive Radar”
• (43) K. Ishii, S. Fumiyama, R. Otsuka — “Unsupervised Travel Mode Identification with Sparse Location Data”
• (53) M. Zhang, D. Wang, H. Yu, X. Wang, J. Zhang, Z. Cai — “A Subarea-Based Multi Agent Reinforcement Learning Approach for Traffic Signal Control”
• (56) C. Wei, Z. Qin, W. Zimmer, G. Wu, M. Barth — “HeCoFuse: Cross-Modal Complementary V2X Cooperative Perception with Heterogeneous Sensors”
• (213) J. Liu, J. Fang, J. Xue — “HITP: Hierarchical Intention Representation for Multi-Agent Trajectory Prediction”
• (242) S. Xue, H. L. Vu — “Mixed-Granularity Physics-Informed Deep Learning for Traffic State Estimation”
• (258) B. Caiazzo, S. Leccese, A. Petrillo, S. Santini — “Improving the Communication Overhead in Vehicles Platoon: A Novel Dynamic Event-Triggered Predictor Method”
• (283) T. Demmler, J. Häringer, A. Tamke, T. Dang, A. Hegai, L. Mikelsons — “Beyond Features: How Dataset Design Influences Multi-Agent Trajectory Prediction Performance”
• (408) D. Hu, Y. Zhou, F. Hu, C. Huang, J. Wu, A. Savkin — “Generalizing Autonomous Navigation Via Human-Guided Diffusion Policies with Adversarial Reinforcement Learning”
• (462) L. Zheng, H. Rao, J. Zhu, W. Jiang, Y. Hao, W. Zhao, J. Shao, B. Su, W. Li, Y. Xie, W. Ni, B. Sheng — “Vehicle Trajectory Imputation at Intersection Based on Ensemble Learning”
• (494) L. Li, Y. Cai, J. Fang, J. Xue, C. Lv — “COVLM-RL: Critical Object-Oriented Reasoning for Autonomous Driving Using VLM-Guided Reinforcement Learning”
• (516) A. Rett, J. Fottner — “Fleet Optimization for Mobile Hydrogen Refueling Stations in a Selective Pickup and Delivery Problem”
• (713) D. Zhang, Y. Sun, H. Qiang, G. Lin — “Physics-Informed Neural Network Learning-Based Nonlinear MPC for Maglev Vehicles Levitation Systems with Variable Terminal Constraint Set”
• (723) X. Zhao, Y. Sun, J. Xu, H. Qiang — “Safe Reinforcement Learning Control for Maglev Train Levitation System with Robust Safety Assurance”
• (849) X. Liao, H. Ma, Y. Liu, Y. Wei, B. He, C. Stanford, J. Ma — “Next-Generation Travel Demand Modeling with a Generative Framework for Household Activity Coordination”
• (937) T. Mohammadnejad, J. D’sa, B. Chalaki, H. Nourkhiz Mahjoub, E. Moradi-Pari — “SMART-Merge Planner: A Safe Merging and Real-Time Motion Planner for Autonomous Highway On-Ramp Merging”
• (968) E. Hidalgo Gonzalez, P. Fan, M. Barth, K. Boriboonsomsin — “Impact of Charging Infrastructure Strategies on Operations of Battery Electric Trucks: Case Study of Drayage Application”
• (1066) H. Hu, R. Goswami, H. Jiang, S. Samaranayake — “Optimal Micro-Transit Zoning Via Clique Generation and Integer Programming”

Best Student Paper Award – Nominated Papers (26)

(Sorted by paper number and the shortlisted finalists appear in bold)

