STREAMS Integrated Intelligent Transport System
Encyclopedia
STREAMS Integrated Intelligent Transport System is an enterprise traffic management system
designed to operate in the Microsoft Windows
environment. Like most traffic management systems, STREAMS is an array of institutional, human, hardware, and software components designed to monitor, control, and manage traffic on streets and highways. Advanced traffic management systems come under the banner of ITS (intelligent transport systems). ITS is an umbrella term referring to the application of information and communications technology to transport operations in order to reduce operating costs, improve safety and maximise the capacity of existing infrastructure. STREAMS provides traffic signal management, incident management, motorway management, vehicle priority, traveller information and parking guidance within a single integrated system. STREAMS is developed by Transmax.
in Australia
(located at Surfers Paradise). This included 30 signalised intersections featuring centralised control and traffic responsive capabilities.
In 1985, a second generation traffic management system was installed in Cairns, Australia
. This was known as the TRAC System, or Traffic Responsive Adaptive Control System. Progressive installation of the TRAC system followed at several more sites around Queensland
including the capital city, Brisbane
.
In 1988, a traffic management system was installed for the South East Freeway in Brisbane
, Australia
. The features included were ramp metering and graphical displays of traffic conditions. It also provided automatic incident detection.
In 1992, a new integrated intelligent transport system development was commenced. The objectives were to lower ongoing costs while providing increased performance and opportunity for future ITS applications. The resultant system was STREAMS.
In 2002, the division of Department of Main Roads (Queensland)
responsible for continuing development of STREAMS was privatised to form Transmax. The company remains 100% owned by the Department of Main Roads.
In April 2007, Transmax in partnership with VicRoads
implemented a coordinated ramp metering trial in Melbourne
, Victoria
on a 15 km section of the Monash Freeway
. Later that year, in December, VicRoads installed STREAMS to manage another six ramps..
These developments were part of a much larger M1 Upgrade Project that continued over the next three years, eventually winning the 2010 National ITS Australia Award. The project to upgrade the 75-kilometre M1 Freeway, increasing the capacity and safety of the Monash Freeway, the CityLink Tollway (Southern Link) and the West Gate Freeway utilising STREAMS as the Integrated Control System..
Currently, STREAMS is at version 2011.1. The next major release, STREAMS 2011.2, is scheduled for late 2011.
The name STREAMS was derived via the association of managing multiple modes or "streams" of traffic (e.g. public transport, private cars, pedestrians, bicycles, and commercial vehicles) as well as the concept of "streams" of data which are inherent in any distributed computing
system.
software architecture
. Field hardware such as intersection controllers, video cameras and speed detectors are connected via field processors back to a central application server
. Users connect to the application server
via the workstation
software. Field communications are via Optical Fibre
, DSL, Wireless
or PAPL connections.
The software is built in distinct modules for each distinct area of traffic / transport control and monitoring. The workstation
software communicates to the application server software via a publisher / subscriber model (i.e. workstations subscribe to specifically requested streams of data which are published by the application server
).
The software architecture model is designed to support the software's claim of being an "integrated" Advanced Traffic Management System
. This breaks away from the inter-operability model, which is multiple ITS
systems working in parallel, each performing a discrete function.
The workstation
software is built around a central user interface called "STREAMS Explorer". Other specification / reporting applications can all be launched from STREAMS Explorer.
The transport network data is set up via a GIS (Geographic Information System
). The GIS allows for a graphical user interface displaying transport network
data overlaid on street maps and updating in real-time.
The application server uses a Microsoft SQL Server
database
running on Microsoft
Windows Server
. Linux
is employed as the operating system
for all field processors. The workstation
software is designed to run on Microsoft Windows
.
For security reasons, STREAMS employs 128-bit SSL encryption
across all data and communication links. As well, firewalls
, intrusion detection
systems, and authorisation mechanisms are utilised.
, and picks the traffic density levels and direction that they apply to. Selecting the appropriate signal timing
is then automatic. When a time based traffic plan schedule would be inappropriate because of varying traffic levels, STREAMS Dynamic Plan Selection can adapt to unexpected traffic levels as they arise.
Competing systems such as SCATS employ a method of automatically modifying traffic plans in real-time to optimise traffic flow. STREAMS does not generate its own traffic plans, but instead allows for dynamic operation in which the system can choose the optimal traffic plan from a selection of plans created by users.
Active Traffic Management
Active traffic management , also known as managed lanes or smart lanes, is a scheme for improving traffic flow and reducing congestion on motorways. It has been implemented in several countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States...
designed to operate in the Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
environment. Like most traffic management systems, STREAMS is an array of institutional, human, hardware, and software components designed to monitor, control, and manage traffic on streets and highways. Advanced traffic management systems come under the banner of ITS (intelligent transport systems). ITS is an umbrella term referring to the application of information and communications technology to transport operations in order to reduce operating costs, improve safety and maximise the capacity of existing infrastructure. STREAMS provides traffic signal management, incident management, motorway management, vehicle priority, traveller information and parking guidance within a single integrated system. STREAMS is developed by Transmax.
