ANIMATION AND VISUALIZATION OF TRAFFIC DATA ANALYTICS IN A DASHBOARD PRESENTATION OF A ROADWAY PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM

• US 20140136089A1
• Filed: 11/08/2013
• Published: 05/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Iteris Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Iteris Incorporated
• Inventors: HRANAC, ROBERT C., PETTY, KARL F., MAI, ERIC, DERSTINE, BRIAN A., HARTMAN, NICHOLAS
• Granted Patent: US 9,576,488 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/118
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0962 having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09675 where a selection from the received information takes place in the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096775 where the origin of the information is a central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096783 where the origin of the information is a roadside individual element

Abstract

Animation and visualization of roadway performance analytics in a dashboard presentation in an integrated performance measurement system comprises analyzing collected traffic data to generate measured congestion information that reflects current conditions in one or more links, segments, or corridors comprising a roadway. The measured congestion information is presented in one or more sets of indicia on a graphical user interface so that current congestion conditions can be viewed and analyzed by a user. The measured congestion information is represented as gauges displaying percentage increases or decreases relative to a particular time, as animated maps showing a selectable set of current congestion conditions, as one or more graphs of current congestion conditions over time, as chart-based displays of costs and causes of current congestion conditions, and a data feed listing textual live updates.

Claims

1. A method of presenting roadway congestion performance information to a user, comprising:

collecting traffic-related data representative of one or more characteristics of performance of traffic on a roadway and applying the collected traffic-related data to a plurality of data processing modules configured to analyze the one or more characteristics of performance of traffic on a roadway to generate measured congestion data representing a plurality of congestion data metrics for traffic management decision-making;

converting the measured congestion data into sets of indicia in response to user selections on a graphical user interface in a computing environment, the sets of indicia configured to enable a visualized representation of the measured congestion data over time, the plurality of congestion data metrics including traffic congestion, vehicular demand, incident information, and work zone information on a segment of a roadway selected by the user; and

rendering the sets of indicia as visualized representations of the plurality of congestion data metrics on the graphical user interface, the sets of indicia including a one or more gauges, an animated map capable of being configured to show different current congestion conditions and different animations in a playback mode over a specified of time when so selected by a user, a graphical timeline, at least one cost chart representing costs consumed, a causes chart representing one or more causes of traffic congestion, and a textual data feed providing real-time congestion information for the roadway.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating the graphical user interface so that the sets of indicia are displayed to the user as of a most recently-specified time.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the traffic-related data is collected from a plurality of sources that include one or more of a network of traffic sensors, navigational and positional systems, weather instruments, and observations of motorists using the roadway.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the navigational and positional systems include global positioning system devices, and wherein the observations of motorists are captured on mobile devices.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying the collected traffic-related data to a corridor analysis function in the plurality of data processing modules to determine an overall performance of the roadway by comparing speed, location, and volume information with known traffic information for a specified period of time.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying the collected traffic-related data to an incident analysis function in the plurality of data processing modules to determine a number of incidents occurring on the roadway by comparing changes in speed, location and volume with a threshold value.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying the collected traffic-related data to a work zone analysis function in the plurality of data processing modules to determine a presence and impact of work zones occurring on the roadway by comparing changes in speed, location and volume with a threshold value.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein rendering sets of indicia further comprises generating the animated map from collected traffic-related data in a mapping function in the plurality of data processing modules, the mapping function configured to combine animations of congestion, incidents, and work zones with a map of a selected location.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising integrating weather data with the collected traffic-related data in a weather data integration function to generate a weather animation for the mapping function where user-specified instructions require a weather overlay for the animated map.

10. A method of visualizing measured traffic data in an integrated roadway performance measurement system, comprising:

analyzing collected traffic data in a plurality of data processing modules configured to generate output data representative of traffic congestion that includes current congestion conditions in a roadway, the plurality of data processing modules integrating sensor data, navigational data, weather data, and observational data to determine an overall performance of the roadway, an impact of incidents occurring on the roadway, and an impact of work zones implemented on the roadway; and

presenting the current congestion conditions in a plurality of sets of indicia on a graphical user interface, the output data representative of traffic congestion being selected and manipulated by a user so that the current congestion conditions are visually rendered for display in a dashboard-style presentation for a selected portion of a roadway, the plurality of sets of indicia including at least one gauge, an animated map having a playback mode in which current conditions are animated over a specific period of time, a graphical timeline, a chart-based display of costs, a chart-based display of causes, and a listing of live, written updates listed in a data feed.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising ingesting the traffic-related data from a plurality of sources that include one or more of a network of traffic sensors, navigational and positional systems, weather instruments, and observations of motorists using the roadway.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the navigational and positional systems include global positioning system devices, and wherein the observations of motorists are captured on mobile devices.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the presenting the current congestion conditions in a plurality of sets of indicia on a graphical user interface further comprises generating congestion data in a corridor analysis function performed by the plurality of data processing modules.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the presenting the current congestion conditions in a plurality of sets of indicia on a graphical user interface further comprises generating incident data in an incident analysis function performed by the plurality of data processing modules.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising generating the animated map in response to user selections to display one or more of speed, incident, weather, and work zone information by applying the speed, incident, weather and work zone information in a plurality of overlay animations on a map of a selected portion of the roadway.

16. A system for visualizing and animating roadway performance data, comprising:

a computer processor; and

at least one computer-readable storage medium operably coupled to the computer processor and having program instructions stored therein, the computer processor being operable to execute the program instructions to perform one or more data processing functions on collected traffic-related data to generate output data representative of current congestion conditions on a selected portion of a roadway and convert the output data representative of current congestion conditions on a roadway into a plurality sets of indicia in response to user-provided selections, and display the plurality of sets of indicia on a graphical user interface to a user,

the plurality of sets of indicia including at least one gauge, an animated map having a playback mode in which current congestion conditions are animated over a specific period of time, a graphical timeline, a chart-based display of costs, a chart-based display of causes, and a listing of live, written updates listed in a data feed.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the traffic-related data is collected from a plurality of sources that include one or more of a network of traffic sensors, navigational and positional systems, weather instruments, and observations of motorists using the roadway.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the data processing functions include a corridor analysis function configured to determine congestion information for display in a dashboard-style presentation of current congestion conditions.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the data processing functions include an incident analysis function configured to determine incident data for display in a dashboard-style presentation of current congestion conditions.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the data processing functions include a mapping function configured to display one or more of speed, incident, weather, and work zone information in a dashboard-style presentation of current congestion conditions by applying the speed, incident, weather and work zone data in a plurality of overlay animations on a map of the selected portion of the roadway.