ImFlow Adaptive Traffic Management System
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imflow is a policy-based traffic management system designed to optimize urban traffic flows using real-time adaptive algorithms. It aims to enhance the sustainability and efficiency of transportation in smart cities by prioritizing various traffic flows, reducing congestion, and improving safety for all road users. The system is flexible and scalable, applicable from single intersections to entire city networks, thus contributing to better traffic management and reduced environmental impact.
ImFlow Adaptive Traffic Management System
- 3. In control of your traffic flows. The smart and sustainable city ImFlow will change the way we manage traffic. Effective and environmentally transportation is the key to a city or region’s economy and environment, making it a better place to live and work. The city’s long-term strategy drives the policies, programs, design criteria, and projects that will further enhance the city or region’s mobility. Through this plan the city will make its transportation system more environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable. Transport planners and traffic engineers require tools to implement the policies defined in the plan and to keep the Intelligent Transport Systems up-to-date when demands or policies are changing. Trade-offs are needed to make optimal use of the available road infrastructure, traffic flows need to be identified and prioritised and decisions made about the amount of traffic allowed onto the network to reduce congestion during peak hours and to maximise the effectiveness of public transport. ImFlow is this tool for urban traffic management enabling the city's action plan to be effectively implemented. Policy based Urban Traffic Management ImFlow optimises traffic flows based on configured policies, making optimal use of the road infrastructure. The uniqueness of ImFlow is its real-time adaptive algorithm that automatically translates policy into optimal traffic flow. A set of policies represent a scenario. Within a scenario each policy is assigned a level of importance allowing the user to balance the importance of the traffic flows, priority vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists within the network. ImFlow supports multi- criteria optimisation at area, route and intersection levels and allows policies to be defined for each level. ImFlow is an Intelligent Transport System that can interact with a scenario manager or strategy supervisor by means of scenarios. Where applicable the strategy supervisor can change the level of importance of individual policies providing even finer control over the traffic flows. ImFlow is highly flexible and scalable providing one solution from a single intersection to a large city network. As such, ImFlow is the tool to coordinate the traffic lights in a smart and sustainable city.
- 4. ImFlow improves Flow, Safety & Environment ■ mFlow reduces traffic congestion by accurately matching signal controller I operation to prevailing traffic conditions. ■ mFlow improves specific routes by prioritising the traffic flows. I ■ mFlow reduces the waiting time for pedestrians and cyclists. I ■ mFlow improves public transport by minimising the delay and stops and I assists in the adherence to schedule (i.e. uniform arrival at passenger stops). ■ mFlow can inform pedestrians and cyclists about the remaining waiting I time, reducing red light negation. ■ mFlow can give conditional priority to vehicles equipped with co-operative I technology, promoting schemes like eco-driving for heavy trucks. ■ mFlow reduces traffic accidents resulting from impatient driving by I making traffic flows smoother. ■ mFlow provides emergency vehicles with a quick and safe passage I through the network providing absolute priority where applicable. ■ mFlow saves energy by making traffic flows smoother, minimising stops I and reducing travel time to destinations, thus allowing savings on fuel. ■ mFlow reduces traffic pollution (noise and emissions) by reducing the I number of times vehicles have to stop. ■ y moving unavoidable congestion to another part of the road network B ImFlow can influence and optimise the location and the severity of traffic pollution. By spreading the pollution ImFlow reduces the effect of traffic pollution on the urban environment. From policy to flow ImFlow offers a unique programming concept based on policies and constraints. The policies and constraints can be directly entered into the ImFlow system and are used by the ImFlow adaptive algorithm to optimise the signal timings in real-time. The policies and constraints are easily understandable by traffic engineers who need to setup and maintain an ImFlow system where policies represent the optimisation objectives and the constraints are rules that must be obeyed in order for the system to function safely. For example, by defining a policy for a route a traffic engineer can make the traffic on the route more important than other traffic flows. Based on this setting ImFlow will minimise stops and delays on the route to implement the policy. ImFlow tracks all priority vehicles on the network and predicts their arrival and departure at signalised intersections and Public Transport stops. A priority vehicle receives conditional priority based on the configured policies and the current status of the vehicle.
- 5. ImFlow Technical Specification The table gives a summary of the ImFlow functions and capabilities. Modes of operation ■ Real-time adaptive control. ■ System Activated Plan Selection (SAPS). ■ Fixed time control. ■ Local control. Configuration and ■ The ImFlow configurator is fully integrated with a micro simulation environment to enable the testing traffic engineer to effectively configure and test an ImFlow system. Multi criteria ■ Vehicles. optimisation ■ Pedestrians and cyclists. ■ Public Transport vehicles. ■ Priority vehicles (e.g. Eco driving trucks, emergency vehicles). Multi-level ■ The ‘network optimiser’ optimises the signal timings based on the provided policies and within the optimisation configured constraints. The ‘intersection optimiser’ further optimises individual controller timings using logic rules. Public Transport ■ User policies and performance indicators used to manage a PT-route. (PT) priority ■ Modelling of the behaviour of PT-vehicles on PT-routes. ■ Prediction of the arrival/departure at signalized intersections and passenger stops. ■ Extensive recording of the journey of PT-vehicles. ■ lexible detection concept (e.g. traffic light controller inputs, centre-to-centre interface). F Hurry calls ■ Absolute priority for emergency vehicles. ■ VIP routes. User interface ■ Multilingual web based user interface. Communication ■ ImFlow is fully based on internet technology. ■ Support for both wired and wireless IP networks. Imtech/Peek believes its products have to contribute to a liveable and sustainable society. Imflow ensures better traffic flow and less fuel consumption and fits within our policy for corporate social responsibility.
- 6. Imtech Traffic Infra - Head Office Basicweg 16 NL-3821 BR Amersfoort P.O. Box 2542 NL-3800 GB Amersfoort The Netherlands Tel. +31 33 454 17 77 Fax +31 33 454 17 40 www.imtech.eu/traffic-infra The total solution provider www.imtech.eu/traffic-infra