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January/February
2001
Center
for Excellence in Advanced Traffic and Logistics Algorithms and Systems
(ATLAS)
by
David Gibson, Alan Hansen, and Pitu Mirchandani
Two
major factors in the economic competitiveness of a country and the quality
of life of its people are the ease with which people move between home
and workplace and other destinations, minimizing the attendant impact
on clean air, and the efficient movement of goods from point of origin
to destination. Thus, economic competitiveness and the people's quality
of life can be considerably enhanced by better management of vehicular
traffic on the road network. Economic competitiveness can also be enhanced
by better management of logistics to improve the efficiency and cost
of the movement of goods.
Recognizing the pivotal role of research in discovering new efficiencies
to enhance economic competitiveness and quality of life, the University
of Arizona with the support of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
established a center of excellence for the research and development
of algorithms, software, and systems to advance the state of the art
and the state of the practice in traffic management systems and logistics
management systems.
![Guide through ATLAS laboratory](images/atlas2fpo.jpg) |
ATLAS
Director Pitu Mirchandani (second from left) and University of
Arizona doctoral student, Dave Lucas (far right), guide ADOT's
Steve Owen (far left) and Tim Wolfe through the ATLAS laboratory. |
The
University of Arizona has a solid background in transportation research.
Since 1991, the College of Engineering and Mines has been conducting
research in the area of Intelligent Traffic Control Systems, funded
continuously through grants and contracts from FHWA, the Arizona Department
of Transportation (ADOT), the Maricopa Association of Governments, the
Pima Association of Governments, and the cities of Tucson and Tempe.
In addition, members of the faculty of the college have developed software
tools to manage emergency response systems for the Tucson Fire Department
and the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Also, along with the university's
Office of Economic Development and the National Law Center for Inter-American
Trade, the faculty has been studying technologies and systems to improve
traffic and the movement of goods across the border. Lastly, through
contracts and grants with other agencies, such as the National Science
Foundation, and with firms, such as Modular Mining and AT&T, or
simply through internal project assignment, faculty members have developed
innovative methods for logistics management, such as scheduling resources
(trucks, cranes, containers, storage space, etc.), designing networks,
siting facilities, routing and scheduling vehicles (trucks, buses, cargo
ships, etc.), and designing decision-support systems.
In the advanced traffic management area, the university's showpiece
research is the development and deployment of RHODES (Real-Time Hierarchical
Optimized Distributed Effective System), an innovative computer-based
system for traffic-adaptive signal control. In laboratory testing, RHODES,
which is the first system of its type developed in the United States,
proved to be among the most effective traffic control systems dealing
with congestion and widely varying traffic conditions. Various state
and federal agencies have recognized the potential of RHODES and have
scheduled field operational testing in Tucson, Tempe, Santa Clara, and
Seattle. It is quite likely that some cities in Canada will also field
test RHODES in the near future. Also, agencies in China, Italy, and
Singapore have expressed interest in a modification of RHODES for their
environment.
Successes in research in traffic and logistics management have not gone
unnoticed. The city of Tucson helped to establish the Living Laboratory
for Transportation Technologies to implement and test off-the-shelf
equipment for traffic management. The Systems and Industrial Engineering
Department of the College of Engineering and Mines established a Program
on Research in Emerging Technologies for Transportation Engineering.
The university envisions that, within the next few years, the Center
for Advanced Traffic and Logistics Algorithms and Systems (ATLAS) will
be an internationally recognized resource for excellence in the research
and learning of technologies, algorithms, and systems for efficient
and effective traffic and logistics management. Public agencies and
private firms will seek out ATLAS for assistance in assessing research
needs and conducting research and development projects. ATLAS will be
a continuing source of talented researchers and graduates who are engaged
in researching, developing, and deploying the state-of-the-art traffic
and logistics management systems.
ATLAS is building research and educational partnerships with the private
sector; federal, state, and local government agencies; and other academic
institutions and is seeking opportunities to collaborate with national
and international experts. This will enable faculty associated with
ATLAS to work together with faculty and staff from other universities
and research organizations, as well as work on joint projects sponsored
by firms and agencies throughout the world.
