Traffic Management Advanced Centralization System

TMacs is a system for the control of urban traffic. Its configuration is adaptive, complete and customizable, and is intended to be an essential instrument for the monitoring and the control of traffic junctions nets, traffic monitoring stations and any control system present on the territory.

It has been created by the sole company in Italy that’s present for over 60 years in the field of management and coordination of traffic junctions, and collects the experience of experts of traffic that took part in the realization of the most important control centres of the last twenty years and the work of a R&D team at the highest level. The results achieved makes TMacs the most modern and flexible system nowadays present on the market.

The system can operate on nets of considerable complexity, continuously finding out the best control strategies in order to optimize the performance of the net of traffic junctions. According to the priorities given to public utilities and private vehicles it can evaluate, according to the importance, traffic flows to be supported.

Evaluating recorded data, immediate measurements and foreseen events, it can continuously adapt itself to the changing traffic request.
TMacs takes advantage of the Internet to keep information connected to a centralization system available on wider scale: any user has the possibility to connect to the control centre from any position all around the world provided with internet connection.

Thanks to the careful management of access levels to the system, it allows the end users, the system integrators, managing and traffic engineers to have at their disposal the only data they need, providing a new instrument to have access to services and carry out effective management and control systems.

With existing means of communication the software location is not more binding.
The site, where the processes related to system functionality are carried out, can be chosen without the worry of being close to the junctions to be controlled, but through criteria of comfort and convenience of management.
The possibility of a direct connection of the controlled junctions to a Internet-Intranet, and through a service of traffic optimization, the supervision of the maintenance and access to recorded traffic data.
The net offers a simple way of connecting the existing infrastructures (traffic controllers, measurement sensors, control devices for public lighting, variable message signs or other) giving the possibility to local authorities, if necessary, to delegate the operations of management and maintenance of the systems.

General characteristics

The structure is a Server-multiClient type and is based on TCP/ IP protocol, and allows the maximum flexibility and any kind of expansion.

DynamicDNS for Wireless Internet connection

The whole system has been developed in Java language, so it has the highest compatibility with any kind of machine or existing Operative System.
Both the Server and the Client can be located on PC or MAC, with Windows or Linux operative system independently, without use restrictions

Connectivity

TMacs runs the communication from and to remote devices, placed in the cities as traffic controllers, measurement points or other detection equipment (for example, pumps, public lighting, Variable Message Signs, etc.).
It can make use of cable dedicated lines, fiber optics or can use access nodes through the Internet or remote plants, it allows the management on direct calling or on request through GSM-GPRS net.
The WorkStation Client connects itself through LAN net or through the Internet. In this way it allows the complete portability of the system.
TMacs has a platform Client especially thought for mobile phones with Java TMacsmobile application.
It allows to enter stored data of the server directly from the mobile phone and to carry out typical operations of remote maintenance.
Central system manages several accesses through authentication procedure, with 6 different levels according to operations allowed to each user.

Characteristics of server SW

Server software carries out two main functions:

• The interface Server and local units (traffic controllers, Monitoring stations, Local Police)
• The interface between Server and user position (client)

The management of the units to be controlled is completely automatic, with the recording of any single exchange of information and storage of data without removal. It allows in any moment to recover recorded data of any junction up to the moment of first installation.

It carries out the control of the communication lines and the communication in real time to the logged users of any irregularity that can compromise the complete efficiency of the system.

The interface between Server and Client, besides keeping available recorded data and giving possible parameters of strategies, also runs and examines any kind of request and directive, providing the exact situation before, during and after the intervention of any operation.

The software filtrates the requests according to the user authentication, and it allows the configuration of an indefinite number of users drawing profiles with the distinction of 6 different accesses (according to typology, junctions to be monitored, operation level…) up to allowing the programming of any single controller and the definition of possible strategies in order to change the situation.

This flexibility on connections allows the System to be used from users of any level: private people to check statistic data, as for example citizens that connect themselves to the web site of the municipality, people in charge of maintenance to verify data of good functioning, people that can enter some junctions and not all of them, people involved in choices related to engineering of traffic and so on until the administrator of the whole system.

Characteristics of client SW

Client software carries out the following actions:

• Control of the real time condition and access to stored data of any controlled junction
• Access to database containing all traffic data, comparison on different periods, graphic processing, study of strategies and data printing
• Interaction with the local units changing for example traffic plans or functioning mode, complete programming of traffic plans for each junction, management of messages on luminous information signs, etc.
• Maintenance operation from remote, as reboot of controllers on site, reset of possible alarms and different reconfigurations.

Software of TMacsMobile for Mobile Phone has the same functionalities of the system for WorkStation, the only difference concerns the drawing contents due to display capacity.

Display

The display of the setting is carried out on several levels:

• Macroarea Level: it graphically represents the comprehensive view of the whole checked system, with personalization of the icons according to the devices to be controlled
• City Level: it shows the city map with the entire urban area with definition of the checked sectors
• Area Level: it defines a specific area of the city, and it shows the status of each connected junction
• Junction Level: it allows to display in detail the status of the controlled junction: real time light status with progress in time of colours of each traffic lights connected to the junction.

