OPTIMIZING TRAFFIC PREDICTIONS AND ENHANCING NOTIFICATIONS

• US 20070293958A1
• Filed: 06/21/2007
• Published: 12/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HNTB Holdings Limited
• Original Assignee: HNTB Holdings Limited
• Inventors: Pallotto, Terrence, Stehle, Tommy, Ostrom, Michael, Simon, Christopher
• Granted Patent: US 7,849,031 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/04 Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem" market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities G06Q30/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0215 Including financial accounts
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/00 Traffic control systems for road vehicles arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00 ; automatic vehicle control B62D

Abstract

Travel-demand forecasting methods are described for predicting traffic volume based, at least in part, on user-entered data in the form of origin/destination data pairs, user preferences, demographic data and other types of socioeconomic data. This data can source a prediction algorithm or be used to calibrate or more make accurate a current algorithm. Methods and systems are described for, among other things, optimizing traffic predictions, forecasting traffic patterns using user-assigned trip patterns, associating rich attribute information to navigation routes, exposing personal-logistic information to a group, communicating traffic-situation-generated alerts based on user information, optimizing a presentation of user-defined traffic routes, and presenting location indications based on proximity (temporal or geographical).

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable media having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of forecasting traffic patterns, the method comprising:

exposing a user interface to a user that includes a set of fields that receive user-entered data that describes an origin and a destination for which a route can be provided;

receiving the user-entered data;

utilizing the user-entered data to increase an accuracy of a traffic-prediction model.

2. The media of claim 1, wherein the exposing includes providing a client-based software application that runs locally on a user machine.

3. The media of claim 1, wherein the exposing includes providing a network-based application that is made accessible locally but runs on a remote computing device.

4. The media of claim 1, wherein the utilizing includes incorporating the data into a traffic-prediction algorithm.

5. The media of claim 1, wherein the utilizing includes storing the user-entered data in a database that is remote from the user and that is accessible independent of a user'"'"'s machine.

6. The media of claim 1, further comprising exposing a set of fields that receive demographic data associated with the user, and correlating the demographic data with historical traffic data associated with others having similar demographic data.

7. The media of claim 6, wherein the demographic data includes socio-economic data including a selecting from one or more of:

a individual income, a household income, a net worth, a residence valuation, an amount of debt owed, a mortgage amount, a type of automobile, and an indication of a number of dependents.

8. The media of claim 7, further comprising predicting traffic patterns of other persons having certain demographic traits based on gleaned traffic patterns of a user associated with certain demographic data.

9. The media of claim 8, wherein the certain demographic traits are shared by a user, and wherein the certain demographic traits are dissimilar to those associated with the user.

10. The media of claim 9, further comprising receiving one or more of:

preferred-route day;

time/date travel information; and

reasons for a trip from the fields.

11. The media of claim 1, further comprising providing one or more location based services to a user based on the user-entered data.

12. The media of claim 11, where one or more of the location based services include presenting coupons associated with entities along a route determined by the user-entered data.

13. A system for forecasting traffic patterns, the system comprising,

a client component that receives indications of origins and destinations associated with a trip;

a server component in communication the client application that receives and facilities the storing of the origins and destinations; and

a traffic-prediction component that utilizes the origins and destinations to forecast traffic based on the origins and destinations.

14. One or more computer-readable media having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of forecasting traffic patterns by including user-defined trip patterns, the method comprising:

presenting a graphical user interface to a user that presents a suggested route based on received origin and destination data;

allowing a user to customize at least one segment of the route by receiving customization data, which includes data that indicates the at least one segment;

utilizing the customization data to define a new segment;

storing segment information that describes the new segment; and

utilizing the segment information to subsequently suggest new routes that include the new segment.

15. The media of claim 14, wherein the presenting the graphical user interface includes presenting the graphical user interface by way of a local application running on a machine local to the user.

16. The media of claim 15, wherein the origin and destination data is received by the user.

17. The media of claim 14, wherein the customization data includes a definition of a new origin and destination.

18. The media of claim 14, wherein the utilizing the customization data to define a new segment includes referencing a data store that stores the customization data to define the new segment.

19. The media of claim 14, wherein utilizing the segment information to subsequently suggest new routes includes contemplating the new segment when determining what route to propose to the user.

20. One or more computer-readable media have computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for presenting a graphical user interface (GUI), the GUI comprising:

a plurality of location icons that each respectively correspond to physical geographic locations;

the plurality of location icons being presented in such a way that their physical distance from each other is in a proportion to a physical proximate relationship that exists between the physical geographic locations.