One of the world’s most advanced networking facilities for solving traffic congestion and urban transportation issues has been launched, giving researchers and planners tremendous new capacity to tackle traffic congestion and complex traffic management tasks.
Core funding of $700,000 was provided by Canada’s Advanced Research and Innovation Network (CANARIE; www.canarie.ca), and the system relies on CANARIE’s ultra high-speed, high-bandwidth capabilities to enable real-time solutions to multifaceted transportation problems.
“The launch today of ONE-ITS is an excellent example of how CANARIE’s vital digital infrastructure supports Canadian innovation that results in the development of important digital solutions for major problems faced both in Canada and around the world,” said Jim Roche, President and CEO of CANARIE.
The official launch of the On-Line Network-Enabled Intelligent Transportation Systems (ONE-ITS) platform at the University of Toronto’s ITS Centre and Testbed provided a live demonstration for provincial and municipal government officials, transit authorities and researchers.
Statistics show that traffic density in Canada has increased 60% in the last 20 years, costing $6 billion annually in lost productivity and increased operating costs.
The ONE-ITS demonstration showed how users anywhere across Canada or around the world can more easily work together on solving problems related to easing traffic congestion, enhancing safety, developing optimal emergency evacuation planning, reducing stress, reducing fuel consumption and pollution, protecting the environment and promoting urban sustainability.
The demonstration of ONE-ITS was displayed on U of T’s massive, multiscreen video wall for traffic surveillance, vehicle tracking, integrated traffic control and visualization of complex transportation simulations.
“Researchers around the world have been hindered by fragmentation of innovative ideas, data sources, software and hardware tools to develop intelligent transportation systems,” said Dr. Baher Abdulhai, ONE-ITS president. “ONE-ITS is designed to be a one-stop shop for data, applications and developers in the ITS community.”
The ONE-ITS platform is now available for use by researchers and transportation stakeholders worldwide through the ONE-ITS Research Society, a nonprofit organization established to govern access to and integration with the ONE-ITS platform.