It shows in real time the status of each connected input: loop, pedestrian calling, radars or other. In case of queue sensors connected to the equipment, it provides information on the traffic data of that intersection.

It allows to enter a control panel and to give orders to the junction, with the same freedom of an operation on site in front of the controller.

It shows the identity of the junction with location, additional notes, detailed description of light groups connected, input assignment and any other useful information for the control.

It permits to display and save on a PC any recorded data downloaded from the equipment as changes of plan and functioning mode, arisen alarms, communication status and any record of breakdown: moreover it offers a detailed list of junction diagnostic with evidence of all alarm types and the functioning status of the junction.

Traffic control

The service of traffic control takes advantage of the configuration flexibility of the system. It can directly connect traffic controllers through the internet, it applies from remote the best control strategy and provides information of traffic flow considering all streets involved.
Local authority or System integrator that want to avail themselves of the service will drastically reduce the costs of start up and maintenance, having all the benefits in terms of long-lasting performances. The use of specific structures for the housing of control system assures high standards of reliability, while services of supervision, interaction and maintenance support allow the user to have a complete view and interaction with the system.
The flexibility of communication gives the possibility of reducing the infrastructures to be installed and using at best the connections available.

The system allows to define in detail the setting of any single junction and in general of a net in coordination.

In order to make the work of analysis easier and to test on site the effectiveness of the traffic plans introduced, TMacs offers calculation tools and graphic representation, in order to better use the big quantity of data available on the system.

The complete solution integrated and coordinated in one unique system, helps avoiding waste of time due to collection and consequent data study.

For the traffic engineer used to work with other Traffic Management systems, TMacs allows to export data in charts format like Excel files, or save and print relevant graphic processing.
TMacs provides data related to environment parameters (weather reports and air pollution), traffic data with counting and classification of vehicles on different classes of length and speed.

Traffic engineering

The interaction with the system for strategic purposes of management and coordination, offers 3 approach levels:

• Expert coordinator: it has the possibility to enter each setting parameter, defining independently the importance of each traffic flow: on each single junction or data detection area it can intervene with input parameters of the System, defining action level in order to reach optimization. For example, in case of traffic jam it decides which are the lanes that require preference according to specific parameters consulted; analysis of environment pollution, weather situation; priority system of public means or other.
• Advanced Coordinator: it enters main configuration parameters but stop at the level of net coordination, without entering in detail single junctions. It has the possibility of move traffic jams to secondary junctions in order to keep free main urban areas, until the situation gets better.
• Standard Coordinator: it can interact with the Management System defining possible situations that may occur and consequently choose a temporary network plan to be transferred to each traffic junction. It has the possibility to operate on the choices of the System, according to localization and intensity of traffic flows.

Functions of the system

• Dynamic Generation of traffic plans
• Mixed Generation (dynamic and at selection)
• Valuation and determination of saturation level
• Valuation and determination of the capacity of the infrastructure
• Models of traffic flows (Greenshield; Greenberg, parabolic,  logarithmic, model of the vehicle lined up)
• Traffic stability (local and asymptotic)
• Analysis of shockwave
• Models for “rolling gate” decongestion
• Estimation of Service Level LOS on 6 levels in real time
• Evaluation of Delay Time
• Determination of Delay Time
• Coordination of actuated junctions

System integrations

The centralization system can be integrated with data in order to complete the control and the management of an urban area.

Therefore, it is possible to integrate:

• the environmental pollution, through electronic devices installed in strategic areas of the city
• the management of parking areas, collecting data on entrance/exit flow and the status of each parking
• the management of variable message signs, for useful information to urban traffic flow
• data coming from AVL Systems for the management of vehicles of public transport.

Maintenance

TMAcs offers and new service of support to maintenance. The service grants to users a real time update of the functioning status of the system and it allows to reduce intervention and repairing times.
In particular, it offers the possibility to receive immediately and automatically the notices on breakdowns and restoration of functions of traffic controllers or other devices, through email or SMS.
The system sends periodically (period of time can be set) through e-mail reports on functioning including breakdowns occurred with detail of each event, functioning status and restore times of detection loops, communication lines, traffic junctions and other devices linked to the system.

Communication network

The communication network connects the central system to the local units. From logic point of view each local unit has to exchange data with near units and with the central system. The data exchange is carried out through the sending of messages, identified from origin and destination units and type of message, on the communication network.

The communication network is done by the set connections needed to build up these logic links.
The network is based on two kinds of connections:

• Physical connections;
• Wireless connections.

These two connection typologies can be combined in any way in order to use at best the infrastructures available for the application (phone cables, ADSL/HDSL connections, fiber optics cables, GSM/ GPRS modem, UTMS modem, HSDPA modem).

The system can manage autonomously and dynamically the access and the communication on each single local unit.

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