INCREASING THE REALISM OF SIMULATIONS

Detailed traffic simulation is increasingly being used for transportation and traffic planning, evaluation, and research. There is, however, a gap between simulation and real life. Most traffic simulations simply cannot replicate real traffic conditions exactly. As a way to bridge the gap between the two, researchers at the Texas Transportation Institute's (TTI) TransLink Roadside Equipment Laboratory have developed hardware-in-the-loop simulation. Hardware-in-the-loop is different from many simulations because of its use of actual traffic signal control hardware as part of the simulation. This offers increased realism and helps improve field implementation of controllers and signal strategies. In a hardware-in-the-loop simulation, the software simulates the movement of vehicles through the modeled intersection. The information from the "vehicles" passing through the "intersection" is then sent to real control hardware that is hardwired into the simulation. Reacting to the information, the controller sends updated signal indications back to the simulation where the simulated vehicles stop, go, or turn accordingly. TTI researchers are developing a new preemption technique called the transitional preemption strategy that is being tested with hardware-in-the-loop.

• Record URL:
  http://d2dtl5nnlpfr0r.cloudfront.net/tti.tamu.edu/documents/researcher/ttr-v35-n2.pdf
• 
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/1587330
• Corporate Authors:

  Texas Transportation Institute

  Texas A&M University System, 1600 E Lamar Boulevard
  Arlington, TX  United States  76011
• Authors:
  • Engelbrecht, R
• Publication Date: 1999-10

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Photos;
• Pagination: p. 5
• Serial:
  • Texas Transportation Researcher
  • Volume: 35
  • Issue Number: 2
  • Publisher: Texas Transportation Institute
  • ISSN: 0040-4748

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Laboratories; Signalized intersections; Simulation; Software; Traffic signal control systems; Traffic signal hardware; Traffic signal preemption; Traffic signals; Traffic simulation; Transportation planning
• Identifier Terms: Texas Transportation Institute
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning; I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00792394
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: May 21 2000 12:00AM