Traffic Operations Field Study Launched

The Advanced Traffic Analysis Center (ATAC) and the city of Fargo are cooperating to evaluate new technology for improving traffic signal operations.

Last winter and spring, traffic signal control technology and communications equipment were installed at the intersection of 12th Ave. N. and 18th St. near NDSU. ATAC is collecting data via the city of Fargo's fiber optic network using four Autoscope image processing cameras. The city has access to the data, research findings, and use of a video surveillance camera with a powerful zoom that can support traffic management during special events. Traffic Control Corp. supplied the necessary equipment for the project and NDSU Network Services assisted in design and installation.

The intersection is essentially a real-world laboratory that allows ATAC to collect detailed data on traffic characteristics and traffic signal controller operations in order to explore detection and control improvements. Various detection strategies and traffic controller operations are being evaluated to determine their effects on intersection operation in terms of traffic delay. In addition, traffic data will be collected continuously to determine changes in traffic conditions during typical daily operations and during special events (i.e., NDSU sporting and Fargo Dome events).

"We've seen a tremendous emphasis on transportation system operations. This is very evident in the new federal highway bill, which calls for including operations in metropolitan and statewide planning and developing standards for real-time system management information," notes ATAC director Ayman Smadi. "This is a local step in that direction." The effort is supported by the Federal Highway Administration and the N.D. Department of Transportation.

MPC Sponsors Attendance at RFID Conference

The MPC sponsored a trip for several NDSU faculty and students in October to a national conference on transportation applications for radio frequency identification technology (RFID).

More than 80 experts in transportation, technology and research policy from universities, government, and private industry attended the Washington, D.C., conference. The conference was organized and hosted by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Science.

The presence of a major RFID manufacturing firm in NDSU's Research and Technology Park as well as NDSU's research program into RFID, gives us some unique opportunities as to incorporate the technology into our research and education programs," noted MPC director Denver Tolliver. "The conference allowed us to see how RFID is being viewed on a national scale and how we can contribute to both policy discussions and research direction."

Joseph Szmerekovsky, assistant professor of management at NDSU, attended with support from the MPC. "The best part of the conference for me was the small-group breakouts where we were able to participate in a lot more discussion and a lot more interaction," he says. "Getting a feel for what other people were thinking and doing was very helpful, particularly the need for research on return on investment and cost-benefits. Those are the sort of things that I'm involved in."

Participants at the conference gathered in breakout groups to discuss RFID policy and institutional issues and RFID applications in the supply chain, construction, and operations, safety and security.

The MPC provided funding to support attendance at the conference for additional NDSU faculty and students, including: Ergin Erdem, graduate student in industrial and manufacturing engineering; Jing Shi, associate professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering; David Wells, professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering; and Hai Zeng, Ph.D. student in transportation and logistics.