Method and system for providing dynamic pricing algorithm with embedded controller for high occupancy toll lanes
First Claim
1. A high occupancy toll lane method, said method comprising:
- sensing the presence of a vehicle with a sensing device comprising a loop detector;
capturing an image of said vehicle with an imaging device comprising a video camera;
determining vehicle input flow for said toll lane according to said sensed vehicles and captured images with a special purpose computer configured for toll lane management;
obtaining an input-output transfer function of a vehicle flow with respect to said toll lane according to said vehicle input flow, utilizing a traffic simulation module with said special purpose computer;
utilizing a feedback controller, avoiding an unstable traffic condition on said toll lane due to a time delay between the input flow and an output flow with respect to said toll lane, due to a price regulation and due to a transient larger than a certain amount caused by an integral part of said feedback controller due to traffic with said special purpose computer;
deriving a driver behavior preference model according to a relationship between a toll rate and a plurality of characteristics of said toll lane and a general purpose lane, based on communication from the loop detector and video camera, wherein said plurality of characteristics comprise a proportion of vehicles in said toll lane compared to a total number of vehicles, vehicle density flow, travel times on said toll lane compared to travel time on said general purpose lane, and value of time with said special purpose computer; and
setting said toll rate in real-time according to said feedback controller and said behavior preference model in order to satisfy a desired performance metric with said special purpose computer.
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Abstract
A method and system for providing a feedback based dynamic pricing algorithm with an embedded controller for a HOT (High Occupancy Toll) lane. An input-output transfer function of a vehicle flow with respect to a HOT lane can be obtained utilizing a simulation module. A feedback controller combined with, for example, a Smith predictor can be designed to avoid an unstable behavior due to a time delay in the HOT lane, a price regulation, and a large transient caused by an integral part of the controller due to traffic jams. A driver behavior preference model can be derived based on a relationship between a toll rate and several characteristics of the HOT lane and a general purpose lane. The feedback controller and the behavior preference model can then be implemented to set the toll rate in real-time in order to satisfy a desired performance metric.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A high occupancy toll lane method, said method comprising:
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sensing the presence of a vehicle with a sensing device comprising a loop detector; capturing an image of said vehicle with an imaging device comprising a video camera; determining vehicle input flow for said toll lane according to said sensed vehicles and captured images with a special purpose computer configured for toll lane management; obtaining an input-output transfer function of a vehicle flow with respect to said toll lane according to said vehicle input flow, utilizing a traffic simulation module with said special purpose computer; utilizing a feedback controller, avoiding an unstable traffic condition on said toll lane due to a time delay between the input flow and an output flow with respect to said toll lane, due to a price regulation and due to a transient larger than a certain amount caused by an integral part of said feedback controller due to traffic with said special purpose computer; deriving a driver behavior preference model according to a relationship between a toll rate and a plurality of characteristics of said toll lane and a general purpose lane, based on communication from the loop detector and video camera, wherein said plurality of characteristics comprise a proportion of vehicles in said toll lane compared to a total number of vehicles, vehicle density flow, travel times on said toll lane compared to travel time on said general purpose lane, and value of time with said special purpose computer; and setting said toll rate in real-time according to said feedback controller and said behavior preference model in order to satisfy a desired performance metric with said special purpose computer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system for high occupancy toll lane management, said system comprising:
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a special purpose computer comprising; a sensor comprising a loop detector for sensing the presence of a vehicle; an imaging device comprising a video camera for capturing an image of said vehicle; a processor; a data bus coupled to said processor; and a computer-usable medium embodying computer code, said computer-usable medium being coupled to said data bus, said computer program code comprising instructions executable by said processor and configured for; determining vehicle input flow for said toll lane according to said sensed vehicles and captured images; obtaining an input-output transfer function of a vehicle flow with respect to said toll lane according to said vehicle input flow, utilizing a traffic simulation module; utilizing a feedback controller, avoiding an unstable traffic condition on said toll lane due to a time delay between the input flow and an output flow with respect to said toll lane, due to a price regulation and due to a transient larger than a certain amount caused by an integral part of said feedback controller due to traffic; deriving a driver behavior preference model based on a relationship between a toll rate and a plurality of characteristics of said toll lane and a general purpose lane, based on communication from the loop detector and video camera, wherein said plurality of characteristics comprise a proportion of vehicles in said toll lane compared to a total number of vehicles, vehicle density flow, travel times on said toll lane compared to travel time on said general purpose lane, and value of time; and setting said toll rate in real-time according to said feedback controller and said behavior preference model in order to satisfy a desired performance metric. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A system comprising:
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a special purpose computer comprising; a sensing device comprising a loop detector for sensing the presence of a vehicle; an image capturing device comprising a video camera for capturing an image of said vehicle; and a non-transitory processor-readable medium storing code representing instructions to cause a computer to perform a process to provide feedback based dynamic pricing for a high occupancy toll lane, said code comprising code to; determine vehicle input flow for said toll lane according to said sensed vehicles and captured images; obtain an input-output transfer function of a vehicle flow with respect to said toll lane according to said vehicle input flow, utilizing a traffic simulation module; utilizing a feedback controller, avoid an unstable traffic condition on said toll lane due to a time delay between the input flow and an output flow with respect to said toll lane, due to a price regulation and due to a transient larger than a certain amount caused by an integral part of said feedback controller due to traffic; derive a driver behavior preference model based on a relationship between a toll rate and a plurality of characteristics of said toll lane and a general purpose lane based on communication from the loop detector and video camera, wherein said plurality of characteristics comprise a proportion of vehicles in said toll lane compared to a total number of vehicles, vehicle density flow, travel times on said toll lane compared to travel time on said general purpose lane, and value of time; and
,setting said toll rate in real-time according to said feedback controller and said behavior preference model in order to satisfy a desired performance metric.
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Specification