Who should consider using METS-R?
=================================

The METS-R simulator consists of a variety of features that may serve
different types of tasks. In its standalone mode, it can simulate
city-level mobility services (i.e., ride-hailing, bus) with electric
vehicles. In the high-performance computing (HPC) mode, a cloud-based
control can be integrated. This mode facilitates seamless integration
with Kafka data streams, allowing for more refined control strategies
(e.g., eco-routing, demand-adaptive transit scheduling). Additionally,
the HPC mode transforms the METS-R SIM into a parallel environment,
making it ideal for extensive data generation tasks. Currently, the
METS-R SIM is under active development to enhance the aforementioned
features, and to be able to be used together with CARLA as a
co-simulator. From the design perspective, the relationship between the
running modes and potential applications is as follows.

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   * - Running mode
     - Description
     - Applications
     - Target users

   * - Standalone
     - This mode supports first-come-first-serve ridehailing and static transit. It requires only the `simulation module <https://github.com/umnilab/METS-R_SIM>`__.
     - Verifying infrastructure (i.e., charging stations, bus stops) and service fleet size design
     - Planners, policymakers

   * - Synchronized (HPC)
     - The simulation waits until the HPC module `<https://github.com/umnilab/METS-R_HPC>`__ sends a tick, enabling co-simulation and rigorous tests of cloud-based operational algorithms.
     - Optimizing/verifying advanced operational algorithms
     - Researchers, service providers