Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Institute Annual Report, 1999/2000

Strege, Nancy · 2000 · ROSA P / University of Minnesota. Center for Transportation Studies

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Summary

The Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Institute Annual Report for 1999/2000 documents the research, education, and technology transfer activities of the University of Minnesota’s ITS Institute. Motivated by the critical need to address transportation safety and mobility in an increasingly congested and economically demanding environment, the Institute focuses on human-centered technology. Its mission is to enhance road- and transit-based transportation by merging advances in sensing, communications, computing, and control with human factors research. The Institute specifically targets issues related to rural environments, northern climates, and the integration of technology that adapts to human capabilities rather than forcing humans to adapt to technology. The Institute’s operations are supported by a $3.66 million annual budget, with 70% of expenditures allocated to research. The organizational structure includes a main campus in Minneapolis and a satellite office at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, facilitating research into non-metro and northern climate issues. Key facilities include the ITS Laboratory for testing traffic management strategies, the Human Factors Research Laboratory (HFRL) for studying driver behavior using simulators, and the Intelligent Vehicles (IV) Laboratory for developing driver-assistive systems. The Institute collaborates with the Minnesota Department of Transportation, private industry, and federal agencies to conduct field operational tests and simulation studies. Research findings and ongoing projects highlight several key areas. In human performance, HFRL researchers identified that the crucial temporal window for interactive collision avoidance is between two and five seconds of mutual viewing time; insufficient reaction time suggests a need for automated system takeover, while longer windows allow for recommended maneuvers. Studies on elderly drivers focus on spatial orientation and navigation, aiming to develop training procedures using landmarks to improve safety. In traffic management, researchers developed an adaptive procedure to estimate time-variant capacity in freeway weaving areas, finding that drivers tend to change lanes as early as possible under heavy traffic. Additionally, computer-aided testing of adaptive ramp control strategies on a 24-kilometer freeway segment demonstrated the utility of simulation in evaluating traffic management policies. The IV Laboratory conducted field tests integrating high-accuracy GPS, radar, and head-up displays to assist snowplow operators and improve driver-assistive technologies. The significance of this work lies in its comprehensive approach to solving complex transportation problems through interdisciplinary collaboration. By focusing on human-centered design, the Institute aims to create technologies that optimize human capabilities, thereby improving safety and mobility. The report underscores the Institute’s role in advancing U.S. transportation expertise through education and technology transfer, addressing both immediate operational challenges, such as congestion and crash prevention, and long-term policy issues related to telecommunications and community design. The findings provide a foundation for developing intelligent systems that are intuitive, safe, and effective in diverse environmental conditions.

Key finding

The Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute advanced its mission of improving transportation safety and mobility by conducting interdisciplinary research on human-centered technologies, including driver behavior analysis, traffic modeling, and the development of assistive vehicle systems.

Methodology

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• perceptual countermeasures

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• Applied Guidance: countermeasure evaluation
• Methodological Resource: dataset resource, tool software