nhancing the Usability of the TEXAS Model for Intersection Traffic

The TEXAS Model for Intersection Traffic is a high quality single intersection microscopic traffic simulation model developed at The University of Texas at Austin. The TEXAS Model analyzes in sub microscopic detail the behavior of driver-vehicle units as they go through an intersection and intermix with other traffic flows. The TEXAS Model has detailed intersection geometry, path following, microscopic car following, lane changing, visibility restriction features, and surrogate safety measures allowing it to be used for intersection collision analysis. However, its user interface is card oriented and thus it is extremely difficult to use. Making it easy to use would encourage its use for design of intersections that consider traffic collision and safety potential. This project will use object oriented structured programming techniques and JAVA to develop a simple interactive graphics interface to the TEXAS Model that would replace the functions performed by the GDVDATA and SIMDATA programs. The user interface will be based on concepts in the CORSIM and the Interactive Graphics Intersection Design System interface (IGIDS), but will not use the CORSIM model code. The user interface will be programmed in JAVA to achieve platform independence and will run on at least Windows 2000 & XP, LINUX, and MacOS.