Sammanfattningsvis definierar vi i denna guide ’smarta gator’ kort sagt som mångfunktionella, levande, långsamma, ekologiska och flexibla gator. Det övergripande målet med denna guide är följaktligen ”Smarta gator för en hållbar stadsutveckling”.

Fem noga utvalda förstudier har initierats av VTI som en del i den strategiska satsningen ”Ride the future” kopplad till framtidens mobilitetslösningar. Förstudiernas titel är följande: 

▪ Databearbetning och visualisering av mobila luftkvalitetsmätningar. 

▪ SUMO och Unreal Engine för co-simulering. 

▪ Exploring spatio-temporal accessibility in Lambohov: a pre-study. 

▪ Vägytans betydelse för vibrationer och komfort i långsamma fordon. 

▪ Infrastrukturbehov vid busshållplatser. 

Föreliggande pm innehåller en kort beskrivning av studierna och den mer utförliga redovisningen återfinns i bilagan.

Five carefully selected feasibility studies have been initiated by VTI as part of the strategic investment “Ride the future” linked to future mobility solutions. The title of the feasibility studies is as follows: 

▪ Data processing and visualization of mobile air quality measurements. 

▪ SUMO and Unreal Engine for co-simulation. 

▪ Exploring spatio-temporal accessibility in Lambohov: a pre-study. 

▪ The importance of the road surface for vibrations and comfort in slow vehicles. 

▪ Infrastructure needs at bus stops.

 This report contains a brief description of the studies and the more detailed report can be found in the appendix.

Denna rapport beskriver arbetet av arbetspaket 6 och 8 i det Vinnova-finansierade projektet Smarta gator. Utifrån arkitektoniska beskrivningar har tre olika VR-miljöer skapats – så kallade ”digitala tvillingar” av en idag existerande gatumiljö i Stockholm, samt två olika tänkbara framtida versioner av gatumiljön. Den simulerade miljön kan upplevas av fotgängare i VTI:s fotgängarsimulator, och alternativt också av bilist genom co-simulering med annan körsimulator. De två tänkbara framtidsvisionerna utvärderades från ett fotgängarperspektiv genom en workshop med 30 försökspersoner i VTI:s fotgängarsimulator i Linköping. Deltagarnas svar visar tydligt att upplevelsen av trygghet, prioritet samt trevlighet/trivsel ökade i de smarta miljöerna jämfört med den ursprungliga miljön. 

Läsbarheten av gaturummet upplevdes i de smarta miljöerna dock något sämre än i ursprungsmiljön. En förklaring kan vara att många känner igen ursprungsmiljön eftersom det är en relativt vanlig gatutyp – breda körfält för bil, kantstensparkering och trottoarer, medan de smarta miljöerna är uppbyggda på ett annorlunda sätt vilket kan innebära en omställning för att förstå en ”ny typ” av gata. 

Sammantaget visar studien på hur man kan skapa gaturum som upplevs trevligare och tryggare genom att prioritera gång- och cykeltrafik genom en större yta tillägnat gång, cykel och vistelse än för motortrafik. Även skapandet av vistelseytor och sociala funktioner längs gatan hade en positiv effekt på upplevelsen av gaturummet. Att placera träd och grönska längs gatan är utöver de ekologiska fördelarna också viktigt för trivseln och upplevelsen av gaturummet. 

Vi konstaterar att VR-simulering kan vara ett användbart verktyg för att på ett tidigt stadium bedöma olika designlösningar. VTI:s fotgängarsimulator har ett state-of-the-art bildsystem, men dess fria yta om 3x6 meter är för liten för att på ett smidigt sätt kunna promenera runt i stadsmiljön. Autonoma fotgängare, styrda av spelmotorn Unreal Engine, upplevdes av de flesta försökspersoner som väldigt verklighetstrogna, och de bidrog till illusionen om att vara på plats i miljön.

