Traffic Dynamics and Mode Choice’s Delay Effect Under Traffic Restriction in Two-Mode Networks

Day-to-day traffic assignment models provide a powerful tool to analyze the time evolution of traffic flow within transport networks. In day-to-day dynamics, most models assume that there are only private cars on traffic networks and travelers update their choices each day. However, there are mainly two traffic modes, i.e. cars and buses, and travelers may not change their mode choices frequently. In this paper, a period-to-period traffic assignment model is proposed to capture traffic dynamics under traffic restrictions by considering interactions among different modes and introducing a delay about travelers’ mode choice. The existence and uniqueness of the equilibrium are analyzed. The linear stability of the equilibrium is analyzed and the eigenvalue range of Jacobian matrix is estimated by using the Gershgorin circle theorem. Both theoretical analyses and numerical simulations indicated that compared to the system with no mode choice, mode choice behaviors could improve the stability of the equilibrium. Additionally, mode choice behaviors with delay might further increase the stability domain and dampen oscillations on the cost and the flows. This study explains the evolution patterns of transportation networks under traffic policy and provides guidance for network design and management.

     

Simulation and evaluation of urban bus-networks using a multiagent approach

Evolution of public road transportation systems requires analysis and planning tools to improve service quality. A wide range of road transportation simulation tools exist with a variety of applications in planning, training and demonstration. However, few simulation models take into account traveler behaviors and vehicle operation specific to public transportation. We present in this paper a bus-network simulation tools which include these specificities and allows to analyze and evaluate a bus-network at diverse space and time scales. We adopt a multiagent approach to describe the global system operation as behaviors of numerous autonomous entities such as buses and travelers.     

Modeling Mode and Route Similarities in Network Equilibrium Problem with Go-Green Modes

Environmental sustainability is a common requirement on the development of various real-world systems, especially on road transportation systems. Motorized vehicles generate a large amount of harmful emissions, which have adverse effects to the environment and human health. Environmental sustainability requires more promotions of ‘go-green’ transportation modes such as public transit and bicycle to realize the increasing travel demands while keeping the environmental expenses low. In this paper, we make use of recent advances in discrete choice modeling to develop equivalent mathematical programming formulations for the combined modal split and traffic assignment (CMSTA) problem that explicitly considers mode and route similarities under congested networks. Specifically, a nested logit model is adopted to model the modal split problem by accounting for mode similarity among the available modes, and a cross-nested logit model is used to account for route overlapping in the traffic assignment problem. This new CMSTA model has the potential to enhance the behavioral modeling of travelers’ mode shift between private motorized mode and ‘go-green’ modes as well as their mode-specific route choices, and to assist in quantitatively evaluating the effectiveness of different ‘go-green’ promotion policies.     

Traffic simulation in urban cellular networks of Manhattan type

A theoretical study of traffic in cellular networks usually requires long and complex calculations. For this reason, simulation appears to be a practical alternative for analyzing traffic in mobile radio systems. This paper presents a traffic simulator for urban cellular networks of Manhattan type. The model implemented includes network organization, distinct consumers, and a classification process for frequency assignment. Several simulations have been realized in order to measure network performances in different situations. Different channel assignment techniques that are both fixed and dynamic, including those that are with or without channel reservation for handoffs are compared. The results of this traffic simulator comparison confirm the efficiency of this study tool for traffic in cellular systems used in an urban environment.     

Opportunities for multiagent systems and multiagent reinforcement learning in traffic control

The increasing demand for mobility in our society poses various challenges to traffic engineering, computer science in general, and artificial intelligence and multiagent systems in particular. As it is often the case, it is not possible to provide additional capacity, so that a more efficient use of the available transportation infrastructure is necessary. This relates closely to multiagent systems as many problems in traffic management and control are inherently distributed. Also, many actors in a transportation system fit very well the concept of autonomous agents: the driver, the pedestrian, the traffic expert; in some cases, also the intersection and the traffic signal controller can be regarded as an autonomous agent. However, the “agentification” of a transportation system is associated with some challenging issues: the number of agents is high, typically agents are highly adaptive, they react to changes in the environment at individual level but cause an unpredictable collective pattern, and act in a highly coupled environment. Therefore, this domain poses many challenges for standard techniques from multiagent systems such as coordination and learning. This paper has two main objectives: (i) to present problems, methods, approaches and practices in traffic engineering (especially regarding traffic signal control); and (ii) to highlight open problems and challenges so that future research in multiagent systems can address them.     

