10,786 research outputs found
An Online Decision-Theoretic Pipeline for Responder Dispatch
The problem of dispatching emergency responders to service traffic accidents,
fire, distress calls and crimes plagues urban areas across the globe. While
such problems have been extensively looked at, most approaches are offline.
Such methodologies fail to capture the dynamically changing environments under
which critical emergency response occurs, and therefore, fail to be implemented
in practice. Any holistic approach towards creating a pipeline for effective
emergency response must also look at other challenges that it subsumes -
predicting when and where incidents happen and understanding the changing
environmental dynamics. We describe a system that collectively deals with all
these problems in an online manner, meaning that the models get updated with
streaming data sources. We highlight why such an approach is crucial to the
effectiveness of emergency response, and present an algorithmic framework that
can compute promising actions for a given decision-theoretic model for
responder dispatch. We argue that carefully crafted heuristic measures can
balance the trade-off between computational time and the quality of solutions
achieved and highlight why such an approach is more scalable and tractable than
traditional approaches. We also present an online mechanism for incident
prediction, as well as an approach based on recurrent neural networks for
learning and predicting environmental features that affect responder dispatch.
We compare our methodology with prior state-of-the-art and existing dispatch
strategies in the field, which show that our approach results in a reduction in
response time with a drastic reduction in computational time.Comment: Appeared in ICCPS 201
ITS implementation plan for the Gold Coast area
ITS needs to be used to reinforce the planned major changes to the road functional hierarchy in the District, namely: ⢠the use of Southport-Burleigh Rd. (SBR) as the major regional corridor; ⢠the removal of through traffic from the GCH; ⢠the use of Oxley Dr./Olsen Av./Ross St./NBR as another major north-south by-pass; ⢠the use of Smith St.; NSR/Queen St.; NBR and Reedy Creek Rd. â West Burleigh Road as the major east-west access corridors. There is a need to integrate the proposed ITS measures into the current related plans for the Pacific Motorway and into the overall traffic control strategies for the area as a whole. In addition, the staging of the proposed plan needs to take into account the planned DMR capital Works Program. An index representing the degree of priority to be attached to each network link was developed to assist in the phased implementation of ITS technologies over the next 5 years. 'ITS Index' is made up of five variables, namely: ⢠Accident rate factor ⢠AADT ⢠Volume/Capacity ratio ⢠Delay ⢠% Commercial Vehicles The main components of the ITS plan are shown diagrammatically in Figure 1. The latter assumes that the high level of ITS implementation on the Pacific Motorway will be extended in time to the remainder of that Highway. To assist in the implementation of the road hierarchy system, a new static signage plan should be implemented. This plan needs to reinforce the changes by clearly assigning single road names to corridors and by placing new signs at appropriate locations. Capturing Traffic Data The following corridors should be equipped with automatic traffic monitoring capability in priority order: High Priority ? SBR corridor from Smith St. connection to Reedy Creek Rd. ? Smith St. from Pacific Highway to High St. ? GCH from Pacific Highway to North St. Medium Priority ? Nerang-Broadbeach Rd/Ross St. to Nerang-Southport Rd. ? Nerang-Southport Rd from Pacific Highway to SBR ? Nerang-Broadbeach Rd from Pacific Highway to SBR The Smith St. link from the Pacific Motorway to Olsen Ave. should be considered as a freeway for monitoring purposes. The GCH along the coastal strip needs to be treated as a local distributor rather than as the major corridor. As a result, the future traffic surveillance priority should be low. At least one permanent environmental (vehicle emissions) monitoring station should be set up as part of the ITS plan. The most appropriate site for such a station would seem to be on the SBR corridor at the vicinity of Hooker Blv. intersection. Pacific Highway The Pacific Motorway project will set the benchmark for freeway incident detection and traffic management in the State. The high level of ITS implementation on the Motorway section will create a significant gap in performance and expectation, relative to the remainder of the Highway. It is recommended that the southern sections of the Pacific Highway be equipped to the equivalent level of traffic data collection and surveillance as the newly upgraded Motorway section, under a staged program. Travel Time Savings The travel time benefits of the full implementation of ITS over the network are likely to be of the order of at least 5 percent of vehicle-hours travelled on the affected links. At a discount rate of 6 percent, the total present value of the gross travel time benefit over 10 years is of the order of $200 million
