The DRIVE project TARDIS (Traffic And Roads - DRIVE Integrated Systems) has as its main objective the specification of functional requirements of an Integrated Road Transport Environment (IRTE), in order to provide a common framework for technical developments in which the different system operating philosophies in different countries can still be embodied.
A framework has been developed for assessing various communication system architectures into which the following RTI/IVHS applications can be integrated:
dynamic route guidance
advanced traffic control
parking management and
information
public transport management and
information
fleet management
tourist information
automatic debiting.
Within this framework a simulation model has been developed which allows the analysis of the communications infrastructure necessary to support a particular scenario for integration.
The broadly-based TARDIS consortium, which includes national highway authorities, Government research organisations, automotive manufacturers, electronics industry and consultancies, developed a number of integration scenarios for analysis, taking into account the administrative, commercial, practical and technical viability of their implementation.
The scenarios have been developed in liaison with preliminary work on the pilot projects expected to form the basis of the successor programme to DRIVE, and the results of the scenario analysis are anticipated to form a major input to the development of the pilot projects.
The paper describes the simulation techniques developed within TARDIS and presents the scenarios being analysed, together with some results of the analysis and conclusions about the concept of the IRTE.