Leveraging spatial abstraction in traffic analysis and forecasting with visual analytics

A spatially abstracted transportation network is a graph where nodes are territory compartments (areas in geographic space) and edges, or links, are abstract constructs, each link representing all possible paths between two neighboring areas. By applying visual analytics techniques to vehicle traffic data from different territories, we discovered that the traffic intensity (a.k.a. traffic flow or traffic flux) and the mean velocity are interrelated in a spatially abstracted transportation network in the same way as at the level of street segments. Moreover, these relationships are consistent across different levels of spatial abstraction of a physical transportation network. Graphical representations of the flux–velocity interdependencies for abstracted links have the same shape as the fundamental diagram of traffic flow through a physical street segment, which is known in transportation science. This key finding substantiates our approach to traffic analysis, forecasting, and simulation leveraging spatial abstraction.We propose a framework in which visual analytics supports three high-level tasks, assess, forecast, and develop options, in application to vehicle traffic. These tasks can be carried out in a coherent workflow, where each next task uses the results of the previous one(s). At the ‘assess’ stage, vehicle trajectories are used to build a spatially abstracted transportation network and compute the traffic intensities and mean velocities on the abstracted links by time intervals. The interdependencies between the two characteristics of the links are extracted and represented by formal models, which enable the second step of the workflow, ‘forecast’, involving simulation of vehicle movements under various conditions. The previously derived models allow not only prediction of normal traffic flows conforming to the regular daily and weekly patterns but also simulation of traffic in extraordinary cases, such as road closures, major public events, or mass evacuation due to a disaster. Interactive visual tools support preparation of simulations and analysis of their results. When the simulation forecasts problematic situations, such as major congestions and delays, the analyst proceeds to the step ‘develop options’ for trying various actions aimed at situation improvement and investigating their consequences. Action execution can be imitated by interactively modifying the input of the simulation model. Specific techniques support comparisons between results of simulating different “what if” scenarios.     

A COMPARISON OF SOME FUZZY RELATION-BASED LINGUISTIC PREFERENCE MODELS FOR MULTIPLE-FACTOR PROJECT ASSESSMENT

An agent-based simulation model representing a theory of the dynamic processes involved in innovation in modern knowledge-based industries is described. The agent-based approach allows the representation of heterogenous agents that have individual and varying stocks of knowledge. The simulation is able to model uncertainty, historical change, effect of failure on the agent population, and agent learning from experience, from individual research and from partners and collaborators. The aim of the simulation exercises is to show that the artificial innovation networks show certain characteristics they share with innovation networks in knowledge intensive industries and which are difficult to be integrated in traditional models of industrial economics.     

A GPU-assisted hybrid model for real-time crowd simulations

In this paper, we propose two new techniques for real-time crowd simulations; the first one is the clustering of agents on the GPU and the second one is incorporating the global cluster information into the existing microscopic navigation technique. The proposed model combines the agent-based models with macroscopic information (agent clusters) into a single framework. The global cluster information is determined on the GPU, and based on the agents' positions and velocities. Then, this information is used as input for the existing agent-based models (velocity obstacles, rule-based steering and social forces). The proposed hybrid model not only considers the nearby agents but also the distant agent configurations. Our test scenarios indicate that, in very dense circumstances, agents that use the proposed hybrid model navigate the environment with actual speeds closer to their intended speeds (less stuck) than the agents that are using only the agent-based models.     

