Active Traffic Sensor Location Problem for the Uniqueness of Path Flow Identification in Large-Scale Networks

Over time, traffic sensors have become recognized as a leading source of traffic flow data. Despite their solid capabilities for measuring various types of traffic flow information, they cannot be implemented at all intersections or mid-blocks within the transportation network. Consequently, the tra...

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Main Authors: Ahmed Almutairi, Mahmoud Owais
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2024-01-01
Series:IEEE Access
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10772113/
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author Ahmed Almutairi
Mahmoud Owais
author_facet Ahmed Almutairi
Mahmoud Owais
author_sort Ahmed Almutairi
collection DOAJ
description Over time, traffic sensors have become recognized as a leading source of traffic flow data. Despite their solid capabilities for measuring various types of traffic flow information, they cannot be implemented at all intersections or mid-blocks within the transportation network. Consequently, the traffic sensor location problem (TSLP) emerged to address the questions of how many sensors are needed and where they should be installed. This study presents a new formulation that combines path covering and differentiation into a single sensor location strategy using vehicle identification sensors. The solution strategy ensures the uniqueness of path flow identification. The problem’s complexity has two main dimensions: its mathematical formulation, which is known to be NP-hard, and the inherent combinatorial complexity resulting from the need for complete network path enumeration. Therefore, finding an efficient solution algorithm for large-scale networks is challenging. In this article, the problem is recast as a set-covering problem. The dual formulation is then considered, demonstrating that a shortest path-based column generation strategy can produce as many paths as needed, avoiding existing intractability. This path-building process resolves the problem using a combination of heuristics and exact solution methods. The scalability of the proposed strategies was evaluated using two networks of varying sizes. A benchmark network demonstrated the results’ uniqueness compared to those in the literature. Additionally, the method proved highly effective in managing a network with more than 10,000 demand node pairs, producing practical solutions under normal traffic flow circumstances.
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spelling doaj-art-22d65904c3a94b41845cab0118e028c02024-12-10T00:02:10ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362024-01-011218038518040310.1109/ACCESS.2024.350952310772113Active Traffic Sensor Location Problem for the Uniqueness of Path Flow Identification in Large-Scale NetworksAhmed Almutairi0https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7564-9942Mahmoud Owais1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1639-2120Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, Majmaah University, Al Majma’ah, Saudi ArabiaCivil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Assiut University, Assiut, EgyptOver time, traffic sensors have become recognized as a leading source of traffic flow data. Despite their solid capabilities for measuring various types of traffic flow information, they cannot be implemented at all intersections or mid-blocks within the transportation network. Consequently, the traffic sensor location problem (TSLP) emerged to address the questions of how many sensors are needed and where they should be installed. This study presents a new formulation that combines path covering and differentiation into a single sensor location strategy using vehicle identification sensors. The solution strategy ensures the uniqueness of path flow identification. The problem’s complexity has two main dimensions: its mathematical formulation, which is known to be NP-hard, and the inherent combinatorial complexity resulting from the need for complete network path enumeration. Therefore, finding an efficient solution algorithm for large-scale networks is challenging. In this article, the problem is recast as a set-covering problem. The dual formulation is then considered, demonstrating that a shortest path-based column generation strategy can produce as many paths as needed, avoiding existing intractability. This path-building process resolves the problem using a combination of heuristics and exact solution methods. The scalability of the proposed strategies was evaluated using two networks of varying sizes. A benchmark network demonstrated the results’ uniqueness compared to those in the literature. Additionally, the method proved highly effective in managing a network with more than 10,000 demand node pairs, producing practical solutions under normal traffic flow circumstances.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10772113/Active sensingmeta-heuristicspath flow observabilityscreen line problemtraffic sensors
spellingShingle Ahmed Almutairi
Mahmoud Owais
Active Traffic Sensor Location Problem for the Uniqueness of Path Flow Identification in Large-Scale Networks
IEEE Access
Active sensing
meta-heuristics
path flow observability
screen line problem
traffic sensors
title Active Traffic Sensor Location Problem for the Uniqueness of Path Flow Identification in Large-Scale Networks
title_full Active Traffic Sensor Location Problem for the Uniqueness of Path Flow Identification in Large-Scale Networks
title_fullStr Active Traffic Sensor Location Problem for the Uniqueness of Path Flow Identification in Large-Scale Networks
title_full_unstemmed Active Traffic Sensor Location Problem for the Uniqueness of Path Flow Identification in Large-Scale Networks
title_short Active Traffic Sensor Location Problem for the Uniqueness of Path Flow Identification in Large-Scale Networks
title_sort active traffic sensor location problem for the uniqueness of path flow identification in large scale networks
topic Active sensing
meta-heuristics
path flow observability
screen line problem
traffic sensors
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10772113/
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AT mahmoudowais activetrafficsensorlocationproblemfortheuniquenessofpathflowidentificationinlargescalenetworks