A Partial Reality Experimental System for Human-in-the-Loop Testing of Connected and Automated Vehicle Applications: Development, Validation and Applications

This chapter describes a trans-disciplinary research initiative currently underway at the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York, which aims at developing next generation testing and evaluation platform for emerging Cyber Transportation Systems (CTS). Specifically, the work is developing an integrated traffic-driving-networking simulator (ITDNS), which allows for human-in-the-loop testing of Connected Vehicle (CV) and Automated Vehicle (AV) applications and their interactions. Following a brief discussion of ITDNS, its design rationale and unique advantages, the chapter proceeds to describe some of the on-going research designed to validate and extend ITDNS. The chapter also briefly describes our recent research which is taking advantage of the human-in-the-loop testing capabilities of ITDNS to evaluate a number of CV and AV applications such as eco-signals, Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), and Co-operative, Integrated Vehicle Infrastructure Control (CIVIC).