PSU Magazine Spring 2002

the freeway, or when a warning sign tells you to use an alternate route because of an accident up ahead. But mostly it's invisible. Using technology to improve the nation's roads is essential when you take a look at the statistics of what's happened in the last 20 years. During that time, traffic nationally has increased 72 percent, but only 2 per– cent more lanes have been added for those vehicles to drive on. At the same time, there has been a 33 percent increase in the number of registered vehicles, according to Robert Bertini, civil engineering assistant professor and head of the ITS lab. US 26 - 11J01JOO - occupancy 2 4 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 Time(HOO"S) The loop detector stations-imbed, ded sensor stations-from Helvetia Road (1) to Skyline Road (11) show that eastbound traffic on Highway 26 is heaviest from 4 to 7 p.m. "We've undergone a hift in tran - portation from the glory days of designing the interstate highway sys– tem. We're no longer building our infrastructure. We're operating and managing it," he says. Some of the examples in which agencies are u ing technology to man– age transportation-and have been fo r years-include: • Global positioning systems (GPS)– satellite communications devices– installed on Portland-area Tri-Met buses so that central dispatch knows exactly where all buses are located at all times. • Video cameras positioned at about 60 locations throughout the metro– politan area, primarily on freeways. 16 PSU MAGAZINE SPRING 2002 These are used to monitor traffic flow, but are particularly useful in managing emergency re ponse to accidents. • "Inductive Loop Detectors," a fancy name for wires imbedded in the pavement to detect the presence and speed of passing vehicle . These detector tell traffic signals when to switch. They're also used to detect when a vehicle is waiting to get on the freeway, and to mea– sure how slow or fast traffic is flowing on that freeway. fall this sounds like Big Brother, Bertini encourages you to think about what life on the road would be like without it. Buses would not stay on schedule, ambu lances would be slower to arrive at an accident, chaos would abound at freeway entrance . If there is a flaw in the system as it now stands, it i that not enough is being done with the information col– lected. Take the inductive loop detec– tors, for example. Each of the 400 or so loops in the region registers three pieces of data every 20 seconds. That's more than 5 million bits of information a day. This mountain of data belongs to the Oregon Department of Transporta– tion (ODOT), "but they don't use it to its full capacity," Bertini says. Bertini is archiving the data and developing fascinating ways to unlock its potential. For examp le, he's putting together a mock transportation man– agement center in the ITS lab that uses color coding to show the speed at which traffic is moving through the main arteries. Ultimately, this could be a Web-based program that could be used by the public to plan alternate routes. Many cars are cu rrently equipped with navigation systems that will map out a travel route, but those routes don't show traffic jams, acci– dents, or road construction. The Web program cou ld interface with the car's own system, letting the driver know the most hassle-free route from home to work or visa versa. Bertini also is talking with Intel, ODOT, and others organizations to put together a demonstration project to improve the nation's "telematic" response sy tern. In this sy tem, cars can be linked to a service such as OnStar, which can detect if a car is in an accident. When a car's air bag is inflated, a cellular phone imbedded in the car automatica lly ca lls OnStar. The phone is wired into the car's stereo system through which an OnStar operator attempts to talk to the driver to ask if anyone is injured. The driver imply speaks, and the phone picks up his voice. But if there is no response, the operator uses GPS techno logy to accurately locate the car, then call the nearest 911 center for that location. The problem is, the data received by OnStar is limited. What Bertini proposes is a way to incorporate other data into the mix. For example, relay– ing how fast the car was going before it made impact, the amount of force against the shou lder harness, and the traffic conditions for that particular location. With this information, OnStar would be better able to a sess the severity of the accident and the best way to reach it. In all, four students are working in the lab on research funded by various agencies, utilizing a wealth of informa– tion fed from the area's under-pavement sensors and extensive fiber-optic net– work. Eventually, the lab will be relo– cated to the new engineering building on Fourth Avenue. The lab will be paid for in part from a generous gift by engi– neering firm CH2M Hill. The company employs more than 50 PSU graduates. "Transportation is the most signifi– cant issue facing economic develop– ment in the tate," wrote CH2M Hill representatives when the gift was announced. ntelligent Transportation i only one element in the University's Transportation Research Group, a multidisciplinary group involving about a dozen facu lty from civil engi– neering, business admini tration, and urban studies and planning. James Strathman, director for the Center for Urban Stud ies, says he and his students are working on a project involving sensors in the road that can detect whether a passing truck i ca rry– ing a legal amount of weight. Currently, the technology can notify a