The term intelligent transportation system refers to efforts to add information and communications technology to transport infrastructure and vehicles in an effort to manage factors that typically are at odds with each other, such as vehicles, loads, and routes to improve safety and reduce vehicle wear, transportation times and fuel consumption.

The term telematics is used in a number of ways:

• Broadly, it is the science of sending, receiving and storing information via telecommunication devices.
• More commonly, telematics have been applied specifically to the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology integrated with computers and mobile communications technology in automotive navigation systems.
• Most narrowly, the term has evolved to refer to the use of such systems within road vehicles (vehicle telematics).

Background

Interest in ITS comes from the problems caused by traffic congestion worldwide and a synergy of new information technologies for simulation, real-time control and communications networks. Traffic congestion has been increasing world-wide as a result of increased motorization, urbanization, population growth and changes in population density. Congestion reduces efficiency of transportation infrastructure and increases travel time, air pollution and fuel consumption.

The United States, for example, saw large increases in both motorization and urbanization starting in the 1920s that led to migration of the population from the sparsely populated rural areas and the densely packed urban areas into suburbs. The industrial economy replaced the agricultural economy leading the population to move from rural locations into urban centers. At the same time, motorization was causing cities to expand because motorized transportation could not support the population density that the existing mass transit systems could support. Suburbs provided a reasonable compromise between population density and access to a wide variety of employment, goods and services that were available in the more densely populated urban centers. Further, suburban infrastructure can be built quickly, supporting a rapid transition from a rural/agricultural economy to an industrial/urban economy.

Recent governmental activity in the area of ITS – specifically in the United States – is further motivated by the perceived need for homeland security. Many of the ITS systems proposed also involve surveillance of the roadways, which is a priority of homeland security.^[1] Funding of many systems comes either directly through homeland security organizations or comes with their approval. Further, ITS can play a role in the rapid mass evacuation of people in urban centers after mass casualty events or as a result of a natural disaster or threat. Much of the infrastructure and planning involved with ITS parallels that needed for homeland security.

In the developing world, the migration of people from rural to urbanized habitats has progressed differently. Many areas of the developing world have urbanized without significant motorization and the formation of suburbs. In areas like Santiago, Chile, a high population density is supported by a multimodal system of walking, bicycle transportation, motorcycles, buses and trains. A small portion of the population can afford automobiles, but the automobiles greatly increase the congestion in these multimodal transportation systems. They also produce a considerable amount of air pollution, pose a significant safety risk and exacerbate feelings of inequities in the society.

Other parts of the developing world such as China remain largely rural, but are rapidly urbanizing and industrializing. In these areas a motorized infrastructure is being developed alongside motorization of the population. Great disparity of wealth means that only a fraction of the population can motorize, and therefore the highly dense multimodal transportation system for the poor is cross-cut by the highly motorized transportation system for the rich. In these areas the urban infrastructure is being rapidly developed, providing an opportunity for building new systems incorporating ITS from the beginning.

Intelligent transportation technologies

Intelligent transportation systems vary in technologies applied, from basic management systems such as car navigation, traffic signal control systems, container management systems, variable message signs, automatic number plate recognition or speed cameras to monitoring applications such as security CCTV systems, and then to more advanced applications which integrate live data and feedback from a number of other sources, such as parking guidance and information systems, weather information, bridge de-icing systems, and the like. Additionally, predictive techniques are being developed, to allow advanced modeling and comparison with historical baseline data. Some of the constituent technologies typically implemented in ITS are described in the following sections.

Wireless communications

Various forms of wireless communications technologies have been proposed for intelligent transportation systems. Short-range communications (less than 500 yards) can be accomplished using IEEE 802.11 protocols, specifically WAVE or the Dedicated Short Range Communications standard being promoted by the Intelligent Transportation Society of America and the United States Department of Transportation. Theoretically the range of these protocols can be extended using Mobile ad-hoc networks or Mesh networking.

