A significant technology gap exists between available advanced traffic applications and the fundamental field equipment needed to run these systems. This paper discusses efforts to close this technology gap through the use of open standards. These standards use more contemporary designs, meet the needs of current transportation applications, and can grow with new technology. Two of these standards are the advanced transportation controller (ATC) standard and the ATC application programming interface (API) standard. The ATC standard specifies a controller architecture where the computational components reside on a single, small printed circuit board with standardized connectors and pinout. The ATC API standard defines a software interface that, when combined with the Linux operating system specified in the ATC standard, forms a universal interface for application programs to operate on all ATC units. These standards work together to provide a flexible technology platform that can be incorporated into many controller designs and cabinet architectures.
Abstract