Capability-enhanced AIMSUN with Real-time Signal Timing Control

Abstract

In this paper, we enhanced the capability of Aimsun simulation including signal timing optimization of traffic control with real-time information on the network dynamics. The problem is formulated so as to find the duration of maximum green time for each stage in response to recurrent traffic flow fluctuation at an intersection. The approach used a simple version of the Webster method for determining the cycle length and green time split. The resulting algorithm was coded in Java and used TraSMAPI to dynamically link it to Aimsun's API, which allows the user to change the cycle length and green time duration of each traffic light's stage. TraSMAPI is a Traffic Simulation Manager API, designed to provide real-time interaction with traffic simulators. So far, this tool has been only tested with Sumo and Itsumo microscopic traffic simulators.The paper presents an example of the communication protocol using the API module linked to TraSMAPI, and contributes to the implementation of a novel real-time traffic control in Aimsun.