Exercise: Editing

Note about licences:

These exercises require a licence for Aimsun Small, Aimsun Standard, Aimsun
Professional for Microscopic Simulation, Aimsun Advanced or Aimsun Expert.
Users with an Aimsun Professional for Travel Demand Modelling edition will be
able to do all the exercises except those related to control plans and dynamic
simulation. Users with an Aimsun Professional for Mesoscopic Simulation
edition will simulate with the mesoscopic simulator instead of the microscopic
simulator.

Editing exercises. Introduction.

In these exercises, the final goal is the creation of a complete network from zero
with all the necessary data to finish with a microscopic simulation of the network
(if the license allows it).
We will define, step by step, and based on a background image, all the
graphical elements that compose a network, including sections, nodes,
detectors, VMS, solid lines and bus stops.
We will also define a control plan for traffic lights, bus lines and plans, reserved
lanes for buses, a traffic state, centroids, O/D matrices, a traffic demand, and a
scenario with an experiment which we will use for the final simulation.

Exercise 1. Template.
The first step after executing Aimsun is to create a new model; this can be done
using the menu File / New. Select the default template.

This template places default objects within the project, which are shown in the
following image:

The user has the opportunity to create new objects and store them in a template
for future projects.

Exercise 2. Background.
Now we are going to import the images that will help us to create the exercises
model. We have a .DWG (CAD drawing) file and a JPG image to be imported.
Well use the menu File / Import:

We start by importing the DWG File Background_Small.dwg (found in the

Exercises folder), accepting the default Geo Units as Meters and System
Encoding, and then from the main menu select View / Whole World.

Now we should look at the layers which make up the imported background. For
this we should make the layers active, by selecting the menu Window /
Windows / Layers.

If we look at the layers, we see that the layer Ejes is a layer with a lot of clutter
which would be better hidden by deselecting the corresponding checkbox : .
The second operation we can do is to select the layer subarea by double
clicking on the layer with the mouse and assigning the colour red. We should
modify the drawing style as in the following figure:

Finally, select the VITORIA layer by double clicking on the layer with the mouse
and assign the colour blue. We should modify the drawing style as in the
following figure:

The background should now look as in the figure below:

Next we import the image image.jpg by selecting File / Import / Image File and
selecting image.jpg from the Exercises directory.
After selecting the image image.jpg a dialog where the Units can be selected
shows up. Accept the default settings.

Once the image is open, to place it correctly in the model, we use the option
called positioner. Double click on the image, and we are presented with the
Positioner window.
First of all, select check the option Show Image When Selected in the Basic
tab of the Geo Image dialog.

After that, open the Positioner tab to select corresponding reference points in
the model and in the image.

Once reference points have been selected, click on Scale and Translate to
position the image correctly over the background.
Suitable points could be those shown in the figure below:

Once the image is well located, it is useful to lock the layer so that it cant be
accidentally edited or moved. To do this we double click on the layer Images
and deselect the option Allow Object Editing.

Exercise 3. Section creation.

Now we can start creating the geometry of the network inside the red area over
the image. In the next picture all the sections are shown:
General view:

Zoom 1

Zoom 2

Note that some sections are already joined.

Adding sections
Select the Create Section button
from the Toolbar. Left click in the view
where the section will start, then double click where the section should end.

The section position may be modified by dragging its centre line update points
(circled in red) which are visible when the section is selected.
Create new vertex - using straight or curve segments
Sections can be shaped using the New (Straight
or Curve

) Vertex tool.

10

The first ones define straight segments, and as many vertexes as desired can
be added to a section. Between two of these vertexes, up to two new curve
vertexes can be added.
To add a new vertex, first select the section, then click on the New Vertex tool
(straight or curve), then by holding down the left mouse button on the view, drag
a line that intersects the section at the point where the control point is required.
This point may then be dragged to apply a shape to the section.
Adding lanes
To add or remove lanes in each section, select the section and right click to
enter the context menu, then from this select Number of Lanes / [number]. The
number of lanes of a section can also be chosen while the section is selected,
by clicking CTRL + [number of lanes].
Adding lateral lanes
Use lateral update points (circled in green) to create or remove lateral lanes.
Drag the update point away from the section to create the lateral, then drag the
new point down the section to change the lateral lanes length.