This report describes the work of work packages 6 and 8 in the Vinnova-funded Smarta gator project. Based on architectural descriptions, three different VR environments have been created – so-called “digital twins” of a currently existing street environment in Stockholm, as well as two different possible future versions of the street environment. The simulated environment can be experienced by pedestrians in VTI’s pedestrian simulator, and alternatively also by motorists through co-simulation with another driving simulator. The two possible visions for the future were evaluated from a pedestrian perspective through a workshop with 30 subjects in VTI’s pedestrian simulator in Linköping. The participants’ answers clearly show that the experience of security, priority and well-being increased in the smart environments compared with the original environment. 

However, the readability of the street space was experienced in the smart environments somewhat degraded compared to the original environment. One explanation may be that many people recognize the original environment because it is a relatively common type of street – wide lanes for cars, curbside parking and sidewalks, while the smart environments are structured in a different way, which may need additional experience to understand this “new type” of street. 

Overall, the study demonstrates how street spaces can be created that are experienced as more pleasant and safer by prioritising pedestrian and bicycle traffic through a larger area dedicated to walking, cycling and accommodation than for motor traffic. The creation of living spaces and social functions along the street also had a positive effect on the experience of the street space. Placing trees and greenery along the street is in addition to the ecological benefits also important for the well-being and experience of the street space. 

It is concluded that VR simulation can be a useful tool for assessing various design solutions at an early stage. VTI’s pedestrian simulator is equipped with a state-of-the-art image system, but the restricted area of 3x6 meters is too small to allow for a person to easily walk around the urban environment. Autonomous pedestrians, controlled by the game engine Unreal Engine, were perceived by most subjects as very realistic, and they contributed to the illusion of being in place in the environment.

Automated and connected traffic systems with cooperative functionality need effective testing. One way to enable such testing is to represent the current traffic environment by co-simulating different simulators using a communication layer between the simulators for cooperative functionality. With this approach, this paper presents a platform with its included simulators (vehicle, pedestrian, and traffic simulators), the used run-time infrastructure (RTI) for co-simulation, and the connection to the Unreal Engine based visual system for the simulators. The architecture was tested with two vehicle simulators (one autonomous bus and a truck), one pedestrian simulator, and one traffic simulator connected using a cloud-based service for the RTI.

Simulation is often used as a technique to test and evaluate systems, as it provides a cost-efficient and safe alternative for testing and evaluation. A combination of simulators can be used to create high-fidelity and realistic test scenarios, especially when the systems-under-test are complex. An example of such complex systems is Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS), which include many actors that are connected to each other via wireless communication in order to interact and cooperate. The majority of the actors in the systems are vehicles equipped with wireless communication modules, which can range from fully autonomous vehicles to manually driven vehicles. In order to test and evaluate C-ITS, this paper presents a distributed simulation framework that consists of (a) a moving base driving simulator; (b) a real-time vehicle simulator; and (c) network and traffic simulators. We present our approach for connecting and co-simulating the simulators. We report on limitation and performance that this simulation framework can achieve. Lastly, we discuss potential benefits and feasibility of using the simulation framework for testing of C-ITS.

This feasibility study is an interdisciplinary collaboration between three research institutes (VTI, Chalmers University of Technology and RISE) and a railway brake manufacturer (Faiveley Transport Nordic). Senior researchers specialized on numerical modelling of friction brakes and on particle matters (PM), are combined with expertise in the field of train driving simulation to reduce railway’s impact on environment and human health. The train driving simulator of VTI is further developed to account for the wear generated at the brake blocks and in the wheel‒rail contact. A literature study that focuses on prediction of railway particle emissions is presented

Moving base driving simulators, with an enclosed human driver, are often used to study driver-vehicle interaction or driver behaviour. Reliable results from such a driving simulator study strongly depend on the perceived realism by the driver in the performed driving task. Assuring sufficient fidelity for a vehicle dynamics model during a driving task is currently to a large degree a manual task. Focus here is to automate this process by employing a framework using collected driving data for detection of model quality for different driving tasks. Using this framework, a powertrain model credibility is predicted and assessed. Results show that chosen powertrain model is accurate enough for a driving scenario on rural roads/motorway, but need improvements for city driving. This was expected, considering the complexity of the vehicle dynamics model, and it was accurately captured by the proposed framework which includes real-time information to the simulator operator.

