Chaque jour des milliers de camions transportant des centaines de milliers de tonnes de marchandises dangereuses par diverses modalités. Toutefois, le terme “dangereux” indique une adversité intrinsèque qui caractérise ces produits transportés, et qui peuvent se manifester lors d'un accident entraînant la fuite d'une substance dangereuse. Dans une telle situation, les conséquences peuvent nuire à l'environnement et létal pour l'humain.L'importance des marchandises dangereuses revient aux bénéfices économiques considérables générés. En fait, on ne peut nier la contribution du transport des produits dérivés de combustibles fossiles, ce qui représente plus de 60% des marchandises dangereuses transportées en Europe. Eni, la société italienne leader de pétrochimie, gère chaque jour une flotte d'environ 1.500 camions, qui effectuent de nombreuses expéditions. Pourtant la distribution de produits pétroliers est une activité à grande risques, et tout accident lors du transport peut entraîner de graves conséquences.Consciente des enjeux, la division Eni R&M - Logistique Secondaire, historiquement actif au siège de Gênes, collabore depuis 2002 avec le DIBRIS à l'Université de Gênes, et le CRC à Mines ParisTech, dans le but d'étudier les améliorations possibles en matière de sûreté dans le transport de marchandises dangereuses. Au fil des ans, cette collaboration a permis le développement d'un système d'information et décisionnel. Le composant principal de ce système est une plate-forme de surveillance de la flotte Eni appelé TIP (Transport Integrated Platform), pour livrer les produits vers les points de distributions. Ces véhicules sont équipés d'un dispositif capable de transmettre des flux de données en temps réel en utilisant un modem GPRS. Les données transmises peuvent être de nature différente et contenir des informations sur l'état du véhicule, le produit et les événements détectés durant l'expédition. Ces données sont destinées à être reçues par des serveurs centralisés puis traitées et stockées, afin de soutenir diverses applications du TIP.Dans ce contexte, les études menées tout au long de la thèse sont dirigés vers le développement d'une proposition visant à réduire davantage les risques liés au transport de marchandises dangereuses. En d'autres termes, un modèle basé sur le compromis entre les facteurs économiques et sûretés pour le choix de l'itinéraire. L'objectif est motivé par la nécessité de soutenir les règlements et les normes de sécurité existantes, car ils ne garantissent pas totalement contre les accidents entrainant des marchandises dangereuses.L'objectif est effectué en prenant en compte le système existant comme base pour l'élaboration d'un système de transport intelligent (STI) regroupant plusieurs plates-formes logicielles. Ces plates-formes doivent permettre aux planificateurs et aux décideurs de suivre en temps réel leur flotte, à évaluer les risques et tous les itinéraires possibles, de simuler et de créer différents scénarios, et d'aider à trouver des solutions à des problèmes particuliers.Tout au long de cette thèse, je souligne la motivation pour ce travail de recherche, les problématiques, et les défis de transport de marchandises dangereuses. Je présente le TIP comme le noyau de l'architecture proposée du STI. Pour les besoins de la simulation, les véhicules virtuels sont injectés dans le système. La gestion de la collecte des données a été l'objet d'une amélioration technique pour plus de fiabilité, d'efficacité et d'évolutivité dans le cadre de la surveillance en temps réel. Enfin, je présente une explication systématique de la méthode d'optimisation des itinéraires considérant les critères économiques et de risques. Le risque est évalué en fonction de divers facteurs notamment la fréquence d'accidents entrainant des marchandises dangereuses, et ses conséquences. La quantification de l'incertitude dans l'évaluation des risques est modélisée en utilisant la théorie des ensembles flous. / Everyday thousands of trucks transporting hundreds of thousands of tons of dangerous goods by various modalities and both within and across nations. However, the term “dangerous” indicates an intrinsic adversity that characterize these products, which can manifest in an accident leading to release of a hazardous substance (e.g. radioactive, flammable, explosive etc.). In this situation, the consequences can be lethal to human beings, other living organisms and damage the environment and public/private properties.The importance of dangerous goods boils down to the significant economic benefits that generates. In fact, one cannot deny the contribution of the transport of all fossil fuel derived product, which represents more than 60% of dangerous goods transported in Europe. Eni, the Italian leading petrochemical company, every day operates a fleet of about 1,500 trucks, which performs numerous trips from loading terminals to filling stations. Distribution of petroleum products is a risky activity, and an accident during the transportation may lead to serious consequences.Aware of what is at stake, the division Eni R&M - Logistics Secondary, historically active in Genoa headquarters, is collaborating since 2002 with the DIBRIS department at University of Genoa, and the CRC at Mines ParisTech, with the purpose of studying possible improvements regarding safety in transport of dangerous goods, particularly petroleum products. Over years, this collaboration has led to the development of different technologies and mainly to an information and decision support system. The major component of this system is