Kevin Studevant
Lab 1 – Current Product Description
CS410 – Professor Brunelle
Current ITS Red Team
April 30, 2012
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Table of Contents
1.0
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3
2.0
Current ITS Product Description………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4
3.0
2.1
Key Features and Capabilities……………………………………………………………………………………… 5
2.2
Major Components (Hardware/Software)…………………………………………………………………… 5
2.3
Target Market/Consumer Base………………………………………………………………………………………6
Current ITS Prototype Description………………………………………………………………………………………………7
3.1
Prototype Functional Goals and Objectives…………………………………………………………………….7
3.2
Prototype Architecture (Hardware/Software)……………………………………………………………… 8
3.3
Prototype Features and Capabilities…………………………………………………………………………… 9
3.4
Prototype Development Challenges………………………………………………………………………..… 10
Glossary……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..... 11
References…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 12
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1.0 Introduction
The problem we bring attention to for our product is that people who rely on the light rail for
transportation do not have enough information needed for the maximum utilization of its services.
Because of this, people are often left either frustrated or led astray for extended periods of time with
false beliefs. This causes potential riders to not bother because riding the light rail has been viewed as a
hassle. This leads in a downward spiral of revenue that starts with businesses losing out on the
opportunity to advertise themselves to the public, then streaming down to the HRT ultimately as there
won’t be any interested businesses wanting to advertise themselves through HRT. Finally, the whole
concept of the light rail is lost because not only would the ridership be below average, no one gets a
refund for their investments.
Our solution to this problem is our product, Current ITS. With a modular system as the base of
communication from us to the riders, ease of information transfer is enabled smoothly. Current ITS
provides real time information to the end users, giving them time specific detail on ridership and light
rail whereabouts. It also alerts riders of any changes in schedule, be it time or route, or detours and
emergencies of the light rail system. Predictions will also be a reality as our system judges based on
trends of ridership and events that occur over various intervals of time. Current ITS also benefits local
businesses in which they can use the light rail systems to draw viewer attention to themselves and
increase their chance of business. The prototype that will be devised will contain many features that the
actual product will, including exclusive features that will not be applied to the final version of Current
ITS.
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2.0 Current ITS Product Description
The basic outlook of Current is focused on three major principles, the first being accessibility.
The application focuses on being available to anyone who can access Current. Mobile devices such as
phones and smart devices will be able to access our application and be updated. It can also be reached
by stationary devices such as computers using our web based interface. Lastly, we have designated
kiosks onsite so those lacking the ability to access it on their own convenience have a source to inform
themselves on the spot. Riders are our top priority as our database will inform and assist them on the
happenings of the light rail. Current grants businesses the opportunity to promote and update their ads
as they are displayed on the many different interfaces around the region as well as the application itself.
It also utilizes transit authority monitoring and prediction to give the riders the most accurate guesses
based on previous events and ridership.
The next goal of our product is being real time. Current provides instantaneously accurate
information the moment the application is accessed. The app transfers valuable information to the
transit authority. Aiding rider decisions is very important as the rider may not have the best course of
action on ridership. Based on the location of the interfaces, business ads will be projected throughout
the light rails and their stations.
Lastly, being valuable is a vital principle behind Current. The end-users benefit by saving time.
Transit authority saves money. Customers are generated for business, furthering the monetary
opportunity for all parties.
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2.1 Key Features and Capabilities
There are many key product features and capabilities that Current contains. First is a transit
authority web interface. With this, our customer and administration can monitor the app and everything
within. It also features a business and event management web interface and app customized for them to
view and monitor their activity. End-users have the web interface specifically for them as well. There will
be real time train tracking with full account of passenger ridership at that moment. Transit authorities
will receive customized reports for the light rail and its stations. Current will be capable of keeping
records of ridership trending and forecasting.
2.2 Major Components (Hardware/Software)
Current contains many complex major components of hardware and software. The overview of
Current focuses on software components, hardware components, and algorithms for predicting and
rerouting. The software components feature an embedded on-board application for the light rail. The
database is the backbone of Current as it distributes all of the information using Linux, constantly
feeding and receiving information from interfaces. The decision engine is a complex system of
algorithms that provide predictions for rerouting and passenger occupancy. The web application engine
is the process of the cycle of information from the database to all of devices that are able to interact
using our web interfaces. The mobile and kiosk Android application are what allow the end-users to be
informed on the whereabouts of the light rail and its stations.
