2013 Session: 549

• TreeVersity: Interactive Visualizations for Comparing Hierarchical Data Sets
  Abstract: Transportation datasets of all kinds are hierarchical in nature, and therefore easily represented in tree structures. Visually comparing the changes in these hierarchical datasets over time can be extremely difficult, even when the trees are relatively small. TreeVersity is a novel interactive visualization that allows users to detect and analyze changes in the structure and value of various components of the tree. TreeVersity uses dual comparison techniques (side-by-side and explicit differences) coupled with a tabular representation to help users understand and explore changes to the tree over time. It uses carefully selected color palettes to show positive/negative, absolute and relative value changes; and glyphs that preattentively show these changes. This paper illustrates the value of this visualization technique through various short case studies using Federal transportation budget data, airline maintenance budget data and transportation publication data. Also it hypothesizes about TreeVersity’s relevance for future congestion trend analysis. Video demonstrations of this research can be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/treeversity
  Authors: Guerra Gomez, John Alexis; Buck-Coleman, Audra; Pack, Michael L.; Plaisant, Catherine; Shneiderman, Ben
  Authors: Guerra Gomez, John Alexis; Buck-Coleman, Audra; Pack, Michael L.; Plaisant, Catherine; Shneiderman, Ben
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Data and Information Technology; Design; Safety and Human Factors
  Session: 549
  Paper Number: 13-3774
  Practice-Ready: Yes
• Multiresolution Visualization Tools to Aid in Conducting Road Safety Audits
  Abstract: This study examines the use of visualization tools to aid in the road safety audit process. A case study in El Paso, Texas was selected where an audit team performed a safety audit of a diamond interchange that experiences a high number of collisions during peak hours. The audit included the traditional safety evaluation where an independent team investigated the diamond interchange under various conditions to observe and document key elements including site characteristics, traffic characteristics, and land use in and around the study area as well as other human factors. In addition, historical crash data was incorporated into the road safety audit process by plotting all crash records into Geographical Information System software. This in turn allowed the investigative team to spatially identify both the severity and frequency of accident locations over several years. The audit team also introduced innovative modeling methods that utilize mesoscopic and microscopic simulation-based tools to create 2-D, 3-D and 4-D models of existing conditions and proposed improvements. The visualization of the proposed improvement scenarios help the Department of Transportation better understand how short, mid and long-range mitigation strategies would influence traffic flow in and around the study area. Viewing the simulation models was significant in identifying whether the proposed changes improved traffic flow (safety) or merely shifted the problem to alternate locations.
  Authors: Shelton, Jeffrey A.; Valdez Ceniceros, Gabriel A.; Sanchez, Gus; Leos, Gerardo
  Authors: Shelton, Jeffrey A.; Valdez Ceniceros, Gabriel A.; Sanchez, Gus; Leos, Gerardo
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Data and Information Technology; Design; Safety and Human Factors
  Session: 549
  Paper Number: 13-4797
  Practice-Ready: Yes
• TreeVersity: Interactive Visualizations for Comparing Hierarchical Data Sets
  Authors: Guerra Gomez, John Alexis
  Authors: Guerra Gomez, John Alexis
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation; Poster
  Subject: Data and Information Technology; Design; Safety and Human Factors
  Session: 549
  Paper Number: 13-3774
• Multiresolution Visualization Tools to Aid in Conducting Road Safety Audits
  Authors: Shelton, Jeffrey
  Authors: Shelton, Jeffrey
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation; Poster
  Subject: Data and Information Technology; Design; Safety and Human Factors
  Session: 549
  Paper Number: 13-4797
• Three-Dimensional Highway Design Methodologies Based on Piecewise Polynomials and Integral Bézier Splines
  Abstract:

  In this paper we present two 3-dimensional highway design methodologies, one based on piecewise polynomials and another based on integral Bézier splines. We present several practical examples to demonstrate the applicability of the approaches in real-world highway design processes from the driver's safety perspective. We also present the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed and existing methodologies. We also discuss the interrelations among safety, environment, and energy from highway design perspective. The developed methodologies can aid in better design of next generation of highways and also aid in the future research in vehicle infrastructure integration, route guidance, congestion management, and communication technologies.

  Authors: Jha, Manoj K.; Karri, Gautham; Kuehn, Wolfgang
  Authors: Jha, Manoj K.; Karri, Gautham; Kuehn, Wolfgang
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Data and Information Technology; Design; Safety and Human Factors
  Session: 549
  Paper Number: 13-5362