Joining sections
Join sections by selecting all sections to be joined with SHIFT-(left click), then
either right click on any section to reveal the context menu and select Join, or
use [Ctrl+M].

11

Exercise 4. Node creation.

In this exercise, we will create the nodes with missing geometry which are
marked in the following picture:

Roundabout

Intersection

Roundabout

Intersection

12

In order to create an intersection we must click on the node creation icon

at
which point the node editor is displayed. The turnings must be created one by
one, by clicking on New in the Main tab in the Node editor, and using the
mouse to select lanes on the origin section of the turning (the [SHIFT] key
allows selection of multiple lanes), followed by lanes on the destination section.
The fastest way to activate the Give Way on the different turnings is to select
the node and afterwards select all the turnings which have the restriction and by
pressing the right mouse button to access the context menu, we select the
option Give Way as shown in the following image:

We could also have set the priority by opening the nodes dialog window and
selecting Give Way in the Warning column for the corresponding turnings.

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Roundabouts

Figure 1 First Roundabout

14

Figure 2 Second Roundabout

In order to create a roundabout, we should use the Roundabout Tool

as
follows: Select all sections entering and exiting the roundabout, then select the
Roundabout tool and click at the centre of the image. After that, move the
mouse to define the radius of the roundabout. While keeping pressed the
mouse, we should change the number of lanes of the roundabout by pressing

15

CTRL + [number of lanes] (1, 2, 3,..., 7). Release the mouse button to create all
sections representing the roundabout.
Then we should modify the sections geometry to Automatically, all turnings
entering the roundabout have a Give Way Warning Sign. Note that, in the first
roundabout, the highlighted section has 5 lanes instead of 4. We should modify
the lanes and turnings as it is shown in Figure 1

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Exercise 5. Curved turnings and stop lines.

Now in the intersection we will modify the place where vehicles wait to Give
Way to other traffic. In the left turning from the south, the vehicles should not
stop at the traffic light, but some metres afterwards as shown in the image
below:

To create this point, we should create a waiting line in the corresponding

turning. To do this we right click on the appropriate turning and select the option
Stop Lines / New.

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This creates a waiting line as shown in the image (indicated by the orange
arrow), which can be moved by dragging with the mouse.

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Exercise 6. Assigning Road Types to sections.

The road types that we will assign to the sections of our model are shown in this
picture:

ARTERIAL

ON/OFF RAMP

ROAD

At present, all sections are of type Arterial. You can check this by doubleclicking in the Site window on the Arterial road type. Arterial is found under the
folder Road and Lane Types. To assign type On/Off Ramp to the relevant
sections, we select them using the left Mouse button (remembering to hold
down [SHIFT] to select multiple sections), then press the right Mouse button on
one of the selected, then from the context menu change the Road Type to
On/Off Ramp.

19

We must also change the roundabout sections type so we select all the sections
belonging to it, press the right mouse button and change the Road Type to
Roundabout.

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Exercise 7. Layers.
Layers are used to show objects in the network in different groups and altitudes.
Each layer has a subgroup of elements in the network, and they all are on the
same level. In our network we have sections which are elevated with respect to
the others. Therefore if we want the network to be drawn correctly we have to
have them in different layers and their view at different height.

The first step is to create the two layers from the previous figure (UPPER and
LOWER). To create each new layer, reveal the Network layer context menu by
right clicking on it in the Layers window and selecting New Layer.

Rename the two layers ([F2] while selected or select Rename from their context
menu) with the names from that previous figure, then double click on each to
access the layer editor and edit their drawing level. As an example we set the
drawing level for the lower drawing Level to 9, and the upper drawing Level a
higher value of 12 which means it will be drawn over the lower layer.

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22

Finally, we must assign each section to its corresponding layer. We select the
two sections which will go in the lower layer, and with the right mouse button we
open their context menu. Select Arrange / Move To Layer / Network Layers /
Lower to send these sections to the lower layer:

Repeat the same operation with the elevated sections to the upper layer, and
now we have the sections correctly located in their layers. Now when we carry
out the simulation we will not have vehicles appearing to overlap in the 2D view.

