Multi-model traffic microsimulations

Microscopic simulation of traffic, while often necessary to capture the effects of interest, is a computationally expensive simulation strategy. What can be observed, however, is that the accuracy required from the simulation for post simulation analysis can depend on the simulated world and vary over simulated time - roads becoming crowded may be simulated differently than sparsely used roads. In this paper we explore multi-model simulation as an adaptive simulation strategy. Multi-model simulations are capable of selecting and switching to a suitable simulation model at runtime, based on the state of the simulated world. This simulation strategy reduces the computational complexity of traffic microsimulations while still maintaining the desired level of accuracy needed to produce meaningful results. We illustrate the approach via an experimental set-up that allows switching between a road queue model and a fully detailed road simulation model.