ESE is open source software, which inherits 40 years of FHWA development of traffic simulation algorithms and flow theories while overcoming CORSIM’s limitations in supporting research. ESE utilizes state-of-the-art advanced computing technologies, such as a native 64-bit stand-alone application, explicit parallel computing and multi-processor capabilities on multiple platforms (Windows/Linux/MacOS).

ESE includes ETFOMM  Application Programming Interface (ETAPI) that provides communications between ETFOMM’s core simulation engine and user-developed applications (Apps) through ETRunner, an Windows console program. ETAPI is built upon Microsoft's most recent Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) technology. ETAPI supports a distributed platform with multiple network protocols, is compatible with almost any programming language, and facilitates mobile computing (e.g., smartphones and tablets) and cloud computing through SOAP/HTTP. ETFOMM provides the robust platform and most flexibility for researchers and academic users to advance their transportation research.

​ESE maintains the research community’s confidence in traffic simulation through its open-source approach.  Traffic simulation software is a special set of software with many human-factor-related “expert rules.” The open source approach offers the transportation research community a window to examine those rules, fix bugs, add new rules, or even just avoid the misuse of the software in their research projects. Most significantly, any researcher can share the software enhancements with the transportation research community. Researchers are able to not only modify and add new rules to make the software work better but also to accommodate new technologies and new traffic operation developments.

The ETFOMM (Enhanced Transportation Flow Open-source Microscopic Model) Cloud Service (ECS) is a software product sponsored by US DOT under the “Microscopic Traffic Simulation Models and Software-An Open Source Approach” research project (SBIR DTRT5708C10060, DTRT5711C10037 and DTRT5715C10005). ETFOMM is centered on the core microscopic traffic Simulation Engine (ESE), a graphical user input editor (ETEditor), a 3D traffic visualization tool (ETAnimator), and a database in cloud service environment, as shown in Figure 1. ETEditor and ETAnimator are developed under a grant from the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, under the Grant Agreement KSTC-184-512-13-155 with the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation.

Microscopic Traffic Simulation Models and Software

"An Open Source Approach"

FHWA ETFOMM  Brochure

What is ESE?

A Research Project Sponsored by Office of Operations Research and Development
FHWA through US DOT Small Business Innovative Research

ETEditor provides a very versatile input editor that allows users to directly input roadway geometric data and elevation data and to automatically build highway and surface street networks. 3D tool ETAnimator has been created on state-of-the-art 3D visualization technologies. 3D visualization technologies have advanced the realization of Virtual World in traffic animation. A database has been designed and created to save simulation input and output data, as well as to effectively manage the large amount of vehicle trajectory data in the database.

ECS is hosted on the Microsoft Azure platform, but the database can be deployed on a local server to alleviate privacy concerns. ECS is expected to profoundly benefit transportation educators and researchers. ETFOMM has been tested in an MS DOT Integrated Corridor Management Project and is being used in a Connected Vehicle Research project at the Saxton Transportation Operations Lab, at FHWA’s Turner Fairbank Highway Research Center.  ETFOMM will support Connected Vehicle communication-in-the-loop simulation and traffic signal controller hardware-in-the-loop simulation.Type your paragraph here.

Figure 1 ETFOMM and its Major Components

What is ETEditor? ECS?

• FHWA ETFOMM  Brochure - Draft