Approach to Smart Transportation & Study of Intelligent Transport System in Ireland - Dissertation Example

?Approach to Smart Transportation & Study of Intelligent Transport System in Ireland Information Technology has played an important role in the development of industries, education, and health; now it seems like, it is entering the transportation system. Intelligent Transport System, also referred to as ITS, is the inclusion of modern computers and new technologies in transportation. It deploys computer applications, electronic chips, sensors, controllers in transportation to facilitate more efficient, secure and efficient supervision of public roads and public conveyance systems. It is a smart approach to manage road networks. The benefits include improved road safety, mobility, information, productivity and air quality. “It is also known as telematics, Information Communications Technology (ICT) in transport, e-transport and Information Society Technology” (ITS Expert and Telematic and Information Systems Professional 2012). The advantage includes: Improved road safety Mobility Information Productivity and air quality The use of ITS are categorized in three parts: 1. Use by the Traveler – electronic tickets , payment for parking vehicle or payment for road usage, ”smart card driver license”, ”driver card for digital tachnograph”. 2. Use by Vehicles – some vehicle consist of collision avoiding system, system for managing speed, judging the location of the vehicle, judgment of assets. 3. Use by Road – monitoring of traffic, providing information, regulation of rules with the help of “Variable Message Signs (VMS)”,”inductive loops”, ”microwave detectors”, “ANPR”,”DSRC” etc. ITS collects the data from all the sensors and stores it to a centralized database system. The sensors may be Vehicle Detectors, CCTV cameras, Ice monitoring system, Congestion Monitors or other sensors. Every information from the sensors in given to the “Back Office Data Processing Facility” ITS includes the following activities: Safety of the Traveler: It provides Incident management methods like emergency call systems. Variable Speed limits are displayed. Cameras to check the speed of vehicle and to capture any incidents are installed. Provision of Information: Information about route, information about the traveler, information about the journey. Transaction of Payments: Payments at Toll booths, parking payments, ticket fare of public transportation, charge for any congestion. Management of Traffic: Proper handling of traffic. As stated, ITS uses various applications; the possible wide range of applications are: Intermodal Transportation System Intelligent Traffic Control System In -Vehicle Technologies Safety Enhancement Technologies Traveler Advisory System 1) Intermodal Transportation System: It uses more than one mode of transport. Through this system, a traveler can change his mode of transfer easily. It is integrates different modes of transport such as trucks, trains and ships to ensure smooth trade operations. It is the movement of goods (in same unit where it was first placed) from one mode to other mode of transport without handling it. 2) Intelligent Traffic Control System: Most of the current systems have pre-determined timing circuits to operate traffic signals. Such systems are inefficient, if the volume of the vehicle is large at the crossing. This system would adjust itself with the flow of traffic, thus reducing the waiting time of drivers at traffic signals. 3) In- Vehicle Technologies: It is the implementation of electronic devices, controllers, and radio transreceivers in the vehicle. The information provided is updated every minute. It gives instantaneous information to the traveler about the best route. 4) Safety Enhancement Technologies: Safety Enhancement Technologies like smart cruise enables the driver to know the location of neighboring vehicles. This avoids any type of accidents on the road. 5) Traveler Advisory System: To provide the information through variable messages and advisory radio. Intelligent Transport System in Ireland: Ireland requires an intelligent transport system for its road safety and efficiency. Information Transport System plays an important role in achieving this. The National Roads Authority has implemented many ITS projects already in Ireland. Let us discuss them. Automatic Vehicle Counter/Classifiers: Automatic Vehicle Counter is designed to give a wide range of data. As the name suggests, it gives information on the volume of vehicles and its type that, is if the vehicle is a motorcycle, car, goods carrier etc. This system consists of sensor devices which are installed across the lane. It collects the data of the physical characteristics of the vehicle, and assigns a class to them. The identification of vehicles is done with the help of induction loops which are embedded on the roads, when a vehicle passes through it. The electromagnetic profile of the vehicle is judged, and with the length and number of the axles, it is further classified. This data about the vehicle is downloaded after intervals, and updated in national traffic count database. This database plays a vital role in road improvement plans. The class of the vehicle is determined with: Total number of tires and axles of the vehicle. Weight of the vehicle. The height, length, wheelbase, height over first axle of the vehicle. Road Ice Monitoring System (ICECAST): During winter, it is absolutely necessary to detect ice and water accurately on the roads, for its safety and low cost maintenance. This system helps the authorities to predict to an extent, if some roads are likely to face snow or ice conditions. Some systems place the sensors in contact with the surface, where as some offer remote