Road condition management

• US 9,965,952 B2
• Filed: 03/16/2015
• Issued: 05/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Abraham, Subil M., Bijlani, Vinod A., Thomas, Mathews
• Primary Examiner(s): Fan, Hongmin
• Application Number:
  US14/658,283
• Publication Number:
  US 20160275404A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,149 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0112 from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0116 from roadside infrastructure, e.g. beacons
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0129 for creating historical data or processing based on historical data
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/02 using treadles built into the road pads or other sensitive devices responsive to passage of vehicles E01F11/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/04 using optical or ultrasonic detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/042 using inductive or magnetic detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/095 Traffic lights
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0967 Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/202 Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching

Abstract

Road condition management is provided. A first road problem at a first location is identified, based, at least in part, on a current traffic pattern and current environmental conditions at the first location. An optimized plan for road repairs is generated. The optimized plan identifies one or more road problems. The plan is optimized based on a severity index of each of the one or more road problems and an availability of at least one resource. An alert is issued to at least one interface device, wherein the alert describes the first road problem.

Claims

1. A method for road condition management, the method comprising:

identifying, by one or more processors, a first road problem at a first location based, at least in part, on a current traffic pattern and current environmental conditions at the first location, wherein identifying the first road problem further comprises;

generating, by one or more processors, a model based, at least in part, on historical traffic information, wherein the model correlates historical environmental conditions to historical traffic patterns;

identifying, by one or more processors, a deviation of the current traffic pattern based, at least in part, on the model, the current environmental conditions, and the current traffic pattern;

determining, by one or more processors, whether an exclusionary rule applies, wherein the exclusionary rule defines an exclusion to the model, and wherein the exclusionary rule identifies a time period and a location; and

responsive to identifying the deviation and to determining that the exclusionary rule does not apply, identifying, by one or more processors, the first road problem;

generating, by one or more processors, an optimized plan for road repairs, wherein the optimized plan identifies one or more road problems that include the first road problem, and wherein the optimized plan is optimized based on a severity index of each of the one or more road problems and an availability of at least one resource; and

issuing, by one or more processors, an alert to at least one interface device, wherein the alert describes the first road problem.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to determining, by one or more processors, that a vehicle is approaching the first location, issuing, by one or more processors, a command to a sensor.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the first road problem is at least one of a pothole, an item of debris, a lane closure, and a disabled vehicle; and

the at least one resource includes at least one of a repair crew, a road repair equipment, and a budget item.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the historical traffic patterns identify a historical path of travel of one or more vehicles;

the current traffic pattern identifies a current path of travel of one or more vehicles; and

identifying the deviation is further based, at least in part, on the current path of travel and the historical path of travel.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the severity index is based on the current environmental conditions, the current traffic pattern, the historical traffic patterns, a forecast of future traffic patterns, and a forecast of environmental conditions.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining, by one or more processors, the current environmental conditions based, at least in part, on sensor data from at least one sensor of a plurality of sensors;

determining, by one or more processors, the current traffic pattern based, at least in part, on sensor data from at least one sensor of the plurality of sensors; and

wherein the plurality of sensors include at least one of an accelerometer of the vehicle, an onboard camera, an in-roadway magnetic sensor, a set of pneumatic road tubes, a Doppler radar device, a rain gauge, a thermometer, and a traffic camera.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one interface device includes at least one of an electronic billboard, an electronic street sign, a tablet computer, a mobile device, a navigation device, and a computing device of a vehicle, wherein the computing device controls an onboard sensor system or an onboard safety system of the vehicle.

8. A computer program product for road condition management, the computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium and program instructions stored on the computer readable storage medium, the program instructions comprising;

program instructions to identify a first road problem at a first location based, at least in part, on a current traffic pattern and a current environmental conditions at the first location, wherein identifying the first road problem further comprises;

program instructions to generate a model based, at least in part, on historical traffic information, wherein the model correlates historical environmental conditions to historical traffic patterns;

program instructions to identify a deviation of the current traffic pattern based, at least in part, on the model, the current environmental conditions, and the current traffic pattern;

program instructions to determine whether an exclusionary rule applies, wherein the exclusionary rule defines an exclusion to the model, and wherein the exclusionary rule identifies a time period and a location; and

program instructions to identify the first road problem in response to identifying the deviation and to determining that the exclusionary rule does not apply;

program instructions to generate an optimized plan for road repairs, wherein the optimized plan identifies one or more road problems that include the first road problem, and wherein the optimized plan is optimized based on a severity index of each of the one or more road problems and an availability of at least one resource; and

program instructions to issue an alert to at least one interface device, wherein the alert describes the first road problem.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the program instructions further comprise:

program instructions to issue a command to a sensor in response to determining that a vehicle is approaching the first location.

10. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein:

the first road problem is at least one of a pothole, a lane closure, an item of debris, and a disabled vehicle; and

the at least one resource includes at least one of a repair crew, a road repair equipment, and a budget item.

11. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein:

the historical traffic patterns identify a historical path of travel of one or more vehicles;

the current traffic pattern identifies a current path of travel of one or more vehicles; and

the program instructions to identify the deviation comprise program instructions to identify the deviation further based, at least in part, on the current path of travel and the historical path of travel.

12. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the severity index is based on the current environmental conditions, the current traffic pattern, the historical traffic patterns, a forecast of future traffic patterns, and a forecast of environmental conditions.

13. A computer system for road condition management, the computer system comprising:

one or more computer processors;

one or more computer readable storage media;

program instructions stored on the computer readable storage media for execution by at least one of the one or more processors, the program instructions comprising;

program instructions to identify a first road problem at a first location based, at least in part, on a current traffic pattern and a current environmental conditions at the first location, wherein identifying the first road problem further comprises;

program instructions to generate, a model based, at least in part, on historical traffic information, wherein the model correlates historical environmental conditions to historical traffic patterns;

program instructions to identify a deviation of in the current traffic pattern based, at least in part, on the model, the current environmental conditions, and the current traffic pattern;

program instructions to determine whether an exclusionary rule applies, wherein the exclusionary rule defines an exclusion to the model, and wherein the exclusionary rule identifies a time period and a location; and

program instructions to identify the first road problem in response to identifying the deviation and to determining that the exclusionary rule does not apply;

program instructions to generate an optimized plan for road repairs, wherein the optimized plan identifies one or more road problems that include the first road problem, and wherein the optimized plan is optimized based on a severity index of each of the one or more road problems and an availability of at least one resource; and

program instructions to issue an alert to at least one interface device, wherein the alert describes the first road problem.

14. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the program instructions further comprise:

program instructions to issue a command to a sensor in response to determining that a vehicle is approaching the first location.

15. The computer system of claim 13, wherein:

the first road problem is at least one of a pothole, a lane closure, an item of debris, and a disabled vehicle; and

the at least one resource includes at least one of a repair crew, a road repair equipment, and a budget item.

16. The computer system of claim 13, wherein:

the historical traffic patterns identify a historical path of travel of one or more vehicles;

the current traffic pattern identifies a current path of travel of one or more vehicles; and

the program instructions to identify the deviation comprise program instructions to identify the deviation further based, at least in part, on the current path of travel and the historical path of travel.

17. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the severity index is based on the current environmental conditions, the current traffic pattern, the historical traffic patterns, a forecast of future traffic patterns, and a forecast of environmental conditions.