System and method for characterizing traffic conditions by analyzing operational data of a wireless network

• US 20050079878A1
• Filed: 12/03/2004
• Published: 04/14/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airsage
• Original Assignee: Airsage
• Inventors: Wright, Michael P., Smith, Cyrus W., Sangal, Rahul, Wilkinson, Clayton IV, Carlson, Kirk
• Granted Patent: US 7,546,128 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.500
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0104 Measuring and analyzing of parameters relative to traffic conditions

Abstract

Characterizing traffic conditions by analyzing operational data taken from a wireless communication network to generate traffic information. Location estimates can be made based on processing the operational data. This location can be combined with computerized street maps to measure the time it takes to get from one geographic area to another. By aggregating and analyzing anonymous data from thousands of devices, the present invention is able to determine real-time and historical travel times and velocities between cities, intersections and along specific routes.

Claims

1. A system for extracting movement information using operational data for mobile stations operating in a wireless telephony communication network the system comprising:

a processor module, logically coupled to the wireless telephony communication network, operable to generate a plurality of traffic data records based on the operational data obtained from the wireless telephony communication network, each traffic data record identifying a location within the cell sector coverage area of the wireless telephony communication network for one of the mobile stations at a particular time, wherein the processor module determines the location identified by each traffic data record without the aid of a mobile positioning system; and

a movement filtering and detection module, logically coupled to the processor module, operable to generate a movement record in response to processing at least two traffic data records associated with a wireless communication activity by a same one of the mobile stations, each movement record comprising at least two locations within the wireless telephony communication network for the same mobile station at different times and reflecting movement by the same mobile station.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a mobile positioning system determination module, logically connected to the processor module, operable to collect the location within the cell sector coverage area of the wireless telephony communication network for one of the mobile stations at a particular time from a mobile positioning system of the wireless telephony communication network.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising a processor configuration module, logically coupled to the processor module, operative to configure the operational activity of the processor module.

4. The system of claim 1 further comprising a processor monitoring module, logically coupled to the processor module, operative to monitor the operational activity of the processor module.

5. The system of claim 1 further comprising a movement and filtering detection configuration module, logically coupled to the movement and filtering detection module, operative to configure the operational activity of the movement and filtering detection module.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising a movement and filtering detection monitoring module, logically coupled to the movement and filtering detection module, operative to monitor the operational activity of the movement and filtering detection module.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the processor module comprises:

a system interface to extract location data from the operational data for the mobile stations as obtained from the wireless telephony communication network; and

a parsing engine logically coupled to the interface to generate the plurality of traffic data records in response to the extracted location data.

8. The system of claim 1 further comprising a data transmission interface, logically coupled to the processor module, adapted to communicate each traffic data record to a data analysis node.

9. A system for determining traffic velocities along a plurality of traffic routes by using operational data associated with mobile stations operating in a wireless telephony communications network comprising a cell sector coverage area having a plurality of cell sectors, the system comprising:

an analysis configuration module, logically coupled to at least one database comprising cell sector coverage area information for the wireless telephony communications network and geographic information for roadways within the cell sector coverage area of the wireless telephony communications network, operable to generate the plurality of traffic routes between any two of the cell sectors by processing the cell sector coverage area information and the geographic information for roadways; and

a traffic modeler module, logically coupled to the analysis configuration module, operable to generate a plurality of data records by processing movement records for the mobile stations within a context provided by the plurality of traffic routes, each movement record comprising at least two locations within the wireless telephony communication network for the same mobile station at different times and reflecting movement within the cell sector coverage area by the same mobile station, each data record comprising an identification of the velocity for a vehicle along a particular one of the traffic routes at a specific time.

10. The system of claim 9 further comprising a mobile position system determination module, logically coupled to the traffic modeler module and a mobile positioning system for the wireless telephony communication network, operable to request mobile station location data from the mobile positioning system.

