Data communication and intelligence in traffic simulation environments: Simulation time and performance experiments

Transportation system management and traveler information systems evolve with the development of data communications and intelligence of traffic simulations. Variety of roadside and mobile sensing platforms will be deployed to allow communication between vehicles with Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC). Traffic data received from moving vehicles will be transmitted to each individual vehicle and traffic management center to provide real time traffic information. Microscopic traffic simulation models will be used for generating intelligence from real time data in the form of traffic analysis and prediction, since they have the highest detailed level of prediction such as vehicle / driver characteristics and have the capability to capture dynamically changing traffic conditions through the simulation. In this study, three communication methods for data communication and intelligence in traffic simulation environments are used including Ethernet, off-the-shelf wireless network, and one commercial network provider for data communication. Simulation time is measured and statistically analyzed using three different communication methods and one non-communication case. Also, traffic simulation performance is investigated to demonstrate the intelligence of traffic simulation tools in modeling traffic congestion.