PATH`s Role in FOTs - California PATH

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Keeping up with California PATH Research in Intelligent Transportation Systems
PATH’s Role in FOTs
Special Issue:
FIELD OPERATIONAL TESTS
PATH’s Role
page 1
Smart CallBoxes
page 2
Spead Spectrum Radio
page 6
TravInfo
page 8
TransCal IRTIS
page 10
Ramp Metering
page 12
Conference Update
RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS
page 4
SEMINARS & VISITORS
page 15
Robert Tam
PATH
F
ield operational tests are a major element
of the Intelligent Transportation System
(ITS) program, which was established by the
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) as a response
to the realization that expanding the US highway system will not suffice to alleviate traffic congestion. The
ITS program uses advanced technologies in computing and communications to increase throughput on
existing roadways, improve safety, and reduce emissions and energy consumption.
Field Operational Tests (FOTs) serve as the transition between research and development (R&D)
and full-scale deployment of ITS technologies. Operational tests are, in general, joint public/private
ventures that integrate existing technologies, R&D
products, and institutional arrangements to test
one or more new technological or institutional elements in actual traffic conditions. Such tests
evaluate how well new ITS technologies work
in the real world. These assessments of a
product or system’s benefits and costs
help public and private organizations make better decisions
about their investments in
intelligent transportation
systems.
continued on page 5
PATH on Paper
NEW PUBLICATIONS
page 14
PATH—Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways—a joint venture of Caltrans and the University of California, the University of Southern California, California Polytechnic University, the Claremont
Graduate School, and private industry to increase highway capacity and to decrease traffic congestion, air pollution, accident rates, and fuel consumption.
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San Diego SMART Call Box
Field Operational Test
Jim Dodd
Project Manager, TeleTran Tek Services
R
eusing existing public infrastructure is an
A Regional Coordination Team composed of San
attractive strategy for deploying Intelligent
Diego’s Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies
Transportation Systems (ITS), since in-
(SAFE), Caltrans, and the California Highway Pa-
stalling new electronics to implement each new user
trol oversees the project. SAFE is the public agency
service would be very expensive. In the San Diego
region, Caltrans and the Federal Highway Administration are funding an operational test of this strategy, called SMART Call Box, using installed freeway call boxes.
that owns and operates the call box system, much
as Caltrans owns and operates the highway system. The CHP answers box calls and patrols the
highway system, while Caltrans and the CHP jointly
staff and operate the Transportation Management
Center. The prime contractors for the SMART Call
Box project are GTE and US Commlink. TeleTran
Tek Services manages the project, and San Diego
State University provides independent evaluation
of the project for PATH.
California now has about 15,500 call boxes installed
in 26 of the state’s 58 counties, covering some 6,300
miles of highway. Call boxes are stand-alone units:
each is battery
powered with a solar charging panel,
has a cellular transceiver, and is microprocessor controlled. Replacing a
box’s controller
card with a smarter
design can give it
the added capability of providing ITS
services. San Diego
now has fourteen
modified call boxes
performing traffic
census counts, detecting incidents,
monitoring the
weather conditions, and hosting
slow-scan closed
circuit television
cameras. Some
sites host multiple
Weather station and US Commlink counter (inset)
functions.
I n te lli mot io n
The field operational test was a 27-month project,
divided into three phases and four tests and ending on June 30, 1996, making it the first field operational test of its class to finish. The Regional
Coordination Team selected two prime contractors
so that different approaches could be tested and
evaluated. GTE supplies call boxes mainly in Southern California, while US Commlink provides operations and maintenance for call boxes mainly in
Northern California, as a subcontractor to Cubic.
GTE and Cubic call boxes both meet the same
specification, although their physical enclosures are
slightly different.
The traffic census and incident detection tests
used existing inductive loops. Diamond and Peek
traffic counters were installed in existing
Caltrans cabinets or were repackaged to fit in
the call box enclosure. (GTE uses Diamond
equipment and US Commlink uses PEEK.) US
Commlink also installed a Schwartz
ElectroOptics AutoSense I overhead laser device
that discriminates between cars and trucks. Incident alarms are transmitted when traffic speed
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Incident detection–closed circuit television camera is on tower on right
crosses 50 mph and 40 mph thresholds. Twelve
sites were operational during the test.
staff to develop
operational procedures for de-
The hazardous weather detection and reporting
test used JAYCOR low-visibility sensors mounted
on the call box poles at three sites, and a Davis
ployed systems.
Weather Wizard weather station repackaged to fit
into the call box at one mountainous location east
of San Diego. The current low-visibility device
alarms at 300 ft visibility. Weather alarms are transmitted when wind speeds exceed 30 mph.
The CCTV test used slow-scan video transmitted
over the call box cellular channel to view visibility
panels on the roadway, frequently congested sites
(to confirm incidents) and displays on changeable
message signs. Three sites were operational.
