# US 2017/0287327 A1 · Traffic flow rates

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- Number: US 2017/0287327 A1
- Document ID: US20170287327A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 15/626,449
- Filed: 2017-06-19
- Published: 2017-10-05
- Earliest claimed: 2014-03-03
- Assignees: Inrix, Inc.
- Applicants: Inrix Inc.
- Inventors: Christopher L. SCOFIELD
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20170287327A1

## CPC

- B60W 40/04: Traffic conditions
- A61B 5/02055: {Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular condition and temperature}
- A61B 5/4845: {Toxicology, e.g. by detection of alcohol, drug or toxic products (A61B5/4848 takes precedence)}
- B60R 16/0236: {for economical driving}
- B60W 30/143: {Speed control (B60W30/16 takes precedence)}
- B60W 40/08: related to drivers or passengers
- B60W 40/09: Driving style or behaviour
- G01C 21/3415: {Dynamic re-routing, e.g. recalculating the route when the user deviates from calculated route or after detecting real-time traffic data or accidents}
- G01C 21/3469: {Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects}
- G01C 21/3617: {using user history, behaviour, conditions or preferences, e.g. predicted or inferred from previous use or current movement}
- G01C 21/3655: {Timing of guidance instructions}
- G01C 21/3667: {Display of a road map (G01C21/3614 takes precedence; guidance using 3D or perspective road maps G01C21/3635)}
- G01C 21/3682: {output of POI information on a road map (G01C21/3614, G01C21/3685 take precedence)}
- G05D 1/00: Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots (drive control systems specially adapted for autonomous road vehicles B60W60/00)
- G05D 1/0011: {associated with a remote control arrangement}
- G05D 1/22: Command input arrangements
- G06F 16/29: Geographical information databases
- G06N 20/00: Machine learning
- G06Q 20/102: {Bill distribution or payments}
- G06Q 30/0283: Price estimation or determination
- G06Q 40/08: Insurance
- G07B 15/00: Arrangements or apparatus for collecting fares, tolls or entrance fees at one or more control points (handling coins or valuable papers, e.g. banknotes, G07D; apparatus for vending or hiring articles or services activated by coins, credit cards, paper currency or the like G07F7/00, G07F17/00)
- G07B 15/063: {using wireless information transmission between the vehicle and a fixed station (identification of vehicles G08G)}
- G07C 5/008: {communicating information to a remotely located station (transmission systems for measured values G08C)}
- G08G 1/00: Traffic control systems for road vehicles (arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00 {; automatic vehicle control B62D})
- G08G 1/0112: {from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]}
- G08G 1/012: {from other sources than vehicle or roadside beacons, e.g. mobile networks}
- G08G 1/0129: {for creating historical data or processing based on historical data}
- G08G 1/0133: {for classifying traffic situation}
- G08G 1/0141: {for traffic information dissemination}
- G08G 1/0145: {for active traffic flow control}
- G08G 1/065: by counting the vehicles in a section of the road or in a parking area, i.e. comparing incoming count with outgoing count
- G08G 1/07: Controlling traffic signals
- G08G 1/093: {Data selection, e.g. prioritizing information, managing message queues, selecting the information to be output}
- G08G 1/0962: having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages
- G08G 1/0965: responding to signals from another vehicle, e.g. emergency vehicle
- G08G 1/0967: Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits (transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968)
- G08G 1/096725: {where the received information generates an automatic action on the vehicle control}
- G08G 1/096741: {where the source of the transmitted information selects which information to transmit to each vehicle}
- G08G 1/096775: {where the origin of the information is a central station}
- G08G 1/096791: {where the origin of the information is another vehicle}
- G08G 1/096811: {where the route is computed offboard}
- G08G 1/096822: {where the segments of the route are transmitted to the vehicle at different locations and times}
- G08G 1/096838: {where the user preferences are taken into account or the user selects one route out of a plurality}
- G08G 1/097: Supervising of traffic control systems, e.g. by giving an alarm if two crossing streets have green light simultaneously
- H04B 1/3822: specially adapted for use in vehicles (H04B1/3827 takes precedence)
- H04B 7/18504: {Aircraft used as relay or high altitude atmospheric platform}
- H04L 9/3247: {involving digital signatures}
- H04L 67/02: based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
- H04L 67/306: User profiles
- H04M 15/60: {based on actual use of network resources}
- H04W 4/024: Guidance services
- H04W 4/029: Location-based management or tracking services
- H04W 4/40: for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
- H04W 4/42: for mass transport vehicles, e.g. buses, trains or aircraft
- H04W 4/50: Service provisioning or reconfiguring
- H04W 12/08: Access security
- A61B 5/024: Measuring pulse rate or heart rate
- A61B 5/0531: Measuring skin impedance
- B60W 2040/0809: {Driver authorisation; Driver identity check}
- B60W 2040/0872: {Driver physiology}
- B60W 2050/0075: {Automatic parameter input, automatic initialising or calibrating means}
- B60W 2540/22: Psychological state; Stress level or workload
- B60W 2552/00: Input parameters relating to infrastructure
- B60W 2554/00: Input parameters relating to objects
- B60W 2555/20: Ambient conditions, e.g. wind or rain
- B60W 2556/10: Historical data
- B60W 2710/1044: Output speed change rate
- B60W 2710/18: Braking system
- B60W 2720/10: Longitudinal speed
- G01C 21/3608: {using speech input, e.g. using speech recognition}
- G06Q 50/40: Business processes related to the transportation industry (shipping G06Q10/083)
- G06Q 2240/00: Transportation facility access, e.g. fares, tolls or parking
- H04W 4/48: for in-vehicle communication
- B60W: CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT
- A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D)
- B60R: VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S)
- G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- G06N: COMPUTING ARRANGEMENTS BASED ON SPECIFIC COMPUTATIONAL MODELS
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G07B: TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
- G07C: TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE
- G08G: TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS (guiding railway traffic, ensuring the safety of railway traffic B61L; arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00; radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91, G01S15/88, G01S17/88; {radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93})
- H04B: TRANSMISSION
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)
- H04M: TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION (circuits for controlling other apparatus via a telephone cable and not involving telephone switching apparatus G08)
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)