智慧城市路网交通流量均衡性优化调度方法

早高峰和晚高峰时段的路网交通混乱,极易发生拥堵情况,为缓解交通系统压力,设计节点元胞划分下智慧城市路网交通流量均衡性优化调度方法。获取不同交通路线间的流量分离函数,定义路径交通流量和可用路段费用,得到出行者在某段路径上的概率函数,计算智慧城市路网各路段交通流量;获取流量守恒和车辆传递函数,计算可变元胞的单独序列,建立交通节点元胞划分模型;设计交通流量均衡性优化调度算法,得到城市路网均衡性的优化调度结果。设置仿真参数,对比优化前后三个路网模型的路径流量,仿真结果显示：早高峰和晚高峰时段路段内的路径流量明显降低,在其他时段,优化后的路径流量也不同程度下降,且路网模型越复杂,该优化方法的调度效果越好。     

Transportation as a protected area management tool: An agent-based model to assess the effect of travel mode choices on hiker movements

There is considerable evidence today that transportation may be used to effectively manage protected areas. The actual possibility to do so, however, depends on managers' ability to understand how a transportation strategy may affect visitor movements prior to its actual implementation. This is inherently difficult in areas served by multiple transport modes because the characteristics and management of such modes as well as the conditions that derive from their use, determining travel mode choices, may impact visitation patterns in unexpected and potentially unintended ways.This paper presents an agent-based model (ABM) that helps managers capture the overall consequences of a transportation strategy as it merges two key components of protected area visitation, namely the transportation to the area (via different transport modes) and the movement within the area (along hiking trails). Travel mode choice in the ABM is simulated by a discrete choice sub-model that accounts for both management decisions (e.g. road toll) and contingent conditions (e.g. road traffic). Additionally, a method is presented that allows managers to define comprehensively effective strategies by running sequential simulations under different initial conditions and comparing their performances against a series of quality indicators. An application in the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage Site (Italy) shows the model is capable of providing reliable estimates of a strategy's overall consequences, helping managers use the transportation tool as effectively as possible.     

Approaching parallel computing to simulating population dynamics in demography

Agent-based modelling and simulation is a promising methodology that can be applied in the study of population dynamics. The main advantage of this technique is that it allows representing the particularities of the individuals that are modeled along with the interactions that take place among them and their environment. Hence, classical numerical simulation approaches are less adequate for reproducing complex dynamics. Nowadays, there is a rise of interest on using distributed computing to perform large-scale simulation of social systems. However, the inherent complexity of this type of applications is challenging and requires the study of possible solutions from the parallel computing perspective (e.g., how to deal with fine grain or irregular workload). In this paper, we discuss the particularities of simulating populating dynamics by using parallel discrete event simulation methodologies. To illustrate our approach, we present a possible solution to make transparent the use of parallel simulation for modeling demographic systems: Yades tool. In Yades, modelers can easily define models that describe different demographic processes with a web user interface and transparently run them on any computer architecture environment thanks to its demographic simulation library and code generator. Therefore, transparency is provided by two means: the provision of a web user interface where modelers and policy makers can specify their agent-based models with the tools they are familiar with, and the automatic generation of the simulation code that can be executed in any platform (cluster or supercomputer). A study is conducted to evaluate the performance of our solution in a High Performance Computing environment. The main benefit of this outline is that our findings can be generalized to problems with similar characteristics to our demographic simulation model.     

Comparative study on simulation performances of CORSIM and VISSIM for urban street network

With the progress of simulation technologies, many transportation simulation packages were developed. However, little information is available to the users in applying these models to the most appropriate situations, or even seldom with the simulation accuracy of the individual model. This study conducts a comparative analysis of two popular simulation models (VISSIM and CORSIM), based on their simulation performances on an urban transportation network. Road network and field traffic data from North Bund, Hongkou District, Shanghai, China were used as the simulation background and input. Sensitivity analysis was carried out to compare the performance of both models based on four key indices, namely software usability, average control delay, average queuing length, and cross-sectional traffic volume. Advantages of each simulator were identified based on comparison analyses of simulations with different levels of congestion and intersection geospatial scales. The main performance difference was found lying in the default parameter configuration within the models, including driver behavior settings, traffic environment settings, and vehicle types, etc. Consequently, it was recommended that analysts should choose their appropriate tools based on intersection type and level of saturation within the simulation case.     

