Traffic monitoring systems and methods

• US 8,718,928 B2
• Filed: 04/23/2008
• Issued: 05/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Relyea, Don, Felt, Michelle
• Primary Examiner(s): Amin, Bhavesh V
• Application Number:
  US12/108,247
• Publication Number:
  US 20090271101A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,204 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 701/414
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/00 Traffic control systems for road vehicles arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00 ; automatic vehicle control B62D
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0104 Measuring and analyzing of parameters relative to traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/012 from other sources than vehicle or roadside beacons, e.g. mobile networks
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0129 for creating historical data or processing based on historical data
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0141 for traffic information dissemination
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/052 with provision for determining speed or overspeed speed measuring in general G01P
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/056 with provision for distinguishing direction of travel
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/094 Hardware aspects; Signal processing or signal properties, e.g. frequency bands
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09626 where the origin of the information is within the own vehicle, e.g. a local storage device, digital map
• 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: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring

Abstract

In an exemplary method, mobile device attribute data is received from a plurality of mobile devices over a network. The mobile device attribute data includes location data representative of a plurality of geographic locations associated with the mobile devices. The method further includes selectively aggregating the mobile device attribute data and generating traffic condition data based at least in part on the mobile device attribute data. The traffic condition data is representative of at least one traffic condition. In certain embodiments, the mobile devices include mobile telephones and the network includes a mobile telephone network. In certain embodiments, the traffic condition data is real time data. In certain embodiments, at least a portion of the traffic condition data is provided for access over the network.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a traffic monitoring subsystem, mobile device attribute data from a plurality of mobile devices over a network, said mobile device attribute data including location data representative of a plurality of geographic locations associated with said plurality of mobile devices;

selectively aggregating, by said traffic monitoring subsystem, said mobile device attribute data based on a customizable data collection heuristic; and

generating, by said traffic monitoring subsystem, traffic condition data based at least in part on said mobile device attribute data, said traffic condition data being representative of at least one traffic condition.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing said customizable data collection heuristic to each of said mobile devices, said customizable data collection heuristic configured to direct each of said mobile devices to selectively provide said mobile device attribute data when said mobile device is associated with at least one traffic monitoring location defined by said customizable data collection heuristic.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

detecting a predefined traffic condition based on said traffic condition data; and

providing an update to said customizable data collection heuristic to each of said mobile devices in response to said predefined traffic condition.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein said selectively aggregating comprises selectively aggregating said mobile device attribute data based on said customizable data collection heuristic in accordance with said traffic monitoring location.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said selectively aggregating comprises:

identifying anomalous data in said mobile device attribute data based on a predefined exclusion heuristic; and

excluding said anomalous data from said aggregated mobile device attribute data.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said anomalous data is identified based on at least one of location data, time data, speed data, velocity data, directional heading data, signal strength data, and acceleration data associated with said mobile devices.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said location data comprises Global Positioning System (“

GPS”

) coordinates representative of said plurality of geographic locations associated with said plurality of mobile devices.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said plurality of mobile devices comprises a plurality of mobile telephones, and wherein said network comprises a mobile telephone network.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said traffic condition data comprises real time traffic condition data.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing at least a portion of said traffic condition data for access over said network.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing at least a portion of said traffic condition data to at least one of said mobile devices based on said geographic locations of said mobile devices in relation to a location of said at least one street traffic condition.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a confidence factor associated with said traffic condition data; and

providing said confidence factor for access over said network.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said confidence factor is determined based at least in part on a number of said mobile devices corroborating said traffic condition data.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising confirming said traffic condition data based on at least one of said confidence factor and user-provided traffic condition information received from at least one of said mobile devices.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

utilizing said traffic condition data to detect an occurrence of a predetermined traffic condition; and

providing notification of said predetermined traffic condition to at least one of said mobile devices in response to said detection.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein said selectively aggregating said mobile device attribute data further comprises selectively aggregating two or more of location data, time data, speed data, velocity data, directional heading data, signal strength data, and acceleration data associated with said mobile devices.

16. A system comprising:

a communication module configured to receive mobile device attribute data from a plurality of handheld mobile devices over a network;

a processing module; and

a traffic monitoring module configured to direct said processing module to

selectively aggregate said mobile device attribute data based on a customizable data collection heuristic, and

generate traffic condition data based at least in part on said mobile device attribute data, said traffic condition data being representative of at least one street traffic condition.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein said mobile device attribute data comprises at least one of geographic location and time data, speed data, directional heading data, velocity data, and acceleration data associated with said handheld mobile devices.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein said traffic condition data comprises at least one of a traffic flow rate, a traffic congestion rate, a traffic volume, and an average speed associated with a traffic monitoring location.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein said traffic monitoring module is configured to direct said processing module to selectively aggregate said mobile device attribute data based on said customizable data collection heuristic by at least one of traffic monitoring location, time data, speed data, signal strength data, and directional heading data.

20. A system comprising:

a location detection facility within a handheld mobile device and configured to determine and provide location data representative of a geographic location of said handheld mobile device; and

a traffic monitoring subsystem selectively and communicatively coupled to said handheld mobile device by way of a network, said traffic monitoring subsystem configured to

receive mobile device attribute data including said location data from said handheld mobile device,

selectively aggregate said mobile device attribute data with other mobile device attribute data received from at least one other handheld mobile device based on a customizable data collection heuristic, and

generate traffic condition data based at least in part on said mobile device attribute data.

21. The system of claim 20, further comprising a traffic agent facility within said handheld mobile device and configured to direct said mobile device to selectively provide said mobile device attribute data to said traffic monitoring subsystem based on said geographic location of said handheld mobile device in relation to at least one predefined traffic monitoring location.