Overview
At present there are a large number of traffic and transport simulation related applications that are using advanced computational technologies, which are very efficient to simulate specific events or to support the decision process of traffic/transport planners and decision makers. Nevertheless, there is a lack global analysis of a given scenario in terms of interoperability with the existing tools.
OSSA project - Open Framework for Simulation of Transport Strategies and Assessment - has developed an advanced simulation environment that enables the integration of different types of simulation related tools in a common framework. This allows the Traffic Engineer a flexible solution to combine the outputs of the simulation tools with the added value given by the possibility of integrating them with the urban traffic management system installed in the city.
The main goal of OSSA was to develop a standard simulation environment where the OSSA Open Framework aiming at providing interconnectivity among different simulators and systems: UTC systems, dynamic O/D matrix estimators, co-simulators (vehicle emissions), data sources (GIS, UTC data), etc.
The simple idea behind the OSSA Open Framework is the building of a horizontal software framework to allow easy integration of both heterogeneous data collection devices and simulation-related software applications into a user friendly simulation environment.
The OSSA Open Framework is meant to allow traffic engineers and policy makers to freely choose simulation tools from different vendors, as long as they are 'OSSA-compliant', in order to customise their simulation environment. The technology that the OSSA Open Framework uses, will guarantee the interoperability and interconnectivity of different applications.
A multidisciplinary team, including local authorities, system providers and research institutions from 6 different European countries, carried out OSSA developments during 36 months, starting in March 2000.
The project was organised into ten work packages which took into account all aspects of a research project: From the specification of the users needs to dissemination and coordination activities until the evaluation and assessment of the project results.
The success of the OSSA Simulation Environment relies on the OSSA Framework which is an open platform enabling communication among different simulation related tools plugged into it. This communication is possible due to the information shared and exchanged among different components. It is based on the generic data model defined in the OSSA Framework, thanks to the specific interface implemented for each component to make them OSSA-compliant. After the good results of OSSA application in Alicante and Manchester, the consortium is ready to transfer this success story together with project results to other sites.