1 9 9 6

Keeping up with California PATH Research in Intelligent Transportation Systems

Special Issue:FIELD OPERATIONAL TESTS

PATH’s Rolepage 1

Smart CallBoxespage 2

Spead Spectrum Radiopage 6

TravInfopage 8

TransCal IRTISpage 10

Ramp Meteringpage 12

Conference UpdateRESEARCH PRESENTATIONS

page 4

SEMINARS & VISITORS page 15

PATH on PaperNEW 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 ClaremontGraduate School, and private industry to increase highway capacity and to decrease traffic congestion, air pollution, accident rates, and fuel consumption.

PATH’s Role in FOTsRobert TamPATH

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 sys-

tem will not suffice to alleviate traffic congestion. The

ITS program uses advanced technologies in comput-

ing and communications to increase throughput on

existing roadways, improve safety, and reduce emis-

sions and energy consumption.

Field Operational Tests (FOTs) serve as the tran-

sition between research and development (R&D)

and full-scale deployment of ITS technologies. Op-

erational 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 el-

ements 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 organiza-

tions make better decisions

about their investments in

intelligent transportation

systems.

continued on page 5

I n t e l l i m o t i o n p a g e 2

v o l u m e 5 n u m b e r 3 1 9 9 6

San Diego SMART Call BoxField Operational TestJim DoddProject Manager, TeleTran Tek Services

R eusing existing public infrastructure is an

attractive strategy for deploying Intelligent

Transportation Systems (ITS), since in-

stalling new electronics to implement each new user

service would be very expensive. In the San Diego

region, Caltrans and the Federal Highway Admin-

istration are funding an operational test of this strat-

egy, called SMART Call Box, using installed free-

way call boxes.

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 so-

lar charging panel,

has a cellular trans-

ceiver, and is mi-

croprocessor con-

trolled. Replacing a

box’s controller

card with a smarter

design can give it

the added capabil-

ity of providing ITS

services. San Diego

now has fourteen

modified call boxes

performing traffic

census counts, de-

tecting incidents,

monitoring the

weather condi-

tions, and hosting

slow-scan closed

circuit television

cameras. Some

sites host multiple

functions.

A Regional Coordination Team composed of San

Diego’s Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies

(SAFE), Caltrans, and the California Highway Pa-

trol oversees the project. SAFE is the public agency

that owns and operates the call box system, much

as Caltrans owns and operates the highway sys-

tem. 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.

The field operational test was a 27-month project,

divided into three phases and four tests and end-

ing on June 30, 1996, making it the first field op-

erational 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 South-

ern California, while US Commlink provides op-

erations 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. In-

cident alarms are transmitted when traffic speedWeather station and US Commlink counter (inset)

I n t e l l i m o t i o n p a g e 3

v o l u m e 5 n u m b e r 3 1 9 9 6

crosses 50 mph and 40 mph thresholds. Twelve

sites were operational during the test.

The hazardous weather detection and reporting

test used JAYCOR low-visibility sensors mounted

on the call box poles at three sites, and a Davis

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 trans-

mitted 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 vis-

ibility, download incident data, or get a complete

display of the weather. Video cameras could be

called over the cellular system, and images trans-

mitted to the simulated TMC. Remaining research

includes working with the Caltrans and CHP TMC

Incident detection–closed circuit television camera is on tower on right

Smart Call Box with solar cell, visibility sensor, and GTE internal counter

staff to develop

operational proce-

dures for de-

ployed systems.

The evaluation

consists of deter-

mining whether

the modified call

boxes can provide

ITS functions in

a cost-effective

manner, as com-

pared to traditional means employed by Caltrans.

Institutional issues that might affect a fully de-

ployed system (as opposed to the conduct of the

test itself) are also being identified. Tentative re-

sults of the evaluation to date show that wireless

methods are much cheaper than wireline con-

nections. Documented results will appear in the

independent evaluation report.

I n t e l l i m o t i o n p a g e 4

v o l u m e 5 n u m b e r 3 1 9 9 6

A list of some of the conferences or workshops where PATH sponsored research was or will be presented.

