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Multimodal Solutions A look at the benefits of moving towards a holistic approach to intelligent traffic control. The Newsletter for the Traffic Industry | VIII Issue 1 www.itssiemens.com Navigator

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Transcript of Navigator 1

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Multimodal SolutionsA look at the benefits of moving towards a holistic approach to intelligent traffic control.

The Newsletter for the Traffic Industry | VIII Issue 1

www.itssiemens.com

Navigator

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Dear Readers,

Managing traffic today is becoming more com-plex than ever before. With more people living in cities than rural areas for the first time in hu-man history, cities are in for a major challenge.

Today, we must look at traffic management from a much more inte-gral aspect. Managing just signal timing or congestion alone won’t be enough to make an impact on our ability to move in, around and through metro areas.

We wouldn’t repair a leak in the roof by applying some spackle and paint. Eventually, the leak will break through and the damage to the structure will increase. We must look to all of the underlying sources and treat them in unison. Repair the roof, replace missing or rotted shingles, replace the drywall and paint the area.

Traffic is the same. We cannot simply patch the area where we visibly see the damage, we must address all of the under-lying causes and repair them in unison.

We need more than just band-aid approaches. Separate systems for managing different causes of traffic conges-tion will only temporar-ily ease the situation.

Siemens’ focus is to treat the city as a whole - to address not just the symptoms of the traf-fic, but the underlying

causes in conjunction. By getting all aspects of mobility to cooperate, we stand a better chance of improving our mobility for the long haul.

In the last issue of the Navigator we discussed the impacts on congestion caused by drivers looking for a parking space. Independent re-search identified that drivers looking for park-ing spaces around a new movie theatre complex resulted in 950,000 excess miles traveled, 47,000

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gallons of gas consumed resulting in 730 tons of carbon dioxide emitted. Parking is one component of the underlying causes of congestion.

Cities have a multitude of obstacles to navigate when helping people go in, out, around and through their limits. Public transporta-tion, light-rail, event cen-ters and more make an impact on daily travels. It is a daunting challenge and takes expert resources to provide solutions that work.

Cities who address these challenges successfully stand a better chance of increasing their attractiveness to businesses and residents. In order to grow, cities need to be successful in providing a place where people want to live.

In the past the solution was simply to build more roads. However, urban area infrastruc-ture cannot accomodate more roads. So how do you move more people?

In this issue of the Navigator we will ex-plore the multimodal aspects of a city and the solutions avail-able to address these challenges.

At Siemens we are working on making our existing roads smarter, using technology to optimize the existing resources. Together, we are working to help cities use technology to do more with less - working smarter to solve the challenges of traffic questions today and tomorrow.

Mobility impacts all of us everyday. How was your commute this morning?

Yours sincerely,

Christy Peebles General Manager, Traffic Solutions

“Cities that address these challenges stand a better chance of increasing their attractiveness to businesses and residents.

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A look at the benefits of moving towards a holistic ap-proach to intelligent traffic control.

12 FreewaysareRoads,Too

The ITS Market Data and Forecast study, published by the ITS America in 2006, reported that $400M, roughly corresponding to one third of the money budgeted for ITS in 2006, was dedicated to Integrated Regional and Statewide ATMS Projects.

on the move17 InnovativeWirelessNetworkingSolutions

New wireless technologies help customers improve safety, reduce congestion and air pollution, and drive organizational efficiencies

18 VirtualControl,RealSavings

Application Service Providing • Innovative ASP contracts allow municipalities and highway construction offices to profit from the advantages offered by efficient traffic control without having to invest in expensive hardware.

19 IntelligentTransportationSystemsandCommunications

ITS systems truly get up to speed only when they’re inte-grated with carefully designed broadband communica-tions networks.

focus technology24 ComingSoontoaCityNearYou

TACTICS Central Advanced Transportation Management system brings together a wealth of proven options and advanced features for superior traffic control and management.

27 IntegratedSystemSolutionsforCaliforniaMegaports

Siemens and Sensys have formed a technology part-nership bringing new focus to the power of adaptive technology.

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Multimodal Transportation SolutionsIn 2007 for the first time in human history more people lived in cities than in rural areas. With growing urbanization the challenges for a sustainable transportation system will become even more accentuated. In 2015, an estimated 350 million people will dwell in megacities or in “cities within cities.”

Considering the economic output of these megacities, the need for a sustainable trans-portation system becomes even more evi-dent: 10% of today’s world population lives in the 20 biggest megacity-regions (like Boston-Washington or Hongkong-Shenzhen) produc-ing half of all economic output worldwide, two thirds of world-class scientific activity and three quarters of global innovation. These activities only work with a highly ef-ficient transportation system for people and goods.

Sustainable transportation in a modern so-ciety is hard to accomplish and still far from reality. Several questions come to mind when we discuss the trend of urbanization in the context of urban transportation:

� How can we make our cities attractive to businesses and to their people?

� How can we achieve a sustainable trans-portation infrastructure?

� How can technology support us to achieve this?

