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AERIS : Eco-Vehicle Speed Control at Signalized Intersections Using I2V Communication
Rakha, Hesham A.; Kamalanathsharma, Raj Kishore; Ahn, Kyoungho (United States. Joint Program Office for Intelligent Transportation Systems, 2012-06)
This report concentrates on a velocity advisory tool, or decision support system, for vehicles approaching an intersection using communication capabilities between the infrastructure and vehicles. The system uses available signal change information, vehicle characteristics, lead vehicle characteristics, and intersection features to compute the fuel-optimal vehicle trajectory. The proposed system involves a complex optimization logic incorporating roadway characteristics, lead vehicle information, vehicle acceleration capabilities and microscopic fuel consumption models to generate a fuel-optimal speed profile. The research also develops a MATLAB application in order to demonstrate the potential of an in-vehicle application of such a technology.
AERIS: Eco-driving Application Development and Testing
Rakha, Hesham A.; Ahn, Kyoungho; Park, Sangjun (United States. Department of Transportation. Research and Innovative Technology Administration, 2012-06)
This exploratory study investigates the potential of developing an Eco-Driving application that utilizes an eco-cruise control (ECC) system within state-of-the-art car-following models. The research focuses on integrating predictive cruise control and optimal vehicle acceleration and deceleration controllers within car-following models to minimize vehicle fuel consumption levels. This system makes use of topographic information, spacing to lead vehicle, and a desired (or target) vehicle speed and distance headway as input variables.
Agent-Based Game Theory Modeling for Driverless Vehicles at Intersections
Rakha, Hesham A.; Zohdy, Ismail H.; Kamalanathsharma, Raj Kishore (United States. Department of Transportation, 2013-02-19)
This report presents three research efforts that were published in various journals. The first research effort presents a reactive-driving agent based algorithm for modeling driver left turn gap acceptance behavior at signalized intersections. This model considers the interaction between driver characteristics and vehicle physical capabilities. The model explicitly captures the vehicle constraints on driving behavior using a vehicle dynamics model. In addition, the model uses the driver's input and the psychological deliberation in accepting/rejecting a gap. The model is developed using a total of 301 accepted gaps and subsequently validated using 2,429 rejected gaps at the same site and also validated using 1,485 gap decisions (323 accepted and 1,162 rejected) at another site. The proposed model is considered as a mix between traditional and reactive methods for decision making and consists of three main components: input, data processing and output. The input component uses sensing information, vehicle and driver characteristics to process the data and estimate the critical gap value. Thereafter, the agent decides to either accept or reject the offered gap by comparing to a driver-specific critical gap (the offered gap should be greater than the critical gap for it to be accepted). The results demonstrate that the agent-based model is superior to the standard logistic regression model because it produces consistent performance for accepted and rejected gaps (correct predictions in 90% of the observations) and the model is easily transferable to different sites. The proposed modeling framework can be generalized to capture different vehicle types, roadway configurations, traffic movements, intersection characteristics, and weather effects on driver gap acceptance behavior. The findings of this research effort is considered as an essential stage for modeling autonomous/driverless vehicles The second effort develops a heuristic optimization algorithm for automated vehicles (equipped with cooperative adaptive cruise control CACC systems) at uncontrolled intersections using a game theory framework. The proposed system models the automated vehicles as reactive agents interacting and collaborating with the intersection controller (manager agent) to minimize the total delay. The system is evaluated using a case study considering two different intersection control scenarios: a four-way stop control and the proposed intersection controller framework. In both scenarios, four automated vehicles (a single vehicle per approach) were simulated using a Monte Carlo simulation that was repeated 1000 times. The results show that the proposed system reduces the total delay relative to a traditional stop control by 35 seconds on average, which corresponds to an approximately 70 percent reduction in the total delay. The third effort presents a new tool for optimizing the movements of autonomous/driverless vehicles through intersections: iCACC. The main concept of the proposed tool is to control vehicle trajectories using Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) systems to avoid collisions and minimize intersection delay. Simulations were executed to compare conventional signal control with iCACC considering two measures of effectiveness - delay and fuel consumption. Savings in delay and fuel consumption in the range of 91 and 82 percent relative to conventional signal control were demonstrated, respectively. It is anticipated that the findings of this report may contribute in the future of advanced vehicles control and connected vehicles applications.