PATH Research Presentations

Japan-US International Cooperation for Post-Earth-quake Reconstruction Strategies Honolulu, Hawaii, February 3, 1996

First Coordination Workshop, East West Center

• Jim Moore “Rapid Estimation of Network

Flows as an Adjunct to Transportation Struc-

ture Retrofit Decisions.” Sponsored by National

Center of Earthquake Engineering Research.

Southern California Association of GovernmentsModeling Task Force Los Angeles, California, April 24, 1996

• Jim Moore “Rapid Estimation of Network

Flows as an Adjunct to Transportation Struc-

ture 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 Congressand 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 Transporta-tion Studies Davis, California, June 7, 1996

• Kenneth Small “Simulating Travel Reliability.”

IEEE Solid-State Sensor and Actuator Workshop Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, June 1996

• M. Lemkin, B.E. Boser, D.M. Auslander “A

Fully Differential Lateral SD Accelerometer

with Drift Cancellation Circuitry.”

• T. Juneau, A.P. Pisano “Micromachined Dual

Input Axis Angular Rate Sensor.”

• W.A. Clark, R.T. Howe “Surface Micro-

machined 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 “Intelli-

gent Transportation Systems: How do They

Impact the Environment.”

INFORMS Semi-Annual Meeting Washington D.C., May, 1996

• Randolph W. Hall “Optimized Lane Assign-

ment 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.”

I n t e l l i m o t i o n p a g e 5

v o l u m e 5 n u m b e r 3 1 9 9 6

PATH has been given the responsibility of evaluat-

ing 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 pro-

cess of collecting input data to run signal timing

optimization software, and will integrate video traf-

fic detection with their traffic management system.

Orange County is evaluating the benefits of a mo-

bile, integrated video surveillance system using

wireless communications.

Guidance for PATH’s evaluations were provided in

the form of the MITRE “Generic IVHS Operational

PATH’s Role in FOTscontinued from page 1

Test Evaluations Guidelines” document. These

guidelines were of limited utility because each op-

erational tests is unique, and each requires a spe-

cific 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 per-

formance 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 ar-

rangements are examined. This part of the evalua-

tion answers such questions as “how well do pub-

lic/private partnerships work?” Where possible, traf-

fic network performance is evaluated using traffic

measures of effectiveness (e.g., speed, flow, and

travel time). The cost of the system, including capi-

tal and maintenance, is also evaluated, as are reli-

ability 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.

IFAC conferees at lateral controlcar demo on PATH’s test track

1996 Annual Research Symposium of the UCLAElectrical Engineering Department University of California, Los Angeles, Los

Angeles, California, February 26, 1996

• Diana Yanakiev Poster session on “Auto-

mated Trucks on Intelligent Highways: Longitu-

dinal Control Design.”

IFAC '96 San Francisco, California, June 30 - July 5 1996

• K. Hedrick, M. Tomizuka, P. Varaiya,

P. Ioannou “Control Issues in Intelligent

Vehicle Highway Systems.”

• Diana Yanakiev “A Simplified Framework for

String Stability Analysis in AHS.”

I n t e l l i m o t i o n p a g e 6

v o l u m e 5 n u m b e r 3 1 9 9 6

Spread Spectrum Network RadioField Operational TestAn Nguyen, City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation

Our test program’s primary goal is sim-

ply to reduce the cost of hardwiring Los

Angeles’ expanding ATSAC traffic sys-

tem. The objective of the Spread Spectrum Net-

work Radio FOT is to evaluate the use of a com-

munication network for advanced urban traffic

control systems that is based on radio rather than

hardwire links. This radio frequency network will

be used as part of Los Angeles’ Automated Traffic

Surveillance and Control (ATSAC) system.

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 antici-

pated 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-op-

tic 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 opera-

tional 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 de-

ploying Intelligent Transportation Systems elsewhere.

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation

(LADOT) received funding from the Federal High-

way Administration (FHWA) for this FOT, and hired

JHK and Associates as the prime contractor. JHK in

turn hired Hughes Aircraft Company as a subcon-

tractor. The project evaluators are from the Univer-

sity 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

intersection in the Los Angeles area requires 1300

feet of hardwire interconnect, it would cost $39,000

just to add an additional intersection to the system.