Collaborative software infrastructure for adaptive multiple model simulation

This paper presents a software infrastructure being developed to support the implementation of adaptive multiple model simulations. The paper first describes an abstraction of single and multiple model simulations into the individual operational components with a focus on the relationships and transformations that relate them. Building on that abstraction, consideration is then given to how adaptively controlled multiple model simulations can be constructed using existing simulation components interacting through functional interfaces. This includes addressing how experts would provide the infrastructure with the needed components and define the relations and transformations needed to interact with other components, and for users to define the simulations they wish to be executed. Next, a discussion of the software environment used to implement the multiple model simulation infrastructure is given. Finally, there is discussion of the implementation, using this infrastructure, of two multiscale and one multiple fidelity model simulation applications.     

Dynamically Integrated Manufacturing Systems (DIMS)—A Multiagent Approach

Manufacturing businesses in today's market are facing immense pressures to react rapidly to dynamic variations in demand distributions across products and changing product mixes. To cope with the pressures requires dynamically integrated manufacturing systems (DIMS) that can manage optimal fulfillment of customer orders while simultaneously considering alternative system structures to suit changing conditions. This paper presents a multiagent approach to DIMS, where production planning and control decisions are integrated with systems reconfiguration and restructure. A multiagent framework, referred to as a hierarchical autonomous agent network, is proposed to model complex manufacturing systems, their structures, and constraints. It allows the hierarchical structures of complex systems to be modeled while avoiding centralized control in classical hierarchical/hybrid frameworks. Subsystems interact heterarchically with product orders to carry out optimal planning and scheduling. An agent coordination algorithm, operating iteratively under the control of a genetic algorithm, is developed to enable optimal planning and control decisions for order fulfillment to be made through interactions between agents. This algorithm also allows the structural constraints of systems to be relaxed gradually during agent interaction, so that planning and control are first carried out under existing constraints, but when satisfactory solutions cannot be found, subsystems are allowed to regroup to form new configurations. Frequently used configurations are detected and evaluated for system restructure. The approach also enables Petri-net models of new system structures to be generated dynamically and the structures to be evaluated through agent-based discrete event simulation.     

基于混杂Petri网的交通网络性能分析

本文利用混杂Petri网建模交通系统.通过分析Petri网,得到交通系统的拥塞性质,提出相对拥塞及绝对拥塞的概念,并给出相对拥塞转化为绝对拥塞的条件.结合真实交通数据,形成符合实际交通状况的Petri网实例,得到车辆分布规律,弥补现有智能交通系统仅依赖出租车GPS数据代表车辆分布情况的缺陷.     

Mobile agents for information retrieval in hybrid simulation environment

In this paper, we propose a hybrid simulation environment that incorporates with wired/wireless networks, IEEE standard 1516 high-level architecture (HLA), and IBM Aglets mobile agent system. Therefore, HLA simulations are not restricted to be participated solely by using desktop computers with cable connections. Users can use a wide variety of devices to join in HLA simulations and explicitly exclude from junk data in terms of a personalized data filtering policy. Based on data correlation between HLA objects and a client's data filtering policy, we employ the simulation environment manager in distributing a client to an appropriate federate server (FS). In particular, a mobile agent, namely data filtering agent, is devised to temporarily reside at the FS to perform mobile agent-based data distribution management for clients. As a result, the clients can receive the most interested information corresponding to their pre-defined data filtering policies. Once either the data transmission quality within the wireless network is degraded below a threshold or the clients abnormally modify the data filtering policies, their own mobile agents carry out migrations to provide the users with the ubiquitous and seamless services. Consequently, the users can use any mobile device as well as using a desktop computer in a stationary point to participate in the HLA simulations. The experimental results also show that the proposed mobile agent-based data distribution can raise adaptability and applicability to large-scale HLA simulations.     