a platform for monitoring Eni fleet, at the national level, to deliver the products to the distribution points, called the Transport Integrated Platform (TIP). These vehicles are equipped with a device capable of transmitting data stream in real-time using a GPRS modem. The data transmitted can be of different nature and contain information about the state of the vehicle and occurred events during the trip. These data are intended to be received by centralized servers then get processed and stored, in order to support various applications within the TIP.With this in mind, the studies undertaken throughout the thesis are directed towards the development of a proposal to further minimize the risk related to the transportation of dangerous goods. In other words, a trade-off based model for route selection taking into consideration economic and safety factors. The objective is prompted by the need to support existent regulations and safety standards, which does not assure a full warranty against accidents involving dangerous goods.The goal is carried out by considering the existent system as basis for developing an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) aggregating multiple software platforms. These platforms should allow planners and decision makers to monitor in real-time their fleet, to assess risk and evaluate all possible routes, to simulate and create different scenarios, and to assist at finding solutions to particular problems.Throughout this dissertation, I highlight the motivation for such research work, the related problem statements, and the challenges in dangerous goods transport. I introduce the TIP as the core for the proposed ITS architecture. For simulation purposes, virtual vehicles are injected into the system. The management of the data collection was the subject of technical improvement for more reliability, efficiency and scalability in real-time monitoring of dangerous goods shipment. Finally, I present a systematic explanation of the methodology for route optimization considering both economic and risk criteria. The risk is assessed based on various factors mainly the frequency of accident leading to hazardous substance release and its consequences. Uncertainty quantification in risk assessment is modelled using fuzzy sets theory.

Les systèmes de vision artificielle sont de plus en plus présents en contexte routier. Ils sont installés sur l'infrastructure, pour la gestion du trafic, ou placés à l'intérieur du véhicule, pour proposer des aides à la conduite. Dans les deux cas, les systèmes de vision artificielle visent à augmenter la sécurité et à optimiser les déplacements. Une revue bibliographique retrace les origines et le développement des algorithmes de vision artificielle en contexte routier. Elle permet de démontrer l'importance des descripteurs d'images dans la chaîne de traitement des algorithmes. Elle se poursuit par une revue des descripteurs d'images avec une nouvelle approche source de nombreuses analyses, en les considérant en parallèle des applications finales. En conclusion, la revue bibliographique permet de déterminer quels sont les descripteurs d'images les plus représentatifs en contexte routier. Plusieurs bases de données contenant des images et les données météorologiques associées (ex : pluie, brouillard) sont ensuite présentées. Ces bases de données sont innovantes car l'acquisition des images et la mesure des conditions météorologiques sont effectuées en même temps et au même endroit. De plus, des capteurs météorologiques calibrés sont utilisés. Chaque base de données contient différentes scènes (ex: cible noir et blanc, piéton) et divers types de conditions météorologiques (ex: pluie, brouillard, jour, nuit). Les bases de données contiennent des conditions météorologiques naturelles, reproduites artificiellement et simulées numériquement. Sept descripteurs d'images parmi les plus représentatifs du contexte routier ont ensuite été sélectionnés et leur robustesse en conditions de pluie évaluée. Les descripteurs d'images basés sur l'intensité des pixels ou les contours verticaux sont sensibles à la pluie. A l'inverse, le descripteur de Harris et les descripteurs qui combinent différentes orientations sont robustes pour des intensités de pluie de 0 à 30 mm/h. La robustesse des descripteurs d'images en conditions de pluie diminue lorsque l'intensité de pluie augmente. Finalement, les descripteurs les plus sensibles à la pluie peuvent potentiellement être utilisés pour des applications de détection de la pluie par caméra.Le comportement d'un descripteur d'images en conditions météorologiques dégradées n'est pas forcément relié à celui de la fonction finale associée. Pour cela, deux détecteurs de piéton ont été évalués en conditions météorologiques dégradées (pluie, brouillard, jour, nuit). La nuit et le brouillard sont les conditions qui ont l'impact le plus important sur la détection des piétons. La méthodologie développée et la base de données associée peuvent être utilisées à nouveau pour évaluer d'autres fonctions finales (ex: détection de véhicule, détection de signalisation verticale).En contexte routier, connaitre les conditions météorologiques locales en temps réel est essentiel pour répondre aux deux enjeux que sont l'amélioration de la sécurité et l'optimisation des déplacements. Actuellement, le seul moyen de mesurer ces conditions le long des réseaux est l'installation de stations météorologiques. Ces stations sont coûteuses et nécessitent une maintenance particulière. Cependant, de nombreuses caméras sont déjà présentes sur le bord des routes. Une