A Spread Spectrum Network Radio (SSNR) costing

only $6,500 achieves the same objective at one sixth

(16%) of the cost. In addition, there are logistical

advantages. The SSNR makes it easy to add tempo-

rary sites to the system in areas affected by con-

struction or special events. Network reconfiguration

features also allow SSNR to accommodate degraded

or failed links due to localized power outages or con-

struction work.

“Spread spectrum” refers to a class of communica-

tion 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 in-

formation 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) infor-

mation signal. During transmission, any interfering

signals, including other direct sequences on differ-

ent codes, are effectively reduced since they are not

correlated to the transmitter’s code. The act of in-

creasing 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

I n t e l l i m o t i o n p a g e 7

v o l u m e 5 n u m b e r 3 1 9 9 6

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

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 aban-

don all signal mast arm mounts because the slight

gain in line of sight does not outweigh the trouble-

some installation, maintenance of the network ra-

dio, and the loss of height. Hence, for the full de-

ployment, only the remote antenna mount and the

direct radio mount on the standard option will be

deployed.

Due to the smooth implementation of the initial de-

ployment, we anticipate that full deployment will be

accomplished with minimal difficulties and obstruc-

tions. We anticipate beginning construction by July

1996. The total project, including a full evaluation

report, should be completed by April 1997.

resolve many problems ahead of time and to avoid fix-

ing the radios in the field once they had been installed.

The test, which began in July 1966, is being imple-

mented in two phases: initial deployment of 20 ra-

dios for 17 intersections, and full deployment for the

remaining 85 intersections, to total 102. For the ini-

tial deployment, 20 radios were installed; three for

head-ends and 17 tail-ends at the signalized inter-

sections. These radios are divided into two cells for

the purpose of evaluation of different strategies and

operations. The smaller cell consists of one head-

end and four tail-ends. The head-end radio of this

cell is hardwire connected at 9.6K baud to our Air-

port 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 sched-

uled at a 250ms time frame. There are four subordi-

nates, hence the four frames total one second.

Above right, signal mast arm mount. Middle right, remote antenna mount. Left and lower right, vertical and horizontal terminal mounts

I n t e l l i m o t i o n p a g e 8

v o l u m e 5 n u m b e r 3 1 9 9 6

Three 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 sys-

tem (ITS) project to begin testing of 16 selected

nationwide as field operational tests (FOTs) in 1993

by the US Department of Transportation. It is de-

signed to test the thesis that making comprehen-

sive, 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 evalu-

ation of TravInfo will be provided by PATH.

TravInfo’s nerve center – the Traveler Information

Center, or TIC – began operations for testing pur-

poses 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 con-

sultant selected by MTC, this Oakland data collec-

tion and dissemination site is uniquely situated to

take advantage of public sector data sources: it is

in the next room to the interim Transportation Man-

agement 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

TravInfo Field Operational Test – Taking the GuessMelanie Crotty, TravInfo Project Manager, MTCReka Goode, MTC Public Information

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 dis-

patch system, and the Freeway Service Patrol rov-

ing tow truck fleet’s automatic vehicle location sys-

tem, TravInfo has access to the MTC’s regional da-

tabase on mass transit fares, schedules, routes, and

other local data sources.

Private sector, formally registered TravInfo par-

ticipants, who receive TravInfo traveler informa-

tion by modem, will offer products and services

that present the information in convenient and

innovative forms, and will generate their own in-

formation as well. Commercial products for ac-

cessing 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 dis-

seminate TravInfo traveler information.

Above, Caltrans District 4’s OaklandTransportation Management Center,now operating on an interim testbasis, is staffed jointly by Caltrans andthe California Highway Patrol. TheTMC monitors traffic and roadconditions throughout the nine-countySan Francisco Bay Area. TravInfo’sTraveler Information Center, next door,will provide traffic information datafrom the TMC as well as transit routeand schedule details to the public.

To right, diagram of TMC functions.Data gathered from a variety ofroadway sensors are used to programsignal and ramp metering andchangeable message signs, todispatch emergency vehicles, and toinform travelers of road and trafficconditions.

