Filtering road traffic condition data obtained from mobile data sources

• US 10,403,130 B2
• Filed: 09/19/2016
• Issued: 09/03/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Inrix Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Inrix Incorporated
• Inventors: Chapman, Craig H., Downs, Oliver B., Barker, Alec, Burns, Jr., Mitchel A., Love, Scott R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Moyer, Dale
• Application Number:
  US15/269,203
• Publication Number:
  US 20170004706A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,079 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0104 Measuring and analyzing of parameters relative to traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0112 from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0129 for creating historical data or processing based on historical data
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0133 for classifying traffic situation
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/052 with provision for determining speed or overspeed speed measuring in general G01P
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/056 with provision for distinguishing direction of travel
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/065 by counting the vehicles in a section of the road or in a parking area, i.e. comparing incoming count with outgoing count
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

Techniques are described for assessing road traffic conditions in various ways based on obtained traffic-related data, such as data samples from vehicles and other mobile data sources traveling on the roads, as well as in some situations data from one or more other sources (such as physical sensors near to or embedded in the roads). The assessment of road traffic conditions based on obtained data samples may include various filtering and/or conditioning of the data samples, and various inferences and probabilistic determinations of traffic-related characteristics from the data samples. In some situations, the filtering of the data samples includes identifying data samples that are inaccurate or otherwise unrepresentative of actual traffic condition characteristics, such as data samples that are not of interest based at least in part on roads with which the data samples are associated and/or that otherwise reflect vehicle locations or activities that are not of interest.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

automatically determining, by one or more computing systems, that one or more data samples associated with a first road segment are not of interest based at least in part on a size of the first road segment, wherein the automatically determining comprises;

responsive to determining that the size of the first road segment is less than a threshold, determining that the one or more data samples associated with the first road segment are not of interest; and

providing, by the one or more computing systems, one or more indications to exclude the one or more data samples associated with the first road segment from a first use.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising:

responsive to determining that the first road segment is of a functional road class, automatically determining that the one or more data samples associated with the first road segment are not of interest.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising:

automatically determining, by the one or more computing systems, that one or more data samples associated with a second road segment are not of interest based at least in part on an amount of assessed variability in vehicle traffic volume on the second road segment; and

providing, by the one or more computing systems, one or more indications to exclude the one or more data samples associated with the second road segment from the first use.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining that the first road segment is of the functional road class is based at least in part on an amount of traffic of the first road segment.

5. The method of claim 4, the automatically determining comprising:

responsive to determining that the amount of traffic of the first road segment is less than a second threshold, determining that the first road segment is of the functional road class.

6. The method of claim 1, the providing comprising:

providing one or more indications to exclude the one or more data samples associated with the first road segment from use in assessing road traffic conditions.

7. The method of claim 1, the providing comprising:

providing one or more indications to exclude the one or more data samples associated with the first road segment from use in facilitating travel.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising:

determining that a second road segment is a portion of a road not reflective of the road as a whole; and

providing one or more indications to exclude one or more data samples associated with the second road segment.

9. The method of claim 1, comprising:

responsive to determining that the first road segment is associated with behavior not associated with a particular purpose, automatically determining that the one or more data samples associated with the first road segment are not of interest.

10. The method of claim 1, comprising:

responsive to determining that the first road segment is associated with a first direction, automatically determining that the one or more data samples associated with the first road segment are not of interest.

11. A computing system comprising:

a processing unit; and

memory comprising instructions that when executed by the processing unit cause performance of actions, the actions comprising;

automatically determining that a first road segment is not of interest based at least in part on an amount of assessed variability in vehicle traffic volume on the first road segment.

12. The computing system of claim 11, the actions comprising:

providing one or more indications to exclude one or more data samples associated with the first road segment from a first use.

13. The computing system of claim 11, wherein the assessed variability is determined based at least in part on vehicle traffic volume on the first road segment during one or more days.

14. The computing system of claim 12, wherein the one or more data samples comprise reported travel characteristics of multiple vehicles.

15. The computing system of claim 11, the actions comprising:

responsive to determining that a size of the first road segment is less than a threshold, automatically determining that the first road segment are not of interest.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that when executed cause performance of actions, the actions comprising:

responsive to determining that a first road segment is a part of a first road that is among one or more roads determined to not be of interest, automatically determining that one or more data samples associated with the first road segment are not of interest;

responsive to determining that the first road segment is associated with a first direction, automatically determining that the one or more data samples associated with the first road segment are not of interest; and

providing one or more indications to exclude the one or more data samples associated with the first road segment from a first use.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, the actions comprising:

responsive to determining that the first road segment is of a functional road class, automatically determining that the one or more data samples associated with the first road segment are not of interest.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, the actions comprising:

responsive to determining that the first road segment is associated with behavior not associated with a particular purpose, automatically determining that the one or more data samples associated with the first road segment are not of interest.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the providing one or more indications to exclude the one or more data samples associated with the first road segment from the first use is to enable other data samples to be available for the first use.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions that when executed by a computing device cause performance of actions, the actions comprising:

responsive to determining that a first road segment is a part of a first road that is among one or more roads determined to not be of interest, automatically determining that one or more data samples associated with the first road segment are not of interest;

responsive to determining that the first road segment is associated with behavior not associated with a particular purpose, automatically determining that the one or more data samples associated with the first road segment are not of interest; and

providing one or more indications to exclude the one or more data samples associated with the first road segment from a first use.