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LEARNING ROAD FEATURE DELAY TIMES BASED ON AGGREGATE DRIVER BEHAVIOR

  • US 20110224893A1
  • Filed: 03/11/2011
  • Published: 09/15/2011
  • Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2010
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

  • receiving information about a plurality of prior vehicle trips along a plurality of roads in a geographic area, the plurality of prior vehicle trips involving a plurality of drivers of vehicles and each reflecting actual prior behavior of one of the plurality of drivers in traveling between a starting location in the geographic area and an ending location in the geographic area, the received information including, for each of the prior vehicle trips, indications of multiple data samples reported by a device in the vehicle as the vehicle travels between the starting and ending locations for that vehicle trip, each of the data samples indicating a road location and an associated time when the vehicle is at the indicated road location;

    identifying multiple traffic flow impediments that each is a structural part of one of the plurality of roads and restricts traffic flow on that one road during at least some times to speeds below a posted maximum speed for that one road;

    automatically analyzing the received information about the plurality of prior vehicle trips to determine actual time delays for the traffic flow impediments based on actual prior behavior of the plurality of drivers, the automatically analyzing being performed by at least one of one or more programmed computing systems and including, for each of the traffic flow impediments;

    determining an expected amount of traversal time of the traffic flow impediment by a vehicle based on an average speed of traffic for the road of which the traffic flow impediment is a structural part;

    identifying multiple of the plurality of prior vehicle trips that travel past the traffic flow impediment;

    for each of the identified multiple prior vehicle trips, determining an amount of actual delay for the traffic flow impediment during the prior vehicle trip by calculating a numerical difference between an actual amount of traversal time of the traffic flow impediment during the prior vehicle trip and the expected traversal time amount for the traffic flow impediment, the actual amount of the traversal time of the traffic flow impediment during the prior vehicle trip being based in part on a first time at which a first road location of one of the multiple data samples for that prior vehicle trip is before the traffic flow impediment and on a later second time at which a second road location of another of the multiple data samples for that prior vehicle trip is past the traffic flow impediment; and

    averaging the determined actual delay amounts for the identified multiple prior vehicle trips in order to generate the determined actual time delay for the traffic flow impediment; and

    after the determining of the actual time delays for the traffic flow impediments, automatically using the determined actual time delays to improve routing of additional vehicle trips through the geographic area, the using of the determined actual time delays being performed by at least one of the one or more programmed computing systems and including, for each of multiple requests for a route between two indicated locations in the geographic area;

    identifying multiple alternative paths between the two indicated locations for the request, the identified multiple alternative paths including one or more of the traffic flow impediments;

    evaluating each of the identified multiple alternative paths based at least in part on the determined actual time delays for the one or more traffic flow impediments, and selecting a preferred one of the identified multiple alternative paths based on the evaluating; and

    providing the selected one alternative path as the route for the request, the one alternative path being selected based at least in part on the determined actual time delays for the one or more traffic flow impediments.

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