I n t e l l i m o t i o n p a g e 9

v o l u m e 5 n u m b e r 3 1 9 9 6

The public can already get transit route and sched-

ule details through TravInfo’s traveler advisory tele-

phone system (TATS). Operational since Septem-

ber 1995, the system provides a single and usually

toll-free seven-digit telephone information number

(817-1717) that can be used from anywhere in the

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 manage-

ment 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 High-

way Administration (FHWA), the Federal Transit

Administration, PATH, and the chair of the steer-

ing committee of the TravInfo Advisory Commit-

tee. This advisory committee - the primary vehicle

for the ongoing relationship between the public sec-

tor and private firms - is made up of representa-

tives of roughly 200 firms, research institutions,

and public agencies, and meets three times a year.

The advisory committee’s activities are directed by

the steering committee, which meets every other

month. Consultant teams helped design and imple-

ment the system, and now manage the traveler in-

formation nerve center and databases, as well as

offering technical and marketing support.

The Bay Area has a total of $8.1 million to estab-

lish and operate the system, and to evaluate its ef-

fectiveness. 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 vari-

ous 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 im-

provements 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 con-

nections to San José’s Traffic Management Cen-

ter. Also in this second phase, radio broadcasts

using new technology on the FM subcarrier

bandwidth will transmit information now avail-

able via modem.

PATH should complete its evaluation of the op-

erational 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.

I n t e l l i m o t i o n p a g e 10

v o l u m e 5 n u m b e r 3 1 9 9 6

The TransCal system being developed by

TRW Inc. will be a comprehensive inter-

regional traveler information system

(IRTIS) that integrates road, traffic, transit, weather,

and value-added traveler services data. TRW’s Trans-

portation Systems business segment of TRW Inte-

grated Engineering Division began work on the sys-

tem in 1994. Data sources for TransCal’s IRTIS will

cover the I-80 and US 50 corridors between San Fran-

cisco and the Tahoe/Reno-Sparks area. The TransCal

Field Operational Test (FOT) showcases emerging

capabilities in computing, communications, and con-

sumer electronics that can dramatically improve the

quality of traveler information. The Federal High-

way 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

TransCal – Interregional TravelerInformation System (IRTIS)John Bonds, TransCal Program Manager

evaluator for the operational test. They will be evalu-

ating TransCal to see if there is significantly reduced

travel time, decreased traffic congestion, and im-

proved safety and security in both rural and urban

areas. The operational test is scheduled to be con-

ducted starting October 1, 1996.

Building on emerging ITS standards, IRTIS dissemi-

nates 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 net-

works are used to transmit the information to the

dissemination devices.

IRTIS creates and maintains a real-time traveler in-

formation database that is created from data provided

by various public and private sources throughout the

region. The IRTIS software is an enhancement of soft-

ware developed by TRW to explore the capabilities

of a real-time database for traveler infor-

mation. IRTIS processes the data to cre-

ate a timely depiction of travel conditions

along the corridor, and provides this trav-

eler information in a consistent format.

The information is also customized and

output to devices accessed by individuals

who possess specially configured IRTIS re-

ceivers and displays, including in-vehicle

devices (IVDs) and personal digital assis-

tants 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 trav-

elers in the TransCal region, process

that data into traveler information, and

then make it available as quickly as pos-

sible while preserving the accuracy of

the information. The data IRTIS re-

IRTIS processing from data input to information output

I n t e l l i m o t i o n p a g e 11

v o l u m e 5 n u m b e r 3 1 9 9 6

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 trav-

eler 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-ve-

hicle devices and personal digital assistants that will

be used to display the traveler information in a graphi-

cal format. The static and periodic traveler informa-

tion will be pre-loaded into the devices, and the real-

time 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 ad-

visory board of local city, county and private indus-

try 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.

ceives will be real-time traffic and inci-

dent data, weather data, real-time road

conditions, road maintenance updates,

and operator inputs received from dial-in

sources. Generally, this data will be re-

ceived via telephone modem lines con-

nected 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, pe-

riodic, 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 com-

puter will present the filtered raw data to the op-

erator for action.

