Automatic detection of segment width expansion using probe data

A computer program product of a navigation system comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable program code instructions stored therein, the computer-executable program code instructions comprising program code instructions to:

• partition subject probe data associated with a segment into a number of clusters with respect to a lateral dimension of the subject probe data using a clustering algorithm;
• identify two width-defining clusters within historical probe data and within the subject probe data based at least in part on statistical measures for each cluster, wherein the width-defining clusters are representative of width-defining lanes of the segment;
• automatically determine a width expansion measure and a width narrowing measure in real-time or near real-time for the segment based at least in part on comparing statistical measures for the two width-defining clusters within the subject probe data to statistical measures for corresponding clusters within historical probe data associated with the segment, wherein the statistical measure of subject lateral positional indicators is a mean d-value of each cluster of the subject probe data calculated based on a center line vector used for calculating d-values of the historical probe data;
• receive a request from a vehicle approaching the segment for the width expansion measure and the width narrowing measure of the segment;
• provide, based on the width expansion measure and the width narrowing measure, an indication of whether a width of the segment has expanded or narrowed to be rendered as an alert at a graphical interface of a device of the vehicle;
• and
• cause the vehicle to adjust a navigational route based on the width expansion measure and the width narrowing measure.

A method implemented by a navigation system comprising:

• partitioning subject probe data associated with a segment into a number of clusters with respect to a lateral dimension of the subject probe data using a clustering algorithm;
• identifying two width-defining clusters within historical probe data and within the subject probe data based at least in part on statistical measures for each cluster, wherein the width-defining clusters are representative of width-defining lanes of the segment;
• automatically determining a width expansion measure and a width narrowing measure in real-time or near real-time for the segment based at least in part on comparing statistical measures for the two width-defining clusters within the subject probe data to statistical measures for corresponding clusters within historical probe data associated with the segment, wherein the statistical measure of subject lateral positional indicators is a mean d-value of each cluster of the subject probe data calculated based on a center line vector used for calculating d-values of the historical probe data;
• receiving a request from a vehicle approaching the segment for the width expansion measure and the width narrowing measure of the segment;
• providing, based on the width expansion measure and the width narrowing measure, an indication of whether a width of the segment has expanded or narrowed to be rendered as an alert at a graphical interface of a device of the vehicle;
• and
• causing the vehicle to adjust a navigational route based on the width expansion measure and the width narrowing measure.