Longer range communications have been proposed using infrastructure networks such as WiMAX (IEEE 802.16), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) or 3G. Long-range communications using these methods are well established, but, unlike the short-range protocols, these methods require extensive and very expensive infrastructure deployment. There is lack of consensus as to what business model should support this infrastructure.

Computational technologies

Recent advances in vehicle electronics have led to a move toward fewer, more capable computer processors on a vehicle. A typical vehicle in the early 2000s would have between 20 and 100 individual networked microcontroller/Programmable logic controller modules with non-real-time operating systems. The current trend is toward fewer more costly microprocessor modules with hardware memory management and Real-Time Operating Systems. The new embedded system platforms allow for more sophisticated software applications to be implemented, including model-based process control, artificial intelligence and ubiquitous computing. Perhaps the most important of these for Intelligent Transportation Systems is artificial intelligence.

Floating car data/floating cellular data

Main article: Floating car data

Virtually every car contains one or more mobile phones. These mobile phones routinely transmit their location information to the network – even when no voice connection is established. These cellular phones in cars are used as anonymous traffic probes. As the car moves, so does the signal of the mobile phone. By measuring and analyzing triangulation network data – in an anonymized format – the data is converted into accurate traffic flow information. The more congestion, the more cars, the more phones and thus more probes. In metropolitan areas the distance between antennas is shorter and, thus, accuracy increases. No infrastructure need be built along the road – only the mobile phone network is leveraged. Floating car data technology provides great advantages over existing methods of traffic measurement:

• much less expensive than sensors or cameras
• more coverage: all locations and streets
• faster to set up (no work zones) and less maintenance
• works in all weather conditions, including heavy rain

Sensing technologies

State-of-the-art sensor technologies have greatly enhanced the technical capabilities and safety benefits awaiting Intelligent transportation systems around the world. Sensing systems for ITS can be either infrastructure based or vehicle based systems, or both – see, for example, Intelligent vehicle technologies. Infrastructure sensors are devices that are installed or embedded on the road, or surrounding the road (buildings, posts, and signs for example). These sensing technologies may be installed during preventive road construction maintenance or by sensor injection machinery for rapid deployment of road in-ground sensors. While vehicle sensors are those devices installed on the road – such as in automatic number plate recognition – or in the vehicle, new technology development has also enabled cellular phones to become anonymous traffic probes, such as floating car data.

Inductive loop detection

Inductive loops can be placed in a roadbed to detect vehicles as they pass over the loop by measuring the vehicle's magnetic field. The simplest detectors simply count the number of vehicles during a unit of time (typically 60 seconds in the United States) that pass over the loop, while more sophisticated sensors estimate the speed, length and weight of vehicles and the distance between them. Loops can be placed in a single lane or across multiple lanes, and they work with very slow or stopped vehicles as well as vehicles moving at high-speed.

Video vehicle detection

Traffic flow measurement and automatic incident detection using video cameras is another form of vehicle detection. Since video detection systems such as those used in automatic number plate recognition do not involve installing any components directly into the road surface or roadbed, this type of system is known as a "non-intrusive" method of traffic detection. Video from black-and-white or color cameras is fed into processors that analyze the changing characteristics of the video image as vehicles pass. The cameras are typically mounted on poles or structures above or adjacent to the roadway. Most video detection systems require some initial configuration to "teach" the processor the baseline background image. This usually involves inputting known measurements such as the distance between lane lines or the height of the camera above the roadway. A single video detection processor can detect traffic simultaneously from one to eight cameras, depending on the brand and model. The typical output from a video detection system is lane-by-lane vehicle speeds, counts and lane occupancy readings. Some systems provide additional outputs including gap, headway, stopped-vehicle detection and wrong-way vehicle alarms.

Intelligent transportation applications

Electronic toll collection

Electronic toll collection (ETC) makes it possible for vehicles to drive through toll gates at traffic speed, reducing congestion at toll plazas and automating toll collection. Originally ETC systems were used to automate toll collection, but more recent innovations have used ETC to enforce congestion pricing through cordon zones in city centers and ETC lanes.

