An Embedded Route Information Gathering Tool for Supporting ITS

Route planning is one of the essential services provided by a modern Intelligent Transportation System (ITS). In literature [1], many routing algorithms based on static traffic conditions such as speed limits and road widths are proposed. However, real traffic is much more complex and dynamic. Human drivers usually rely on their previous experiences to choose among alternative routes to cope with the dynamically changing traffic conditions. We are currently collaborating with researchers in urban planning to study the design of routing algorithms based on information collected from experienced drivers including taxi drivers. Besides traditional interview methods for collecting human experience, we also developed a new technology to real-time record the trajectory of a vehicle. This new technology is called In-Vehicle Route Recording System, abbreviated as IRR. IRR uses a small PDA as its platform and is equipped with GPS and WLAN devices, where PDA denotes a Personal Digital Aid, GPS denotes Global Positioning System, and WLAN denotes Wireless Local Area Network. IRR uses GPS to monitor its current position. Using the WLAN device, researchers may upload the stored route information, including timing, position, and velocity, collected in the IRR to the server through a wireless link. Route information are then analyzed in the server using Geographic Information System and Case-Based Reasoning tools. In this paper, we present our design of the IRR system. Due to storage limitation on the handheld device, our application software is designed and implemented on an embedded Linux [2] kernel. IRR also integrates with Qt cross-platform development framework in order to enhance system portability.