11. The system of claim 9 further comprising a route database, logically coupled to the traffic modeler module, operable to store the plurality of data records for access by an end user.

12. A method for extracting movement information using operational data for mobile stations operating in a wireless telephony communication network, comprising the steps of:

generating a plurality of traffic data records based on the operational data from the wireless telephony communication network, each traffic data record identifying a location within the cell sector coverage area of the wireless telephony communication network for one of the mobile stations at a particular time;

generating a movement record in response to processing two or more of the traffic data records associated with a wireless communication activity by a same one of the mobile stations, each movement record comprising at least two locations within the wireless telephony communication network for the same mobile station at different times and reflecting movement by the same mobile station; and

identifying a route traveled by a vehicle associated with the movement record from a plurality of possible routes between the at least two locations.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of receiving a continuous flow of the operational data from the wireless telephony communication network.

14. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of receiving a batch of operational data from the wireless telephony communication network.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein the at least two locations comprise locations determined by a mobile positioning system of the wireless telephony communications network.

16. A method for determining traffic velocities along traffic routes based on movement of mobile stations operating within a wireless telephony communications network comprising a cell sector coverage area overlapping with the traffic routes and having a plurality of cell sectors, comprising the steps of:

creating a plurality of traffic routes between any two of the cell sectors by processing cell sector coverage area information for the wireless telephony communications network and geographic information for roadways within the cell sector coverage area of the wireless telephony communications network;

identifying a particular one of the traffic routes traveled by a vehicle associated with one of the mobile stations by processing movement records for the mobile station within a geographical context defined by the plurality of traffic routes, each movement record comprising at least two locations within the wireless telephony communication network for a same one of the mobile stations at different times and reflecting movement of the same mobile station; and

calculating an estimate of a velocity of the vehicle associated with the mobile station along the particular traffic route.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the step of creating a plurality of traffic routes comprises, for each of the cell sectors, the steps of:

determining all road segments intersecting one of the cell sectors based upon the geographic information for roadways;

determining a plurality of boundary road segments for the cell sector based upon all road segments intersecting the cell sector; and

calculating the traffic routes between each boundary road segment in the cell sector.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the locations comprise locations determined by a mobile positioning system of the wireless telephony communication network.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the step of calculating an estimate of a velocity of velocity of vehicular traffic along the particular traffic route for a specific time further comprises the steps of:

determining a velocity of a vehicle for each route segment in the particular traffic route by using the movement records associated with the particular traffic route segment; and

determining a velocity of a vehicle for a traffic route comprising a plurality of route segments by using a distance of the particular traffic route and the travel time over the distance by using the movement records associated with the particular traffic route.

20. The method of claim 16 further comprising the step of determining a least cost traffic route wherein the least cost traffic route comprises the minimum travel distance between at least two locations.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the least cost traffic route comprises the minimum travel time between at least two locations.

22. A system for determining traffic velocities along a plurality of traffic routes by using operational data associated with mobile stations operating in a wireless telephony communications network overlapping the traffic routes and comprising a cell sector coverage area having a plurality of cell sectors, the system comprising:

a processor module, logically coupled to the wireless telephony communication network, operable to generate a plurality of traffic data records based on operational data obtained from the wireless telephony communication network, each traffic data record identifying a location within the wireless telephony communication network for one of the mobile stations at a particular time, wherein the processor module determines the location identified by each traffic data record without the aid of a mobile positioning system;

a movement filtering and detection module, logically coupled to the processor module, operable to generate a movement record in response to processing at least two traffic data records associated with a wireless communication activity by a same one of the mobile stations, each movement record comprising at least two locations within the wireless telephony communication network for the same mobile station at different times and reflecting movement by the same mobile station;

an analysis configuration module, logically coupled to at least one database comprising cell sector coverage area information for the wireless telephony communications network and geographic information for roadways within the cell sector coverage area of the wireless telephony communications network, operable to generate the plurality of traffic routes between any two of the cell sectors by processing the cell sector coverage area information and the geographic information for roadways; and

a traffic modeler module, logically coupled to the movement filtering and detection module and to the analysis configuration module, operable to generate a plurality of data records by processing the locations for the mobile stations as identified by the movement records within a geographical context provided by the plurality of traffic routes, each data record comprising an identification of the velocity along a particular one of the traffic routes.

