IBM and City of Lyon, France to Create Transportation Management
Center of the Future
BARCELONA, Spain, Nov.
14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- During Smart City Expo and World
Congress, IBM (NYSE: IBM) and the City of Lyon, France, today announced a
first-of-a-kind analytics technology that brings new intelligence
to the city's transportation management center. The pilot gives
transportation engineers real-time decision support on steps to
reduce traffic congestion and enable faster incident response time
when an unexpected event occurs.
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Proactively managing the resulting traffic congestion means
travelers spend less time stuck in a traffic jam because detours
can be put into place quickly and more accurate alternate route
suggestions help citizens get back on their way sooner.
IBM researchers are piloting a system with the City of Lyon which will be used to help
traffic operators in its transportation management center evaluate
an incident and make more informed assessments about which actions
would restore traffic flow. Using real-time traffic data, the new
analytics and optimization technology can help officials predict
outcomes and analyze different scenarios to resolve problems.
For example, recommended actions could be adjusting traffic
signals to allow cars to detour more quickly and to allow for
emergency vehicles to enter, adjusting ramp metering or road
closures or changing variable message signs to alert of trouble
ahead.
"As the city of Lyon strives to
improve mobility for its citizens and become a leader in
sustainable transportation, piloting this analytics
technology will help the city anticipate and avoid many traffic
jams before they happen and lessen their impact on citizens,"
said Gerard Collomb, Senator Mayor of Lyon. "Using the data that we are
collecting to make more informed decisions will help us to
promote about how to resolve unexpected traffic events and
optimize public transportation that is becoming a credible
alternative to the use of private cars."
Traffic management centers have sophisticated video walls and
color maps of real-time traffic that can integrate different
streams of traffic data, but do not provide full situational
awareness across the transportation network. Today, command center
officials use predefined response plans or make decisions on the
fly. Neither method allows traffic operators to factor current and
future traffic patterns into their decision-making process.
Using software from IBM, actionable historical and real-time
traffic data from the City of Lyon
is combined with advanced analytics and algorithms to help model
predicted conditions under both normal and incident conditions, and
the resulting impact across the entire network of roads, buses and
trams. The system can also be used to estimate drive times and
traffic patterns in a region more accurately and in real-time.
Over time, the algorithms will "learn" by incorporating best
practices and outcomes from successful plans to fine-tune future
recommendations. Additionally, the command center can develop
traffic contingency plans for major events such as large sporting
events or concerts.
"Today transportation departments often capture real-time
traffic data, but there is no effective way to manage and find
actionable insight to act upon instantaneously for the immediate
benefit of the traveller," said Sylvie
Spalmacin-Roma, vice president, Smarter Cities Europe, IBM.
"With the City of Lyon, we will
demonstrate how the transportation management center of the future
will use analytics to improve the decision-making process, improve
first responder time and get citizens moving more efficiently by
better managing traffic."
The new predictive traffic management technology, named Decision
Support System Optimizer (DSSO), combines incident detection,
incident impact prediction and propagation, traffic prediction and
control plan optimization. It also uses the IBM Data
Expansion Algorithm, which can estimate traffic data that it is not
available from sensors using descriptive flow models in conjunction
with the available real-time traffic data. The new technology is
compatible with the IBM Intelligent Operation Center's Intelligent
Transportation solution. IBM's software solutions for cities draw
on experience gained from Smarter Cities projects with cities
around the world.
IBM is building on experience gained from Smarter Cities
engagements around the world. Working with IBM, city leaders can
now monitor, measure and manage a wide range of city services such
as water management and intelligent transportation among others.
Using advanced technologies, like analytics software, IBM is
helping cities of all sizes apply intelligence to their city
operations to deliver better services to their citizens.
For more information on IBM Smarter Cities, visit
www.ibm.com/press/smartercities.
Sara Delekta
Galligan
IBM Media Relations
415 565 6715
sdelekta@us.ibm.com
SOURCE IBM