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GOOD ROUTE Project Video

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The Good Route DSS Simulator

The GoodRoute Simulator is a Windows application that simulates the DSS (Decision Support System) operation, through a clear, detailed and configurable user interface. It is used mainly for testing purposes within the development process of the DSS. The DSS module is integrated into the application. In its current form, the GoodRoute Simulator applies the DSS algorithms on the GIS data (road network and population distribution data), which it takes as an input, and provides the optimal route(s) as an output. That output is displayed on the screen and can be also stored in a file. The display of the network and population data, in addition to the proposed route(s) can be configured in several ways.

The GoodRoute Simulator can load a variety of GIS file formats, including ESRI shapefiles (SHP) and MapInfo files (MIF). The population distribution data should be stored in a specially formatted text file, in the form of a grid, as there is no standard file format for this kind of information.

The road network consists of nodes and links. Each link represents a road segment and lies between two nodes, its starting and ending node. So, as one can assume, a node is the point where two or more links meet. A link can comprise of a single straight line or a sequence of lines forming a curve. Every link has associated properties, e.g. its length, the time it takes for a vehicle to traverse it, etc. These properties can be time-dependent, that is varying through the day. The population distribution data can also be time-dependent. When time-dependent data exist, each day is segmented into a number of equally-sized time intervals. In that case, the time-dependent properties have different values for every time interval, allowing the user of the application to simulate the changing traffic conditions and population distribution throughout the day.

Displaying the GIS data

The user selects a network file and, optionally, a population grid file. The road network and the corresponding population grid are displayed on the screen. The display can be configured in several ways, e.g. showing or not the nodes, the links and the population grid, showing the links as lines or curves, showing or not the direction of each link etc. Different categories of links (roads) are displayed in different colours and line widths. The population distribution is displayed in the form of a grid.

Displaying the GIS data

When time-dependent data is present, the user can select which time interval (s)he wants to see, through a pop-down menu.

The view can be zoomed to any level of detail, and it can also be scrolled via the scrollbars or by using the middle mouse button or the mouse wheel.

The user can also select a node or a link, using the left or the right mouse button respectively. In that case a property palette appears, displaying information about the respective element. The user can also force the view to focus on a particular node or link by providing its ID.

GOOD ROUTE simulator-Displaying the GIS data ...

Calculating the route(s)

The user can provide the route manifest of a requested route (source and destination node, departure or arrival time, cargo parameters – weather conditions, vessel parameters, substance parameters, etc.) through a number of forms, or load it from a file. By doing so, (s)he defines a new transport, which is a group of not-yet-calculated routes. All members of the transport have exactly the same properties, except for a weighting factor that defines the level of participation of the economic and risk cost in the final combined cost which is calculated for each link of the network.

At this stage, the DSS is ready to calculate the optimum routes. By clicking on the Calculate Routes icon, the user instructs the application to initiate the calculation. The calculated routes are subsequently displayed on the screen. The user has the option to see a property sheet that displays details regarding the calculated the route.

GOOD ROUTE simulator-Calculating the route(s) ...

For the routes calculation the two parts of the DSS collaborate closely. First, the Risk Estimation Module calculates a risk-related cost associated with each link using the methodology of Quantitative Risk Analysis utilizing static (e.g. road network) and dynamic (population distribution, weather conditions, traffic conditions etc.) data. It then assigns the resulting time-dependent risk value to each link of the network. Then, the Route Calculation Module takes these values as input, and calculates the optimal route(s), using a time-dependent optimum-path algorithm.

The user can change the parameters of the two modules, through the Options menu item, thus favouring accuracy over speed or the reverse.

The GoodRoute Simulator application is a very useful tool, that enables the display of the GIS data and the visual representation of the DDS results, thus contributing to the error-free development of the latter. It is tailored to the needs of the DSS development process, being an essential part of it.

System Requirements

GOOD ROUTE DSS Demo is a stand-alone application and has the following system requirements:

The GOOD ROUTE DSS Demo is opened by double-clicking the “GoodRoute_Simulator.msi” file.

Please download the GOOD ROUTE DSS simulator demo and try it out yourself!

OBU Data Fusion role in GOOD ROUTE System

The role of the data fusion module inside the OBU is to serve as an interface between sensor data input and GOOD ROUTE control centre, roadside infrastructure and GOOD ROUTE portal. The internal Data Fusion module architecture is illustrated in the following figure; it is separated into three individual sub-modules that deal with:

  1. Enhanced Vehicle Localization using the output of the two GPS sensors (one from the navigation unit and one additional from the OBU) and fusing their info with the vehicle dynamics data, available in the CAN bus;
  2. Preventive Diagnosis and Risk Classification after systematic processing of the collected data in order to classify the risk of the following failures: engine start up, stop and go profile, waiting at traffic light 1 (acceleration), waiting at traffic light 2 (clutch) and speed profile in highway;

  3. Statistical Analysis of the data coming from the vehicle's sensors, including engine and fuel temperature, engine speed, status of the clutch and break switch etc.

All in all, the result of the relevant workpackage (WP3) is an OBU that is able to fuse all available information coming from the sensors, supports the DSS of WP2 and provides support to the dangerous goods driver. The GOOD ROUTE data fusion module is assigned with the sensors' data fusion task, so as to support the relevant GOOD ROUTE use cases.

OBU DF internal modules
OBU DF internal modules.

GOOD ROUTE OBU data fusion simulator

The GOOD ROUTE OBU data fusion simulator is a Matlab application that was built for simulating and testing purposes of the GOOD ROUTE OBU data fusion module. It has a clear, detailed and highly configurable user interface, and it is used mainly for testing purposes, within the development process of the OBU data fusion module. The data fusion module is integrated into the application, but will take the form of a stand-alone library during the integration stage of the project. In its current form, the GOOD ROUTE OBU data fusion module simulator applies the Enhanced vehicle localisation (ELV), the Preventive diagnosis and risk classification and the Statistical analysis as an output. That outputs can be displayed on the screen.

System Requirements

GoodRoute Demo is a stand-alone application and has the following system requirements:

The GOOD ROUTE On Board Unit Data Fusion demo is opened by double-clicking the "goodrout.exe" file.

Operation of the GOOD ROUTE Simulator

The main menu of the GOOD ROUTE data Fusion Simulator is depicted in the following figure. It encompasses an HMI which visualises the functionality of the Enhanced Vehicle Localisation module, while it also includes a link to both the Preventive Diagnosis and Risk Classification, and the Statistical Analysis Simulators.

GOOD ROUTE OBU Data Fusion Simulator main menu
GOOD ROUTE OBU Data Fusion Simulator main menu.

The detailed functionality as well as the way to use the simulator, are described in GOOD ROUTE Del. 3.2 "On board data fusion algorithm", as well as in the public version of the aforementioned deliverable, uploaded to the GOOD ROUTE website:
On board fusion algorithm

Please download the GOOD ROUTE simulator demo and try it out yourself!