Alarms were transmitted over the cellular system
to a simulated TMC at TeleTran Tek Services in
San Diego. Traffic census data was downloaded
daily over the call-box cellular system. When
alarms occurred, the call box transmitted an alert
to the TMC. Staff could call the box and verify visibility, download incident data, or get a complete
display of the weather. Video cameras could be
called over the cellular system, and images transmitted to the simulated TMC. Remaining research
includes working with the Caltrans and CHP TMC
Intellimotion
The evaluation
consists of determining whether
the modified call
boxes can provide
ITS functions in
a cost-effective
Smart Call Box with solar cell, visibility sensor, and GTE internal counter
manner, as compared to traditional means employed by Caltrans.
Institutional issues that might affect a fully deployed system (as opposed to the conduct of the
test itself) are also being identified. Tentative results of the evaluation to date show that wireless
methods are much cheaper than wireline connections. Documented results will appear in the
independent evaluation report.
page 3
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PATH Research Presentations
A list of some of the conferences or workshops where PATH sponsored research was or will be presented.
Japan-US International Cooperation for Post-Earthquake Reconstruction Strategies
IEEE Solid-State Sensor and Actuator Workshop
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, June 1996
Honolulu, Hawaii, February 3, 1996
• M. Lemkin, B.E. Boser, D.M. Auslander “A
First Coordination Workshop, East West Center
Fully Differential Lateral SD Accelerometer
• Jim Moore “Rapid Estimation of Network
with Drift Cancellation Circuitry.”
Flows as an Adjunct to Transportation Struc-
• T. Juneau, A.P. Pisano “Micromachined Dual
ture Retrofit Decisions.” Sponsored by National
Input Axis Angular Rate Sensor.”
Center of Earthquake Engineering Research.
Southern California Association of Governments
Modeling Task Force
Los Angeles, California, April 24, 1996
• Jim Moore “Rapid Estimation of Network
Flows as an Adjunct to Transportation Structure Retrofit Decisions.”
Engineering Excellence Forum V Conference
Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove,
California, June 5, 1996
• Andy Segal “Automotive Radar: A View from
UC Berkeley-PATH.” Sponsored byWiltron
Company.
FISITA ‘96
Prague, Czech Republic, June 17-20, 1996
• Karl Hedrick “Vehicle Control Issues in
Automated Highway Systems: The California
PATH Program.”
1996 International Mechanical Engineering Congress
and Exposition
Atlanta, Georgia, Nov 17-22, 1996
• P.B. Ljung, A.P. Pisano “Nonlinear Dynamics
of Micromachined Rate Gyros.”
• P.B. Ljung “Sequential Solutions of Field
Equations Using BEM.”
AVEC ‘96
Aachen, Germany, June 24-28, 1996
• M. Kaminaga and K. Hedrick “Vehicle
Control Using Intelligent Sliding Surfaces.”
University of California, Davis, Institute of Transportation Studies
Davis, California, June 7, 1996
• Kenneth Small “Simulating Travel Reliability.”
I n te lli mot io n
• W.A. Clark, R.T. Howe “Surface Micromachined Z-Axis Vibratory Rate Gyroscope.”
• P.B. Ljung “Sequential Solutions of Field
Equations Using a Single BEM Model.”
Mercedes-Benz Research and Development Center
Stuttgart, Germany, July 9, 1996
• Ioannis Kanellakopoulos “Longitudinal
Control of Automated Heavy-Duty Vehicles.”
Transportation Research Board 75th Annual Meeting
Washington D.C., January 7-11, 1996
• Ted Chira-Chavala and Benjamin Coifman
“Impact of Smart Cards on Transit Operators.”
48th University of California Transportation Symposium
Emeryville, California, October 3-4, 1996
• Mark Hickman session coordinator for
“Intelligent Transportation Systems: Develop
ments in Traffic Surveillance and Modeling.”
• Dan Sperling session coordinator for “Intelligent Transportation Systems: How do They
Impact the Environment.”
INFORMS Semi-Annual Meeting
Washington D.C., May, 1996
• Randolph W. Hall “Optimized Lane Assignment on an Automated Highway.”
National Symposium on Electric Vehicles
Berkeley, California, July 10-11, 1996
• Ted Chira-Chavala, Dan Empey “Electric
Bus Operation in Berkeley.”
ITS America Annual Meeting
Houston, Texas, April 15-18, 1996
• Troy Young “Modeling for Environmental
Evaluation of ITS Technologies.”
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1996 Annual Research Symposium of the UCLA
Electrical Engineering Department
University of California, Los Angeles, Los
Angeles, California, February 26, 1996
• Diana Yanakiev Poster session on “Automated Trucks on Intelligent Highways: Longitudinal Control Design.”
