System and Methods for Distributed Tracking of Public Transit Vehicles

• US 20100197325A1
• Filed: 02/05/2010
• Published: 08/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Universal Metaphor, LLC
• Original Assignee: Universal Metaphor, LLC
• Inventors: Dredge, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 8,433,341 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

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.

Claims

1. A method for providing information to an individual who is riding, or preparing to ride, one of a plurality of public transit vehicles, each vehicle in the plurality of vehicles having a scheduled route, the method comprising:

receiving timestamped location data from a location-aware device possessed by the individual;

in a computer process, determining a single vehicle in the plurality of vehicles, the single vehicle having a scheduled route that corresponds to the received timestamped location data; and

transmitting, to the location-aware device, information regarding the timeliness of the single vehicle along its scheduled route.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the public transit vehicle is an automobile, a bus, a train, an airplane, or a boat.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the location-aware device is a smartphone.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the location-aware device is not located within the public transit vehicle.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the vehicle includes receiving, from the location-aware device, a textual identifier of the vehicle.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the vehicle includes determining that the timestamped location data corresponds to a location served by only one scheduled route.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the vehicle includes determining that the timestamped location data corresponds to a combined time and location unambiguously served by only one scheduled route.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the vehicle includes:

determining that the timestamped location data corresponds to a time and a location served by several scheduled routes; and

choosing a vehicle from among the several scheduled routes.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the single vehicle includes determining that the single vehicle is the same as a vehicle previously determined using location data from the location-aware device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the single vehicle includes correlating location data received from at least one other, co-moving location-aware device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the information includes an estimated time of arrival at a regular stopping location along the route.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the regular stopping location is the individual'"'"'s final destination on the vehicle.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting information regarding the timeliness of the vehicle along its scheduled route to a device possessed by a second individual.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the information comprises data, an actual or synthesized human voice, musical tones, or dynamically-generated images or video.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving, from the first individual'"'"'s location-aware device, second information relating to a condition of the public transit vehicle or its passengers; and

transmitting the second information to the second individual'"'"'s device.

16. A method for providing information regarding a plurality of public transit vehicles, each vehicle in the plurality of vehicles having a scheduled route, the method comprising:

receiving a collection of 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 computer process, for each vehicle in the plurality of vehicles, determining which location data corresponds to that vehicle, thereby determining a collection of stops remaining on the scheduled route of the vehicle;

in a computer process, for each vehicle in the plurality of vehicles, computing an estimated time of arrival for a stop in the collection of stops; and

transmitting at least one of the estimated times of arrival to a second device not in the plurality of location-aware devices.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein at least one location-aware device in the plurality of location-aware devices is a smartphone.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the second device is not located within any of the plurality of public transit vehicles.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein determining which location data corresponds to a given vehicle includes receiving, from a location-aware device, a textual identifier of the given vehicle.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein determining which location data corresponds to a given vehicle includes correlating location data received from a plurality of location-aware devices possessed by individual riders of the given vehicle.

21. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

transmitting information regarding the timeliness of one of the vehicles along its scheduled route to the second device.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

receiving, from the location-aware devices possessed by a plurality of individuals riding on one of the plurality of public transit vehicles, information relating to a condition of the vehicle or its passengers; and

transmitting the information to the second device.

23. The method of claim 16, wherein the second device is a location-aware device.

24. A computer program product, embodied in a tangible, computer-readable medium, the computer program product comprising:

program code for receiving a collection of 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 vehicle in the plurality of vehicles, which location data corresponds to that vehicle, thereby determining a collection of stops remaining on the scheduled route of the vehicle;

program code for computing, for each vehicle in the plurality of vehicles, an estimated time of arrival for a stop in the collection of stops; 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.

25. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the program code for determining the vehicle uses a textual identifier of the vehicle received from the location-aware device.

26. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the program code for determining the vehicle includes program code for determining that the timestamped location data corresponds to a time and a location served by only one scheduled route.

27. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the program code for determining the vehicle includes program code for:

determining that the timestamped location data corresponds to a time and a location served by several scheduled routes; and

choosing a vehicle from among the several scheduled routes.

28. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the program code for determining the vehicle includes program code for determining that the vehicle is the same as a vehicle previously determined using location data from the location-aware device.

29. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the program code for determining the vehicle includes program code for correlating location data received from at least one other, co-moving location-aware device.

30. Apparatus for providing information regarding a plurality of public transit vehicles, each vehicle in the plurality of vehicles having a scheduled route, the apparatus comprising:

a receiver for receiving a collection of 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 vehicle in the plurality of vehicles, which location data corresponds to that vehicle, thereby determining a collection of stops remaining on the scheduled route of the vehicle, and (ii) computing, for each vehicle in the plurality of vehicles, an estimated time of arrival for a stop in the collection of stops; 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.

31. Apparatus for receiving information regarding a public transit vehicle in a plurality of such vehicles, each vehicle in the plurality of vehicles having a scheduled route, the apparatus comprising:

a first receiver for wirelessly receiving a plurality of data signals;

a processor for processing the data signals to determine the location of the apparatus;

a transmitter for transmitting data pertaining to the location of the apparatus to a computing device over a wireless communications network; and

a second receiver for receiving, from the computing device, information regarding a public transit vehicle that is proximal to the apparatus.

32. Apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the plurality of data signals do not contain data pertaining to the location of the apparatus.

33. Apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the first receiver and the second receiver are the same.

34. Apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the transmitter and the second receiver comprise a transceiver.

35. Apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the information pertaining to public transit vehicles contains information pertaining to the timeliness of the vehicles along the scheduled routes of those vehicles.

36. Apparatus according to claim 31, further comprising an input device selected from the group consisting of:

a keyboard, a button, a keypad, a camera, and a microphone.

37. Apparatus according to claim 36, wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit data that is input by an individual using the input device.

38. Apparatus according to claim 31, further comprising an output display for displaying the information pertaining to public transit vehicles.

39. Apparatus according to claim 38, wherein the output display comprises a video display, an audio display, or a text display.