Assessment of a Drowsy Driver Warning System for Heavy Vehicle Drivers: Final Report
Olson, Rebecca Lynn; Morgan, Justin F.; Hanowski, Richard J.; Daily, Brian; Zimmermann, Richard P.; Blanco, Myra; Bocanegra, Joseph L.; Fitch, Gregory M.; Flintsch, Alejandra Medina (United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2008)
Drowsiness has a globally negative impact on performance, slowing reaction time, decreasing situational awareness, and impairing judgment. A field operational test of an early prototype Drowsy Driver Warning System was conducted as a result of 12 years of field and laboratory studies by the National Highway Traffic Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. This project included Control and Test groups. The final data set for the analysis consisted of 102 drivers from 3 for-hire trucking fleets using 46 instrumented trucks. Fifty-seven drivers were line-haul and 45 were long-haul operators. The data set contained nearly 12.4 terabytes of truck instrumentation data, kinematic data, and video recordings for 2.4 million miles of driving and 48,000 driving-data hours recorded, resulting in the largest data set ever collected by the U.S. Department of Transportation. In this study, 53 research questions were addressed related to safety benefits, acceptance, and deployment. Novel data reduction procedures and data analyses were used. Results showed that drivers in the Test Group were less drowsy. Drivers with favoring opinions of the system tended to have an increase in safety benefits. Results of the assessment revealed that the early prototype device had an overall positive impact on driver safety.
Calibration of Steady-state Car-following Models using Macroscopic Loop Detector Data
Rakha, Hesham A.; Gao, Yu (Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, 2010-05)
The paper develops procedures for calibrating the steady-state component of various car following models using macroscopic loop detector data. The calibration procedures are developed for a number of commercially available microscopic traffic simulation software, including: CORSIM, AIMSUN2, VISSIM, Paramics, and INTEGRATION. The procedures are then applied to a sample dataset for illustration purposes. The paper then compares the various steady-state car-following formulations and concludes that the Gipps and Van Aerde steady-state car following models provide the highest level of flexibility in capturing different driver and roadway characteristics. However, the Van Aerde model, unlike the Gipps model, is a single-regime model and thus is easier to calibrate given that it does not require the segmentation of data into two regimes. The paper finally proposes that the car-following parameters within traffic simulation software be link-specific as opposed to the current practice of coding network-wide parameters. The use of link-specific parameters will offer the opportunity to capture unique roadway characteristics and reflect roadway capacity differences across different roadways.
Case study evaluation of the Virginia Department of Transportation's I-81 ITS program
Baker, Stephanie Ann (United States. Federal Highway Administration, 2002-03-15)
The primary goal of this report is to provide information to the Sponsors, Policy Committee, and Management of the I-81 ITS Program that may improve the Program. In order to do this, the report focuses on the development of the Program and the lessons learned. Through lessons learned, recommendations are made about how the Program can be improved. The evaluation covers the period from November 1999 through September 2001. The period of performance for the conduct and writing of the evaluation was September 2001 through March 2002. There are three sections to this report. The first is a background description of the I-81 ITS Program, including a discussion of other ITS projects that may have influenced the Program. The second is an analysis of steps taken to develop the Program, and the third is a list of barriers the Program is facing and recommendations for how to overcome these challenges and improve the Program.
