From: gayler@muse.cs.mu.OZ.AU (Ross Gayler)
Subject: ACS AISIG (Vic) - Jim Jarvis on VLIMITS (21/9/92)
Organization: Computer Science, University of Melbourne, Australia
Distribution: aus
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 23:17:30 GMT


 
                                  ACS AISIG (VIC) 
 
                           PUBLIC MEETING - ALL WELCOME 
                                           
                     5:45 pm to 7:30 pm, Monday September 21st 
                              Data General Australia 
                      1st Floor, 100 Dorcas St (Cnr Kingsway) 
                                  South Melbourne 
 
           (As usual, everyone is invited to continue the discussions at 
                             the Marconi Restaurant.) 
 
                                    JIM JARVIS 
                          AUSTRALIAN ROAD RESEARCH BOARD 
 
                    Experience with an Australian Expert System 
                                 for Speed Zoning 
 
          The talk will briefly describe  how an expert system  shell was 
          used to create  a knowledge-based system for determining  speed 
          zones.   Having  been  in operational  use  for two  years, its 
          performance was reviewed.  There were  problems with procedures 
          and documentation as  well as  with "ownership" of the  system. 
          To  generate  greater  user acceptance,  the  advisor  and  new 
          documentation   contain   reference    only   to   the   users' 
          organisation,  not  the  developers, and  is  prepared  in  the 
          corporate format.   Where  there had previously been  no formal 
          policy for some aspects of  speed zoning the need  to formulate 
          expertise in  these  areas has  proved  to  be a  catalyst  for 
          policy  development.    A  Victorian  parliamentary  committee, 
          charged  with  reviewing  speed limits,  endorsed  the  use  of 
          VLIMITS as the  best available  method of setting speed  limits 
          and  overcoming inappropriate  speed zoning.   Other Australian 
          States  have shown  an interest in  VLIMITS to  the extent that 
          Federal Government support has been obtained to  work towards a 
          nation-wide advisor, based on best Australian practice. 
 
          Jim recently presented a  paper on the VLIMITS expert system at 
          the  Montreal OECD Workshop  on Knowledge-Based  Expert Systems 
          in Transportation.  He  will comment on the current world scene 
          for  Expert  Systems  in Transportation  as  reflected  by  the 
          Workshop and place his and other Australian work within that  
          world context. 
 
                                 ---------------- 
 
          J.R. Jarvis B.Sc. M.Sc. 
          Manager, Road Safety & Environment Program 
          Australian Road Research Board 
 
          After an initial  period of university research, Jim Jarvis was 
          responsible for  safety related  traffic engineering  proposals 
          in a  major UK County  Authority.  Since  joining the Board  in 
          1976,  a number of  topics involving driver/vehicle interaction 
          have  been studied.   Much  of this  work has  been carried out 
          under  contract.   He was Chairman  of the  Transport Branch of 
          I.E. Aust. in  1986 and 1987 and has  been a member  of several 
          overseas expert research groups.  Jim was appointed  Manager of  
          the Road  Safety and Environment  Research Program in  December 
          1989.  The main  research areas he has considered include: road 
          humps,  vehicle  acceleration  and  deceleration   performance, 
          signing at  road works,  speed zoning,  heavy vehicle  braking, 
          and expert systems applications. 
 
                                 ---------------- 
            
                      TENTATIVE PROGRAM FOR REMAINDER OF 1992 
 
          October 19     {Chris Corbel       } Recently implemented 
                         {John Baxter        } applications 
                         {Julie Gledhill     } 
 
          November       Date not yet finalised 
                         Guest speaker from AI'92 (Hobart) 
 
          December 21    To Be Announced     Panel discussion 
 
          ------------------------------------------------------------ 
          Contact: Ross Gayler (03) 521 3100 or ross@psych.psy.uq.oz.au 
Newsgroups: aus.acs