Evaluating the Robustness of MDSS Maintenance Forecasts Using Connected Vehicle Data

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) adopted the Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS) for user-defined plowing segments in the winter of 2008-2009. Since then, many new data sources, including connected vehicle data, enhanced weather data, and fleet telematics, have been integrated into INDOT winter operations activities. The objective of this study was to use these new data sources to conduct a systematic evaluation of the robustness of the MDSS forecasts. During the 2023-2024 winter season, 26 unique MDSS forecast data attributes were collected at 0, 1, 3, 6, 12 and 23-hour intervals from the observed storm time for 6 roadway segments during 13 individual storms. In total, over 888,000 MDSS data points were archived for this evaluation. This study developed novel visualizations to compare MDSS forecasts to multiple other independent data sources, including connected vehicle data, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather data, road friction data and snowplow telematics. Three Indiana storms, with varying characteristics and severity, were analyzed in detailed case studies. Those storms occurred on January 6th, 2024, January 13th, 2024 and February 16th, 2024. Incorporating these visualizations into winter weather after-action reports increases the robustness of post-storm performance analysis and allows road weather stakeholders to better understand the capabilities of MDSS. The results of this analysis will provide a framework for future MDSS evaluations and implementations as well as training tools for winter operation stakeholders in Indiana and beyond.

Application of Connected Truck Data to Evaluate Spatiotemporal Impact of Rest Area Closures on Ramp Parking

Ensuring adequate access to truck parking is critical to the safe and efficient movement of freight traffic. There are strict federal guidelines for commercial truck driver rest periods. Rest areas and private truck stops are the only places for the trucks to stop legally and safely. In locations without sufficient parking areas, trucks often park on interstate ramps, which create safety risks for other interstate motorists. Historically, agencies have employed costly and time intensive manual counting methods, camera surveillance, and driver surveys to assess truck parking. Connected truck data, available in near real-time, offers an efficient alternative to practitioners to assess truck parking patterns and identify areas where there may be insufficient safe parking spaces. This paper presents a case study of interstate I-70 in east central Indiana and documents the observed spatiotemporal impacts of a rest area closure on truck parking on nearby interstate ramps. Results showed that there was a 28% increase in parking on ramps during the rest area closure. Analysis also found that ramps closest to the rest area were most impacted by the closure, seeing a rise in truck parking sessions as high as 2.7 times. Parking duration on the ramps during rest area closure also increased drastically. Although it was expected that this would result in increased parking by trucks on adjacent ramps, this before, during, after scenario provided an ideal scenario to evaluate the robustness of these techniques to assess changing parking characteristics of long-haul commercial trucks. The data analytics and visualization tools presented in this study are scalable nationwide and will aid stakeholders in informed data-driven decision making when allocating resources towards improving the nations commercial vehicle parking infrastructure.

Evaluation of Arterial Signal Coordination with Commercial Connected Vehicle Data: Empirical Traffic Flow Visualization and Performance Measurement

Emerging connected vehicle (CV) data sets have recently become commercially available, enabling analysts to develop a variety of powerful performance measures without deploying any field infrastructure. This paper presents several tools using CV data to evaluate traffic progression quality along a signalized corridor. These include both performance measures for high-level analysis as well as visualizations to examine details of the coordinated operation. With the use of CV data, it is possible to assess not only the movement of traffic on the corridor but also to consider its origin-destination (O-D) path through the corridor. Results for the real-world operation of an eight-intersection signalized arterial are presented. A series of high-level performance measures are used to evaluate overall performance by time of day, with differing results by metric. Next, the details of the operation are examined with the use of two visualization tools: a cyclic time-space diagram (TSD) and an empirical platoon progression diagram (PPD). Comparing flow visualizations developed with different included O-D paths reveals several features, such as the presence of secondary and tertiary platoons on certain sections that cannot be seen when only end-to-end journeys are included. In addition, speed heat maps are generated, providing both speed performance along the corridor and locations and the extent of the queue. The proposed visualization tools portray the corridor’s performance holistically instead of combining individual signal performance metrics. The techniques exhibited in this study are compelling for identifying locations where engineering solutions such as access management or timing plan change are required. The recent progress in infrastructure-free sensing technology has significantly increased the scope of CV data-based traffic management systems, enhancing the significance of this study. The study demonstrates the utility of CV trajectory data for obtaining high-level details of the corridor performance as well as drilling down into the minute specifics.

Quantifying the Impact of In-Cab Alerts on Truck Speed Reductions in Ohio

In-cab alerts warn commercial vehicle drivers of upcoming roadway incidents, slowdowns and work zone construction activities. This paper reports on a study evaluating the driver response to in-cab alerts in Ohio. Driver response was evaluated by measuring the statistical trends of vehicle speeds after the in-cab alerts were received. Vehicle speeds pre and post in-cab alert were collected over a 47 day period in the fall of 2023 for trucks traveling on interstate roadways in Ohio. Results show that approximately 22% of drivers receiving Dangerous Slowdown alerts had reduced their speeds by at least 5 mph 30 seconds after receiving such an alert. Segmenting this analysis by speed found that of vehicles traveling at or above 70 mph at the time of alerting, 26% reduced speeds by at least 5 mph. These speed reductions suggest drivers taking actional measures after receiving alerts. Future studies will involve further analysis on the impact of the types of alerts shown, roadway characteristics and overall traffic conditions on truck speeds passing through work zones.

Evaluation of the Impact of Queue Trucks with Navigation Alerts Using Connected Vehicle Data

Back of queue crashes on Interstates are a major concern for all state transportation departments. In 2020, Indiana DOT begin deploying queue warning trucks with message boards, flashers and digital alerts that could be transmitted to navigation systems such as Waze. This study reports on the deployment and impact evaluation of digital alerts on motorist’s assistance patrols and 19 Queue trucks in Indiana. The motorist assistance patrol evaluation is provided qualitatively. A novel analysis of queue warning trucks equipped with digital alerts was conducted during the months of May-July in 2021 using connected vehicle data. This new data set reports locations of anonymous hard-braking events from connected vehicles on the Interstate. Hard-braking events were tabulated for when queueing occurred with and without the presence of a queue warning truck. Approximately 370 hours of queueing with queue trucks present and 58 hours of queueing without queue trucks present were evaluated. Hard-braking events were found to decrease approximately 80% when queue warning trucks were used to alert motorists of impending queues.

Time-Series Data and Analysis Software of Connected Vehicles

In this study,we developed software for vehicle big data analysis to analyze the time-series data of connected vehicles.We designed two software modules:The rst to derive the Pearson correlation coefcients to analyze the collected data and the second to conduct exploratory data analysis of the collected vehicle data.In particular,we analyzed the dangerous driving patterns of motorists based on the safety standards of the Korea Transportation Safety Authority.We also analyzed seasonal fuel efciency(four seasons)and mileage of vehicles,and identied rapid acceleration,rapid deceleration,sudden stopping(harsh braking),quick starting,sudden left turn,sudden right turn and sudden U-turn driving patterns of vehicles.We implemented the density-based spatial clustering of applications with a noise algorithm for trajectory analysis based on GPS(Global Positioning System)data and designed a long shortterm memory algorithm and an auto-regressive integrated moving average model for time-series data analysis.In this paper,we mainly describe the development environment of the analysis software,the structure and data ow of the overall analysis platform,the conguration of the collected vehicle data,and the various algorithms used in the analysis.Finally,we present illustrative results of our analysis,such as dangerous driving patterns that were detected.

Using Connected Truck Trajectory Data to Compare Speeds in States with and without Differential Truck Speeds

Historically, researchers and practitioners have utilized spot speeds and microscopic simulation methodologies to evaluate the operational impact of differential or uniform speed limits for trucks and passenger vehicles. This paper presents a methodology that uses connected truck data to develop a statistical characterization of both passenger car and truck speeds. These techniques were applied to three adjacent states, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Illinois and Ohio have 70 mph speed limits for both trucks and cars. Indiana has a differential speed limit for heavy trucks (65 mph) and passenger cars (70 mph). The statistical distribution of truck speeds was then compared among Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. These speeds were derived from over 8 million connected truck records traveling along Interstate 70 in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio during a one-week period from May 8-14, 2022. Statistical test results over selected 20-mile sections in each state showed that median truck speeds in Indiana with its differential speed limit of 65 mph were only 1 - 2 mph lesser than the neighboring states of Illinois and Ohio who observe a uniform speed limit of 70 mph for all traffic.

数字化开放大学的解构与重构

文章探讨了教育数字化转型与数字化大学的关系,以技术哲学系统论的思维界定了数字化开放大学的内涵。通过对开放大学体系内固化机制的解构,如解构线性网络关系、解构数据条块化管理、解构局限的数据链等,重构了基于中台理论的开放大学四级数字化体系架构,重点分析了组织中台和数据中台在数字化开放大学建设的意义、框架、功能和机制,构建了数字化开放大学发展策略包括:数字化素养是数字化大学重构的基本要求;中台模式创新是数字化大学重构的关键任务;智慧教育平台建设是数字化大学重构的重要抓手;联通主义理论是数字化大学教育工作重构的本体论;大学文化重塑是数字化大学重构的必要举措。实证研究表明开放大学中台理论是方法、技术、组织制度等多方面的综合性创新与应用,可为我国高校开展数字化大学的规划与建设提供参考和借鉴。