Until recent years most ETC systems were based on using radio devices in vehicles that would use proprietary protocols to identify a vehicle as it passed under a gantry over the roadway. More recently there has been a move to standardize ETC protocols around the Dedicated Short Range Communications protocol that has been promoted for vehicle safety by the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, ERTICO and ITS Japan.

Whilst communication frequencies and standards do differ around the world there has been a broad push toward vehicle infrastructure integration around the 5.9 GHz frequency (802.11.x WAVE).

ITS Australia also facilitated via its National Electronic Tolling Committee representing all jurisdictions and toll road operators interoperability of toll tags in Australia for the multi lane free flow tolls roads.

Other systems that have been used include barcode stickers, license plate recognition, infrared communication systems and Radio Frequency Identification Tags (see M6 Toll tag).

Emergency vehicle notification systems

The in-vehicle eCall is an emergency call generated either manually by the vehicle occupants or automatically via activation of in-vehicle sensors after an accident. When activated, the in-vehicle eCall device will establish an emergency call carrying both voice and data directly to the nearest emergency point (normally the nearest 112 Public Safety Answering Point, PSAP). The voice call enables the vehicle occupant to communicate with the trained eCall operator. At the same time, a minimum set of data will be sent to the eCall operator receiving the voice call.

The minimum set of data contains information about the incident, including time, precise location, the direction the vehicle was travelling and vehicle identification. The pan-European eCall aims to be operative for all new type-approved vehicles as a standard option. Depending on the manufacturer of the eCall system, it could be mobile phone based (Bluetooth connection to an in-vehicle interface), an integrated eCall device, or a functionality of a broader system like navigation, Telematics device, tolling device. eCall is expected to be offered at the end of 2010, at the earliest, pending standardisation by the European Telecommunication Standardization Institute and commitment from large EU member states like France and the United Kingdom.

Cordon zones with congestion pricing

Cordon zones have been implemented in Singapore, Stockholm and London where a special fee is collected (see Congestion pricing) from vehicles entering a congested city center. This fee or toll is charged automatically using electronic toll collection or automatic number plate recognition, since stopping the users at conventional toll booths would cause long queues, long delays and even gridlock.

Co-operative systems on the road

Cooperation on road includes car-to-car, car-to-infrastructure, and vice versa. Data which is available at the vehicle is acquired and transmitted to a server for central fusion and processing. This data can be used to detect events such as rain (wiper activity) and congestion (frequent breaking activities). Cooperative systems will support the driver at his driving tasks. The system will be based on a wireless data transmission network. The server processes a driving recommendation dedicated to a single or a specific group of drivers and transmits it wireless and directly to the vehicle. The goal of cooperative systems is to utilise and plan communication and sensor infrastructure to increase road safety. The definition of cooperative systems in road traffic is according to the European Commission:^[2]

"Road operators, infrastructure, vehicles, their drivers and other road users will cooperate to deliver the most efficient, safe, secure and comfortable journey. The vehicle-vehicle and vehicle-infrastructure co-operative systems will contribute to these objectives beyond the improvements achievable with stand-alone systems."

See also

• Driverless car
• Intelligent speed adaptation
• Map database management
• National Transportation Communications for Intelligent Transportation System Protocol
• Telematics
• Traffic estimation and prediction system
• Traffic Message Channel
• Vehicular communication systems

References

External links

Societies

• ITS America - This is a public/private ITS policy setting group
• ITS Australia
• ITS Austria
• ITS Belgium
• ITS Brazil
• ITS Canada - National organization for groups and individuals interested in ITS
• ITS Chile
• ITS Denmark
• ITS France
• TTS Italia
• ITS Iran
• ITS Netherlands (Connekt)
• ITS Norway
• ITS South Africa
• ITS Spain
• ITS Sweden
• ITS Switzerland
• ITS Taiwan
• ITS UK
• ERTICO - ITS Europe
• Network of National ITS Associations
• IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Society

