An Integrated Simulation Environment to test the effectiveness of GLOSA services under different working conditions

Abstract

The Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory (GLOSA) system is a Cooperative Intelligent Transportation System (C-ITS) that is supposed to reduce the energy consumption and travel time associated with a vehicle trip by providing an optimal speed profile to avoid unnecessary stops at an intersection, based on Traffic Light Signals (TLSs) information. It is expected that GLOSA solutions will be widely deployed on transportation networks, thanks to the rapid spread of increasingly effective and pervasive communication technologies. Thus, appropriate methodologies and tools should be adopted to test sustainability objectives and evaluate the effects of such systems on the performance of traffic networks. In this perspective, this paper proposes an enhanced testing approach of GLOSA services based on an Integrated Simulation Environment that combines custom models developed in Matlab/Simulink with the SUMO traffic simulation environment, allowing both the traffic environment and vehicle dynamics to be represented with a suitable level of detail. The proposed approach can be used to cover several aspects which, in the existing technical literature, are: (i) not considered (traffic signal phase condition); (ii) rarely considered (electric engine); (iii) considered in a non-integrated way (traffic condition, TLS cycle duration, communication distance and minimum speed). Indeed, the considered factors pertain to different subsystems of the mobility environment (network and vehicles), and the proposed testing framework allows an equally detailed simulation of all, thus enhancing the accuracy of the results. To show the validity of the proposed approach, this study considers one controlled vehicle, equipped with a GLOSA system, travelling along a single route through a city centre including many TLSs. The simulation analysis deals with different levels of considered factors, assessed through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) related to mobility and environmental indicators. Numerical results confirm that the proposed Integrated Simulation Environment can give valuable insights and suggestions to design a GLOSA system aiming to enhance both mobility and environmental performance. They also show that the factors in question affect system performance differently.