
Checking Real Data Sets for Consistency
Mohammad Saifuzzaman shows how the Aimsun Real Data Set Checker makes it quicker and easier to create clean datasets and examines some different use cases.
April 2020
By Emmanuel Bert
The ability to create and import a Real Data Set (RDS) in Aimsun Next is very useful for calibration and validation tasks. Given that the objective of any model is to be as close as possible to real life, the RDS checker allows you to import real traffic data to the model to make direct comparisons and adjust internal parameters to fit these values.
Real data sets are essential elements of an Aimsun Next model, but sometimes the quality of the data provided by the client or other data sources is less than perfect and may have gaps and inconsistencies that are often difficult to detect, especially in a large-scale, complex network with a high number of detectors.
Additionally, when using several sources of data, you are quite likely to observe variations, so you need to be sure that the different data sources are compatible in terms of data type and date/time.
Of course, trying to calibrate a model based on a real data set with inconsistent traffic values will make the process more difficult, error prone and even impossible – for instance, you cannot satisfy two inconsistent traffic values in the same section.
The Real Data Consistency Checker was introduced as a Fast Track feature in Aimsun Next version 8.4.1. This tool can apply several consistency checks based on flow, speed and occupancy (if available) to either detectors or stations.
Individual consistency:
Congestion consistency:
A congestion consistency message will appear when these two criteria are fulfilled simultaneously:
Spatial consistency (count or flow):
The algorithm checks the difference between two measure points that have no interference in between (no merge/diverge nor centroid connections) or when the incoming vs outcoming flow differences in the node and applies the following criteria:
Things to note:
You’ll find more detail about these parameters in the User Manual: qthelp://aimsun.com.aimsun.8.4/doc/UsersManual/RealDataSetEditing.html#checking_real_data_consistency.
After defining the real data set in the Project menu, select Retrieve & Check:
In the Consistency Parameters tab, modify the criteria for data consistency checks:
Click on the Check button to generate the list of inconsistencies in the Results tab.
To check with different time aggregations, just restore the RDS with a different time aggregation before performing the check.
In the Results tab, you will see the list of consistency messages based on the RDS retrieved:
Example of messages regarding individual consistency:
They contain the line number, warning sign, the type of check (consistency type), the detector, the time of the record and the message explaining the issue detected.
Example of messages about spatial consistency:
The following message shows an inconsistency between 2 detectors that have no interference in between:
And finally, consistency issues for a node:
Mohammad Saifuzzaman shows how the Aimsun Real Data Set Checker makes it quicker and easier to create clean datasets and examines some different use cases.
February 2017: Sara Pardo shows you how to customize the order of your objects for clearer and more semantic organisation.
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Aimsun Next 23
Aimsun Next 20.0.5
Aimsun Next 23
@manual {AimsunManual,
title = {Aimsun Next 23 User's Manual},
author = {Aimsun},
edition = {Aimsun Next 23.0.0},
address = {Barcelona, Spain},
year = {2023. [Online]},
month = {Accessed on: Month, Day, Year},
url = {https://docs.aimsun.com/next/23.0.0/},
}
Aimsun Next 20.0.5
@manual {AimsunManual,
title = {Aimsun Next 20.0.5 User's Manual},
author = {Aimsun},
edition = {Aimsun Next 20.0.5},
address = {Barcelona, Spain},
year = {2021. [In software]},
month = {Accessed on: Month, Day, Year},
url = {qthelp://aimsun.com.aimsun.20.0/doc/UsersManual/Intro.html},
}
Aimsun Next 23
TY - COMP
T1 - Aimsun Next 23 User's Manual
A1 - Aimsun
ET - Aimsun Next Version 23.0.0
Y1 - 2023
Y2 - Accessed on: Month, Day, Year
CY - Barcelona, Spain
PB - Aimsun
UR - [In software]. Available: https://docs.aimsun.com/next/23.0.0/
Aimsun Next 20.0.5
TY - COMP
T1 - Aimsun Next 20.0.5 User's Manual
A1 - Aimsun
ET - Aimsun Next Version 20.0.5
Y1 - 2021
Y2 - Accessed on: Month, Day, Year
CY - Barcelona, Spain
PB - Aimsun
UR - [In software]. Available: qthelp://aimsun.com.aimsun.20.0/doc/UsersManual/Intro.html