IRTIS has a computer-to-computer link with

TravInfo, the San Francisco Bay Area Traveler In-

formation 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 trav-

eler information that is more timely and more ac-

curate 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. An-

other 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

IRTIS Operational Area. Shading shows areafrom which TransCal ATIS coverage isavailable to IRTIS by direct computer-to-computer link.(Map is not to scale.)

I n t e l l i m o t i o n p a g e 12

v o l u m e 5 n u m b e r 3 1 9 9 6

Irvine SWARMSystem-Wide Adaptive Ramp MeteringJohn Thai, FOT Project Manager, City of Irvine

I rvine’s field operational test has as a goal “to

implement and evaluate integrated freeway

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 con-

trol system and adaptive ramp meter control sys-

tem.

• To test the effectiveness of 2070 Advanced Trans-

portation Controllers (ATCs) in real-time traffic

control.

• To document the effectiveness of interagency co-

operation for corridor management.

• To evaluate the expandability and portability of

the systems and approaches.

• To assess the effectiveness of a distributed imple-

mentation of a traffic management and operator

decision support system serving two coordinated

but autonomous agencies.

To achieve optimal traffic management in the

project area, bidirectional communications were

designed such that real-time data can be ex-

changed between the Caltrans District 12 Ad-

vanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) and

Irvine’s Arterial Response Plan (ARP) system mod-

ule via an Ethernet connection over a fiber-optic

link. The District 12 ATMS monitors freeway con-

ditions 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 con-

gestion where diversion is warranted, the ARP

module is responsible for recommending an arte-

rial response plan for the MIST system to imple-

ment. Upon receiving the recommended response

plan from the ARP, MIST will check for response

plan conflicts, recommend a resolution if neces-

sary, ask for operator approval, and implement

the arterial response plans. In the case of recur-

ring congestion, i.e., when freeway diversion is not

warranted, the ARP will not recommend a re-

sponse 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 imple-

mented response plan for archival or further analy-

ses at District 12. 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 t e l l i m o t i o n p a g e 13

v o l u m e 5 n u m b e r 3 1 9 9 6

The field implementation

for Irvine includes 28 type

2070 ATCs, additional

OPAC loops, and five arte-

rial changeable message

signs (CMSs) at strategic lo-

cations. System implemen-

tation for ITRAC includes an

HP workstation running the

MIST and ARP software mod-

ules in a UNIX (HP UX) envi-

ronment. The MIST module

will monitor arterial traffic

conditions through the 2070

ATCs, implement traffic re-

sponse plans, control arterial

CMSs, and provide operators with real-time traf-

fic data for analyses. The ARP will send real-time

arterial traffic data back to the ATMS at Caltrans

District 12 TMC.

To determine the effectiveness of the integrated sys-

tems, the Irvine FOT project partners identified

seven basic scenarios to evaluate. Baseline condi-

tions were defined as traffic conditions in the corri-

dor where SWARM is the only FOT element exist-

ing for both recurring and non-recurring congestion.

The following scenarios were of interest:

• Baseline conditions for recurring and non-recur-

ring congestion

• Baseline conditions for recurring congestion with

freeway CMS displaying “Congestion Ahead”

• Non-recurring congestion utilizing OPAC (no ar-

terial response plans implemented) and freeway

CMS displaying “Alton Available”

• Non-recurring congestion utilizing an arterial re-

sponse 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 integra-

tion–institutional, operational and technical–to be

evaluated. Institutional issues in integration include

existing Caltrans and Irvine policies and proce-

dures, and operational agreements to be developed.

Operational issues in integration include such traf-

fic operations as staffing, operators’ hours of op-

erations, interagency cooperation, and event co-

ordination. Technical issues in integration include

system effectiveness, physical and network con-

straints, 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 Dis-

trict 12’s TMC. Although the schedule is ambi-

tious, 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 ap-

proach the challenges and solve them as partners

on a long-term, overall-corridor performance ba-

sis. In fact, the Irvine FOT has founded new part-

nerships between Caltrans, the Los Angeles De-

partment of Transportation (LADOT) and the

State of Texas Department of Transportation (Tex

DOT) to jointly develop ITS software for the

emerging 2070 controllers.

