It is possible to apply Qatar Intelligent Traffic Simulator (QITS) in order to study Driver Assistance System (DAS), special systems ensuring safety of traffic. QITS simplify factor analysis even in the beginning of the development of the system. There is a range of factors used in traffic simulation models. Studying them, it is important to model not only functionality of the particular DAS but also the actions taken by the driver. Thus, it is possible to study and analyze these and other requirements with the help of QITS.
There have been many changes that were necessary to be implemented in the traffic system but it is possible to say that they were primarily aimed at decreasing traffic jams and increasing traffic flow. In other words, it has always been important to work on quality of service and operational power. Nowadays, it can be stated that an increased attention is paid to traffic safety and the way that vehicles affect the environment. There is a range of problems such as the increasing number of vehicles on the roads, pollution caused by emissions, the lack of traffic safety, and the measures developed should be really effective to address these challenges. Due to the lack of resources, it is important to sort out priorities and assess the impact of the proposed changes with the help of the means of simulating traffic.
The use of QITS can make interactions between particular vehicles and the stream of vehicles more complex, and simulation remains quite a useful approach to studying composite systems. Therefore, the simulation of traffic is more than likely to be implemented in studies of traffic systems of different types in the future.
The history of simulation used to study road traffic started in the beginning of the 1950s (May, 1990). Such models are developed in order to imitate various traffic operations. If we speak about the most recent simulation models, they are usually based on time monitored scanning approach. In the models created earlier, event-driven approach was used due to the range of limitations connected to performance of computers. The descriptions of vehicular traffic used in those systems were quite unsophisticated despite an enormous number of the events analyzed. Due to that, the sphere of their application was limited and it was decided to stop using such approach when more powerful computers appeared.
Simulation models are used in order to represent dynamic systems allowing to study the features of the real systems that exist. Time plays a very important role in these systems as it acts as the essential variable.
When simulation models are used in order to study real systems, it is necessary to track the changes that take place and update the information in certain periods of time. There is a difference between models that use time or event-based approaches; as for the former, it is necessary to update the model at fixed intervals whereas the latter requires the user to update it every time when its state begins to change.