Emme 4.6 introduces new modeling, productivity and platform features which fundamentally expand the ways that users can assemble, calibrate, and automate agent-based travel demand models and model workflows.
Highlights include:
Agent includes a new travel demand modeling platform that lets you implement just about any model structure then upgrade it over time. Work with tours, trips, households and persons as well as zones and O-Ds. Get started from an existing model template (trip-based, hybrid, tour-based, simple ABM, much more soon) or re-platform your existing model in-place (without changing its structure) to improve transparency, performance and bring flexibility to upgrade with new capabilities. Leverage a native agent-based travel database, relational expressions with autocomplete, a rich choice modeling framework and advanced features like time-space consistency and automated calibration as well as population synthesis.
Model packages in Agent are configured, not coded, so anyone on the team can benefit from the clarity and ease of use provided by a full UI. Change anything and everything - inserting a new telecommute model, adding new alternatives for a richer vehicle type model or swapping the order of location and temporal choices are easy to do and don't require custom code. And if you prefer to work code-first, automate and analyze with Emme APIs for Python and revision model configurations alongside code. Agent reflects years of combined staff experience in the development and application of advanced travel demand models in agencies around the world; it puts much of this experience on your workstation.
For structured learning opportunities with Agent, please see the Demand modeling with Emme Agent course offering.
Flow is a code-free automation system to assemble and run travel demand models and related workflows without writing a line of code. Using Flow you can build reusable and customized workflows from procedures and parameters, instrument control flows with iteration and branching, manipulate variables with expressions, organize items into sections and add inline documentation. You can use any tool as a flow procedure, including of course network models and Agent demand models. Emme has always been code-friendly, but now it can also be used code-free. Code-free systems are rising in popularity, and give users the ability to build an application without ever writing a line of code, utilizing a UI that allows dragging and dropping modular, reusable components to create their application.
To add a procedure to a flow, copy and paste a procedure token from any tool, then use control flow, parameters, variables and expressions to adjust behavior. You can copy/paste between flows or even call one flow from another. Flows are largely self-documenting; control flow, hierarchical structures and optional inline markdown notes are immediately apparent so there isn't much need to maintain separate documentation that can easily go stale. The Parameters pane provides a clear and easy way to collect user input, and the current state of variables are visible at run-time (like in a debugger, but without code). And if you develop your own tools, they can also be automated in flows.
In a mixed-mode transit journey one or more private transport modes may be used alongside public transit services as first-, last- or intermediate-trip legs. “Mixed” private modes are not constrained to a specific itinerary or headway, but often their availability must be constrained along the mode sequence of the journey to limit their intended participation with transit. For example, in a park-and-ride access journey, travelers may drive to a transit station and park before continuing onto their destination, but they may no longer drive while completing their journey using remaining public and private modes.
Emme 4.6 includes new transit assignment features which allow granular control of permitted mode sequences for modeling complex mixed-mode assignments (for example, drive, TNC pick-up, scooter, etc.) which may only be available at certain specific sequences of a transit journey. There are many possible applications including:
A new Activities scene provides animations of activities, population movements and tour tracing, see example above. The Network scene now also allows use of relational expressions for more convenient and flexible visualization and analysis.
The new Junction capacity assignment tool performs a traffic assignment in which network flows are equilibrated during the assignment process with updated junction capacities for both signalized and unsignalized intersections. Capacities are adjusted accounting for green time, conflicting movement traffic, permissive / protected movements, and shared lane(s). Intersection capacity at both signalized and unsignalized intersections follow simplified HCM formulations. The new Signal generation tool may be used to generate control plan information including cycle lengths, phases, and green times at signalized intersections/movements
The transit demand adjustment tools (Transit demand adjustment, Congested transit demand adjustment and Capacitated transit demand adjustment) now incorporate additional targets/counts using auxiliary transit links, for example between station platforms, or alightings at nodes and on segments.
Please refer to the software Release Notes for details on these and other enhancements.
Users with software maintenance may log in and download Emme 4.6 from their INRO account. Let us know with feedback on the INRO Community Forum or at support@inrosoftware.com!
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