Government

• U.S. DOT's ITS website
• Australian ITS Source - 1 terabyte library website ITS research
• Japanese Government ITS Program
• ITS Program of Institute of Transportation, Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Republic of China (Taiwan)

News and information

• Telematics Update (news, analysis, events)
• Telematics Wire Industry News and Links
• Transportation Communications Newsletter
• ITS Report (aggregated ITS news from 1000s of sources worldwide)

Education

• University of Oklahoma ITS Lab
• Professor Jerry Schneider at the University of Washington - links to innovative transportation projects worldwide
• Cooperative traffic systems lab of Rutgers, Princeton, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology
• The Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute at the University of Minnesota
• Transportation Research Institute
• The UK ITS Registry, following the ISO 14871 approach
• TPEG Draft Specifications
• Master's Programme in Intelligent Transport Systems, Linköpings universitet
• Laboratory for Intelligent and Safe Automobiles, University of California, San Diego
• [1] Utah Traffic Laboratory, University of Utah

Related journals and magazines

• Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems
• International Journal of Sustainable Transportation
• IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems
• IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Society Newsletter
• Traffic Technology International
• ITS International
• Vial
• Book on Road User Charging and Electronic Tolling

The term telematics is used in a number of ways:

• The integrated use of telecommunications and informatics, also known as ICT (Information and Communications Technology). More specifically it is the science of sending, receiving and storing information via telecommunication devices.
• More commonly, telematics have been applied specifically to the use of Global Positioning System technology integrated with computers and mobile communications technology in automotive navigation systems.
• Most narrowly, the term has evolved to refer to the use of such systems within road vehicles, in which case the term vehicle telematics may be used.

Vehicle telematics

Vehicle telematics systems may be used for a number of purposes, including collecting road tolls, managing road usage (intelligent transportation systems), pricing auto insurance, tracking fleet vehicle locations (fleet telematics), cold store logistics, recovering stolen vehicles, providing automatic collision notification, location-driven driver information services — and more particularly, dedicated short range communications DSRC in-vehicle early warning (car accident prevention) notification alerts.

Vehicle telematics systems are also increasingly being used to provide remote diagnostics; a vehicle's built-in system will identify a mechanical or electronic problem, and the telematics package can automatically make this information known to the vehicle manufacturer service organization. The telematics monitored system is also capable of notifying any problems to the owner of the vehicle via e-mail. Other forthcoming applications include on-demand navigation, audio and audio-visual entertainment content.

While there are many potential applications for vehicle telematics, the main advantage for transportation safety advocates is that it will help reduce and ideally eliminate road injuries and road traffic related deaths worldwide [1] [2]

Etymology

The etymology of telematics, as determined by Automotive Telematics author and academic Dennis Foy, is from the Greek "tele" ('far away', especially in relation to the process of producing or recording) and ~Matos (a derivative of the Gk machinari, or contrivance, usually taken in this context to mean 'of its own accord') which combine in the term "telematics" to offer a means of describing the process of long-distance transmission of computer-based information.

Telematics — 1. The convergence of telecommunications and information processing, the term later evolved to refer to automation in automobiles, such as the invention of the emergency warning system for vehicles. GPS navigation, integrated hands-free cell phones, wireless safety communications and automatic driving assistance systems all are covered under the telematics umbrella. 2. The science of Telecommunications and Informatics applied in wireless technologies and computational systems. 802.11p, the IEEE standard in the 802.11 family and also referred to as Wireless Access for the Vehicular Environment (WAVE), is the primary standard that addresses and enhances Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) applications.

Practical applications of vehicle telematics

When used in a commercial environment vehicle telematics can potentially be a powerful and valuable tool to improve the efficiency of an organisation. Some practical applications of vehicle telematics include;

Vehicle tracking

Vehicle tracking is a way of monitoring the location, movements, status and behaviour of a vehicle or fleet of vehicles. This is achieved through a combination of a GPS(GNSS) receiver and an electronic device (usually comprising a GSM GPRS modem or SMS sender) installed in each vehicle, communicating with the user (dispatching, emergency or co-ordinating unit) and PC- or web-based software. The data are turned into information by management reporting tools in conjunction with a visual display on computerised mapping software. Advanced vehicle localisation system for public transport may employ odometry instead of GPS/GNSS.