IFAC '96
San Francisco, California, June 30 - July 5 1996
• K. Hedrick, M. Tomizuka, P. Varaiya,
IFAC conferees at lateral control
car demo on PATH’s test track
P. Ioannou “Control Issues in Intelligent
Vehicle Highway Systems.”
• Diana Yanakiev “A Simplified Framework for
String Stability Analysis in AHS.”
PATH’s Role in FOTs
continued from page 1
PATH has been given the responsibility of evaluating seven FHWA field operational tests in the state
of California. They are:
• TravInfo—San Francisco Bay Area
• TransCal—San Francisco Bay Area-Tahoe
Corridor
• Spread Spectrum Radio for Signal Control—
Los Angeles
• Integrated Freeway/Arterial Traffic Manage
ment—Irvine
• Smart Call Box—San Diego
• Advanced Traffic Signal Control—Anaheim
• Mobile Surveillance—Orange County
The first five FOTs are described in detail in this
issue of Intellimotion. The city of Anaheim is also
currently carrying out an test of advanced traffic
signal controls that will automate the current process of collecting input data to run signal timing
optimization software, and will integrate video traffic detection with their traffic management system.
Orange County is evaluating the benefits of a mobile, integrated video surveillance system using
wireless communications.
Guidance for PATH’s evaluations were provided in
the form of the MITRE “Generic IVHS Operational
Intellimotion
Test Evaluations Guidelines” document. These
guidelines were of limited utility because each operational tests is unique, and each requires a specific evaluation plan carefully designed to deal with
the particular features of the specific test. However,
all evaluations do have common features. Each has
a technology assessment component where the
product or system is evaluated on a specified performance standard. Such questions as “how well
does the system work?” and “how easy is it to use?”
are answered in this component. An institutional
analysis is also performed, where organizational arrangements are examined. This part of the evaluation answers such questions as “how well do public/private partnerships work?” Where possible, traffic network performance is evaluated using traffic
measures of effectiveness (e.g., speed, flow, and
travel time). The cost of the system, including capital and maintenance, is also evaluated, as are reliability and time between failures.
Most of the evaluations have been subcontracted
out to various California universities. PATH’s role
is to serve as coordinator and to provide oversight.
Here, PATH promotes information-sharing among
FOTs and encourages the adoption of successful
evaluation approaches. This allows each operational
test team to learn from the others’ successes and
errors. It also encourages a uniform approach to
the evaluations, which was the intent of the MITRE
guidelines.
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Spread Spectrum Network Radio
Field Operational Test
An Nguyen, City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation
O
ur test program’s primary goal is sim-
intersection in the Los Angeles area requires 1300
ply to reduce the cost of hardwiring Los
Angeles’ expanding ATSAC traffic sys-
feet of hardwire interconnect, it would cost $39,000
just to add an additional intersection to the system.
tem. The objective of the Spread Spectrum Network Radio FOT is to evaluate the use of a com-
A Spread Spectrum Network Radio (SSNR) costing
only $6,500 achieves the same objective at one sixth
munication network for advanced urban traffic
(16%) of the cost. In addition, there are logistical
control systems that is based on radio rather than
hardwire links. This radio frequency network will
advantages. The SSNR makes it easy to add temporary sites to the system in areas affected by con-
be used as part of Los Angeles’ Automated Traffic
Surveillance and Control (ATSAC) system.
struction or special events. Network reconfiguration
features also allow SSNR to accommodate degraded
or failed links due to localized power outages or construction work.
As part of the test, the traffic signals in the Mar Vista
area of Los Angeles will be incorporated into the
ATSAC system using the new network. It is anticipated that 89 intersections will be linked to each
other by radio, and the related information then be
transmitted back to the ATSAC Center by fiber-optic link from a head-end site. The terrain includes
tall buildings, areas of dense foliage and open grounds,
hills, and flats. A vital consideration in this operational test will be to see how well the radios perform
in this varied environment. Our experience with
Spread Spectrum Network Radio’s application in the
field will hopefully be useful in developing and deploying Intelligent Transportation Systems elsewhere.
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation
(LADOT) received funding from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for this FOT, and hired
JHK and Associates as the prime contractor. JHK in
turn hired Hughes Aircraft Company as a subcontractor. The project evaluators are from the University of Southern California, and were contracted by
Caltrans through PATH. The team has been working
together since September of 1994, and meets
monthly to discuss project needs and report to FHWA
on the project’s progress.
It now costs roughly thirty dollars to install one foot
of hardwire interconnect. Since a typical signalized
I n te lli mot io n
“Spread spectrum” refers to a class of communication that modulates (spreads) information over a wide
frequency bandwidth (spectrum). Two types of spread
spectrum techniques are used, direct sequence and
frequency hopping. The technique employed in our
FOT—direct sequence—uses a “code” to spread information over the entire signal bandwidth. A receiver
using the same code can despread the information
into its original form, effectively collapsing the spread
signal’s power into a higher power (narrower) information signal. During transmission, any interfering
signals, including other direct sequences on different codes, are effectively reduced since they are not
correlated to the transmitter’s code. The act of increasing correlated signal power while simultaneously
suppressing interference is called processing gain.
