Affiliations: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and
Geodetic Science, The Ohio State University, 2070 Neil Avenve, Columbus, OH
43210, USA
Abstract: This Part II of a two-part paper presents the development of a
prototype of the INtelligent TRaffic Evaluator for Prompt Incident Diagnosis
using a Reality Engine (INTREPID-RE), a system that simulates a traffic
accident site using virtual reality. While Part~I emphasizes the construction
of the user interface control panel and the 3D objects, this paper describes
the development of the virtual reality algorithm, environment and models.
During the simulation process, novice highway patrol officers wear a
head-mounted display and a cyberglove to enter and view an accident scene that
they create, and assess the magnitude and severity of the traffic accident.
Based on their assessments, patrol officers establish an on-site traffic
control strategy and coordinate parking of emergency vehicles that minimizes
unnecessary traffic congestion. Officers use INTREPID-RE to secure a safe area
for on-site patrol officers, create a channel to permit other drivers to pass
the site, and dispatch highway patrol and emergency vehicles to the accident
site. The interactive positioning function allows a virtual hand to simulate
the positioning of emergency vehicles and clearing of accident vehicles on the
road. Six domain experts who evaluated INTREPID-RE rated the system as good and
agree that it has the potential to become a promising tool for training novice
police officers.
