Real-time freeway traffic state estimation based on extended Kalman filter: Adaptive capabilities and real data testing

This paper reports on real data testing of a real-time freeway traffic state estimator, with a particular focus on its adaptive capabilities. The pursued general approach to the real-time adaptive estimation of complete traffic state in freeway stretches or networks is based on stochastic macroscopic traffic flow modeling and extended Kalman filtering. One major innovative feature of the traffic state estimator is the online joint estimation of important model parameters (free speed, critical density, and capacity) and traffic flow variables (flows, mean speeds, and densities), which leads to three significant advantages of the estimator: (1) avoidance of prior model calibration; (2) automatic adaptation to changing external conditions (e.g. weather and lighting conditions, traffic composition, control measures); (3) enabling of incident alarms. These three advantages are demonstrated via suitable real data testing. The achieved testing results are satisfactory and promising for subsequent applications.     

Hybrid artificial neural network and locally weighted regression models for lane-based short-term urban traffic flow forecasting

ABSTRACT

In recent years, there has been considerable research interest in short-term traffic flow forecasting. However, forecasting models offering a high accuracy at a fine temporal resolution (e.g. 1 or 5?min) and lane level are still rare. In this study, a combination of genetic algorithm, neural network and locally weighted regression is used to achieve optimal prediction under various input and traffic settings. The genetically optimized artificial neural network (GA-ANN) and locally weighted regression (GA-LWR) models are developed and tested, with the former forecasting traffic flow every 5-min within a 30-min period and the latter for forecasting traffic flow of a particular 5-min period of each for four lanes of an urban arterial road in Beijing, China. In particular, for morning peak and off-peak traffic flow prediction, the GA-ANN 5-min traffic flow model results in average errors of 3–5% and most 95th percentile errors of 7–14% for each of the four lanes; for the peak and off-peak time traffic flow predictions, the GA-LWR 5-min traffic flow model results in average errors of 2–4% and most 95th percentile errors are lower than 10% for each of the four lanes. When compared to previous models that usually offer average errors greater than 6–15%, such empirical findings should be of interest to and instrumental for transportation authorities to incorporate in their city- or state-wide Advanced Traveller Information Systems (ATIS).