TRAVEL TIME INFORMATION PROVIDING APPARATUS AND TRAVEL TIME INFORMATION PROVIDING METHOD

• US 20150308844A1
• Filed: 11/21/2013
• Published: 10/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: SHIMAZAKI, Keiko, YOSHIOKA, Akira, KUWAHARA, Masahiro, KUSAJIMA, Takayuki
• Granted Patent: US 9,696,168 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3423 Multimodal routing, i.e. combining two or more modes of transportation, where the modes can be any of, e.g. driving, walking, cycling, public transport
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3492 employing speed data or traffic data, e.g. real-time or historical traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968

Abstract

A travel time information providing apparatus includes a probability distribution storage unit configured to store first probability distribution data which expresses an embarkation waiting time for each location where the waiting time occurs and second probability distribution data which expresses a travel time for each location where the travel time occurs; a route acquiring unit configured to acquire a route connecting a point of origin and a destination; a travel time calculating unit configured to calculate a probability distribution of a total travel time by convoluting all probability distribution data corresponding to an embarkation waiting time which occurs on the route and a travel time which occurs on the route; and an information providing unit configured to determine an estimated travel time based on the calculated probability distribution, and output the estimated travel time.

Claims

1. A travel time information providing apparatus that provides a user with information regarding a travel time in a transportation network which is constituted by nodes and links and in which travel by train or bus is enabled,

the travel time information providing apparatus comprising:

a probability distribution storage unit configured to store first probability distribution data which expresses an embarkation waiting time that is a time from when a user arrives at any of the nodes constituting the transportation network until when the user embarks on a train or bus to depart from the node for each location where the waiting time occurs and second probability distribution data which expresses a travel time that is a time necessary for the user to travel in any of the links constituting the transportation network for each location where the travel time occurs;

a route acquiring unit configured to acquire a route connecting a point of origin and a destination;

a travel time calculating unit configured to calculate a probability distribution of a total travel time by acquiring all first probability distribution data corresponding to an embarkation waiting time which occurs on the route and second probability distribution data corresponding to a travel time which occurs on the route, and convoluting the acquired probability distribution data; and

an information providing unit configured to determine an estimated travel time based on the calculated probability distribution of the total travel time, and output the estimated travel time.

2. The travel time information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the information providing unit generates information representing a variation of the probability distribution of the total travel time and outputs the information together with the estimated travel time.

3. The travel time information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the information providing unit outputs a probability of arriving at the destination within the estimated travel time together with the estimated travel time.

4. The travel time information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the information providing unit extracts a median value or a mode value from the probability distribution of the total travel time and outputs the median value or the mode value as an estimated travel time.

5. The travel time information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the route acquiring unit searches for routes connecting a point of origin and a destination and acquires a plurality of route candidates;

the travel time calculating unit generates a probability distribution of a total travel time for each of the acquired route candidates; and

the information providing unit determines an estimated travel time for each of the acquired route candidates and outputs the estimated travel time together with information related to routes.

6. The travel time information providing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the information providing unit calculates, based on a probability distribution of a total travel time for each route, evaluation values on the routes, and outputs information regarding the routes in a descending order of the evaluation values.

7. The travel time information providing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein

the evaluation value is higher when the estimated travel time is short rather than long, and higher when a variation of the probability distribution of the total travel time is small rather than large.

8. The travel time information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

a probability distribution of an embarkation waiting time at each node, which is stored by the probability distribution storage unit, is a probability distribution of a time from when a user arrives at the node at a random time until when the user departs from the node.

9. The travel time information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

a probability distribution of an embarkation waiting time at each node, which is stored by the probability distribution storage unit, is a probability distribution of time from when a user arrives at the node by train or bus until when the user departs from the node.

10. A travel time information providing method performed by a travel time information providing apparatus that provides a user with information regarding a travel time in a transportation network which is constituted by nodes and links and in which travel by train or bus is enabled,

the travel time information providing method comprising:

a step of acquiring a route connecting a point of origin and a destination;

a step of acquiring in a probability distribution format all embarkation waiting times that is a time which occurs at a node on the route from when a user arrives at the node until when the user embarks on a train or bus and departs from the node;

a step of acquiring in a probability distribution format all travel times that is a time which occurs on a link on the route and which is necessary for a user to travel in the link;

a step of calculating a probability distribution of a total travel time by convoluting the plurality of acquired probability distributions; and

a step of determining an estimated travel time based on the calculated probability distribution of the total travel time and outputting the estimated travel time.