Urbanization and the individual’s desire for mobility will place a much higher demand on transportation. From the community perspective, we need to achieve a multimodal system optimum, a collective optimum. This

optimum is based on the existing infrastruc-ture like road and rail networks as well as waterways and air corridors. However, this infrastructure cannot be extended endlessly. Multimodal transportation solutions and re-lated technologies can help us today to opti-mize the existing infrastructure and thereby managing supply and demand within an existing framework. Let’s look at traffic man-agement and information systems. These represent solutions towards optimization of the existing infrastructure and therefore impact the supply side of transportation. As part of a collective system optimum, we also require systems to influence the de-mand side. Here we will have a closer look at electronic tolling solutions as one possible means. Demand management solutions put restrictions on traffic users and mobility. To regain mobility, alternative solutions like public transport services are necessary and must be provided.

Within this collective system optimum, each individual user will try to find their indi-vidual optimum with regard to the associ-ated costs and benefits which best serve the individual needs. Advanced driver solutions already support road users nowadays and in the future, cooperative systems can provide

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additional help in both the indi-vidual and the collective ways.

Let us have a closer look at some possible solutions:

Traffic Management and Information

The objective of a traffic manage-ment and information system is to optimize the existing infrastruc-ture and thereby optimizing the multimodal flow of traffic.

Optimize the existing infrastructure

On a mono-modal level, we have traffic control systems designed to optimize the respective mode, e.g. road traffic by adaptive traffic light or motorway control. We can ex-perience this by a higher through-put on the roads or a reduction in travel time. These kinds of control systems are mandatory and must be adhered to. Furthermore we have traffic information systems which provide pre-trip or on-trip

information to the user regard-ing the current traffic situation and recommendations by means of dynamic message signs, park guidance systems or travel time in-formation systems. These systems offer recommendations which can be used to find the individual opti-mum. The full benefit can only be achieved through the cooperation of transport modes by traffic man-agement systems. These systems evaluate the information from different traffic control and infor-mation systems, adding intelli-gence and actively influencing the transportation situation. On the one side, this takes place by pro-viding the data to the mono-modal traffic control systems with bind-ing instructions and on the other side by trying to influence the individual user behavior through traffic information and guidance. It goes without saying that traffic management heavily depends on accurate and up-to-date data and suitable means to influence the traffic situation.

Static and dynamic data enriched by model based reasoning pro-vides a comprehensive overview of traffic

On the data side, we distinguish between static data (which in-cludes information on geography, road categories, and traffic infra-structure like parking lots) and dynamic data (such as the current traffic situation for all modes of transport). Since substantial in-vestments are needed to obtain the data, supplementary or replace-able means are desirable. One pos-sibility is to use technologies like model-based reasoning whereby intelligent models are created and, in conjunction with the static and dynamic data, issues like traffic data completion and prediction as well as situation classification and strategy choice and implementa-tion are carried out. These models provide a cost-effective supple-ment and are available in many different areas like traffic predic-tion, environmental impact as well as safety issues. Another possibil-ity could arise in the future, where

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the installed vehicle infrastructure can also be used to generate real time traffic data providing high quality input for traffic control and management. This will be dis-cussed later under the heading of advanced driver solutions.

Integrating the different subsys-tems for traffic control and traffic information combined with the multimodal traffic management will provide an optimization of the flow of traffic on roads in and between cities

These gains in the supply side will soon be compensated for by the demand side. The improved traffic situation will attract drivers to use the new road capacity provided and will thus ultimately lead to congestion on a higher level. Toensurethatthesystemoptimumcanbeobtainedinthelongterm,demandmanagementsolutionsareneededtoo.

Demand Management, Electronic Toll Collection

Public authorities need to actively manage supply and demand as well as the multimodal usage of transportation to achieve the overall objectives of the collec-tive system optimum and a bal-ance of the magic triangle. There are several methods of demand management like electronic fare collection, parking management or congestion charging / tolling. We will now discuss the electronic toll collection in more detail since it appears to be an attractive model to regulate the demand and pro-vide financial resources to reinvest in infrastructure.

A thorough framework definition provides the groundwork for a system concept

If we talk about the framework, we need to have a look at several questions like:

� What do we want to achieve – shift to public transport, tax replacement, etc.?

� Do we want to charge all cat-egories of vehicles and how many are these?

� Do we want to charge the en-tire road network?

� Do we want to charge the roads based on time, area or distance?

� How will the payment take place (pre-, on-, post-trip)?

Being clear on the objectives and the framework, the system con-cept and the technologies like manual, video based, RFID, DSRC or GNSS/GSM can be selected.

The technology selection also depends on the balance of costs, implementation hurdles, flexibil-ity and complexity. For example, high flexibility can be achieved with GNSS tolling. You can re-route the demand by e.g. intro-ducing a charging model depend-ing on congestion or by flexibly enlarging your tolling network if a shift to non tolling roads has

“There are several methods of demand management such as electronic fare collection, parking management or congestion charging/tolling.

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taken place. The impact on user behavior can be managed and easily be adapted since the solu-tion is software-focused and not road infrastructure-focused. This was shown by a trial conducted in Puget Sound, Seattle, US, where the behavior of road users was evaluated. Congestion schemes like London or tax-schemes like Stockholm do use video and DSRC technology respectively, since only a very limited number of access roads are monitored and a clearly defined cordon is charged. This shows that the more com-plex a road network is, the more suitable GNSS based tolling is. Concern in this context is the accuracy of GPS within cities and urban canyons. Recent trials have shown that an accuracy of greater than 99% can be achieved in cit-ies like Melbourne and Sydney in Australia.

Independent of the selected technology, the implementation of a tolling / congestion charging scheme is an appropriate means of demand management within cities and supports the establishment of a sustainable transportation environment.

