Universal GPS Traffic Monitoring System

• US 20100100307A1
• Filed: 10/13/2009
• Published: 04/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jin Hong Kim
• Original Assignee: Jin Hong Kim
• Inventors: Kim, Jin Hong
• Granted Patent: US 8,386,157 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/119
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/14 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0027 of actual mobile position, i.e. position determined on mobile
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/01 Detecting movement of traffic to be counted or controlled G08G1/07 - G08G1/14 take precedence

Abstract

A traffic data collection process and monitoring system that uses a plurality of GPS enabled mobile devices to transmit near at real-time traffic direction and speed information to a server and or/at real-time (sub 10 second latency). The sever processes the information thereby reducing the computational load and power consumption of the mobile devices. The system uses a Traffic Pattern Recognition software program that accurately recognizes only valid traffic data while filtering out unwanted traffic data. The system creates a Distributed Traffic Data Store database containing the average speeds for designated traffic monitoring points created for the region. During use, a request for traffic data containing the boundary data and the zoom level is sent from the mobile device to the server. The server then reviews the requests and determines with specific Distributed Traffic Data Store database contains the information. The server then creates a compressed file containing the traffic information relevant to the TMPs in the request and sends it to the mobile device.

Claims

1. A system for collecting information on traffic conditions, the system comprising:

a traffic server for receiving speed and location information from a plurality of GPS enabled mobile devices operating in traffic monitored region, a plurality of GPS enabled mobile devices used to send current speed and location data to said server;

a traffic monitoring point database coupled to said server containing a plurality of traffic monitoring points in region;

a traffic pattern recognition software program loaded into said server used to filter valid speed and location data from invalid speed and location data from said mobile devices, said traffic processor recognition software program being used to store speed data from valid speed/location data into a Distributed Traffic Data Store database containing the traffic monitoring point associated with said speed/location data from said mobile devices and disregard invalid speed/location data from said mobile devices.

2. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein said traffic pattern recognition software program uses a chain-like filter process having the following steps:

speed check, coarse boundary check, bearing check, and accurate boundary check.

3. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein said speed and location data is uploaded from said mobile devices at time intervals determined by the mobile device.

4. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein said speed and location data is uploaded from said mobile devices at time intervals determined by said server.

5. The system as recited in claim 1, further including a traffic request from said mobile device to said server requesting valid traffic data.

6. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein said traffic request includes a boundary identifier so that only traffic monitoring points in said Distributed Traffic Data Store database and associated with said traffic monitor points within said boundary identifier are sent to said mobile device.

7. The system as recited in claim 2, further including a traffic request from said mobile device to said server requesting valid traffic data.

8. The system as recited in claim 7, wherein said traffic request includes a boundary identifier so that only traffic monitoring points in said Distributed Traffic Data Store database and associated with said traffic monitor points within said boundary identifier are sent to said mobile device.

9. The system as recited in claim 8, wherein said speed and location data is uploaded from said mobile devices at time intervals determined by said server.

10. A system for collecting real time traffic data and then transmitting the collected traffic information, comprising:

a. a wireless communication network;

b. plurality of GPS enabled mobile devices used to communicate with said wireless communication network and transmits speed, direction and location thereto;

c. a client side software program loaded into said mobile device used to transmit speed, direction and location data over said wireless communication network, said client side also used to produce a traffic request for traffic in a designated region;

d. a server coupled to said wireless communication network,

e. a traffic monitoring point database coupled to said server, said traffic monitoring point database containing a plurality of traffic monitoring points in a region where traffic is monitored;

f. a traffic pattern recognition software program loaded into said server, said traffic pattern recognition software program being used to filter said uploaded speed/location data from said mobile devices into valid and invalid data, said valid data being saved in a Distributed Traffic Data Store database containing a plurality of traffic monitoring points associated with the valid traffic data; and

,

f. a traffic pattern requestor program loaded into said server used to transmit valid traffic speed data to said mobile devices, said traffic pattern requestor used to determine the boundary identifier associated with each said traffic request from said mobile devices and then determine the traffic monitor points within said boundary identifier and send the average speed value associated with each said traffic monitoring point to said mobile device.

11. A method for automatically updating motor vehicle traffic information using a GPS enable device located within a motor vehicle, the method comprising:

sending speed and location information via a wireless network from a plurality of GPS enabled devices located in traffic moving within a traffic monitored region;

determining the traffic monitoring point associated with said speed and location data;

selecting a traffic monitoring database containing a plurality of traffic monitoring points located within said traffic monitoring region;

filtering said speed and location information based to whether the traffic monitoring point is found in said traffic monitoring database;

storing said speed data associated with said traffic monitoring point in said traffic monitoring database; and

,

sending speed data associated with said traffic monitoring points when said device is within a designated boundary containing said traffic monitoring points.