Calibration of the Intelligent Driver Model (IDM) at the Microscopic Level

This paper presents a calibration technique for the Intelligent Driver Model (IDM), a car-following model that considers the physical interpretation of each parameter. Using an instrumented vehicle, trajectory data were gathered for a group of Portuguese drivers. The data included various basic scenarios, such as unrestricted acceleration and deceleration maneuvers, as well as following other cars in steady-state conditions. The calibration process involved two steps. In the first step, specific parameters that have clear physical interpretations were manually adjusted to accurately reproduce the speed patterns of basic driving scenarios. In the second step, the obtained results were used to establish the limits of values for a simultaneous calibration procedure. The results demonstrate that the calibration procedure enables precise replication of the actual trajectories. Nevertheless, the model validation results indicate that calibrating without limitations on the parameter search space produces estimates with greater explanatory capability, contradicting previous research and supporting the need for additional analyses.