Browse Topic: Congestion
The road network is a critical component of modern urban mobility systems, with signalized traffic intersections playing a pivotal role. Traditionally, traffic light phase timings and durations at intersections are designed by transportation engineers using historical traffic data. Some modern intersections employ trigger-based mechanisms to improve traffic flow; however, these systems often lack global awareness of traffic conditions across multiple intersections within a network. With the increasing availability of traffic data and advancements in machine learning, traffic light systems can be enhanced by modeling them as agents operating in an environment. This paper proposes a Reinforcement Learning (RL) based approach for multi-agent traffic light systems within a simulation environment. The simulation is calibrated using real-world traffic data, enabling RL agents to learn effective control strategies based on realistic scenarios. A key advantage of using a calibrated simulation
The conventional process of last-mile delivery logistics often leads to safety problems for road users and a high level of environmental pollution. Delivery drivers must deal with frequent stops, search for a convenient parking spot and sometimes navigate through the narrow streets causing traffic congestion and possibly safety issues for the ego vehicle as well as for other traffic participants. This process is not only time consuming but also environmentally impactful, especially in low-emission zones where prolonged vehicle idling can lead to air pollution and to high operational costs. To overcome these challenges, a reliable system is required that not only ensures the flexible, safe and smooth delivery of goods but also cuts the costs and meets the delivery target. In the dynamic landscape of last-mile delivery, LogiSmile, an EU project, introduced a solution to urban delivery challenges through an innovative cooperation between an Autonomous Hub Vehicle (AHV) and an Autonomous
This research investigates platoon dispersion characteristics in mixed-traffic flow of autonomous and human-driven vehicles. It presents a cellular automata-based platoon dispersion model. The study’s key findings are as follows: platoon dispersion initially increases and then decreases with the rise in autonomous vehicle proportions. When the autonomous vehicle proportion is approaching 100%, platoon dispersion descends rapidly and is completely eliminated while the proportion is 100%. Compared to platoon consisting entirely of human-driven vehicles, the peak value of standard deviation of vehicle speed is 1.71 times and the travel time drops by 38.19% when the proportion is 1. Moreover, the lane-changing behavior enhances platoon speed, acceleration, and space utilization at micro- and macrolevels by optimizing space resource allocation within the platoon. The study employs a two-lane mixed-flow platoon dispersion model that assumes uniform vehicle characteristics and prioritizes
General Motors (GM) is working towards a future world of zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion. It’s “Ultium” platform has revolutionized electric vehicle drive units to provide versatile yet thrilling driving experience to the customers. Three variants of traction power inverter modules (TPIMs) including a dual channel inverter configuration are designed in collaboration with LG Magna e-Powertrain (LGM). These TPIMs are integrated with other power electronics components inside Integrated power electronics (IPE) to eliminate redundant high voltage connections and increase power density. The developed power module from LGM has used state-of-the art sintering technology and double-sided cooled structure to achieve industry leading performance and reliability. All the components are engineered with high level of integration skills to utilize across TPIM variants. Each component in the design is rigorously analyzed and tested from component to system levels to ensure high
Getting warehouse robots to and from their destinations efficiently while keeping them from crashing into each other is no easy task. It is such a complex problem that even the best path-finding algorithms struggle to keep up with the breakneck pace of e-commerce or manufacturing. In a sense, these robots are like cars trying to navigate a crowded city center. So, a group of MIT researchers who use AI to mitigate traffic congestion applied ideas from that domain to tackle this problem.
India is a highly populous country. The traffic problems faced by the people here are not uncommon. The increase in traffic leads to increase in accidents, pollution, inconvenience and frustration. It also comes with costs of additional fuel and time. Though public transport is extensively available in India, still it isn't sufficient for the population of India. Especially in Metro cities, public transport services are often crowded. So, to travel peacefully people are opting for commuting in their own vehicles. And as a result, more vehicles are coming on roads. Other major reasons for increasing traffic are lack of proper implementation of traffic rules and traffic signals out of sync. In addition to city traffic, congestion is also seen on highways, mainly at toll plazas. Although implementation of FASTag has reduced it to some extent, some toll plazas still face traffic congestion issues. This paper provides an idea to ease the traffic problems in the city and on the highways too
In a world increasingly concerned with environmental sustainability and traffic congestion, the need for innovative solutions to address daily commuting challenges has become paramount. This paper presents an innovative concept for an application/system that seeks to revolutionize the way corporate employees commute to work. By harnessing the power of data and technology, this application aims to reduce pollution, traffic, and fuel consumption while promoting shared transportation solutions among employees. The paper discusses the key features and benefits of this proposed application and its potential to create a greener and more efficient corporate commuting ecosystem.
To mitigate the repercussions arising from traffic accidents on highways and prevent the cascading effect of queued vehicles, a comprehensive model is devised. This model is built upon the foundation of a traffic accident impact determination framework, which considers the merging capacity at entry lanes, as well as a dynamic and adaptable variable speed limit model to dissipate queuing congestion. The objective is to promptly restore vehicle flow after accidents, thereby eradicating queueing effects in the affected zone. The efficacy of this approach has been validated using data from the Sutong Bridge accident, and its effectiveness in eliminating vehicle queues has been verified through simulation data in the SUMO platform. Analysis of average speeds before and after implementing varying speed limits reveals that the proposed method can significantly enhance overall traffic efficiency by 37%. Moreover, the model’s versatile parameters demonstrate good applicability, providing
Micromobility is often discussed in the context of minimizing traffic congestion and transportation pollution by encouraging people to travel shorter (i.e., typically urban) distances using bicycle or scooters instead of single-occupancy vehicles. It is also frequently championed as a solution to the “first-mile/last-mile” problem. If the demographics and intended users of micromobility vary largely by community, surely that means we must identify different reasons for using micromobility. Micromobility, User Input, and Standardization considers potential options for standardization in engineering and public policy, how real people are using micromobility, and the relevant barriers that come with that usage. It examines the history of existing technologies, compares various traffic laws, and highlights barriers to micromobility standardization—particularly in low-income communities of color. Lastly, it considers how engineers and legislators can use this information to effectively
It is widely believed that Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is poised to have a significant societal impact in the coming years to move people and cargo more rapidly and efficiently. AAM refers to a new mode of transportation utilizing highly automated airborne vehicles for transporting goods and/or people. The main goals of AAM vehicles are to reduce emissions, to increase connectivity and speed, while helping to reduce traffic congestion. These vehicles can take off and land vertically in designated urban locations called vertiports.
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