Commercial Operations

This  paper  presents  an  overview  for  a  multi-hop  communication  system onboard freight trains based on wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Because a WSN with nodes  in  each  freight  car  has  a  linear  chain-like  topology  of  significant  length,  the existing  IEEE  802.15.4  communication  protocol,  assuming  a  star  topology,  is  unable  to provide  acceptable  service.  The  end-to-end  communication  between  nodes  relies  on individual  nodes  communicating  with  their  respective  neighbors  to  carry  the information  over  multiple  hops  and  deliver  it  to  the  desired  destination.  The  routing performance  and  reliability  degrades  significantly  with  the increasing  number of hops. We  propose  a  practical  solution  for  large-scale  multi-hop  wireless  sensor  networks  in railroad  environments  that  overcomes  this  problem.  Our  simulation  results  show  that our  proposed  multi-tier  communication  approach  is  a feasible and reliable solution for implementing chain-topology WSNs with a high number of hops onboard freight trains. The  protocol,  based  on  the  IEEE  802.15.4  network  stack,  is  implemented  and  tested  in ns-2.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, May 3-5, 2010, Houston, Texas

A simulation of vehicle infrastructure integration (VII) implementation for highway rail grade crossings (HRGCs) is constructed. The driver behavior, vehicle maneuvering, and communication characteristics are considered by providing a user interface for updating parameters of the vehicle, train, latency, and simulation. The simulation emulates communication standards of the railroad, roadway, and vehicle system. Instead of simulating the send-and-receive process of dedicated short range communication (DSRC), the eventual latency is emulated. The mobility improvement is significant in terms of delays, travel times, and queue lengths, with the implementation of simple vehicle control logics. As the train information is provided to VII vehicles, the drivers are able to respond to avoid complete stops in a queue. The transmission range and market penetration rate are key issues for future implementation. The simulation results indicate that longer transmission ranges and higher market penetration rates will be beneficial to mobility improvement.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, May 3-5, 2010, Houston, Texas

In the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, there is a concentrated area where seven major roadways
all converge within a condensed area. At a cost of over $1.02 billion, this seven-mile stretch
of roadway will be totally reconstructed to add capacity and managed lanes. The project is
known as the DFW Connector. The project will reconstruct seven highways, six
interchanges, and 10 bridges. This paper identifies how Intelligent Transportation Systems
(ITS) will be used to connect communities through smart transportation solutions and how
work zone ITS is being used to provide information to motorists to help with route choice and
provide advance warning of slowed or stopped traffic.

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition, May 3-5, 2010, Houston, Texas

Within ITS project assessment, traditional cost-benefit analysis (CBA) may not fully address the  real  value  of  investment  with  regard  to  user  satisfaction,  willingness  to  pay  and  other sustainability issues. This paper examines how the Chinese  ITS  experience may be assessed through  multi-criteria  assessment  methods.  We  consider,  in  particular,  the  traffic  impact evaluation  of  Shanghai’s  highway  management  systems  and  take  the  accident  rate  of  all highways, accident economic losses, traffic volume, average speed, degree of satisfaction of the travellers, and their willingness to pay into full consideration. By an Analytical Hierarchy Process  (AHP)  approach,  this  research  evaluates  the  degree  of  importance  for  three subsystems  of  Shanghai  highway  network  to  establish  the  investment  ratio  for  each.  The funding ratio can then be used to guide investors to allocate of their funds in a scientific and reasonable way.

University College London

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition,November 16-20, 2008, New York, New York

Freight probe data is useful in understanding road traffic condition in detail and evaluating
road safety effectively. A system for sharing and utilizing it between the public and private
sectors is being developed under a public-private partnership.

The system will provide probe data which freight transport companies collect for operational
and safety management purposes to public sector bodies and accumulate it in a database. The
system will also process data into useful information for freight companies and feed it back to
them.

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Japan

Presented at the ITS America Annual Conference and Exposition,November 16-20, 2008, New York, New York