Four-Dimensional, Real-Time Automatic Vehicle Location Visualization System

Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) systems have been maturing over the past several years. Whereas traditional AVL systems were used solely for determining vehicle position, newer systems are now capable of reporting a wealth of auxiliary data including engine performance, bearing, operator information, and other sensor data. Consequently, AVL systems return a surprisingly large amount of data that may need monitoring, or at the very least, require the means to access the data in an easy to understand format. A sophisticated data management and visualization system is thus needed to reap the full benefits of AVL. Typically, real-time AVL data is managed with text-based displays and 2D maps. However, 4-dimensional, interactive display methods can afford more accurate situational awareness by allowing one to visualize large amounts of data in real-word environments from multiple angles and perspectives. This paper explores the benefits of using a 4D transportation visualization system to manage and interact with data obtained from both air and surface transportation vehicles outfitted with AVL equipment. The 4D system enables multiple AVL feeds from buses, taxicabs, freightliners, commercial aircraft, rail, and corporate fleets to be simultaneously visualized in one system. The result is a complete, flexible, interactive, real-time system which provides great improvements over traditional AVL management systems.