Radio Frequency Identification in Supporting Traffic Safety

Due to the increased demands of traffic safety applicationsmany parameters of the traffic flow have to be measured bydifferent kind of techniques. The sensors of vehicle sensing anddetection are to be inexpensive, currently available and easy todeploy. Therefore, the state-of-the-art safety applications areusually based on mature technologies, such as video cameras,smart dust sensors, and wireless communication technologies.This paper discusses the application of RFID technology fortransportation applications. RFID is widely used for differentpurposes (e.g. cargo logistics, storage management), but isstill considered as new technology in the field of safety-relatedapplications.The paper gives an overview about the technology anddescribes scenarios of using RFID as infrastructure as well asvehicle sensor. The capabilities and limitations of RFID technologyis demonstrated through the ghost driver (wrong waydriving) detection, which is discussed in detail. In this particularapplication RFID is used as an infrastructure sensor, multiplereaders are connected in a network, thus able to monitorthe traffic flow directions in a particular road segment (e.g.in a motorway junction). Additional applications, such as flowclassification, road toll control and emergency monitoring arealso discussed in the paper

Comparison of Complex Traffic Junction Descriptions in Automotive Standard Formats

Autonomous and highly automated transportation is very attractive not only for the automotive but also for the mapping industry. In order to exploit the technology, the latest survey solutions are needed, but beyond that, a clear description of the content is a must. Three standards have been selected: (1) used for a long time in navigation systems (NDS), (2) developed for simulation purposes (OpenDRIVE), and (3) designed and proposed for general map data exchange (GDF). In this paper, we present the approach of the three standards, then apply the tools of the standards to a specific sample area, a complex traffic junction, and produce maps in the appropriate formats. The evaluation of the pilot site shows that the difficulty of the exchange standard appears to be a serious obstacle. In the process of applying the navigation standard, the personality of the evaluator (the map maker) is also revealed. In the simulation format, the description of reality is gradually improved by including more and more extra elements

Creating an OpenDRIVE Model of the Campus of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics for Automotive Simulations

The development of automotive technologies requires quite a significant amount of time and money. To accelerate this procedure, the technology of now is strongly based on computer simulations, where the whole vehicle or its parts can be analyzed in a virtual environment. The behavior of cars, especially equipped with new sensors or assistants, requires long testing, where the automotive simulators can play a cardinal role. The precise vehicular tests request accurate environmental models. These new kinds of models are still standardized; one of the pioneer de facto standards is OpenDRIVE. This standard was initially defined to be able to express all elements with all potential parameters required in high precision simulations. The actual research focused on creating a compliant virtual model based on mobile mapping measurements. A Leica Pegasus Two mobile mapping system was applied to capture field data about the selected pilot area, which is the campus of Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME). The obtained Lidar point cloud was georeferenced; the merged point cloud is tailored to the driven trajectory, and then it has been evaluated manually. The acquired land use map is converted – similarly manually – into basic road geometry elements: straight lane and bended lane segments. These objects are finally compiled into an XML format, which is compliant with the OpenDRIVE standard. The achieved virtual model has been tested in Driving Scenario Designer of Mathworks Matlab; however, it is promptly ready for use in other widely applied automotive simulators

The Role of Maps in Autonomous Driving Simulations

The vehicles of the conditional, high, and full automation levels have a common unique sensor, the map. The term map has undergone a significant change because the spatial resolution has been increased considerably, the road infrastructure and its neighborhood are represented with higher accuracy in 3D. The development of these vehicles requires enormous efforts, where computer-based techniques, like the simulations, can offer a helping hand. The autonomous simulations will be supported by high-quality map information, which generates interest in the best field data-capturing techniques. The paper provides an overview of the available modern surveying methodologies, then introduces the most preferred data formats – both in physical information storage and in exchanging information content between mapping systems. Some examples are presented to demonstrate the usage of the relevant map-making outputs in automotive simulators

Geometric-Topologic Description of a Complex Road Junction Considering the Requirements of Highly Automated Driving

The highly automated driving research is one of the most remarkable developments in the automotive world. Still, ordinary people can also realize the milestones facing more and more built-in vehicle assistant services brought by the new car manufacturers. The navigation system is also part of the 'success story' because the maps are currently high-resolution 3D databases, and permanently better visualization supports the drivers. The creation of these map databases relies on cutting-edge field data capture techniques, like aerial surveys. The paper presents a technology based on aerial photographs' evaluation done by human operators. The captured photographs were transformed into distortion-free orthophotos; then, skilled humans evaluated the expected database elements: road and lane segments. The map creation procedure aimed to serve the content fully compatible with the standards of the industry. This evaluation procedure resulted in a road and a lane-level graph, clearly in harmony with the traffic rules. The CAD-drawings of each operator form an excellent starting point to start new artificial intelligence developments

