Traffic information gathering via cellular phone networks for intelligent transportation systems

• US 6,577,946 B2
• Filed: 07/10/2001
• Issued: 06/10/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Makor Issues & Rights Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Makor Issues & Rights Ltd.
• Inventors: Myr, David
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TAN QUANG
• Application Number:
  US09/901,923
• Publication Number:
  US 20030014181A1
• Time in Patent Office: 700 Days
• Field of Search: 701/117, 701/118, 701/119, 340/905, 340/934, 455/456, 455/457, 455/458, 455/507, 455/521
• US Class Current: 701/117
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0104 Measuring and analyzing of parameters relative to traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles

Abstract

A system and method for controlling traffic flow is disclosed. Location information is obtained and continuously updated from vehicular-based cellular phones. This information is processed and used as an input to Intelligent Transportation Systems, in particular to Real Time Urban Traffic Guidance for Vehicular Congestion and Intelligent Traffic Control Systems. Position information records of vehicle based phone coordinates, timing, etc, are collected from the cellular networks, updated and stored in a database. Those records together with digital maps are fed into mathematical models and algorithms to construct lists of vehicles traveling on various road sections, traffic loads at particular road sections, real time travel times along all road sections resulting from traffic congestion in particular areas, turning loads for signal intersections, for ral time functioning of Intelligent Transportation System, in particular of Intelligent Traffic Control Systems, and Route Guidance Systems.

Claims

1. A method of acquiring information from a cellular network provider having a plurality of cell phones for use within a regional roadway system having a plurality of road sections, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) obtaining data within a predetermined real time frame based on a respective position of each of the plurality of cell phones in the regional roadway system;

(b) assigning a respective identifier to each of the plurality of cell phones, the identifier being unrelated to the plurality of cell phones;

(c) storing the identifiers in a database together with the corresponding recorded signal times and position coordinates;

(d) determining whether each cell phone is located in a moving vehicle; and

(e) creating a list of all cell phones currently identified as located in moving vehicles based on the determining step (d).

2. The method according to claim 1, for use with a Traffic Service Center, the method further comprising the steps of:

(f) compiling and updating a profile in the Traffic Service Center for a sequence of real time positions of each cell phone located in the moving vehicle;

(g) positioning each cell phone located in the moving vehicle onto a corresponding road section of the regional roadway system according to the position coordinates of the cell phone relative to that road section and also to further road sections;

(h) eliminating untenable cell phone positions by analyzing a series of recorded positions and correlating them with the further road sections; and

(i) making imputations for missing cell phone positions by analyzing the series of recorded positions and correlating them with the further road sections.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

(j) calculating a respective path for each of the plurality of cell phones determined in step (d) to be located in a moving vehicle;

(k) determining a respective direction of movement of each one of the plurality of cell phones based on the calculation of step (j); and

(l) estimating average traveling velocities of all cell phones.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein step (g) is based on an analysis of previous cell phone positions within the plurality of road sections.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(f) calculating a respective path for each of the plurality of cell phones determined in step (d) located in a moving vehicle;

(g) determining a respective direction of movement of each of the plurality of cell phones determined in step (d) located in a moving vehicle; and

(h) estimating a respective average traveling velocity of each of the plurality of cell phones determined in step (d) located in a moving vehicle.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(f) determining if multiple cell phones of the plurality of cell phones are within a common vehicle based on at least one of i) a respective position and ii) a respective direction of travel of each of the multiple cell phones;

(g) combining the multiple cell phones into a single vehicular cluster of a plurality of vehicle clusters based on the determining step (f);

(h) calculating a respective position for each vehicular cluster of the plurality of vehicle clusters based on respective positions of the cell phones located within a respective vehicle cluster;

(i) calculating a continuous path for each one of the plurality of vehicular clusters;

(j) determining a respective direction of movement for each vehicle cluster based on the calculations of step (i);

(k) estimating a respective average velocity of each vehicle cluster; and

(l) storing the respective position for each vehicle cluster in a database.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(f) maintaining and updating for each road section the list of vehicles presently moving on it;

(g) maintaining and updating for each road section the list of vehicles that exited it within a predetermined time period;

(h) maintaining and updating for each road section an estimate of current average travel time for that section;

(i) estimating and updating the current status of the traffic and the traffic flow at each road section; and

(j) estimating turning movements and turing proportions of vehicles on the plurality of road sections and on adjacent road intersections.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising the step of:

(k) estimating a ratio of vehicles with cell phones to a total number of vehicles travelling within a predetermined region of the regional roadway system.

