SimIWay: an integrated simulation software platform for intelligent freeways based on SUMO and Unity3D

Abstract

Intelligent freeways are a type of freeway construction model based on information technology and intelligent technology. In order to facilitate research on intelligent freeways, this paper proposes SimIWay, an integrated simulation software platform for intelligent freeways based on SUMO and Unity3D. SimIWay consists of three parts: road network and traffic flow generation, integrated simulation tools, and application scenarios. The combination of these three parts forms a full-stack simulation platform, including functions such as traffic flow generation, freeway network construction, traffic simulation, traffic control, traffic data analysis and visualization. It supports importing real road networks and traffic flows from the real world, and can also customize virtual road networks and traffic flows according to requirements. The simulation tool consists of SUMO, Unity3D, and driving simulators, providing a realistic freeway simulation environment. The platform is highly modular and can simulate a variety of intelligent freeway application scenarios. We chose the example of variable speed limits (VSL) on freeways. The VSL control uses an extended Cell Transmission Model (CTM), which aims to improve the efficiency of freeway operations by formulating a single objective function and using a genetic algorithm for solving the speed limit values. The simulation of this scenario demonstrates the platform's ability to research intelligent freeways.