23. The system of claim 22 further comprising a processor configuration module, logically coupled to the processor module, operative to configure the operational activity of the processor module.

24. The system of claim 22 further comprising a processor monitoring module, logically coupled to the processor module, operative to monitor the operational activity of the processor module.

25. The system of claim 22 further comprising a movement and filtering detection configuration module, logically coupled to the movement and filtering detection module, operative to configure the operational activity of the movement and filtering detection module.

26. The system of claim 22 further comprising a movement and filtering detection monitoring module, logically coupled to the movement and filtering detection module, operative to monitor the operational activity of the movement and filtering detection module.

27. The system of claim 22 wherein the processor module comprises:

a system interface to extract location data from the operational data obtained from the wireless telephony communication network; and

a parsing engine logically coupled to the interface to generate the plurality of traffic data records in response to the extracted location movement data.

28. The system of claim 22 further comprising a data communications interface, logically coupled to the processor module and to the traffic modeler module, adapted to communicate each movement record from the processor module to the traffic modeler module.

29. The system of claim 22 further comprising a mobile position system determination module, logically coupled to the traffic modeler module and a mobile positioning system for the wireless telephony communication network, operable to request mobile station location data from the mobile positioning system.

30. The system of claim 29 wherein the mobile position system determination module requests mobile station location data from the wireless telephony communications network.

31. The system of claim 22 further comprising a route database, logically coupled to the traffic modeler module, operable to store the plurality of data records for access by an end user.

32. A method for determining traffic velocities along a plurality of traffic routes by using operational data associated with mobile stations operating in a wireless telephony communications network overlapping the traffic routes and comprising a cell sector coverage area having a plurality of cell sectors, comprising the steps of:

generating a plurality of traffic data records based on the operational data from the wireless telephony communication network, each traffic data record identifying a location within the wireless telephony communication network for one of the mobile stations at a particular time;

generating a movement record in response to processing at least two of the traffic data records associated with a wireless communication activity by a same one of the mobile stations, each movement record comprising locations within the wireless telephony communication network for the same mobile station at different times and reflecting movement by the same mobile station;

creating a plurality of traffic routes between any two of the cell sectors by processing cell sector coverage area information for the wireless telephony communications network and geographic information for roadways within the cell sector coverage area of the wireless telephony communications network;

identifying from the plurality of traffic routes a particular one of the traffic routes traveled by a vehicle associated with one of the mobile stations by processing the movement records for the mobile station, and

calculating an estimate of a velocity of vehicular traffic along the particular traffic route by using the movement records associated with the particular traffic route.

33. The method of claim 32 further comprising the step of receiving a continuous flow of the operational data from the wireless telephony communication network.

34. The method of claim 32 further comprising the step of receiving a batch of operational data from the wireless telephony communication network.

35. The method of claim 32 wherein the locations comprise locations determined by a mobile positioning system of the wireless telephony communications network.

36. The method of claim 32 wherein the locations comprise locations determined by a mobile positioning system of the wireless telephony communication network.

37. The method of claim 32 wherein the step of creating a plurality of traffic routes by processing the cell sector coverage area information and the geographic information for roadways comprises, for each cell sector, the steps of:

determining all road segments intersecting the cell sector from the geographic information for roadways;

determining a plurality of boundary road segments for the cell sector from all road segments intersecting the cell sector; and

calculating the particular one of the traffic routes between each boundary road segment in the cell sector and all other cell sectors.

