Evaluation of High-Level Traffic Signal Control Algorithms Using Hardware in the Loop Simulation

Traffic signal control has been considered an efficient way to make conflicting traffic flows operate safely and efficiently at intersections. To comprehensively evaluate the high-level control algorithms embedded in the signal controllers, a framework based on the hardware in the loop simulation (HILS) technology is proposed. There are three sections of the framework. The first is the establishment of the HILS platform, which can combine the signal controllers and simulation software. The principles of selecting a testing scenario based on field traffic flow data is proposed in the second section. The last section evaluates the signal control algorithms using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). To verify the efficiency of the proposed framework, an isolated and realistic intersection is modeled with VISSIM software to evaluate the fully actuated and adapted control algorithms of one signal controller. The differences of the two algorithms are analyzed.