sensing. It is the job of ice monitoring stations to check the road conditions. These stations are placed throughout the National Road Network tactically. A central system monitors these stations. The collected data is used to get information about the current situation of the road .The data which is collected, centrally helps in the prediction of future road conditions, and the authorities can take precautionary measures to prevent ice formation. The readings from different sensors are compared to get accurate results. Images are also captured of the ice formation, and melting of the ice. These images are later investigated, and the time of the ice formation and their melting is calculated. Thus the sensor is considered a reliable source for monitoring road conditions to support information system for its maintenance and safety during winter. N7/N8 Congestion Monitoring/Alternative Routes: Traffic congestion has emerged as a big issue over the years in metropolitan cities all over the world. It is a major issue which affects economy, environment and the living standard of human being. The aim of this method is to gather information about any congestion. One of the best methods to tackle congestion is to provide alternate routes. In case there is congestion on the roads a system generated message is developed and provided to the road users. It also provides alternative routes if necessary. Bottlenecks could be detected, congestion in interior parts of the city could be identified and the drivers could b warned in advance, so that they can choose alternate routes. This kind of system is implemented along the Kildare-Portlaoise area. The system helps in tracking the movement of the traffic, and it detects queue levels. Such a system is setup at Monasterevin and Kildare town. The alternative route is provided through Variable Message Signs (VMS) which are placed in advance to the route. These are placed at strategically chosen locations. This information allows the driver to choose his route accordingly. VMS messages are displayed at Dublin bound and Limerick bound directions respectively. Jack Lynch Tunnel: Jack Lynch Tunnel is a dipped cylindrical shaped tunnel under the River Lee. Enhanced Message Sign System near Jack Lynch Tunnel gives the information to the approaching vehicles about the closure and speed restrictions. Traffic and other activities inside the tunnel are monitored. The Tunnel Management Building inside the tunnel receives information about any congestion on the road, or any incidents such as accidents. The communication signals are sent using fibre optic cables. It is ensured that these cables are not damaged because of accidents. The tunnel has 18 TV cameras. The pictures are passed on to the nearest control room. The tunnel also has vehicle detection system. It judges the type of vehicle and also determines its speed if it is running slowly or if it is stopped. ITS Projects Installed Currently: M50 Motorway: M50 Motorway is a C- Shaped ring along the north east, north west, south western and southern sides of Dublin.M50 was basically planned to divert traffic on National Primary Routes, away from the city of Dublin. But now with urban expansion, it runs through the suburbs of Dublin, and creates a route for Dublin. There are many ITS projects being introduced on M50.Lets discuss each of them. SCATS: SCATS stands for Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System, formulated in Sydney by the concerned authorities. It is a sophisticated traffic engineering tool which traffic engineers use to build objects oriented traffic system. This is an intelligent system which looks after the traffic 24 hours a day it adjusts the timing and coordination of traffic signals, and checks if there is any fault. It uses induction loops and cameras which counts the vehicles, and adapts the timing of the traffic signals with the use of centralized database. This system reduces congestion in traffic, and ultimately the traffic is in better flow. It also passes other information, along with the count of vehicles, like the defects in traffic signals. STATS can implement the following: Decrease the number of accidents (both pedestrian and vehicular) Reduce delays. Decrease in overall journey time. Less consumption of fuel. Increase capacity. Pollution and noise reduction as the starting and stopping of vehicle is reduced. Stats can also be programmed to perform the following functions: Re-build the desired road hierarchy. Improving the arterial road to guard the environmental sensitive area. Implement capacity restraint measures. Arrange bus and tram priority measures. Prioritize emergency vehicles. The elements to be introduced in STATS hardware are: Monitoring Traffic – measurement of demand and capacity on the road. Fault Reporting – Detection of any faults and alerting them. Controlling Traffic – Adaptive algorithms at the signals are capable of signal operations. A fully coordinated fallback mode of operation. STATS determine stage splits at intersections. It calculates time relationship between these intersections. It builds coordination routes between the networks. Changes the cycle time of the system. It collects the information from the vehicle detector and the data from the traffic engineer. It provides lesser stops lesser delay strategies under various conditions. This makes STATS a very coordinated advanced system. But the data provided by the operated has to be accurate for the proper functioning of SCATS. “SCATS give a variety of manual functions to the operator along with the automatic functions. These include manual “on”, “flash” and “off”. Manual selection of link mode to Masterlink, Flexilink or Isolated mode, manual selection or change of split cycle time or offset for