Communications of the ACM
Safeped Helps Cities Fix Dangerous Intersections
Credit: Courtesy of Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) researchers have developed SAFEPED, a computer simulation that integrates robotics and statistics on driver and pedestrian behavior to determine the environmental features that lead to black spots, which are intersections that experience a high incidence of traffic accidents.
SAFEPED enables traffic engineers to analyze dangerous intersections so that they can be modified to improve safety. SAFEPED considers each car and pedestrian an autonomous agent that can reason and react based on how other agents are behaving.
"With this program, we can model a real intersection in the simulator, and make modifications to the environment or traffic regulations to see how they impact the safety of the junction," says TAU Ph.D. student Gennady Waizman.
The researchers based their simulator on James J. Gibson's visual perception theory, which states that when humans move through a given environment they analyze their optic flow as they move, taking into account their anticipated time of collision with other objects or people. With SAFEPED, all the agents move and think individually, and they can determine their actions based on the movement of other agents in the system.
From American Friends of Tel Aviv University
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