Affection not affliction: The role of emotions in information systems and organizational change
Most IS research in both the technical/rational and socio-technical traditions ignores or marginalizes the emotionally charged behaviours through which individuals engage in, and cope with the consequences of, IS practice and associated organizational change. Even within the small body of work that engages with emotions through particular conceptual efforts, affections are often conceived as a phenomenon to be eradicated â an affliction requiring a cure. In this paper, I argue that emotions are always implicated in our lived experiences, crucially influencing how we come to our beliefs about what is good or bad, right or wrong. I draw from the theoretical work of Michel Foucault to argue for elaborating current notions of IS innovation as a moral and political struggle in which individualsâ beliefs and feelings are constantly tested. Finally, I demonstrate these ideas by reference to a case study that had considerable emotional impact, and highlight the implications for future work
RTA Analysis & Existing Modelling for Emergency Medical Service
Prevention of accidents is extremely difficult in absence of present situation analysis, as the aim to identify the incident locations and safety deficiency area is the key to work out the effective solution. To access the feasibility of using Geographic Information System (GIS) for mapping of incident locations with an existing data source is vital to estimate variation of RTAs (Road Traffic Accidents) pattern by interpolating. Generally, accident particulars like location, date, time, sex and suspect are included in GIS database. Here, Arc GIS (10.2.1) software is applied to identify incident locations in Karachi district. To reduce the accidents in particular area/study area and in order to sustain coverage for emergency response, there may be such more factors including the number of ambulances deployed, their position/location, and dispatching strategies that affect the EMS system, authors strictly recommended covering based probabilistic model for (Rescue-15) solving the problem of ambulance locations. GIS facilitates the respective authority to do assessment and to analyze the entire position of the accident with the help of GPS or additional sources of information while consequences are utilized as part of the preparation progression is based on the acuity of the patient in time
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Emergency response vehicle travel time analysis
Fire departments, ambulance services and police departments often worry if they are providing prompt response times in case of an emergency. To be effective, emergency response vehicle (ERV) have to be on the scene within a certain time of the initial emergency call. Emergency response vehicles are exempt from many traffic regulations like speed limit, crossing red signal and moreover other vehicles are expected to yield for ERV. Hence the response time analysis of ERV is very different from the regular traffic study. Advancements in the field of traffic signal control technology brought into picture new traffic signal control device (TCD). These TCDs automatically detect arrival of an ERV to turn traffic signal green for the fire engine to go through. Unfortunately, high installation costs limit the number of TCDs that can be deployed. The key goal of this article is to identify potential intersections in a traffic system for the installation of a TCDs. In this article we propose a method of using Global Positioning System (GPS) data from ERVs to identify slow spots in the traffic system. we start with a brief overview of different map matching techniques. But, most of the map matching algorithms only try to relate the GPS points to the nearest road segment with the objective of only recreating the original path. These methods doesn't help analyze travel time. So we present Pre, Post map match process along with a customized map matching process including a nodal network of entire routes in Austin. Dynamic sizing for identify candidate points. Segment wise wait time analysis. Determine Busy intersection by frequency weighed time delay. We finally present results of the algorithm on 2 years of ERV GPS data from Austin Fire Department. Determine important intersection by frequency weighed time delay. The result can be used by different ERV to significantly improve response times, while meeting the budget restrictions.Operations Research and Industrial Engineerin
Optimal allocation of defibrillator drones in mountainous regions
Responding to emergencies in Alpine terrain is quite challenging as air
ambulances and mountain rescue services are often confronted with logistics
challenges and adverse weather conditions that extend the response times
required to provide life-saving support. Among other medical emergencies,
sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is the most time-sensitive event that requires the
