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Cube Base is the powerful and comprehensive user interface for all Cube modeling modules and extensions.

Cube Base is used to design and apply the models, to edit and manage all input and out-put data and to run and analyze scenariosCube Base has four components:

• Transportation GIS At the core of Cube Base is a transporta-tion GIS. The GIS is developed based on an embedded version of ESRI’s market leading ArcGIS, known as ArcGIS Engine. Citilabs developed a specialized application of this technology for transportation modeling by adding transportation topology rules fully exploited within its geo-database, and a largenumberoftransportation-specificedit-ing and analysis tools. The GIS in Cube is an extremely powerful transportation GIS sys-tem fully compliant with ESRI technologies and data formats.

• Application Manager Theflow-chartcomponentfordesigningandcreating the model process. Application Manager makes model design and develop-ment an intuitive experience.

• Scenario Manager Scenario Manager provides tools to develop a customized user interface for the model and to create, run and manage the scenarios.

• Reports Cube Base includes functions that help the analyst to create high quality charts and ta-bles of single or multiple scenarios. These assist in the analysis of the results and serve as powerful ways to convey the results to de-cisions makers and the general public.

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Transportation GIS

Using the GIS window, you can edit geoda-tabase data, create maps, analyze data, and submit map-based queries. You use the GIS window to display and edit the geographic data in travel demand models, such as trans-portation networks and transportation anal-ysis zones.

The GIS window represents geographic in-formation as a collection of layers along with defined elements in amap. Commonmapelements include a scale bar, north arrow, title, descriptive text, and a symbol legend.

All data except for trip table and impedance data (matrices) are stored in the geodata-base. The user may also store data in Citil-abs’ formats such as *.net, *.lin, etc. By ex-ploiting the geodatabase capability, data can be directly taken from any application using the ESRI geodatabase including ArcGIS. It provides the perfect transportation mod-eling solution for agencies and consultants that use ESRI products for their GIS.

All data can be edited within theGIS:• Roadway networks (length, number of

lanes, road type..etc.)• Intersection data (signal timings, priori-

ties, turn prohibitors, geometrics)• Public transit lines (route, stops, fre-

quencies..)• Access connections to and from public

transit stations and stops• Polyline and polygon boundaries and as-

sociated data (zone-based, demographic data, special generators...)

Powerful mapping functions for transporta-tion analysis:• Thematic mapping and figures (histo-

grams, pie charts..)• Pathbuilding and skimming (show paths,

isochrones..)• Bandwidths and dynamic displays (show

volume by direction, congestion levels..)• Desire lines (show demand from point

to point..)• Intersection displays (show turning

flows,levelofservice...)• Public transit line information (route,

boardings and alightings...)• Embedded media such as videos and

photos

TheGISusesESRIMXDfilestostoreallset-tings.TheusercandirectlyuseanMXDfilein ArcGIS or in the GIS in Cube Base.

Application Manager

Application Manager provides a graphical view of a transportation model built with any of the Cube modules or legacy programs (TP+, TRIPS and TRANPLAN).Ahierarchicalflowchartstylethatoffersthefollowing:• A clear view of the individual processes

thatformthecompleteprocess,theflowof data from one process to another, and the order in which the processes are run.

• A clear view of the data that is input to, and output from each process.

• A convenient means of editing and view-ing the data

• An interface for running either part of the process, or the whole model.

Application Manager is a:

• Project-Based tool

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Application Manager is largely struc-tured around the concept of applications, which are like “projects” so that the use of Cube or legacy-based models can be strongly linked with the varied interests and features of users’ own sets of pro-jects. Application Manager’s method of grouping a transportation model into subtasks is valuable when creating larger models. The use of subtasks also makes it easy to re-use a subtask in another mod-el, thus creating the user’s own library of re-usable model functions;Application Manager can be used to “sketch” out the structure of a model be-fore it is populated with data or param-eters. This allows the model structure to bediscussedandrefinedbeforeresourc-es are committed to its implementation.

• File management systemPractical applications of Cube models, canuseandgeneratemanyfiles,Appli-cation Manager automates such func-tions as file naming and appropriatedeletionofoutputfiles;itprovidestech-niques for handling model scenarios efficiently.Thevisualizationof thecon-nections between files minimizes thechanceofinputtingthewrongfilestoaprogram.

• Automated model documentation systemThe value of many models is lost when future users cannot understand the structure or function of a model which has been insufficiently documented inthe original rush to create it. Application Manager naturally documents many as-pects of models as they are developed; if its facilities are used appropriately, and in conjunction with the documenting features of the chosen package, this can produce a well-documented model with minimal effort.

Scenario Manager

Scenario Manager provides a convenient interfacefordefiningscenarios,editingandrunning them, and reviewing input data and output results by scenario.The basis of Cube scenario management is the catalog. This contains information on what applications you want to run, the vary-ing inputs to the application(s) which are called“keys,”andscenariosthatdefineval-ues for those keys for a particular test case.A catalog allows running of an application. An application is a model process, devel-oped within Application Manager or simply ascriptfilecreatedinatexteditor. Each application has a set of keys that can be applied to it. The keys to the application can represent whatever you choose, such as afile,anumber,aBooleanflag,orastring.Application Manager and Scenario Manager provideaninterfacefordefiningkeys,butitis also possible to write them directly into a script using a text editor. Ascenarioisdefinedbyselecting/settingval-ues for each of the keys. Multiple scenarios canbedefinedtoallowvariationsinthein-puts to be run and compared. The scenarios are hierarchical in nature. Hence you start with a Base scenario. Then you can intro-duce scenarios representing variations on the base situation.

MILANOvia lovanio, 8 20121tel. +39 02 623 119 1 fax. +39 02 623 119 50info@systematica.net

AREA SOFTWAREtel. +39 02 623 119 29 fax. +39 02 623 119 50software@systematica.net

TALLAHASSEE (Florida, USA)1211, miccosukee rd 32308tel. +1 888 770 fax. +1 888 771 www.citilabs.commclarke@citilabs.com