Contributing Factors to Run-off-road Crashes and Near-crashes
McLaughlin, Shane B.; Hankey, Jonathan M.; Klauer, Charlie; Dingus, Thomas A. (United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2009-01)
The purpose of this investigation is to identify factors associated with run-off-road (ROR) crashes. Events from the 100-Car Naturalistic Driving Study that constituted ROR crash or near-crash events were investigated to identify conditions in which the events occurred and contributing factors. ROR events occur more frequently per mile in low-visibility (including darkness) and low-friction conditions than in clear and dry conditions. Approximately half of the events (56%) occurred on straight roadways, with the remainder occurring in curves (30%) and intersection turns (14%). The most frequently identified contributing factor among the ROR events was distraction. Changes in roadway boundaries (e.g., discontinuities) also appear to be a common factor. Short following distances appear to be more commonly a factor than lead-vehicle braking. Other factors include fatigue/impairment, low friction, vehicle encroaching on the subject vehicle, low-speed maneuvering errors, and late route selection.
Data Mining and Gap Analysis for Weather Responsive Traffic Management Program
Krechmer, Daniel; Rakha, Hesham A.; Howard, Mark; Huang, Weimin; Zohdy, Ismail H.; Du, Jianhe (United States. Federal Highway Administration, 2010)
Weather causes a variety of impacts on the transportation system. An Oak Ridge National Laboratory study estimated the delay experienced by American drivers due to snow, ice, and fog in 1999 at 46 million hours. While severe winter storms, hurricanes, or flooding can result in major stoppages or evacuations of transportation systems and cost millions of dollars, the day-to-day weather events such as rain, fog, snow, and freezing rain can have a serious impact on the mobility and safety of the transportation system users. Despite the documented impacts of adverse weather on transportation, the linkages between inclement weather conditions and traffic flow in existing analysis tools remain tenuous. This is primarily a result of limitations on the data used in research activities. The overall goal of this research was to identify gaps in the data necessary to develop weather responsive traffic management studies. Activities conducted to achieve this included 1) A comprehensive search and documentation of traffic and weather data in the United States and abroad that could be used for WRTM; 2) surveys, phone calls and site visits with organizations that have suitable traffic data on inclement weather; 3) identification of critical gaps in regards to the collection and processing of traffic data on inclement weather conditions; and 4) recommendation of strategies for gathering and processing data that will be used in WRTM studies. The study found that there are a number of useful research efforts underway both domestically and internationally that are yielding useful data for WRTM analysis. In some cases the scopes are limited and confidentiality issues were found in a number of European studies. There is increasing availability of quality traffic and weather data being generated by transportation and public/private weather information sources in the U.S. The analysis conducted for this project found that this data can be helpful in identifying adverse weather impacts on speed and lane usage. The report recommends that FHWA work closely with agencies as they expand their RWIS to assure that weather data is of adequate quality for WRTM analysis. FHWA also should continue to fund specific research and evaluation activities in conjunction with the Integrated Corridor Management Program or other WRTM initiatives.
Development of a Performance Specification for Camera/Video Imaging Systems on Heavy Vehicles
Wierwille, Walter W.; Schaudt, William A.; Spaulding, Jeremy M.; Gupta, Santosh K.; Fitch, Gregory M.; Wiegand, Douglas M.; Hanowski, Richard J. (United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2008-07)
This document provides revised final performance specifications for Camera/Video Imaging Systems (C/VISs) used in heavy vehicles. The specifications are based on a combination of analyses including driver needs and human factors, current and future video technology, systems analyses, focus groups, preliminary tests, and formal on-road tests. In these specifications C/VISs are divided into two categories: surrogates, which take the place of the essential side mirrors, and enhancements, which are all other applications. The specifications are written in three parts: an introductory section defining terms and stating general requirements, a section providing detailed specifications for two surrogate configuration concepts and nine enhancement concepts, and a section providing additional common detailed specifications. The specifications are intended to serve as a culmination of best approaches and practices for development of viable C/VISs. It is expected that if the specifications are followed, they will result in feasible and reasonably uniform implementation, thereby making the heavy vehicle driver's task more efficient. For background information and research justification of the specifications, the reader is referred to the companion final report, Development of a Performance Specification for Camera/Video Imaging Systems on Heavy Vehicles, DOT HS 810 960 (Wierwille, Schaudt, Spaulding, Gupta, Fitch, Wiegand, & Hanowski, 2007).
