Intelligent traffic systems : progress report and updated workplan.

The project Intelligent Traffic Systems (ITS) is aiming at the development of an instrument for the evaluation of ITS applications by means of computer simulation in which consequences for safety, emission (noise, exhaust gas and, related to that, fuel consumption), and traffic performance can be assessed in an integrated manner. Four TNO Institutes, each with its own expertise, are joining efforts in this project, i.e. the TNO Institute of Infrastructure, Transportation and Regional Development, the TNO Human Factors Research Institute, the TNO Road-Vehicles Research Institute, and the TNO Institute of Applied Physics. Furthermore the project is carried out in close cooperation with the Transport Research Centre (AVV) of the Ministry of Transport, Public orks and Water management. This report gives an overview of the status of the progress of the ITS project up to and including 1995. The modular structure of ITS integrates specific models from various disciplines into one comprehensive model structure. Basically, the instrument comprises two levels of detail, a macroscopic and a microscopic one. At the microscopic level traffic is simulated on a network link on an individual vehicle base, and consists of the microscopic traffic model, which in every simulation time step calculates the behaviour of driver, vehicle and intelligent system for all vehicles that are present on the simulated stretch of road. The macroscopic level includes the macroscopic traffic model where traffic is considered at the aggregated level of a whole network. At both levels output modules estimate the effects of a given measure in terms of safety, emission, and traffic performance. During the period between 1992 and 1995 the realisation of the ITS framework was taken on, resulting in the microscopic traffic model MIXIC, a noise output module and specifications for the macroscopic model DYNDART 2.0 and output modules for emission and safety. In 1996 the framework will be completed and a first evaluation study will be conducted. Subject of the ITS case study is Intelligent Cruise Control.