Also, the center will provide opportunities for faculty, staff, and
students to spend extended periods of time at U.S. Department of Transportation
(USDOT) agencies to conduct specialized research or studies. And the
staff of USDOT, other public sector organizations, and industry are
welcome to study and/or perform research at ATLAS.
Specifically, the missions of ATLAS are to:
- Conduct basic and applied research on technologies (including communications
and computer technologies) and methods (including algorithms and
software) for traffic and logistics management with the goal of
making the implementation of systems for this purpose effective,
efficient, and economical.
- Enhance,
through course and curricular development, the current traffic-
and logistics-related teaching activities at the University of Arizona.
For traffic engineers, logistics managers and planners, transportation
practitioners, shippers, cargo carriers, system operators, and other
related decision-makers, it will provide an education that is related
to the understanding of technologies, methods, and systems and to
their implementation.
- Assist
in the effective transfer of Intelligent Transportation Systems
and other computer/communications technologies and traffic/logistics
management software to the transportation industry - including operators
of roads, ports, and border crossings and including private companies
and public agencies - through seminars, short courses, and participation
in operational tests and demonstration projects.
In
the area of advanced traffic management, which includes the projects
that receive the majority of the research funding from USDOT, ATLAS
investigates and develops appropriate algorithms, software, and systems
in:
- Traffic-adaptive signal control.
- Traffic-adaptive
ramp-metering.
- Automated detection and characterization of traffic flows.
- Speed control and route advisories through variable message signing.
- Demand management through congestion pricing.
- Real-time dynamic network load prediction and control.
- Incident detection and management.
- Region-wide dynamic traffic management.
- Simulation modeling for traffic management.
- Decision-support systems for traffic management.
- Variable
speed limits based on a fuzzy logic expert system.
Research in advanced logistics management, includes the study and
the development of appropriate algorithms, software, and systems in:
- Scheduling
of resources (trucks, cranes, containers, warehouses, etc.) for
intermodal facilities.
- Electronic clearance at border crossings.
- Methods for routing and scheduling carriers (trucks, cargo ships,
airplanes, etc.).
- Simulation modeling for logistics management.
- Decision-support systems for designing distribution networks.
- Global distribution of goods, with consideration of worldwide shipping
and supply-chain management.
Current
projects of ATLAS are funded by the USDOT/FHWA earmarks, FHWA contracts,
ADOT contracts, the cities of Tucson and Tempe, and other public and
private sector partners. The research, development, and deployment
are being led by the ATLAS team at the University of Arizona in collaboration
with Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, and private/public
sector partners.
To ensure the applicability of ATLAS research to the real world, ATLAS
has a steering committee consisting of state and federal DOT employees
and university researchers. The steering committee reviews research
proposals and research in progress.
Planned traffic management projects include the development and integration
of a real-time traffic-prediction method for traveler information
systems, the deployment and integration of transit signal priority
for an arterial, and the deployment and integration of route advisory
and limited traffic signal coordination/preemption for emergency vehicles.
In addition, several new initiatives are being developed, including
investigation and development of approaches for remote sensing of
transportation flows and development of a client/server architecture
for the RHODES algorithms so that external entities outside the ATLAS
facilities may test real-time traffic control on a simulation model.
Researchers hope to develop a predictive system to anticipate train
and light rail transit crossings at grade highway-rail intersections
for the purposes of traveler information and traffic signal adjustment.
In logistics management, a project to develop and evaluate a user-friendly
tool for constructing simulation models of intermodal transfer facilities
has been initiated. A workshop on Advanced Intermodal Logistics Management
will be coordinated to review the state of the art and the state of
the practice in this area.
In addition to the projects in traffic management and logistics management,
three projects on intelligent vehicles have been conducted. The VISTA
(Vehicles with Intelligent Systems for Transport Automation) project
developed a design of an intelligent, affordable vehicle that could
be deployed within the next five to 10 years. A project that analyzed
and developed preliminary design alternatives for Tucson-Phoenix Intelligent
Lanes for Intelligent Vehicles, including the analysis of traffic
management benefits and associated costs, was conducted. A Summer
Engineering Academy was held that demonstrated the viability of electric
vehicle conversion and provided hands-on experience for high school
students.
