Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) are the direction of development for future transportation systems. They are the model for integrating advanced information technology, data communication transmission technology, electronic sensing technology, control technology and computer technology into a comprehensive ground traffic management system. ITS can effectively utilize existing transport facilities, reduce traffic load and environmental pollution, ensure traffic safety and improve transport efficiency. For this reason, ITS have attracted a great deal of attention from many countries. The development of intelligent transportation is inseparable from the development of the internet of things (IoT). ITS is the embodiment of transportation, and means that the 21st century will become the century of intelligent traffic. The ITS that people are most likely to adopt is an advanced integrated traffic management system in which the vehicle runs freely on the road by virtue of its own intelligence, and the highway adjusts traffic flow to the best state by means of its own intelligence. With the help of this system, managers will have a clear understanding of both the road and the vehicle's whereabouts. Intelligent transportation is a service system based on modern electronic information technology for transportation. It collects, processes, publishes, exchanges, analyzes and uses information as the main basis for providing diverse services to traffic participants, Artificial Intelligence Information Technology (AIIT) is a general term for the management and processing of various information by means of AI technology. It uses computer science and communication technology to design, develop, install and implement information systems and application software. It is also known as Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and includes sensor technology, computer technology and communications technology.

With this in mind, the 3rd International Conference on Information Technology and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITITS 2018) was held in Xi'an on 15–16 September 2018. It provided a platform for all professionals and researchers from industry and academia to present and discuss recent advances in the field of information technology and intelligent transportation systems. Intelligent transport systems vary in the technologies they apply, from basic management systems to more application-based systems. Information technology – including wireless communication, computational technologies, floating car data/floating cellular data, sensor technologies, and video vehicle detection – is also intrinsic to intelligent transportation systems, and the technologies of intelligent transportation systems also include aspects of theoretical and applied topics such as emergency vehicle notification systems, automatic road enforcement, collision avoidance systems and some cooperative systems. The conference also fosters cooperation between organizations and researchers involved in other emerging fields. Internationally known professors have been invited to further explore these topics and discuss technical presentations in depth. All papers have been reviewed by 3–4 referees, and the program chairs of the conference committee made their selections based on the score of each paper. This year, ITITS 2018 received more than 168 papers from 4 countries, of which 41 papers were accepted.

ITITS 2018 was sponsored by the Shaanxi Computer Society, Chang'an University and co-sponsored by Xi'an University of Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical

University, CAS, Shaanxi Sirui Advanced Materials CO., LTD, and the Special Aircraft Engineering Research Institute, among others.

Prof. Derong Liu, Fellow of Chinese Academy Science, China; Prof. Bogdan M. Wilamowski from Auburn University, USA; Prof. Michio Sugeno from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan; and Prof. Chin-Chen Chang from Feng Chia University, Taiwan were invited as the International Advisory Board. ITITS 2018 also invited Dr. Sungwon Lee; Dr. Jaehyun So; Dr. Hong-Mo Seong from the Korean Transport Institute, Republic of Korea; Prof. Bazhanov Vladimir from Samara State Transport University, Russia; and Prof. Yonghui Li from the University of Sydney, Australia as keynote speakers. There were more than 23 oral presentations and 18 poster presentations in the conference.

We wish to express our gratitude to all those involved in the organization of the conference. We are also grateful to all our sponsors, keynote speakers, paper and poster presenters and reviewers for making ITITS 2018 a great success.

Lakhmi C. Jain, University of Canberra, Australia, University of Technology Sydney, Australia and Liverpool Hope University, UK

Xiangmo Zhao, Chang'an University, China

Valentina E. Balas, University “Aurel Vlaicu” Arad, Romania

Fuqian Shi, Wenzhou Medical University, China