History
In 1969, the Department of Main Roads (Queensland) installed the first Intelligent Transport SystemIntelligent transportation system
The term intelligent transportation systems refers to information and communication technology that improve transport outcomes such as transport safety, transport productivity, travel reliability, informed travel choices, social equity, environmental performance and network operation...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
(located at Surfers Paradise). This included 30 signalised intersections featuring centralised control and traffic responsive capabilities.
In 1985, a second generation traffic management system was installed in Cairns, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. This was known as the TRAC System, or Traffic Responsive Adaptive Control System. Progressive installation of the TRAC system followed at several more sites around Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
including the capital city, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
.
In 1988, a traffic management system was installed for the South East Freeway in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The features included were ramp metering and graphical displays of traffic conditions. It also provided automatic incident detection.
In 1992, a new integrated intelligent transport system development was commenced. The objectives were to lower ongoing costs while providing increased performance and opportunity for future ITS applications. The resultant system was STREAMS.
In 2002, the division of Department of Main Roads (Queensland)
Department of Main Roads (Queensland)
The Queensland Government Department of Transport and Main Roads plans, designs, builds and maintains the 34,000km of Queensland state-controlled roads, under the Minister for Local Government and Main Roads. Warren Pitt is the current Minister for Local Government and Main Roads.The department is...
responsible for continuing development of STREAMS was privatised to form Transmax. The company remains 100% owned by the Department of Main Roads.
In April 2007, Transmax in partnership with VicRoads
VicRoads
VicRoads or the Roads Corporation of Victoria is a statutory corporation which is the state road and traffic authority in the state of Victoria, Australia. It is responsible for maintenance and construction of the state arterial road network, as well as driver licensing and vehicle registration. ...
implemented a coordinated ramp metering trial in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
on a 15 km section of the Monash Freeway
Monash Freeway
Monash Freeway is an urban freeway in Victoria, Australia linking Melbourne's CBD to its southeastern suburbs and the Gippsland region. The entire stretch of the Monash Freeway bears the designation...
. Later that year, in December, VicRoads installed STREAMS to manage another six ramps..
These developments were part of a much larger M1 Upgrade Project that continued over the next three years, eventually winning the 2010 National ITS Australia Award. The project to upgrade the 75-kilometre M1 Freeway, increasing the capacity and safety of the Monash Freeway, the CityLink Tollway (Southern Link) and the West Gate Freeway utilising STREAMS as the Integrated Control System..
Currently, STREAMS is at version 2011.1. The next major release, STREAMS 2011.2, is scheduled for late 2011.
The name STREAMS was derived via the association of managing multiple modes or "streams" of traffic (e.g. public transport, private cars, pedestrians, bicycles, and commercial vehicles) as well as the concept of "streams" of data which are inherent in any distributed computing
Distributed computing
Distributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems. A distributed system consists of multiple autonomous computers that communicate through a computer network. The computers interact with each other in order to achieve a common goal...
system.
Software Architecture
STREAMS employs a distributed computingDistributed computing
Distributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems. A distributed system consists of multiple autonomous computers that communicate through a computer network. The computers interact with each other in order to achieve a common goal...
software architecture
Software architecture
The software architecture of a system is the set of structures needed to reason about the system, which comprise software elements, relations among them, and properties of both...
. Field hardware such as intersection controllers, video cameras and speed detectors are connected via field processors back to a central application server
Application server
An application server is a software framework that provides an environment in which applications can run, no matter what the applications are or what they do...
. Users connect to the application server
Application server
An application server is a software framework that provides an environment in which applications can run, no matter what the applications are or what they do...
via the workstation
Workstation
A workstation is a high-end microcomputer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at a time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems...
software. Field communications are via Optical Fibre
Optical fiber
An optical fiber is a flexible, transparent fiber made of a pure glass not much wider than a human hair. It functions as a waveguide, or "light pipe", to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber. The field of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of...
, DSL, Wireless
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
or PAPL connections.
The software is built in distinct modules for each distinct area of traffic / transport control and monitoring. The workstation
Workstation
A workstation is a high-end microcomputer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at a time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems...
software communicates to the application server software via a publisher / subscriber model (i.e. workstations subscribe to specifically requested streams of data which are published by the application server
Application server
An application server is a software framework that provides an environment in which applications can run, no matter what the applications are or what they do...
).
The software architecture model is designed to support the software's claim of being an "integrated" Advanced Traffic Management System
Advanced Traffic Management System
The Advanced Traffic Management System field is a primary subfield within the Intelligent Transportation System domain. The ATMS view is a top-down management perspective that integrates technology primarily to improve the flow of vehicle traffic and improve safety. Real-time traffic data from...
. This breaks away from the inter-operability model, which is multiple ITS
Intelligent transportation system
The term intelligent transportation systems refers to information and communication technology that improve transport outcomes such as transport safety, transport productivity, travel reliability, informed travel choices, social equity, environmental performance and network operation...
systems working in parallel, each performing a discrete function.
