Overview
ISO 15784-3:2008 - Application profile‑data exchange (AP‑DATEX) - is part of the ISO 15784 series for Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). It defines an application profile that specifies how to exchange structured traffic management data and messages between a traffic management centre and roadside modules, and between roadside modules themselves. AP‑DATEX references DATEX‑ASN (ISO 14827-2) and presentation encoding rules (ISO/IEC 8825‑1) to standardize message formats and encoding. The scope excludes in‑vehicle communication, in‑cabinet links, video streaming and roadside-to-in-vehicle exchanges.
Key topics and requirements
- Application profile definition: Specifies use of base standards to implement the application, presentation and session layers for roadside module data exchange (AP‑DATEX).
- Base standards referenced: ISO 14827‑2 (DATEX‑ASN) for application semantics and ISO/IEC 8825‑1 (Basic Encoding Rules) for presentation/encoding.
- OSI layer mapping: Focus on the top three OSI layers - application (DATEX‑ASN), presentation (ASN.1 encoding rules) and session (defined as because application handles session functionality).
- Functional constraints:
- Designed for large, relatively fixed‑structure data exchanges.
- Deterministic real‑time behaviour is not required; emphasis is on efficient, reliable data exchange rather than hard real‑time guarantees.
- Suitable where roadside modules have advanced functions and may act as peers with the centre and each other.
- Transport independence: AP‑DATEX does not mandate lower‑layer transport - countries or projects define transport profiles (routing, segmentation, error handling) suited to local infrastructure.
- Conformance and compatibility: Annex A contains a DATEX‑ASN profile requirement list (normative) and Annex B provides guidance on compatibility with other profiles (informative).
Applications
- Standardizes messaging between traffic management centres and devices like signal controllers, dynamic message signs and vehicle detectors.
- Enables roadside module-to-roadside module coordination for distributed traffic control and status reporting.
- Useful for data exchange scenarios that require structured traffic data, such as congestion reports, signal plans, detector data and signage updates - where message structure and interoperability are primary concerns.
Who should use this standard
- Traffic authorities and transport agencies specifying ITS interfaces
- ITS system integrators and architects designing centre-to-roadside communications
- Roadside equipment manufacturers implementing DATEX‑ASN message support
- Standards bodies and consultants creating national transport profiles
Related standards
- ISO 14827‑2 (DATEX‑ASN) - application data definitions
- ISO/IEC 8825‑1 - ASN.1 Basic Encoding Rules
- ISO/IEC TR 10000 series - profile framework and taxonomy
Keywords: ISO 15784-3:2008, AP‑DATEX, DATEX‑ASN, intelligent transport systems, roadside modules, data exchange, traffic management centre, ASN.1, ITS application profile.