A multi-purpose toll collection plaza model

A recent application of automatic vehicle identification (AVI) technology enables traffic to flow through a toll collection plaza in a more expedient manner. Simulation is used by the AVI vendor as a means to better engineering controller equipment and to optimize the hardware/software combinations required for a given plaza. Simulation coupled with animation can be used by the AVI vendor as an instrument to show potential customers advantages to using AVI technology. The process involved in creating a generic toll plaza modeling package customized to meet the needs of the AVI engineering staff is described. Also provided is a basis for demonstrating the use of discrete-event simulation in a vehicular traffic environment. The capabilities to be obtained by integrating several software packages, such as a programming language and a spreadsheet, into a dedicated single-purpose modeling tool are illustrated.<
>