each intersection or the whole subsystem” (SCATS Features n.d.) facility to hold the green signal as long as needed. SCATS is used throughout Dublin City centre area. NRA and Dublin City Council are now extending SCATS to M50.With the implementation of fiber optic communication along M50, Dublin city council takes care of the traffic at each junction along the motorway. It is complex and challenging to manage traffic in a busy urban area, and STATS does the job efficiently. SCATS are flexible and adaptive .It adjusts itself automatically with the traffic. It changes the green time in accordance with the flow of the traffic. In this way, congestion is reduced, and the flow is maintained. The Traffic Control Centre collects the information from the vehicle detectors, to analyze and take important decisions regarding the flow of traffic. CCTV Monitoring: Closed Circuit Television gives you the ability to view and record real time events happening in multiple areas. It gives the current situation of an area. The traffic flow can be measured along with the detection of any incident. Videos from black and white or color cameras are fed in to processors that analyze the changing characteristics of video image as vehicle pass. The cameras are mounted on poles or structures along the road. One video detection system can detect traffic from eight different cameras. CCTV is placed at junctions along the M50 Dublin C-Ring by the NRA. This is done in conjunction with Dublin City Council. Its Traffic Control Centre uses the live images from the CCTV to control traffic on M50 and national arterial routes which regulates the traffic on other areas o Dublin too. With the implementation of CCTV on M50 the total number of CCTV in Dublin City Council is increased. Automatic Incident Detection M50: Automatic Incident Detection system detects any incident which occurs on the covered area. This is possible with the use of CCTV cameras. This system relies on video image processing to calculate the average speed, count, occupancy on the road. Smart image processing enables the detectors to alert the authorities of any event like stopped vehicles or reverse flow. If any incident takes place then the operator checks what exactly happened, the total number of the vehicles involved in the incident, the current situation of the traffic, and casualties. It initiates quick rescue operations. Features of the system are: Fast detection of incidents. Low maintenance of cameras. Installation cost of this system is low. NRA is planning to implement this type of system on the M50. This would be beneficial in improving the overall transport system as it would detect any accidents, congestion or other such incidents which would affect the traffic. This system would help in taking necessary actions as early as possible thereby improving the flow on the road. Emergency Phone System: An SOS Phone is deployed along the M50 section. This is a hi-tech system which uses VoIP, that is, Voice over Internet Protocol for transmission of the signals. A hand free interface is provided to facilitate the user. The voice quality is good on both ends with the use of Voice Clarity Enhancement Technology. With the implementation of this system, a road user can do emergency calls during crisis. Following are the features of this system, System installation is easy. Less environmental damage. Windows Software is used. Voice recording can be done. Backup of data is stored for many days. Complete operation is done through single button. A GSM or wired network is used for this purpose. Voice clarity is good Convenient to use. Visibility is good. Quick solution to the situation. An SOS Phone is deployed along the M50 section. This is a hi-tech system which uses VoIP that is Voice over Internet Protocol for transmission of the signals. A hands free interface is provided to facilitate the user. The voice quality is good on both the ends with the use of Voice Clarity Enhancement technology. With the implementation of this system a road user can do emergency calls during crisis. STREETWISE: STREETWISE stands for Seamless Travel Environment for Efficient Transport in Western ISIs of Europe. It provides seamless travel information to the users. This project is administered by EU. It is one of the six projects which are under the Trans-European Intelligent Transport System Projects (TEMPO) program. It provides the traveler information on all the routes of Ireland,-UK and Europe. Northern Ireland Road Service, the Department of Transport (UK), Welsh Assembly Government, Highways Agency (England), Scottish Executive is involved with NRA in this project. The other projects under STREETWISE are carried out with the cooperation of all the partners. STREETWISE objectives include: Improvement in road safety. Congestion reduction. Making the best use of existing networks. Better services to travelers. Better use of public transport. The projects that NRA looks after with STREETWISE coordination are as follows. Journey Time Estimation: This system calculates the total time of the journey. This calculation is not easy. The Global Positioning System (GPS) enables the NRA to estimate the journey time. The time calculation in case of private vehicle is difficult. Hence AXA, an insurance company has launched a scheme, based on which private vehicles are equipped with GPS units. This system makes it easier to track its location and speed. A vehicle’s position can be detected at any time. Depending on this data, NRA calculates the journey time. In this way a list of journey time information can be calculated. Freight/Fleet Management Study: Freight is the transportation of goods by roadways, airways or seaways. Ireland earns a lot of profit through freight .Hence a study