Augmented Reality Vehicle system: Left-turn maneuver study

Augmented Reality “AR” is a promising paradigm that can offer users with real-time, high-quality visualization of a wide variety of information. In AR, virtual objects are added to the real-world view in real time. The AR technology can offer a very realistic environment for enhancing drivers’ performance on the road and testing drivers’ ability to react to different road design and traffic operations scenarios. This can be achieved by adding virtual objects (people, vehicles, hazards, and other objects) to the normal view while driving an actual vehicle in a real environment. This paper explores a new Augmented Reality Vehicle “ARV” system and attempts to apply this new concept to a selected traffic engineering application namely the left-turn maneuver at two-way stop-controlled “TWSC” intersection. This TWSC intersection experiment, in addition to testing the feasibility of the application, tries to quantify the size of gaps accepted by different driver’s characteristics (age and gender). The ARV system can be installed in any vehicle where the driver can see the surrounding environment through a Head Mounted Display “HMD” and virtual objects are generated through a computer and added to the scene. These different environments are generated using a well defined set of scenarios. The results from this study supported the feasibility and validity of the proposed ARV system and they showed promise for this system to be used in the field-testing for the safety and operation aspects of transportation research. Results of the left-turn maneuver study revealed that participants accepted gaps in the range of 4.0-9.0 s. This finding implies that all gaps below 4 s are rejected and all gaps above 9 s are likely to be accepted. The mean value of the left-turn time was 4.67 s which is a little bit higher than reported values in the literature (4.0-4.3 s). Older drivers were found to select larger gaps to make left turns than younger drivers. The conservative driving attitude of older drivers indicates the potential presence of reduced driving ability of elderly. Drivers’ characteristics (age and gender) did not significantly affect the left-turn time. Based on the survey questions that were handed to participants, most participants indicated good level of comfort with none or small level of risk while driving the vehicle with the ARV system. None of the participants felt any kind of motion sickness and the participants’ answers indicated a good visibility and realism of the scene with overall good system fidelity.     

Transportation of hazardous materials on Arizona's low volume roads

This paper attempts to address the issue of transporting hazardous materials and the question whether this activity constitutes a significant problem on Arizona's low volume roads. Problems related to lack of data required for most of existing risk assessment models are discussed. A preliminary risk assessment, conducted by the use of a screening model, attested that of the total state low volume road mileage, only 30% may need further, and more detailed, hazardous materials transportation risk analysis. The remaining 70% is currently free of any significant risk.     

Dynamic considerations of speed control humps

The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of hump parameters (cross section, dimensions, spacing, etc.) on the dynamic behaviour of the vehicle and the driver. Vehicle safety and driver comfort are most important in evaluating the effectiveness of speed control humps. A mathematical model representing the vehicle and the driver is developed. Several hump profiles are tried. A “basic” hump is selected and the effects of the individual parameters of the hump on the dynamic response of the system are evaluated through the computer simulation. The results are analysed, conclusions and recommendations for the design of speed control humps are specified.     

Evaluating safety effectiveness of roundabouts in Abu Dhabi

With more than 460 roundabouts located in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, it is imperative to evaluate the safety benefits provided by those roundabouts. In this study, two approaches were used to evaluate those safety benefits. The first approach is by measuring the 85th percentile operating speeds at a sample of 18 roundabouts in Abu Dhabi to determine whether the measured operating speeds conform to what is recommended by design guides. The second approach is by using a questionnaire to measure how drivers in Abu Dhabi perceive safety when driving at roundabouts and to measure their level of knowledge regarding the rules pertaining to driving at roundabouts. The study found that operating speeds at Abu Dhabi roundabouts typically exceed those recommended by design guides. The study also found that only 4.1% of the drivers interviewed demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of the rules pertaining to driving at roundabouts. Ordinal regression modeling was used to identify driver groups in need for more awareness of the rules to negotiate roundabouts in Abu Dhabi. The study found that the driver group in most need for more awareness is typically young and middle-age male drivers (below the age of 46?years) with less driving experience in countries where roundabouts are common. The questionnaire also revealed that despite the operational benefits provided by roundabouts (in terms of reduced delay), drivers do not prefer to drive at Abu Dhabi roundabouts, which might be explained by drivers' perception of Abu Dhabi roundabouts being not safe.