Development of Hazardous Materials (HM) Shipper Prioritization Program: Technical Brief
Marinik, Andrew; Schaudt, William A.; Daily, Brian; Bowman, Darrell Scott; Hanowski, Richard J. (Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, 2009-02)
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) developed the Hazardous Materials Package Inspection Program (HMPIP) to focus on inspecting individual shipments at the roadside or on carriers’ docks. One output of this program is a resulting dataset that can be used to develop a performance-based prioritization of HM shippers for inspection. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) was tasked to review, document, and recommend improvements to the HM Shipper Prioritization Program. As part of that effort, VTTI developed software titled the HM Shipper Prioritization Application (HMSPA) that was beta tested in a sample of states with existing shipper programs. The purpose of this report is to provide documentation on the development process and the final HMSPA design that was completed by VTTI.
Development of Human Factors Guidelines for Advanced Traveler Information Systems and Commercial Vehicle Operations: ATIS Function Transitions
Campbell, J. L.; Hanowski, Richard J.; Hooey, B. L.; Gore, B. F.; Kantowitz, Barry H. (United States. Federal Highway Administration, 1999-12)
The objective of the first experiment reported below was to measure the cognitive demands associated with transitioning across Advanced Traveler Information System (ATIS) functions. This required the development of both objective and subjective indices of driver behavior and cognition. To accomplish this, a small number of pre-drive trip scenarios that invoke appropriate transitions across ATIS functions were developed. Driving performance under more representative conditions was investigated in experiment 2 using a driving simulator. This study investigated several issues on the influence of an ATIS on driving behavior. The questions asked were: 1. How does a moving map display of the current vehicle location influence driving performance? 2. How do ATIS control inputs influence driving performance? Should they be allocated to pre-drive? Is it too much to expect the driver to do while in transit? 3. Do ATIS messages affect drivers' reactions to roadway events? 4. Does message potency affect drivers' reactions to roadway events? Overall, the two experiments reported here suggest that in-vehicle ATIS devices can be learned, understood, and successfully used by drivers for both pre-drive trip planning tasks and on-road driving conditions. ATIS devices have the potential to improve driver compliance to regulatory information, as compared with standard roadside signs. While concurrent visual and auditory ATIS alert messages may be beneficial, the visual ATIS messages alone are significantly better than roadside signage alone. While cognitive demands associated with ATIS transitions and ATIS complexity should continue to be a concern, these demands can be addressed by selecting ATIS functions with clear benefits to the driving task.
Development of Human Factors Guidelines for Advanced Traveler Information Systems and Commercial Vehicle Operations: Display Channels
Kantowitz, Barry H.; Hanowski, Richard J.; Garness, Sheila A. (United States. Federal Highway Administration, 1999-12)
Three experiments were conducted in a driving simulator to evaluate effects of in-vehicle message modality and message format on comprehension and memory for younger and older drivers. Visual icons and text messages were effective in terms of high comprehension and high memory retention over a 50-sec delay period for both older and younger drivers. Auditory icons (earcons) were unsuitable for older drivers, although younger drivers performed well using symbolic and speech in-vehicle messages. For visual only, auditory only, and auditory plus visual messages both textual and symbolic message formats were equally effective. No adverse effects of in-vehicle message presentation were found for lateral and longitudinal vehicle control. Implications of these findings for development of ATIS guidelines were discussed.