Congestion charging systems in cities offer support in finding a system optimum for road trans-portation, reducing street traf-fic by demand management and thus leading to less mobility as a whole. To overcome these restric-tions on mobility, it is of utmost importance to provide alternative solutions to mobility. This can only be achieved through an attractive public transport system.

Public Transport Management

Considering the trend of urban-ization and the growing need to provide a high level of mobility for people and goods as an impor-tant pillar for economic growth, a rapid high capacity mass transit and supplementary bus and light rail services are required. Let us now turn to some road-based solutions for buses and light rail and discuss how to improve their attractiveness.

If we look at the public transport on the road we see that in recent years travelling on buses and light rail has become more and more popular. Public short-distance transportation has significantly increased in attractiveness and will continue to do so. The main suc-cess factor to achieve a modal shift

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Robert SykoraTraffic SolutionsBusiness Development & Innovation

is a significantly improved quality of service.

Some areas of concern with regard to quality of service are:

� To give buses and light rail priority at traffic signals to support schedule adherence and transfer monitoring.

� To keep passengers informed with real-time data before and on the trip and to promote real-time information through different channels and during the whole trip.

One way to provide public short-distance transportation prior-ity over private transportation is either via dedicated lanes for public transport or the use of modern multimodal transporta-tion solutions in vehicles and at intersections. With the introduc-tion of solutions such as real-time information system and auto-mated transit priority, service-oriented transportation authori-ties emphasize their belief in a new standard of quality for public transportation.

Automated Transit Priority systems are key to improving quality of service.

Many technologies can be added on to existing control equipment, and can hence be installed eco-nomically. The key components of a system are: vehicle location equipment, communications, data processor (local or central), and traffic control equipment. The location of vehicles on the network can be achieved by using a num-ber of technologies, for example: detector loops, roadside beacons, vehicle profile recognition via in-ductive loop detection, and Global Positioning System (GPS).

Meeting the rising expectations of the passenger for on-line information

With real-time information before the trip, at the stop or even dur-ing the trip the passenger is given even more control (e.g. in vehicle display of subsequent light rail departures). In addition, this basic information service can be supple-mented with marketing services thus providing an additional busi-ness model for the operator.

The above discussion has shown that improvements of the existing transportation infrastructure can be achieved with solutions in areas such as public transport, traffic management and information as well as demand management. The outline also brings us to the conclusion that only a holistic and comprehensive view of the supply and demand side of urban trans-portation will lead to substantial sustainable improvements.

In search of examples of a holistic approach to urban transportation, two major capitals come to mind: London and Stockholm.

Both cities implemented on the demand side a city tolling system (in Stockholm a public referendum is still outstanding). In parallel, they provide improvements on the supply side like the London bus prioritization and information system. As mentioned above, the demand management system is a meaningful measure:

� to reduce unacceptable indi-vidual traffic to conurbation areas - thus increasing road transportation mobility;

� to shift individual transporta-tion to public transportation (e.g. buses) - thus guarantee-ing mobility as a whole (in the multimodal chain);

� to generate income from city tolling systems which is partly used to invest in public transportation.

With the outline so far we have seen that a collective system optimum can be reached with the various means like traffic manage-ment, demand management and public transport. This system opti-mum is described by a framework within which each user will try to find their individual optimum, e.g. traffic jam avoidance based on real-time traffic information and individual route guidance through on-board navigation systems.

Although some very interesting applications can be seen on the horizon, there is still some time to go till cooperative systems will find their way into vehicles and road infrastructure.

Nevertheless – as seen before – many solutions and technologies can be applied already today to the benefit of the whole community and individuals themselves.

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Freeways are Roads, TooThe ITS Market Data and Forecast study, published by ITS America in 2006, reported that $400M, roughly corresponding to one third of the money budgeted for ITS in 2006, was dedicated to Integrated Regional and Statewide ATMS Projects.

A regional ATMS integrates various, often pre-existing com-ponents of the transportation infrastructure. The objective is to maximize the overall value of those components, through the collection and distribution of transportation data and informa-tion, and the generation of trans-portation management strategies across them in a regional area, be it a complex metropolitan area, a corridor, or any other multi-juris-dictional area.

A statewide ATMS normally man-ages a given element of the trans-portation infrastructure across a state. Most often statewide systems refer to freeway or highway man-agement systems which fall under the jurisdiction of a single State Agency, with several hubs and lo-cal districts, and which, because of the obvious seamless nature of travel, heavily interact with the

infrastructure from other local agencies, especially in corridors, urban, or metropolitan areas.

Whether in a regional or statewide context, transportation manage-ment is complicated by the need for interaction among the various agencies, by the interrelation be-tween different types of networks

and different modes, and by the coexistence of multiple subsystems for data collections, traffic moni-toring and control, parking man-agement, and traveler information provision, which go far beyond tra-ditional signal control.

Siemens has a long tradition with the deployment of inte-grated transportation manage-ment systems. The SITRAFFIC® Concert Integrated Advanced Transportation Management System is the solution chosen to address the needs for integrated ATMS in a variety of urban and metropolitan areas across the world.

If you were lucky enough to at-tend the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, chances are that your travel to one of the various Olympic venues in and around the city was made shorter, cheaper, and safer by the CONCERT system, managing and integrating the in-frastructure from 17 subsystems, including different types of detec-tion systems, CCTV, signal control, freeway and incident detection, variable message signs (VMS), and a web portal.

