University of North Texas 
University of North Texas senior Andrew Summitt is a standout student in the Data
Science program and working as a Research Assistant in the Data Visualization and
Extreme Reality (DVXR) Lab for more than one year under the guidance of Dr. Sharad
Sharma, Associate Dean of Research and Director of DVXR Lab. Andrew recently presented
two innovative research papers at the 23rd IEEE/ACIS International Conference on Software
Engineering, Management and Applications (SERA 2025), held May 29–31 in Las Vegas,
Nevada. Andrew co-authored and presented the work alongside Dr. Sharad Sharma, a Professor
in UNT’s The Anuradha and Vikas Sinha Department of Data Science.
The research explores the practical use of emerging technologies, such as digital twins, to enhance public safety and urban infrastructure was well received by conference attendees from across the globe. The research work is funded by Dr. Sharma’s two NSF (National Science Foundation) grants (Award Number: 2319752 and Award Number: 2118285).
The first paper, titled “Emergency Assistive Mobile Application with Digital Twin for Real-Time 3D Navigation in Indoor Environments,” unveils a cutting-edge tool aimed at helping individuals navigate complex indoor environments in real-time during emergencies. The system, known as MARA (Mobile Augmented Reality Application), uses augmented reality to provide real-time indoor localization and navigation, offering a potential breakthrough in how first responders and the public move through unfamiliar or high-risk environments. MARA is specifically designed to enhance spatial analysis, situational awareness, and visual communication.
The second paper, “Immersive Virtual Reality Data Visualization for Urban Parking Management,” explores an innovative solution by integrating immersive virtual reality (VR) data visualization into urban parking management using the Meta Quest 3. The system combines spatial-temporal data, time series analysis, and anomaly detection to create a 3D interactive environment that allows users to explore parking lot occupancy, detect irregularities, and predict future parking demand. This work is part of the 13 million dollars NSF HDR Institute Grant (iHARP) to explore annotation and visualization of heterogeneous data using VR and AR.
“Andrew’s work demonstrates the power of data science when applied to real-world challenges,” said Dr. Sharma. “His commitment to using technology for public good is a testament to the values we promote at UNT.”
As a student researcher at the DVXR Lab, Andrew continues to represent the university on an international stage, highlighting the innovation and academic excellence fostered within the UNT community.
For more information on this research, please visit https://ci.unt.edu/dvxr/research/ar/ar.html.
https://ci.unt.edu/dvxr/research/vr/iharp-nsf-hdr.html
Summitt, A., Bhatt, B.J., Sharma, S., "Emergency Assistive Mobile Application with Digital Twin for Real-Time 3D Navigation in Indoor Environments", Proceedings of the 23rd IEEE/ACIS International Conference on Software Engineering, Management and Applications (SERA 2025), Las Vegas, USA, May 29-31, 2025.
Bhatt, B.J., Summitt, A., Sharma, S., "Immersive Virtual Reality Data Visualization for Urban Parking Management", Proceedings of the 23rd IEEE/ACIS International Conference on Software Engineering, Management and Applications (SERA 2025), Las Vegas, USA, May 29-31, 2025.