Distributed and adaptive traffic signal control within a realistic traffic simulation

As traffic congestion rises within urban centers around the world, the intelligent control of traffic signals within cities is becoming increasingly important. Previous research within the area of intelligent traffic signal control has several shortcomings, including a reliance on historical data, the use of centralized systems which cannot handle city-sized problem instances and solutions which are not capable of addressing real-world traffic scenarios (e.g., constantly varying volumes and complex network structures). The research reported here proposes algorithms capable of controlling traffic signals that rely on traffic observations made by available sensor devices and local communication between traffic lights. This solution allows signals to be updated frequently to match current traffic demand, while also allowing for significantly large problem sizes to be addressed. To evaluate the developed system, a realistic traffic model was developed using information supplied by the City of Ottawa, Canada. It was found, through simulation within the SUMO traffic simulation environment, that the proposed adaptive system resulted in higher overall network performance when compared to the current fixed signal plan controllers, which were recreated using information from the City of Ottawa. This work also includes examples of why fixed signal controllers are inferior to an adaptive control system.