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Exercise 8. Solid Lines

Well define Solid Lines on two sections, as shown in this picture:

Solid Lines

The way to create solid lines is to press icon

line that we want to make solid.

and again on the broken white

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Exercise 9. Detectors and VMS creation.

In this exercise we are going to create other elements in the network:
Detectors

Within the network we need to place 6 detectors as shown in the picture above.
To place a detector, press icon
and press again on the desired location on
the desired section. Then, double-click on the detector to set its name and
features, as shown in the next picture.

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VMS

Now we are going to set two Variable Message Signs (VMS) in the main
street of the model. To set a VMS, press on the icon
and press
again on the desired location on the desired section. Double-click on the
VMS to set its features and name (South Direction and North Direction).

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Exercise 10. Traffic State.

We will now define a Traffic State to represent the demand. The following
pictures provide all the information necessary to create it:

700

1800

400

20
80
80
30
70

20

80
20
90
10

700

30
70
70

10

200

90

600

30
90
10

2100

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70
30

70

50
50

50
50

30

70
30

30

40

60
70

60
95

40

5
To put this data in the model, we need to create a Traffic State with the menu
Project / New / Demand Data / Traffic State. In the Project window the folder
Traffic State inside the folder Demand Data will appear with a state inside it.
We rename the state to State Car: 08:00 and double-click on it to change its
parameters. Within the Input Flow tabbed form:

Select the vehicle type as car.

Set the initial time From to 08:00:00 and the Duration to 01:00:00.
Select the Show only Entrances option.
Fill in the column Flow with data from the previous figure.

After that, click on the tab Turning Info and fill in the turning proportions with
the data from the previous figure.

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In the following pictures we can see how the dialogs should look after all the
information has been filled in.

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Exercise 11. Centroids.

If the traffic demand is given as an OD Matrix, then the first step will be defining
the centroids to which the matrix corresponds. In our example, we will define
the centroids and their connections as shown in the next picture:

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To place a centroid in the network, press the icon

and then click on the
position in the network where it should be placed. In this exercise, the blue
rectangles are the locations where the centroids should be placed. After
defining a centroid, double click on it to display the Centroid editor and under
the Main tab give the Centroid the name in the picture. And finally, we must
create the connections from the centroid to the network and vice versa. This is
done by pressing New and selecting the entrance or exit section. When all the
connections are ready, press Ok.
For all the centroids except for centroid South, no option should be selected.
For the centroid South we select the option Use Origin Percentage, assigning
90% to the section on the main street, and 10% to the secondary street (see
previous image).

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Exercise 12. O/D Matrices.

We will create the OD Matrices starting from a Total Matrix from which we will
extract two matrices, one for cars and another for trucks. We will consider that
95% of the trips of the Total Matrix are car trips and the remaining 5% are truck
trips.

Total
Matrix

95%

5%

Car
Matrix
Truck
Matrix

The Total Matrix is this:

We can create the matrix from the Centroids Configuration folder, in the
Project window. Click the right mouse button on the configuration, then select
the option New... / O/D Matrix. Rename the matrix to Total Matrix and by
double-clicking on it well edit the matrix. Fill in all the data as in the previous
image: vehicle type, initial time, duration and all the values in the OD Matrix.
The next operation is to create the two matrices from this one. To move from
one matrix to two, we may use the operation built into Aimsun. Double click on
the matrix Total Matrix to open the dialog windo (Cells Tab), then select the
operation split. Then press the button New twice two create two divisions
where we should mark the percentages by which we want to divide the original
matrix. Edit the percentages as shown to 95% y 5% then select Execute.

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Two new matrices appear in the Project window. Open each one to change the
type of vehicle, and change the name of each to Car Matrix y Truck Matrix, as
shown in the following image:

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Exercise 13. Traffic Demand.

Now that we have prepared the OD Matrices and the Traffic State, we can
create two Traffic Demands. Create each one by selecting menu Project / New
/ Demand Data / Traffic Demand, which will cause a new Traffic Demand to
appear in the Project window.

1) With OD Matrices
Rename the first Traffic Demand to Traffic Demand Matrix, double-click on
it and follow these steps:

Fix the Type: Matrices.

Press Add Demand Item and insert the cars and the trucks
matrices we prepared in the previous exercise.
Press Ok to end.

