Intelligent transport systems research laboratory
The ITS Research Laboratory was established through an Australian Research Council Infrastructure Grant and contributions from a consortium of Australian universities, road and transport authorities and the private sector. The ITS Lab is aimed at developing, evaluating and modelling the impacts of advanced transport technologies aimed at improving the safety and efficiency of the transport system and reducing environmental impacts.
For more information on the transport systems, please visit the Transport Group page.
About Intelligent Transport Systems
Increasing demands for transport facilities and the need to reduce congestion and improve road safety have prompted transport authorities around the world to place more emphasis on the application of advanced technologies to manage transport. Collectively known as Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), these technologies are aimed at improving road network performance, enhancing safety and minimising environmental impacts through the application of advanced computing, electronics and communications systems.
About the ITS Research Laboratory
This research facility is aimed at enhancing support for ITS research in Australia by providing the basic research infrastructure needed for developing, testing and evaluating ITS technologies and traffic management control strategies.
The facility comprises high-end computing and traffic simulation software. The ITS Research Laboratory is intended to:
- enable researchers to accelerate the deployment of ITS technologies through prototype development
- demonstrate the readiness of advanced systems using real traffic data
- maintain, validate and archive related traffic and transport planning data
- provide the necessary infrastructure for research training and development
The laboratory simulation tools include AIMSUN, PARAMICS and VISSIM. A number of travel demand forecasting tools, including EMME/2 and VISSUM, are also available.
Advanced Traffic Management and Information Systems
Aiming to maximise the efficiency of existing infrastructure, and include examples such as adaptive traffic control systems, automated incident detection, freeway ramp control, electronic road pricing and dynamic speed control. Traveller information systems, aim to influence driver behaviour on departure time, route and mode choice decisions by providing up-to-date real-time travel information such as traffic conditions; location of incidents; estimated travel times to destinations; and weather conditions.
Public Transport, Emergency and Commercial Vehicle Operations
Technologies developed and tested under the research program can be applied to a number of areas including commercial vehicles, public transport and emergency management operations.
Traffic Simulation and Modelling of Environmental Emissions
The Laboratory provides researchers with access to state-of-the-art microscopic traffic simulation tools for modelling new ITS applications and evaluating their environmental and traffic impacts. The Laboratory equipment is also used to collect data for use in the development of transport-related environmental emissions models.