Traffic Simulation based on Cellular Automaton Method

This project aimed to model the keep-right-except-to-pass rule using Cellular Automata (CA).

Cellular automaton system is a discrete dynamic system consisting of a regular grid of cells, each in one of a finite number of states. And the state of each cell is updated every single discrete time step according to the updating rules, which are determined by the current state of the cell and the states of its neighbor cells.

Simulating traffic flow in an intersection by CA

To evaluate the performance of a rule in traffic systems, we introduced the CA method to simulate the traffic flow in one-lane, two-lane and three-lane freeways. Additionally, we added the horn index to simulate the horn effect in the traffic on the freeway. Apart from that, we defined the lane changing criteria in the case of keep-right driving system and the normal driving system. Then, we tested the model using the volume-density relation and computing the vehicle proportion on different lanes. The results showed that the model could replicate volume-density relationship well.

Volume-density relationship replicated by CA simulation