OTIC Central Dispatch - Traffic Management Center Functionality
Subsystem Description
The 'Traffic Management Center' monitors and controls traffic and the road network. It represents centers that manage a broad range of transportation facilities including freeway systems, rural and suburban highway systems, and urban and suburban traffic control systems. It communicates with ITS Roadway Equipment and Connected Vehicle Roadside Equipment (RSE) to monitor and manage traffic flow and monitor the condition of the roadway, surrounding environmental conditions, and field equipment status. It manages traffic and transportation resources to support allied agencies in responding to, and recovering from, incidents ranging from minor traffic incidents through major disasters.
Functional Object: TMC Automated Vehicle Operations
'TMC Automated Vehicle Operations' remotely monitors and controls automated lanes. It monitors system operation and provides parameters that control system operation including system parameters that govern vehicle platoon formation, speeds, and gaps or headways.
Functional Object: TMC Barrier System Management
'TMC Barrier System Management' remotely monitors and controls barrier systems for transportation facilities and infrastructure under control of center personnel. Barrier systems include automatic or remotely controlled gates, barriers and other access control systems. It also provides an interface to other centers to allow monitoring and control of the barriers from other centers (e.g., public safety or emergency operations centers).
Functional Object: TMC Basic Surveillance
'TMC Basic Surveillance' remotely monitors and controls traffic sensor systems and surveillance (e.g., CCTV) equipment, and collects, processes and stores the collected traffic data. Current traffic information and other real–time transportation information is also collected from other centers. The collected information is provided to traffic operations personnel and made available to other centers.
Functional Object: TMC CACC Operations
'TMC CACC Operations' provides the back office functionality that supports formation and dissolution of strings of CACC–equipped vehicles and provides operating parameters including string length, recommended speeds, and gaps that take into account regional traffic and environmental conditions.
Functional Object: TMC Data Collection
'TMC Data Collection' collects and stores information that is created in the course of traffic operations performed by the Traffic Management Center. This data can be used directly by operations personnel or it can be made available to other data users and archives in the region.
Functional Object: TMC Environmental Monitoring
'TMC Environmental Monitoring' assimilates current and forecast road conditions and surface weather information using a combination of weather service provider information, information collected by other centers such as the Maintenance and Construction Management Center, data collected from environmental sensors deployed on and about the roadway, and information collected from connected vehicles. The collected environmental information is monitored and presented to the operator. This information can be used to issue general traveler advisories and support location specific warnings to drivers.
Functional Object: TMC Incident Dispatch Coordination
'TMC Incident Dispatch Coordination' formulates and manages an incident response that takes into account the incident potential, incident impacts, and resources required for incident management. It provides information to support dispatch and routing of emergency response and service vehicles as well as coordination with other cooperating agencies. It provides access to traffic management resources that provide surveillance of the incident, traffic control in the surrounding area, and support for the incident response. It monitors the incident response and collects performance measures such as incident response and clearance times.
Functional Object: TMC In-Vehicle Signing Management
'TMC In–Vehicle Signing Management' controls and monitors RSEs that support in–vehicle signing. Sign information that may include static regulatory, service, and directional sign information as well as variable information such as traffic and road conditions can be provided to the RSE, which uses short range communications to send the information to in–vehicle equipment. Information that is currently being communicated to passing vehicles and the operational status of the field equipment is monitored by this application. The operational status of the field equipment is reported to operations personnel.
Functional Object: TMC Road Weather Advisories and Warnings
'TMC Road Weather Advisories and Warnings' provides road weather advisories to drivers and other travelers. Advisories are based on environmental information collected from a variety of data sources, including data collected from roadside sensors and connected vehicles.
Functional Object: TMC Roadway Equipment Monitoring
'TMC Roadway Equipment Monitoring' monitors the operational status of field equipment and detects failures. It presents field equipment status to Traffic Operations Personnel and reports failures to the Maintenance and Construction Management Center. It tracks the repair or replacement of the failed equipment. The entire range of ITS field equipment may be monitored including sensors (traffic, infrastructure, environmental, security, speed, etc.) and devices (highway advisory radio, dynamic message signs, automated roadway treatment systems, barrier and safeguard systems, cameras, traffic signals and override equipment, ramp meters, beacons, security surveillance equipment, etc.).
Functional Object: TMC Roadway Warning
'TMC Roadway Warning' remotely monitors and controls the systems used to warn drivers approaching hazards on a roadway. It monitors data on roadway conditions from sensors in the field and generates warnings in response to roadway weather conditions, road surface conditions, traffic conditions including queues, obstacles or animals in the roadway, and any other transient events that can be sensed.
Functional Object: TMC Situation Data Management
'TMC Situation Data Management' collects, assimilates, and disseminates vehicle probe data collected from roadside short range communications equipment and centers controlling transit vehicles, toll collection points, and route–guided vehicles. It estimates traffic and road conditions based on the aggregated probe data and disseminates this information to other centers.
Functional Object: TMC Traffic Information Dissemination
'TMC Traffic Information Dissemination' disseminates traffic and road conditions, closure and detour information, incident information, driver advisories, and other traffic–related data to other centers, the media, and driver information systems. It monitors and controls driver information system field equipment including dynamic message signs and highway advisory radio, managing dissemination of driver information through these systems.
Functional Object: TMC Work Zone Traffic Management
'TMC Work Zone Traffic Management' coordinates work plans with maintenance systems so that work zones are established that have minimum traffic impact. Traffic control strategies are implemented to further mitigate traffic impacts associated with work zones that are established, providing work zone information to driver information systems such as dynamic message signs.