Development of Human Factors Guidelines for Advanced Traveler Information Systems and Commercial Vehicle Operations: Literature Review
Dingus, Thomas A.; Hulse, Melissa C.; Jahns, Steven K.; Alves-Foss, J.; Confer, S.; Rice, A.; Roberts, I.; Hanowski, Richard J.; Sorenson, D. (United States. Federal Highway Administration, 1996-11)
The purpose of Task A was to conduct a literature review of human factors-applicable articles associated with Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) and ATIS-related commercial vehicle operations (CVO) systems. Specifically, Task A was to assess existing human factors guidelines to determine their applicability to ATIS systems and identify research gaps that would be filled to establish complete and comprehensive ATIS guidelines. As with any literature review, the conduct of Task A was treated as a foundation for subsequent tasks. The duration of Task A (3 months) was such that some of the literature of interest could not be obtained prior to publication of this document. Thus, the literature review does not, in effect, end with this report.
Development of Human Factors Guidelines for ATIS and CVO Identify Strengths and Weaknesses of Alternative Information Display Formats
Hulse, Melissa C.; Dingus, Thomas A.; Mollenhauer, Michael A.; Liu, Y. C.; Jahns, Steven K.; Brown, T.; McKinney, B. (United States. Federal Highway Administration, 1993-10)
This report is one of a series produced as part of a contract designed to develop precise, detailed, human factors design guidelines for Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) and Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO). The goals of the work covered in this report were to: (1) identify information format alternatives for ATIS devices for both private drivers and CVO applications, and (2) identify research issues that must be addressed in order to develop effective information format guidelines. To achieve these goals, and to make the greatest progress possible toward the ultimate project goal of guideline development, the project developed the strategy of turning the current state of knowledge into tools applicable to any ATIS design. Four primary design-decision tools were developed. These tools are intended to help either professional or nonprofessional human factors designers make appropriate tradeoff decisions in designing effective ATIS displays. The four tools are: (1) Sensory Modality Allocation, (2) Trip Status Allocation, (3) Display Format Allocation, and (4) Display Location.
Draft Final Report: Development of Hazardous Materials (HM) Shipper Prioritization Program
Schaudt, William A.; Bowman, Darrell Scott; Marinik, Andrew; Baker, Stephanie Ann; Trimble, Tammy E.; Hanowski, Richard J. (Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, 2009-02-28)
In the mid-1990s, an attempt was made to develop a performance-based prioritization for Hazardous Materials (HM) shippers. During this attempt it became apparent that there was insufficient performance data to develop such a system. In response, FMCSA developed the HM Package Inspection Program (HMPIP) to focus on inspecting individual shipments of HM at the roadside or on carriers’ docks. Due to the improvements made over the years to the package inspection data collected during HMPIP inspections, HM incident data, and improved departmental data identifying companies involved in shipping HM, FMCSA has begun a second effort to develop a performance-based prioritization of HM shippers. The purpose of the current project was for the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) to review, document, and recommend improvements to FMCSA’s HM Shipper Prioritization Program. This project consisted of six major tasks, all of which were successfully executed by VTTI. After the kick-off meeting and the successful completion of a detailed work plan, a peer review committee was formed. Members of the peer review committee were to participate in two peer review meetings during the course of the project. The purpose of the first peer review meeting was to have the study methodology and data collection techniques reviewed by the committee. The purpose of the second peer review meeting was to review the study findings and conclusions. Another major step in this project was to review and examine the current Hazardous Materials (HM) Shipper Prioritization Program, which included two distinct prioritization algorithms, and to develop software titled the HM Shipper Prioritization Application (HMSPA). HMSPA was then beta tested in states with existing shipper programs. The focus of these onsite tests was usability testing with potential end users. Both subjective and objective data were collected by way of questionnaires and performance tasks. All results were very positive indicating that the beta version, with minor modifications based on user recommendations, should move forward into a fully functioning application for FMCSA.
