Investigating a Toolchain from Trajectory Recording to Resimulation

Abstract

The growing variety of transportation options and increasing traffic congestion pose new challenges for road safety. As a result, there is an intensified focus on developing automated driving features and assistance systems aimed at minimizing accidents caused by human errors. The creation of these systems requires a substantial amount of testing kilometers, with estimates suggesting that around 2.1 billion kilometers would be necessary to ensure that each situation pertinent to the driving function is encountered at least once with a probability of 50%. This paper advances the microscopic simulation of traffic scenarios beyond linear patterns, utilizing the open-source environment openPASS. It addresses the research question of whether existing microscopic simulations are able to realistically represent non-linear traffic scenarios. A comprehensive toolchain integrates simulation with video recordings and laser scans. The study compares recorded traffic flow data with simulations at a T-junction, assessing the realism of vehicle models and trajectory representation. Three scenarios are analyzed, considering vehicles and pedestrians. The 3D geometry of the scene was captured with a laser scanner, enabling the mapping of recorded video data onto a geo-referenced environment. Object trajectories were extracted using an ’Regions with Convolutional Neural Networks features’ object detector. While openPASS simulated vehicle and pedestrian behaviors effectively, limitations in trajectory variability and reaction times were observed. These findings highlight the need for more realistic behavior models. This research emphasizes the necessity for improvements to accommodate complex driving behaviors and pedestrian dynamics.