Its technologies

Intelligent Transportation

System

Table of Contents

Introduction to ITSGoals for ITSBranches of ITS ITS Technologies

WHAT IS ITS?

Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) is an umbrella term for a range of technologies including processing, control, communication and electronics, that are applied to a transportation system.

It also includes an advanced approach to traffic management.

DEFINITION

ITS improves transportation safety and mobility and enhances productivity through the use of advanced communications technologies.

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) apply well-established technologies of communications, control, electronics and computer hardware & software to the surface transportation system.

HOW ITS WORKS?

Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) include a broad range of wireless and wire line communications-based information and electronics technologies

When integrated into the transportation system's infrastructure, and in vehicles themselves, these technologies reduce congestion, improve safety and enhance productivity.

GOALS FOR ITS

Improved SafetyReduced Congestion Increased and Higher Quality

MobilityReduced Environmental Impact Improved Energy Efficiency Improved Economic Productivity

ITS TECHNOLOGIES OR BRANCHES

ITS is made up of 16 types of technology based systems.

These systems are divided into Intelligent Infrastructure systems and Intelligent Vehicle systems.

INTELLIGENT INFRASTRUCTURE

Planned arteries, highways, traffic signals, signs, their coordination and use of latest technologies such as DMS (Dynamic Message Sign) and HAR (Highway Advisory Radio) enables transportation infrastructure for smooth and efficient traffic operation.


ArterialManagement

Electronic paymentand pricing

Emergencymanagement

TransitManagement

Incidentmanagement

FreewayManagement


Crash Preventionand Safety

Travelerinformation

Road Weather Management

Commercial Vehicle operation

InformationManagement

Roadway Operationand Maintenance


Inter-ModalFreight

INTELLIGENT VEHICLES

Intelligent Vehicle Technologies telematics comprise electronic, electromechanical, and electromagnetic devices operating in conjunction with computer controlled devices and radio transceivers to provide precision repeatability functions (such as in robotics Artificial Intelligence systems)

INTELLIGENT VEHICLES

Driver AssistanceSystems

Collision AvoidanceSystems

Collision NotificationSystems

Intelligent Infrastructure

Intelligent infrastructure has attached or built-in components that are able to collect and transmit information about the state of the infrastructure to a central computer, and in some cases receive back instruction from the computer, which triggers controlling devices.

Categories

Arterial ManagementFreeway ManagementTransit Management Incident ManagementEmergency ManagementTraveler Information Information Management

Categories

Crash Prevention & SafetyElectronic Payment & Pricing Roadway Operations &

MaintenanceRoad Weather ManagementCommercial Vehicle

Operations Intermodal Freight

Arterial Management

Arterial management systems manage traffic along arterial roadways, employing traffic detectors, traffic signals, and various means of communicating information to travelers.

These systems make use of information collected by traffic surveillance devices to smooth the flow of traffic along travel corridors.

They also disseminate important information about travel conditions to travelers via technologies such as DMS or HAR.

Components

SurveillanceTraffic Control Lane Management Parking Management Information DisseminationEnforcement

Parking Management

Traffic Control Signal

Freeway Management

Freeway management systems’ application is found in different forms.

Traffic surveillance systems use detectors and video equipment to support the most advanced freeway management applications.

Traffic control measures on freeway entrance ramps, such as ramp meters, can use sensor data to optimize freeway travel speeds and ramp meter wait times.

Lane management applications can address effective capacity of freeways and promote use of high-occupancy commute modes.

Special event transportation management systems can help control impact of congestion.

Freeway Management

Freeway Management

In areas with frequent events, large changeable destination signs or other lane control equipment can be installed.

In areas with occasional or one-time events, portable equipment can help smooth traffic flow.

Advanced communications have improved the dissemination of information to the traveling public.

Motorists are now able to receive relevant information on location specific traffic conditions in a number of ways, including DMS, HAR, in-vehicle signing, or specialized information transmitted only to a specific set of vehicles.

Transit Management

Transit ITS services include surveillance and communications, such as Automated Vehicle Location (AVL) systems, Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems, and remote vehicle and facility surveillance cameras, which enable transit agencies to improve the operational efficiency, safety, and security of the nation's public transportation systems.

Incident Management

Incident management systems can reduce the effects of incident-related congestion by decreasing the time to detect incidents, the time for responding vehicles to arrive, and the time required for traffic to return to normal conditions.