Concert addresses the need for a variety of urban and metropolitan areas around the world.

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In 2004, the German capital Berlin commissioned the renewal of its traffic control system and its inte-gration into a modern transporta-tion management center, connect-ed to 22 subsystems controlling over 2000 signalized intersections, integrating a freeway and tunnel management system, and expand-ing the existing VMS and CCTV management systems. Global coordination of the existing sub-systems is a key requirement for a modern metropolis such as Berlin. Typical applications include the coordinated modification of area signal plans, VMS messages, and other traveler information sys-tems, in response to the occur-rence of major incidents or special events. A particular challenge of the Berlin project lied in the need to replace the central system with-out changing the existing subsys-tems. The key success factor, which enabled the new ATMS to be fully

operational before Berlin hosted the 2006 Soccer World Cup, was a step-wise integration approach which took full advantage of CONCERT’s modularity and open XML interface. Today the new ATMS enables the German capital to make the best use of modern technologies without having had to replace its large installed base, thus paving the way for a step-wise modernization.

A further example of CONCERT’s flexibility can be observed in the Ruhr Valley, Europe’s largest conurbation. In 2006, Siemens installed a distributed transporta-tion management and information system that relieves pressure on the transportation infrastructure by providing up-to-date traveler information on the capacity utili-zation of the urban and freeway road network, multilevel parking lots, local and regional bus transit,

and rail network in a region with over 350 miles of expressways, 53 towns and cities, over 6 million commuters, 70 train stations, and 1,200 trains per day. The system transmits information to several web portals and to a mobile phone data distribution service. Thanks to Ruhrpilot, traffic congestion is minimized, unnecessary en-ergy consumption is avoided, and carbon dioxide emissions are reduced.

An interesting application is in Dubai, where CONCERT is used to integrate the existing adap-tive signal control system SCOOT with the freeway management system and functions for incident management and traveler rout-ing and information. More than 300 Lane and Speed Control Signs provide for the automatic manage-ment of lanes and dynamic speed on the city’s freeways. Traveler

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information in Arab and English is deployed through various means, including the internet, mobile telephones, information kiosks and VMS. In response to the occur-rence of special traffic conditions, such as incidents, road works, or simply the opening of one of the large bridges on the harbor, CONCERT’s incident management and strategic response functions support the operator by assessing the event and selecting appropri-ate measures for traffic control and traveler information.

After successful implementations in over 15 cities in Germany, sev-eral European capitals, as well as in other cities in the Persian Gulf and in China, CONCERT has re-cently reached the North American shores. A network of CONCERT systems is being installed in sev-eral of South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) trans-portation management centers (TMC), including the State TMC in Columbia and regional TMCs located in Greenville, Myrtle

Beach, Charleston and Rock Hill. The system allows traffic managers to access traffic flow information, operational data and device status much more easily than before, which will greatly improve the traffic situation in the entire state. The software provides monitor-ing and control functionality for the state’s freeway management systems, including CCTV cameras, radar systems, VMS, fog detection systems and weather stations. For mapping and user interface, the system utilizes the state’s standard GIS data. Plans also call for options that allow the future expansion of the number and type of ITS de-vices that can be managed for the SCDOT. The project is implement-ed in phases. The first phase has already been implemented; phase two will focus mainly on the inci-dent management system, and the third phase involves the delivery of maintenance and support.

Starting in mid-2010, an Advanced Transportation Management Information System (ATMIS)

will help optimize traffic in the port areas of Los Angeles, North America’s largest container port, and Long Beach, the world’s tenth largest port. The project was kicked off in late 2006 and involves installation of VMS, vehicle detec-tor stations, license plate read-ers for travel time measurement, CCTV cameras, as well as commu-nication links between the field devices and central computers. It involves implementing the central software to monitor and control these devices, the real-time data exchange with other transporta-tion information systems in the region, and disseminating travel information via signs and a public web site. Controlled by CONCERT, the VMS in the two port areas will provide motorists, in particular truck drivers, with up-to-the-min-ute alerts on unusual conditions ahead and – where available – with travel time prognoses. The sys-tem’s web site and the e-mail/SMS service will keep trucking company dispatchers constantly informed

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on all incidents in the area cov-ered. Traffic signal status informa-tion will be automatically obtained from the Los Angeles County Information Exchange Network (IEN). Interconnection with the RIITS regional data sharing com-puter system will allow ATMIS to automatically obtain information about traffic flows on surrounding freeways (Caltrans detector sta-tions) and incidents documented in the California Highway Patrol computer-aided dispatch system.

The examples described above highlight some of the features that make CONCERT the ideal solution to address the needs for inte-grated ATMS. These are a flexible Graphical User Interface (GUI), which provides a comprehensive view and easy management of the connected infrastructure and incorporates a GIS-based map visualization; a powerful strategy management engine to facilitate multimodal response to incidents

and special events; and its open communication interface, which enables CONCERT to easily in-terface with virtually any major communication protocol without loss of performance. Lastly, one of CONCERT’s key success factors is its scalability, which facilitates the easy customization to every agency’s needs – and budget: the CONCERT software is modularly designed, so that the system com-plexity grows with the complexity of the desired functionalities and the system size (the number and type of connected devices). Indeed, one of the best testimonials of CONCERT’s success is the large variety of its installations, which, beside the more complex applica-tions described earlier, include smaller systems for either smaller cities or for a reduced functional-ity. A typical example for this is that CONCERT is being deployed in the city of Franklin, TN, to provide traffic management in the arte-rial network and interface with the

existing ACTRA system for signal control.

