Technology Profile |
Using virtual reality
to save lives on roads
| Need to know
Results of the
collaboration between
PTV Vissim and video
game creator Unity
066 Traffic Technology International January/February 2020
www.TrafficTechnologyToday.com
is displayed on the windshield.
To achieve this, PTV Vissim
processes the traffic information
while Unity graphically renders
that information through the
windshield.
Talking traffic lights
One potential application of the
augmented reality windshield
concept is a situation dreaded
by many drivers: just as they
are about to cross an
intersection, the signal switches
to yellow or red, causing them
to suddenly break (or, more
dangerously speed up).
But what if they were
informed in advance as to
whether they had enough time
to cross the intersection?
Real-time information from
signal controls (i.e, traffic lights)
are already integrated into PTV
Vissim. In this project, PTV
Group explored the possibility
of communicating this
information from the traffic
lights to nearby vehicles in
an unconventional way, using
Unity simulations.
Online computer games
are not only fun, but a
growing market already
exceeding the film production
and streaming industries. But
beyond popular titles, the
cutting-edge visualizations
could also be helpful to create
road safety gadgets that keep
drivers and pedestrians away
from accidents.
Recently, developers at
PTV Group combined some
of the software features of
gaming producer Unity with
PTV Vissim, a traffic simulation
software.
“This co-simulation resulted
in a number of great ideas”, says
Isaac Vargas Gordillo of PTV
Group, “the virtual reality
experience of city car driving
and walking can now be turned
into effective road safety and
planning tools. We hope to
develop these tools further”.
Here are some of the most
exciting applications of the cosimulation
between Unity and
PTV Vissim software:
Pedestrian perspectives
Too often pedestrians are not
prioritized when it comes to
infrastructure planning. This
results in a high number of
accidents involving pedestrians.
PTV experts developed a
demo app for mobile devices,
which can be used with the
virtual reality viewer Google
Cardboard. With this app,
powered by a traffic simulation
from PTV Vissim and processed
by Unity for better visualization,
users get a virtual reality
experience of a pedestrian’s
point-of-view through their
portable devices.
But here’s the twist:
information sent by PTV Vissim
is also extracted from vehicles
in the proximity of the
pedestrians, for example
their intended trajectory.
> A demo app for mobile
devices designed to
improve pedestrian safety
that can display intended
vehicle trajectories
> An augmented reality
vehicle windshield that
displays useful trafficrelated
information to
better inform drivers
> Traffic light technology
that communicates to
drivers when the signal is
turning from green to red
> Software that informs
drivers the intended
trajectory of autonomous
vehicles
Then, this information is
displayed in a simple and ‘clean’
way in the app, in order to give
pedestrians more certainty
about upcoming movements of
nearby vehicles. If implemented,
this would have the potential of
reducing fatalities and injuries
in risky areas.
Augmented reality screen
What if your car’s windshield
could provide essential traffic
information, increasing your
safety? Through virtual reality
we can explore how an
augmented reality windshield
will work.
Using PTV Vissim and Unity,
PTV Group developed a driving
simulator that provides car
drivers (or passengers of
autonomous vehicles) with
important details about nearby
vehicles and traffic lights,
through a display on the
vehicles’ windshield.
This information, such as
trajectories of the other vehicles,
traffic light timing, and
predicted vehicle positions,
/www.TrafficTechnologyToday.com