Francisco Alayón

On Route Travel Assistant for Public Transport Based on Android Technology

A traveler assistant for public transport is described in this paper. The main purpose of this system is to provide to the passenger real time information about the route, for example: estimated time to the next stop of the route or estimated time to the traveler destination, also if desired, tourist information about nearby interesting points. The application is designed for all kind of passengers, but it is especially useful for travelers with special needs or for those who are unfamiliar with a public transport network, for example tourists. Based on Bluetooth and Android technologies, the assistant has a clear and intuitive user interface permitting to the users a friendly interaction with the system and breaking down the barrier to entry for those users not accustomed to work with mobile software applications.

Provision of Ubiquitous Tourist Information in Public Transport Networks

This paper outlines an information system for tourists using collective public transport based on mobile devices with limited computation and wireless connection capacities. In this system, the mobile device collaborates with the vehicle infrastructure in order to provide the user with multimedia (visual and audio) information about his/her trip. The information delivered, adapted to the user preferences, is synchronized with the passage of vehicles through points of interest along the route, for example: bus stops, tourist sights, public service centres, etc.

Architecture of a Framework for Providing Information Services for Public Transport

This paper presents OnRoute, a framework for developing and running ubiquitous software that provides information services to passengers of public transportation, including payment systems and on-route guidance services. To achieve a high level of interoperability, accessibility and context awareness, OnRoute uses the ubiquitous computing paradigm. To guarantee the quality of the software produced, the reliable software principles used in critical contexts, such as automotive systems, are also considered by the framework. The main components of its architecture (run-time, system services, software components and development discipline) and how they are deployed in the transportation network (stations and vehicles) are described in this paper. Finally, to illustrate the use of OnRoute, the development of a guidance service for travellers is explained.

System Proposal for Mass Transit Service Quality Control Based on GPS Data

Quality is an essential aspect of public transport. In the case of regular public passenger transport by road, punctuality and regularity are criteria used to assess quality of service. Calculating metrics related to these criteria continuously over time and comprehensively across the entire transport network requires the handling of large amounts of data. This article describes a system for continuously and comprehensively monitoring punctuality and regularity. The system uses location data acquired continuously in the vehicles and automatically transferred for analysis. These data are processed intelligently by elements that are commonly used by transport operators: GPS-based tracking system, onboard computer and wireless networks for mobile data communications. The system was tested on a transport company, for which we measured the punctuality of one of the routes that it operates; the results are presented in this article.

Using Massive Vehicle Positioning Data to Improve Control and Planning of Public Road Transport

This study describes a system for the automatic recording of positioning data for public transport vehicles used on roads. With the data provided by this system, transportation-regulatory authorities can control, verify and improve the routes that vehicles use, while also providing new data to improve the representation of the transportation network and providing new services in the context of intelligent metropolitan areas. The system is executed autonomously in the vehicles, by recording their massive positioning data and transferring them to remote data banks for subsequent processing. To illustrate the utility of the system, we present a case of application that consists of identifying the points at which vehicles stop systematically, which may be points of scheduled stops or points at which traffic signals or road topology force the vehicle to stop. This identification is performed using pattern recognition techniques. The system has been applied under real operating conditions, providing the results discussed in the present study.

Context model for ubiquitous information services of public transport

The interoperability is the capacity of a system to work autonomously in different contexts, permitting the collaboration with other systems. To achieve this challenge it is necessary for the system to use a common context model. Therefore the context model is a key aspect of the ubiquitous system. In this work, a context model for public transport information system is explained; this model permits us to develop ubiquitous information services in a context of intermodal public transport networks. The main aspects of this context model are described: the ontology, the representation of the context entities and the main data involved. Using this model, ubiquitous information services, with a high level of functional scalability, context adaptability and accessibility, can be developed.

Ubiquitous data management in public transport

A case of practical use of ubiquitous data management is presented in this paper; specifically the intensive-data management of a ubiquitous environment working in a public transport context. The description of the working principles of the system is made addressing the specific characteristics of the pervasive environment that are: autonomy, mobility, heterogeneity, distribution and lack of a common catalogue and schema, describing how these aspects affect the data management.

Systematic Development of Intelligent Systems for Public Road Transport

This paper presents an architecture model for the development of intelligent systems for public passenger transport by road. The main objective of our proposal is to provide a framework for the systematic development and deployment of telematics systems to improve various aspects of this type of transport, such as efficiency, accessibility and safety. The architecture model presented herein is based on international standards on intelligent transport system architectures, ubiquitous computing and service-oriented architecture for distributed systems. To illustrate the utility of the model, we also present a use case of a monitoring system for stops on a public passenger road transport network.

An Intelligent System Proposal for Improving the Safety and Accessibility of Public Transit by Highway

The development of public transit systems that are accessible and safe for everyone, including people with special needs, is an objective that is justified from the civic and economic points of view. Unfortunately, public transit services are conceived for people who do not have reduced physical or cognitive abilities. In this paper, we present an intelligent public transit system by highway with the goal of facilitating access and improving the safety of public transit for persons with special needs. The system is deployed using components that are commonly available in transport infrastructure, e.g., sensors, mobile communications systems, and positioning systems. In addition, the system can operate in non-urban transport contexts, e.g., isolated rural areas, where the availability of basic infrastructure, such as electricity and communications infrastructures, is not always guaranteed. To construct the system, the principles and techniques of Ubiquitous Computing and Ambient Intelligence have been employed. To illustrate the utility of the system, two cases of services rendered by the system are described: the first case involves a surveillance system to guarantee accessibility at bus stops; the second case involves a route assistant for blind people.

PSPRT: a case of pervasive system for public road transport

We describe a case of pervasive system which is working in a public road transport company of passengers, the description is based on the main elements of ubiquitous system architecture; these are: pervasive devices, the pervasive network and the system middleware. From the point of view of the pervasive devices used, the more important elements is the onboard system installed in the fleet vehicles, it is an embedded computer that is able to achieve all the needed functionalities integrating all the onboard elements (sensors, location devices, payment devices and communications devices) and handling several communications infrastructures in a suitable way by the system middleware it permit to the transport corporation use a quality information of its productions operation executed by the vehicles fleet.