Publications by Michel Bierlaire

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Several modeling approaches in both microscopic and macroscopic scales have been already put forward into the pedestrian modeling literature. The most operational one of these models is the social force model, where forces are first defined by physical concepts (Newtons equation) and then have been applied to pedestrian behaviors. On the contrary, there are also models based on discrete choice modeling concept that go deeper in behavioral aspects of pedestrians reactions rather than physical forces. In this

We propose a new heuristic for nonlinear global optimization combining a variable neighborhood search framework with a modified trust-region algorithm as local search. The proposed method presents the capability to prematurely interrupt the local search if ...

Variational Bayes (VB) methods have emerged as a fast and computationally-efficient alternative to Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods for scalable Bayesian estimation of mixed multinomial logit (MMNL) models. It has been established that VB is substan ...

This paper presents a new paradigm for choice set generation in the context of route choice. We assume that the choice sets contain all paths connecting each origin-destination pair. These sets are in general impossible to generate explicitly. Therefore, we propose an importance sampling approach to generate subsets of paths suitable for model estimation. Using only a subset of alternatives requires the path utilities to be corrected according to the sampling protocol in order to obtain unbiased parameter e

The integration of customer behavioral models in operations research (OR) is appealing to operators and policy makers (the supply) because it provides a better understanding of the preferences of customers (the demand) while planning for their systems. These preferences are formalized with discrete choice models, which are the state-of-the-art for the mathematical modeling of demand, whereas mixed integer linear programming (MILP) models are considered to design and configure the systems. Notwithstanding th

Route choice models are difficult to design and to estimate for various reasons. In this paper we focus on issues related to data. Indeed, real data in its original format are not related to the network used by the modeler and do therefore not correspond to path definitions. Typical examples are data collected with the Global Positioning System (GPS) or respondents describing chosen itineraries to interviewers. Data manipulation is then necessary in order to obtain network compliant paths. We argue that suc

Analytic queueing network models often assume infinite capacity queues due to the difficulty of grasping the between-queue correlation. This correlation can help to explain the propagation of congestion. We present an analytic queueing network model which ...

We consider the assignment of gates to arriving and departing flights at a large hub airport. It is considered to be a highly complex problem even in planning stage when all flight arrivals and departures are assumed to be known precisely in advance. There are various considerations that are involved while assigning gates to incoming and outgoing flights (such a flight pair for the same aircraft is called a turn) at an airport. Different gates have restrictions, such as adjacency, last-in-first-out gates an

With the new EU legislature, the track management and the Train Operating Companies (TOCs) have to be separated subjects and hence allowing the private sector to enter the market (also called as liberalization of railways). Up to this point, the market was ruled by one TOC (usually the national carrier) subsidized by local government. Its purpose was to provide accessibility and mobility to the general public. However with a new competition entering the industry, the traditional business model has to be ada

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the vital link between epidemiology and transportation, particularly in the context of activity-travel behavior. While much research has explored the role of mobility in disease spread, there is a notable gap in understanding how individual behavioral choices, especially regarding testing, influence these dynamics. This paper introduces the mobility-aware behavioral epidemiological model (MABEM), an innovative framework that integrates activity-based modeling with laten

Greenhouse gas emissions related to energy production is the main cause of climate change. Transportation accounts for 30% of the total energy consumption, and a reduction in the energy used for mobility is necessary. The 2000-watt society is an environmen ...

Derived from the Karush–Kuhn–Tucker (KKT) optimality conditions of utility maximization, the multiple discrete–continuous extreme value (MDCEV) models are extensively used in the field of time use. This is because they are grounded in a framework that maxi ...

We present a dynamic network loading model that yields queue length distributions, accounts for spillbacks, and maintains a differentiable mapping from the dynamic demand on the dynamic queue lengths. The approach builds upon an existing stationary queueing network model that is based on finite capacity queueing theory. The original model is specified in terms of a set of differentiable equations, which in the new model are carried over to a set of equally smooth difference equations. The physical correctne

In this research, two crucial optimization problems of berth allocation and yard assignment in the context of bulk ports are studied. We discuss how these problems are interrelated and can be combined and solved as a single large scale optimization problem ...

We present results from a recent experiment conducted in Switzerland that studies the effects of a temporary change in the mode of travel to work on travel happiness and mode switching. The primary aim is to study the dynamics in travel satisfaction rating ...

We consider the assignment of gates to arriving and departing flights at a large hub airport. This problem is highly complex even in planning stage when all flight arrivals and departures are assumed to be known precisely in advance. There are various cons ...

Most multi-camera systems assume a well structured environment to detect and match objects across cameras. Cameras need to be fixed and calibrated. In this work, a novel system is presented to detect and match any objects in a network of uncalibrated fixed and mobile cameras. A master-slave system is presented. Objects are detected with the mobile cameras (the slaves) given only their observations from the fixed cameras (the masters). No training stage and data are used. Detected objects are correctly match

This work tackles the challenge of detecting and matching objects in scenes observed simultaneously by fixed and mobile cameras. No calibration between the cameras is needed, and no training data is used. A fully automated system is presented to detect if an object, observed by a fixed camera, is seen by a mobile camera and where it is localized in its image plane. Only the observations from the fixed camera are used. An object descriptor based on grids of region descriptors is used in a cascade manner. Fix

We consider the school bus routing and scheduling problem, where transportation demand is known and bus scheduling can be planned in advance. We present a comprehensive methodology designed to support the decision of practitioners. We first propose a model ...

Michel Bierlaire

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Scenario Analysis of Pedestrian Flow in Public Spaces

Scenario Analysis of Pedestrian Flow in Public Spaces

A heuristic for nonlinear global optimization

Bayesian estimation of mixed multinomial logit models: Advances and simulation-based evaluations

Sampling of Alternatives for Route Choice Modeling

Integrating advanced discrete choice models in mixed integer linear optimization

Route choice modeling with network-free data

An analytic finite capacity queueing network model capturing the propagation of congestion and blocking

Multi-Objective Airport Gate Assignment Problem in Planning and Operations

Exploratory Analysis of Demand Interaction in the Planning of Passenger Railway Service

Modeling disease spread: Integrating mobility, awareness, and behavior

Needed reduction in mobility energy consumption to meet the goal of a 2000-watt society

A new flexible multiple discrete–continuous extreme value (MDCEV) choice model: exploring non-monotonic preference in time use decisions

Dynamic network loading: a differentiable model that derives link state distributions

A Branch-and-Price Algorithm to Solve the Integrated Berth Allocation and Yard Assignment Problem in Bulk Ports

Happiness and Travel Mode Switching: Findings from a Swiss Public Transportation Experiment

Multi-Objective Airport Gate Assignment Problem in Planning and Operations

A Master-Slave Approach to Detect and Match Objects Across Several Uncalibrated Moving Cameras

Object Detection and Matching in a Mixed Network of Fixed and Mobile Cameras

Decision-aid methodology for the school bus routing and scheduling problem