Summary

TO 5601 supports TO 5600, with the objectives of TO 5600 subsuming TO 5601. Work within TO 5601 covers two supporting subtasks and is generically referred to as "Task S", "S" denoting "support": Subtask S1 is Develop Intersection Simulation Tool, and Subtask S2 is Evaluation of Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) and Emerging Technologies Components. Both are summarized below:

S 1 Develop Intersection Simulation Tool

We recognize the importance of "testing in the computer", particularly when we are developing notional systems and assessing their effectiveness under a variety of potentially dangerous scenarios. Hence, we will develop a software tool suite, to include visualization, used to design, simulate, analyze, and visualize intersections. The software development will incorporate realistic models from outside sources as well as those developed within the IDS program. This tool suite will be provided to IDS program (as well as US DOT and US DOT-designated) users as an invaluable part of intersection system development and assessment. As an important additional objective, it is our intent that this tool be designed with the growth potential to be amenable to future enhancements that will make it user-friendly, visually realistic, and useful to practitioners. In short, our tool will have two uses: first, as a support tool for the explicit research objectives and virtual testing of the IDS program, and, later, as the foundation for a future tool that will enable practitioners to design IDS systems for their particular applications and make visual presentations of proposed designs.

The primary uses of this tool suite will be:

• Support for research and engineering efforts
• Cost/benefit analysis
• Visualization of IDS concepts
• Design of IDS-equipped intersections by practitioners

This would be a post-IDS program legacy, one to which we will pay particular attention, recognizing that the development of the final user-friendly tool for use by practitioners will need to be addressed in the subsequent IDS FOT program.

Task S 2 Evaluation of Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) and Emerging Technologies Components

We will survey Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) and emerging technologies for eventual deployment at intersections and analyze their performance specifications with respect to our design requirements and then compare and evaluate different alternatives. The IDS team will contact the chosen vendors and encourage them to loan their samples to our research team. We will also try to get vendors to set up demonstrations for our observation and evaluation. Our efforts will be concentrated on finding the most suitable products to be deployed at intersections based on the findings of our research project. These products would include discrete and continuous sensors, software interfaces for signal controllers, advanced signage technologies, communication devices, and portable computers. The IDS team will also attempt to find emerging technologies that are not COTS yet but hold promise for the future IDS use. We will contact the inventors of these products and try to obtain samples of their products. This effort might result in unearthing some technological gems for our research. It should be emphasized that due to new products entering the market as well as new innovations taking place, we will be continuously looking for new COTS or emerging technologies throughout the period of performance for this task.

Our scope of work for this task will be divided into four categories: Surveying, Testing, Modifying, and Acceptance Testing. The IDS research team will conduct a survey of product candidates using our own knowledge, as well as through Internet and literature search of primary trade journals. We will also attend trade shows such as ITE and ITSA to learn more about the latest available COTS products and to establish contacts with vendors. This survey is expected to yield a list of the most promising product candidates. We will contact the chosen vendors and will try to obtain the products on a loan basis or if deemed necessary, we will purchase the products. Then, the products will be tested to determine if they meet the specifications proclaimed by the vendors as well as the IDS functional and design requirements. If possible, we will invite the chosen vendors' local representative to set up demonstrations for us. After a product or device passes our testing requirements, if some modifications are still needed, the IDS research team will work with the vendor to have these modifications done. It is assumed that the IDS research team members would do most of modifications for our own experimentations. Finally, acceptance tests will be done to make sure the device or systems are working as desired. We will complete the first iteration of our work plan and will provide an interim report by the end of February 2004, and will do subsequent iterations with additional products throughout the remainder of the project.