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2) With Traffic States

Rename the other Traffic Demand to Traffic Demand State, double-click on
it and follow these steps:

Fix the Type: States.

Press Set Time and fill in the Initial Time 8:00:00 and Duration
1:00:00.
Press Add Demand Item and insert the traffic state we prepared
in exercise 12.

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Exercise 14. Simulation Preview with Traffic Demand1.

To test the geometry created up until now, we may run some initial simulation,
even though we have still to specify any control plans or public transport.
To do this we need to create a scenario and an experiment.
First we need to create a Scenario. We create it with menu Project / New /
Scenarios / Dynamic Scenario, and it will appear in the Project window inside
the Scenarios folder. Now we should create an experiment associated with this
scenario, and to do this we place the mouse over the scenario in the Project
window, press the right mouse button to access the scenario context menu,
select New Experiment. Select the experiment type to Microscopic Simulator
and Stochastic Route Choice. Now we may open the scenario editor and
select the demand which should be used for the scenario. Double click on the
scenario to open the scenario dialog window, and under the Main tab, we can
choose between the two demand items we have already created.

Available for all editions except Aimsun Professional for Travel Demand edition. Users with an
Aimsun Professional for Mesoscopic edition should change the microscopic simulator with the
mesoscopic simulator.

36

We wont review the Experiments features in this exercise. If we want to

simulate the scenario, we must create a Replication. Just click the right mouse
button on Experiment and go to New / Replication as shown in the picture:

When presented with Creating replication editor dialog, deselect Create

Average, and click OK. Now, click the right mouse button on the Replication
and choose Animated Simulation (Autorun).

The simulation dialog (see next picture) will appear in the task box, and well be
able to perform the simulation of our exercise by pressing play ( ).

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Exercise 15. Signal group creation2.

The first intersection is controlled by a traffic light. Information about phases is
usually given as shown in next picture and table:

5
4

3 2

The first step before entering the signal timings is to create the signal groups.
To do this we follow the groups as shown in the image above.

Available for all editions except Aimsun Professional for Travel Demand Modelling edition.

38

We must create its signal groups following these steps:

SG 1

SG 2

SG 3

SG 4

SG 5

Double-click on the intersection and select the Signal Groups label.

Click on New and a signal group identifier will appear in the list. Then we must
select the set of turnings belonging to that Signal Group. When all the Signal
Groups are already defined, press OK.
The adjacent dialog window looks like the window one should get after
assigning all the turnings in the intersection to the four corresponding Signal
Groups.

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Exercise 16. Phases creation3.

Once we have defined the signal groups, we should create the control plan and
apply the signal timings as shown in the following table:

The first thing we need to start defining the phases is a Control Plan. Control
Plans are created in menu Project / New / Control / Control Plan. In the
Project window a new Control Plan folder will appear and the new created
Control Plan will be inside it.

We can rename the Control Plan, pressing the right mouse button on it. Another
way to do this is to press F2 when the Control Plan is selected. Lets name it
Control AM. Now we return to the signalised intersection, and specify the
signal phases according to the information above:

Set the Control Type to Fixed

Set the Yellow Time to 3.
Switch to Signals group mode
The five groups defined in the previous exercise must be filled with
two parameters:
Start Time

Available for all editions except Aimsun Professional for Travel Demand Modelling edition.

40

Duration

Use values from the figure below:

Signal
Group
1
2
3
4
5

Start Time

Duration

0
0
0
58
58

52
52
52
26
26

Blank spaces between phases are considered interphase. In this case, they are
considered 6 long. Yellow time is taken as the first 3 seconds of the
interphase.

Then we switch to Phases Mode. There, the different phases are shown as in
the next figure:

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This mode also permits traffic control edition. It is also the way of editing
actuated or external types of control.
And we can finally check all different movements corresponding to each phase:
Phase 1

Phase 3

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Exercise 17. Master Control Plan creation4.

A Master Control Plan is a set of Control Plans. Go to menu Project / New /
Control / Master Control Plan to create a Master Control Plan that appears in
the Site window. Right click on it and rename it to Master Control Plan AM.
Double-click on it to define its features.

Press the button Set Time and set it to 8:00:00 with duration of 1:00:00, as we
had in our only Control Plan. Now, to link them, press Add Control Item and
load the Control Plan.
The editor should look like this:

Available for all editions except Aimsun Professional for Travel Demand Modelling edition.

