POSITIONAL INFORMATION ANALYSIS DEVICE AND POSITIONAL INFORMATION ANALYSIS METHOD

• US 20120221231A1
• Filed: 10/13/2010
• Published: 08/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Nagata, Tomohiro, Okajima, Ichiro, Kobayashi, Motonari, Oyabu, Yuki
• Application Number:
  US13/501,982
• Publication Number:
  US 20120221231A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/118
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/047 Optimisation of routes or paths, e.g. travelling salesman problem
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/012 from other sources than vehicle or roadside beacons, e.g. mobile networks

Abstract

To promptly provide useful person trip information, a location information analysis device (600) includes a selection module (601) that selects a starting point section and an end point section, a point data input module (602) that inputs the point data over a plurality of points of time about a plurality of users, a frequent appearance area extraction module (603) that extracts areas (frequent appearance areas) where the point data are densely congested in excess of a predetermined criterion on two-dimensional map data, a user trajectory extraction module (604) that finds trajectories between the frequent appearance areas for each of the users based on time-series transition of a relative location of the point data of each of the users in relation to the frequent appearance areas and extracts trajectories from the starting point section to the end point section among the trajectories between the frequent appearance areas of each of the users, and a user number calculation module (605) that calculates number of traveling users from the trajectories. The location information analysis device (600) may further include a total traveler number calculation module (606) that calculates total number of traveling people including people irrelevant to the point data, and an output module (607) that outputs the total number of traveling people.

Claims

1. A location information analysis device that analyzes information on number of traveling people from a starting point section to an end point section based on point data containing location information indicating a location of a user, time information when the location information is obtained, and user identification information of the user, comprising:

a point data input module that inputs the point data over a plurality of points of time about a plurality of users;

a frequent appearance area extraction module that extracts areas where the point data are densely congested in excess of a predetermined criterion as frequent appearance areas of the plurality of users based on a distribution of the input point data;

a user trajectory extraction module that combines the point data of each of the users and the extracted frequent appearance areas, finds trajectories between the frequent appearance areas for each of the users based on time-series transition of a relative location of the point data of each of the users in relation to the frequent appearance areas in the combined data, and extracts trajectories from the selected starting point section to the selected end point section among the trajectories between the frequent appearance areas of each of the users as starting to end point trajectories; and

a user number calculation module that calculates number of traveling users from the starting point section to the end point section by counting a plurality of starting to end point trajectories for the same user as one trajectory in the extracted starting to end point trajectories.

2. The location information analysis device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a total traveler number calculation module that calculates total number of traveling people from the starting point section to the end point section, including people irrelevant to the point data in addition to the users, based on the calculated number of traveling users and a ratio of the number of traveling users to the total number of traveling people.

3. The location information analysis device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a travel mode determination module that determines a travel mode in the starting to end point trajectories based on a plurality of point data on the extracted starting to end point trajectories and prestored route map data of public transportation; and

a travel mode-specific user number calculation module that calculates number of traveling users from the starting point section to the end point section for each travel mode by counting a plurality of starting to end point trajectories for the same user as one trajectory in the extracted starting to end point trajectories.

4. The location information analysis device according to claim 3, further comprising:

a travel mode-specific traveler number calculation module that calculates number of traveling people from the starting point section to the end point section, including people irrelevant to the point data in addition to the users, for each travel mode based on the calculated number of traveling users for each travel mode and a ratio of the number of traveling users to the number of traveling people.

5. The location information analysis device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the user trajectory extraction module comprises:

a combining module that classifies the input point data by user and combines the point data of each of the users and the extracted frequent appearance areas;

a trajectory derivation module that finds trajectories between the frequent appearance areas for each of the users based on time-series transition of a relative location of the point data of each of the users in relation to the frequent appearance areas in data obtained by combining the point data of each of the users and the frequent appearance areas;

a target frequent appearance area extraction module that extracts frequent appearance areas located in the selected starting point section and the selected end point section as target frequent appearance areas;

a user extraction module that extracts users in the extracted target frequent appearance areas;

a trajectory extraction module that extracts trajectories between the frequent appearance areas of the extracted users from the trajectories between the frequent appearance areas for each of the users; and

a starting to end point trajectory extraction module that extracts trajectories from the starting point section to the end point section among the extracted trajectories as starting to end point trajectories.

6. The location information analysis device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the travel mode determination module comprises:

a travel speed calculation module that obtains a distance and a time difference between the point data adjacent along time series among the point data over a plurality of points of time about each of the users and calculates a travel speed between the point data based on the distance and the time difference between the point data; and

a determination module that determines a travel mode between the point data based on the calculated travel speed between the point data, the location information contained in the point data, and the prestored route map data of public transportation.