Az önvezetés térképi támogatása

A cikk a közúti közlekedés egyre növekvő automatizáltságát tekinti át, néhány példa bemutatásával illusztrálja fejlődési irányát. Az egyre fejlettebb asszisztensek egyre több érzékelővel, egyre összetettebb algoritmusokkal segítik a járművek vezetését. Az asszisztensek sorában találunk több olyant is, amelyek a térképi támogatásnak köszönhetően tudják a feladatukat ellátni. Ezeknek a térképi adatbázisoknak az elkészítésében manapság több felmérési technológia alkalmazható – az írás ezeket is áttekinti

Analysis of Ghost Driver Hazard of Road Junctions by Graph Technique

Due to the increased traffic, improving road safety is one of the major issues in the transportation policies of most countries. Our primary goal is to locate possible spots where vehicle travel against the traffic direction is possible. Vehicle driving on the wrong side of the road also known as ghost driver. This paper presents a technique in junctions based on graph analysis to locate possible ghost driver spots. The paper demonstrates a safety technical application in the case of different type of road crossings and gives an overview about the thematic data modelling and the applied technology

Az autós térképtől az önvezetésig: a járműnavigáció története

Az emberiség történelmében a közlekedés mindig fontos szerepet játszott. A személyek mozgása és az árucikkek mozgatása végigkíséri múltunkat és alapvető napjainkban is. A belsőégésű motor feltalálása után megjelenő első autókkal együtt megfogalmazódott az az elvárás is, hogy gyorsabban, olcsóbban és biztonságosabban lehessen közlekedni. Az egyre több aktív közlekedő igényelte azt is, hogy útja során kapjon támogatást arra a kérdésre, hogy „merre kell mennem?” Az autósok számára készült térképek egyre részletesebbek lettek, miközben a járművek maguk is fejlődtek, és ma már sokan várják azt, hogy a közlekedés olyan szolgáltatás legyen, aminek kielégítésére nincs szükség emberre: önvezető autókkal juthassunk el célunkhoz. Ebben a rohamléptű fejlődésben számos átalakuláson esett át maga a térkép is. Írásunkban ezt a fejlődési ívet szeretnénk áttekinteni

Optimization of nonviral gene transfer of vascular smooth muscle cells in vitro and in vivo

Gene therapy strategies for the prevention of restenosis postangioplasty are promising. Nonviral gene transfer to the arterial wall in vivo has so far been limited by poor efficiency. This study aimed to optimize transfection of primary vascular smooth muscle cells using cationic nonviral formulations based on cholesterol derivates (DC-, DAC-, DCQ-, and Sp-Chol), double-chained amphiphils (LipofectAMINE, DOTMA, DOSGA, DOSPER, and DOCSPER), or heterogeneous reagents (Superfect, Effectene, and Tfx-50). Estimation of transfection efficiencies was performed using galactosidase assays at different ratios of transfection reagent to plasmid DNA with reporter gene. Toxicity was monitored by analyzing cell metabolism. Transfer efficiency and safety were determined in a porcine restenosis model for local gene therapy using morphometry, histology, galactosidase assays, and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. The highest in vitro transfection efficiency was achieved using the recently developed DOCSPER liposomes, with transfer rates of at least 20% in vascular smooth muscle cells. Transfer efficiency was further enhanced up to 20% by complexing with poly-l-lysine. Transfection efficiency in vivo in a porcine restenosis model was up to 15% of adventitial cells using DOCSPER versus 0.1% using LipofectAMINE. Toxicity in vivo and in vitro was lowest using DOCSPER. Increased biological effects were demonstrated following optimization of transfer conditions

In vivo perivascular implantation of encapsulated packaging cells for prolonged retroviral gene transfer

Long-term benefits of coronary angioplasty remain limited by the treatment-induced renarrowing of arteries, termed restenosis. One of the mechanisms leading to restenosis is the proliferation of smooth muscle cells. Therefore, proliferating cells of the injured arterial wall, which can be selectively transduced by retroviruses, are potential targets for gene therapy strategies. A direct single-dose therapeutic application of retroviral vectors for inhibition of cell proliferation is normally limited by too low transduction efficiencies. Encapsulated retrovirus-producing cells release viral vectors from microcapsules for at least 6 weeks in vitro, and may enhance the transduction efficiency by prolonged infection. Capsules containing retrovirus-producing cells expressing the #beta#-galactosidase reporter gene were implanted into periarterial tissue of a pig model of restenosis. Three weeks following implantation #beta#-galactosidase activity was detected in the pericapsular tissue with a transduction efficiency of about 1 and 500 cells. Adventitial implantation of vector-producing encapsulated cells for gene therapy may therefore facilitate successful targeting of proliferating vascular smooth muscle cells and allow stable integration of therapeutic genes into surrounding cells. The encapsulation of vector-producing cells could represent a novel and feasible way to optimize local retroviral gene therapy. (orig.)Available from TIB Hannover: F00B247 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekSIGLEBundesministerium fuer Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), Bonn (Germany)DEGerman