1. MITSIM The Traffic Simulator ● Represents movement of vehicles in terms of smaller elements such as nodes, links, and lanes ● Randomly assigns driver aggression levels and routes ● Produces output like travel time and dwell time at stops TMS The Traffic Management System ● Mimics traffic control of system under evaluation ● Simulates ramp control, freeway control, intersection control, variable message signs, and in-vehicle route guidance ● Programs public transits into simulation to become part of traffic GUI The Graphical User Interface ● Visually depicts vehicle movements and traffic patterns ● Also helps with debugging code by alerting the user to abnormal vehicle behavior or misshapen road segments ● Example output in the righthand image What is MITSIMLab MITSIMLab is a microscopic traffic simulator, developed by Moshe Ben-Akiva and Haris Koutsopoulos at the MIT Intelligent Transportation Systems Program, which evaluates the impacts of various traffic management designs. MITSIMLab can depict traffic situations and identify areas likely to become congested along the evacuation routes, which can lead to better signage and control signals to direct traffic in a more efficient manner. Natural Disasters Millions of human lives are impacted every year by hurricanes, tornados, floods and other natural disasters, and these disasters are becoming more and more prevalent. With this comes the consequences of more costly damages. Creating evacuation plans using simulators like MITSIMLab can help increase the evacuation rate and reduce the injuries and deaths of residents who don’t leave in time. Making Evacuation Plans with MITSIMLab MITSIMLab is used by creating a model of a city’s roads then adding specifics like number of lanes, location of traffic signals, and speed limits. Different scenarios can be tested, such as road closures or altered traffic signal timing. Based on measures of performance such as average vehicle speed and time to reach the designated safe zone, the best routes are determined. These routes then become part of a city’s official evacuation plans. In the even of an actual natural disaster, there really is no was to determine which roads may end up flooded or otherwise blocked, so plans may have to be changed in the moment, but after running so many tests, engineers should have a good idea of what alternative routes to suggest to the public. Evaluation MITSIMLab is calibrated continually using real traffic statistics in order to keep the simulations as accurate as possible. The program is inexpensive to use and efficient to run, only taking about fifteen minutes per trial. In addition, by allowing more residents to evacuate in less time, the use of MITSIMLab can reduce healthcare costs since fewer people would be injured or killed in the storm. In this way, MITSIMLab also helps sustain human life, allowing for the continued growth of future generations after recovery from the natural disaster. MITSIMLab and other microscopic traffic simulators will continue to add advancements that can improve the accuracy and practicality of evacuation plans that will promote the endurance of human lives, social well-being, and economic status. Alexandra Lichty & Alexandra Meier Components of MITSIMLab