Research lines
CRiMM’s core competencies lie in the study and analysis of travel behaviour, in the construction of disaggregate mode choice models, in the macro-micro simulation of traffic flows, in transportation planning, freight transport and port logistics, simulation and assessment of human operator performance (gantry cranes, aircraft, buses), in a seamless transition between the topics typical of those areas, integrated into an interdisciplinary perspective.
Travel behaviour modelling section
The travel behaviour modelling section promotes research centred around travel behaviour consequent to the implementation of strategies aimed at influencing transportation demand (TDM-Travel Demand Management), the use of new data collection technology and persuasive technology for evoking change in travel behaviour towards more sustainable forms of transportation and the analysis of the objective and subjective factors influencing travel mode choice. These research activities are, by their very nature, strongly correlated and major attention is focused on developing discrete choice models for representing these phenomena, adopting an analytical approach,
Vehicle traffic simulation and transportation planning section
This section explores, through the development of micro-and macro-simulation models, all those phenomena associated with vehicle traffic and the problems created by congestion. Testament to the quality of our research work is the appointment of our Centre as a Specialist Centre for Transport Research and Education (SPECTRE) for CUBE software, leader in the macro-simulation of vehicle traffic, as well as our collaboration with numerous local authorities for drawing up plans and programmes (regional transport master plan, sustainable urban mobility plans, urban traffic management plans). Since 2016 our Centre has been responsible for planning the cycle tourism network for the island of Sardinia, focusing in particular on identifying slow mobility interventions at the local/urban and regional/comprehensive levels.
Transport system logistics section
The research strands on transport systems logistics cover port logistics and optimization of container terminal resources as well as the development of new models for conveying information and communications to transport operators. The key objectives of the research team are to create a decision support system for operational planning and to identify performance indexes in a transhipment container terminal.
Virtual simulation section
This section is equipped with a Chameleon gantry crane simulator and a Box Bull simulator for road vehicles. These simulators are used to study the behaviour of drivers and crane operators. Apart from researching and analysing driving and manoeuvring behaviour, the activities conducted include: virtual scenario building in complex transport environments; the development of simulation models for different types of vehicles; performance and fatigue measurements of crane/truck operators in container terminals and car/heavy vehicle drivers by means of human factors testing.