for this is beneficial. With ITS systems, it is possible for the freight user to get the information of the traffic. NRA, in collaboration with the freight industry, is planning to set up ITS in this area too. Fleet management covers different functions such as: 1. Vehicle maintenance 2. Speed management, 3. Driver management, 4. Energy conception and its management, 5. Driver health and safety management. Traffic Data Exchange: STREETWISE exchanges the data that it has collected with other road authorities in an efficient manner for proper working of transport systems. It uses various protocols for the data exchange. Messaging Approach, Object Oriented Approach and XML based approach are the different types of approaches used to transfer the data. INSTANT: The European Union has funded the National Roads Authority and Department of Regional Development Roads Service of North Ireland for staged scoping, feasibility and design studies for providing Information Transport System on the Dublin-Belfast corridor. The objective of “INSTANT (Information and Management System for Multimodal Transport in the republic of Ireland and North Ireland)” (Projects & Analysis 2009) is to deliver pre-trip and on-trip information to the traveler and the development of enhanced traffic management capabilities. It is a multi-model approach. It covers both road and railways. It uses best technologies like Enhanced Message Signs (EMS), Variable Message Signs (VMS), and Radio Data Systems –Traffic Message Control (RDS-TMC), mobile phone technologies and Internet. A Feasibility Study conducted in 2002 made many recommendations to the ITS to improvise the current conditions of the corridor. These include the following: Implementation and specification of ITS along the main areas of Dublin-Belfast route. Travel Information Radio along the corridor. Web portals for the travelers to get information. Exchange of information between traffic control centers. Future Vision of ITS: With the growing population and increased number of vehicles on the road, it is absolutely necessary to improvise the current ITS systems to facilitate the transport system. The new systems to be introduced in future are: 1. Electronic Fee Collection: Electronic Fee Collection system is used near toll roads to collect toll electronically. It determines whether a car passing is registered in the program. If they are not it alerts, a registered car owner need not stop. The fee is automatically debited from their account. This type of system is already used in Irelands East Link and West link toll plazas. 2. Traveler Information System: Traveler Information System provides pre trip information and on trip information to the traveler. This helps in assisting the drivers in making better decisions regarding the trip. This information includes arrival time and departure time, information regarding any congestion on the road, and information about the weather conditions. This system provides real time information, thereby improving road safety and efficiency. Pre trip information is given through internet route planners, where as on trip information is given through in car route guidance, VMS, RDS, Highways Advisory Radios etc. In- Car Route Guidance: An automotive navigation system gives real time route guidance to the driver. The automotive navigation system consists of GPS navigation device inside it which locates the current location and directs him to the destination along the road. Highways Advisory Radio (HAR): Highways Advisory Radio is also known as Travelers Information Station (TIS). These are radio stations that informs about the traffic and the delays. They are often found near highways and airports. They do the broadcasting of real time messages. These Radio Stations are licensed to the government agencies. HAR is already piloted in Dublin area by Dublin City Council. Variable Message Signs (VMS): Variable Message Signs is one of the best ways of conveying the information to the motorists. Also known as CMS and DMS which stands for Changeable Message Signs and Dynamic Message Signs respectively. VMS are located at key places along the road. It warns the driver of events such as emergencies and any kind of incidents. During congestion and any roadwork .VMS can also be used in to limit the speed of vehicle. Also used in case of interchanges on highways. It warns if there are any situations that may lead to delays. It is also used near parking area to direct the driver where to park his car. VMS are also useful in case of “AMBER Alert” or “SILVER Alert” messages. It gives information about alternate routes. The input information for VRS comes through other Information Transport systems. It is one of the best ways of achieving real time information about the road for the travelers. With VRS they can take appropriate decisions regarding their journey. VRS helps in management of traffic and safe journey to the drivers. Conclusion: Information Transport System has proved its benefits for the road user. ITS plays a major role in the safety of roads, its management efficiently and economically. It already persists in many countries. It is envisaged that there will be more use of ITS in future in transport infrastructure to make it even better. It is likely to solve the major issues related to the transportation over the decade. There after converting the management of transport system in to smart and intelligent system. Reference List ITS Expert and Telematic and Information Systems Professional. 2012. [Online] Available at [Accessed on 09 March 2012] Projects & Analysis. 2009. Transport Research Knowledge Centre. [Online] Available at [Accessed on 09 March 2012] SCATS Features. n.d. SCATS. [Online] Available at [Accessed on 09 March 2012] Read More