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A collaborative agent-based traffic signal system for highly dynamic traffic conditions

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Abstract

In this paper we present DALI, a distributed, collaborative multi-agent traffic signal timing system (TST) for highly dynamic traffic conditions. In DALI, intersection controllers are augmented with software agents which collaboratively adapt signal timings by considering the feedback of all controller agents that may be affected by a change. The model is based on a real-world TST and will be deployed with minimal changes to the infrastructure. DALI has been validated by traffic engineers as well as through extensive simulation of the City of Richardson’s traffic network, comprising 128 signalized intersections. The experimental results show that, in highly dynamic scenarios, DALI outperforms the conventional traffic system used by the city as well as a state-of-the-art reinforcement learning-based TST.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, USA

    Behnam Torabi & Rym Z. Wenkstern

  2. Department of Transportation and Mobility, City of Richardson, TX, USA

    Robert Saylor

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  1. Behnam Torabi
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  2. Rym Z. Wenkstern
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Correspondence to Rym Z. Wenkstern.

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Torabi, B., Wenkstern, R.Z. & Saylor, R. A collaborative agent-based traffic signal system for highly dynamic traffic conditions. Auton Agent Multi-Agent Syst 34, 17 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10458-019-09434-w

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