摘要: |
Traffic congestion not just causes travel delays but also increases fuel consumption and
emissions production [1]. One of the major reasons for congestion in urban areas is traffic
accidents. Currently, traffic cameras and video surveillance are some of the ways used to monitor
the traffic [2]. However, these methods are capital demanding and do not provide real-time trip
information to the travelers. New technologies, such as vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) and vehicle
to vehicle (V2V) communication, may be able to greatly reduce congestion. This type of
communication allows real-time detection of congestion, which can result in immediate distribution
of traffic affected by the congestion and therefore result in a more efficient transportation network.
Advances in wireless communication technology, for instance, advanced 5G communication
networks will enable this interconnection and will allow users to make better decisions regarding
the use of the transportation system. In the foreseen transportation infrastructure, vehicles will
communicate with other vehicles, traffic control units, and traffic management centers, to make
more efficient trip decisions. All these technologies have paved a solid foundation for autonomous
driving, which has been identified as a national priority for future technologies with an expected
$488 billion in annual savings from reducing traffic accidents and another $158 billion in savings
due to reduced fuel costs [3].
This project aims to develop a simulation package for autonomous driving and route
redirection in a designated region using reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms. The developed
RL algorithms will determine the motion and routes of vehicles considering the shortest traveling
path, shortest traveling time, and traffic conditions to reduce traffic congestion. The research team will further
verify the algorithms using a hardware-in-the-loop testbed including scale-down tracks, car-like
rovers, and traffic signaling systems.
As more and more traffic-related data has been collected and deposited in the past decades,
the application of data-driven artificial intelligence to solve traffic congestion is one of the most
promising approaches for intelligent transportation systems. This project will advance two national
priority areas in research: artificial intelligence and autonomous driving. All outcomes of the
project will be shared with DOT and 3rd party stakeholders to benefit the community at large. The
proposed project will also seamlessly integrate the booming research on RL with educational
activities by training undergraduates with senior design and research experiences for the
undergraduate programs at UTSA, training graduate students with thesis and dissertation
projects, and high school students with a summer training program to prepare the future workforce
for intelligent transportation systems. |