There are three components for hardware, as most of it is already provided. The on-board
hardware consists of a GPS, Automatic People Counter, or APC for short, and an Automatic Vehicle
Locator, also known as AVL. Current will also have a production server and development systems.
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Algorithms are the backbone in the database’s decision making process. There will be an
embedded reporting agent for alerts and recording information on ridership and events. The Decision
Engine will be able to learn training set generation, prediction request handling, and intelligent routing.
Current will be able to sense when new trains should be added or taken away for maximum ridership
effectiveness with the training set generator. It will also have a request handler to manage predictions
for the database. The intelligent routing algorithm will enable accurate detours and rerouting based off
of shortest path, and fastest route. There will be reporting and syndication with Google API as well as
WAE request handling.
2.3 Target Market/Customer Base
The customer base is Current’s second priority as our target market as they are responsible for
monetary benefits, starting with our initial customer, HRT, and branching off into future markets. We
must consider the benefits, current size, future expansion, as well as the trial run for the system when
dealing with HRT. Benefits include the economic boost, easy to access information, and 2-way
communications. Current size of the area is another factor HRT has to consider on the basis of location
and how many trains to use. Continuing the partnership for future expansion into other cities or regions
that would benefit from Current’s services is also ideal. Trial runs for the system would also prove their
worth to unearth valuable data from the results.
We also look forward to future markets for new light rail systems to increase our legacy. Our
goals for them are the focus, system scalability/modularity, and the market size of the new systems.
Current’s focus would be the areas experiencing growth. This can be accomplished by utilizing the
defining characteristics and benefits of those areas to take the best plan of action. The system
modularity should be considered for maximum flexibility of the light rails. The market size will start off
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small in current, local areas. We will then expand further into the country targeted to heavily populated
areas that would benefit from less automobile congestion. Europe would be the next ideal place to
branch out from our success, and later, the world.
3.0 Current ITS Prototype Description
The Current ITS prototype can be described with three main factors, product objective, end-user
interface, and the benefits the prototype can offer, some of which, will not be included in the real world
product. Current’s first product objective is to valuable information to transit authority. It also has the
responsibility to aid riders in making effective decisions based off of our information. Like the real world
product, the prototype will broadcast business advertisements based off of the target location. The enduser interfaces will be mobile, web, and on-site interfaces, with the exception of kiosks. It will have
alerts and inform riders of trains, capacity, and events related to them. Businesses are able to promote
themselves and their events with ease. Transit authorities will be able to monitor and make predictions
using their respective interfaces. The three benefits of time conserving, money saving, and customer
opportunities
3.1 Prototype Functional Goals and Objectives
The prototype has a plethora of functional goals and objectives. It’s able to display functionality
of transit authority on its web interface. The prototype will also have the ability to monitor trains and
ridership. It will have access to reports and records. The display functionality of business and event
management and web interface and app will also be in development. Businesses will have posting of
events for advertisement. Riders will also have functionality over their interface and mobile app as well.
The process of purchasing tickets to ride the light rail will also be put into practice. Current will be able
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to view the location of trains and the current capacity as its full version will also provide. We will
simulate real time train tracking and passenger counting for the prototype. Mock up rider data will be
used to customize reporting simulation. Ridership trending and forecasting has to be simulated as well.
3.2 Prototype Architecture (Hardware/Software)
The architecture hardware and software are very similar to that of the real world product. The
software components will still feature an embedded on-board application for the light rail. The database
will still use Linux for information distribution and feedback from the interfaces. The decision engine is a
complex system of algorithms that provide predictions for rerouting and passenger occupancy. The web
application engine is the process of the cycle of information from the database to all of devices that are
able to interact using our web interfaces. The mobile application will still be used to grant the end-users
information on the whereabouts of the light rail and its stations.
There are three components for hardware, as most of it is already provided. The on-board
hardware consists of a GPS, Automatic People Counter, or APC for short, and an Automatic Vehicle
Locator, also known as AVL. Current will also have a production server and development systems.
Algorithms are the backbone in the database’s decision making process. There will be an
embedded reporting agent for alerts and recording information on ridership and events. The Decision
Engine will be able to learn training set generation, prediction request handling, and intelligent routing.