nouvelle méthode de détection des conditions météorologiques utilisant les caméras de surveillance du trafic est donc proposée. Cette méthode utilise des descripteurs d'images et un réseau de neurones. Elle répond à un ensemble de contraintes clairement établies afin de pouvoir détecter l'ensemble des conditions météorologiques en temps réel, mais aussi de pourvoir proposer plusieurs niveaux d'intensité. La méthode proposée permet de détecter les conditions normales de jour, de nuit, la pluie et le brouillard. Après plusieurs phases d'optimisation, la méthode proposée obtient de meilleurs résultats que ceux obtenus dans la littérature, pour des algorithmes comparables. / Computer vision systems are increasingly being used on roads. They can be installed along infrastructure for traffic monitoring purposes. When mounted in vehicles, they perform driver assistance functions. In both cases, computer vision systems enhance road safety and streamline travel.A literature review starts by retracing the introduction and rollout of computer vision algorithms in road environments, and goes on to demonstrate the importance of image descriptors in the processing chains implemented in such algorithms. It continues with a review of image descriptors from a novel approach, considering them in parallel with final applications, which opens up numerous analytical angles. Finally the literature review makes it possible to assess which descriptors are the most representative in road environments.Several databases containing images and associated meteorological data (e.g. rain, fog) are then presented. These databases are completely original because image acquisition and weather condition measurement are at the same location and the same time. Moreover, calibrated meteorological sensors are used. Each database contains different scenes (e.g. black and white target, pedestrian) and different kind of weather (i.e. rain, fog, daytime, night-time). Databases contain digitally simulated, artificial and natural weather conditions.Seven of the most representative image descriptors in road context are then selected and their robustness in rainy conditions is evaluated. Image descriptors based on pixel intensity and those that use vertical edges are sensitive to rainy conditions. Conversely, the Harris feature and features that combine different edge orientations remain robust for rainfall rates ranging in 0 – 30 mm/h. The robustness of image features in rainy conditions decreases as the rainfall rate increases. Finally, the image descriptors most sensitive to rain have potential for use in a camera-based rain classification application.The image descriptor behaviour in adverse weather conditions is not necessarily related to the associated final function one. Thus, two pedestrian detectors were assessed in degraded weather conditions (rain, fog, daytime, night-time). Night-time and fog are the conditions that have the greatest impact on pedestrian detection. The methodology developed and associated database could be reused to assess others final functions (e.g. vehicle detection, traffic sign detection).In road environments, real-time knowledge of local weather conditions is an essential prerequisite for addressing the twin challenges of enhancing road safety and streamlining travel. Currently, the only mean of quantifying weather conditions along a road network requires the installation of meteorological stations. Such stations are costly and must be maintained; however, large numbers of cameras are already installed on the roadside. A new method that uses road traffic cameras to detect weather conditions has therefore been proposed. This method uses a combination of a neural network and image descriptors applied to image patches. It addresses a clearly defined set of constraints relating to the ability to operate in real-time and to classify the full spectrum of meteorological conditions and grades them according to their intensity. The method differentiates between normal daytime, rain, fog and normal night-time weather conditions. After several optimisation steps, the proposed method obtains better results than the ones reported in the literature for comparable algorithms.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The Pedestrian Automatic Emergency Braking System (PAEB) can utilize on-board sensors to detect pedestrians and take safety related actions. However, PAEB system only benefits the individual vehicle and the pedestrians detected by its PAEB. Additionally, due to the range limitations of PAEB sensors and speed limitations of sensory data processing, PAEB system often cannot detect or do not have sufficient time to respond to a potential crash with pedestrians. For further improving pedestrian safety, we proposed the idea for integrating the complimentary capabilities of V2V and PAEB (V2V-PAEB), which allows the vehicles to share the information of pedestrians detected by PAEB system in the V2V network. So a V2V-PAEB enabled vehicle uses not only its on-board sensors of the PAEB system, but also the received V2V messages from other vehicles to detect potential collisions with pedestrians and make better safety related decisions. In this thesis, we discussed the architecture and the information processing stages of the V2V-PAEB system. In addition, a comprehensive Matlab/Simulink based simulation model of the V2V-PAEB system is also developed in PreScan simulation environment. The simulation result shows that this simulation model works properly and the V2V-PAEB system can improve pedestrian safety significantly.

