Benno Schweiger

ElisaTM - Car to infrastructure communication in the field

Car to infrastructure (C2I) communication as an aspect of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) is a topic that is currently under wide research. Most works however deal with theoretical analysis, simulative evaluation or closed testbeds. There are only a few publications describing real world application of C2I on real world streets with real world traffic. In this paper we present the results of initial tests and measurements performed in the testbed ElisaTM (Efficient Light Signal Adaptation Testbed Munich). The testbed consists of four intersections in a mostly residential area in Munich, Germany. The results include an analysis of data availability and data quality under different traffic conditions.

Simulative evaluation of the potential of car2X-communication in terms of efficiency

Much effort has been put to evaluate the potential of Intelligent Transportation Systems based on Car2X communication with respect to traffic safety. However, harnessing Car2X communication for efficiency purposes also offers potentials in terms of reducing fuel consumption and CO2. In this paper we evaluate these potentials by simulating three different traffic situations. We compare an uncontrolled scenario with one that incorporates a control mechanism that uses the possibility of Car2X communication to influence a single car directly. Our results show a significant potential for a reduction of fuel consumption for some of the traffic scenarios, motivating further research into Car2X communication based traffic control systems.

The Vehicular Information Space Framework

Vehicular networks are distributed, self-organizing and highly mobile ad hoc networks. They allow for providing drivers with up-to-the-minute information about their environment. Therefore, they are expected to be a decisive future enabler for enhancing driving comfort and safety. This article introduces the Vehicular Information Space framework (VIS). Vehicles running the VIS form a kind of distributed database. It enables them to provide information like existing hazards, parking spaces or traffic densities in a location aware and fully distributed manner. In addition, vehicles can retrieve, modify and delete these information items. The underlying algorithm is based on features derived from existing structured Peer-to-Peer algorithms and extended to suit the specific characteristics of highly mobile ad hoc networks. We present, implement and simulate the VIS using a motorway and an urban traffic environment. Simulation studies on VIS message occurrence show that the VIS implies reasonable traffic overhead. Also, overall VIS message traffic is independent from the number of information items provided.

Traffic Signal Information in a Real Residential Area

In this study we share an evaluation of measurements performed in a traffic light communication test bed in real life traffic. We describe our hardware and software architecture and present our measurement methods. As a basis for the evaluation, we selected two use cases: Micropause Infotainment and Fuel Efficient Traffic Light Approach. We develop, train and evaluate a model for estimating micropauses at traffic lights and determine the value of predictive traffic light information in terms of fuel efficiency.