South Jersey Real-Time Motorist Information System: Technology and Practice

Abstract

The South Jersey Real-Time Motorist Information System project is aimed at the rapid deployment of available intelligent transportation system surveillance and communication technologies to monitor traffic on the basis of need at various locations in the South Jersey highway network. The proposed system is a highly mobile traffic-surveillance design that includes mobile, self-sufficient, sensor units with communications and data-collection capabilities that allow the sensor unit to exchange information with the traffic-control center. The sensor units can be installed easily at any location on the transportation network without delays for establishing power and communication connections. This rapid-deployment capability meets the goal for easy-to-deploy traffic-surveillance units that can be used to manage the transportation system during any type of disaster. A technical overview and the advantages of this system and its evaluation procedure are presented. In addition, the problems faced and lessons learned during the implementation, along with future plans for deployment, are presented.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

South Jersey Motorist Information System: System Description and Operator's Guide. L-3 Communication Systems, New York, Feb. 27, 2002.

Ozbay

, and Bartin

. South Jersey Real-Time Motorist Information System Report. New Jersey Department of Transportation, Trenton, 2003.

Ozbay

, and Bartin

. Estimation of Economic Impact of V.M.S. Route Guidance Using Micro Simulation. In Economic Impacts of ITS: Innovation and Case Studies. Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier Science, 2003, Accepted for Publication.

Abdulhai

, Sheu

, and Recker

. Simulation of ITS on the Irvine FOT Area Using Paramics 1.5 Scalable Microscopic Traffic Simulator, Phase 1: Model Calibration and Validation. Research Report UCB-ITS-RRR-99-12. California PATH, April 1999.

Law

A. M.

, and Kelton

D. W.

. Simulation Modeling and Analysis, 2nd ed. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1991.

Banks

, and Carson

J. S.

. Discrete-Event System Simulation. Prentice-Hall, New York, 1984.

Rice

, and van Zwet

. A Simple and Effective Method for Predicting Travel Times on Freeways. IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, Aug. 2002. pems.eecs.berkeley.edu/Resources/?content=papers_by_year. Accessed Aug. 2003.

Gazis

D. C.

, and Knapp

C. H.

. On-Line Estimation of Traffic Densities from Time-Series of Flow and Speed Data. Transportation Science, Vol. 5, No. 3, Aug. 1971, pp. 283–301.

Coifman

Estimating Travel Times and Vehicle Trajectories on Freeways Using Dual Loop Detectors. Transportation Research Part A, Vol. 36, No. 4, 2002, pp. 351–364.

10.

Zhang

, and Rice

J. A.

. Short-Term Travel Time Prediction Using a Time-Varying Coefficient Linear Model. Elsevier Science. pems.eecs.berkeley.edu/Resources/?content=papers_by_year Accessed Aug. 2003.

11.

Dailey

D. J.

Travel Time Estimate Using a Series of Single Loop Volume and Occupancy Measurements. Presented at 76th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 1997.

12.

Szeto

M. W.

, and Gazis

D. C.

. Application of Kalman Filtering to the Surveillance and Control of Traffic Systems. Transportation Science, Vol. 6, No. 4, 1972, pp. 419–439.

13.

Gazis

D. C.

, and Liu

Kalman Filtering Estimation of Traffic Counts for Two Network Links in Tandem. Transportation Research Part B, Vol. 37, No. 8, 2003, pp. 737–745.

14.

Coifman

B. A.

Using Dual Loop Speed Traps to Identify Detector Errors. Presented at 78th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 1999.

15.

Yang

, and Miller-Hooks

E. D.

. Determining Critical Ares for Collecting Real-Time Travel Information. Presented at 81st Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 2002.

16.

Sherali

H. D.

, Desai

, Rakha

, and El-Shawarby

. A Discrete Optimization Approach for Locating Automatic Vehicle Identification Readers for the Provision of Roadway Travel Times. Presented at 82nd Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C., 2003.

17.

New Jersey Department of Transportation. www.state.nj.us/transportation Accessed April 2003.

18.

Goel

, Imielinski

, Ozbay

, and Nath

. Sensors on Wheels: Toward Zero-Infrastructure Solution for Intelligent Transportation Systems. Presented at 83rd Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board Meeting, Washington, D.C., 2003.