10-04-2017, 08:01 PM
A Review of the Applications of Agent Technology
in Traffic and Transportation Systems
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Abstract
The agent computing paradigm is rapidly emerging
as one of the powerful technologies for the development of largescale
distributed systems to deal with the uncertainty in a dynamic
environment. The domain of traffic and transportation systems is
well suited for an agent-based approach because transportation
systems are usually geographically distributed in dynamic changing
environments.
INTRODUCTION
AGENT-BASED computing is one of the powerful technologies
for the development of distributed complex systems
[1]. Many researchers believe that agents represent the
most important new paradigm for software development since
object-oriented design [2], and the concept of intelligent agents
has already found a diverse range of applications in manufacturing,
real-time control systems, electronic commerce, network
management, transportation systems, information management,
scientific computing, health care, and entertainment. The reason
for the growing success of agent technology in these areas is
that the inherent distribution allows for a natural decomposition
of the system into multiple agents that interact with each other
to achieve a desired global goal.
ARCHITECTURE AND PLATFORMS OF AGENT-BASED
TRAFFIC CONTROL AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
The operation of agents is supported and managed by distributed
software platforms known as agent systems. The name
of MASs usually refers to systems that support stationary
agents, and mobile agent systems support mobile agents. An
agent system provides mechanisms for agent management,
agent communication, and agent directory maintenance. A mobile
agent system provides additional mechanisms to support
the migration and execution of mobile agents.
AGENT-BASED SYSTEMS FOR
ROADWAY TRANSPORTATION
Major challenges that roadway transportation faces are increasing
traffic congestion, accidents, transportation delays,
and vehicle emissions. The Texas Transportation Institute and
the Texas A&M University System 2009 Urban Mobility Report
[20] presents detailed trend data from 1982 to 2007 for
439 urban areas in U.S. The report provides both local view
and national perspective on the growth and extent of traffic
congestion. According to the report, congestion costs (the cost
of extra time and fuel) in 439 urban areas are increasing from
$16.7 billion in 1982 to $87.2 billion in 2007. To address the
current problems and meet the growing travel demand, the
solution is either constructing additional conventional roadway
infrastructure or applying new technology to efficiently
and effectively use existing infrastructure [21]. It is widely
recognized, however, that the opportunities for building new
physical infrastructure are decreasing because of increasing
cost, environmental impact, and space limitations.