When it comes to interesting journeys, University of the Sunshine Coast vehicular technology researcher Danladi ‘Danny’ Suleman knows all about them.
Raised in Nigeria, Danladi arrived at UniSC after detours through Cyprus, the Netherlands and more than a dozen other countries.
Danladi is one of 345 students graduating from UniSC Moreton Bay, with graduation ceremonies held from Tuesday 29 September to Thursday 1 October. Details here.
He now dreams of contributing to an Australian transportation revolution.
Danladi recently completed a PhD analysing the way smart vehicles communicate with the world around them, a frontier destined to become more important in years ahead.
“Expectation is that by 2031, more than half of the new vehicles produced globally will have some form of V2X (vehicle-to-everything) communication technology, with some optimistic forecasts exceeding 90 per cent,” Danladi says.
“These vehicles exchange wireless information continuously, both with each other and their environments, including traffic lights, road signs, and other sources of information that support road safety and traffic efficiency.
“But Australia is not yet at the stage where we have the infrastructure or systems to allow this to occur in an optimal way.
“When you are sitting still, information exchange is pretty straightforward, but when you are travelling at perhaps 100kmh through a variety of environments, it’s more complex.”
Danladi Suleman’s PhD research investigates the way modern cars communicate with infrastructure such as traffic lights.
Since migrating to Australia in 2022, Danladi has lived at both Bray Park and Griffin while studying at UniSC Moreton Bay campus.
As he discusses his research, he highlights how wildly the surrounds vary as he drives either 45 minutes north or south.
“If I go south to central Brisbane you have a city where the communications network coverage is very good, but you have obstacles like tall buildings, a river and then dedicated green spaces that interrupt the connection,” Danladi says.
“But if I go north, say to the Glass House Mountains, you have a landscape that is mostly open farmland and nature, the coverage is more patchy, and you have these spectacular mountains that suddenly rise out of the earth.
“My research looks at systems and protocols for the use of technology so that the experience is as safe and seamless as possible for everyone, no matter the setting.
“These are dynamic environments where vehicles need to be making decisions on the move, which should be in an integrated and efficient way.”
Danladi says that some technology systems are faster at delivering information than others, while some have better reliability than counterparts.
His research suggests the precise timing when vehicles should switch from one system to another.
“It cannot be a one-size-fits-all scenario,” Danladi says.
“I’ve dedicated my life to this research, so to think that it might be applied to improve Australian road safety in the future … I couldn’t be prouder.”
Aged 39 and a father-of-two, Danladi is a lifelong learner with numerous qualifications in technology fields including computer science, software and information systems.
His path to UniSC was rather serendipitous, cemented only after meeting up with an old friend while on holiday in Russia.
“At that point I was actually headed to a university in Canada, but I saw my friend in Russia and he spoke so highly of Australia as a destination,” Danladi says.
“He had lived in Australia and worked as a doctor for 20 years and loved it.
“I find Australia very laidback, less stressful than most places, and people care more about the work you produce rather than whether you are wearing a suit or not.”
Danladi’s accomplishment at completing his Doctor of Philosophy was celebrated at a graduation ceremony at UniSC Moreton Bay in October 2026.
He was one of 345 UniSC Moreton Bay graduates – and 976 across all UniSC campuses for the semester – as the University celebrated its 30th anniversary.
