Wyoming DOT’s Connected Vehicle Pilot implementation includes the deployment of 75 Roadside Units (RSUs) along 400 miles of I-80. With the long drive times, tough winters, WYDOT needed an efficient way to monitor the performance of these units and a way to manage/update these units to maintain peak performance. With no suitable product readily available, team members from the Wyoming Connected Vehicle team developed an open source application that allows authorized Transportation Management Center (TMC) operators to monitor and manage each RSU on the road. The WYDOT team found that the same application can also be leveraged as a public-facing tool that shows a high-level status of the CV Pilot.
The TMC-portion of the application is called the Service Monitor Device Management (SMDM). The application is for WYDOT Transportation Management Center (TMC) operator use only and provides a quick, real-time, single point/view into RSU status and management. The operators have access to the RSU Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and can remotely manage each RSU by performing functions such as:
The code is mostly HTML and JavaScript. The Dashboard is based on a custom out of the box ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute) Web AppBuilder template. The WYDOT Network and Communication (Telecom) team have view privileges to see network status. This feature allows the Telecom team to view status of the IPv4, IPv6 and dedicated short range communications (DSRC) networks for example and know instantly what needs to be fixed. After confirming a node/network is down, a team member can then access the appropriate network management system to manage the node/network.
A new National Transportation Communications for ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems) Protocol (NTCIP) standard, NTCIP 1218 v01, Object Definitions for Roadside Units (RSUs), is currently under development. This standard will define the protocols and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) objects for configuring, operating and maintaining RSUs from a traffic management center. The standard has not been published yet, but a member of the Wyoming Connected Vehicle technical team provided information about the RSU service monitor and management capability to the RSU Working Group when the 1218 standards development effort got started.
The Connected Vehicle Monitor (CV Monitor) application is essentially the same data pushed to CV Pilot stakeholders, yet in view-only mode. This component allows users to zoom in and out on a specific segment of I-80. In particular, WYDOT believes this tool is a valuable tool to demonstrate how traveler information messages are being pushed out to the RSUs and how many vehicles are receiving the messages. For example, a stakeholder browsing the CV Monitor can quickly identify what traveler information messages are being pushed out currently and how many vehicles are passing by the RSU.
The CV Monitor is set up to allow a user to zoom into particular RSUs or a region and the map view automatically adjusts the displayed statistics (see below screen shot). For example, zooming in decreases the RSUs displayed to 42. The stats in the lower window updates to reflect current condition for those 42 RSUs.
The CV Monitor also includes integration with other WYDOT applications for traveler information. Notice the operational layer list in the bottom left corner. WYDOT supports separate applications for these layers such as 511, Variable Speed Limit (VSL) and Incidents. The System Monitor Device Management application includes some layers of data from these other systems. In the picture below, the actual VSL message board located west of Green River has a posted speed of 65 MPH.
The CV Monitor presents a rolling log of information for the past 24 hours. Information used for the CV Monitor is also being used to create an analytic dashboard that will report on several of the performance measures identified by the CV Pilot. The upcoming dashboard will leverage aspects of the CV Monitor, but present other data to determine overall performance impacts of the CV Pilot.
For other State/Local agencies and DOTs wishing to deploy a similar capability to monitor and manage RSUs, the application code was made available on the Open Source Application Development Portal (OSADP) for download. The code is downloadable and can be used and customized by others free of charge. WYDOT developed this capability using USDOT funds under the CV Pilot program as open source software and associated documentation. Search for “Service Monitor Device Management” on the OSADP. This application represents one of six that the CV Pilots program will be providing during the program’s three phases.
