Traffic networks as information systems. A viability approach (Q2340066)

The operation of large infrastructure networks gives rise to numerous control challenges. The control can be designed efficiently, if a sufficient amount of observations of the network state is available. Based upon the information from the observations, an efficient control can be constructed. As the title indicates, in the book, such a regulator is constructed for traffic flow on networks using a viability approach. This approach is based upon tools from set-valued analysis. For the convenience of the reader, all the notions are summarized in the appendix at the end of the book, for example viability kernels and capture basins. These notions are related with the question: What is a derivative? The theory presented in the book is based upon tangent cones. The analysis uses the contingent cone introduced by G. Peano, F. Severi and G. Bouligand. In the viability approach, the feasible trajectories of the vehicles are considered as solutions of differential inclusions. The viability theorem that yields the desired celerity regulators contains tangential characterization of capture basins. In the last chapter of the book that is called \textit{variational analysis of traffic evolutions} the relation with the approach based upon models given by hyperbolic partial differential equations is also discussed. The book is written in a lively and entertaining style. As an example, consider the quotation: ``Time is indeed particularly polysemous, and thus, dangerous, encapsulating many meanings, among which the notions of 1. instants, which evolve ... 2. durations, such as in travel time... 3. evolutions (of vehicles for instance).'' The book is well-structured and provides a very readable introduction to the viability approach that will be useful and interesting for mathematicians and mathematical engineers.