Processing gain allows lower-power direct sequence
systems to coexist with other systems.
Before any radios were installed, extensive in-house
testing was performed. LADOT was provided with five
prototypes to test for ATSAC protocol requirements.
All host interface parameters, ATSAC messaging, and
radio networking were closely examined, and many
modifications were made to the radio software before
it was close to what LADOT had asked for. By looking
at the radios’ performance in advance, we were able to
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Above right, signal mast arm mount. Middle right, remote antenna mount. Left and lower right,
vertical and horizontal terminal mounts
resolve many problems ahead of time and to avoid fixing the radios in the field once they had been installed.
The second cell consist of two head-end radios and
13 tail-end radios. The 13 tail-ends have various
mounting types. Some are mounted on the signal
The test, which began in July 1966, is being implemented in two phases: initial deployment of 20 radios for 17 intersections, and full deployment for the
mast arm, some are remote-antenna mounted
(with the radio in the traffic controller’s cabinet)
and some are mounted onto a 33-foot-high pole
using a typical traffic signal terminal compartment.
After the initial deployment, we decided to abandon all signal mast arm mounts because the slight
gain in line of sight does not outweigh the troublesome installation, maintenance of the network radio, and the loss of height. Hence, for the full deployment, only the remote antenna mount and the
direct radio mount on the standard option will be
deployed.
remaining 85 intersections, to total 102. For the initial deployment, 20 radios were installed; three for
head-ends and 17 tail-ends at the signalized intersections. These radios are divided into two cells for
the purpose of evaluation of different strategies and
operations. The smaller cell consists of one headend and four tail-ends. The head-end radio of this
cell is hardwire connected at 9.6K baud to our Airport Communication Hub and is linked to the ATSAC
Center via a T1 microwave link. The tail-end radios
are connected to the 170 controllers at 4.8K baud in
the traffic controllers’ cabinets. This cell operates
on a sequential mode; that is, each command and
response to and from the subordinate radios is scheduled at a 250ms time frame. There are four subordinates, hence the four frames total one second.
Intellimotion
Due to the smooth implementation of the initial deployment, we anticipate that full deployment will be
accomplished with minimal difficulties and obstructions. We anticipate beginning construction by July
1996. The total project, including a full evaluation
report, should be completed by April 1997.
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TravInfo Field Operational Test – Taking the Guess
Melanie Crotty, TravInfo Project Manager, MTC
Reka Goode, MTC Public Information
T
hree years ago, the first official steps were
taken toward establishing an advanced
traveler information system for the San
Francisco Bay Area. Today, with its institutional,
financial and organizational structure and a
baseline system in place, the project is “ready for
prime time,” embarking on its final two years as a
federally funded field operational test poised for
public use.
TravInfo was the first intelligent transportation system (ITS) project to begin testing of 16 selected
nationwide as field operational tests (FOTs) in 1993
by the US Department of Transportation. It is designed to test the thesis that making comprehensive, real-time information about current conditions
in the nine-county Bay Area’s complex surface
transportation system available to the public will
result in reduced congestion and encourage the use
of public transit and ridesharing services. TravInfo
operates as a public/private partnership led by the
Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC),
the region’s transportation planning, financing, and
coordinating agency. Independent, impartial evaluation of TravInfo will be provided by PATH.
TravInfo’s nerve center – the Traveler Information
Center, or TIC – began operations for testing purposes at California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) District 4 headquarters in May 1996, and
will begin live operations late this summer. Under
the supervision of Metro Networks, a private consultant selected by MTC, this Oakland data collection and dissemination site is uniquely situated to
take advantage of public sector data sources: it is
in the next room to the interim Transportation Management Center, or TMC, managed jointly by
Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol (CHP).
The TMC will monitor the flow of traffic and road
conditions on Bay Area highways and respond to
incidents with the help of the network of roadway
I n te lli mot io n
sensors, closed circuit television, ramp meters and
the like that make up Caltrans’ traffic operations
system (TOS).
In addition to information derived from the traffic
operations system, the CHP’s computer-aided dispatch system, and the Freeway Service Patrol roving tow truck fleet’s automatic vehicle location system, TravInfo has access to the MTC’s regional database on mass transit fares, schedules, routes, and
other local data sources.
Private sector, formally registered TravInfo participants, who receive TravInfo traveler information by modem, will offer products and services
that present the information in convenient and
innovative forms, and will generate their own information as well. Commercial products for accessing data might include pagers, cellular phones,
hand-held traffic data receivers, automated route
guidance, and in-vehicle map displays. Kiosks and
television traffic channels also will be used to disseminate TravInfo traveler information.
