A Bibliometric Analysis of the Intelligent Transportation Systems Research Based on Science Mapping

In this paper, we highlight the conceptual structure of the intelligent transportation systems ( ITS) research field in the period 1992-2011. To do that, an automatic approach for detecting and visualizing hidden themes and their evolution across a consecutive span of years is applied. This automatic approach, which is based on co-word analysis, combines performance analysis and science mapping. To show the conceptual evolution of ITS, three consecutive periods have been defined, i.e., 1992-2001, 2002-2006, and 2007-2011. We have identified that the ITS research has been focused on six main thematic areas, i.e., VEHICLE-AND-ROAD-TRACKING, DRIVER-BEHAVIOR-AND-SAFETY, SCENARIOS-SIMULATION, TRAFFIC-FLOW-AND-TRAFFIC-MANAGEMENT, VEHICLE-CONTROL, and VEHICLE-NAVIGATION.