Continual planning and acting in dynamic multiagent environments

In order to behave intelligently, artificial agents must be able to deliberatively plan their future actions. Unfortunately, realistic agent environments are usually highly dynamic and only partially observable, which makes planning computationally hard. For most practical purposes this rules out planning techniques that account for all possible contingencies in the planning process. However, many agent environments permit an alternative approach, namely continual planning, i.e. the interleaving of planning with acting and sensing. This paper presents a new principled approach to continual planning that describes why and when an agent should switch between planning and acting. The resulting continual planning algorithm enables agents to deliberately postpone parts of their planning process and instead actively gather missing information that is relevant for the later refinement of the plan. To this end, the algorithm explictly reasons about the knowledge (or lack thereof) of an agent and its sensory capabilities. These concepts are modelled in the planning language (MAPL). Since in many environments the major reason for dynamism is the behaviour of other agents, MAPL can also model multiagent environments, common knowledge among agents, and communicative actions between them. For Continual Planning, MAPL introduces the concept of of assertions, abstract actions that substitute yet unformed subplans. To evaluate our continual planning approach empirically we have developed MAPSIM, a simulation environment that automatically builds multiagent simulations from formal MAPL domains. Thus, agents can not only plan, but also execute their plans, perceive their environment, and interact with each other. Our experiments show that, using continual planning techniques, deliberate action planning can be used efficiently even in complex multiagent environments.     

A Reliability-Based Stochastic Traffic Assignment Model for Network with Multiple User Classes under Uncertainty in Demand

This paper presents a novel reliability-based stochastic user equilibrium traffic assignment model in view of the day-to-day demand fluctuations for multi-class transportation networks. In the model, each class of travelers has a different safety margin for on-time arrival in response to the stochastic travel times raised from demand variations. Travelers' perception errors on travel time are also considered in the model. This model is formulated as an equivalent variational inequality problem, which is solved by the proposed heuristic solution algorithm. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the applications of the proposed model and the efficiency of solution algorithm.     

Agent-based approach to analyzing the effects of dynamic ridesharing in a multimodal network

An agent-based modeling for dynamic ridesharing in a multimodal network is proposed in this paper. The study aims to evaluate the performance of dynamic ridesharing system within a multimodal network and explore the competing mechanism between dynamic ridesharing and public transit, with the presence of managed lane facility. The modeling process simulates the interaction between travelers and the network, and applies a heuristic algorithm to model travelers' decision making process under uncertainty. The model is applicable to networks with varying demographics. Multiple scenarios based on the classic Sioux Falls network have been examined. The modeling results demonstrate that the effects of dynamic ridesharing on a network differ with traffic demand and market penetrations of various travel modes. In networks with high travel demand and low market penetration of public transit, the benefits of dynamic ridesharing system on reducing congestion and providing reliable travel time are quite limited. To enhance the effectiveness of dynamic ridesharing, traffic operators may consider project investments on managed lane facilities. In networks with high market penetration of public transit, dynamic ridesharing may attract large amounts of short distance trips and aggravate congestion, especially at the initial launching phase. Policy makers would want to ensure that the existing infrastructure is sufficient to accommodate the extra traffic induced by ridesharing. Ridesharing service providers might also consider proper strategies to avoid “abuse” of the system by short trips and accelerate the market penetration.     

Learning in groups of traffic signals

Computer science in general, and artificial intelligence and multiagent systems in particular, are part of an effort to build intelligent transportation systems. An efficient use of the existing infrastructure relates closely to multiagent systems as many problems in traffic management and control are inherently distributed. In particular, traffic signal controllers located at intersections can be seen as autonomous agents. However, challenging issues are involved in this kind of modeling: the number of agents is high; in general agents must be highly adaptive; they must react to changes in the environment at individual level while also causing an unpredictable collective pattern, as they act in a highly coupled environment. Therefore, traffic signal control poses many challenges for standard techniques from multiagent systems such as learning. Despite the progress in multiagent reinforcement learning via formalisms based on stochastic games, these cannot cope with a high number of agents due to the combinatorial explosion in the number of joint actions. One possible way to reduce the complexity of the problem is to have agents organized in groups of limited size so that the number of joint actions is reduced. These groups are then coordinated by another agent, a tutor or supervisor. Thus, this paper investigates the task of multiagent reinforcement learning for control of traffic signals in two situations: agents act individually (individual learners) and agents can be “tutored”, meaning that another agent with a broader sight will recommend a joint action.