The thesis is composed of two main parts. The first part deals with a microscopic traffic flow theory. Models describing the individual acceleration, deceleration and lane-changing behavior are formulated and the emerging collective traffic dynamics are investigated by means of numerical simulations. The models and simulation tools presented provide the methodical prerequisites for the second part of the thesis in which a novel concept of a traffic-adaptive control strategy for ACC systems is presented. The impact of such systems on the traffic dynamics can solely be investigated and assessed by traffic simulations. The focus is on future adaptive cruise control (ACC) systems and their potential applications in the context of vehicle-based intelligent transportation systems. In order to ensure that ACC systems are implemented in ways that improve rather than degrade traffic conditions, the thesis proposes an extension of ACC systems towards traffic-adaptive cruise control by means of implementing an actively jam-avoiding driving strategy. The newly developed traffic assistance system introduces a driving strategy layer which modifies the driver's individual settings of the ACC driving parameters depending on the local traffic situation. Whilst the conventional operational control layer of an ACC system calculates the response to the input sensor data in terms of accelerations and decelerations on a short time scale, the automated adaptation of the ACC driving parameters happens on a somewhat longer time scale of, typically, minutes. By changing only temporarily the comfortable parameter settings of the ACC system in specific traffic situations, the driving strategy is capable of improving the traffic flow efficiency whilst retaining the comfort for the driver. The traffic-adaptive modifications are specified relative to the driver settings in order to maintain the individual preferences. The proposed system requires an autonomous real-time detection of the five traffic states by each ACC-equipped vehicle. The formulated algorithm is based on the evaluation of the locally available data such as the vehicle's velocity time series and its geo-referenced position (GPS) in conjunction with a digital map. It is assumed that the digital map is complemented by information about stationary bottlenecks as most of the observed traffic flow breakdowns occur at these fixed locations. By means of a heuristic, the algorithm determines which of the five traffic states mentioned above applies best to the actual traffic situation. Optionally, inter-vehicle and infrastructure-to-car communication technologies can be used to further improve the accuracy of determining the respective traffic state by providing non-local information. By means of simulation, we found that the automatic traffic-adaptive driving strategy improves traffic stability and increases the effective road capacity. Depending on the fraction of ACC vehicles, the driving strategy "passing a bottleneck" effects a reduction of the bottleneck strength and therefore delays (or even prevents) the breakdown of traffic flow. Changing to the driving mode "leaving the traffic jam" increases the outflow from congestion resulting in reduced queue lengths in congested traffic and, consequently, a faster recovery to free flow conditions. The current travel time (as most important criterion for road users) and the cumulated travel time (as an indicator of the system performance) are used to evaluate the impact on the quality of service. While traffic congestion in the reference scenario was completely eliminated when simulating a proportion of 25% ACC vehicles, travel times were significantly reduced even with much lower penetration rates. Moreover, the cumulated travel times decreased consistently with the increase in the proportion of ACC vehicles. / In der Arbeit wird ein neues verkehrstelematisches Konzept für ein verkehrseffizientes Fahrverhalten entwickelt und als dezentrale Strategie zur Vermeidung und Auflösung von Verkehrsstaus auf Richtungsfahrbahnen vorgestellt. Die operative Umsetzung erfolgt durch ein ACC-System, das um eine, auf Informationen über die lokale Verkehrssituation basierende, automatisierte Fahrstrategie erweitert wird. Die Herausforderung bei einem Eingriff in das individuelle Fahrverhalten besteht - unter Berücksichtigung von Sicherheits-, Akzeptanz- und rechtlichen Aspekten - im Ausgleich der Gegensätze Fahrkomfort und Verkehrseffizienz. Während sich ein komfortables Fahren durch große Abstände bei geringen Fahrzeugbeschleunigungen auszeichnet, erfordert ein verkehrsoptimierendes Verhalten kleinere Abstände und eine schnellere Anpassung an Geschwindigkeitsänderungen der umgebenden Fahrzeuge. Als allgemeiner Lösungsansatz wird eine verkehrsadaptive Fahrstrategie vorgeschlagen, die ein ACC-System mittels Anpassung der das Fahrverhalten charakterisierenden Parameter umsetzt. Die