43

Exercise 18. Simulation Preview with Control Plan5.

At this point it would be interesting to place the Master Control Plan into the
scenario and execute a simulation with signal control to observe the signals
introduced. To do this simply double click on the scenario and select the
created master control plan from the Master Control Plan drop-down.

Now we can simulate the replication created in the previous exercises.

Available for all editions except Aimsun Professional for Travel Demand Modelling edition.

44

Exercise 19. Reserved Lanes.

Next we are going to define a Reserved Lane for the compulsory use of the
Public Transport (Bus). The picture to the right shows the location of the
Reserved Lane.
We will use the template defined Reserved (Compulsory) for Public, found in
the Lane Types folder in the Project window (Infrastructure), with the icon .

Reserved Lanes

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Should this not be available we can create a new Lane Type in menu Project /
New / Infrastructure / Lane Type. By double-clicking on this new Lane Type
(in the Road and Lane Types folder) we can manipulate the features of the
lane. We relate the Lane Type to the Vehicle Class Public and set this Lane
Type to be reserved for this class:

Now we should relate the Lane Type to the desired lane from the section in our
exercise. To do that, select the section and press the right mouse button on the
lane and select, in the option Lane Type, the reserved lane type.

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Exercise 20. Bus Stops.

We will add three Bus Stops to the network as shown in the next figure:

Stop 1

Stop 2

Stop 3

In order to add a Bus Stop we must click on the icon

and then click on
the lane of the section where we want to locate it. Once its defined, we can
change its length, and if we double-click on it we can set the name and the
type.
Stop 1: Length 15m and type Normal.
Stop 2: Length 15m and type Normal.
Stop 3: Length 20m and type Bay.

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Exercise 21. Public Transport Line.

We will define three Transport Plan Lines for buses; in the following pictures.
The names and the routes for the three lines are specified:
L1

L2

All the necessary information about the stops in the routes and time tables is
listed in the table below:
Name
L1
L2

Bus Stops ( Exercise

10)
Stop 1
Stop 2, Stop 3

Departure Interval Time

(mean)
6 min (dev 1min)
5 min (dev 1min)

Stop Time
(mean)
18 sec
18 sec 20 sec

To create a Line, go to menu Project / New / Public Transport / Public

Transport Line, and a new Line will appear in the folder Public Transport /
Public Transport Lines in the Project window, with the icon
. We rename the
Line (mouse right click and select rename) and by double-clicking on it we open
the Public Transport Line editor to change the features.

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In the tabbed form Main: Select consecutively the sections of the bus line route
(by clicking the left mouse button on the sections in the view), and in the
sections where a bus stop of the line is located, we must choose it. The next
figure corresponds to Route definition for line L1:

In the tabbed form Timetables:

Click on the New button to create a new timetable, then change the
name to: Work Day.

Click on the New button in the Schedules area, and set the Initial
Time to 8:00:00, the Duration to 15:59:00, and the Departure Times
to Interval(Punctual).

In the Departure area, select bus as the vehicle type and set the
corresponding time from the previous table in the field Mean.

In the Dwell Times area, fix the mean times for each of the stops with
the data from the data from the table above by entering values
directly into the forms table

We must repeat this process for the two lines.

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When all the Public Transport Lines are ready, the Public Transport Plan must
be generated. We create a new plan in menu Project / New / Public Transport
/ Public Transport Plan; it will appear in the folder Public Transport / Public
Transport Plans in the Project window with the icon . We rename the plan to
Plan AM and double-click on it and double click on it to enter the Public
Transport Plan editor.
Now we assign Lines and corresponding Timetables to the Plan. We can do this
either by double clicking on the Timetable of each Line, or by selecting the
Timetable and pressing the icon . The next image shows how the editor
should look after assigning the three lines to the Plan.

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Exercise 22. Simulation Preview with Public Transport6.

Now we should inform the scenario that we wish to use the created public
transport plan, and execute a simulation using it. To do this, double click on the
scenario, and select the created public transport plan from the Public Transport
Plan drop down menu.

Now we can simulate the replication created in the previous exercises.

Available for all editions except Aimsun Professional for Travel Demand Modelling edition.