## Abstract

One or more techniques and/or systems are provided for determining a scaled flow rate of traffic for a road segment. For example, probe flow rate information is determined based upon locational information from one or more probe vehicles on a road segment (e.g., a flow rate of probe vehicles corresponding to a sum of probe vehicles identified from time stamped global positioning system coordinates provided by the probe vehicles). Satellite imagery of the road segment is analyzed to identify a count of vehicles on the road segment. Scale factor and offset information is estimated based upon the probe flow rate information and the count of vehicles. The scale factor and offset information is used to scale the probe flow rate information to determine a scaled flow rate that may be a relatively accurate flow rate of traffic, which may correspond to an inferred traffic volume along the road segment.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A system for determining a flow rate of traffic for a road segment, comprising:
a traffic modeling component, implemented via a processor, configured to:
determine probe flow rate information based upon locational information from one or more probe vehicles on a road segment;
obtain satellite imagery of the road segment;
analyze the satellite imagery to identify a count of vehicles on the road segment for a unit of time; and
determine a flow rate based upon the probe flow rate information and the count of vehicles for the unit of time.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, the traffic modeling component configured to:
identify a linear feature for identifying the road segment within the satellite imagery.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, the traffic modeling component configured to:
overlay a road network onto the satellite imagery for identifying the road segment within the satellite imagery.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, the traffic modeling component configured to:
identify a parallelogram for identifying a vehicle within the satellite imagery.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, the traffic modeling component configured to:
determine a ground flow rate based upon the count of vehicles; and
determine the flow rate based upon the probe flow rate information and the ground flow rate.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, the traffic modeling component configured to:
determine the flow rate for a second unit of time, different than the unit of time, in real-time based upon the probe flow rate information corresponding to real-time locational information of the one or more probe vehicles.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, the traffic modeling component configured to:
obtain real-time locational information from a set of probe vehicles traveling along the road segment; and
determine a real-time flow rate for the road segment based upon the real-time locational information.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, the locational information corresponding to a timestamp and global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of at least one of a vehicle head unit, a vehicle computing device, or a mobile device located within a vehicle.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, the traffic modeling component configured to:
estimate scale factor and offset information based upon the probe flow rate information and the count of vehicles for the unit of time; and
average the scale factor and offset information based upon at least one of a road type, a day of week, a number of lanes per road, a season, road construction, or a weather condition.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, the traffic modeling component configured to:
utilize vehicle speed information and the probe flow rate information to determine a traffic density.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, the flow rate corresponding to inferred traffic volume along the road segment.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, the traffic modeling component configured to:
utilize an image analysis algorithm to identify the count of vehicles from the satellite imagery.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The system of claim 12, the traffic modeling component configured to:
utilize the locational information to identify one or more identified probe vehicles on the road segment; and
adjust the image analysis algorithm based upon the one or more identified probe vehicles.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The system of claim 13, the traffic modeling component configured to:
adjust at least one of an edge detection function or a threshold used by the image analysis algorithm based upon the one or more identified probe vehicles.

### Claim 15

A method for determining a scaled flow rate of traffic for a road segment, comprising:
determining probe flow rate information based upon locational information from one or more probe vehicles on a road segment;
obtaining imagery of the road segment;
analyzing the imagery to identify a count of vehicles on the road segment for a unit of time;
estimating scale factor and offset information based upon the probe flow rate information and the count of vehicles for the unit of time; and
scaling the probe flow rate information based upon the scale factor and offset information to determine a scaled flow rate.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The method of claim 15, comprising:
obtaining real-time locational information from a set of probe vehicles traveling along the road segment; and
applying the scale factor and offset information to the real-time locational information to determine a real-time flow rate for the road segment.

### Claim 17 (depends on 15)

The method of claim 15, comprising:
utilizing an image analysis algorithm to identify the count of vehicles from the imagery;
utilizing the locational information to identify one or more identified probe vehicles on the road segment; and
adjusting the image analysis algorithm based upon the one or more identified probe vehicles.

### Claim 18 (depends on 15)

The method of claim 15, the imagery comprising an image.

### Claim 19 (depends on 15)

The method of claim 15, the imagery comprising a video.

### Claim 20

A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions which when executed perform a method for determining a scaled flow rate of traffic for a road segment, comprising:
determining flow rate information associated with a road segment;
obtaining satellite imagery of a road segment;
analyzing the satellite imagery to identify a count of vehicles on the road segment for a unit of time;
estimating scale factor and offset information based upon the flow rate information and the count of vehicles for the unit of time; and
scaling the flow rate information based upon the scale factor and offset information to determine a scaled flow rate.