38. The method of claim 32 wherein the step of identifying a particular one of the traffic routes traveled by a vehicle associated with one of the mobile stations comprises the steps of:

identifying a set of cell sectors from a polyline of locations associated with the movement records for the same mobile station;

for each set of cell sectors, determining all of the routes that traverse the cell sectors in the cell sector set;

calculating a cell handoff score for each route traversing the cell sector set;

eliminating any of the traffic routes that are not within an acceptable range of the handoff scores;

calculating a velocity along each traffic route that are not eliminated by the handoff score using time stamps in the movement record;

trimming each traffic route for which a velocity was calculated in the event that the calculated velocity exceeds a maximum velocity cutoff;

eliminating any traffic routes for which a velocity was calculated in the event that the calculated velocity exceeds the maximum velocity cutoff and the traffic route cannot be trimmed;

eliminating any traffic route for which a velocity was calculated in the event that the calculated velocity is less than a minimum velocity cutoff;

calculating a z-score of the calculated velocity for all of the remaining ones of the traffic routes that not been eliminated; and

selecting the particular traffic route from the remaining traffic routes based on the z-score of the calculated velocity and the handoff score.

39. The method of claim 32 wherein the step of calculating an estimate of a velocity of vehicular traffic along the particular traffic route for a specific time further comprises the steps of:

determining a velocity of a vehicle for each route segment in the particular traffic route by using the movement records associated with the particular traffic route segment; and

determining a velocity of a vehicle for a traffic route comprising a plurality of route segments by using a distance of the particular traffic route and the travel time over the distance by using the movement records associated with the particular traffic route.

40. The method of claim 32 further comprising the step of determining a least cost traffic route wherein the least cost traffic route comprises the minimum travel distance between at least two locations.

41. The method of claim 40 wherein the least cost traffic route comprises the minimum travel time between at least two locations.

42. The method of claim 32 further comprising the step of determining if mobile positioning system data are needed for calculating an estimate of the velocity of vehicular traffic along the particular traffic route for a specific time, this step further comprising the steps of:

determining whether the estimate of the velocity of vehicular traffic along the particular traffic route for a specific time is based on a number of movement records at or above a threshold;

for those traffic routes where the velocity estimate is based on a number of movement records below a threshold, requesting mobile station location data from the wireless telephony communication network associated with the particular traffic route at the specific time;

receiving the requested mobile station location data from the wireless telephony communication network; and

revising the calculation of the estimate of the velocity of vehicular traffic along the particular traffic route for the specific time by using the received mobile station location data.

43. A computer-readable storage device storing a set of computer-executable instructions implementing a method for extracting movement information using operational data for mobile stations operating in a wireless telephony communication network, comprising the steps of:

generating a plurality of traffic data records based on the operational data from the wireless telephony communication network, each traffic data record identifying a location within the cell sector coverage area of the wireless telephony communication network for one of the mobile stations at a particular time;

generating a movement record in response to processing two or more of the traffic data records associated with a wireless communication activity by a same one of the mobile stations, each movement record comprising at least two locations within the wireless telephony communication network for the same mobile station at different times and reflecting movement by the same mobile station; and

identifying a traffic route traveled by a vehicle associated with the movement record from a plurality of possible traffic routes between the locations.

44. The computer-readable storage device of claim 43 further comprising the step of receiving a continuous flow of the operational data from the wireless telephony communication network.

45. The computer-readable storage device of claim 43 further comprising the step of receiving a batch of operational data from the wireless telephony communication network.

46. The computer-readable storage device of claim 43 wherein the locations comprise locations determined by a mobile positioning system of the wireless telephony communications network.

