Traffic monitoring apparatus and method of using the same

A traffic monitoring apparatus comprising:

• a distributed acoustic sensor (DAS) for acquiring waterfall data, wherein the waterfall data includes a generation position of a vibration on a roadway adjacent to the DAS, a generation time of the vibration, and an amplitude of the vibration;
• and
• a processor connected to the DAS, wherein the processor is configured to:
• receive the waterfall data from the DAS,
• preprocess the waterfall data,
• estimate a parameter of the roadway based on the preprocessed waterfall data,
• separate the preprocessed waterfall data into a plurality of patches, wherein a size of each of the plurality of patches is based on the estimated parameter of the roadway, and
• process each of the plurality of patches to estimate a least one traffic flow property of the roadway.

A traffic monitoring method comprising:

• acquiring waterfall data, wherein the waterfall data includes a generation position on a roadway of a vibration, a generation time of the vibration, and an amplitude of the vibration;
• preprocessing the waterfall data;
• separating the preprocessed waterfall data into a plurality of patches, wherein a first patch of the plurality of patches has a first size, and a second patch of the plurality of patches has a second size different from the first size;
• and
• processing each of the plurality of patches to estimate at least one traffic flow property of the roadway.