9. The method according to claim 1 for use with a Traffic Service Center, the method further comprising the steps of:

(f) acquiring further information for the plurality of road sections from at least one further acquisition system;

(g) correlating the information with the further information acquired in step (f);

(h) estimating traffic flow based on the correlation in step (g);

(i) providing a real time interactive communication between at least one of i) the Traffic Service Center and ii) at least one Automatic Traffic Signal Control System; and

(j) distributing the traffic flow information obtained in step (h) to at least one Automatic Traffic Signal Controller and to at least one Automatic Traffic Signal Control System.

10. The method according to claim 1 for use with a Traffic Service Center, the method further comprising the steps of:

(f) collecting, processing and storing real time road traffic data for the plurality of road sections within a predetermined geographical region;

(g) collecting, processing and storing respective further real time road traffic data for at least one further geographical region;

(h) updating a database of the Traffic Service Center in real time based on the collecting steps (f) and (g); and

(i) communicating with at least one of a vehicle based navigation system and an Internet based traffic information service.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the regional roadway system includes a plurality of intersections, the method further comprising the steps of:

(f) processing historical statistical traffic data for the plurality of road sections and the plurality of intersections based on a predetermined time interval; and

(g) compiling a first prediction and a second prediction of traffic volumes and travel times for all road sections and intersections based on the processing step (f),

wherein the first prediction is for a first time period and the second prediction is for a second time period greater that the first time period and is based on a different method.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data in step (a) is obtained one of i) continuously and ii) at a predetermined time interval.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining step (d) is based on at least one of i) a calculated velocity of the cell phone being within a predetermined range of values and ii) a position of the cell phone being a position relative to the regional roadway system.

14. A method for acquiring traffic information from a plurality of vehicles traveling along a section of a roadway for use with a wireless telephone network, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) obtaining respective position data of a plurality of telephones communicating with the wireless telephone network;

(b) determining if multiple cell phones of the plurality of cell phones are within a common vehicle based on at least one of i) a respective position and ii) a respective direction of travel of each of the multiple cell phones;

(c) combining the multiple cell phones into a single vehicular cluster of a plurality of vehicle clusters based on the determining step (b);

(d) generating a path profile for each of the plurality of vehicles; and

(e) calculating a traffic load based on the path profiles generated instep (d).

15. The method according to claim 14 for use with a traffic control system, the method further comprising the step of:

(f) providing the traffic load calculated in step (e) to the traffic control system.

16. The method according to claim 14, wherein the section of roadway includes at least one intersection, the method further comprising the step of:

(f) calculating traffic volumes at all intersections.

17. The method according to claim 14 further comprising the steps of:

(f) calculating predictions of travel times for all sections of the roadway.

18. The method according to claim 14 further comprising the steps of:

(f) determining if more than one telephone is located within a single vehicle of the plurality of vehicles; and

(g) creating a single record of position data based on the determining step (g).

19. The method according to claim 14, wherein the position data is only obtained for telephones which are activated.

20. The method according to claim 14, wherein the data for each of the plurality of telephones is obtained from a provider of the wireless telephone network.

21. A method for determining a vehicular traffic load along a section of a roadway within a region for use with a wireless telephone network having a plurality of wireless telephones, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) obtaining a record for each of the plurality of wireless telephones within the region from the telephone network;

(b) determining if each telephone of the plurality of wireless telephones is within a moving vehicle;

(c) deleting a respective record for each wireless telephone determined to be stationary based on step (b);

(d) determining if multiple cell phones of the plurality of cell phones are within a common vehicle based on at least one of i) a respective position and ii) a respective direction of travel of each of the multiple cell phones;

(e) combining the multiple cell phones into a single vehicle cluster of a plurality of vehicle clusters based on the determining step (d);

(f) creating a path profile for each vehicle cluster based on determining step (e); and

(g) calculating the vehicular traffic load based on the path profiles created in step (f).

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein step (c) further comprises the steps of:

(h) determining if any wireless telephone having a record obtained in step (a) is outside the section of the roadway and can not be put on that section; and

(i) deleting a respective record for each wireless telephone determined to be outside the section of the roadway based on step (h).

23. The method according to claim 21, wherein the record provided by the telephone network in step (a) includes at least a respective position data of each wireless telephone within the region.

24. The method according to claim 21, wherein each wireless