Traffic simulations provide valuable insights into traffic control measures, infrastructure design, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, route selection behavior, emissions modeling, and more. SUMO (Simulation of Urban MObility), an open-source, microscopic, and multimodal traffic flow simulation platform, facilitates the creation of realistic traffic flow simulations by incorporating road networks, vehicles, pedestrians, and interactions with other applications such as virtual reality platforms and driver simulators. Calibration aims to bridge the gap between simulation outcomes and real-world observations; however, the effectiveness of calibration relies heavily on the realism of interactive behavior models for various agents, such as cars, drivers, bicyclists, pedestrians (including those with accessibility needs), and workers. Integrating multiple interactive simulations into a coherent representation of real-world transportation settings poses significant challenges due to the complexities of microsimulation, the diverse range of metrics, and varying traffic control systems. Calibration metrics, data sources, temporal scales, and spatial versus perceptual accuracies vary among platforms, leading to complexities when synchronizing and calibrating them collectively.
Zhang, S., Ergan, S., Zuo, F., & Ozbay, K. (2025). “Improving work zone safety: Integrating VR-CARLA co-simulation and eye tracking for behavior analysis of drivers around work zones.” T&F Journal of Transportation Safety & Security, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19439962.2025.2462808. IF: 2.8, SSCI. Faculty collaborator: K. Ozbay from C2SMARTER, NYU.
Zhang, S., Wang, Z., Zuo, F., Ergan, S., and Ozbay, K (2025). “VR-WISE: VR-based work zone immersive simulation with eye tracking and biometric sensors for capturing driver’s awareness.” 17th Interational ACM Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications, September 22-25, 2025, Brisbane, Australia. (accepted)
Zhang, S., Ergan, S., and Ozbay, K. (2024). “Work zone safety: Benchmarking studies between virtual reality-based traffic co-simulation platform and real work-zones.” In Z. Wang (Ed.), ICRA 3rd Workshop on Future of Construction: Lifelong Learning Robots in Changing Construction Sites. Available at: https://www.iaarc.org/publications/fulltext/08_ICRA_2024_Paper_64.pdf