Above, Caltrans District 4’s Oakland
Transportation Management Center,
now operating on an interim test
basis, is staffed jointly by Caltrans and
the California Highway Patrol. The
TMC monitors traffic and road
conditions throughout the nine-county
San Francisco Bay Area. TravInfo’s
Traveler Information Center, next door,
will provide traffic information data
from the TMC as well as transit route
and schedule details to the public.
To right, diagram of TMC functions.
Data gathered from a variety of
roadway sensors are used to program
signal and ramp metering and
changeable message signs, to
dispatch emergency vehicles, and to
inform travelers of road and traffic
conditions.
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The public can already get transit route and sched-
The advisory committee’s activities are directed by
ule details through TravInfo’s traveler advisory tele-
the steering committee, which meets every other
phone system (TATS). Operational since Septem-
month. Consultant teams helped design and imple-
ber 1995, the system provides a single and usually
ment the system, and now manage the traveler in-
toll-free seven-digit telephone information number
formation nerve center and databases, as well as
(817-1717) that can be used from anywhere in the
offering technical and marketing support.
nine-county Bay Region to reach nearly two dozen
public transit operators. With the opening of the TIC,
traffic information will be added to the TATS phone
menu.TravInfo is under the direction of a management board composed of MTC, Caltrans District 4,
and the Golden Gate Division of the CHP, as well
as five ex-officio members: Caltrans’ Division of
New Technology and Research, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Federal Transit
Administration, PATH, and the chair of the steering committee of the TravInfo Advisory Committee. This advisory committee - the primary vehicle
for the ongoing relationship between the public sector and private firms - is made up of representatives of roughly 200 firms, research institutions,
and public agencies, and meets three times a year.
The Bay Area has a total of $8.1 million to establish and operate the system, and to evaluate its effectiveness. The bulk of this is a $4.8 million FHWA
ITS grant, for which Caltrans provided an $880,000
match. The remaining $2.4 million comprises various federal, state and local funds for related
projects. Project partners have also made in-kind
contributions worth $1.2 million.
The next few months should see incremental improvements and additions to the system as it
goes through a testing and evaluation period. A
World Wide Web site is in the works that will
provide information about the TravInfo project
and how potential participants can get involved.
In the project’s next phase, a second TIC will
start operations in San José, serving both as a
backup to the Oakland nerve center and as an
additional source of information through connections to San José’s Traffic Management Center. Also in this second phase, radio broadcasts
using new technology on the FM subcarrier
bandwidth will transmit information now available via modem.
PATH should complete its evaluation of the operational test in late 1997, and TravInfo’s FOT
phase will wind up by April 1998. At that point,
TIC operations will change from demonstration
project to fully deployed system.
For more information about TravInfo, contact
Michael Berman, assistant project manager at MTC:
510-464-7717.
Intellimotion
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TransCal – Interregional Traveler
Information System (IRTIS)
John Bonds, TransCal Program Manager
T
he TransCal system being developed by
evaluator for the operational test. They will be evalu-
TRW Inc. will be a comprehensive inter-
ating TransCal to see if there is significantly reduced
regional traveler information system
travel time, decreased traffic congestion, and im-
(IRTIS) that integrates road, traffic, transit, weather,
proved safety and security in both rural and urban
and value-added traveler services data. TRW’s Trans-
areas. The operational test is scheduled to be con-
portation Systems business segment of TRW Inte-
ducted starting October 1, 1996.
grated Engineering Division began work on the system in 1994. Data sources for TransCal’s IRTIS will
cover the I-80 and US 50 corridors between San Francisco and the Tahoe/Reno-Sparks area. The TransCal
Field Operational Test (FOT) showcases emerging
capabilities in computing, communications, and consumer electronics that can dramatically improve the
quality of traveler information. The Federal Highway Administration and Caltrans are funding this
three-year Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)
technology development and evaluation project in
California and Nevada.
The Institute of Transportation Studies, University
of California, Davis, has been selected as the FOT
IRTIS processing from data input to information output
Building on emerging ITS standards, IRTIS disseminates customized traveler information via telephone,
personal digital assistants, in-vehicle navigation and
display devices, and interactive kiosks, as well as
through traditional broadcast media. Wireline and
touch-tone telephone, and wireless FM subcarrier networks are used to transmit the information to the
dissemination devices.
IRTIS creates and maintains a real-time traveler information database that is created from data provided
by various public and private sources throughout the
region. The IRTIS software is an enhancement of software developed by TRW to explore the capabilities
of a real-time database for traveler information. IRTIS processes the data to create a timely depiction of travel conditions
along the corridor, and provides this traveler information in a consistent format.
The information is also customized and
output to devices accessed by individuals
who possess specially configured IRTIS receivers and displays, including in-vehicle
devices (IVDs) and personal digital assistants that display the traveler information
in a graphical form.