Genom höjda hastigheter för godståg finns möjligheter till en högre prioritering av trafikslaget hos tågtrafikledningen, vilket i sig är en kapacitetsvinst och bör ge upphov till bättre flöden och högre kapacitet på det svenska järnvägsnätet (framför allt på stambanorna). Simulatorer är ett effektivt och säkert sätt att undersöka effekter av förändringar på både förarbeteende och kapacitet.

Syftet med det här projektet var att skapa kapacitetshöjande möjligheter och åtgärder genom att ta fram en loktågssimulator och undersöka möjliga användningsområden för denna. Målet med projektet var att få fram en loktågssimulator, bestående av ett lok och ett antal vagnar, som kan användas i studier för att öka kapaciteten genom till exempel optimerad hastighet, och därmed förändrade bromsprofiler, för loktåg. Projektet har levererat kunskap i form av nya testmetoder, en loktågssimulator samt mjukvaruplattform för ytterligare testverksamhet.

Projektet genomfördes i tre successiva etapper. I den första etappen genomfördes en förstudie med lokförare, operatörer och problemägare, som gav forskarna en förståelse för förarmiljön. Här samlades även in en del av det underlag som krävdes för utveckling av loktågsimulatorn. I den andra etappen utvecklades en simulator för loktåg (mjukvara och hårdvara). Etapp tre var en valideringsstudie tillsammans med lokförare.

Ett förarbord av modellen Traxx köptes in från en tysk tillverkare. Fordonsmodellen utvecklades från en enstaka enhet, Reginamodell (motorvagnståg), till en kombination av flera enheter. Loktåget i simulatorn består av ett eller flera draglok samt ett antal vagnar med en total längd på maximalt 750 meter. Som draglok används ett lok av modellen Traxx. För varje enhet, lok och vagn, krävs data över enheten: längd, vikt, last, broms-, rull- och luftmotstånd. För lok tillkommer dessutom information om ljud, drivning, broms (återmatande elbroms samt konventionell pneumatisk broms (P-broms)), hyttutrustning med mera. För närvarande finns bansträckningen mellan Falköping–Jönköping–Forserum färdigmodellerad och kommer användas för loktågskörning med ATC. Modellen är konfigurerbar utifrån ett lok (Traxx) och i nuläget fyra olika vagnar. Dessa kan kopplas samman i olika kombinationer.

Några användningsområden som diskuterades redan vid projektstart var dels de som naturligt kan kopplas till följder av längre och tyngre tåg, dels de idéer som uppkom som följd av den utrustning som köptes in. Vid Trafikverkets vintermöte genomfördes en workshop där ytterligare användningsområden diskuterades. Några av dessa handlar om utbildning,energieffektiv körning eller projektering. Utbildning och vissa typer av studier går att göra med den nu existerande loktågsmodellen, medan andra kräver antingen validering av parametrar eller viss vidareutveckling av modellen.

Projektet har levererat kunskap i form av nya testmetoder, denna forskningsrapport och en produkt i form av en loktågssimulator samt mjukvaruplattform för ytterligare testverksamhet. Projektet har även levererat en nationell resurs i form av simulatormjukvara. Mjukvaran har lagt grunden för en kostnadseffektiv testverksamhet inom loktågsdomänen. En loktågssimulering (simulering av loktåg) har tagits fram, vilken kommer att vara värdefull som ett demonstrationsverktyg samt för utbildning, träning och projektering.

Allowing higher speeds for freight trains would provide opportunities for a higher prioritization in the traffic flow by rail traffic management, which in itself is a capacity gain and should generate better flows and higher capacity on the Swedish rail network, especially on the major railways. Simulators are an effective and safe way to investigate the effects of changes in both driver behavior and capacity.