47. A computer-readable storage device storing a set of computer-executable instructions implementing a method for determining traffic velocities along traffic routes based on movement of mobile stations operating within a wireless telephony communications network comprising a cell sector coverage area overlapping with the traffic routes and having a plurality of cell sectors, comprising the steps of:

creating a plurality of traffic routes between any two of the cell sectors by processing cell sector coverage area information for the wireless telephony communications network and geographic information for roadways within the cell sector coverage area of the wireless telephony communications network, and

identifying a particular one of the traffic routes traveled by a vehicle associated with one of the mobile stations by processing movement records for the mobile station within a geographical context defined by the plurality of traffic routes, each movement record comprising at least two locations within the wireless telephony communication network for a same one of the mobile stations at different times and reflecting movement of the same mobile station; and

calculating an estimate of a velocity of the vehicle associated with the mobile station along the particular traffic route.

48. The computer-readable storage device of claim 47 wherein the step of creating a plurality of traffic routes comprises, for each of the cell sectors, the steps of:

determining all road segments intersecting one of the cell sectors based upon the geographic information for roadways;

determining a plurality of boundary road segments for the cell sector based upon all road segments intersecting the cell sector; and

calculating the traffic routes between each boundary road segment in the cell sector.

49. The computer-readable storage device of claim 47 wherein the locations comprise locations determined by a mobile positioning system of the wireless telephony communication network.

50. The computer-readable storage device of claim 47 wherein the step of calculating an estimate of a velocity of velocity of vehicular traffic along the particular traffic route for a specific time further comprises the steps of:

determining a velocity of a vehicle for each route segment in the particular traffic route by using the movement records associated with the particular traffic route segment; and

determining a velocity of a vehicle for a traffic route comprising a plurality of route segments by using a distance of the particular traffic route and the travel time over the distance by using the movement records associated with the particular traffic route.

51. The computer-readable storage device of claim 47 further comprising the step of determining a least cost traffic route wherein the least cost traffic route comprises the minimum travel distance between at least two locations.

52. The computer-readable storage device of claim 47 wherein the least cost traffic route comprises the minimum travel time between at least two locations.

53. A computer-readable storage device storing a set of computer-executable instructions implementing a method for determining traffic velocities along a plurality of traffic routes by using operational data associated with mobile stations operating in a wireless telephony communications network overlapping the traffic routes and comprising a cell sector coverage area having a plurality of cell sectors, comprising the steps of:

generating a plurality of traffic data records based on the operational data from the wireless telephony communication network, each traffic data record identifying a location within the wireless telephony communication network for one of the mobile stations at a particular time; and

generating a movement record in response to processing at least two of the traffic data records associated with a wireless communication activity by a same one of the mobile stations, each movement record comprising locations within the wireless telephony communication network for the same mobile station at different times and reflecting movement by the same mobile station;

creating a plurality of traffic routes between any two of the cell sectors by processing cell sector coverage area information for the wireless telephony communications network and geographic information for roadways within the cell sector coverage area of the wireless telephony communications network;

identifying from the plurality of traffic routes a particular one of the traffic routes traveled by a vehicle associated with one of the mobile stations by processing movement records for the mobile station; and

calculating an estimate of a velocity of vehicular traffic along the particular traffic route for a specific time by using the movement records associated with the particular traffic route.

54. The computer-readable storage device of claim 53 further comprising the step of receiving a continuous flow of the operational data from the wireless telephony communication network.

55. The computer-readable storage device of claim 53 further comprising the step of receiving a batch of operational data from the wireless telephony communication network.

56. The computer-readable storage device of claim 53 wherein the locations comprise locations determined by a mobile positioning system of the wireless telephony communications network.

57. The computer-readable storage device of claim 53 wherein the locations comprise locations determined by a mobile positioning system of the wireless telephony communication network.

58. The computer-readable storage device of claim 53 wherein the step of creating a plurality of traffic routes by processing the cell sector coverage area information and the geographic information for roadways comprises, for each cell sector, the steps of:

determining all road segments intersecting the cell sector from the geographic information for roadways;

determining a plurality of boundary road segments for the cell sector from all road segments intersecting the cell sector; and

calculating the particular one of the traffic routes between each boundary road segment in the cell sector and all other cell sectors.