Wahl der Parameter erfolgt in Abhängigkeit von der lokalen Verkehrssituation, die auf der Basis der im Fahrzeug zur Verfügung stehenden Informationen automatisch detektiert wird. Durch die Unterscheidung verschiedener Verkehrssituationen wird ein temporärer Wechsel in ein verkehrseffizientes Fahrregime (zum Beispiel beim Herausfahren aus einem Stau) ermöglicht. Machbarkeit und Wirkungspotenzial der verkehrsadaptiven Fahrstrategie werden im Rahmen eines mikroskopischen Modellierungsansatzes simuliert und hinsichtlich der kollektiven Verkehrsdynamik, insbesondere der Stauentstehung und Stauauflösung, auf mehrspurigen Richtungsfahrbahnen bewertet. Die durchgeführte Modellbildung, insbesondere die Formulierung eines komplexen Modells des menschlichen Fahrverhaltens, ermöglicht eine detaillierte Analyse der im Verkehr relevanten kollektiven Stabilität und einer von der Stabilität abhängigen stochastischen Streckenkapazität. Ein tieferes Verständnis der Stauentstehung und -ausbildung wird durch das allgemeine Konzept der Engstelle erreicht. Dieses findet auch bei der Entwicklung der Strategie für ein stauvermeidendes Fahrverhalten Anwendung. In der Arbeit wird die stauvermeidende und stauauflösende Wirkung eines individuellen, verkehrsadaptiven Fahrverhaltens bereits für geringe Ausstattungsgrade nachgewiesen. Vor dem Hintergrund einer zu erwartenden Verbreitung von ACC-Systemen ergibt sich damit eine vielversprechende Option für die Steigerung der Verkehrsleistung durch ein teilautomatisiertes Fahren. Der entwickelte Ansatz einer verkehrsadaptiven Fahrstrategie ist unabhängig vom ACC-System. Er erweitert dessen Funktionalität im Hinblick auf zukünftige, informationsbasierte Fahrerassistenzsysteme um eine neue fahrstrategische Dimension. Die lokale Interpretation der Verkehrssituation kann neben einer verkehrsadaptiven ACC-Regelung auch der Entwicklung zukünftiger Fahrerinformationssysteme dienen.

Sub-optimal automated transportation control systems incur high mobility, human health and environmental costs. With society reliant on its transportation systems for the movement of individuals, goods and services, minimizing these costs benefits many. Intersection traffic signal controllers are an important element of modern transportation systems that govern how vehicles traverse road infrastructure. Many types of traffic signal controllers exist; fixed time, actuated and adaptive. Adaptive traffic signal controllers seek to minimize transportation costs through dynamic control of the intersection. However, many existing adaptive traffic signal controllers rely on heuristic or expert knowledge and were not originally designed for scalability or for transportation’s big data future. This research addresses the aforementioned challenges by developing a scalable system for adaptive traffic signal control model development using deep reinforcement learning in traffic simulation. Traffic signal control can be modelled as a sequential decision-making problem; reinforcement learning can solve sequential decision-making problems by learning an optimal policy. Deep reinforcement learning makes use of deep neural networks, powerful function approximators which benefit from large amounts of data. Distributed, parallel computing techniques are used to provide scalability, with the proposed methods validated on a simulation of the City of Luxembourg, Luxembourg, consisting of 196 intersections. This research contributes to the body of knowledge by successfully developing a scalable system for adaptive traffic signal control model development and validating it on the largest traffic microsimulator in the literature. The proposed system reduces delay, queues, vehicle stopped time and travel time compared to conventional traffic signal controllers. Findings from this research include that using reinforcement learning methods which explicitly develop the policy offers improved performance over purely value-based methods. The developed methods are expected to mitigate the problems caused by sub-optimal automated transportation signal controls systems, improving mobility and human health and reducing environmental costs. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Inefficient transportation systems negatively impact mobility, human health and the environment. The goal of this research is to mitigate these negative impacts by improving automated transportation control systems, specifically intersection traffic signal controllers. This research presents a system for developing adaptive traffic signal controllers that can efficiently scale to the size of cities by using machine learning and parallel computation techniques. The proposed system is validated by developing adaptive traffic signal controllers for 196 intersections in a simulation of the City of Luxembourg, Luxembourg, successfully reducing delay, queues, vehicle stopped time and travel time.