• (48) G. Würsching, T. Mascetta, S. Breen, M. Althoff — “Transformer-Based Assessment of Driving Corridors for Motion Planning of Automated Vehicles”
• (65) R. Nakazawa, S. Takenaka, Y. Homma, A. Sato, J. Kuwahara, K. Takemura — “Implicit Calibration of Point-Of-Gaze on Scene Image Using Smooth-Pursuit Eye Movements for Driver Monitoring”
• (144) A. Aertssen, R. Huisman, I. Besselink, J. Elfring, M. v.d. Molengraft — “Trajectory Planning for an Articulated Commercial Vehicle Using Model Predictive Contouring Control”
• (162) H. Kojima, K. Honda, H. Okuda, T. Suzuki — “Real-Time Model Predictive Control of Vehicles with Convex-Polygon-Aware Collision Avoidance in Tight Spaces”
• (303) J. Chen, D. Li, C. Yi, X. Zheng, S. Ito, H. Murase, D. Deguchi — “Semantic-Driven Distillation for Semantic Segmentation with Unknown Classes”
• (328) H. Yu, C. Zhang, X. Luo, W. Yin, Z. Liu, J. Huang, X. Liu — “Taxi Repositioning Via LLM-Driven Multi-Agent Coordination and Experience Accumulation”
• (345) Y. Zhang, D. Ngoduy — “A Stochastic and Heterogeneous Dynamic Pricing Strategy for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations”
• (396) A. Nezhadettehad, A. Zaslavsky, A. Rakib, S. Loke — “Bayesian-Symbolic Integration for Uncertainty-Aware Parking Prediction”
• (413) B. Wei, Y. Xu, Z. He, Z. Yi, X. Wu, Y. Zhu — “Knowledge Graph and Large Language Model-Driven Intelligent Traffic Assistant for Question Answering and Risk Analysis of Commercial Vehicles”
• (424) S. Xu, T. Zhang, L. Zhao, W. Zhou, S. Nastic, C. Wang — “Surveillance-Based Spatial Temporal Traffic Accident Detection: A Novel Dataset and Tailored Algorithm”
• (479) H. Pang, Z. Wang, G. Li — “LLM-Driven Constrained MARL for Collaborative Multi-Vehicle Control in Autonomous Cooperative Transportation Systems”
• (504) J.-P. Göbel, J. Mertens, T. Kundinger, A. Riener — “Multimodal Detection of Alcohol-Impaired Driving Using Time-Series Classification in a High-Fidelity Simulator”
• (564) C. Justice, K. Goodrick, M. Harper — “Considering Feasibility of Electric Aircraft at a Regional Scale”
• (665) N. H. K. Tran, J. S. Berrio Perez, M. Shan, Z. Ming, S. Worrall — “InterLoc: LiDAR-Based Intersection Localization Using Road Segmentation with Automated Evaluation Method”
• (688) X. Xie, J. Liu, Y. Huang, X. Pei, T. Hou — “RailTopoSim: An Automatic Scene Generation and Simulation Framework for Rail Infrastructure Based on Topological Ontology”
• (738) X. Peng, Y. Wang, M. Tang, K. Bierzynski, L. Servadei, R. Wille — “MoRAL: Motion-Aware Multi-Frame 4D Radar and LiDAR Fusion for Robust 3D Object Detection”
• (767) J. Xu, C. Che, B. Alrifaee — “A Real-Time Control Barrier Function-Based Safety Filter for Motion Planning with Arbitrary Road Boundary Constraints”
• (778) A. S. Brar, R. Su, C. Cassandras, G. Zardini — “Wise Goose Chase: A Predictive Path Planning Algorithm for Dynamic Rebalancing in Ride-Hailing Systems”
• (813) T. T. Ponbagavathi, K. Peng, A. Roitberg — “T-MASK: Temporal Masking for Probing Foundation Models across Camera Views in Driver Monitoring”
• (826) L. Hein, G. De Nunzio, G. Chierchia, A. Pirayre, L. Najman — “Network-Wide Traffic Volume Estimation from Speed Profiles Using a Spatio-Temporal Graph Neural Network with Directed Spatial Attention”
• (859) A. Vivekanandan, C. Hubschneider, J. M. Zöllner — “Contrast & Compress: Learning Lightweight Embeddings for Short Trajectories”
• (885) Y. Liu, X. Liao, H. Ma, J. Liu, R. Jadhav, J. Ma — “MobiVerse: Scaling Urban Mobility Simulation with Hybrid Lightweight Domain-Specific Generator and Large Language Models”
• (918) F. Prignoli, F. Borrelli, P. Falcone, M. Pustilnik — “Regulation-Aware Game-Theoretic Motion Planning for Autonomous Racing”
• (920) J. Jung, M. Ghorbanalivakili, G. Sohn — “Multi-Railway Track and Switch Region Recognition Using Mobile Laser Scanning Data”
• (1027) M. Gupta, D. Bhowmick, B. Beck — “BikeVAE-GNN: A Variational Autoencoder-Augmented Hybrid Graph Neural Network for Sparse Bicycle Volume Estimation”
• (1049) I. Castañeda-Rodríguez, A.-S. Mihaita, B. Marche, S. Dávila-Gálvez, M. Camargo — “A Novel Mixed-Integer Linear Programming Model for the Capacitated Arc Routing Problem Adapted to Roadside Management Operations”

Best Paper Award Winners

1st Prize – Best Paper Award

Lin Li
For paper co-authored with Y. Cai, J. Fang, J. Xue, C. Lv
Titled: “COVLM-RL: Critical Object-Oriented Reasoning for Autonomous Driving Using VLM-Guided Reinforcement Learning”

2nd Prize – Best Paper Award

Tobias Demmler
For paper co-authored with J. Häringer, A. Tamke, T. Dang, A. Hegai, L. Mikelsons
Titled: “Beyond Features: How Dataset Design Influences Multi-Agent Trajectory Prediction Performance”

Best Student Paper Award Winners

1st Prize – Best Student Paper Award

Xiangyuan Peng
For paper co-authored with Y. Wang, M. Tang, K. Bierzynski, L. Servadei, R. Wille
Titled: “MoRAL: Motion-Aware Multi-Frame 4D Radar and LiDAR Fusion for Robust 3D Object Detection”

2nd Prize – Best Student Paper Award

Bangyan Wei
For paper co-authored with Y. Xu, Z. He, Z. Yi, X. Wu, Y. Zhu
Titled: “Knowledge Graph and Large Language Model-Driven Intelligent Traffic Assistant for Question Answering and Risk Analysis of Commercial Vehicles”

Outstanding Reviewer Award

Recognizing exceptional dedication, high-quality reviews, and consistent support of the peer-review process:

Jörg Gamerdinger
Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Germany

Outstanding Associate Editor Award

Honoring outstanding editorial contributions and sustained service to the IEEE ITSC community:

Kumar Akash
Honda Research Institute, United States of America