ATAC Researchers Embrace New Focus AreasBy ATAC Director Ayman Smadi Welcome! It has been over six months since we sent out the first Signal, the newsletter for the Advanced Traffic Analysis Center. I would like to share with you some of our activities from the past months and update you on a couple of exciting projects. First, I am happy to report that funding for the ATAC Work Program has been approved by the FHWA. This program will cover ATAC activities through late 2003. Our partners at the NDDOT provided the much needed support to match the ATAC program. In return, we are working with the NDDOT on several major projects, including facilitating the development of a Traffic Operation Center (TOC) in Fargo, as well as supporting other Intelligent Transportation Systems initiatives across the state. We are extremely excited about our relationship with the NDDOT, as well as our local partners in the Fargo-Moorhead, Grand Forks, and Bismarck areas. These areas are making great strides toward modernizing their traffic control and traveler information systems. Video traffic detection, for instance, is being increasingly used in the three largest urban areas in the state and can provide tremendous opportunities for traffic information and management. In addition, freeway video monitoring is being tested in Fargo to provide the NDDOT and its customers with realtime information about system performance. By working on the development of the TOC in Fargo, the ATAC will share gained knowledge and experiences with other locations in the state. By late Spring 2001, we began working with our state and local partners on establishing a new focus area at the ATAC to provide travel demand modeling support for the NDDOT and North Dakota MPO's. Through a series of discussions and meetings, we were able to outline goals and objectives of the program, a time-line for implementation, as well as a funding mechanism. This pilot program was officially endorsed by various partners consummating in a legal agreement signed in October. Please refer to a special article about this program on page 2. Another major initiative is the ATAC move to Hastings Hall. Our needs have outgrown current lab facilities and office space. Therefore, work is underway for remodeling the eastern half of the lower level of Hastings Hall. The new space will provide us with a more integrated space, including a spacious training room with state-of-the-art equipment, a more open Traffic Lab with increased work areas, as well as office space for ATAC research staff. The move could not have come at a better time as we prepare to host even more training programs. Our student numbers continue to grow, and so do their contributions. Our students, who are very active in the ITE Student Chapter at North Dakota State University, attended the Annual ITE Meeting in Chicago last August and had an opportunity to learn and interact with their peers. Recognizing the interdisciplinary approach to transportation problems, we pride ourselves on having students from such diverse backgrounds as civil engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, business, and communications. Electrical engineering students are working to develop a cost-effective controller-interface-device as part of their senior design project. I encourage you to become more familiar with our program and take advantage of our resources. In the next few months, we will be developing a library of selected reports, studies, and links pertaining to small-to-medium size cities. Please visit www.atacenter.org often and make sure you let us know what you think. ATAC Works With TransLink® Research Center and Laboratory
Gates has been studying hardware-in-the-loop traffic simulation, work that is also done at TransLink®. He has been investigating and creating an interface between real traffic signal controllers and a microscopic traffic simulation model, VISSIM. At TransLink®, Gates worked on a project that investigated low-priority preemption for transit vehicles, a continuation of work performed by ATAC's Kiel Ova. The facilities at TransLink® were ideal to interface three NEMA TS2 traffic controllers. Gates said it was an excellent learning opportunity for him to meet and work with other engineers who share a common interest in applying advanced technology to traffic engineering. This project expanded into other possibilities for Gates and is now part of his electrical engineering course work at North Dakota State University. Gates is working with a team of students and professors to design a device that interfaces the traffic controller and the simulation software in a PC. The team is taking the lessons learned at Translink® to address some of the shortcomings of current interface devices. They will develop a controller interface device using the most current technologies available for communications. In this process, a circulation of information between the PC and traffic controller is constant. |
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ATAC undergraduate researcher Jason Gates spent part of the summer working at Texas Transportation Institute's TransLink® Research Center and Laboratory. ATAC researchers collaborated with TransLink® to sponsor the internship where Jason investigated low-priority preemption routines, a project that is closely related to his current work at ATAC.