Real-time prediction of taxi demand in a discrete geographical space is useful as it can minimise service disequilibrium by informing idle drivers of the imbalance, incentivising them to reduce it. This, in turn, can lead to improved efficiency, more stimulating work conditions, and a better customer experience. This study aims to investigate the possibility of utilising an artificial neural network model to make such a prediction for Stockholm. The model was trained on historical demand data and - uniquely - crowd flow data from a cellular provider (aggregated and anonymised). Results showed that the final model could generate very helpful predictions (only off by less than 1 booking on average). External factors - including crowd flow data - had a minor positive impact on performance, but limitations regarding the setup of the zones lead to the study being unable to make a definitive conclusion about whether crowd flow data is effective in improving taxi demand predictors or not. / Prognos av taxiefterfrågan i ett diskret geografiskt utrymme är användbart då det kan minimera obalans mellan utbud och efterfrågan genom att informera lediga taxiförare om obalansen och därmed utjämna den. Detta kan i sin tur leda till förbättrad effektivitet, mer stimulerande arbetsförhållanden och en bättre kundupplevelse. Denna studie ämnar att undersöka möjligheten att använda artificiella neurala nätverk för att göra en sådan prognos för Stockholm. Modellen tränades på historisk data om efterfrågan och - unikt för studien - folkströmsdata (aggregerad och anonymiserad) från en mobiloperatör. Resultaten visade att den slutgiltiga modellen kunde generera användbara prognoser (med ett genomsnittligt prognosfel med mindre än 1 bil per tidsenhet). Externa faktorer – inklusive folkströmsdata – hade en märkbar positiv inverkan på prestandan, men begränsningar rörande framställningen av zonerna ledde till att studien inte kunde dra en definitiv slutsats om huruvida folkströmsdata är effektiva för att förbättra prognoser för taxiefterfrågan eller ej.

[EN] Nowadays, there are many electronic products that incorporate elements and features coming from the research in the field of mobile robotics. For instance, the well-known vacuum cleaning robot Roomba by iRobot, which belongs to the field of service robotics, one of the most active within the sector. There are also numerous autonomous robotic systems in industrial warehouses and plants. It is the case of Autonomous Guided Vehicles (AGVs), which are able to drive completely autonomously in very structured environments. Apart from industry and consumer electronics, within the automotive field there are some devices that give intelligence to the vehicle, derived in most cases from advances in mobile robotics. In fact, more and more often vehicles incorporate Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), such as navigation control with automatic speed regulation, lane change and overtaking assistant, automatic parking or collision warning, among other features. However, despite all the advances there are some problems that remain unresolved and can be improved. Collisions and rollovers stand out among the most common accidents of vehicles with manual or autonomous driving. In fact, it is almost impossible to guarantee driving without accidents in unstructured environments where vehicles share the space with other moving agents, such as other vehicles and pedestrians. That is why searching for techniques to improve safety in intelligent vehicles, either autonomous or manual-assisted driving, is still a trending topic within the robotics community. This thesis focuses on the design of tools and techniques for planning and control of intelligent vehicles in order to improve safety and comfort. The dissertation is divided into two parts, the first one on autonomous driving and the second one on manual-assisted driving. The main link between them is the use of clothoids as mathematical formulation for both trajectory generation and collision detection. Among the problems solved the following stand out: obstacle avoidance, rollover avoidance and advanced driver assistance to avoid collisions with pedestrians. / [ES] En la actualidad se comercializan infinidad de productos de electrónica de consumo que incorporan elementos y características procedentes de avances en el sector de la robótica móvil. Por ejemplo, el conocido robot aspirador Roomba de la empresa iRobot, el cual pertenece al campo de la robótica de servicio, uno de los más activos en el sector. También hay numerosos sistemas robóticos autónomos en almacenes y plantas industriales. Es el caso de los vehículos autoguiados (AGVs), capaces de conducir de forma totalmente autónoma en entornos muy estructurados. Además de en la industria y en electrónica de consumo, dentro del campo de la automoción también existen dispositivos que dotan de cierta inteligencia al vehículo, derivados la mayoría de las veces de avances en robótica