National Intelligent Transportation Systems Architecture Research Articles

Effective and Sustainable Development of Chinese National Intelligent Transportation System Architecture

The development of an intelligent transportation system (ITS) architecture has attracted increasing attention across the world because such an architecture provides a common reference for the ITS community. Standardization of procedures in the development of an ITS architecture is necessary and urgent because of the architecture's inherent complexity, which requires the involvement of several development teams. Although a computer-aided systems engineering model is widely adopted to accomplish parts of the development task, so far no countries define a strict, clear, and applicable procedure to aid the development teams. This paper first briefly introduces the general methodology for the development of ITS architectures. Then it describes the reasons why a new development tool is needed and examines the components of this development tool. This tool provides developers with support by simplifying and standardizing the entire procedure of ITS architecture development. It reduces developers' workload signif...

Effective and Sustainable Development of Chinese National Intelligent Transportation System Architecture

The development of an intelligent transportation system (ITS) architecture has attracted increasing attention across the world because such an architecture provides a common reference for the ITS community. Standardization of procedures in the development of an ITS architecture is necessary and urgent because of the architecture's inherent complexity, which requires the involvement of several development teams. Although a computer-aided systems engineering model is widely adopted to accomplish parts of the development task, so far no countries define a strict, clear, and applicable procedure to aid the development teams. This paper first briefly introduces the general methodology for the development of ITS architectures. Then it describes the reasons why a new development tool is needed and examines the components of this development tool. This tool provides developers with support by simplifying and standardizing the entire procedure of ITS architecture development. It reduces developers’ workload significantly, improves efficiency, and ensures completeness and consistency of the ITS architecture. It is the first attempt to integrate every step of ITS architecture development procedure into a single package, which has proved to be of great help for Chinese development teams in accomplishing this task effectively and easily in a sustainable way.

California Statewide Intelligent Transportation Systems Plan Evaluation: Case Study of Conformity with National Intelligent Transportation Systems Architecture

A statewide evaluation was conducted of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Strategic Deployment Plans in California. It found that all 12 plans covering the state will conform by April 8, 2005, with Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration ITS Architecture and Standards: Final Rule. Developing the plans greatly raised the knowledge and awareness of the potential benefits of integrated technology systems. Multiple layers of architecture have been identified, particularly in Southern California, where developments are most advanced. Experience with deployment of an interregional system of data exchange, Showcase, indicates that such systems require far more time and resources than could have been anticipated at the outset. Technology obsolescence and software documentation have become key issues that other regions will face as projects move from plans to major deployments. Funding the operation and maintenance of these systems is emerging as a major barrier to their successful implementation. So too is the need to educate senior management and elected officials about the infrastructure requirements of successful system integration. Funding the operations and maintenance and configuration management of systems will undoubtedly be the issue for focus in the next decade, as transportation professionals begin to fully understand the implications of the concept of regionally integrated ITS.

Costs and Benefits of Using Intelligent Transportation Systems as an Alternative Data Source: Case Study

Intelligent transportation systems (ITSs) are an alternative data source that could lead to win–win situations: this source will not only benefit the transportation operations and planning communities by allowing them to access more and better data, but it will also enhance the appeal of ITS deployment by significantly broadening its originally intended benefits. Use of ITS-generated data as an alternative data resource is reflected in the archived data user services (ADUS) in the national ITS architecture. Usually, an agency will evaluate the costs and the benefits of ADUS before it decides whether to deploy ADUS. The costs and benefits of ADUS are examined on the basis of results from a case study in which ITS-generated traffic data were analyzed to determine whether they can help meet such traffic data needs as estimating the total travel volume and the total vehicle miles traveled. The cost is measured in terms of the effort needed to archive and reformat the data, revamp the software, and address data quality and data integration issues. The benefits are measured in terms of the value added by the ITS-generated data. Although the costs are high to use ITS-generated data for purposes other than the originally intended use, the research has proved that ITS-generated data can improve transportation decisions by, in this case, improving traffic estimates.

Enterprise-Wide Data Integration and Analysis for Oversize/Overweight Permitting

The automation of oversize/overweight (OS/OW) vehicle permitting can be achieved through GIS-based systems. OS/OW permitting involves network pathfinding given spatial and temporal constraints that are associated with the physical roadway network. This paper presents a data model design that extends and satisfies the consensus functional requirements of OS/OW permitting. Although departments of transportation at the state level invest millions of dollars in development and management of enterprise databases of bridges and highways, many GIS-based OS/OW permitting systems require development of application-specific versions of these databases. Consequently, agency motor carrier service divisions are faced with huge data management problems. The system design in this paper facilitates sustainability by being consistent with the notions of enterprisewide data integration. A robust location-referencing strategy and adherence to the national intelligent transportation systems architecture achieve enterprisewide data integration. This paper presents general system requirements, an OS/OW application design, an enterprisewide database schema, and algorithms for finding OS/OW vehicle routes given spatial and temporal roadway restrictions. The system design accommodates multiple data sources, multiple location-referencing methods, and state-to-state interoperability. Spatial and temporal constraints for OS/OW permitting are represented in a unified modeling language class diagram.

Development of Canadian Architecture for Intelligent Transportation Systems

Under the guidance of a steering committee of public- and private-sector representatives from the Canadian transportation industry, the development of the Canadian Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Architecture was initiated in August 1999. In general, the Canadian effort subsumes all of the U.S. National ITS Architecture work and extends and modifies it to provide new services and areas of coverage and to reflect differences between the nations and the existence of new and different stakeholders. Since there is much commonality between the technical definitions of the two architectures, it is important to understand the explicit relationships. The development of the Canadian ITS Architecture is examined, and the differences between the architectures of the United States and Canada are illustrated. The development included an extensive review of other relevant ITS architecture and standards initiatives. On the basis of the review and significant ITS stakeholder input, an initial draft ITS architecture framework was developed that defined the user services, user subservices, and market packages applicable to Canada. After a review by ITS stakeholders, the revised ITS architecture framework was used to develop definitions of both the physical and the logical architectures of the Canadian ITS Architecture. The follow-up support activities anticipated for the Canadian ITS Architecture are reviewed, and the potential for iterative development with the U.S. National ITS Architecture is examined.