Real-time data is exchanged between the City of Irvine’s Traffic Research and Control Center and CaltransDistrict 12’s Advanced Traffic Management System.

I n t e l l i m o t i o n p a g e 14

v o l u m e 5 n u m b e r 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 on Paper

PATH Research Papers

PATH Technical Notes

PATH Working Papers

Intellimotion is online at http://www.path.berkeley.edu/Intellimotion

Visit our Web Site!

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, $20.00UCB-ITS-PRR-96-08, Low Speed Collision Dynamics: Second Year Report, Benson Tongue, Ahrie Moon, Doug Harriman, April 1996, $10.00UCB-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, $20.00UCB-ITS-PRR-96-10, An Evaluation Taxonomy for Congestion Pricing, Hong K. Lo, Mark D. Hickman, Maura Walstad, May 1996, $15.00UCB-ITS-PRR-96-11, Organizing for ITS: Computer Integrated Transportation Phase 2: Results for Emergency Operations, Hong K. Lo, Holly Rybinski,May 1996, $10.00UCB-ITS-PRR-96-12, An Information and Institutional Inventory of California Transit Agencies, Mark D. Hickman, Theodore Day, May 1996, $20.00UCB-ITS-PRR-96-14, Towards a Fault Tolerant AHS Design Part I: Extended Architecture, John Lygeros, Datta N. Godbole, Mireille Broucke, June 1996, $5.00UCB-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, $10.00UCB-ITS-PRR-96-16, Evaluation of Radio Links and Networks, Jean-Paul M.G. Linnartz, Rolando F. Diesta, June 1996, $20.00UCB-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, $15.00UCB-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

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, $5.00UCB-ITS-PWP-96-05, Steady State Conditions on Automated Highways, José M. del Castillo, David J. Lovell, Carlos F. Daganzo, June 1996, $5.00UCB-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

Tech Note 96-01, A Discussion of the WaveLan Radio as Relevant to Automated Vehicle Control Systems, Chao Chen, Bret Foreman, April 1996, $5.00Tech Note 96-02, Outdoor Measurements on WaveLAN Radio, Chao Chen, Manjari Asawa, Bret Foreman, April 1996, $5.00Tech Note 96-04, A Simple Dectection Scheme for Delay-Inducing Freeway Incidents, Wei-Hua Lin, Carlos F. Daganzo, April 1996, $10.00

I n t e l l i m o t i o n p a g e 15

v o l u m e 5 n u m b e r 3 1 9 9 6

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.

PATHSeminars

PATH on videoAs public interest in ITS grows, video crews

from technologically oriented TV programs

come more frequently to PATH’s Golden Gate

Fie lds test track. Above, the Discovery

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.

May 2Storage and Access Methods for Navigable RoadMap DatabasesProfessor Shashi ShekharUniversity of Minnesota

May 24Integrated Planning/Simulation Methodology forAnalysis of Intelligent Transportation SystemsVassily AlexiadisCambridge Systematics

June 21Travel Time Estimation on Freeways usingSingle-Trap Loop DetectorsKarl PettyEECS, UC Berkeley

July 12ITS in FranceSteve Shladover and Stein WeissenbergerManagers of the AVCS and ATMIS ResearchPrograms at PATH

August 2Selling $500 Vacuum Cleaners Door-to-Door:The Microeconomics of Mass TransitKenneth SchmierOriginator of the San Francisco MunicipalRailway MUNI Fast Pass

Publications Manager Bill Stone

Managing Editor Gerald Stone

Art Director Esther Kerkmann

Multimedia Specialist Jay Sullivan

• A special issue onAutomated HighwaySystems

• Conference Updates

• New Publications

. . . and more!

ComingSoon...

Map on p.1 by Jay Sullivan. Photos on pp. 5, 8-9, and 15by Gerald Stone. Other photos, graphics and illustrationsby the authors and Esther Kerkmann, Bill Stone, MattAbarbanel, and Andrew Watanabe.

©1996 by California PATH. All rights reserved. Unlesspermission is granted, this material shall not be repro-duced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in anyform or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photo-copying, recording or otherwise.

ISSN-1061-4311 Printed on recycled paper

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