Incident management systems make use of a variety of surveillance technologies, often shared with freeway and arterial management systems, as well as enhanced communications and other technologies that facilitate coordinated response to incidents.

Incident Management

Emergency Management

ITS applications in emergency management include hazardous materials management, the deployment of emergency medical services, and large and small-scale emergency response and evacuation operations.

Emergency Management

Traveler Information

Traveler information applications use a variety of technologies, including Internet websites, telephone hotlines, as well as television and radio, to allow users to make more informed decisions regarding trip departures, routes, and mode of travel.

Information Management

ITS information management supports the archiving and retrieval of data generated by other ITS applications and enables ITS applications that use archived information.

Decision support systems, predictive information, and performance monitoring are some ITS applications enabled by ITS information management.

In addition, ITS information management systems can assist in transportation planning, research, and safety management activities.

Crash, Prevention & Safety Crash prevention and safety systems detect

unsafe conditions and provide warnings to travelers to take action to avoid crashes.

These systems provide alerts for traffic approaching at dangerous curves, off ramps, restricted overpasses, highway-rail crossings, high-volume intersections, and also provide warnings of the presence of pedestrians, and bicyclists, and even animals on the roadway.

Crash prevention and safety systems typically employ sensors to monitor the speed and characteristics of approaching vehicles and also monitor roadway conditions and visibility.

Electronic Payment & Pricing

Electronic payment systems employ various communication and electronic technologies to facilitate commerce between travelers and transportation agencies, typically for the purpose of paying tolls and transit fares.

Pricing refers to charging motorists a fee or toll that varies with the level of demand or with the time of day.

Road Weather Management Road weather management activities

include road weather information systems (RWIS), winter maintenance technologies, and coordination of operations within and between state DOTs.

ITS applications assist with the monitoring and forecasting of roadway and atmospheric conditions, dissemination of weather-related information to travelers, weather-related traffic control measures such as variable speed limits, and both fixed and mobile winter maintenance activities.

Intermodal Freight

ITS can facilitate the safe, efficient, secure, and seamless movement of freight.

Applications being deployed provide for tracking of freight and carrier assets such as containers and chassis, and improve the efficiency of freight terminal processes, drayage operations, and international border crossings.

Intelligent Vehicle

Intelligent Vehicles

With the rapid development of the highway in the world, traffic accidents are remarkably increasing.

They are often caused by drivers themselves, such as their sleeping, telephone talking, music entertaining, chatting and so on.

There is no way to make all drivers obey proper driving rules to prevent traffic accidents from happening.

To solve the problem, the most effective approach is to develop a new type of vehicle, which can release drivers from its operation, which is named as Intelligent Vehicle.

In recent years, the research on Intelligent Vehicles is very active in some developed countries.

Categories

Collision Avoidance SystemDriver Assistance SystemCollision Notification

System

Collision Avoidance System To improve the ability of drivers to avoid

accidents, vehicle-mounted collision warning systems (CWS) continue to be tested and deployed.

These applications use a variety of sensors to monitor the vehicle's surroundings and alert the driver of conditions that could lead to a collision.

Examples include forward collision warning, obstacle detection systems, and road departure warning systems.

Driver Assistance System Numerous intelligent vehicle

technologies exist to assist the driver in operating the vehicle safely.

Systems are available to aid with navigation, while others, such as vision enhancement and speed control systems, are intended to facilitate safe driving during adverse conditions.

Other systems assist with difficult driving tasks such as transit and commercial vehicle docking.

Driver Assistance System

Collision Notification System

In an effort to improve response times and save lives, collision notification systems have been designed to detect and report the location and severity of incidents to agencies and services responsible for coordinating appropriate emergency response actions.

These systems can be activated manually or automatically with automatic collision notification and advanced systems may transmit information on the type of crash, number of passengers, and the likelihood of injuries.

ITS Technologies

Intelligent Transportation Systems vary in technologies applied, from basic management systems such as car navigation, traffic signal control systems, variable message signs or speed cameras to monitoring applications such as security CCTV systems, and then to more advanced applications which integrate live data and feedback from a number of other sources, such as Parking Guidance and Information systems, weather information, bridge de-icing systems, and the like.

Additionally, predictive techniques are being developed, to allow advanced modeling and comparison with historical baseline data.

Categories

Wireless CommunicationComputational TechnologiesFloating Car Data (FCD)Sensing TechnologiesInductive Loop DetectionVideo Vehicle Detection

Wireless Communication

Various forms of wireless communication technologies have been proposed for Intelligent Transportation Systems.

