Realising that it is timely to integrate the best possible combination of technology and architecture currently available into the next generation Traffic Management Centre, the need for a testing and evaluation facility became evident. This paper presents the development and implementation of a Traffic Management Laboratory (TRAMLAB). The basic idea behind TRAMLAB is to emulate a typical TMC traffic control room and implement, integrate and evaluate existing or new concepts of its operations, in a virtual environment prior to actual deployment. TRAMLAB effectively combines the power of simulation with the facility to easily gather, access and manipulate data through a graphical user interface. In this paper the current state of TRAMLAB along with results from its first implementation in a section of the Twin Cities freeway network are presented.
Abstract