It is no secret: traffic congestion doesn’t necessarily end the mo-ment you enter the freeway to leave downtown. Managing traffic in a multi-jurisdictional context is no easy task, and technology alone is not going to reduce conges-tion and save lives. However, the examples described above clearly show that the right technology does make a significant difference when used in conjunction with policy and administration savvy. SITRAFFIC CONCERT was success-fully introduced to the US market at the ITS America Exhibition in June 2009.

Dr. Filippo Logi is VP for North and Latin America – Urban Business, at Siemens TS’ headquarter in Munich. Dr. Logi is responsible for introduc-ing TS’ global portfolio in the US and supporting the US Sales and Marketing activities. [email protected]

“Congestion doesn’t necessarily end the moment you enter the freeway or leave downtown.

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Innovative Wireless Networking SolutionsNew wireless technologies help customers improve safety, reduce congestion and air pollution, and drive organizational efficiencies.

been out of reach due to budget constraints,” said Christy Peebles, general manager for (ITS), Siemens Industry, Inc. “ Motorola’s wireless networking solutions, together with Siemens’ value added services, will allow agen-cies to implement the advanced communications required for peek performing traffic management systems at a fraction of traditional leased-line rates with a return on investment typically in less than 12 months.”

The rapid innovation in intel-ligent transportation systems (ITS), including advanced traffic management solutions and video security systems that help detect safety issues along roads or en-able remote monitoring of critical infrastructure such as bridges, is exposing the need for connectivity

SiemensIndustry,Inc., an industry leader in providing intelligent transportation solu-tions, today announced that the business unit Siemens Intelligent Traffic Solutions (ITS) has joined Motorola, Inc.’s (NYSE: MOT) award-winning channel program as a value added re-seller (VAR) in North America. Siemens will now be able to offer its customers the flexibility of using Motorola’s in-novative and field-proven wireless broadband solutions to help meet their connectivity needs.

Reliable communications on a tighter budget

“For many cities, the cost to imple-ment technology that can improve the management of congestion, reduce fuel usage and improve environmental conditions has

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Virtual Control - Real SavingsApplication Service Providing • Innovative ASP contracts allow municipalities and highway construction offices to profit from the advantages offered by efficient traffic control without having to invest in expensive hardware.

In many industries, renting IT ap-plications instead of buying them has become common practice - thanks to modern communication technology. Now ASP (Application Service Providing) is offered as an intelligent alternative also in the field of traffic control, specifically for small municipalities and road

construction authorities, which in general can’t raise the necessary funds for investing in expensive hardware.

Via a virtual client, the customers can access the central traffic con-trol system of SITRAFFIC® Concert to control their traffic light instal-lations just as conveniently and ef-ficiently as with a traffic computer installed on the premises. Remote access provides access to complex functions of STIRAFFIC® Concert traffic management center - from query, selection and analysis right up to downloading individual measurement data from traffic controllers and detectors. All that

the customer needs is a PC with secure access to the central traf-fic control system.

By the way, the ASP concepts offered by Siemens Traffic Solutions have already mas-tered their first real challenge in everyday traffic control: they are applied as part of Bavaria’s new traffic information agency (VIB), for instance. Plans for Berlin city-state’s senate call for the use of the innovative ASP concept in its traffic management center (VMZ).

solutions that are flexible and reli-able. The ability to connect these applications using wireless tech-nology is making the new break-throughs a reality in a timely and cost-effective manner. Motorola’s wireless broadband solutions have been field-proven across the world, helping customers deploy ITS ap-plications, manage traffic signals, extend their fiber networks, and replace costly leased T1 lines in a highly reliable and very cost effec-tive manner.

Plans for the future

Siemens’ future development efforts will integrate the wireless communication devices directly into on-street traffic manage-ment products. Through inte-grated communications, agencies can save even more by reducing hardware and power consumption requirements.

“Motorola’s worldwide network of best-in-class channel partners de-livers industry-leading enterprise mobility solutions that empower customers with real-time infor-mation for better decisions and

better results,” said Mark Kroh, vice president of North America Channels, Motorola’s Enterprise Mobility Solutions. “Our end-to-end wireless broadband portfolio enhances Siemens’ advanced intel-ligent transportation technologies through solutions that provide wireless agility and enable innova-tive ITS applications.”

The facing page begins a whitepa-per published by Motorola illus-trating the concepts of integrating wireless communications in an ITS setting.

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The following is a reprint of a whitepaper published by permission from Motorola

W H I T E PA P E R

Intelligent Transportation Systemsand CommunicationsITS systems truly get up to speed only when they’re integrated with carefully designed broadband communications networks

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In a large midwestern state, a county road commission collects traffic data at major intersections, and then transmits the data via wireless broadband networks to enable real-time remote traffic signal control. In a major European capital, built-in roadway sensors detect traffic tie-ups due to accidents or weather, then immediately transmit the information to the centralized traffic control center via a high-speed wireless communications network. Sensors mounted on highway-bridge infrastructures communicate with Department of Transportation control facilities to identify conditions that could lead to structural failure. Through applications such as these and many, many others, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) are beginning to revolutionize traffic management and control all around the world. But ITS systems can’t do it alone.