Trailer tracking

Trailer tracking is the technology of tracking the movements and position of an articulated vehicle's trailer unit, through the use of a location unit fitted to the trailer and a method of returning the position data via mobile communication network or geostationary satellite communications, for use through either PC- or web-based software.

Cold store freight logistics

Cold store freight trailers that are used to deliver fresh or frozen foods are increasingly incorporating telematics to gather time-series data on the temperature inside the cargo container, both to trigger alarms and record an audit trail for business purposes. An increasingly sophisticated array of sensors, many incorporating RFID technology, are being used to ensure that temperature throughout the cargo remains within food-safety parameters.

Fleet management

Fleet management is the management of a company's vehicle fleet. Fleet management includes the management of ships and or motor vehicles such as cars, vans and trucks. Fleet (vehicle) Management can include a range of Fleet Management functions, such as vehicle financing, vehicle maintenance, vehicle telematics (tracking and diagnostics), driver management, fuel management and health & safety management. Fleet Management is a function which allows companies which rely on transportation in their business to remove or minimize the risks associated with vehicle investment, improving efficiency, productivity and reducing their overall transportation costs, providing 100% compliancy with government legislation and Duty of Care obligations. These functions can either be dealt with by and in-house Fleet Management department or an outsourced Fleet Management provider.

Satellite navigation

Satellite navigation in the context of vehicle telematics is the technology of using a GPS and electronic mapping tool to enable the driver of a vehicle to locate a position, then route plan and navigate a journey.

Mobile data and mobile television

Mobile data is use of wireless data communications using radio waves to send and receive real time computer data to, from and between devices used by field based personnel. These devices can be fitted solely for use while in the vehicle (Fixed Data Terminal) or for use in and out of the vehicle (Mobile Data Terminal). See mobile Internet.

Mobile data can be used to receive TV channels and programs, in a similar way to mobile phones, but using LCD TV devices.

Wireless vehicle safety communications

Wireless vehicle safety communications telematics aid in car safety and road safety. It is an electronic sub-system in a car or other vehicle for the purpose of exchanging safety information, about such things as road hazards and the locations and speeds of vehicles, over short range radio links. This may involve temporary ad hoc wireless local area networks.

Wireless units will be installed in vehicles and probably also in fixed locations such as near traffic signals and emergency call boxes along the road. Sensors in the cars and at the fixed locations, as well as possible connections to wider networks, will provide the information, which will be displayed to the drivers in some way. The range of the radio links can be extended by forwarding messages along multi-hop paths. Even without fixed units, information about fixed hazards can be maintained by moving vehicles by passing it backwards. It also seems possible for traffic lights, which one can expect to become smarter, to use this information to reduce the chance of collisions.

Farther in the future, it may connect directly to the adaptive cruise control or other vehicle control aids. Cars and trucks with the wireless system connected to their brakes may move in convoys, to save fuel and space on the roads. When any column member slows down, all those behind it will automatically slow also. There are also possibilities that need less engineering effort. A radio beacon could be connected to the brake light, for example.

Emergency warning system for vehicles

Telematics technologies are self-orientating open network architecture structure of variable programmable intelligent beacons developed for application in the development of intelligent vehicles — with target intent to accord (blend, or mesh) warning information with surrounding vehicles in the vicinity of travel, intra-vehicle, and infrastructure. Emergency warning system for vehicles telematics particularly developed for international harmonisation and standardisation of vehicle-to-vehicle — infrastructure-to-vehicle — and vehicle-to-infrastructure real-time Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) systems.