Driver Detention Times in Commercial Motor Vehicle Operations
Dunn, Naomi J.; Hickman, Jeffrey S.; Soccolich, Susan A.; Hanowski, Richard J. (United States. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Office of Analysis, Research, and Technology, 2014-12)
The purpose of this project was to quantitatively identify detention times in the commercial motor vehicle (CMV) industry. Although there is currently no standard definition, the industry commonly defines detention time as “any time drivers have to wait beyond 2 hours, which is the average time it takes to load or unload their cargo." Results indicated that drivers experienced detention time on approximately 1 in every 10 stops for an average duration of 1.4 hours. This represents the length of time the driver was detained beyond 2 hours; thus, he/she was loading/unloading at that delivery location for 3.4 hours in total. Medium-sized carriers (51-500 power units) had similar average detention times as large carriers (more than 500 power units); however, they experienced driver detention about twice as often as large carriers. For example, 19 percent of stops made by medium-sized carriers were accompanied by detention time compared to 9 percent of stops made by large carriers. The calculation of odds ratios (ORs) provided similar results for medium-sized carriers when compared to large carriers. The odds of a driver being detained were 2.17 times greater for medium-sized carriers than for large carriers. Operation type did not have much impact on the average length of detention time; however, operation type influenced how frequently drivers experienced detention time, with for-hire truck load (TL) carriers experiencing detention time more than twice as frequently as for-hire less-than-truckload (LTL) carriers and four times more often than private carriers. The OR analysis also indicated that for-hire TL carriers were worse off than for-hire LTL or private carriers. The odds of a driver being detained were nearly 5 times greater for for-hire TL carriers than for private carriers and 2.6 times greater than for for-hire LTL carriers. The odds of a driver being detained were 6.3 and 1.9 times greater for temperature controlled freight carriers than for dry bulk carriers, and liquid bulk/tank freight carriers, respectively.
The Drowsy Driver Warning System Field Operational Test: Data Collection Methods: Final Report
Hanowski, Richard J.; Blanco, Myra; Nakata, Akiko; Hickman, Jeffrey S.; Schaudt, William A.; Fumero, Maria C.; Olson, Rebecca Lynn; Jermeland, Julie; Greening, Michael; Holbrook, G. Thomas; Knipling, Ronald R.; Madison, Phillip (United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2008-09)
A Drowsy Driver Warning System (DDWS) detects physiological and/or performance indications of driver drowsiness and provides feedback to drivers regarding their state. The primary function of a DDWS is to provide information that will alert drivers to their drowsy state and motivate them to seek rest or take other corrective steps to increase alertness. The system tested in this study was the Driver Fatigue Monitor (DFM) developed by Attention Technologies, Inc., which estimates PERCLOS (percent eye closure). The primary goal of this field operational test (FOT) was to determine the safety benefits and operational capabilities, limitations, and characteristics of the DFM. The FOT was conducted in a naturalistic driving environment and data were collected from actual truck drivers driving commercial trucks. During the course of the study, 46 trucks were instrumented with a Data Acquisition System (DAS). Over 100 data variables such as the PERCLOS output from the DFM and driving performance data (e.g., lane position, speed, and longitudinal acceleration) were collected. Other collected measures included video, actigraphy, and questionnaires. The FOT had 103 drivers participate. Drivers were randomly assigned to either control (24 drivers) or experimental groups (79 drivers). The data collected include the following: approximately 46,000 driving-data hours; 397 load history files from 103 drivers; approximately 195,000 hours of activity/sleep data; questionnaires from all drivers; fleet management surveys from each company; and focus group results collected from 14 drivers during two post-study focus group sessions. The focus of this report is the description of the data collection procedures.
