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Traffic Modeling with SUMO: a Tutorial

Davide Andrea Guastella, Eladio Montero-Porras, Alejandro Morales-Hernández, Gianluca Bontempi

TL;DR

Traffic modeling with SUMO presents a practical, step-by-step blueprint for constructing and simulating synthetic urban traffic scenarios in SUMO. It details end-to-end workflows—from random or OSM-derived road networks and TAZ-based demand to OD or random trip generation, routing, and execution in command-line or GUI modes—along with comprehensive output configurations and virtual sensors for analysis. The paper also surveys automation tools like the OSM Web Wizard and SAGA that streamline scenario creation. Collectively, it offers concrete, executable guidance for researchers to rapidly generate, run, and analyze SUMO-based traffic scenarios for ITS policy evaluation and planning.

Abstract

This paper presents a step-by-step guide to generating and simulating a traffic scenario using the open-source simulation tool SUMO. It introduces the common pipeline used to generate a synthetic traffic model for SUMO, how to import existing traffic data into a model to achieve accuracy in traffic simulation (that is, producing a traffic model which dynamics is similar to the real one). It also describes how SUMO outputs information from simulation that can be used for data analysis purposes.

Traffic Modeling with SUMO: a Tutorial

TL;DR

Traffic modeling with SUMO presents a practical, step-by-step blueprint for constructing and simulating synthetic urban traffic scenarios in SUMO. It details end-to-end workflows—from random or OSM-derived road networks and TAZ-based demand to OD or random trip generation, routing, and execution in command-line or GUI modes—along with comprehensive output configurations and virtual sensors for analysis. The paper also surveys automation tools like the OSM Web Wizard and SAGA that streamline scenario creation. Collectively, it offers concrete, executable guidance for researchers to rapidly generate, run, and analyze SUMO-based traffic scenarios for ITS policy evaluation and planning.

Abstract

This paper presents a step-by-step guide to generating and simulating a traffic scenario using the open-source simulation tool SUMO. It introduces the common pipeline used to generate a synthetic traffic model for SUMO, how to import existing traffic data into a model to achieve accuracy in traffic simulation (that is, producing a traffic model which dynamics is similar to the real one). It also describes how SUMO outputs information from simulation that can be used for data analysis purposes.
Paper Structure (27 sections, 2 equations, 15 figures, 1 table)

This paper contains 27 sections, 2 equations, 15 figures, 1 table.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Creating a Synthetic Traffic Scenario
  3. Road Network Generation (step ❶)
  4. Random Road Networks
  5. Extracting a Road Network Topology from OpenStreetMap
  6. Traffic Assignment Zones (TAZs, step ❷)
  7. Trips Generation (step ❸)
  8. Using OD-Based Traffic Demand
  9. Generating Random Trips
  10. Traffic Assignment (step ❹)
  11. Running the simulation (step ❺)
  12. Output Configuration (step ❻)
  13. Virtual Traffic Monitoring Sensors
  14. Tools for the Automatic Definition of Scenarios
  15. SUMO OSM Web Wizard
  16. ...and 12 more sections

Figures (15)

  • Figure 1: Main steps required to generate and simulate a traffic scenario with SUMO.
  • Figure 2: Random grid road network topology generated by netgenerate.
  • Figure 3: Random spider-like road network topology generated by netgenerate.
  • Figure 4: Random road network topology generated by netgenerate.
  • Figure 5:
  • ...and 10 more figures