System and methods for distributed tracking of public transit vehicles
First Claim
1. A method for providing information to an individual who is riding as a passenger on a given vehicle in a plurality of public transit vehicles, each vehicle in the plurality of public transit vehicles having a scheduled route, the method comprising:
- receiving timestamped location data from a location-aware device possessed by the individual;
in a first computer process, determining a route of an unknown vehicle in the plurality of vehicles as a function of the received timestamped location data;
in a second computer process, determining that the unknown vehicle is the given vehicle by comparing the determined route of the unknown vehicle to the scheduled routes of one or more vehicles in the plurality of public transit vehicles; and
transmitting, to the location-aware device, information regarding the timeliness of the given vehicle along its scheduled route.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and methods are provided for collecting and aggregating the movements of location-aware wireless devices and corroborating them with the routes of public transit vehicles. Individual public transit agencies transmit details of their covered routes, including scheduled times and stop locations, to a central processing system. Individual end users of public transit systems carry their own mass-produced, location-aware wireless devices that transmit their location and other relevant information to the central processing system for analysis. The central processing system assigns the specific devices to transit vehicles, uses their locations to determine the actual locations of the vehicles they are traveling on, and communicates this information to the end user of the device, and other users.
18 Citations
39 Claims
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1. A method for providing information to an individual who is riding as a passenger on a given vehicle in a plurality of public transit vehicles, each vehicle in the plurality of public transit vehicles having a scheduled route, the method comprising:
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receiving timestamped location data from a location-aware device possessed by the individual; in a first computer process, determining a route of an unknown vehicle in the plurality of vehicles as a function of the received timestamped location data; in a second computer process, determining that the unknown vehicle is the given vehicle by comparing the determined route of the unknown vehicle to the scheduled routes of one or more vehicles in the plurality of public transit vehicles; and transmitting, to the location-aware device, information regarding the timeliness of the given vehicle along its scheduled route. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for providing information regarding a plurality of public transit vehicles, each vehicle in the plurality of public transit vehicles having a scheduled route, the method comprising:
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receiving timestamped location data from a plurality of location-aware devices, each location-aware device possessed by an individual riding one of the plurality of public transit vehicles; in a first computer process, for each given vehicle in the plurality of vehicles, determining a location of the given vehicle as a function of the received timestamped location data, thereby determining a collection of stops remaining on the scheduled route of the vehicle; in a second computer process, for each given vehicle in the plurality of vehicles, computing an estimated time of arrival for a stop in the collection of stops as a function of the location of the given vehicle and a timestamp in the received timestamped location data; and transmitting at least one of the estimated times of arrival to a second device not in the plurality of location-aware devices. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A computer program product, embodied in a tangible, computer-readable medium, the computer program product comprising:
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program code for receiving timestamped location data from a plurality of location-aware devices, each location-aware device possessed by an individual riding one of the plurality of public transit vehicles; program code for determining, for each given vehicle in the plurality of vehicles, a location of the given vehicle as a function of the received timestamped location data, thereby determining a collection of stops remaining on the scheduled route of the vehicle; program code for computing, for each given vehicle in the plurality of vehicles, an estimated time of arrival for a stop in the collection of stops as a function of the location of the given vehicle and a timestamp in the received timestamped location data; and program code for transmitting at least one of the estimated times of arrival to a second device not in the plurality of location-aware devices. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. Apparatus for providing information regarding a plurality of public transit vehicles, each vehicle in the plurality of public transit vehicles having a scheduled route, the apparatus comprising:
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a receiver for receiving timestamped location data from a plurality of location-aware devices, each location-aware device possessed by an individual riding one of the plurality of public transit vehicles; a processor that is capable of (i) determining, for each given vehicle in the plurality of vehicles, a location of the given vehicle as a function of the received timestamped location data, thereby determining a collection of stops remaining on the scheduled route of the vehicle, and (ii) computing, for each given vehicle in the plurality of vehicles, an estimated time of arrival for a stop in the collection of stops as a function of the location of the given vehicle and a timestamp in the received timestamped location data; and a transmitter for transmitting at least one of the estimated times of arrival to a second device not in the plurality of location-aware devices.
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30. A method for providing information to an individual who is waiting to ride as a passenger on a given vehicle in a plurality of public transit vehicles, each vehicle in the plurality of public transit vehicles having a scheduled route, the method comprising:
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receiving timestamped location data from a location-aware device possessed by the individual; in a first computer process, determining one or more of the scheduled routes that service a location in the received timestamped location data; in a second computer process, choosing the route of the given vehicle from the one or more determined routes, thereby identifying the given vehicle, by comparing the one or more determined routes to a timestamp received in the timestamped location data; and transmitting, to the location-aware device, information regarding the timeliness of the given vehicle along its scheduled route. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification