3D Road Network Modeling and Road Structure Recognition in Internet of Vehicles

Internet of Vehicles (IoV) is a new system that enables individual vehicles to connect with nearby vehicles,people, transportation infrastructure, and networks, thereby realizing amore intelligent and efficient transportationsystem. The movement of vehicles and the three-dimensional (3D) nature of the road network cause the topologicalstructure of IoV to have the high space and time complexity.Network modeling and structure recognition for 3Droads can benefit the description of topological changes for IoV. This paper proposes a 3Dgeneral roadmodel basedon discrete points of roads obtained from GIS. First, the constraints imposed by 3D roads on moving vehicles areanalyzed. Then the effects of road curvature radius (Ra), longitudinal slope (Slo), and length (Len) on speed andacceleration are studied. Finally, a general 3D road network model based on road section features is established.This paper also presents intersection and road section recognition methods based on the structural features ofthe 3D road network model and the road features. Real GIS data from a specific region of Beijing is adopted tocreate the simulation scenario, and the simulation results validate the general 3D road network model and therecognitionmethod. Therefore, thiswork makes contributions to the field of intelligent transportation by providinga comprehensive approach tomodeling the 3Droad network and its topological changes in achieving efficient trafficflowand improved road safety.

Resilience assessment and optimization method of city road network in the post-earthquake emergency period

The post-earthquake emergency period,which is a sensitive time segment just after an event,mainly focuses on saving life and restoring social order.To improve the seismic resilience of city road networks,a resilience evaluation method used in the post-earthquake emergency period is proposed.The road seismic damage index of a city road network can consider the influence of roads,bridges and buildings along the roads,etc.on road capacity after an earthquake.A function index for a city road network is developed,which reflects the connectivity,redundancy,traffic demand and traffic function of the network.An optimization model for improving the road repair order in the post-earthquake emergency period is also developed according to the resilience evaluation,to enable decision support for city emergency management and achieve the best seismic resilience of the city road network.The optimization model is applied to a city road network and the results illustrate the feasibility of the resilience evaluation and optimization method for a city road network in the post-earthquake emergency period.

Autonomous Vehicle Platoons In Urban Road Networks:A Joint Distributed Reinforcement Learning and Model Predictive Control Approach

In this paper, platoons of autonomous vehicles operating in urban road networks are considered. From a methodological point of view, the problem of interest consists of formally characterizing vehicle state trajectory tubes by means of routing decisions complying with traffic congestion criteria. To this end, a novel distributed control architecture is conceived by taking advantage of two methodologies: deep reinforcement learning and model predictive control. On one hand, the routing decisions are obtained by using a distributed reinforcement learning algorithm that exploits available traffic data at each road junction. On the other hand, a bank of model predictive controllers is in charge of computing the more adequate control action for each involved vehicle. Such tasks are here combined into a single framework:the deep reinforcement learning output(action) is translated into a set-point to be tracked by the model predictive controller;conversely, the current vehicle position, resulting from the application of the control move, is exploited by the deep reinforcement learning unit for improving its reliability. The main novelty of the proposed solution lies in its hybrid nature: on one hand it fully exploits deep reinforcement learning capabilities for decisionmaking purposes;on the other hand, time-varying hard constraints are always satisfied during the dynamical platoon evolution imposed by the computed routing decisions. To efficiently evaluate the performance of the proposed control architecture, a co-design procedure, involving the SUMO and MATLAB platforms, is implemented so that complex operating environments can be used, and the information coming from road maps(links,junctions, obstacles, semaphores, etc.) and vehicle state trajectories can be shared and exchanged. Finally by considering as operating scenario a real entire city block and a platoon of eleven vehicles described by double-integrator models, several simulations have been performed with the aim to put in light the main f eatures of the proposed approach. Moreover, it is important to underline that in different operating scenarios the proposed reinforcement learning scheme is capable of significantly reducing traffic congestion phenomena when compared with well-reputed competitors.

A Novel Network Screening Methodology for Rural Low-Volume Roads

Low-volume roads (LVRs) are an integral part of the rural transportation network providing access to remote rural areas and facilitating the movement of goods from farms to markets. These roads pose unique challenges for highway agencies including those related to safety management on the highway network. Specifically, traditional network screening methods using crash history can be effective in screening rural highways with higher traffic volumes and more frequent crashes. However, these traditional methods are often ineffective in screening LVR networks due to low traffic volumes and the sporadic nature of crash occurrence. Further, many of the LVRs are owned and operated by local agencies that may lack access to detailed crash, traffic and roadway data and the technical expertise within their staff. Therefore, there is a need for more efficient and practical network screening approaches to facilitate safety management programs on these roads. This study proposes one such approach which utilizes a heuristic scoring scheme in assessing the level of risk/safety for the purpose of network screening. The proposed scheme is developed based on the principles of US Highway Safety Manual (HSM) analysis procedures for rural highways and the fundamentals in safety science. The primary application of the proposed scheme is for ranking sites in network screening applications or for comparing multiple improvement alternatives at a specific site. The proposed approach does not require access to detailed databases, technical expertise, or exact information, making it an invaluable tool for small agencies and local governments (e.g. counties, townships, tribal governments, etc.).

Intelligent extraction of road cracks based on vehicle laser point cloud and panoramic sequence images

In light of the limited efficacy of conventional methods for identifying pavement cracks and the absence of comprehensive depth and location data in two-dimensional photographs,this study presents an intelligent strategy for extracting road cracks.This methodology involves the integration of laser point cloud data obtained from a vehicle-mounted system and a panoramic sequence of images.The study employs a vehicle-mounted LiDAR measurement system to acquire laser point cloud and panoramic sequence image data simultaneously.A convolutional neural network is utilized to extract cracks from the panoramic sequence image.The extracted sequence image is then aligned with the laser point cloud,enabling the assignment of RGB information to the vehicle-mounted three dimensional(3D)point cloud and location information to the two dimensional(2D)panoramic image.Additionally,a threshold value is set based on the crack elevation change to extract the aligned roadway point cloud.The three-dimensional data pertaining to the cracks can be acquired.The experimental findings demonstrate that the use of convolutional neural networks has yielded noteworthy outcomes in the extraction of road cracks.The utilization of point cloud and image alignment techniques enables the extraction of precise location data pertaining to road cracks.This approach exhibits superior accuracy when compared to conventional methods.Moreover,it facilitates rapid and accurate identification and localization of road cracks,thereby playing a crucial role in ensuring road maintenance and traffic safety.Consequently,this technique finds extensive application in the domains of intelligent transportation and urbanization development.The technology exhibits significant promise for use in the domains of intelligent transportation and city development.

The Value of Rural Access Roads: The Case Study of Chepyuk and Mitira Wards in Bungoma and Kirinyaga Counties

In this paper we assess the impact of road network on rural regions development using a case study of Chepyuk and Mitira wards. The two case study areas were selected owing to their comparable agro ecological conditions but different political orientation. The wards have identical agro economic activities due to their similarity in climatic and ecological conditions. Household incomes earned from agricultural enterprises and bid rent per unit area of land are used as indicators of development. The condition of road network is used as an indicator of accessing the rural regions in various seasons of the year. The study provides evidence of the economic advantages associated with better market access, primarily due to the good road infrastructure in Mitira compared to Chepyuk. The good road condition is advantageous to Mitira ward residents allowing them to access other markets hence improving the farm gate value of their products. On the other hand, the prices for Chepyuk products are cheap due to constrained market access necessitated by the poor road condition. For instance, the average price of a liter of milk in Chepyuk ward is Kshs.36.65 compared to Mitira where it goes at Kh.55.08. It therefore implies in Chepyuk milk has to be sold at lower price since access to alternative markets is constrained by poor road condition. The disparity in the road network quality has been occasioned by investment policy by both colonial and consecutive post-independence governments which have given preference to the region where Mitira region is located. This is against the constitutional requirement which proposes an equalization fund for infrastructure development to regions lagging behind in terms of development.

Optimal path finding algorithms based on SLSD road network model

A solution to compute the optimal path based on a single-line-single-directional（SLSD）road network model is proposed.Unlike the traditional road network model,in the SLSD conceptual model,being single-directional and single-line style,a road is no longer a linkage of road nodes but abstracted as a network node.Similarly,a road node is abstracted as the linkage of two ordered single-directional roads.This model can describe turn restrictions,circular roads,and other real scenarios usually described using a super-graph.Then a computing framework for optimal path finding（OPF）is presented.It is proved that classical Dijkstra and A algorithms can be directly used for OPF computing of any real-world road networks by transferring a super-graph to an SLSD network.Finally,using Singapore road network data,the proposed conceptual model and its corresponding optimal path finding algorithms are validated using a two-step optimal path finding algorithm with a pre-computing strategy based on the SLSD road network.

DEPTH PREDICTION OF RAIN WATER ON ROAD SURFACE BASED ON ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK

A model based on the non-linear artificial neural network （ANN） is established to predict the thickness of the water film on road surfaces. The weight and the threshold can be determined by training test data, and the water film thickness on the road surface can be accurately predicted by the empirical verification based on sample data. Results show that the proposed ANN model is feasible to predict the water film thickness of the road surface.

Calculation connectivity reliability of road networks based on recursive decomposition arithmetic

In order to decrease the calculation complexity of connectivity reliability of road networks, an improved recursive decomposition arithmetic is proposed. First, the basic theory of recursive decomposition arithmetic is reviewed. Then the characteristics of road networks, which are different from general networks, are analyzed. Under this condition, an improved recursive decomposition arithmetic is put forward which fits road networks better. Furthermore, detailed calculation steps are presented which are convenient for the computer, and the advantage of the approximate arithmetic is analyzed based on this improved arithmetic. This improved recursive decomposition arithmetic directly produces disjoint minipaths and avoids the non-polynomial increasing problems. And because the characteristics of road networks are considered, this arithmetic is greatly simplified. Finally, an example is given to prove its validity.

Design of Aided Decision-Making Program for Prioritizing Construction Projects in Urban Road Network Planning

The importance and complexity of prioritizing construction projects (PCP) in urban road network planning lead to the necessity to develop an aided decision making program (ADMP). Cost benefit ratio model and stage rolled method are chosen as the theoretical foundations of the program, and then benefit model is improved to accord with the actuality of urban traffic in China. Consequently, program flows, module functions and data structures are designed, and particularly an original data structure of road ...

Lazy loading algorithm for traffic assignment of road networks under fixed charge condition

The measures of path charge are important considerations in traffic assignment of road networks. Factors, such as travel time, fixed charge and traffic congestion which affect road users＇ choices of trip paths, are analyzed. Travelers usually decide their trip paths based on their personal habits, preferences and the information at hand. By considering both deterministic and stochastic factors which affect the value of time （VOT） during the process of path choosing, a variational inequality model is proposed to describe the problem of traffic assignment. A lazy loading algorithm for traffic assignment is designed to solve the proposed model, and the calculation steps are given. Numerical experiment results show that compared with the all-or-nothing assignment, the proposed model and the algorithm can provide more optimal traffic assignments for road networks. The results of this study can be used to optimize traffic planning and management.

A Trajectory-Oriented Carriageway-Based Road Network Data Model, Part 1: Background

This is the first of a three-part series of pape rs which introduces a general background of building trajectory-oriented road net work data models, including motivation, related works, and basic concepts. The p urpose of the series is to develop a trajectory-oriented road network data mode l, namely carriageway-based road network data model (CRNM). Part 1 deals with t he modeling background. Part 2 proposes the principle and architecture of the CR NM. Part 3 investigates the implementation of the CRNM in a case study. In the p resent paper, the challenges of managing trajectory data are discussed. Then, de veloping trajectory-oriented road network data models is proposed as a solution and existing road network data models are reviewed. Basic representation approa ches of a road network are introduced as well as its constitution.

A Trajectory-Oriented, Carriageway-Based Road Network Data Model,Part 2:Methodology

This is the second of a three-part series of papers which presents the principle and architecture of the CRNM, a trajectory-oriented, carriageway-based road network data model. The first part of the series has introduced a general background of building trajectory-oriented road network data models, including motivation, related works, and basic concepts. Based on it, this paper describs the CRNM in detail. At first, the notion of basic roadway entity is proposed and discussed. Secondly, carriageway is selected as the basic roadway entity after compared with other kinds of roadway, and approaches to representing other roadways with carriageways are introduced. At last, an overall architecture of the CRNM is proposed.

Spatiotemporal Patterns of Road Network and Road Development Pri-ority in Three Parallel Rivers Region in Yunnan,China:An Evaluation Based on Modified Kernel Distance Estimate

Road network is a critical component of public infrastructure,and the supporting system of social and economic development.Based on a modified kernel density estimate(KDE)algorithm,this study evaluated the road service capacity provided by a road network composed of multi-level roads(i.e.national,provincial,county and rural roads),by taking account of the differences of effect extent and intensity for roads of different levels.Summarized at town scale,the population burden and the annual rural economic income of unit road service capacity were used as the surrogates of social and economic demands for road service.This method was applied to the road network of the Three Parallel River Region,the northwestern Yunnan Province,China to evaluate the development of road network in this region.In results,the total road length of this region in 2005 was 3.70×104km,and the length ratio between national,provincial,county and rural roads was 1∶2∶8∶47.From 1989 to 2005,the regional road service capacity increased by 13.1%,of which the contributions from the national,provincial,county and rural roads were 11.1%,19.4%,22.6%,and 67.8%,respectively,revealing the effect of′All Village Accessible′policy of road development in the mountainous regions in the last decade.The spatial patterns of population burden and economic requirement of unit road service suggested that the areas farther away from the national and provincial roads have higher road development priority(RDP).Based on the modified KDE model and the framework of RDP evaluation,this study provided a useful approach for developing an optimal plan of road development at regional scale.

Monitoring subsidence rates along road network by persistent scatterer SAR interferometry with high-resolution TerraSAR-X imagery

Ground subsidence is one of the key factors damaging transportation facilities, e.g., road networks consisting of highways and railways. In this paper, we propose to apply the persistent scatterer synthetic aperture radar interferometry （PS-InSAR） approach that uses high- resolution TerraSAR-X （TSX） imagery to extract the regional scale subsidence rates （i.e., average annual sub- sidence in mm/year） along road networks. The primary procedures involve interferometric pair selection, interfer- ogram generation, persistent scatterer （PS） detection, PS networking, phase parameterization, and subsidence rate estimation. The Xiqing District in southwest Tianjin （China） is selected as the study area. This district contains one railway line and several highway lines. A total of 15 TSX images covering this area between April 2009 and June 2010 are utilized to obtain the subsidence rates by using the PS-InSAR （PSI） approach. The subsidence rates derived from PSI range from -68.7 to -1.3 mm/year. These findings show a significantly uneven subsidence pattern along the road network. Comparison between the PSI-derived subsidence rates and the leveling data obtained along the highways shows that the mean and standard deviation （SD） of the discrepancies between the two types of subsidence rates are 0.1 and 4-3.2 mm/year, respectively. The results indicate that the high-resolution TSX PSI is capable of providing comprehensive and detailed subsidence information regarding road networks with millimeter-level accuracy. Further inspections under geo- logical conditions and land-use categories in the study area indicate that the observed subsidence is highly related to aquifer compression due to groundwater pumping. Therefore, measures should be taken to mitigate groundwater extraction for the study area.

Short-Term Traffic Flow Prediction Based on Road Network Topology

Accurate short-term traffic flow prediction plays a crucial role in intelligent transportation system (ITS), because it can assist both traffic authorities and individual travelers make better decisions. Previous researches mostly focus on shallow traffic prediction models, which performances were unsatisfying since short-term traffic flow exhibits the characteristics of high nonlinearity, complexity and chaos. Taking the spatial and temporal correlations into consideration, a new traffic flow prediction method is proposed with the basis on the road network topology and gated recurrent unit (GRU). This method can help researchers without professional traffic knowledge extracting generic traffic flow features effectively and efficiently. Experiments are conducted by using real traffic flow data collected from the Caltrans Performance Measurement System (PEMS) database in San Diego and Oakland from June 15, 2017 to September 27, 2017. The results demonstrate that our method outperforms other traditional approaches in terms of mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), symmetric mean absolute percentage error (SMAPE) and root mean square error (RMSE).

A Trajectory-Oriented Carriageway-Based Road Network Data Model, Part 3: Implementation

This is the final of a three-part series of papers which mainly discusses the implementation issues of the CRNM. The first two papers in the series have introduced the modeling background and methodology, respectively. An overall architecture of the CRNM has been proposed in the last paper. On the basis of the above discusses, a linear reference method (LRM) for providing spatial references for location points of a trajectory is developed. A case study is introduced to illustrate the application of the CRNM for modeling a road network in the real world is given. A comprehensive conclusion is given for the series of papers.

Spatial Accessibility of Road Network in Wuhan Metropolitan Area Based on Spatial Syntax

Based on space syntax theory, the spatial accessibility of the road network in Wuhan Metropolitan Area has been quantitatively analyzed by building a series of accessibility variables. Topologic connectivity in the accessible rings appears to be broken;traffic axis network is in spatial structure of hub-and-spoke and fishbone-like. Meanwhile, the differences in classified road network have led to inefficiency of its network servo and its ever-worsening capability to respond to traffic jams. Besides, two band-like integrated cores of which one is east to west along the Yangtze River and the other is north to south along Beijing to Guangzhou Railway, have become the first level traffic axis in the whole network, which is responsible for the connectivity of the entire metropolitan area network. This consequently has strengthened the dominant position of Wuhan which is located on the bands’ crossing. In short, the spatial accessibility of that classified space morphology, the urban system, the transport infrastructure as well as the social and economic development of Wuhan Metropolitan Area are highly interrelated to each other, especially to the high level highway network featured by freeways, the development level of which is well in line with that of road network accessibility.

Spatial Structure,Hierarchy and Formation Mechanisms of Scientific Collaboration Networks:Evidence of the Belt and Road Regions

Scientific collaboration has become an important part of the people-to-people exchanges in the Belt and Road initiative,and remarkable progress has been made since 2013.Taking the 65 countries along the Belt and Road(BRI countries)as the research areas and using collaborated Web of Science(WOS)core collection papers to construct an international scientific collaboration matrix,the paper explores the spatial structure,hierarchy and formation mechanisms of scientific collaboration networks of 65 countries along the Belt and Road.The results show that:1)Beyond the Belt and Road regions(BRI regions),Central&Eastern Europe,China and West Asia&North Africa have formed a situation in which they all have the most external links with other countries beyond BRI regions.China has the dominant role over other BRI countries in generating scientific links.The overall spatial structure has changed to a skeleton structure consisting of many dense regions,such as Europe,North America,East Asia and Oceania.2)Within the Belt and Road regions,Central&Eastern Europe has become the largest collaboration partner with other sub-regions in BRI countries.The spatial structure of scientific collaboration networks has transformed from the‘dual core’composed of China and the Central&Eastern Europe region,to the‘multi-polarization’composed of‘one zone and multi-points’.3)The hierarchical structure of scientific collaboration networks presents a typical‘core-periphery’structure,and changes from‘single core’to‘double cores’.4)Among the formation mechanisms of scientific collaboration networks,scientific research strength and social proximity play the most important roles,while geographical distance gradually weakens the hindrance to scientific collaboration.

Landscape Network Approach to Assess Ecological Impacts of Road Projects on Biological Conservation

Awareness of the adverse ecological effects of road and other large construction projects has resulted in a rapidly growing demand to quantitatively predict and evaluate the effects on gene flow among plants and animals in natural habitats.In this study,we evaluated the effects of different road construction scenarios on animal species movement by using the methods of ecological landscape connectivity in the typical regions of Yunnan Province,China.The results showed landscape connectivity levels(Probability of Connectivity(PC))decreased after road construction and species with lower dispersal abilities were more affected to the subsequent habitat fragmentation.First level roads affected landscape connectivity most significantly.At a distance of 100 m,the PC index decreased more than 50%.Further analysis suggested that the use of landscape connectivity to assess landscape processes revealed the adverse effects on the species movement more effectively compared with the traditional landscape pattern analysis.In addition,we conducted a graph theory and a least-cost modeling discussion,it is obvious that they are powerful tools to represent and analyze landscape networks with respect to related species movement.Network analysis offers a quantitative and simple but effective tool for ecological process assessment and biological conservation on large scales.