Communications are the lifeblood of intelligence. Without the ability to gather data and distribute information, the intelligence in a system will have virtually no impact on its surroundings. This is par -ticularly true in ITS where access to and influence over the transportation system can only be achieved with an e�ective communications network. Only then, can ITS achieve its full potential.

The Need for a NetworkAn e�ective communications system for ITS must be designed as a carefully planned network. If allowed to grow organically or on a piecemeal basis, it is unlikely to have the capabilities needed to meet current needs. A piecemeal strategy also severely limits the expansion capabilities of a net -work that will be required to grow as ITS capabilities evolve. This suggests that the roadmap for the communications network to support ITS is worthy of the same study and planning required for all other long-range plans made in managing transportation needs.

Analogous ArchitecturesA common architecture design for complex net -works is referred to as hierarchical or layered. The roadway system is itself a layered architecture running from the streets in a residential neighbor -hood to the expressways and providing high volume

backbones through a region. A communications network may be designed using a similar hierarchical structure.

Layered Communications Networks There are four essential layers in a roadway network:• Expressways• Arterial Roadways • Secondary Roadways• Residential Streets

Similarly communications networks are also organized in a hierarchical fashion and consist primarily of four main types:• Backbone Layer• Backhaul Layer• Distribution Layer• Access Layer

Each of these network layers has a primary function that drives its most important characteristics. Similar to intersections in roadways; each network layer is interconnected through Points of Presence (POP) that allow communications traffic inside and out -side of that layer. The POPs also serve as the main interconnection points between layers and end use devices.

Just as arterial and secondary streets may be accessed directly by businesses or residences located on main streets, it is frequently appropriate

AN EFFECTIVE

COMMUNICATIONS

SYSTEM FOR ITS

MUST BE DESIGNED

AS A CAREFULLY

PLANNED NETWORK

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Below: A pictorial representation of the levels of a communications network alongside those of a typical roadway system.

to allow devices with high volume communications needs to reside directly on the analogous network layers such as the backhaul or distribution layers.

A variety of both wired and wireless technologies may be integrated to provide communications in each of these layers. Wireless technologies, particularly those devices which are easily deployed and make use of unlicensed spectrum, have made network build out substantially easier and less expensive than was previously possible.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the layers of the communications network, their functions and rela -tionship to the corresponding roadways.

Expressways, or Backbone LayerThe backbone layer of a communications network is analogous to the regional expressway system, moving large amounts of data between a limited number of fixed points. Virtually all of the communi -cations traffic that travels vast distances within a regional communications network will move through the backbone.

The bandwidth required on the backbone is mea -sured in hundreds of megabits or higher. Depending on the size of the region it serves, the backbone may require between three and 10 points of presence. Points of presence are frequently co-located with other large fixed facilities such as traffic manage -ment centers or vehicle garages. Licensed micro -wave and fiber are the traditional communications building blocks for communications backbones. More recently, unlicensed point-to-point microwave has become a viable alternative.

Since so much of the communications traffic on the network passes over at least a portion of the backbone, reliability is a crucial requirement. Any

loss in availability can be extremely disruptive to the entire network.

A major technological challenge for wireless in this environment is compensating for the variations in the propagation path between the endpoints of a link. Despite the fact that these are point-to-point communications links, typically located well above surrounding terrain, propagation variations or fading often occur and the radios must compensate for this via a variety of adaptive techniques.

When these devices operate in unlicensed spectrum, the lack of human management of spectrum use imposes a need for automated spectrum manage -ment to deal with the variety of disparate and uncoordinated uses this spectrum supports. The overall goal of these techniques is to ensure that the backbone network’s availability is not compromised.

Arterials, or Backhaul LayerThe next layer in the communication network is the backhaul layer. Its job is to provide high bandwidth connectivity (tens of megabits) within its domain as well as to and from the communications backhaul. This layer is comparable to the major arterial roads in an area. In aggregate, the backhaul layer may carry more traffic than the backbone layer but, since it is more localized, any segment of the backhaul layer only sees a fraction of the total system traffic. Each segment of the backhaul layer is largely autono -mous, moving communications traffic between nodes within its reach as well as to and from the backbone layer. Communications technologies nor -mally used for backhaul are point-to-point.

Secondary Streets, or Distribution LayerThe distribution layer is analogous to the secondary streets in the roadway system. This layer need not

COMMUNICATIONS

Distribution

Backhaul

Access

ROADWAYS

Secondary

Arterial

Residential

Bandwidth

WIRELESS

TECHNOLOGIES HAVE

MADE NETWORK

BUILD OUT

SUBSTANTIALLY

EASIER AND LESS

EXPENSIVE THAN

WAS PREVIOUSLY

POSSIBLE

Backbone Expressway

Points of Presence

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handle large volumes of traffic on individual seg -ments. Its main purpose is to multiply the points of presence of the network to a high enough number that will achieve the necessary accessibility. Band -width required is relatively low, compared to the backbone or backhaul layers, usually less than 10 megabits. In this layer, point-to-multipoint capability can provide sufficient bandwidth while permitting a much more cost-e�ective implementation than pure point-to-point.

Although an additional, lower layer—the access layer—may be appropriate in some instances, it is likely that most ITS needs will be met at the distribu -tion layer. The bandwidth needs of applications like video surveillance and the density of points of pres -ence when intersection traffic signals are connected to the network tend to match the characteristics of this layer.

