Cross-cutting Issues

The collection of data describing traffic conditions is a primary function of a typical traffic management system. Measurements of traffic parameters such as mean speed, volume, and occupancy are made at many locations on freeways and arterials covered by these systems. Spatially, traffic detectors are typically placed at regular intervals on freeways within these systems (e.g. every 0.5 mile). Temporally, these data are usually collected and aggregated across consistent time intervals (between 20 seconds and 5 minutes). Archiving of these data, by the provision of long-term storage in an easily accessible database, is becoming increasingly common in the upgrading and expansion of traffic management systems.

The key component of this data mining application is the use of statistical quality control techniques to detect abnormal observations. These statistical tools, developed to monitor manufacturing processes, examine quantified measures of such a process, identify observations that fall outside of a range defined as comprising normal conditions, and allow the process manager to take appropriate remedial action. These tools can be applied to a database of historical observations of traffic flow to perform the same function. Three measures of traffic flow typically collected in traffic management systems are mean speed, volume (flow rate), and occupancy.

Virginia Transportation Research Council

University of Virginia - Department of Civil Engineering

Presented at the 11th ITS Annual Conference and Exposition, June 4-7, 2001 Miami Beach, Florida

Mainstreaming of ITS and regional architecture consistency with the National ITS Architecture are much sought after goals in the transportation community today. Toward these goals, a regional ITS architecture for FDOT District 7, including Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, and Citrus counties, was completed in December 1999. A mail-in survey of the public agencies, representing the five counties and FDOT District 7, was undertaken to solicit input on the architecture development. The survey results were analyzed to determine primary stakeholders, types of legacy systems, level of traffic/traveler information sharing, and interest in continuing ITS deployments, types of institutional agreements needed, institutional barriers, and funding issues. The market packages for each County and FDOT District 7, prioritized as part of the District 7 Strategic Deployment Plan for ITS study were further refined based on the survey results.

A Division of Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, Inc.

Presented at the 11th ITS Annual Conference and Exposition, June 4-7, 2001 Miami Beach, Florida

VISION: Imagine a vehicle that will recognize the local radio environment and “adapt” the vehicle radio systems to that environment: electronic tags for toll systems and commercial vehicle clearance; traveler information on FM subcarriers and AM digital broadcasts; Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) for in-vehicle signing and emergency information (black ice ahead, emergency vehicle approaching, etc.); emergency services being able to communicate during crisis incidents (forest fires, plane crashes, etc.). Drawing on the wireless telephone communities’ action to solve a similar problem – the lack national and international standards – Smart Vehicle Radio Systems can be in use as soon as 2005! The U. S. Military is mandating the use of the technology in the Joint Tactical Radio System that will replace thirty-five different tactical radios systems currently in operation. Implementation of this vision requires that we begin the educational outreach process to describe the benefits of agreeing on a Smart Vehicle Radio System Architecture and the resulting implementing interface standards.

W. Gordon Fink - Emerging Technology Markets

Presented at the 11th ITS Annual Conference and Exposition, June 4-7, 2001 Miami Beach, Florida

The project described in this paper was funded by the ITS IDEA Program of the National Academy of Sciences – Transportation Research Board in Washington DC. This project, categorized as a Product Test, involved the system development and testing of a communication device based upon the ReFLEX Narrowband PCS technology commonly used in two-way pagers. The pager-based communication device was tested with three different remote sensors in the Boston Metropolitan area with assistance and support from the Massachusetts Highway Department. This product is cost effective for transmitting data from Highway Performance Monitoring System sites, and in event-based data transmissions such as incidents, weather, equipment failure, etc. It can be a cost-effective alternative in typical ITS application in situations when traditional methods such as telephone, spread-spectrum or cellular either are technical infeasible or have high installation costs.

TRAFINFO.COM, Inc.

Presented at the 10th ITS Annual Conference and Exposition, May 1-4, 2000 Boston, MA

The advent of Intelligent Transportation Systems has created an issue of how to interface on board ITS devices to a vehicle. One solution to this issue has been to create a Gateway between ITS devices and a vehicle’s electrical systems. The Gateway idea has, in turn, created its own issues. This paper discusses the idea of a Vehicle Gateway Interface (VGI) as one possible derivation of a Gateway, and the operation of a VGI prototype. Also described is the successful implementation of a VGI into a demo vehicle, and the future usage and considerations for a VGI device.

DaimlerChrysler AG

Presented at the 10th ITS Annual Conference and Exposition, May 1-4, 2000 Boston, MA