Empirical Studies on Traffic Flow in Inclement Weather
Hranac, Robert; Sterzin, Emily; Krechmer, Daniel; Rakha, Hesham A.; Farzaneh, Mohamadreza (United States. Federal Highway Administration, 2006-10)
Weather causes a variety of impacts on the transportation system. While severe winter storms, hurricanes, or flooding can result in major stoppages or evacuations of transportation systems and cost millions of dollars, day-to-day weather events such as rain, fog, snow, and freezing rain can have a serious impact on the mobility and safety of the transportation system users. These weather events can result in increased fuel consumption, delay, number of accidents, and significantly impact the performance of the transportation system. The overall goal of the research work undertaken in this study was to develop a better understanding of the impacts of weather on traffic flow. The research was intended to accomplish the following specific objectives: (1)Study the impact of precipitation on macroscopic traffic flow parameters over a full range of traffic states; 2) Study the impact of precipitation on macroscopic traffic flow parameters using consistent, continuous weather variables; 3) Study the impact of precipitation on macroscopic traffic flow parameters on a wide range of facilities; 4) Study regional differences in reaction to precipitation; and 5) Study macroscopic impacts of reduced visibility. The work documented in this report was conducted in two parts: 1) literature review and development of a data collection and analysis plan, and 2) analysis and interpretation of the results. The recommended plan combined the use of macroscopic traffic data archives with archived weather data in order to meet the research goals that include achieving better understanding of the impacts of weather on macroscopic traffic flow. The results of the research conducted for this study were helpful in identifying weather impacts of traffic flow in the three cities studied, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Baltimore and Seattle. No impacts were found on traffic stream jam density, but both rain and snow did impact traffic free-flow speed, speed-at-capacity and capacity and parameters varied with precipitation intensity. The results of these analyses are documented in the report. This report concludes with some recommendations of future research related to weather and traffic flow. Several ideas are presented including enhancing the macroscopic analysis used in this study. Additional work is proposed related to human factors and microscopic traffic modeling.
Enhanced Camera/Video Imaging Systems (E-C/VISs) for Heavy Vehicles
Wierwille, Walter W.; Bowman, Darrell Scott; Alden, Andrew S.; Gibbons, Ronald B.; Hanowski, Richard J.; Blanco, Myra; Leeson, B.; Hickman, Jeffrey S. (United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2011-06)
Tests were performed to determine the feasibility of developing an Enhanced Camera/Video Imaging System (Enhanced C/VIS or E-C/VIS) to provide heavy-vehicle drivers with better situation awareness to the sides and rear of their vehicles. It is well known that large blind spots currently exist in these areas and that sideswipe crashes can occur as a result. An additional goal was to extend the operating envelope of conventional video to nighttime and to inclement weather. A three-channel system was envisioned in which there would be a camera at each (front) fender of the tractor looking backward along the sides of the rig. The third channel would be aimed rearward from the back of the trailer. The current document describes the project results. Indoor tests involved selection of components having the best capabilities, while early outdoor tests used the selected components in a single-channel side mounted system. Subjects evaluated rain and dark conditions. Results were satisfactory. Once developed, the three-channel system was tested and found to work well in the nighttime and inclement weather environments. Street lighting was also included in the testing.
Enhanced Night Visibility Series, Volume I: Executive Summary
Hankey, Jonathan M.; Blanco, Myra; Gibbons, Ronald B.; McLaughlin, Shane B.; Dingus, Thomas A. (United States. Federal Highway Administration, 2005-12)
This volume, an executive summary of the Enhanced Night Visibility project, is the first of 18 volumes that report on the project's evaluation of the merit of implementing supplemental ultraviolet headlamps, supplemental infrared systems, and other vision enhancement systems (VESs) to enhance drivers' nighttime roadway safety. The entire project evaluated 18 VESs in terms of their ability to provide object detection and recognition. Objects included scenarios with pedestrians standing or walking in different locations on the roadway. Pedestrians were dressed in black, white, or blue clothing to produce varying levels of contrast with their surroundings. Detection and recognition testing took place in clear weather, rain, snow, and fog conditions. Project research also evaluated a subset of the VESs for their effect on drivers' disability and discomfort glare. The VESs were also tested for their value in facilitating drivers' detection of pavement markings and other traffic control devices. The results indicated that supplemental ultraviolet headlamps do not provide sufficient benefit to justify further testing; however, supplemental infrared vision enhancement systems do offer an improvement over headlamps alone for detection of pedestrians. Near infrared systems have the potential to provide an added benefit in detecting pedestrians in inclement weather, but the implementation of NIR technology is the key to achieving this benefit.

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