Residential Streets, or Access LayerThe access layer provides the final spreading to the network POPs, making the network accessible to a large number of end users. In this way, it is similar to the residential streets in the roadway system, including the grids and cul-de-sacs of modern sub -urban housing developments or the back alleys of older inner city neighborhoods. Average bandwidth needs at the access layer are typically modest—un -der one megabit per user. Of course, since there may be a fairly large number of users supported by each access point, bandwidth needs may jump up quickly. In the ITS environment, many profession -als do not believe an access layer will be needed until direct communications with individual vehicles becomes a system requirement.

Wireless technologies needed in the access layer are all point-to-multipoint because of the high spreading factor that is needed, such as many end users per access point. Suitable technologies include both WiFi and WiMAX, each of which will have slightly di�er -ent use case scenarios.

Mesh NetworksMesh networks are another wireless topology that orders the relationship between the nodes of the network and the way they interact. Mesh topologies are often employed in situations where extremely high reliability is required, such as in the backbone layer of a network using either microwave or fiber links. More recently, mesh techniques have been applied to the distribution and access layers of networks and can, if used appropriately, improve reli -ability and reduce network costs if used carefully.

The best analogy to meshing in the roadway net -work may be the traffic circle, or round-about. It can dramatically improve traffic flows and access to roadways but imposes certain restrictions on traffic behavior and loading levels.

Roadmap to ITSThe many structural similarities between communi -cations networks and roadway networks can serve as a virtual roadmap to successful ITS networks. Because of these similarities, designers and opera -tors are able to plan and manage their communi -cations networks in ways that are similar to the planning and management of the roads themselves. Every jurisdiction should have a specific networking plan or roadmap, guiding its unique network deploy -ment decisions.

The communications needs and complexity of ITS networks will increase over time, as more locations are added and as more equipment is deployed at existing locations. Because of complex system inter -actions and unintended consequences, ITS commu -nications planners must balance immediate needs and existing budgets with the long-term needs and future savings made possible by planning ahead. The process is analogous to that of planning the road system, and in both cases, high-speed wireless communications networks and equipment play a crucial supporting and enabling role.

The bottom line is, any ITS network is only as e�ective and as advantageous as its supporting communications network.

Motorola, Inc. 1301 E. Algonquin Road, Schaumburg, Illinois 60196 U.S.A. www.motorola.com/wirelessbroadband

MOTOROLA and the stylized M Logo are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All other products or service names are the property of their registered owners.

© Motorola, Inc. 2008

ANY ITS NETWORK

IS ONLY AS

EFFECTIVE AND AS

ADVANTAGEOUS AS

ITS SUPPORTING

COMMUNICATIONS

NETWORK

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23 Navigator 1/2010 focus technology

Answers for industry.

Goodmorning.Howwasyourcommute?

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Siemens provides total integrated solutions for a quicker and safer commute, everyday

That means less congestion, more commerce and a better quality of life. How? By managing the sources of traffic cooperatively. Siemens SITRAFFIC® Concert system connects a city, region or even a state together. Working in unison Concert gives agencies the power to detect incidents faster, respond more efficiently, interface with transit systems and communicate up-to-date travel information, light-rail and bus schedules to the pulic. Concert can even help guide you to your parking spot. Connecting life with mobility. For more information on how Siemens solutions can help your city visit www.itssiemens.com/connectinglife.

Somewhere in America...

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24 focus technology Navigator 1/2010

Coming soon to a city near you...

The wait is finally over. Siemens is set to release TACTICS™ Advanced Transportation Management System at the end of January, 2010. TACTICS™ brings together a wealth of proven options and ad-vanced features for superior traffic control and management provid-ing superior traffic management

above any other system available on the market today.

TACTICS™ is a modular, full-fea-tured traffic control system that complies with industry standards delivering a reliable, powerful, yet, easy-to-use traffic management system. TACTICS™ is designed to grow with you, scalable to your needs.

Designed around making traffic management and control better

than every before, TACTICS™ combines the features you demand with an attractive, customizable user inter-

face to offer unparalleled traffic management

capabilities.

Features

Some of the key features

TACTICS Central Advanced Transportation Management System brings together a wealth of proven options and advanced features for superior traffic control and management

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25 Navigator 1/2010 focus technology

Intelligent system for state-wide traffic controlSouthCarolina• In the future, an integrated software package will manage the individual components of the intelligent traffic manage-ment system in the Palmetto State. The software will provide monitor-ing and control functionality for the state’s traffic management systems, including CCTV cameras, radar

systems, message signs, fog detec-tion systems and weather stations. For mapping and user interface, the system will utilize the state’s standard GIS data. Plans also call for options that allow the future expansion of the number and type of ITS devices that can be managed for the South Caolina Department

of Transportation (SCDOT). The software will be installed in the SCDOT’s state transportation man-agement center as well as in the regional transportation manage-ment centers located in Greenville, Myrtle Beach, Charleston and Rock Hill.

for TACTICS™ are: easier to use enhanced graphics, customized reporting, advanced engineering tools, enhanced once-per-second communications, faster start-up and operation, expanded NTCIP operations, Transit Priority for light rail, and multilingual sup-port. TACTICS™ offers all the modes of traffic control you have come to expect from central sys-tems, and more: time-of-day, time-based, manual, flash, preemptive/priority, and traffic responsive. TACTICS™ continues the Siemens practice of setting the standard in traffic responsive algorithms.