The basic function of IRTIS is to take
in data that may be of interest to travelers in the TransCal region, process
that data into traveler information, and
then make it available as quickly as possible while preserving the accuracy of
the information. The data IRTIS re-
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ceives will be real-time traffic and incident data, weather data, real-time road
conditions, road maintenance updates,
and operator inputs received from dial-in
sources. Generally, this data will be received via telephone modem lines connected to a computer that acts as the file
server for IRTIS.
The data input process transfers data
from the field into the TransCal IRTIS
and translates it to a form for entry into
the IRTIS relational database. IRTIS
maintains three types of data—static, periodic, and dynamic. Static and periodic
data items are expected to be updated
bimonthly as needed by the operator,
while the dynamic data will be updated
and maintained by the operator as the
data changes, usually every 30 minutes.
The operator will specify a set of filters
that the computer will use to select data
that may refer to the same incident, and the computer will present the filtered raw data to the operator for action.
IRTIS has a computer-to-computer link with
TravInfo, the San Francisco Bay Area Traveler Information System, and is capable of interfacing to
other ATIS systems as well. IRTIS goes beyond the
existing traffic information networks in the area
by processing the data to eliminate redundant and
erroneous data. This results in a fused set of traveler information that is more timely and more accurate than its component networks.
The traveler information will be made available
through three information channels that service
four types of information access devices. The one
most accessible to the general public will be the
Traveler Advisory Telephone System (TATS),
which allows anyone with a touch-tone telephone
to call a special number to get access to an audio
version of the current traveler information. Another way for the general public to access the
TransCal information is to become a registered
TransCal user and gain access through the
Landline Data Service (LDS), which is for people
who have a computer and a modem. The LDS
Intellimotion
IRTIS Operational Area. Shading shows area
from which TransCal ATIS coverage is
available to IRTIS by direct computer-tocomputer link.
(Map is not to scale.)
can operate either in a query/response mode or
in a one-way information spigot mode.
By the end of 1996, there will be at least five traveler
information kiosks dispersed throughout the
TransCal region for the general public to access traveler information. Each kiosk will contain traveler
information for the entire TransCal region, as well as
local advertising and information of local interest.
In 1996 a control group will have access to in-vehicle devices and personal digital assistants that will
be used to display the traveler information in a graphical format. The static and periodic traveler information will be pre-loaded into the devices, and the realtime information will be broadcast constantly through
FM radio stations in the operating area using the
67KHz sub-carrier frequency received by a special
receiver that is a part of each device.
TRW has been working with a multijurisdictional advisory board of local city, county and private industry stakeholders. After the FOT is completed, the
board hopes to take the TransCal infrastructure and
turn it into a self-sustaining system that will continue
to make traveling easier, safer, and more pleasurable
for northern California travelers.
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Irvine SWARM
System-Wide Adaptive Ramp Metering
John Thai, FOT Project Manager, City of Irvine
I
rvine’s field operational test has as a goal “to
To achieve optimal traffic management in the
implement and evaluate integrated freeway
project area, bidirectional communications were
designed such that real-time data can be ex-
and arterial traffic operations” in its project
area, thus improving traffic management. Specific
objectives are:
• To accommodate traffic transients on arterials
arising from freeway diversion for non-recurring
congestion.
• To accommodate recurring corridor congestion
through coordinated adaptive arterial signal control system and adaptive ramp meter control system.
• To test the effectiveness of 2070 Advanced Transportation Controllers (ATCs) in real-time traffic
control.
• To document the effectiveness of interagency cooperation for corridor management.
• To evaluate the expandability and portability of
the systems and approaches.
• To assess the effectiveness of a distributed implementation of a traffic management and operator
decision support system serving two coordinated
but autonomous agencies.
The project’s goal is to improve management of traffic congestion in a corridor
including Alton Parkway from Jeffrey Road to Interstate 5.
I n te lli mot io n
changed between the Caltrans District 12 Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) and
Irvine’s Arterial Response Plan (ARP) system module via an Ethernet connection over a fiber-optic
link. The District 12 ATMS monitors freeway conditions such as volume, speed, occupancy, traffic
incident information, and the operations of the
System Wide Adaptive Ramp Meter (SWARM)
module, and exchanges freeway traffic incident
information with the Management Information
Systems for Transportation/Arterial Response Plan
(MIST/ARP) located in the Irvine Traffic Research
and Control (ITRAC) Center. The ATMS includes
an Operator Decision Support System (ODSS),
which generates freeway response plans.
Freeway data, including volume, occupancy,
speed, traffic incident severity, location, time, etc.,
is sent to Irvine’s Arterial Response Plan module,
a MIST module. In the case of non-recurring congestion where diversion is warranted, the ARP
module is responsible for recommending an arterial response plan for the MIST system to implement. Upon receiving the recommended response
plan from the ARP, MIST will check for response
plan conflicts, recommend a resolution if necessary, ask for operator approval, and implement
the arterial response plans. In the case of recurring congestion, i.e., when freeway diversion is not
warranted, the ARP will not recommend a response plan, leaving the Optimized Policies for
Adaptive Control (OPAC) algorithm to adapt to
arterial traffic conditions in the field controllers.