The workstation
Workstation
A workstation is a high-end microcomputer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at a time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems...
software is built around a central user interface called "STREAMS Explorer". Other specification / reporting applications can all be launched from STREAMS Explorer.
The transport network data is set up via a GIS (Geographic Information System
Geographic Information System
A geographic information system, geographical information science, or geospatial information studies is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of geographically referenced data...
). The GIS allows for a graphical user interface displaying transport network
Transport network
A transport network, or transportation network in American English, is typically a network of roads, streets, pipes, aqueducts, power lines, or nearly any structure which permits either vehicular movement or flow of some commodity....
data overlaid on street maps and updating in real-time.
The application server uses a Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database server, developed by Microsoft: It is a software product whose primary function is to store and retrieve data as requested by other software applications, be it those on the same computer or those running on another computer across a network...
database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
running on Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
Windows Server
Windows Server
Windows Server is a brand name for a group of server operating systems released by Microsoft Corporation. All are part of Microsoft Servers.- Members :This brand includes the following software:* Windows 2000 Server* Windows Server 2003...
. Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
is employed as the operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
for all field processors. The workstation
Workstation
A workstation is a high-end microcomputer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at a time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems...
software is designed to run on Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
.
For security reasons, STREAMS employs 128-bit SSL encryption
Encryption
In cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information using an algorithm to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. The result of the process is encrypted information...
across all data and communication links. As well, firewalls
Firewall (computing)
A firewall is a device or set of devices designed to permit or deny network transmissions based upon a set of rules and is frequently used to protect networks from unauthorized access while permitting legitimate communications to pass....
, intrusion detection
Intrusion detection
In Information Security, intrusion detection is the act of detecting actions that attempt to compromise the confidentiality, integrity or availability of a resource. When Intrusion detection takes a preventive measure without direct human intervention, then it becomes an Intrusion-prevention...
systems, and authorisation mechanisms are utilised.
Adaptive Traffic Management
STREAMS implements adaptive traffic management through a feature called “Dynamic Plan Selection”. Depending on the density of traffic (occupancy) and the dominant direction of traffic (for example, inbound, outbound, or bidirectional) on a road, nearby signalised intersections are operated using several predefined traffic plans. A user sets up the signal timingSignal timing
Signal timing is the technique which traffic engineers use to determine who has the right-of-way at an intersection. Signal timing involves deciding how much green time the traffic lights shall provide at an intersection approach, how long the pedestrian WALK signal should be, and many numerous...
, and picks the traffic density levels and direction that they apply to. Selecting the appropriate signal timing
Signal timing
Signal timing is the technique which traffic engineers use to determine who has the right-of-way at an intersection. Signal timing involves deciding how much green time the traffic lights shall provide at an intersection approach, how long the pedestrian WALK signal should be, and many numerous...
is then automatic. When a time based traffic plan schedule would be inappropriate because of varying traffic levels, STREAMS Dynamic Plan Selection can adapt to unexpected traffic levels as they arise.
Competing systems such as SCATS employ a method of automatically modifying traffic plans in real-time to optimise traffic flow. STREAMS does not generate its own traffic plans, but instead allows for dynamic operation in which the system can choose the optimal traffic plan from a selection of plans created by users.
See also
- Traffic Management System
- Intelligent Transport Systems
- SCATS
- BLISSBrisbane Linked Intersection Signal SystemBrisbane Linked Intersection Signal System or BLISS is Brisbane City Council's ITS infrastructure platform. This system incorporates large scale Traffic Signal control, a Real Time Passenger Information System , and other infrastructure for managing and monitoring the road network for the Greater...
- Geographic Information SystemGeographic Information SystemA geographic information system, geographical information science, or geospatial information studies is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of geographically referenced data...
- ITS Australia
Further reading
- "APICTA 2011 Winner" Asia Pacific ICT Alliance Awards, November 2011.
- "Queensland ICT companies scoop up international awards" Government Services, Building Industry and ICT, November 2011.
- "2011 National and State iAwards Winners" 2011 iAwards, August 2011.
- "TRL expands its Traffic Management Solution with STREAMS" TRL, May 2011.
- "Smart roads set to get smarter?" ZDNet, September 2010.
- "Reducing Congestion on the M1 Goes Hi-Tech" Victorian Department of Roads and Ports, November 2008.
- "New Technology to Cut Freeway Congestion" Transport Futures Institute, November 2008.
- "Green lights all the way for emergency vehicles during trial" Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, September 2008.
- "Ambulance, fire engines to switch traffic lights to green" The Courier Mail, September 2008.
- "Traffic management nerve centre part of congestion-busting focus" Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, September 2008.
- "Brisbane motorists to benefit from single traffic light system" The Courier Mail, July 2008.
- "Synchronisation of Brisbane’s traffic lights part of efforts to cut congestion" Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, July 2008.
- "Record spending to maintain Queensland’s roads" Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, June 2008.
- "Congestion busters for Sunshine Coast" Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, July 2007.