Telematics most commonly relate to computerised systems that update information at the same rate as they receive data, enabling them to direct or control a process such as an instantaneous autonomous warning notification in a remote machine or group of machines. By use of telematics as applied to intelligent vehicle technologies, instantaneous direction travel cognizance of a vehicle may be transmitted in real-time to surrounding vehicles traveling in the local area of vehicles equipped (with EWSV) to receive said warning signals of danger.

Main article: Emergency warning system for vehicles

Intelligent vehicle technologies

Telematics comprise electronic, electromechanical, and electromagnetic devices — usually silicon micromachined components operating in conjunction with computer controlled devices and radio transceivers to provide precision repeatability functions (such as in robotics artificial intelligence systems) emergency warning validation performance reconstruction.

Intelligent vehicle technologies commonly apply to car safety systems and self-contained autonomous electromechanical sensors generating warnings that can be transmitted within a specified targeted area of interest, say within 100 meters of the emergency warning system for vehicles transceiver. In ground applications, intelligent vehicle technologies are utilized for safety and commercial communications between vehicles or between a vehicle and a sensor along the road.

Main article: Intelligent vehicle technologies

Car clubs

Telematics technology has allowed car clubs to emerge, such as City Car Club in the UK. Telematics-enabled computers allow organisers to track members usage and bill them on a pay-as-you-drive basis.

Auto insurance

See also PAYD and Auto insurance risk selection

The basic idea of telematic auto insurance is that a driver's behavior is monitored directly while the person drives and this information is transmitted to an insurance company. The insurance company then assesses the risk of that driver having an accident and charges insurance premiums accordingly. A driver who drives long distance at high speed, for example, will be charged a higher rate than a driver who drives short distances at slower speeds.

Telematic auto insurance was independently invented and patented ^[1]by a major U.S. auto insurance company, Progressive Auto Insurance U.S. Patent 5,797,134  and a Spanish independent inventor, Salvador Minguijon Perez (European Patent EP0700009B1). The Progressive patents cover the use of a cell phone and GPS to track movements of a car. The Perez patents cover monitoring the car's engine control computer to determine distance driven, speed, time of day, braking force, etc. Ironically, Progressive is developing the Perez technology in the US and European auto insurer Norwich Union is developing the Progressive technology for Europe.

Trials conducted by Norwich Union in 2005 have found that young drivers (18 to 23 year olds) signing up for telematic auto insurance have had a 20% lower accident rate than average. [3]

Recent theoretical economic research on the social welfare effects of Progressive's telematics technology business process patents have questioned whether the business process patents are pareto efficient for society. Preliminary results suggest that it is not, but more work is needed. ^{[2] [3]}

References

• Matthew Wright, Editor, UK Telematics Online [4]
• IEEE Communications Magazine, April 2005, "Ad Hoc Peer-to-Peer Network Architecture for Vehicle Safety Communications"
• IEEE Communications Magazine, April 2005, "The Application-Based Clustering Concept and Requirements for Intervehicle Networks"
• Jerzy Mikulski, Editor, "Advances in Transport Systems Telematics". Monograph. Publisher Jacek Skalmierski Computer Studio. Katowice 2006. ISBN 83-917156-4-7
• World report on road traffic injury prevention. World Health Organization. [5]

See also

• Automotive navigation system
• Floating car data
• Intelligent transportation systems
• Intelligent vehicle technologies
• Map database management
• Mass surveillance
• Telematics for Libraries Program

External links

Telematics research

• Transportation Research Institute

Telematics news, information, tips and advice

• Telematics and Vehicle Tracking Forum
• UK Telematics Online
• Carmakers adding high-tech perks.
• Telematics Wire Industry News and Links

Telematics education

• University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute
• Telematic Connections: The Virtual Embrace (online exhibition)
• Faculty of Telematics, University of Colima, México.
• Department of Telematics, at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Conferences and Workshops

• World Congress on ITS
• Intelligent Transportation Systems Conference
• ITS in Europe
• Transport Systems Telematics
• Telematics Detroit
• 4th Annual Transport Conference, London