The purpose of this project was to create capacity-enhancing opportunities and actions by developing a freight train simulator and investigating its possible application areas. The aim of the project was to provide a freight train simulator, consisting of a locomotive and a number of wagons, which can be used in studies to increase capacity through, for example, optimized speed, and thus changing braking profiles, for long trains. The project has delivered knowledge of new test methods, a freight train simulator and a software platform for further testing.

The project was conducted in three successive stages. In the first phase, a pilot study was carried out with drivers, operators and problem owners, who gave the researchers an understanding of the driving environment. In addition, some of the data needed for the development of the freight train simulator was collected. In the second phase, a freight train (software and hardware) model was developed. Stage three was a validation study together with drivers.

A Traxx model driver console was purchased from a German manufacturer. The vehicle model was developed from a single unit, Regina type (motorcar train), into a combination of several units. The train in the simulator consists of one or more locomotives and a number of wagons with a total length of up to 750 meters. A locomotive of Traxx model is used. For each device, locomotive and wagon, data is required: length, weight, load, brake, roll and air resistance. In addition, information about noise, driving, braking (re-electrical braking and conventional pneumatic brake) (P-brake), cab equipment and more are added. Currently, the track between Falköping - Jönköping - Forserum is modelled and will be used for ATC trains. The model is configurable using combinations of a locomotive (Traxx) and, currently, four different types of wagons. These can be linked in different combinations.

Some applications that were discussed at the start of the project were, on the one side, those that could naturally be linked to longer and heavier trains, and, on the other, the ideas that arose because of the equipment purchased. At the Transport Administration winter meeting, a workshop was conducted where further uses were discussed. Among these are applications within education, energy efficient driving or design. Education and certain types of studies could be performed with the existing locomotive model, while others require either validation of parameters or some further development of the model.

The project has provided knowledge of new test methods, this research report and a product in the form of a freight train simulator and software platform for further testing. The project has also delivered a national resource of simulator software. The software provides for cost-effective testing activities in the freight train domain. A freight train simulator has been developed, which will be valuable as a demonstration tool as well as a platform for training,

In an attempt to increse the freight transport capacity in Sweden, introduction of longer and heavier trains is investigated. To aid this investigation, a freight train simulator was designed and constructed. Here, the implemented freight train dynamics model is described, which includes slip control, a modular wagon model structrue and pneumatic brake system. Further, stable real-time performance of the implemented dynamics model is discussed.

Complexity in modern vehicles consists of an increasingly large multitude of components that operate together. While functional verification of individual components is important, it is also important to test systems of interacting components within a driving environment, both from a functional perspective and from a driver perspective. One proven way for testing is vehicle simulators and in this work the main goals have been to increase flexibility and scalability by introducing a distributed driving simulator platform. 

A distributed simulation architecture was designed and implemented, based on user needs defined in a previous project, which divides a driving simulator environment into four major entities with well-defined interfaces. These entities are Session Control, Environment Simulator, Driving Simulator and Vehicle simulator. High Level Architecture (HLA) Evolved, an IEEE standard, was chosen as the standard for communication. HLA Evolved is based on a publish-subscribe architecture, and is commonly used for distributed simulations. The entities and the communication topology are described in detail in the report.

The evaluation of the distributed simulation architecture focused on flexibility and scalability, and on timing performance. Results show that the implemented distributed simulation architecture compared to the non-modified architecture increased flexibility and scalability, as several distributed setups were tested successfully. However, it also has an inherent communication latency due to packaging and sending of data between entities, which was estimated to be one millisecond. This is an effect which needs to be considered for a distributed simulation. Especially if the communication between the Driving Simulator and the Vehicle Simulator is sensitive to such delays. During evaluations of the distributed simulation architecture, the Driving Simulator and the Vehicle Simulator were always located at one site in a low latency configuration.