quick provision of medical treatment including cardiopulmonary resuscitation
and electric shocks by automated external defibrillators (AED). An emerging
technology called unmanned aerial vehicles (or drones) is regarded to support
mountain rescuers in overcoming the time criticality of these emergencies by
reducing the time span between SCA and early defibrillation. A drone that is
equipped with a portable AED can fly from a base station to the patient's site
where a bystander receives it and starts treatment. This paper considers such a
response system and proposes an integer linear program to determine the optimal
allocation of drone base stations in a given geographical region. In detail,
the developed model follows the objectives to minimize the number of used
drones and to minimize the average travel times of defibrillator drones
responding to SCA patients. In an example of application, under consideration
of historical helicopter response times, the authors test the developed model
and demonstrate the capability of drones to speed up the delivery of AEDs to
SCA patients. Results indicate that time spans between SCA and early
defibrillation can be reduced by the optimal allocation of drone base stations
in a given geographical region, thus increasing the survival rate of SCA
patients
EVALUATION OF TRAFFIC CONGESTION AND RE-ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS FOR CENTRAL AREAS OF SOUTH AFRICAN CITIES: A CASE STUDY OF KIMBERLEY CITY
Published Conference ProceedingsTraffic congestion in and around the central business districts (CBD) of South African cities is a major challenge.
Apparently, it is engendering undesirable consequences that include impeding vehicular flow, causing vehicular and pedestrian
conflicts, escalating travel time, and frequenting vehicular crashes. So, using a case study of Kimberley city in South Africa, this
study assessed the causes and degree of traffic congestion on the roads in and around the CBD area; and examined the impact of
plausible re-engineering measures to alleviate the challenge. Survey research methods were used to collect data. Land use and urban
functions influencing urban movements, road, and traffic scenario data were collected through physical and traffic survey at different
selected road sections and junctions of the CBD area by following appropriate survey protocols. Besides, road user perception and
travel behaviour survey were conducted among 208 (N= 208) road users by using random sampling process at important nodes of the
city. Relevant empirical models were used to assess the causes and level of traffic congestion, and to examine the impact of reengineering
solutions on the current and forecasted traffic scenarios. Findings suggest an appreciable level of traffic congestion is
experienced currently in some of the roads of the CBD area and the situation will be aggravated in future, specifically during the
peak hours, whereas a number of roads are highly underutilised. Re-engineering solutions such as appropriate traffic assignment and
modal split, i.e., traffic diversion ranging between 9.0% and 40.5% from different congested roads and restriction of plying of heavy
vehicles on the congested roads during peak hours and assigning them to connected underutilised roads could ease traffic congestion,
increase speed and reduce travel time and consequently enable optimal use of the majority of the roads in and around the CBD area
of the city
Studying the impacts of primary incidents on freeways to identify secondary incidents
Freeway incidents are associated with different impacts such as traffic congestion, delays, fuel consumption, secondary incidents etc. Secondary incidents are caused due to primary incidents and require the same personnel who are already engaged. This thesis studies various impacts caused by primary incident in space and time occurring on the freeways and these results are applied to identify secondary incidents. Three types of impacts are identified and proposed in this study. Dynamic nature of queue length in the direction of accident is studied. Dynamic nature of congestion in the opposite direction of the freeway till the accident is cleared is also studied. Dynamic nature of movement of distraction point on the opposite side of the freeway as the queue gets cleared in accident direction is studied. Finally, simulations are carried out by using Las Vegas freeway traffic volumes to show the effect of these impacts in Las Vegas region. The simulation results are applied to real time data to identify secondary incidents
Review of current practices in recording road traffic incident data: with specific reference to spatial analysis and road policing policy
Road safety involves three major components: the road system, the human factor and the vehicle element.
These three elements are inter-linked through geo-referenced traffic events and provide the basis for road
safety analyses and attempts to reduce the number of road traffic incidents and improve road safety.