Current will be able to sense when new trains should be added or taken away for maximum ridership
effectiveness with the training set generator. It will also have a request handler to manage predictions
for the database. The intelligent routing algorithm will enable accurate detours and rerouting based off
of shortest path, and fastest route. There will be reporting and syndication with Google API as well as
WAE request handling. The hardware components will only be consisting of the software server and the
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development systems. The prototype algorithms will still contain the embedded reporting agent,
decision engine machine learning, and the WAE request management. We will have reporting and
syndication, although Google API will most likely not be used.
3.3 Prototype Features and Capabilities
The prototype features and capabilities will circle around the major features, event calendar,
business advertising, and risk mitigation. The major features will entail local businesses and attractions,
a search function, user favorites and recommendations based on rider history, and station association.
The event calendar will notify the end-user of upcoming events, keep records of user favorites as well as
the station association for that as well. Businesses will have their own interface in which to advertise. It
will be done by generating an advertisement and benefiting from how many impressions and clicks are
reported. The station will also be reporting the progress of the business advertisements as well. Station
association will be a big factor as it circulates the nearby events and information the user may want to
be aware of. Feedback will be a smooth process as the prototype will provide easy to use submission as
well as a report from the HRT backend. The system will also follow a trend analysis as the stations will
tend to go over time. There will also be event prediction and a backend report to HRT on the analysis of
said trends. Risk mitigation will be made based off three factors. The first will be the data latency of the
timestamps and simulated delayed data of the light rail system. Second will be the accuracy of the data
that will be tested through diagnostics and simulated bad data. Finally, the realistic model which will
have real world based data input.
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3.4 Prototype Development Challenges
The prototype has many challenges and risks such as realistic representation of the simulated
solutions, like hardware and software. Meeting development requirements will prove to be a challenge
as well, considering the development of specifications and time frame. Then the development of
innovative parts of the projects would have to be completed. This includes the integration between HRT
and the local businesses, real time rider feedback, and real time GTFS. The algorithms required for the
demonstration of the prototyped need to be developed as well. There needs to be a learning algorithm
for trending, as well as the HRT, business, and rider back ends.
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Glossary
Android - A widely-used, open-source platform for mobile applications.
Automatic People Counter – Sensor that uses 3D cameras to count passengers above the vehicle door
Automatic Vehicle Locator – Tracks locations of vehicles
Database – hardware that organizes stored information
Decision Engine – Generates predictions of riders and events
Google API – source for business locations
GPS – satellite navigation that gives location and time information from outer space
Training set generation – Historical and actual data are used to predict events taking place later on
Web Application Engine – Processes information using predictions and other information
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References
http://www.gohrt.com/publications/reports/sir-light-rail-summary.pdf
http://www.gohrt.com/public-records/Commission-Documents/CommissionMeetings/FY2012/January-2012.pdf
http://hamptonroads.com/2011/11/poll-public-board-expanding-lightrail-route
http://www.metro-magazine.com/News/Story/2011/08/INIT-employees-to-serve-as-Tide-Guides.aspx
http://hamptonroads.com/2011/07/control-room-nsu-serves-brains-light-rail
http://www.serpefirm.com/responsibilities-the-tide-light-rail-controller-operator.aspx
http://www.gohrt.com/public-records/Operations-Documents/Rail/Monthly-Ridership/RailRidership-Current.pdf
http://www.metro-magazine.com/News/Story/2011/08/Va-s-The-Tide-opens-hits-30Kboardings.aspx
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-4949672-503544.html
http://www.lightrail.com/projects.htm
http://www.realtor.org/wps/wcm/connect/212699004205f031b404fcc7ba2f3d20/cpa_transport_0
90.pdf
http://hamptonroads.com/2012/02/some-stores-near-norfolk-light-rail-stations-see-boost
Debbie Messina, “The Tide.” The Virginian-Pilot. February 18th, 2012.
http://apta.com/resources/statistics/Documents/Ridership/2011-q3-ridership-APTA.pdf
http://www.lightrailnow.org/success2.htm
http://www.prweb.com/releases/light_rail/light_rail_transit/prweb4253534.htm
http://www.itscosts.its.dot.gov/its/benecost.nsf/images/Reports/$File/Ben_Cost_Less_Depl_2011%
20Update.pdf
http://www.detroittransit.org/cms.php?pageid=26
http://www.dart.org/about/economicimpact.asp
http://reason.org/news/show/126773.html
http://mobility.tamu.edu/files/2011/09/congestion-cost.pdf
http://www.vtpi.org/railben.pdf
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