In either case, ARP will report to ATMS any implemented response plan for archival or further analyses at District 12.
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The field implementation
for Irvine includes 28 type
2070 ATCs, additional
OPAC loops, and five arterial changeable message
signs (CMSs) at strategic locations. System implementation for ITRAC includes an
HP workstation running the
MIST and ARP software modules in a UNIX (HP UX) environment. The MIST module
will monitor arterial traffic
conditions through the 2070
Real-time data is exchanged between the City of Irvine’s Traffic Research and Control Center and Caltrans
ATCs, implement traffic reDistrict 12’s Advanced Traffic Management System.
sponse plans, control arterial
CMSs, and provide operators with real-time traf- dures, and operational agreements to be developed.
fic data for analyses. The ARP will send real-time Operational issues in integration include such trafarterial traffic data back to the ATMS at Caltrans fic operations as staffing, operators’ hours of opDistrict 12 TMC.
erations, interagency cooperation, and event coTo determine the effectiveness of the integrated systems, the Irvine FOT project partners identified
seven basic scenarios to evaluate. Baseline conditions were defined as traffic conditions in the corridor where SWARM is the only FOT element existing for both recurring and non-recurring congestion.
The following scenarios were of interest:
• Baseline conditions for recurring and non-recurring congestion
• Baseline conditions for recurring congestion with
freeway CMS displaying “Congestion Ahead”
• Non-recurring congestion utilizing OPAC (no arterial response plans implemented) and freeway
CMS displaying “Alton Available”
• Non-recurring congestion utilizing an arterial response plan and freeway CMS displaying “Alton
Available”
• Recurring congestion with OPAC and Caltrans FOT
elements
• Recurring congestion with arterial response plan
and Caltrans FOT elements
The Evaluation Team listed three levels of integration–institutional, operational and technical–to be
evaluated. Institutional issues in integration include
existing Caltrans and Irvine policies and proce-
Intellimotion
ordination. Technical issues in integration include
system effectiveness, physical and network constraints, and software.
The project is scheduled to be completed in June
1997, and will soon undergo field deployments of
CMSs and 2070s as well as software integration
between Irvine’s ITRAC Center and Caltrans District 12’s TMC. Although the schedule is ambitious, the partners feel that the project will be
timely, yield interesting results and serve as a
model of cooperative partnership between public
agencies and the private sector for future projects.
Projects such as this FOT foster institutional and
financial partnership between the public agencies
and the private sector because participants approach the challenges and solve them as partners
on a long-term, overall-corridor performance basis. In fact, the Irvine FOT has founded new partnerships between Caltrans, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) and the
State of Texas Department of Transportation (Tex
DOT) to jointly develop ITS software for the
emerging 2070 controllers.
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PATH on Paper
3
1 9 9 6
Below is an update on some recent PATH publications.
A price list that includes research reports, working papers,
technical memoranda, and technical notes can be obtained from
the: Institute of Transportation Studies Publications Office
University of California
109 McLaughlin Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720
510-642-3558, FAX: 510-642-1246.
Abstracts for all PATH research publications can be obtained via
the PATH World Wide Web home page on the internet:
http://www.path.berkeley.edu
PATH Research Papers
UCB-ITS-PRR-96-07, Commuters’ Normal and Shift Decisions in Unexpected Congestion: Pre-trip Response to Advanced Traveler Information Systems,
Asad Khattak, Amalia Polydoropoulou, Moshe Ben-Akiva, March 1996, $20.00
UCB-ITS-PRR-96-08, Low Speed Collision Dynamics: Second Year Report, Benson Tongue, Ahrie Moon, Doug Harriman, April 1996, $10.00
UCB-ITS-PRR-96-09, The Mass Transit Needs of a Non-Driving Disabled Population, Reginald G. Golledge, C. Michael Costanzo, James R. Marston,
April 1996, $20.00
UCB-ITS-PRR-96-10, An Evaluation Taxonomy for Congestion Pricing, Hong K. Lo, Mark D. Hickman, Maura Walstad, May 1996, $15.00
UCB-ITS-PRR-96-11, Organizing for ITS: Computer Integrated Transportation Phase 2: Results for Emergency Operations, Hong K. Lo, Holly Rybinski,
May 1996, $10.00
UCB-ITS-PRR-96-12, An Information and Institutional Inventory of California Transit Agencies, Mark D. Hickman, Theodore Day, May 1996, $20.00
UCB-ITS-PRR-96-14, Towards a Fault Tolerant AHS Design Part I: Extended Architecture, John Lygeros, Datta N. Godbole, Mireille Broucke, June 1996, $5.00
UCB-ITS-PRR-96-15, Towards a Fault Tolerant AHS Design Part II: Design and Verification of Communication Protocols, D.N. Godbole, J. Lygeros, E. Singh,
A. Deshpande, A.E. Lindsey, June 1996, $10.00
UCB-ITS-PRR-96-16, Evaluation of Radio Links and Networks, Jean-Paul M.G. Linnartz, Rolando F. Diesta, June 1996, $20.00
UCB-ITS-PRR-96-17, Impacts of Smart Cards on Transit Operators: Evaluation of I-110 Corridor Smart Card Demonstration Project, T. Chira-Chavala, B.