Although numbers of deaths and serious injuries are back to approximately the 1950s levels when there
were many fewer vehicles on the road, there are still over 100 fatalities or serious injuries every day, and
this is a considerable waste of human capital. It is widely acknowledged that the location perspective is the
most suitable methodology by which to analyse different traffic events, where by in this paper, I will
concentrating on the relationship between road traffic incidents and traffic policing. Other methods include
studying road and vehicle engineering and these will be discussed later. It is worth noting here that there is
some division within the literature concerning the definitions of âaccidentâ and âincidentâ. In this paper I
will use âincidentâ because it is important to acknowledge a vast majority of âroad accidentsâ are in fact
crimes. However I will use the term âaccidentâ where it is referred to in the literature or relevant reports. It
is important to mention here that a road traffic accident can be defined as âthe product of an unwelcome
interaction between two or more moving objects, or a fixed and moving objectâ (Whitelegg 1986). Road
safety and road incident reduction relates to many other fields of activity including education, driver
training, publicity campaigns, police enforcement, road traffic policing, the court system, the National
Health Service and Vehicle engineering.
Although the subject of using GIS to analyse road traffic incidents has not received much academic
attention, it lies in the field of crime mapping which is becoming increasingly important. It is clear that
studies have been attempted to analyse road traffic incidents using GIS are increasingly sophisticated in
terms of hypotheses and statistical technique (for example see Austin, Tight and Kirby 1997). However it is
also clear that there is considerable blurring of boundaries and the analysis of road accidents sits
uncomfortably in crime mapping. This is due to four main reasons:
- Road traffic incidents are associated with road engineering, which is concerned with generic
solutions while road traffic analysis is about sensitivity to particular contexts.
- Not all road traffic incidents are crimes
- It is not just the police who have an interest in reducing road traffic incidents, other partners
include local authorities, hospitals and vehicle manufacturers
- The management of road traffic incidents is not just confined to the police
GIS has been used for over thirty years however it has only been recently been used in the field of
transportation. The field of transportation has come to embrace Geographical Information Systems as a keytechnology to support its research and operational need. The acronym GIS-T is often employed to refer to
the application and adaptation of GIS to research, planning and management in transportation. GIS-T
covers a broad arena of disciplines of which road traffic incident detection is just one theme. Others include
in vehicle navigation systems.
Initially it was only used to ask simple accident enquiries such as depicting the relative incidence of
accidents in wet weather or when there is no street lighting, or to flag high absolute or relative incidences
of accidents (see Anderson 2002). Recently however there has been increased acknowledgement that there
is a requirement to go beyond these simple questions and to extend the analyses. It has been widely claimed
by academics and the police alike that knowing where road accidents occur must lead to better road
policing, in order to ensure that road policing becomes better integrated with other policing activities. This
paper will be used to explore issues surrounding the analysis of road traffic accidents and how GIS
analysts, police and policy makers can achieve a better understanding of road traffic incidents and how to
reduce them.
For the purpose of this study I will be trying to achieve a broader overview of the aspects concerning road
accident analysis with a strong emphasis on data quality and accuracy with concern to GIS analysis. Data
quality and accuracy are seen as playing a pivotal role in the road traffic management agenda because they assist the police and Local Authorities as to the specific location whereby management can be undertaken.
Part one will consider the introduction to road incidents and their relationship with geography and spatial
analysis and how this were initially applied to locating âhotspotsâ and the more recent theory of âaccident
migrationâ. Part two will address current data issues of the UK collection procedure. This section will pay
particular reference to geo-referencing and the implication of data quality on the procedure of analysing
road incidents using GIS. Part three addresses issues surrounding the spatial analysis of road traffic
incidents, including some techniques such as spatial autocorrelation, time-space geography and the
modifiable area unit problem. Finally part four looks at the role of effective road traffic policing and how
this can be achieved due to better understanding of the theory and issues arising from analysing road traffic
incidents. It will also look at the diffusion and use of GIS within the police and local authorities
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