móvil. De hecho, cada vez con mayor frecuencia los vehículos incorporan sistemas avanzados de asistencia al conductor (ADAS por sus siglas en inglés), tales como control de navegación con regulación automática de velocidad, asistente de cambio de carril y adelantamiento, aparcamiento automático o aviso de colisión, entre otras prestaciones. No obstante, pese a todos los avances siguen existiendo problemas sin resolver y que pueden mejorarse. La colisión y el vuelco destacan entre los accidentes más comunes en vehículos con conducción tanto manual como autónoma. De hecho, la dificultad de conducir en entornos desestructurados compartiendo el espacio con otros agentes móviles, tales como coches o personas, hace casi imposible garantizar la conducción sin accidentes. Es por ello que la búsqueda de técnicas para mejorar la seguridad en vehículos inteligentes, ya sean de conducción autónoma o manual asistida, es un tema que siempre está en auge en la comunidad robótica. La presente tesis se centra en el diseño de herramientas y técnicas de planificación y control de vehículos inteligentes, para la mejora de la seguridad y el confort. La disertación se ha dividido en dos partes, la primera sobre conducción autónoma y la segunda sobre conducción manual asistida. El principal nexo de unión es el uso de clotoides como elemento de generación de trayectorias y detección de colisiones. Entre los problemas que se resuelven destacan la evitación de obstáculos, la evitación de vuelcos y la asistencia avanzada al conductor para evitar colisiones con peatones. / [CA] En l'actualitat es comercialitzen infinitat de productes d'electrònica de consum que incorporen elements i característiques procedents d'avanços en el sector de la robòtica mòbil. Per exemple, el conegut robot aspirador Roomba de l'empresa iRobot, el qual pertany al camp de la robòtica de servici, un dels més actius en el sector. També hi ha nombrosos sistemes robòtics autònoms en magatzems i plantes industrials. És el cas dels vehicles autoguiats (AGVs), els quals són capaços de conduir de forma totalment autònoma en entorns molt estructurats. A més de en la indústria i en l'electrònica de consum, dins el camp de l'automoció també existeixen dispositius que doten al vehicle de certa intel·ligència, la majoria de les vegades derivats d'avanços en robòtica mòbil. De fet, cada vegada amb més freqüència els vehicles incorporen sistemes avançats d'assistència al conductor (ADAS per les sigles en anglés), com ara control de navegació amb regulació automàtica de velocitat, assistent de canvi de carril i avançament, aparcament automàtic o avís de col·lisió, entre altres prestacions. No obstant això, malgrat tots els avanços segueixen existint problemes sense resoldre i que poden millorar-se. La col·lisió i la bolcada destaquen entre els accidents més comuns en vehicles amb conducció tant manual com autònoma. De fet, la dificultat de conduir en entorns desestructurats compartint l'espai amb altres agents mòbils, tals com cotxes o persones, fa quasi impossible garantitzar la conducció sense accidents. És per això que la recerca de tècniques per millorar la seguretat en vehicles intel·ligents, ja siguen de conducció autònoma o manual assistida, és un tema que sempre està en auge a la comunitat robòtica. La present tesi es centra en el disseny d'eines i tècniques de planificació i control de vehicles intel·ligents, per a la millora de la seguretat i el confort. La dissertació s'ha dividit en dues parts, la primera sobre conducció autònoma i la segona sobre conducció manual assistida. El principal nexe d'unió és l'ús de clotoides com a element de generació de trajectòries i detecció de col·lisions. Entre els problemes que es resolen destaquen l'evitació d'obstacles, l'evitació de bolcades i l'assistència avançada al conductor per evitar col·lisions amb vianants. / Girbés Juan, V. (2016). Clothoid-based Planning and Control in Intelligent Vehicles (Autonomous and Manual-Assisted Driving) [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/65072

This thesis deals with the innovation of information system (IS) as a decision problem. The main objective of this thesis is the construction and the application of a method to select an optimal innovation variant of IS in an organisation of any scale. The designed method is based on the conception of the innovation of IS in the methodology "Multidimensional Management and Development of Information System (MMDIS)". The proposed selection method (Method of Innovation Modules based on MMDIS - MIM) is intended to serve mainly for decision-making on a strategic level. The IS structure is mapped in accordance with the MMDIS methodology. Innovation aspects are derived from two approaches: innovation aspects based on the MMDIS principles ("module of principles" - e.g. integration, flexibility, standardisation, measurability) and innovation aspects based on the IS dimensions defined in MMDIS methodology ("module of dimensions" - e.g. software, hardware, processes