Regional ITS Architectures

The Architecture Reference for Cooperative and Intelligent Transportation (ARC-IT) is used as a template to create regional ITS architectures that are tailored for a specific state, metropolitan area, or other region of interest (e.g., a major corridor or a National Park). ARC-IT provides the fundamental building blocks: the physical objects (subsystems and terminators), interfaces (as defined by the information flows), service packages, functional objects, and functional requirements that are selectively included in the regional ITS architecture and customized as necessary to fully reflect the envisioned regional transportation system.

Once created, a regional ITS architecture is a framework for institutional agreement and technical integration for the region. The regional ITS architecture defines the links between the pieces of the system and the information that is exchanged on each connection. Over 300 regional ITS architectures have been developed so chances are good that you already have one in your region.

The Regional Architecture Development for Intelligent Transportation (RAD-IT) software tool provides an easy way to personalize and customize ARC-IT for a specific region as shown in the following figure.

In this example, the general interface between the Traffic Management Center and Transit Management Center from ARC-IT is used as a template for defining the interface between a city public works department Traffic Management Center and the city's Transit Operations Center. The RAD-IT User selects the portion of the ARC-IT interface that applies. This is the essence of RAD-IT; the same basic approach is used to select and tailor service packages, functional objects, functional requirements, and applicable interfaces and their standards for the region. RAD-IT is also used to maintain the regional ITS architecture as projects are completed, the region's priorities evolve, and the opportunities offered by technology and integration in the transportation system advance.