More control, more options

In addition to standard fea-tures you have grown to rely on, TACTICS™ expands its feature base by offering new advanced control options. Expanded sta-tus features, map recording and playback, parameter history and rollback, favorites lists and the ability to compare controller da-tabases are just a few of the new features available in the upcoming TACTICS™ release.

TACTICS grows as you grow

Growth is inevitable, and neces-sary. With TACTICS™ you can build the system to fit your needs today and still have the ability to grow as needed. With several dif-ferent option packages to choose from you can choose the control that you need without sacrific-ing the ability to expand as needs change.

For more information regard-ing TACTICS or to request a demo please contact us at +1.877.420.2070.

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26 focus technology Navigator 1/2010

Traffic Optimization in two US metropolitan areasCharlotte/Baltimore• Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS) are currently being implemented in Charlotte and Baltimore, the largest cities of North Carolina and Maryland re-spectively. In Charlotte, a total of 175 Siemens 2070 NextPhase and 149 Econolite ASC/2 traffic signal controllers are being integrated in the powerful i2 system. Efforts are under way to replace an addi-

tional 400 to 500 TMP390 control-lers with model 2070 NextPhase advanced traffic controllers. In Baltimore City, a new traffic signal system is being deployed at more than 1,000 intersections, which uses the central software i2 to manage traffic signal controllers from multiple manufacturers us-ing the NTCIP communications standard. Network monitoring will provide traffic managers with a

complete overview, while variable message signs will ensure that drivers are given clear, concise and reliable travel information.

The first phase of this multi-mil-lion dollar project will take place through 2010, while a further US$1 million will be provided to carry out expansion work.

SiemensIndustry,Inc., Mobility Division, Traffic Solutions re-cently was awarded a hardware maintenance service contract for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDoT). This contract covers the maintenance of all of the ITS devices along the state highways in the San Antonio TxDoT district and surrounding districts, including most of South Texas from Austin to the Mexican border.

The project includes the major, mi-nor and emergency repair, as well as preventative maintenance of the CCTV cameras, Dynamic Message Signs, Lane Control Signals, Microwave/Radar detectors, and associated wired and wireless

communications. These devices are centrally monitored and con-trolled from the TransGuide Traffic Management Center located at IH 10 and Loop 410 in San Antonio.

This maintenance project is a major victory for the Siemens TS Services department as Siemens expands it services to cover re-sponse and preventative mainte-nance of on-street traffic signal and ITS devices throughout the United States.

Siemens TS will open an office in San Antonio to support this endeavor. This is the fourth major win for the Siemens TS Services department in FY’09 for on-street maintenance. Other suc-cesses include Utah Statewide ITS

Preventative Maintenance, City of Raleigh ATMS Systems Integration and City of Tyler Fiber Optic Network Testing.

The San Antonio project is set to run two years with a renewal op-tion for 24 months.

� Includes approximately 170 CCTV cameras

� Consists of approximately 230 Dynamic Message Signs

� Covers more than 240 Lane Control Signals

This project is intended to im-prove the mobility of traffic in and around the San Antonio area by improving the operation of ITS devices and bringing them back online.

Keep San Antonio Moving

Area-wide monitoring: Traffic authorities in Baltimore City always have a com-plete overview of the traffic situation at more than 1,000 intersections

Fresh breeze: A traffic technology modernization project will get things moving in Charlotte

Siemens services keeps San Antonio traffic in good repair

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27 Navigator 1/2010 focus technology

LosAngeles/LongBeach • Starting in mid-2010, an Advanced Transportation Management Information System (ATMIS) will help optimize traffic in the port areas of Los Angeles, North America’s largest container port, and Long Beach, the world’s tenth largest port. The project was kicked off in late 2006 and involves installation of variable message signs, vehicle detector stations, li-cense plate readers for travel time measurement, CCTV cameras in the field as well as communication links between the field devices and central computers. The imple-

mentation of central software which controls and monitors these devices, real-time data exchange with other transportation informa-tion systems in the region, and dissemination of travel informa-tion via signs and a public web site. Controller by ATMIS, the vari-able message signs in the two port areas will provide motorists, in particular truck drivers, with up-to-the-minute alerts on unusual conditions ahead and, where avail-able, with travel time prognoses. The ATMIS web site and the e-mail/SMS service will keep trucking company dispatchers constantly

Integrated system solutions for Californian mega-ports

informed on all incidents in the area covered. Traffic signal status information will be automatically obtained from the Los Angeles County Information Exchange Network (IEN). Interconnection with the RIITS regional data shar-ing computer system will allow ATMIS to automatically obtain information about traffic flows on surrounding freeways (Caltrans detector stations) and incidents documented in the California Highway Patrol computer-aided dispatch system.

Keeping commerce flowing: Port of Long Beach ATMIS system will keep drivers in the know

San Antonio now has more reasons to Fiesta with Siemens maintenance services

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www.itssiemens.com

Siemens provides leading edge traf-fic technology for the fast-paced world of Intelligent Transportation Systems. Whether providing local controllers, video detectors, controller firmware, central sys-tems, system analysis, design, integration, or consulting services, Siemens brings in-novative and reliable solutions to custom-ers. Siemens has a long standing history of quality and innovation in transportation control and management.

© Siemens 2010 Siemens Industry, Inc. Mobility Division Traffic Solutions 8004 Cameron Road Austin, TX 78754

Tel. +1.512.837.8310 Fax +1.512.837.0196 www.itssiemens.com