Abstract

The future development of the web largely depends on net neutrality, that is, ensuring that all content, sites and platforms are treated equally. This article assesses the origins and motivations that exist in the debate about network neutrality. Then it focuses on the two distinct views regarding net neutrality: the Openists, supporters of an open net without restrictions, on one side and Deregulationists, naturally suspicious of any government regulation, on the other. Finally, this article describes the net neutrality regulatory framework within the European Union.

Abstract

We discuss the popularity of Cuba’s MES (Ministry of Higher Education) centres, as well as their interconnectedness and visibility on the world wide web. The role of links in the positioning and visibility of these sites was studied because web browsers use link analysis (or hypertext analysis) to infer not only the content but the quality or the possible “authority” status of a web site. A webmetric study of the 17 centres with web sites was conducted. The relationship between the number of links and page traffic of the MES centres was determined by analysis of the browsers Google, Alltheweb, and Altavista, and also from the Internet Archive and Traffic Rank (Alexa ranking). Four results were obtained: i) the MES centres had better visibility in the browser Altavista, with a Standard Error (SE) ±0,00210; of these, a significantly better value was observed for the 13th centre (superscript a); ii) as page storage in the Internet archive increased, more links or cites were received from the browsers; iii) the links and ranking in Alltheweb showed significantly better performance (SE ± 0,23) and a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0,44%; iv) significant differences exist among MES centre sites in the Internet archive, with respect to links and activity reported in the Traffic Rank.

Abstract

Traffic engineering encompasses a set of techniques that can be used to control the flow of traffic in data networks. We discuss several of those techniques that have been developed during the last few years. Some techniques are focused on pure IP networks while others have been designed with emerging technologies for scalable Quality of Service (QoS) such as Differentiated Services and MPLS in mind. We first discuss traffic engineering techniques inside a single domain. We show that by using a non-linear programming formulation of the traffic engineering problem it is possible to meet the requirements of demanding customer traffic, while optimising the use of network resources, through the means of an automated provisioning system. We also extend the functionality of the traffic engineering system through policies. In the following, we discuss the techniques that can be used to control the flow of packets between domains. First, we briefly describe interdomain routing and the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP). Second, we summarise the characteristics of interdomain traffic based on measurements with two different Internet Service Providers. We show by simulations the limitations of several BGP-based traffic engineering techniques that are currently used on the Internet. Then, we discuss the utilisation of BGP to exchange QoS information between domains by using the QOS_NLRI attribute to allow BGP to select more optimum paths. Finally, we consider the multi-homing problem and analyse the current proposed IPv6 multi-homing solutions are analysed along with their impact on communication quality.

Abstract

"jats:p" The significant of public transport of cities in many developing countries lies in the fundamental fact that mobility and accessibility are essential for economic growth and of necessity to provide efficient and effective movement for goods and services. The collapse of public intra-city transport system paved way for the rise of motorcycles as means of public transportation in Nigeria. This paper discusses the impact of commercial motorcycle operation as a means of urban transportation. Of the 200 questionnaires administered, 191 questionnaires were received for analysis using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Secondary data was also sourced to serve as complement to the primary data, thus allowing for a robust research. Descriptive statistical tools such as percentages were adopted to present the socio - economic characteristics in the area. Findings showed that the majority of the users are adult between the aged 31 and 40 years. Most of them (53.8%) are married and are fairly educated. Furthermore, it was recommended that the Nigerian government should provide employment opportunities for our teeming youth as this will go a long way in the reduction of number of youth who as a result of unemployment took to motorcycle riding business. Document type: Article

Abstract

The main objective of the project PROLOGUE (PROmoting real Life Observations for Gaining Understanding of road user behaviour in Europe) is to explore the feasibility and usefulness of a large-scale European naturalistic driving observation study. The work described in this deliverable focused on the feasibility of using and combining two observation methods, site-based observation and in-vehicle observation, for naturalistic driving analysis. In this study the strengths and weaknesses of each method were analyzed and the differences between measures that were calculated by both methods were compared to consider the combined results. The two different observation methods studied the interaction between car drivers turning right and cyclists going straight at an intersection, which was equipped with cameras. For the site-based study one camera was used that had a bird’s eye view on the intersection. The video data were processed manually and automatically. The results of the two ways of analysis were compared. The instrumented cars were equipped with a data acquisition system (DAS) and sensors including a GPS logger and a camera. The results of the site-based observations showed that the manual processing seemed to be more accurate than the automatic processing. However, the processing time was much larger for manual analysis. Having a top view camera or more cameras with different viewpoints could improve the accuracy of automatic processing by providing the ability to detect the sizes of the road users and therefore the road user type. The in-vehicle measurement showed that drivers show different driving behaviour when making the right turn manoeuvre from a halted situation compared to a non-halted situation. This implies that drivers adapt their behaviour and compensate for the more dangerous situation by driving slower and looking more often. The results of the speed measure comparison between the site-based and in-vehicle study showed that the average speeds for both studies were similar. However, the speed profile that was measured in the in-vehicle study was less smooth than the speed pattern that was derived in the site-based study. This is explained by the noisy GPS signal on which the in-vehicle speeds are based. The value of combining the two observation methods is twofold. At first it offers the opportunity to enrich the information from one study with complementary observations from the other study. Secondly, it offers the opportunity to validate measures from the individual studies. This study showed that each type of study has its unique values. From in-vehicle data it is possible to look in detail at the driving behaviour of the participants over time and in different natural situations. The video data allows looking over the shoulder of the driver and observer where drivers are looking or what they are paying attention to. By analyzing their glancing behaviour, we know when and how often drivers look at other vulnerable road users to estimate their position and speed and to be able to anticipate. For a future large scale naturalistic driving study it could be valuable to add a number of sites with site-based observation. Two main areas are identified that would benefit from these complementary observations. One research area is when studying the interaction between drivers and vulnerable road users. Another research area that would benefit from the complementary observations is research questions related to infrastructure – as these are by nature related to a specific site like an intersection, a lane merge or a roundabout. The site-based observation allows to observe the traffic flow, the in-vehicle observation could add (for the overlapping cases) information on looking behaviour or other in-vehicle behaviours as well as additional vehicle data like accelerations.