Types

Short Range Wireless Communication

Long Range Wireless Communication


Short range communications are used for less than 500 yards.

They are accomplished using IEEE 802.11 protocols, specifically Wireless Access in Vehicular Environment (WAVE) or the Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) standard being promoted by the Intelligent Transportation Society of America and the United States Department of Transportation.

Theoretically the range of these protocols can be extended using Mobile ad-hoc networks or Mesh networking.


Long Range Wireless Communication

Longer range communications have been proposed using infrastructure networks such as WiMAX (IEEE 802.16), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) or 3G.

Long-range communications using these methods are well established, but, unlike the short-range protocols, these methods require extensive and very expensive infrastructure deployment.

Computational Technologies

Recent advances in vehicle electronics have led to a move toward fewer more capable computer processors on a vehicle.

A typical vehicle in the early 2000s would have between 20 and 100 individual networked microcontroller/Programmable logic controller modules with non-real-time operating systems.

The current trend is toward fewer more costly microprocessor modules with hardware memory management and Real-Time Operating Systems.

The installation of operational systems and processors in transportation vehicles have also allowed software applications and artificial intelligence systems to be installed.

These systems include internal control of model based processes, artificial intelligence, ubiquitous computing and other programs designed to be integrated into a greater transportation system.

Perhaps the most important of these for Intelligent Transportation Systems is artificial intelligence.

Floating Car Data (FCD)

Virtually every car contains one or more mobile phones.

These mobile phones routinely transmit their location information to the network – even when no voice connection is established.

These cellular phones in cars are used as anonymous traffic probes.

As the car moves, so does the signal of the mobile phone.

By measuring and analyzing triangulation network data – in an anonymized format – the data is converted into accurate traffic flow information.


Since this data is updated constantly throughout the day, they can be used as traffic probes showing points where there is traffic congestion, the average traffic speed and traffic direction.

In metropolitan areas the distance between antennas is shorter and, thus, accuracy increases.

Moreover, since this system has more coverage, requires no costly infrastructures and equipment like cameras or sensors and is not affected by adverse weather including heavy rain, it is one of the strongest contenders for Intelligent Transportation Systems.


Sensing Technologies

Sensing technologies have greatly enhanced the technical capabilities and safety benefits of Intelligent Transportation Systems around the world.

These sensors include inductive loops that can sense the vehicles' speed, the number of vehicles passing as well as the size of these vehicles.

Types

Infrastructure SensorsVehicle Sensors

Infrastructure Sensors

Infrastructure sensors are devices that are installed or embedded on the road, or surrounding the road (buildings, posts, and signs for example).

These sensing technologies may be installed during preventive road construction maintenance or by sensor injection machinery for rapid deployment of road in-ground sensors.

Infrastructure Sensors

Acoustic Array Sensor Mounted Along Roadway

Vehicle Sensors

Vehicle sensors are those devices installed on the road or in the vehicle, new technology development has also enabled cellular phones to become anonymous traffic probes, already explained in floating car data.

Inductive Loop Detection

Inductive loops can be placed in a roadbed to detect vehicles as they pass over the loop by measuring the vehicle's magnetic field.

The simplest detectors simply count the number of vehicles during a unit of time (typically 60 seconds in the United States) that pass over the loop, while more sophisticated sensors estimate the speed, length and weight of vehicles and the distance between them.

Loops can be placed in a single lane or across multiple lanes, and they work with very slow or stopped vehicles as well as vehicles moving at high-speed.

Inductive Loop Detection

Video Vehicle Detection

Traffic flow measurement and Automatic Incident Detection using video cameras is another form of vehicle detection.

Since video detection systems do not involve installing any components directly into the road surface or roadbed, this type of system is known as a "non-intrusive" method of traffic detection.

Video from black-and-white or color cameras is fed into processors that analyze the changing characteristics of the video image as vehicles pass.

The cameras are typically mounted on poles or structures above or adjacent to the roadway.


Most video detection systems require some initial configuration to teach, processor the baseline background image.

This usually involves inputting known measurements such as the distance between lane lines or the height of the camera above the roadway.

The typical output from a video detection system is lane-by-lane vehicle speeds, counts and lane occupancy readings.

Some systems provide additional outputs including gap, headway, stopped-vehicle detection and wrong-way vehicle alarms.


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Its technologies