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Correct modeling of complex dynamics of urban transportation flows requires the collection of large volumes of empirical data to specify types of the modes and their identification. At the same time, setting a large number of observation posts is expensive and technically not always feasible. All this results in insufficient factographic support for the traffic control systems as well as for urban planners with the obvious consequences for the quality of their decisions. As one of the means to provide large-scale data collection at least for the qualitative situation analysis, the wide-area video cameras are used in different situation centers. There they are analyzed by human operators who are responsible for observation and control. Some video cameras provided their videos for common access, which makes them a valuable resource for transportation studies. However, there are significant problems with getting qualitative data from such cameras, which relate to the theory and practice of image processing. This study is devoted to the practical application of certain mainstream neuro-networking technologies for the estimation of essential characteristics of actual transportation flows. The problems arising in processing these data are analyzed, and their solutions are suggested. The convolution neural networks are used for tracking, and the methods for obtaining basic parameters of transportation flows from these observations are studied. The simplified neural networks are used for the preparation of training sets for the deep learning neural network YOLOv4 which is later used for the estimation of speed and density of automobile flows.

The article considers minimization of the expectation of convex function. Problems of this type often arise in machine learning and a variety of other applications. In practice, stochastic gradient descent (SGD) and similar procedures are usually used to solve such problems. We propose to use the ellipsoid method with mini-batching, which converges linearly and can be more efficient than SGD for a class of problems. This is verified by our experiments, which are publicly available. The algorithm does not require neither smoothness nor strong convexity of the objective to achieve linear convergence. Thus, its complexity does not depend on the conditional number of the problem. We prove that the method arrives at an approximate solution with given probability when using mini-batches of size proportional to the desired accuracy to the power −2. This enables efficient parallel execution of the algorithm, whereas possibilities for batch parallelization of SGD are rather limited. Despite fast convergence, ellipsoid method can result in a greater total number of calls to oracle than SGD, which works decently with small batches. Complexity is quadratic in dimension of the problem, hence the method is suitable for relatively small dimensionalities.

The objective of this article is to develop a model for a realistic description of a mixed flow of two types of vehicles (cars and trucks) on multi-lane highways, taking into account differences not only in the technical characteristics of vehicles (dimensions, maximum speed), but also differences in driving strategies. The article includes a literature review, including publications of recent years, confirming the relevance of modeling heterogeneous traffic flows.

The new model takes into account that trucks have a lower maximum speed compared to cars and are slower to start. They are less maneuverable, so it is more difficult for them to change lanes. In addition, the movement of trucks can be regulated by some restrictive rules, for example, a ban on driving in left lanes.

The model is based on the cellular automata theory, which allows for a comprehensive description of the features of individual flow components. At each time step, the state of the automaton cells is updated in two stages — changing lanes and moving forward. The algorithms of both substeps for cars and trucks differ. Each vehicle is assigned a number of parameters: vehicle type, length, maximum speed, lane change strategy, in-lane movement strategy.

The model is implemented as a software package that allows simulating traffic on various sections of the road network — intersections, sections with narrowing and widening of the road, entrances and exits from the highway. In this work, a road section with a varying number of lanes and a straight multi-lane section with a virtual detector were selected for testing the model. The results are presented in the form of local speed-density and flow-density diagrams, as well as spatiotemporal speed diagrams.

To test the model, a number of problems with different percentages of passenger cars and trucks are solved, which allows demonstrating a drop in the capacity of elements of the road network with an increase in the share of trucks in the flow. The cases of uniform distribution by lanes and the restriction to the right lane for trucks are simulated. The positive effect of introducing a ban on the movement of trucks in left lanes on a multi-lane highway is illustrated.

Problems of application of quasicellular networks for simulation of flows of visitors in different public spaces are considered. Quasicellular networks are basic discrete structures without signature. Proposed approach may be used to create simulations on micro and macro levels. It also may be used for creating geometrical models. There are also multi-flow systems for simulation of sports fans in a sports arena, propagation of fire and poison in public spaces. This approach satisfies the requirements of MOE of Russia № 7-3-113.