VISSIM is a microscopic, behavior-based multi-purpose traffic simulation program. For many engineering disciplines, simulation has become an indispensable instrument for the optimization of complex technical systems. This is also true for transportation planning and traffic engineering, where simulation is an invaluable and cost-reducing tool.
It offers a wide variety of urban and highway applications, integrating public and private transportation. Even complex traffic conditions are visualized in an unprecedented level of detail providing realistic traffic models.
Consequently, traffic engineering expertise, combined with 3D animations, guarantees convincing presentation for both technical experts and decision makers, in particular when important decisions on costly projects have to be taken. VISSIM convincingly shows how effective a projected measure might be regardless of whether a new road is going to be constructed or a new tram line is being planned. The figures speak for themselves: In the meantime VISSIM is used in more than 70 countries worldwide.
For the first time ever, pedestrian simulation and vehicle simulation have been combined in one software program which is based on the Social Force Model by Prof. Dirk Helbing, 1995, Technical University of Dresden (now Federal Institute of Technology Zurich). The new module for VISSIM - the worldwide leading traffic simulation software – will be presented for the first time at Intertraffic 2008. This new module provides a professional, realistic model of pedestrian behaviour patterns. We have put together packages at different prices that meet different budgets and needs.
Click here for more information on Pedestrian Simulation.
All AVI files (except for the macroscopic example) have been generated by means of the built-in VISSIM Keyframe Editor. Playback requires the Microsoft MPEG 4.2 video codec.
Mendelssohnplatz Karlsruhe/Germany |
Complex intersection modelling
Comparison of intersections with regard to design alternatives (roundabouts, unsignalized and signal-controlled, grade separated interchanges) and design, test and analysis of vehicle-actuated signal controls. AVI Download high quality (27 MB) medium quality (14 MB) |
Rendezvous concept Munich/Germany |
Public transport optimization
Simulation and visualization of bus/underground connections. 3D modelling of an underground station with different levels connected via escalators. AVI Download high quality (16 MB) medium quality (10 MB) |
Tram priority scheme in roundabouts |
Public transport priority schemes
Anaylsis of bus and light rail acceleration measures based on individual prioritization parameters for signal control (e.g. express train control). AVI Download high quality (9 MB) medium quality (3 MB) |
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, USA |
Toll roads and customs' checkpoints
Modelling checkpoints (e.g. at toll gates or border crossing points). AVI Download high quality (14 MB) medium quality (4 MB) |
Brandenburger Gate, Berlin/Germany |
Integrated network model
Simulation of exclusively and jointly used traffic areas with all relevant road users, including a built-in pedestrian model for detailed simulation of pedestrian areas (VISSIM 5.0 and higher). AVI Download high quality (20 MB) medium quality (9 MB) |
Section control systems |
Traffic management
Analyses considering alternative route control, traffic flow control, special lanes and section control systems. AVI Download high quality (10 MB) medium quality (4 MB) |
Traffic jams "out of nowhere" |
Motorway
Simulation of motorway driver behaviour and the impact on traffic flows. AVI Download high quality (7 MB) medium quality (2 MB) |
A99 motorway around Munich |
Major road networks
Feasibility analysis of large networks (e.g. motorways) with alternative route choice using dynamic assignment. Display of macroscopic parameters based on micro-simulation. AVI Download high quality (4 MB) |
Dynamic parking guidance system |
Parking
Modelling parking spaces with parking guidance systems, access control and dynamic level and space counting displays. AVI Download high quality (11 MB) medium quality (4 MB) |
Since the VISSIM 5.1 release there is a new add-on module for pedestrian simulation in VISSIM. The still emerging and extensive module has been extended distinctly since the release of its own service packs. Emphasis has to be put on the interaction between vehicles and pedestrians, as well as a function which can be used to simulate the behaviour in queues.
Amongst other things, the illustration of the bystanders' walking behaviour on escape routes for “Das Fest“ in Karlsruhe and for a stadium in Germany is also included in application projects, as well as the simulation of the transfer behaviour of passengers in the North Melbourne Station Australia.
Before the release of VISSIM 5.1 it was possible to integrate pedestrians in a restricted scope. Pedestrians were thus restricted to links and followed the dynamic vehicle model of Rainer Wiedemann. An example of such an application can be found here.