Leveraging Telematics for Winter Operations Performance Measures and Tactical Adjustment

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) maintains 29,000 lane miles of roadway and operates a fleet of nearly 1100 snowplows and spends upwards of $60 million annually on winter maintenance operations. Since winter weather varies considerably, allocation of snow removal and deicing resources are highly decentralized to facilitate agile response. Historically, real-time two-way radio communication with drivers has been the primary monitoring system, but with 6 districts, 29 subdistricts, and over one hundred units it does not scale well for systematic data collection. Emerging technology such as real-time truck telematics, hi-resolution NOAA data, dash camera imagery, and crowdsourced traffic speeds can now be fused into dashboards. These real-time dashboards can be used for systematic monitoring and allocation of resources during critical weather events. This paper reports on dashboards used during the 2020-2021 winter season derived from that data. Nearly 13 million location records and 11 million dash camera images were collected from telematics onboard 1105 trucks. Peak impact of nearly 1570 congested miles and 610 trucks deployed was observed for a winter storm on February 15th, 2021 chosen for further analysis. In addition to tactical adjustments of resources during storms, this system-wide collection of resources allows agencies to monitor multiple seasons and make long-term strategic asset allocation decisions. Also, from a public information perspective, these resources were found to be very useful to agencies that interface with the media (and social media) during large storms to provide real-time visual updates on conditions throughout the state from pre-treatment, through cleanup.

Estimation of Connected Vehicle Penetration on US Roads in Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania

Connected vehicle data is an important assessment tool for agencies to evaluate the performance of freeways and arterials, provided there is sufficient penetration to provide statistically robust performance measures. A common concern by agencies interested in using crowd sourced probe data is the penetration rate across different types of roads, different hours of the day, and different regions. This paper describes and demonstrates a methodology that uses data from state highway performance monitoring systems in Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The study analyzes 54 locations over the 3 states for select Wednesdays and Saturdays in 2020 and 2021. Overall, across all locations and dates, the median penetration was approximately 4.5%. The median penetration for August 2020 for Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania was 4.6%, 4.3%, and 4.0%, respectively. The median penetration for those same states in August 2020 on interstates and non-interstates was 3.9% and 4.6%, respectively. Additionally, the study conducted a longitudinal evaluation of Indiana penetration for selected months between January 2020 and June 2021. Indiana penetration increased modestly between December 2020 and June 2021, perhaps due to the post-COVID rebound of passenger vehicle traffic. This paper concludes by recommending that the techniques described in this paper be scaled to other states so that traffic engineers can make informed decisions on the use and limitations of connected vehicle data for various use cases.

Truck and Passenger Car Connected Vehicle Penetration on Indiana Roadways

Commercially available connected vehicle (CV) probe data has been demonstrated to provide scalable and near-real-time methodologies to evaluate the performance of road networks for various applications. However, one of the major concerns of probe data for agencies is data sampling, particularly during low-volume overnight hours. This paper reports on an evaluation that looked at both connected passenger cars and connected trucks. This study analyzed 40 continuous count stations in Indiana that recorded more than 10.8 million vehicles and more than 13 million trips (3 billion records) from CV data over a 1-week period from May 9th to 15th in 2022. The average truck penetration was observed to be 3.4% during overnight hours from 1 AM to 5 AM when the connected passenger car penetration was at the lowest. When both connected trucks and connected car penetration were analyzed, the overall CV penetration was 6.32% on interstates and 5.30% on non-interstate roadways. The paper concludes by recommending that both connected car and connected truck data be used by agencies to increase penetration and reduce the hourly variation in CV penetration. This is particularly important during overnight hours.

法律人工智能:科学内涵、演化逻辑与趋势前瞻

法律人工智能面向法律大数据和法律知识,运用机器学习算法与符号逻辑,在遵循法律运行规律的前提下满足法律实践的需求,辅助法律人做出法律决策,提升法律任务的质效。法律人工智能科学内涵之厘清明确了其概念体系,由此确立其交叉学科地位。法律人工智能的理论和技术演化历程展示了法律人工智能的发展逻辑,法律推理与法律论证理论是法律人工智能的理论来源,知识引导和大数据驱动形成了符号主义与联结主义法律人工智能的技术分野。在理论方面,法律人工智能需要探索法律与人工智能深度融合的法学理论,回应伦理和法律关切,制定法律智能系统的运行或使用规则,规制算法偏见和不可解释性问题。在运行模式方面,法律人工智能需要重塑“以人为中心”的智能辅助模式。在技术方面,法律人工智能表现出符号主义与联结主义相融合的趋势,在智慧立法和智慧司法领域中有待深度拓展。