Determination of an average traffic speed

A method for determining and transmitting an average traffic speed from a plurality of navigation devices, the method comprising:

• providing a path segment having a starting location and an ending location;
• providing a time interval having a staring time and an ending time, wherein the path segment and time interval are defined by an end-user computing device in communication with a processor;
• retrieving probe data, by the processor, from the plurality of navigation devices, each navigation device traveling over at least a portion of the path segment for at least a portion of the time interval, wherein the probe data for each navigation device comprises an instantaneous velocity of the navigation device, a geographic location of the navigation device, and a timestamp associated with the geographic location and the instantaneous velocity;
• calculating, by the processor, a total distance traveled and a total time traveled by the plurality of navigation devices over the path segment and within the time interval using the instantaneous velocities of the plurality of navigation devices;
• determining, by the processor, the average traffic speed for the path segment and time interval based on the calculated total distance traveled and the total time traveled;
• and
• transmitting, over the connected network, the determined average traffic speed to the end-user computing device.

An apparatus for determining an average traffic speed from a plurality of navigation devices, the apparatus comprising:

• at least one processor;
• and
• at least one memory including computer program code for one or more programs;
• the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least perform:
• retrieve probe data from the plurality of navigation devices, each navigation device traveling over at least a portion of a path segment for at least a portion of a time interval, wherein the path segment comprises a starting location and an ending location and the time interval comprises a starting time and an ending time, and wherein the probe data for each navigation device comprises an instantaneous velocity of the navigation device, a geographic location of the navigation device, and a timestamp associated with the geographic location and the instantaneous velocity;
• calculate a total distance traveled and a total time traveled by the plurality of navigation devices over the path segment and within the time interval using the instantaneous velocities of the plurality of navigation devices;
• and
• determine the average traffic speed for the path segment and time interval based on the calculated total distance traveled and the total time traveled.