In this proposal we consider modeling and control of traffic flows in
and around cities. More specifically we are interested in investigating
the influence of better traffic signal control policies on controlling
or preventing traffic jams in urban environments. First we shall
derive models that describe the number of vehicles in the different
lanes at an intersection or in a network of intersections as a
function of time, the traffic signal switching scheme, the number of
vehicles that enter or leave the city, weather conditions, etc. Next
we shall use this model to develop optimal traffic signal control
strategies that aim at minimizing objective functions such as average
queue length, average waiting time, worst case waiting time, and so
on. We will also investigate the local and global effects of the designed
controllers. For large urban traffic networks we will also consider
multi-agent control strategies.
As a first case study we have the situation in and around Delft in
mind.
If you are interested in selecting this project as your MSc project,
please come along or send us an email for more information.