Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems (IVHS): Human Factors Issues in Subsystem Development

Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS) are those components of Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems (IVHS) that integrate traffic detection, communication, and control functions to be responsive to dynamic traffic conditions and increase the efficiency of existing traffic networks. ATMS provide the management foundation that will enable and integrate other IVHS components such as Commercial Vehicle Operations, Advanced Traveler Information Systems, Advanced Vehicle Control Systems, and Advanced Public Transportation Systems. This paper defines Advanced Traffic Management Systems. It also describes the functions that may take place within an ATMS-class Traffic Management Center (TMC), a scenario that a future TMC operator may encounter, and some of the human factors issues that must be addressed in the design of an ATMS-class TMC.

Intelligent Vehicle/Highway Systems (IVHS) is a multi-year research/demonstration program which aims at improving the vehicle/highway system operation and management techniques for the post-interstate construction era. The authors first describe the framework of IVHS, which as four major components: (1) advanced traffic management system (ATMS); (2) advanced driver information system (ADIS); (3) commercial vehicle operations (CVO); and (4) advanced vehicle control systems (AVCS). The ATMS related research and development plans to support the real-time traffic management systems and control strategies are considered. The state-of-the-art traffic engineering modeling software is reviewed. The discussion centers around the TRAF system, a family of microscopic and macroscopic traffic simulation software models for surface streets, freeways, and corridor networks. The gap between the capabilities provided by the current traffic modeling software and the functional requirement of the IVHS traffic models is also addressed. >

The status of plans and projects for intelligent vehicle-highway systems (IVHS) in Europe, Japan, and the US is examined. The four broad areas covered by IVHS are described. They are advanced traffic management systems. advanced traveler information systems commercial vehicle operations systems, and advanced vehicle control systems. A variety of projects in Europe, Japan, and the US which aim at proving the feasibility and practicality of IVHS are described. Socioeconomic factors then could delay or even arrest the development of IVHS are examined.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) includes eight wide areas of applications such as Advanced Traffic Information System, Advanced Traffic Management Systems, Automatic Vehicle Control System, Commercial Vehicle Operations, Advanced Public Transport Systems, Emergency, Infotainment Expectations, and Comfort to Drivers and Passengers, Safety, Electronic Payments etc. Safety, Mobility, Comfort are the three basic reasons for increasing the involvement of electronics in vehicles and in turn in Intelligent Transportation system.

&lt;div class="htmlview paragraph"&gt;The concept of the intelligent Vehicle/Highway System (IVHS) is a direct descendent of earlier work on “roadway automation”. Recent advances in a variety of technologies have now made automatic control of the operation of road vehicles a much more realistic proposition than it was even in the recent past. This paper begins by identifying three stages in the likely evolution of these advanced vehicle control systems (AVCS), showing how AVCS is related to the other IVHS functions. The technological elements of AVCS, corresponding to needed research and technology development work, are then described. The current international state of the art in these technologies is reviewed, and the paper concludes with a discussion of an evolutionary progression that could be followed to lead from present-day driving to the long-term concept of an automated freeway network.&lt;/div&gt;

Describes the approach of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to gather information and analyze issues relating to the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) of intelligent vehicle highway system (IVHS) Efforts to define the expected electromagnetic environment of the roadway, the frequency/spectrum availability based on geographic area, and system coverage for specific and generic cases are described, together with the ongoing examinations of how the electromagnetic environment of the roadway affects IVHS systems and how IVHS systems affect the electromagnetic environment of the roadway.

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of display modality, level of driver interaction, and amount of information on the driving performance and system operation performance of commercial drivers. Introducing any level of interaction with an Advanced Traveler Information System (ATIS) will probably result in some level of increased workload for the driver. However, it is possible that the increase in workload would not result in unsafe driving behavior. A secondary objective of this study was to determine at what level of ATIS task demand driving performance begins to degrade to the point of becoming unsafe. To test the impact of having commercial drivers operate a multi-function ATIS, a prototype display was developed that would provide a variety of tasks to be performed while driving. The prototype for this experiment consisted of baseline information that was always presented to the driver in addition to an underlying menu structure that allows the driver to perform more complex information retrieval functions. The baseline ATIS display used for both taxi and truck drivers was identical, while the underlying menu structures were different to reflect the different types of information the drivers might require or desire. The system was designed for use as a visual-only system or as a combination visual and auditory system. An auditory-only system was not tested because it was felt that any feasible system would include at least some visual elements. Based upon the results of this research, guidelines have been developed to aid in the design of ATIS.

