Distributed Traffic Information System

• US 20060031003A1
• Filed: 08/02/2005
• Published: 02/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Qilun Sun, Yu Li
• Original Assignee: Qilun Sun, Yu Li
• Inventors: Li, Yu, Sun, QiLun
• Application Number:
  US11/161,391
• Publication Number:
  US 20060031003A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/117
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0965 responding to signals from another vehicle, e.g. emergency vehicle

Abstract

This invention discloses a method for collecting and propagating traffic information for optimizing traffic content. Single-vehicle-traffic-data is collected and broadcasted to vehicles in the neighborhood; Neighborhood-traffic-data is generated by combining all the Single-vehicle-traffic-data received from neighboring vehicles; Said Neighborhood-traffic-data is then conditionally propagated to remote area by broadcasting and relaying through one or more participating vehicles, or through other wired/wireless network. Hereby each participating vehicle is able to get updated traffic information of a large area, and able to calculate the optimistic route.

Claims

1. A method for exchanging information among at least a first unit pertaining to a group to which further units pertain, comprising the steps performed by the first unit:

(a) collecting data pertaining to itself;

(b) receiving data broadcasted from other units in the group;

(c) calculating a difference value for the difference between said data pertaining to the first unit and those data received from other units;

broadcasting said data pertaining to the first unit only if said difference value is bigger than a predefined value.

2. A method for exchanging traffic information among at least a first vehicle pertaining to a traffic information system to which further vehicles pertain, and other vehicles pertaining to said traffic information system, comprising steps performed by said first vehicle:

(a) capturing own single-vehicle-traffic-data, wherein said single-vehicle-traffic-data contains at least the information of current location, current time, and the previous location where said first vehicle was before a predefined time period;

broadcasting said own single-vehicle-traffic-data;

(b) receiving alien single-vehicle-traffic-data broadcasted by other vehicles pertaining to said traffic information system and located within a predefined distance;

(c) generating own neighborhood-traffic-data from said own single-vehicle-traffic-data captured within current timeframe with predefined length and said alien single-vehicle-traffic-data received within current timeframe with predefined length;

(d) receiving alien neighborhood-traffic-data generated and distributed by other vehicles pertaining to said traffic information system;

generating wide-area-traffic-data by combining said alien neighborhood-traffic-data;

updating wide-area-traffic-data with newly received neighborhood-traffic-data;

(e) calculating a difference value between said own neighborhood-traffic-data and said wide-area-traffic-data for the area covered by said own neighborhood-traffic-data;

if said difference value is bigger than a predefined value, said own neighborhood-traffic-data is distributed to other vehicles pertaining to said traffic information system.

3. The method as stated in claim 2, wherein said broadcasting said own single-vehicle-traffic-data in step a is conditional to a voting process comprising the following steps performed by said first vehicle:

(a) calculating a difference value between said own single-vehicle-traffic-data and alien single-vehicle-traffic-data broadcasted by other vehicles that have same heading direction with said first vehicle, and located on the line of the heading direction, and within a predefined distance;

(b) said broadcasting is performed only if said calculated difference value is bigger than a predefined value.

4. The method as stated in claim 2, wherein said own neighborhood-traffic-data is distributed to other vehicles pertaining to said traffic information system through broadcasting and relaying by vehicles pertaining to said traffic information system.

5. The method as stated in claim 4, wherein said broadcasting and relaying comprise the following steps:

(a) a sender vehicle broadcasts the data;

said first vehicle publishing the data will serve as the first sender vehicle;

the current location of the sender vehicle is embedded into the data before it is broadcasted;

(b) a receiver vehicle receives the data broadcasted by said sender vehicle;

if said receiver vehicle does not have any neighborhood-traffic-data that is determined sharing the same geographical and time-frame coverage with the received data, the receiver vehicle attempts to relay it by rebroadcast it;

said rebroadcast is initiated only after a waiting period being passed;

said waiting period is calculated based on the distance between said sender vehicle and said receiver vehicle, a longer distance results in a shorter waiting period;

if a second neighborhood-traffic-data is received before said waiting period is passed and said second neighborhood-traffic-data is determined sharing the same geographical and time-frame coverage with the to-be-rebroadcasted neighborhood-traffic-data, said rebroadcast will be stopped;

(c) if said receiver vehicle rebroadcasts the data, said receiver vehicle serves as a sender vehicle;

whereby relaying chains are formed.

6. The method as stated in claim 4, wherein said own neighborhood-traffic-data is distributed to other vehicles pertaining to said traffic information system through wired or wireless external network.

7. The method as stated in claim 2, wherein said generating own neighborhood-traffic-data in step c comprise the following steps:

(a) match single-vehicle-traffic-data captured or received within current timeframe onto road segment or segments based on road geographical data;

(b) for road segments that have two way traffic, classify the single-vehicle-traffic-data matched onto it as two groups based on their heading direction;

(c) calculate average traffic speed for each road segment based on single-vehicle-traffic-data associated with it, for both traffic directions if it has two way traffic;

(d) package the road segments, traffic direction, and average speed data;

whereby neighborhood-traffic-data is generated.

8. The method as stated in claim 7, wherein said road segment is a part of road separated with logical joint points.

9. The method as stated in claim 8, wherein said logical joint points are predefined and integrated with road geographical data.

10. The method as stated in claim 8, wherein said logical joint points are calculated based on road geographical data, with predefined logic.

11. The method as stated in claim 2, wherein said generating wide-area-traffic-data is performed as following:

for every road segment covered by at least one neighborhood-traffic-data, calculate average traffic speed for both directions based on neighborhood-traffic-data;

whereby all the road segments and their traffic speed forms the wide-area-traffic-data.

12. The method as stated in claim 2, wherein said updating wide-area-traffic-data with newly received neighborhood-traffic-data comprise the following steps:

(a) for each direction of every road segment covered by said newly received neighborhood-traffic-data, calculate traffic speed value s1 based on the traffic speed value s2 in said newly received neighborhood-traffic-data, and the traffic speed value s3 in said wide-area-traffic-data, with a predefined formula;

(b) update the speed value of said direction of said road segment in said wide-area-traffic-data with said traffic speed value s1.

13. The method as stated in claim 12, wherein said predefined formula for calculating said traffic speed value s1 is:

said traffic speed value s1 equals said traffic speed value s2.

14. The method as stated in claim 12, wherein each road segment in wide-area-traffic-data have a field indicating the timeframe of the last received neighborhood-traffic-data covering said road segment.

15. The method as stated in claim 2,wherein said single-vehicle-traffic-data contains at least the information of current location, current time, speed, and heading direction of said first vehicle.

16. A method for optimizing traffic routing of at least a first vehicle pertaining to at least a traffic information system to which further vehicles pertain, comprising the steps performed by the first vehicle:

(a) obtaining traffic information pertaining to itself, including at least the information to calculate the current location, the current time, and the previous location before a predefined time period;

(b) exchanging said information with other vehicles in the traffic information system;

whereby said first vehicle have the traffic information pertaining to other vehicles in the traffic information system;

whereby said first vehicle can calculate traffic information pertaining to its potential routes.