7. The location information analysis device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the frequent appearance area extraction module comprises:

a total user density calculation module that calculates density of the input point data of all users in each of a plurality of sections partitioned in advance; and

a first extraction module that extracts areas composed of a plurality of adjacent sections where the calculated density of the point data of all users is equal to or higher than a predetermined criterion value as the frequent appearance areas.

8. The location information analysis device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the frequent appearance area extraction module comprises:

a grouping module that obtains a distance between the input point data of all users and groups the point data of which the obtained distance is equal to or shorter than a predetermined criterion distance; and

a second extraction module that extracts areas including a plurality of grouped point data as the frequent appearance areas.

9. The location information analysis device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the frequent appearance area extraction module comprises:

a classification module that classifies the input point data of all users by user;

a user density calculation module that calculates density of the classified point data of each of the users in each of a plurality of sections partitioned in advance;

an adding module that adds the calculated density of the point data of each of the users in each of the sections together for each of the sections and thereby obtains density of the point data of all users in each of the sections; and

a third extraction module that extracts areas composed of a plurality of adjacent sections where the calculated density of the point data of all users is equal to or higher than a predetermined criterion value as the frequent appearance areas.

10. The location information analysis device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the frequent appearance area extraction module comprises:

a classification module that classifies the input point data of all users by user;

a user grouping module that obtains a distance between the classified point data of each of the users and groups the point data of which the obtained distance is equal to or shorter than a predetermined criterion distance for each of the users;

a superposition module that superposes areas including a plurality of point data grouped for each of the users for all users; and

a fourth extraction module that extracts superposed areas as the frequent appearance areas.

11. The location information analysis device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the user number calculation module leaves one trajectory and deletes the other trajectories among a plurality of starting to end point trajectories for the same user, and determines the remaining number of trajectories among the extracted starting to end point trajectories as the number of traveling users from the starting point section to the end point section.

12. The location information analysis device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the travel mode-specific user number calculation module leaves one trajectory and deletes the other trajectories among a plurality of starting to end point trajectories for the same user, and determines the remaining number of trajectories for each travel mode among the extracted starting to end point trajectories as the number of traveling users from the starting point section to the end point section for each travel mode.

13. The location information analysis device according to claim 2, wherein the total traveler number calculation module calculates the total number of traveling people from the starting point section to the end point section by calculating a ratio of an actually measured value of the number of traveling users to a daytime population figure related to any one of a predetermined frequent appearance area, the starting point section and the end point section as a ratio of the number of traveling users to the total number of traveling people, and multiplying the calculated ratio by the number of traveling users.

14. The location information analysis device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the travel mode-specific traveler number calculation module calculates the number of traveling people from the starting point section to the end point section for each travel mode by calculating a ratio of an actually measured value of the number of traveling users to a daytime population figure related to any one of a predetermined frequent appearance area, the starting point section and the end point section as a ratio of the number of traveling users to the number of traveling people, and multiplying the calculated ratio by the number of traveling users for each travel mode.

15-16. -16. (canceled)

17. A location information analysis method, executed by a location information analysis device, for analyzing information on number of traveling people from a starting point section to an end point section, comprising:

a point data input step of inputting point data over a plurality of points of time about a plurality of users, the point data containing location information indicating a location of a user, time information when the location information is obtained, and user identification information of the user;

a frequent appearance area extraction step of extracting areas where the point data are densely congested in excess of a predetermined criterion as frequent appearance areas of the plurality of users based on a distribution of the input point data;

a user trajectory extraction step of combining the point data of each of the users and the extracted frequent appearance areas, finding trajectories between the frequent appearance areas for each of the users based on time-series transition of a relative location of the point data of each of the users in relation to the frequent appearance areas in the combined data, and extracting trajectories from the selected starting point section to the selected end point section among the trajectories between the frequent appearance areas of each of the users as starting to end point trajectories; and

a user number calculation step of calculating number of traveling users from the starting point section to the end point section by counting a plurality of starting to end point trajectories for the same user as one trajectory in the extracted starting to end point trajectories.

18. The location information analysis method according to claim 17, further comprising:

a total traveler number calculation step of calculating total number of traveling people from the starting point section to the end point section, including people irrelevant to the point data in addition to the users, based on the calculated number of traveling users and a ratio of the number of traveling users to the total number of traveling people.

19-20. -20. (canceled)