Optimal Road Traffic Operations for an Increasingly Autonomous and Connected Vehicle Fleet

The goal of this project is to develop decision-making tools that enhance the understanding of the intricate relationship between vehicle autonomy, traffic operations and congestion externalities. A detailed traffic simulation tool is used to investigate the relationship between vehicle autonomy, travel demand attributes (e.g., driver behavior), and network supply (e.g., prevailing traffic management strategies). A simulation-based optimization algorithm is designed and used to identify potential areas in a road network where the use of autonomous vehicles could significantly reduce congestion externalities. The algorithm enables cities to tailor their traffic operations such as to be synergistic with novel vehicle technologies. More broadly, the tools developed in this project allow cities to adapt the use of their existing infrastructure to the novel and increasingly connected vehicle fleet. The tools developed in this project can be used by a variety of transportation stakeholders to tailor the urban mobility services they provide to a widely-connected and autonomous urban mobility environment.

• Record URL:
  http://utc.mit.edu

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $156486.00
• Contract Numbers:

  DTRT13-G-UTC31

  MITR25-11

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Research and Innovative Technology Administration

  University Transportation Centers Program
  1200 New Jersey Avenue
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Start Date: 20131001
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 20170531
• Source Data: RiP Project 39265

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Behavior; Drivers; Highway operations; Mobile communication systems; Optimization; Traffic congestion; Traffic simulation; Travel demand; Vehicle fleets
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01557121
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: New England University Transportation Center
• Contract Numbers: DTRT13-G-UTC31, MITR25-11
• Files: UTC, RiP
• Created Date: Mar 18 2015 1:00AM