ESCOM Launches Vehicle Flow Simulation System

Reporter: Adda Avendaño / Photographer: Jorge Aguilar

With this system, ESCOM sets a methodological benchmark for research in automotive traffic flow modeling and optimization.

Students from the Escuela Superior de Cómputo (ESCOM) have developed FLUVI, a vehicle flow management simulation system capable of predicting traffic behavior under multiple scenarios—such as demonstrations, road blockages, fallen trees, or flooding—allowing for the generation of statistical metrics to analyze, forecast, and optimize vehicular dynamics across different road infrastructure configurations.

The simulator, created by Denisse Márquez Morales, Luis Gael Molina Figueroa, and Connor Urbano Mendoza, is designed to replicate traffic system behavior over time through algorithms based on one or more mathematical models that govern vehicle movement and interactions.

To build the system, the students focused their analysis on vehicular flow within the internal roadway network of the Adolfo López Mateos Professional Unit in Zacatenco, as well as surrounding avenues and streets near ESCOM. This was achieved through a mathematical model that describes traffic behavior as a complex system.

“Vehicular traffic simulation is a complex system that involves interactions among vehicles, individual and collective decision-making, traffic flow management, and real-time visual representation of urban scenarios,” explained Luis Gael Molina.

Under the guidance of faculty members Idalia Maldonado Castillo and Genaro Juárez Martínez, the team employed algebraic structures known as cellular automata to model vehicular behavior efficiently, where vehicle movement is governed by algorithmic rules.

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The modular architecture of the simulator developed at ESCOM allows it to be deployed across different urban configurations.

According to the students who developed the system as part of their degree requirements in Computer Systems Engineering, the model can simulate traffic on multi-lane roads, including lane changes, congestion formation and dissipation, intersection behavior, and interactions among vehicles traveling at different speeds.

“FLUVI was built on a three-layer architecture, comprising 42 JavaScript modules, along with HTML, CSS, and Python files, to implement a cellular automata–based simulation engine through seven core modules: traffic, charts, scenarios, time, curves, parking, and centralized event management with probabilistic hourly inflow and outflow,” detailed Denisse Márquez.

The system enables the creation of customized scenarios, the generation of real-time statistical metrics—such as flow, density, speed, and entropy—and the evaluation of the impact of roadway modifications without the need for physical implementation.

Although FLUVI was initially designed for the internal road network of the IPN campus in Zacatenco, its creators emphasize that its modular architecture and cellular automata–based methodology make it adaptable to a wide range of urban settings. As such, the project establishes a methodological precedent for future research in automotive traffic flow modeling and optimization, contributing to more informed decision-making in mobility, safety, traffic management, and road infrastructure planning.