51

Exercise 23. Pre-emption7.

In every controlled intersection we can give priority to any kind of vehicles we
choose. We will now see an example where we give priority to the buses of the
line 2. This Pre-emption requires that we are able to detect the priority request,
and detect when to end it, so we will define two more detectors, placed as
shown in the figure below:

These detectors must be able to recognise equipped vehicles using this line. So
buses from line 2 must be equipped and the detectors must have the Equipped
Vehicle measuring capability (double click on each detector and select
Equipped Vehicle under Measuring Capability).

Available for all editions except Aimsun Professional for Travel Demand Modelling edition.

52

The percentage of equipped buses is set in its Vehicle Type editor (in the
Project / Demand Data window under Vehicle Types and Classes double click
on bus).

Now we are prepared to set all the data in the Pre-emption folder in the Control
of the Node Editor. Add a Pre-emption set with the Add button. For this preemption set, we must add the line 2, the phase that gives right of way to the
buses of this line, phase number 3 and the detector that emits the request for
priority (detector A in the picture) and the one ending the request (detector B).
In the parameters section, we will set the Minimum Dwell time to 15 seconds
and the Maximum to 20. And finally, between the two types of pre-emption lets
choose the alternative, which will give green to the dwell phase as soon as the
minimum green time of the current green phases are over and the interphase is
finished.

53

Now we can run a simulation to observe how the pre-emption works. Open the
Simulation Control folder in the Node Editor during the simulation for information
about the active signals and phases.

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Exercise 24. Actuated Control8

Lets edit the traffic control at the intersection controlled by traffic lights. We will
change the fixed control and define an actuated control with dual-ring instead.
We consider straight turning movements as one with their corresponding right
turning movement, as when the straight movement is allowed, the turn to the
right will not interfere with other turnings.
For straight and to the left turnings, if we want to implement a full dual-ring
actuated control, we need to detect individually each call for a turning
movement on the junction, therefore we need an individual detector and traffic
light for each turning movement. We also require that lanes should not be
shared by two or more turning movements.
In our case, the signal groups defined for the fixed control already fulfil these
conditions:
SG 1

SG 2

SG 3

SG 4

SG 5

Then, we must also add enough detectors to detect calls for any of the
movements, so we will add five detectors (covering one or two lanes depending
on the movement) as shown in next figure:

5
4
8

Available for all editions except

Aimsun Professional for
Travel Demand Modelling edition.

3 2

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As a minimum requirement, detectors must capable of detecting vehicle

Presence, although some other examples of actuated control require Count
capability. Check that all the detectors we have just defined have the Presence
capability enabled.

We create a new control named Actuated Control. In the node we define it as

actuated.

We will define a dual-ring with two barriers. Add a ring by pressing the Add Ring
button, and create a second barrier by dragging the right line defining the end of
Barrier 1 towards the left.

The Yellow Time can be set to 3 seconds, and we deactivate the Single Entry
option so that, when a barrier is crossed, a phase in every ring must receive
green (marked as Default phase).

Now lets define the phases: the first barrier will contain the movements coming
from the North and the South, and the other barrier will contain the movements
coming from the West.
On the other hand, in the first barrier, the movement up is compatible with the
movement up-left and the movement down, so this last two will be together in
one ring, and the first in the other.

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Next picture shows how this control could be defined (signals for each phase
are defined in the Basics tab):

Signal 2
Signal 3

Signal 4
Signal 1

Signal 5,6

The next step is to fill in the parameters in the Actuated folder.

For Phase 1, we will set the recall to Min so that it gets a green for each cycle:

In phases 3 and 9 we will implement a Gap Reduction:

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Phase 5:

And finally Phase 7 that we will mark with the Hold feature, so that it stays
green even in the absence of calls, until we cross the barrier.

The last step is the definition of the detectors that will emit the call for a green
phase when they detect the presence of vehicles. Choose the detector by
pressing the Add button and then selecting the detector in the view.

Following the numeration of detectors in next picture and the numeration of

phases in the diagram of the Node Editor, the associations will be:
Phase
1
3
5
7
9

Detector
2
4
3
1
5

Now we can run a simulation to observe how the actuated control works. Open
the Simulation Control folder in the Node Editor during the simulation for
information about the signals and phases.

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