A pattern recognition approach to data fusion in Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems : Palacharla, Prasad V., Ph.D. University of Illinois at Chicago, 1995. 78 pp.

The goal of the activities documented in this report was to produce a prioritized list of candidate studies and issues that would guide data acquisition in this project. This goal was accomplished in three steps. First, 91 issues were compiled from earlier research in this effort. Second, a set of 14 criteria, 9 substantive and 5 methodological, were defined. Eight experienced human factors experts completed all 2,184 cells in a rating matrix for a total of 17,472 rating entries in the data set. Third, a linear psychometric model was used to prioritize the 91 issues. The model was validated by sending the raters three short prioritized lists, one of which was (unknown to the raters) a stratified random sample of studies and issues. Raters were asked to delete unimportant and impractical research issues from these lists. They deleted significantly more items from the random list. The nine most vital studies/issues from the final prioritized list are: cognitive demands in transitioning across Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) functions, complex interactions among ATIS functions, how In-Vehicle Signing Information Systems (ISIS) and In-Vehicle Safety Advisory and Warning Systems (IVSAWS) information influences behavior, effects of low information reliability, displaying multiple messages, features requiring standardization, single versus multiple display channels, multimodal displays, and effects of display modality and format on Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO) driver workload. The key human factors issues listed here must be addressed to assure in-vehicle information systems are safe and usable components of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS).

Minnesota has launched a broad program for the rapid implementation of congestion reduction measures. This program consists of both the rapid deployment of current technology in the area of freeway operations and traffic management and also an intensive new effort to develop and implement new technologies called GuideSTAR that is Minnesota's part of the national Intelligent Vehicle Highway System (IVHS) effort. A key part of both the traffic management and IVHS efforts is the collection, processing, and dissemination of information to motorists. This paper focuses on the data collection improvements, data analysis improvements, and motorist information improvements.

This report describes the results of an on-road study that examined how Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) information influences driver behavior. The objective of the study was to develop ATIS design guidelines, primarily for In-Vehicle Signing and Information Systems (ISIS) and In-Vehicle Safety Advisory and Warning Systems (IVSAWS), to define the amount and format of information that can safely be displayed in an ATIS. A general issue facing ATIS designers is to determine how much information can safely be presented in an ATIS. This study investigated rates of one, two, or three message presentations per minute. No effects of information density were observed on driving performance. Another general issue that faces ATIS designers is how message potency (i.e., message style and display modality) affects driving safety and compliance with ATIS messages. Message potency is shown to have an important effect on both compliance and driving safety, confirming previous findings on how particular ATIS design characteristics can undermine driving safety by fostering an over-reliance on ATIS information. Also investigated in this study was whether advance notification messages that warn drivers of upcoming route guidance instructions are helpful. The results show that the drivers make use of advance notification messages to prepare for upcoming turns.

In this paper, a prototype named distributed optimum signal scheme (DOSS) is introduced. DOSS solves the generally recognized network-wide signal optimization problem using an algorithm based entirely on dynamic programming. It has been implemented and evaluated in a simulation testing environment, and the simulation results indicate significant improvements compared to a well-timed fixed-time control and an actuated signal. DOSS fully exploits a microscopic simulation technology. It is designed to provide a feasible computational framework applicable to dynamic traffic control (DTC) in conjunction with Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS) and Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS).

A hybrid short-term traffic flow forecasting method based on spectral analysis and statistical volatility model

With the development of our modern cities, growing traffic problems adversely affect people’s traveling convenience more and more, which has become one of the most crucial factors considered in urban planning and design in recent years. Urban traffic congestion is a severe problem that significantly reduces the quality of life in particularly metropolitan areas. However, frequently constructing new roads is not realistic and untenable in social and economic aspects. In the effort to deal with this intractable problem, so-called intelligent transportation systems (ITS) technologies are successfully implemented widely throughout the world nowadays. ITS with two important components advanced traffic management systems (ATMS) and advanced traveler information systems (ATIS) aim to relieve the increasing congestion and decrease travel time through providing information to the drivers by means of radio broadcasts or dynamic route guidance systems.

Distributed Computing and Simulation in a Traffic Research Test Bed