Advancing traffic control
Urban networks consist of a variety of integrated technologies, involving cameras, sensors, local controllers, actuators and signalling panels. However, a truly homogenous urban network system yet proves to be elusive. This is to say that aside from combining several means to monitor traffic, control and assessment technologies are still lagging in that their integration into the management system remains somewhat limited. The Model of Urban Network (MOUN), produced by an EC funded project extends the traditional vertical, legacy systems offering a cross functional system that is not dependent on vendor services. Since current technologies are almost exclusive to vendor products, integration of new technologies requires extensive overhaul in upgrading. Additionally, MOUN integrates the so-called SDCTU UTC Interface application, which updates and reads information to and from MOUN. The interface gives complete control over all road equipment involved in the urban network. The interface is comprehensive in that it performs a number of tasks such as reading the real logical status of control devices as well as establishing the expected status of control devices for traffic management. Another is the communication status of alarms, operation modes and detectors and offers video detection of extraordinary events such as accidents and congestion. MOUN removes vendor-based dependency by offering an open ended, object orientated platform that remains application independent. Based on the OMNI graphic user interface, MOUN presents two levels of functionality; one being text based, the other being a two level graphic based feature. The first offers monitoring and control features, capable of starting/stopping the applications and devices as well as setting priority levels. The second advances a two-tiered feature. The first tier is a map-based representation of the entire network, providing users with a visual construct of traffic. The second tier is intersection based providing details of the status of the monitoring and control hardware at the intersections. This includes the working status of cameras, loops and local controllers. MOUN therefore offers unprecedented levels of integration, monitoring and control. With the advent of a web-based feature, users will gain access to the information in real-time and be able to reap the rewards of this truly helpful traffic control system.