59. The computer-readable storage device of claim 53 wherein the step of identifying a particular one of the traffic routes traveled by a vehicle associated with one of the mobile stations comprises the steps of:

identifying a set of cell sectors from a polyline of locations associated with the movement records for the same mobile station;

for each set of cell sectors, determining all of the routes that traverse the cell sectors in the cell sector set;

calculating a cell handoff score for each route traversing the cell sector set;

eliminating any of the traffic routes that are not within an acceptable range of the handoff scores;

calculating a velocity along each traffic route that are not eliminated by the handoff score using time stamps in the movement record;

trimming each traffic route for which a velocity was calculated in the event that the calculated velocity exceeds a maximum velocity cutoff;

eliminating any traffic routes for which a velocity was calculated in the event that the calculated velocity exceeds the maximum velocity cutoff and the traffic route cannot be trimmed;

eliminating any traffic route for which a velocity was calculated in the event that the calculated velocity is less than a minimum velocity cutoff;

calculating a z-score of the calculated velocity for all of the remaining ones of the traffic routes that not been eliminated; and

selecting the particular traffic route from the remaining traffic routes based on the z-score of the calculated velocity and the handoff score.

60. The computer-readable storage device of claim 53 wherein the step of calculating an estimate of a velocity of vehicular traffic along the particular traffic route for a specific time further comprises the steps of:

determining a velocity of a vehicle for each route segment in the particular traffic route by using the movement records associated with the particular traffic route segment; and

determining a velocity of a vehicle for a traffic route comprising a plurality of route segments by using a distance of the particular traffic route and the travel time over the distance by using the movement records associated with the particular traffic route.

61. The computer-readable storage device of claim 53 further comprising the step of determining a least cost traffic route wherein the least cost traffic route comprises the minimum travel distance between at least two locations.

62. The computer-readable storage device of claim 53 wherein the least cost traffic route comprises the minimum travel time between at least two locations.

63. The computer-readable storage device of claim 53 further comprising the step of determining if mobile positioning system data are needed for calculating an estimate of the velocity of vehicular traffic along the particular traffic route for a specific time, this step further comprising the steps of:

determining whether the estimate of the velocity of vehicular traffic along the particular traffic route for a specific time is based on a number of movement records at or above a threshold;

for those traffic routes where the velocity estimate is based on a number of movement records below a threshold, requesting mobile station location data from the wireless telephony communication network associated with the particular traffic route at the specific time;

receiving the requested mobile station location data from the wireless telephony communication network; and

revising the calculation of the estimate of the velocity of vehicular traffic along the particular traffic route for the specific time by using the received mobile station location data.

64. A system for extracting movement information using operational data for mobile stations operating in a wireless telephony communication network the system comprising

a privacy module, logically coupled to the wireless telephony communications network and operable to modify a mobile station identifier number identifying one of the mobile stations comprising the operational data, wherein the modification conceals the identity of the mobile station.

65. The system of claim 64 wherein the privacy module is operable to modify the mobile station identifier number by removing a mobile station identifier number identifying one of the mobile stations, replacing the mobile station identifier number in the traffic data record with a unique identifying number, and maintaining a relationship between the unique identifying number and the replaced mobile station identifier number.

66. The system of claim 64 wherein the privacy module is operable to modify the mobile station identifier number by encrypting the mobile station identifier number.

67. The system of claim 64 further comprising:

a processor module, logically coupled to the privacy module, operable to generate a plurality of traffic data records based on the operational data obtained from the wireless telephony communication network, each traffic data record identifying a location within the cell sector coverage area of the wireless telephony communication network for one of the mobile stations at a particular time, wherein the processor module determines the location without the aid of a mobile positioning system; and

a movement filtering and detection module, logically coupled to the processor module, operable to generate a movement record in response to processing at least two the traffic data records associated with a wireless communication activity by a same one of the mobile stations, each movement record comprising at least two locations within the wireless telephony communication network for the same mobile station at different times and reflecting movement by the same mobile station.