Validating the results of a route choice simulator

This paper describes the validation of a route choice simulator known as VLADIMIR (Variable Legend Assessment Device for Interactive Measurement of Individual Route choice). VLADIMIR is an interactive computer-based tool designed to study drivers’ route choice behaviour. It has been extensively used to obtain data on route choice in the presence of information sources such as Variable Message Signs or In-Car Navigation devices. The simulator uses a sequence of digitized photographs to portray a real network with junctions, links, landmarks and road signs. Subject drivers are invited to make journeys between specified origins and destinations under a range of travel scenarios, during which the simulator automatically records their route choices. This paper describes validation experiments carried out during the period Summer 1994 to Autumn 1995 and reports on the results obtained. Each experiment involved a comparison of routes selected in real life with those driven under simulated conditions in VLADIMIR. The analysis included investigation of the subjects’ own assessment of the realism of the VLADIMIR routes they had chosen, a comparison of models based on the real life routes with models based on VLADIMIR routes, and a statistical comparison of the two sets of routes. After an extensive series of data collection exercises and analyses, we have concluded that a well designed simulator is able to replicate real life route choices with a very high degree of detail and accuracy. Not only was VLADIMIR able to precisely replicate the route choices of drivers who were familiar with the network but it also appears capable of representing the kind of errors made and route choice strategies adopted by less familiar drivers. Furthermore, evidence is presented to suggest that it can accurately replicate route choice responses to roadside VMS information.     

The prigogine-herman kinetic model predicts widely scattered traffic flow data at high concentrations

The classical derivation of a traffic stream model (e.g. speed/concentration relation) from the equilibrium solutions of the Prigogine–Herman kinetic equation invokes the nontrivial assumption that the underlying distribution of desired speeds is nonzero for vanishingly small speeds. In this paper we investigate the situation when this assumption does not hold. It is found that the Prigogine–Herman kinetic equation has a one-parameter family of equilibrium solutions, and hence an associated traffic stream model, only for traffic concentrations below some critical value; at higher concentrations there is a two-parameter family of solutions, and hence a continuum of mean velocities for each concentration. This result holds for both constant values of the passing probability and the relaxation time, and for values that depend on concentration in the manner assumed by Prigogine and Herman. It is hypothesized that this result reflects the well-known tendency toward substantial scatter in observational data of traffic flow at high concentrations.     

Vehicle Dynamics Estimation Using Kalman Filters

This paper deals with the application of stochastic state estimators in vehicle dynamics control. It is often unrealistic to assume that all vehicle states and the disturbances acting on it can be measured. System states that cannot be measured directly, can be estimated by a Kalman Filter. The idea of the Kalman filter is to implement a model of the real system in an on-board computer in parallel with the system itself. This paper will give 3 examples of this principle applied to automotive systems.     

2006年美国进口车新技术一览(上)

在美国，所有进口汽车制造商都推出了2006款新车型．其中包括两种混合动力车。这些进口车也将能达到美国国产车的维修技术要求，如按照SAEJ2534标准的车载电脑通用再编程技术。本田、日产、丰田以及马自达和宝马汽车都可通过网络实现这一功能。本文将介绍一些新的技术。     

2003年美国汽车技术展望

对美国生产的轿车而言,去年市场上似乎风平浪静。新推出的车只有几款,它们分别是:用以取代“土星S”的新型的“离子”轿车、“旁蒂克·Vibe”、采用增压发动机的“PT巡洋舰”和“霓虹”。还有一些改进型的车,如“林肯·LS”和“林肯·城市”。 虽然推出的新车不是很多,但对不起,我必须告诉你:CAN(控制器局域网)时代已经来临。这几年,市场已经有几款所谓的新一代故障扫描仪,这些扫描仪可以用来诊断CAN系统。除非你已     

Measuring the completeness of complete streets

A tool for measuring the “completeness” of a complete street has applications in developing policy, prioritising areas for infrastructure investment for a network, and solving the right-of-way allocation problem for individual streets. A literature review was conducted on the state-of-art in the assessment complete street designs. Complete streets assessment requires a context-sensitive approach, thus context-sensitive standards of “completeness” must first be established by combining a street classification system with sets of priorities and target performance levels for the different types of streets. Performance standards should address a street’s fulfilment of the movement, environmental, and place functions, and be flexible enough to account for the many ways that these functions of a street can be fulfilled. Most frameworks reviewed are unsuitable for evaluating complete streets because, with few exceptions, they guide street design by specifying the design elements for inclusion on the street. Secondly, the performance of a street can be assessed according to transportation, environmental, and place criteria, and compared to the target performance levels specified by the street’s classification. As there are many different impacts to consider on a street, additional work is required to define the priorities and performance objectives for different types of streets.     

Research trends and agenda on the Belt and Road (B&R) initiative with a focus on maritime transport

The ‘Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road’ (collectively known as Belt and Road, B&R) has been initiated by the Chinese government in 2013. The B&R is increasingly becoming a focal point for socio-economic–political interests because of its likely impact on land and sea transport and maritime logistics. The aims of this study were threefold: first, to provide an overview on the B&R, focusing on its key structural elements, such as transport corridors, city clusters, dry ports, infrastructure, zoning, and area development; second, to identify the expected impacts of the B&R on trade and implications on structural changes in transportation systems, port networks, and international logistics. Finally, to discuss major research trends and setting up of research agenda which will contribute to enriching the existing literature and shaping the global trade operations and drive economic growth in the context of the B&R.     

2011美国汽车市场进口新车型概览

美国汽车工业的复兴,不仅体现在本刊所做的有关美国国内汽车制造商新车型上市的报道中,也同时体现在众多2011款进口车型的报告中。在新的一年里,每个主要的进口品牌汽车制造商,甚至包括大多数规模较小的制造商都纷纷向美国市场推出了新的车型。     

对停车改革认识更加清晰的停车政策分类方法

对停车政策类型缺乏广泛理解会导致对城市停车政策的混淆。通过对各地停车政策学术研究和实践应用的综述,指出以往的政策分类或缺乏完整性,过于简单、不准确,或无法洞悉差异背后的本质。并且没有一项研究能对每种停车政策及改革背后的政策思路进行分析。为弥补这些缺陷,提出一种关于停车政策新的分类方法。该方法清晰地指出不同停车改革政策背后思维模式的差异。通过回顾不同地区(国际和都市区内部地区)停车改革实践,验证分类方法的价值并提出改进措施。通过两个关键问题定义三种停车政策模式。每个模式对停车作为一种经济产品的本质提出不同的基础假设。通过第三个问题确立分类模式的第三个维度。新方法的提出能减少由于合并不同形式造成的停车争论偏好的混淆,包括假两难推理和偷换概念等关键替代形式。     

The supply side of the automated people mover market: A spectrum of choices

A survey of the supply side of the Automated People Mover (APM) market over the past ten to fifteen years shows some significant trends. In the nineteen eighties, suppliers concentrated on designing, developing, and marketing unique technologies. Thus, each supplier tended to specialize in a single technology, with some variations in size and capacity. With the present growth of the APM market, several APM suppliers have developed, either through mergers or acquisitions, a more diversified range of technologies to meet a variety of system requirements in terms of capacity, service and budget considerations. As a result of this trend, the transit industry now has a full range of technologies that are well proven and capable of meeting the different needs, special operational requirements, and budgets of its potential clients.