Principal Investigator(s):
Panos Michalopoulos, Former Professor, Civil, Environmental and Geo-Engineering
Project summary:
The key element in improving traffic operations and performing real-time management is the ability to assess the effectiveness of various alternatives prior to implementation. Simulation methods have long been recognized as the most effective tool for such analysis, and various simulators have been developed by different agencies for analyzing freeway and/or arterial networks. However, simulation has not yet become a suitable tool for practical application. One reason for is the extensive manual labor required to input the different kinds of traffic data into most simulation programs, which points to the need for a simulation tool that provides automatic access to large amounts of traffic data. The purpose of this research, therefore, is to develop an Automated Simulation Tool (AST) with automatic access to both traffic geometry and traffic measurement data. The AST will be part of a Laboratory Environment for Traffic Analysis (LETRAN), which ill provide easy and efficient access to various kinds of traffic data for use in simulation, control, incident detection, and other types of traffic analysis applications to be deployed in a next-generation traffic management center.