Aimsun Online
Encyclopedia
Aimsun Online is a real-time traffic forecasting solution, developed and marketed by TSS - Transport Simulation Systems
based in Barcelona
, Spain
.
Aimsun Online is used by traffic control centres to make real-time decisions about the management of a road network. It is used to dynamically forecast future traffic conditions based on the current state of the network and to evaluate incident response or traffic management strategies.
Aimsun Online was launched in 2008. It is built on the Aimsun
platform which allows for static and dynamic modelling within the same software application.
The area included in the simulation model depends on the type of network being managed. It is typically defined using equilibrium assignment techniques which evaluate at a high level the impact of local but significant capacity changes on the rest of the network. The objective is to exclude areas that are unlikely to be affected by incidents or responses to those incidents.
Simulations typically last 1-3 minutes depending on hardware specifications, network size and level of congestion (number of vehicles). These simulations are run in 'batch mode' (without animation in 2D or 3D) in order to improve performance.
TSS - Transport Simulation Systems
TSS – Transport Simulation Systems is a privately held company based in Barcelona, Spain with a branch office in New York City, USA. TSS develops and distributes the transport modelling software Aimsun and Aimsun Online....
based in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Aimsun Online is used by traffic control centres to make real-time decisions about the management of a road network. It is used to dynamically forecast future traffic conditions based on the current state of the network and to evaluate incident response or traffic management strategies.
Aimsun Online was launched in 2008. It is built on the Aimsun
Aimsun
Aimsun is an integrated transport modelling software, developed and marketed by TSS - Transport Simulation Systems based in Barcelona, Spain.Aimsun software is used by government agencies, municipalities, universities and consultants worldwide for traffic engineering, traffic simulation,...
platform which allows for static and dynamic modelling within the same software application.
Product features
Aimsun Online uses live traffic data feeds and simulations to forecast future traffic conditions for large urban areas and regional networks.Real-time analysis
Aimsun Online analyses real-time inputs from disparate sources of information, such as field traffic controllers, detectors, incident reports and live data feeds from key intersections.Calibrated model retrieval
Using up-to-date field data, Aimsun Online identifies, retrieves and loads a travel demand matrix of the road network being managed. It finds the closest match between the data received in real time from among several demand patterns stored in a database. The demand pattern database is created in a prior step by carrying out analysis of historical data.Real-time simulation
This step involves dynamic (mesoscopic or microscopic) simulation of one or more scenarios in real time. Each scenario is simulated on a dedicated computer. The simulations produce dynamic forecasts of traffic conditions at a detailed, local level for the next 30-60 minutes. Each simulation considers a concrete set of actions that might be applied in order to improve the network situation. One of the scenarios always corresponds to the ‘do nothing' case.The area included in the simulation model depends on the type of network being managed. It is typically defined using equilibrium assignment techniques which evaluate at a high level the impact of local but significant capacity changes on the rest of the network. The objective is to exclude areas that are unlikely to be affected by incidents or responses to those incidents.
Simulations typically last 1-3 minutes depending on hardware specifications, network size and level of congestion (number of vehicles). These simulations are run in 'batch mode' (without animation in 2D or 3D) in order to improve performance.
Online visualisation
Response information is presented visually online to provide support for operational decision making. Traffic control operators are provided with quick snapshots of predicted traffic flow and performance indicators for different control alternatives.Other features
- Customisation to work with traffic control software
- Assimilation of new data to improve quality of predictions over time
Practical uses
- Online travel information systems
- Dynamic emergency vehicle routing
- Emissions management
- Accident response strategy assessments
- Urban and interurban congestion management
- Security threat mitigation and large-scale evacuation management
Project examples
Aimsun Online is used to inform operational decisions for:- Singapore City Centre
- M30, Madrid, Spain
Literature
- Traffic operations: Thinking ahead, Traffic Technology Today, Torday, A and Gerodimos, A.:17 Apr 2009
- Bola de cristal del tráfico, El Periódico de Catalunya, 23 Feb 2009