Detailed traffic animation for urban road networks

We present a new agent-based system for detailed traffic animation on urban arterial networks with diverse junctions like signalized crossing, merging and weaving areas. To control the motion of traffic for visualization and animation purposes, we utilize the popular follow-the-leader method to simulate various vehicle types and intelligent driving styles. We also introduce a continuous lane-changing model to imitate the vehicle's decision-making process and dynamic interactions with neighboring vehicles. By applying our approach in several typical urban traffic scenarios, we demonstrate that our system can well visualize vehicles' behaviors in a realistic manner on complex road networks and generate immersive traffic flow animations with smooth accelerating strategies and flexible lane changes. (c) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.