Abstract

Naturalistic driving observation is a relatively new method for studying road safety issues, a method by which one can objectively observe various driver- and accident related behaviour. Typically, participants get their own vehicles equipped with some sort of data logging device that can record various driving behaviours such as speed, braking, lane keeping/variations, acceleration, deceleration etc., as well as one or more video cameras. In this way normal drivers are observed in their normal driving context while driving their own vehicles. Optimally, this allows for observation of the driver, vehicle, road and traffic environments and interaction between these factors. The main objective of PROLOGUE is to demonstrate the usefulness, value, and feasibility of conducting naturalistic driving observation studies in a European context in order to investigate traffic safety of road users, as well as other traffic related issues such as eco-driving and traffic flow/traffic management. The current deliverable describes the methodological issues related to naturalistic driving studies. It describes the experimental procedures, variables to be measured, experimental design, statistical analysis methods, organizational issues and legal and ethical issues for naturalistic studies. Maximal use is made of the extensive knowledge and experience that comes from the EU projects FESTA and EuroFOT, the 100car study and the SHRP2 preparatory safety studies.

Abstract

utomated Driving (AD) technology is anticipated to be a key aspect for achieving a higher level of road safety, a further reduction of harmful emissions, improving traffic flow, increasing comfort and ensuring mobility for all, including elderly and impaired. As AD technology is rapidly being developed, an increasing number of driving tasks in vehicles is currently being taken over by automation in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). With the transition towards Connected and Automated Driving (CAD), automation is expected to further increase until the driver is completely out of the driving loop. An important aspect in this continuous development is the safety assessment of the road worthiness of these new functions and systems.

Abstract

air traffic is forecasted to increase, air traffic control software subsequently needs to be more sophisticated. To efficiently push development forward, testing is important in order to determine usability. The tests need to be adapted to fit a particular purpose and carried out with methods that preserve the validity of the results. This thesis describes an implementation project carried out at the EUROCONTROL Experimental Centre, Bretigny-sur-Orge, France. The purpose of the project is to create an application that enables a user to create datasets of air traffic to be used for these tests. The application allows for manual work or bulk imports from external data sources. Furthermore it compiles scenarios as output datasets intended for prototype air traffic control software developed at Linköping University. The application design rationale and development process is described. Some time is spent on demonstrating the flexibility of the application and how its usage fits in a bigger picture.

Abstract

This thesis presents new tools and methods for the design and validation of advanced driver assistance systems (ADASs). ADASs aim to improve driving comfort and traffic safety by assisting the driver in recognizing and reacting to potentially dangerous traffic situations. A major challenge in designing these systems is to guarantee high performance and dependability under all possible combinations of traffic scenarios, operating conditions, and failure modes. These stringent requirements necessitate fault-tolerant control techniques and a thorough validation of the system. A microscopic traffic simulation within the simulation environment PreScan supports the initial system design. In addition, a unique tool for the design and validation of ADASs is presented and evaluated: vehicle hardware-in-the-loop (VeHIL) simulation. The VeHIL laboratory allows an ADAS-equipped vehicle to be tested in an artificial environment, where surrounding traffic is emulated by robot vehicles. VeHIL enables repeatable, safe, and accurate testing, complementary to human-in-the-loop test drives. The use of these three tools (PreScan, VeHIL, and test drives) is combined in a methodology for probabilistic validation of ADASs, based on randomized algorithms. This methodology is more efficient than conventional simulation techniques and the current practice of trial-and-error test drives. It results in a test schedule definition with a minimum number of simulations and test runs, such that the performance and dependability of an ADAS can be guaranteed, given a desired level of accuracy and confidence. The added value of the methodology is demonstrated with three case studies, involving a driver information and warning system, a fault-tolerant system for cooperative adaptive cruise control, and a pre-crash system.

Abstract

Paramics micro-simulation model of an Adelaide radial road corridor has been constructed. The corridor includes a novel one-way reversible direction expressway equipped with an advanced traffic management system (ATMS). The modelled area included two alternative radial routes: an arterial road and the expressway. The model was used to analyse the performance of the corridor when an incident occurred on the expressway, in terms of traffic conditions and greenhouse gas emissions. Real world data was collected on both routes using an instrumented vehicle which records vehicle engine, positional and emissions data in real time. Paramics allows a representation of the probe vehicle to be introduced into the simulations. The paper describes the modelled results when this vehicle was immersed in the simulation modelling on incidents and the responses of the corridor's ATMS, with particular regard to the estimation of the emission impacts of ATIS and INMS.