ATLAS has a unique way to assure that its research and educational
activities are both innovative and relevant. The principal investigator
of each project is required to: (1) clearly delineate the expected
contributions of the project, (2) identify a champion in an agency
or a firm that will find these contributions highly useful, and (3)
deliver a report that includes results that either have scholarly
value (e.g., are published or disseminated by the appropriate media)
or are useful for advanced education (e.g., are presented in academic
courses and/or workshops). The principal investigator is expected
to work closely with the agency or firm that champions the project
and to properly manage the project.
The primary source of support for ATLAS comes from FHWA and is administered
through ADOT. In addition, there are two other categories of external
funding - contract funding and corporate/agency memberships. Currently,
there is significant support through contracts from FHWA, ADOT, and
the city of Tucson for real-time control of traffic. The second category,
corporate/agency memberships, enables firms and agencies to join the
center for a nominal fee so that they may participate in workshops
and have access to reports and publications. Also, it will allow faculty
and students access to the operations of member firms and agencies
so that the faculty and students may direct their research on relevant
traffic and logistics management issues that will have far-ranging
impacts.
ATLAS is an outstanding example of university-state-city-federal cooperation
in the conduct of transportation research.
David
Gibson is a highway research engineer on the Enabling Technologies
Team of FHWA's Office of Operations Research and Development. He is
a registered professional traffic engineer and has a master's degree
in transportation from Virginia Polytechnical Institute and State
University. His areas of interests include traffic sensor technology,
traffic control hardware, traffic modeling, computers, and traffic
engineering education (specifically, how applying advanced technologies
can simplify an engineer's daily work). He worked with Milton K. (Pete)
Mills to develop the first two editions of the Traffic Detector Handbook
and to develop the original type 170 traffic signal controller system.
Alan
Hansen is the assistant planning and research engineer for the
Arizona Division of FHWA. He has managed the research and intelligent
transportation systems programs for the Arizona Division since May
1997. He serves on a number of FHWA task forces including, the ITS
Program Assessment Working Group, Operations Council, 511 Task Force,
and the Linking Planning and Operations Working Group. Hansen joined
FHWA in 1987, and his career has included assignments in federal-aid,
design, construction, intelligent transportation systems, planning,
and research. He has a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from
California State University-Fresno, and he is a registered professional
engineer in Arizona.
Dr.
Pitu Mirchandani, Salt River Project Professor of Technology,
Public Policy, and Markets, has joint appointments in the Department
of Systems and Industrial Engineering and the Department of Electrical
and Computer Engineering at the University of Arizona. He is also
the director of the ATLAS Research Center. He served as department
head of Systems and Industrial Engineering from 1990 to 1998. Dr.
Mirchandani's expertise includes the logistics (scheduling, location,
and routing), games and equilibria, and design of real-time decision/control
systems and their application in transportation and the spatial distribution
of services and goods. He has written more than 70 publications, including
two books on location theory. He received a bachelor's degree and
a master's degree in engineering from the University of California-Los
Angeles and both a master's degree in aeronautics and astronautics
and a doctorate in operations research from the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology.
Other
Articles in this Issue:
Learning
to Beat Snow and Ice
Safe
Plowing - Applying Intelligent Vehicle Technology
Improving
Roadside Safety by Computer Simulation
Using
the Computer and DYNA3D to save lives
LS-DYNA:
A Computer Modeling Success Story
Preservation
of Wetlands on the Federal-Aid Highway System
Internal
FHWA Partnership Leverages Technology and Innovation
New
Applications Make NDGPS More Pervasive
Center
for Excellence in Advanced Traffic and Logistics Algorithms and Systems
(ATLAS)
National
Work Zone Awareness Week (April 9 to 12) - Enhancing Safety and Mobility
in Work Zones
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