In the new add-on, pedestrians can move freely in two dimensions. They thus follow the Social Force Model of Prof. Helbing from the ETH Zürich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich). This makes it possible for example, to simulate the opposing flow situation, as lanes are created dynamically and can be destroyed again. A current version of the above example at the Brandenburger Tor can be found here.
VISSIM is the only microscopic traffic simulation which allows interactive consideration of vehicles and pedestrians on the level of single increments (Example as AVI file). The realistic simulation of pedestrian behaviour also makes it possible to model violations against traffic rules, for example, ignoring a traffic light signal or violating a right of way rule due to the dynamics of the system.
Service Pack 6 contains queues as a new object. Where in the past, waiting times were only possible as orderless pausing of pedestrians, these can now be set up as ordered queues. The length of the service for the respective waiting at the front, results in a time distribution freely definable by the user (Example as AVI file).
In future, this function will be removed and adjusted to the different variants of queues.
We are pleased to be able to present to you the VISSIM 5.10 release with helpful new functions and improvements.
These are the highlights:
An outstanding innovation is the new add-on module for pedestrian simulation, which is available now. More information can be found here:
Additional functions can be found here:
Furthermore, numerous improvements make it more user-friendly.
Conflict areas are a new alternative to priority rules to define priority in intersections. It is expected that they will replace priority rules in most cases because they are more easily defined and the resulting vehicle behavior is more intelligent.
A conflict area exists, by definition, wherever two links in VISSIM overlap. For each conflict area, the user can either select the conflicting links with priority or if the area is passive, (i.e. does not influence vehicles at all) nothing may need to be edited.
A major improvement for driving behavior is that drivers make a plan how to cross the conflict area. A yielding driver observes the approaching vehicles in the main stream and decides when to go. Then he plans an acceleration profile for the next seconds that will allow him to cross the area, taking into account the situation behind the conflict area: if he knows that he has to stop or to slow down there because of other vehicles, he will calculate more time to cross the conflict area or decide not to go at all. He even anticipates the behavior of the vehicles behind the conflict area, estimating if a car will accelerate or decelerate.
Vehicles in the main stream react to the conflict area as well: if a crossing vehicle could not complete the crossing because of the driver's overestimation, the vehicle in the main stream will brake to slow or stop. And if a queue builds up from a signal downstream from the conflict area, the vehicles in the main stream try not to stop on the conflict area in order not to block the crossing stream. This is accomplished by having the drivers make a similar plan to cross the conflict area as the yielding vehicles do.
Conflict areas therefore control driving behavior in a way that was modeled before by a combination of several priority rules. But the real benefit is generated by modeling anticipation in driver behavior: this brings the simulated drivers in VISSIM even closer to their real counterparts.
The first version of the VISSIM Analyzer is available with VISSIM 4.30. This tool helps the user to efficiently define and produce report-ready evaluations of simulation runs. The Analyzer collects data from one or more simulation runs in a database. After the simulation, the user can select which type of evaluations he wants for a specific part of the simulated network. Results are filtered and aggregated accordingly and report tables are generated automatically in Microsoft Excel, from where they can easily be cut and pasted in report documents. PDF documents and XML files may also be exported.
A very convenient feature of the Analyzer is that it will aggregate results from several simulation runs with different random seed numbers and show the average values as well as the standard deviations.
As in every release, VISSIM's COM-programming interface has been extended by a variety of additional functions like changing the state of 3D-object, access to signal group states or access to surrounding vehicles. VISSIM 4.30 introduces a new way to run COM scripts. In the main menu, a script menu allows users to open Visual Basic or Python scripts within the VISSIM environment. This produces a much higher execution speed with no requirement to create a VISSIM object or open network files - the script starts with the current model loaded in VISSIM.
One of VISSIM's most appreciated features is its 3D animation because it makes the traffic engineer's work visible to citizens and decision makers. To achieve even more realistic simulation videos, some VISSIM users transfer the simulation results to high end animation software products and rendered videos using these tools.
VISSIM 4.30 makes this process easier with a new feature: users can write network data and vehicle trajectories to a text file for import in Autodesk's 3ds Max software. Scripts in Autodesk's macro language provide for importing these files in 3ds Max,.
Node evaluation raw data can optionally be written to *.knr file or database table. One line is written per vehicle that reaches a node exit.
Evaluations / Database: Table "EvalInfo" lists all evaluations written into the database, with the type of the evaluation, table name, date/time when the simulation run was started and the name of the network file (*.inp).