FLO (Field-based Traffic Model)

Emergence & Continuum Methods

2024–2025

Simulation

Traffic Modeling

Python

Continuum Methods

FMM

Overview

FLO models traffic as continuous vector fields (curb/median repulsion, goal attraction, inter-vehicle discomfort) combined with bicycle-model vehicles. Local interactions produce global structure — lanes and predictable flows — without explicit lane rules.

Key Results (concise)

  • Lane Formation Index: 1.000 (Following) — perfect self-organization
  • Trajectory Entropy: 0.174 (Chaotic) — low unpredictability; structure emerges from conflict
  • Stoppage Frequency: 97.8% (Merging) — realistic bottleneck behavior

These metrics show: emergence works, traffic is not random, and the model reproduces realistic congestion.

Visualization

  • Real-time plots and ffmpeg-backed animations (matplotlib + FuncAnimation)
  • Field visualization (quiver), vehicle trajectories, and per-frame snapshots for presentations

Implementation Details

  • Core: Python (NumPy, SciPy)
  • Simulation: custom continuum field + bicycle vehicle controller
  • Visualization: Matplotlib (animation to MP4)
  • Experiment scripts: scenario definitions, metric logging, and plot generation

Future Work

  • Implement Fast Sweeping (O(m)) to replace FMM for linear-time field solve
  • GPU acceleration for large-scale, real-time simulations
  • Validate against real-world trajectory datasets (e.g., NGSIM)
  • Add curved roads, intersections, traffic lights, and richer driver models

Links

  • Repository:
  • Animation:

p.s this is my fyp, marked in highest in the entire cs batch in FYP-1 evaluation. :3