Past Research at BHL

This page offers an overview of some historical research projects at BHL.

Please see Current Projects at BHL for current work.

2006 – 2007 — Vehicle-to-vehicle wireless communication project with General Motors

Used BHL data to develop a traffic model for a Vehicle-to-vehicle wireless communication project with GM. Found headway distributions and used them to develop a traffic model, aiding the development of protocols for vehicular networks.

2007 — Data Request

Researching video-based vehicle detection and tracking.

2004 – 2006 — Wireless Traffic Sensor Evaluation

An extensive evaluation of wireless sensors manufactured by Sensys, inc. This study found that these sensors compare well with traditional loop detectors.

2007 — Data Request

Testing of a traffic detector fault detection algorithm.

2004 – 2006 — VideoSync

VideoSync is a software and hardware package to help find and fix problems with roadway traffic detection devices.

2006 — Anomaly Detection using Trajectory Analysis

Used vehicle trajectories to analyse and build a prediction model, which was then used to develop algorithms to detect new anomalous events.

2006 — Data Request from General Motors

In developing a vehicle communications simulator, some headway distribution and corresponding flow data from BHL were used.

2006 — Data Request from UC Riverside

This project is attempting to use heuristic methods to estimate the speed of vehicles using a single loop detector.

2006 — Development of a Practical Computer Tool for Dynamic Origin-Destination Matrices Estimation

Objective is to develop methodologies for deriving time dependent O-D matrices for a linear network and implement them in a computer tool. This will be used to extract the real OD matrix, link count, and travel times for a small network (on-ramp from Ashby to off-ramp to Powell).

2006 — Data Request

Objective is to see how drivers respond to different messages on changeable message signs.

2005 – 2006 — Expediting Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (EVII)

This project was an early deployment of Dedicated Short-Range Communications led by PATH. While the project didn't directly employ BHL equipment, the site was chosen because BHL has permitted simplified access to the roadside cabinets over the years.

2004 – 2006 — Pilot Deployment of Travel Times on Changeable Message Signs

This is a CCIT project that deployed the first automated system to display travel times on Changeable Message Signs in California. BHL was chosen as a test site because of the richness of the monitoring data which was used to evaluate the impact of the signs on average driver speed.

2005 — Extracting Vehicle Trajectories from Video Data (NGSIM)

This federally-funded project used BHL to collect video footage that was processed to extract digitised trajectories of individual vehicles. While the end-goal of the project is to calibrate micro-traffic simulation models, the resulting data is overall one of the richest sets of traffic data ever collected.

2005 — Analysis and Consolidation of Detector Systems

This project completed the hand-off of BHL from ITS to CCIT, and performed analysis of micro-traffic data at BHL. An off-shoot of the analysis is a framework to allow diagnostic of loop detector stations from a portable laptop.

Studying the impact of High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lanes.

Objective was to determine how High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes affect traffic conditions.

2004 — An Assessment of Loop Detector and RTMS Performance

This study evaluates the performance of four loop sensor models and the Remote Traffic Microwave Sensor (RTMS), adding to the body of sensor performance knowledge through the use of new analytical techniques.

2004 — Automatic Diagnostics of Loop Detectors and the Data Collection System in the BHL

This project developed a complete automatic diagnostic system for monitoring traffic detectors installed at BHL. These diagnostics are available on he BHL website and are continuously operational.

2003 — Multi-Sensor Traffic Data Fusion

This report attempts to develop new algorithms to fuse vehicle trajectory data from video cameras with data from loop detectors to obtain more detailed information on traffic operating conditions.

2003 — Loop Data Collection and Travel Time Measurement in the BHL

This project developed initial detector diagnostics and maintenance processes for BHL.

2002 — Deployment and Evaluation of Real-Time Vehicle Reidentification from an Operations Perspective

This project developed and implemented a vehicle-reidentification algorithm using the sensors at BHL. This algorithm is available on the BHL webpage.

2000 — The BHL — Building on the I-880 Field Experiment

This investigation builds of the I-880 Field experiment to improve traffic surveillance and control, provide new traffic metrics, and enhance traffic models. Focusing on both video cameras and loops, this experiment looks at ways of generating vehicle trajectories from video data, generating travel time measurements, and improving traffic models.

1998 — The I-880 Field Experiment: Effectiveness of Incident Detection Using Cellular Phones

This report describes the evaluation of the effectiveness and adequacy of cellular phones for incident detection as an alternative to infrastructure-based surveillance systems.

1993 – 1996 — The I-880 Field Experiment: Data-Base Development and Incident Delay Estimation Procedures

The experiment was designed asses the benefits of Freeway Service Patrols. It used 19 detector stations along I-880, collecting vehicle data for 50 weekdays. Software for loop detector controller cards was written that was capable of recording individual vehicle actuations at 60Hz instead of in standard thirty second samples. Some of the sites used in this experiment later became the BHL and the software to record 60Hz data is still actively used in the lab.