and functions, finances). The proposal method enforces a systematic approach to evaluation of the innovation variants, ensuring that the innovation aspects (the principles and the dimensions) are aligned with key requirements. As an example, this method is applied to an existing electronic toll system operated in the Czech Republic. Basic innovation variants of the electronic toll system are described - the microwave, the satellite and the hybrid toll system. Case studies from the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany are used for support the proposed innovation variants, as well as evaluation of variants. The principles and the dimensions form a framework for description and evaluation of the telematics, of the electronic toll and of the innovation variants of the electronic toll. The variants are compared within the framework of refined principles and dimensions, the optimal variant is proposed. The used evaluation parameters are a result of an analysis of published studies and specific toll system technical designs. The Method of Innovation Modules was constructed on the basis of MMDIS methodology and demonstrated by application in an example scenario (electronic toll). The key result of the proposed method is the comprehensive structured map of available system innovation opportunities.

While decision-making under uncertainty is a major universal problem, its implications in the field of transportation systems are especially enormous; where the benefits of right decisions are tremendous, the consequences of wrong ones are potentially disastrous. In the realm of highway systems, decisions related to the highway configuration (number of lanes, right of way, etc.) need to incorporate both the traffic demand and land price uncertainties. In the literature, these uncertainties have generally been modeled using the Geometric Brownian Motion (GBM) process, which has been used extensively in modeling many other real life phenomena. But few scholars, including those who used the GBM in highway configuration decisions, have offered any rigorous justification for the use of this model. This thesis attempts to offer a detailed analysis of various aspects of transportation systems in relation to decision-making. It reveals some general insights as well as a new concept that extends the notion of opportunity cost to situations where wrong decisions could be made. Claiming deficiency of the GBM model, it also introduces a new formulation that utilizes a large and flexible parametric family of jump models (i.e., Lévy processes). To validate this claim, data related to traffic demand and land prices were collected and analyzed to reveal that their distributions, heavy-tailed and asymmetric, do not match well with the GBM model. As a remedy, this research used the Merton, Kou, and negative inverse Gaussian Lévy processes as possible alternatives. Though the results show indifference in relation to final decisions among the models, mathematically, they improve the precision of uncertainty models and the decision-making process. This furthers the quest for optimality in highway projects and beyond.

While decision-making under uncertainty is a major universal problem, its implications in the field of transportation systems are especially enormous; where the benefits of right decisions are tremendous, the consequences of wrong ones are potentially disastrous. In the realm of highway systems, decisions related to the highway configuration (number of lanes, right of way, etc.) need to incorporate both the traffic demand and land price uncertainties. In the literature, these uncertainties have generally been modeled using the Geometric Brownian Motion (GBM) process, which has been used extensively in modeling many other real life phenomena. But few scholars, including those who used the GBM in highway configuration decisions, have offered any rigorous justification for the use of this model. This thesis attempts to offer a detailed analysis of various aspects of transportation systems in relation to decision-making. It reveals some general insights as well as a new concept that extends the notion of opportunity cost to situations where wrong decisions could be made. Claiming deficiency of the GBM model, it also introduces a new formulation that utilizes a large and flexible parametric family of jump models (i.e., Lévy processes). To validate this claim, data related to traffic demand and land prices were collected and analyzed to reveal that their distributions, heavy-tailed and asymmetric, do not match well with the GBM model. As a remedy, this research used the Merton, Kou, and negative inverse Gaussian Lévy processes as possible alternatives. Though the results show indifference in relation to final decisions among the models, mathematically, they improve the precision of uncertainty models and the decision-making process. This furthers the quest for optimality in highway projects and beyond.