Coifman, June 1996, $15.00
UCB-ITS-PRR-96-18, ITS and the Environment: Issues and Recommendations for ITS Deployment in California, Thomas A. Horan, Lamont C. Hempel, Daniel R.
Jordan, Erik A. Alm, June 1996, $15.00
PATH Working Papers
UCB-ITS-PWP-96-04, Driving Intelligence Replacement in a Decision-Oriented Deployment Framework for Driving Automation, H.-S. Jacob Tsao, Bin Ran,
June 1996, $5.00
UCB-ITS-PWP-96-05, Steady State Conditions on Automated Highways, José M. del Castillo, David J. Lovell, Carlos F. Daganzo, June 1996, $5.00
UCB-ITS-PWP-96-06, Are the Objectives and Solutions of Dynamic User-Equilibrium Models Always Consistent?, Wei-Hua Lin, Hong Lo, June 1996, $5.00
PATH Technical Notes
Tech Note 96-01, A Discussion of the WaveLan Radio as Relevant to Automated Vehicle Control Systems, Chao Chen, Bret Foreman, April 1996, $5.00
Tech Note 96-02, Outdoor Measurements on WaveLAN Radio, Chao Chen, Manjari Asawa, Bret Foreman, April 1996, $5.00
Tech Note 96-04, A Simple Dectection Scheme for Delay-Inducing Freeway Incidents, Wei-Hua Lin, Carlos F. Daganzo, April 1996, $10.00
Intellimotion is online at
http://www.path.berkeley.edu/Intellimotion
Visit our Web Site!
I n te lli mot io n
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PATH
Seminars
These interdisciplinary seminars are
usually held every Wednesday at noon
in 3110 Etcheverry Hall on the UC
Berkeley campus.
PATH seminar announcements are available on the PATH World Wide Web site at
http://www.path.berkeley.edu. For more information on a particular seminar, please
contact the presenter or presenters at their respective departments.
May 2
Storage and Access Methods for Navigable Road
Map Databases
Professor Shashi Shekhar
University of Minnesota
August 2
Selling $500 Vacuum Cleaners Door-to-Door:
The Microeconomics of Mass Transit
Kenneth Schmier
Originator of the San Francisco Municipal
Railway MUNI Fast Pass
May 24
Integrated Planning/Simulation Methodology for
Analysis of Intelligent Transportation Systems
Vassily Alexiadis
Cambridge Systematics
June 21
Travel Time Estimation on Freeways using
Single-Trap Loop Detectors
Karl Petty
EECS, UC Berkeley
July 12
ITS in France
Steve Shladover and Stein Weissenberger
Managers of the AVCS and ATMIS Research
Programs at PATH
PATH on video
As public interest in ITS grows, video crews
from technologically oriented TV programs
come more frequently to PATH’s Golden Gate
Fie l ds te st tra c k. A bo v e, th e D is co v ery
Channel’s Next Step shoots the lateral control
car in action. Left, New Edge host Richard Hart
describes computer controlled steering based
on magnetic sensors for his TV audience.
Intellimotion
p a g e 15
University of California, Berkeley
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Richmond Field Station, Bldg. 452
1357 South 46th Street
Richmond, CA 94804-4603
Coming
Soon...
• A special issue on
Automated Highway
Systems
Publications Manager
Bill Stone
Managing Editor
Gerald Stone
Art Director
Esther Kerkmann
Multimedia Specialist
Jay Sullivan
Intellimotion is a quarterly newsletter edited and designed by
the California PATH Publications Department. For more
information or comments about this newsletter, please
write, call, fax, or e-mail the address below.
PATH Publications
1357 South 46th Street, Bldg. 452
Richmond, CA 94804-4603
Tel: 510/231-9495
FAX: 510/231-9565
e-mail: bstone@uclink2.berkeley.edu
http://www.path.berkeley.edu
• Conference Updates
• New Publications
. . . and more!
Map on p.1 by Jay Sullivan. Photos on pp. 5, 8-9, and 15
by Gerald Stone. Other photos, graphics and illustrations
by the authors and Esther Kerkmann, Bill Stone, Matt
Abarbanel, and Andrew Watanabe.
©1996 by California PATH. All rights reserved. Unless
permission is granted, this material shall not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise.
ISSN-1061-4311
Printed on recycled paper
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