Research Trends and Results

Collaborative research with the U.S. and Europe onITS
KANAZAWA Fumihiko, HeadSAKAI Koichi, Senior Researcher
MAWATARI Shingo, Senior Researcher
TSUKIJI Takahiro, Researcher
Intelligent Transport Systems Division, Research Center for Advanced Information Technology(Key words) Probe data, application, evaluation tools and methods
1. Introduction
The Intelligent Transport System Division isperforming collaborative research in the ITS field withthe U.S. and Europe under a Memorandum ofCooperation in the field of ITS (Intelligent TransportSystems) signed between the governments of Japanand the U.S. and the governments of Japan and theEuropean Commission. This paper reports on theresults of research conducted between Japan and theU.S. concerning probe data and evaluation tools andmethods, which are two prioritized research areas
identified with the U.S. and with Europe, and on thedirections of future trilateral collaborative research
between Japan, the U.S. and Europe.
2. Collaborative research on probe data
Japan and the U.S. have exchanged information
about research on ITS at annual bilateral meetings since
1993 and at task force meetings held several times since2009, and collaborative research on probe data wasstarted in 2010 to promote research and development in
the two countries. In the collaborative research, probe
data was jointly defined, then probe data and probe datasystems in Japan and the U.S. were compared, tospecify 19 probe data enabled applications. Of these,seven high priority application bundles considering
their feasibility, public sector application, usability on
expressways, and international standards harmonization
were developed, and from among these, three
applications were jointly selected for further
collaborative research (see the Table). The contents up
to this time were summarized in the assessment reportin November 2013. In the future, with the participation
Table. Three Selected Applications
Application

OutlineApplication to clarify road traffic[1] management indices (travel time,speed, etc.)

It will collect time, location, speed and other probe data
to clarify times and sections congested for use inenacting road plans etc.

Application to harmonize vehicle
traveling speeds

It will collect time, location, speed and other probe data
to clarify the state of traffic, aiming to maximize traffic
volume and reduce accidents by supplying informationsuch as recommended speed.

Application to provide road[3] management work support using
weather information

In addition to time, location, speed, and acceleration, it
will collect the state of operation of wipers, back lamps,
head lamps, ABS and other aspects of state of operation
obtainable from CAN data, and car mounted camera
images as probe data for use in road maintenance work.

[2]of Europe, trilateral collaborative research will be
undertaken concerning technological research on eachapplication and cross-cutting issues including security,standardization, privacy, and data ownership.
3. Collaborative research on evaluation tools andmethods
In order to promote research and development andthe deployment of ITS, evaluation tools and methods
to verify the effectiveness and benefits of ITS areneeded. Although Japan and the U.S. have alreadydeveloped their own methods of evaluating theeffectiveness of ITS, no common methodology isapplied consistently across evaluation efforts within
Japan and within the U.S. Thus, Japan and the U.S. areconducting collaborative research on evaluation tools
and methods in order to develop a consistentmethodology to evaluate the performance andcost-benefits of ITS. The collaborative research hasorganized performance indicators and evaluation tools
and methods which are used in Japan and the U.S.,
and in November 2013, prepared an interim report ofthe contents of the research completed up till that time.
In the future, a common glossary of terms used inJapan and the U.S. will be developed, evaluation tools
and methods used in the U.S. and in Japan
respectively will be comparatively analyzed, andcategorization and organization of evaluation methods
will be developed.
4. Conclusions
In the future, Europe will join this activity toexpand probe data collaboration from a bilateral to atrilateral effort, and a report on probe data will beprepared with October 2015 as the target. A report on
evaluation tools and methods will be prepared by
Japan and the U.S. with September 2014 as the target.
[Sources]
1) Probe data fact sheet
http://www.its.dot.gov/factsheets/us_japan_probedata.htm

2) Evaluation tools and methods fact sheet
http://www.its.dot.gov/factsheets/us_japan_evaluationtools.htm