A simulation tool for in-vehicle navigation systems evaluation

This paper proposes a generic macroscopic traffic simulation model-based evaluation tool for freeway networks equipped with In-Vehicle Navigation Systems (IVNS). The tool includes three modules: 1) a freeway network traffic simulation module, 2) a route recommendation generation module executing feedback Dynamic Traffic Assignment (DTA) to calculate splitting rate for in-vehicle navigation-related bifurcation nodes, 3) a control benefits evaluation module providing useful output including link-level traffic states, splitting rates, route travel times, animated network condition map and network performance indexes. A simulation study of a test network showed the tool is effective and useful for better understanding the complex dynamic behaviour of networks equipped with IVNS and for testing and optimising routing strategies.