Creating SUMO simulation scenarios with real-world traffic volume data

This project provides tools to create SUMO (Simulation of Urban MObility) traffic scenarios using real-world traffic volume data. It processes traffic count data and generates SUMO-compatible simulation files. This is a project associated with ICCPS 2025 Poster submission. We will update the bibtex citation once the paper is published.

Project Structure

.
├── data/
│   └── sampled_intersections_volume_2022-2025.csv  # Traffic turning movement counts (TMC)
├── SUMO_files/
│   ├── SR1-3.net.xml          # Road network definition
│   ├── SR1-3.rou.xml          # Base routes definitions
│   ├── SR1-3_timing.add.xml   # Traffic signal timing and plan (actuated type)
│   ├── SR1-3.sumocfg          # Simulation configuration
│   ├── SR1-3-NEMA.net.xml     # Road network definition for NEMA-standard signal control
│   ├── SR1-3_timing-NEMA.add.xml   # Traffic signal timing and plan (NEMA type)
│   ├── SR1-3-NEMA.sumocfg     # Simulation configuration for NEMA-standard signal control
│   ├── SR1-3_volume.xml        # Volume data converted from TMC csv file
│   ├── SR1-3_volume_trips.xml  # Vehicle trips generated from volume and routes by routeSampler.py
│   └── routeSampler.py        # Route sampling utility function
├── csv_to_volume_xml.py       # Data conversion script. Convert from TMC csv file to SUMO volume and trips files during selected time period
├── daily_vehicle_count.py     # Daily vehicle count visualization
├── TOD_volume.py              # Time of day volume visualization
└── requirements.txt           # Python dependencies

• the two .net.xml files are identical except that preloaded signal type is NEMA for SR1-3-NEMA.net.xml.

Data Processing Pipeline

1. Data Conversion: csv_to_volume_xml.py processes the raw data and generates SUMO volume and trips files. Use command line arguments to run the script:

Input:

python csv_to_volume_xml.py \
  --csv_input data/sampled_intersections_volume_2022-2025.csv \ # TMC csv file
  --route_file SUMO_files/SR1-3.rou.xml \ # SUMO input route file
  --output SUMO_files/SR1-3_volume.xml \ # SUMO output volume file
  --start "2024-01-01 00:00:00-05:00" \ # Start date and time
  --end "2024-01-01 23:59:59-05:00" \ # End date and time

Note: We recommend the time period to be less than 1 week in each scenario. The processing time and simulation speed will be affected as the time period increases.

Output:

SUMO_files/SR1-3_volume.xml # SUMO volume file
SUMO_files/SR1-3_volume_trips.xml # SUMO trips file

Besides, following configuration files are updated with the new volume and trips data:

SUMO_files/SR1-3.sumocfg  # actuated signal configuration
SUMO_files/SR1-3-NEMA.sumocfg  # NEMA-standard signal configuration

2. Route Sampling: The script automatically calls routeSampler.py to generate realistic vehicle trips based on the volume data. The route sampler:

• Matches traffic counts from real data
• Preserves turn ratios at intersections
• Generates time-distributed vehicle trips

Requirements

• Python 3.10+ (tested in Python 3.12.4)
• SUMO 1.20.0
• Python packages listed in requirements.txt

Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Running the Simulation

1. Process the volume data:

python csv_to_volume_xml.py [arguments]

2. Run SUMO with either actuated or NEMA configuration:

# actuated configuration
sumo-gui -c SUMO_files/SR1-3.sumocfg

# NEMA-standard configuration
sumo-gui -c SUMO_files/SR1-3-NEMA.sumocfg

Configuration

The simulation can be configured through either SR1-3.sumocfg or SR1-3-NEMA.sumocfg (for NEMA-standard signal control), which specify:

Input Files

• SR1-3.net.xml or SR1-3-NEMA.net.xml: Road network definition
• SR1-3_volume_trips.xml: Generated vehicle trips based on volume data. This is automatically updated by csv_to_volume_xml.py after new trips file is generated.
• SR1-3_timing.add.xml: Traffic signal timing plans

Output Files

• SR1-3-output-stats.xml or SR1-3-NEMA-output-stats.xml: Traffic performance metrics including:
  • Vehicle counts
  • Average speed
  • Wait time and travel time
  • Departure delay

References

For SUMO traffic signal types, please refer to: https://sumo.dlr.de/docs/Simulation/Traffic_Lights.html https://sumo.dlr.de/docs/Simulation/NEMA.html

For more information about route sampling, please refer to: https://sumo.dlr.de/docs/Tools/Turns.html