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Click here to view the RITS webpage Rutgers Intelligent Transportation Systems (RITS) Laboratory is a multi-modal transportation infrastructure research and education facility combining a series of new concepts, technologies and services to integrate information, vehicles and transportation infrastructure to increase mobility, safety and comfort, and reduce energy waste and pollution. Since its inception, RITS has been a collaborative effort between the University, state and federal governments, and industry. For example, in New Jersey, the Committee for Smart New Jersey (CSNJ) has been very active in providing a forum for the government, industry and academia to work together. Rutgers University through the efforts of the Center is a member of CSNJ and continues to be one of the important players of this committee. In light of all these promising developments, it is clear that there are many opportunities in the area of ITS education, training and research for CAIT to participate. To ensure CAIT’s continuing involvement and leadership in the area of ITS, an active ITS education, training and research program is being developed. One of the best ways we have found to establish such an ITS program at CAIT is through the creation of the “interdisciplinary” ITS education and research laboratory titled Rutgers Intelligent Transportation Systems (RITS). Interdisciplinary ITS Education: The RITS laboratory offers students from different departments the means to better understand and learn new ITS technologies through the hands-on use of simulations and hardware that is available in the laboratory. The Internet is an important medium for computing, processing and dissemination of various types of information from real-time traffic data to management information systems. On-line traffic and transportation data acquisition and processing using the Internet and Java based computer programs will undoubtedly revolutionize ITS education. There is also a growing need for training transportation professionals to ensure successful implementation and deployment of various ITS technologies. The computing and instruction facilities of this RITS lab, along with the various software applications, enable us to train transportation professionals very efficiently. In a very dynamic engineering field such as ITS, research is an integral part of graduate and undergraduate education. The emphasis is on the use of on-line data to develop, test, and evaluate transportation and traffic models. New techniques such as visual simulations and Internet-based computing are used to increase efficiency and reliability of the developed models. Through the efforts of CAIT, several courses at Rutgers now utilize the RITS lab as an integral part of their curriculum. In some of these courses which have an ITS focus including the Transportation Engineering I, Transportation Engineering II, and Intelligent Transportation Systems courses, students work is fully dependent on the use of the RITS lab.
The software used in the lab includes:
In the undergraduate capstone course, students are required to use at least one of the following software programs: Highway Capacity Software (HCS), Integration Simulation, or (Quick Response System) QRS II. The lab is also used for the Transportation Planning: Intelligent Transportation Systems course. This lab plays an integral part in the learning process for students. In addition, students conduct research projects using the lab as well. Rutgers University has recognized benefits of the RITS lab and has provided funds through Strategic Research Opportunity Analysis (SROA) for the purchase several new computers. Three (3) Dell GX 400 Pentium 4 minitowers with a 1.4 GHz Processor and one (1) Dell Precision Workstation 330 Pentium 4 computer with a 1.5 GHz processor; for a total of 4 new top of the line computers were purchased for the lab through these funds. The SROA project is concerned with the computer modeling of Intelligent Transportation Systems. These computers are going to be used to develop and run simulation models. The extremely large size of these computer simulation models requires the fastest and most advanced computers. This is the main reason for acquiring these state-of-the-art systems that we did not have previously in our RITS laboratory. Rutgers has also committed additional funds in the amount of $30,000 - $50,000 for the RITS lab, which will allow for the purchase of new computers, traffic sensors and related equipment for education and testing, such as, cameras, counters, laptop computers and data acquisition equipment. This grant money provides students with many educational and research opportunities. The funding that will be provided will allow the purchase of these items needed for lab function not only as a research tool but also an experiential teaching facility. Thus, it will allow students through regular academic courses to utilize transportation related equipment and software for real world application that historically students only learned once they were hired fulltime by industry. |
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