System for signalling the space available to passengers in a transport service

Abstract

A system for signaling the space available to passengers of a transport system is described, the passenger transport system comprising passenger transport vehicles (T) each comprising a plurality of predetermined sections of space (P1, P2) for passengers associated with respective access openings (A1, A2), comprising: first sensors (S1) installed on board each transport vehicle (T) to detect in real time the number of passengers in each section of space (P1, P2) for passengers; second sensors (S2, S3) installed at a plurality of predetermined waiting areas (P) in the stop stations and / or transit areas (G) in the stop stations to detect in real time the number of people in each waiting and / or transit area; a learning database (DB), adapted to store a data history of the number of passengers and crowding data of the waiting and / or transit areas (P, G) in a plurality of travel times; a processing complex (ECU) configured to estimate a passenger alighting flow and a passenger boarding flow and a space available to passengers; and means (D) for displaying the availability of space for passengers, adapted to provide signaling of the availability of space for passengers or signaling of the unavailability of space for passengers in each of said sections of space (P1, P2) of a transport vehicle.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to passenger transport services and systems, for example public transport systems, and in particular transport systems based on the circulation of automotive vehicles and trains of cars, such as - purely by way of non-limiting example - railway vehicles.

[0002] More specifically, the subject of the present invention is a system for signaling the space available to passengers of a transport system, for example a public transport system, according to claim 1.

[0003] Generally, a passenger transport system comprising a plurality of transport means-whether vehicles or trains of cars-in transit between a plurality of stop stations on one or more urban or extra-urban transport lines of a transport network in a predetermined territory allows a large number of passengers to be transported per vehicle / train. In a vehicle, or in a train of intercommunicating or separate cars, there is a predetermined number of seats and a predetermined free space for standing passengers to stand in. In the present description, free space is intended to mean a space predetermined according to a predefined criterion that is considered suitable for accommodating a standing passenger, depending on the average size of a passenger and the optimal distance between passengers.

[0004] It is not uncommon that, in a train such as a metropolitan railway train, there are more crowded cars (usually near the entrances of the stop stations) where there are no seats available and no free spaces available to accommodate standing passengers, and less crowded cars (usually, at the ends of the train) where some seats are available and the free space to accommodate standing passengers is greater. The crowding of an automotive vehicle provided with a plurality of entrances may also be unbalanced if the passengers are distributed unevenly in the sections of the vehicle associated with the access openings.

[0005] It would be desirable for passengers entering a vehicle or a train to be able to directly access a section of the vehicle or a car of a train where space is available for standing or, for those who need to sit, at least one seat is available. Often, however, it may not be possible to reach a car with available space or free seats after boarding the train if the cars in the train do not communicate, or it may be very difficult if the passenger has to pass through crowded cars. The same applies in the case of long automotive vehicles, where it may be difficult to reach the on-board devices for validating the travel ticket if the passenger enters a crowded section.

[0006] In the prior art, from European patent application EP 3 476 690 from the same Applicant, a system is known for managing the space available to passengers in a transport system, which management system is adapted to continuously monitor the availability of free space for standing and optionally the availability of seats in the different cars of a passenger transport train and is adapted to signal said availability to passengers who are waiting to board the cars of the train, in order to allow said passengers to make their way in advance to the car which has free space. This signaling occurs by means of display means which are adapted to receive signals or data indicative of the space available to passengers in the cars of the train and to provide signaling of the availability or unavailability of free space for passengers in predetermined sections of the train. The display means include, for example, light sources that are integrated into the floor or ceiling of the platform of a stop station and arranged level with the expected location of the openings of the cars of the train, or light sources integrated into the outer wall of the cars of the train, at the access doors of the cars. The light sources are adapted to light up according to a first or a second different mode, for example according to two different colors, preferably the color green to indicate the availability of free space or seats and the color red to indicate the unavailability of free space or seats.

[0007] However, a system for managing the space available to passengers that is based solely on the knowledge of the number of passengers in the cars or in sections of the cars associated with the access openings of a transport means does not meet the need for accurate prediction of the space available to passengers due to said passengers boarding / alighting.

[0008] EP 2 975 561 discloses a method and a system for predicting the capacity of a public-transport vehicle for passengers to board at the stop and for displaying this predicted capacity on remote computer devices or service screens.

[0009] WO 2014 / 068741 discloses an operation planning assist system wherein information about the number of passengers of a plurality of passenger transporting movable bodies at each station is stored; designation of a station is received via an input unit; and the information about the number of passengers of the plurality of movable bodies at the designated station is displayed chronologically in terms of times of departure and arrival of the plurality of movable bodies at the designated station.

[0010] The present invention aims to provide a system for signaling the space available to passengers that is as accurate as possible and that integrates functions of monitoring and predicting the number of passengers in a transport means.

[0011] According to the present invention, this aim is achieved by means of a system for signaling the space available to passengers in a transport system having the features set out in claim 1.

[0012] Particular embodiments form the subject matter of the dependent claims, the content of which is to be understood as an integral part of this description.

[0013] In summary, the present invention is based on the principle of providing a system for signaling the space available to passengers in a transport system according to the estimate of the passenger alighting and boarding flow, said estimate being based on the detection of the number of passengers on board a transport means and on the detection of the number of people waiting for the transport means in predetermined waiting areas of a stop station, as well as on a data history which includes data on the number of passengers in a transport means and crowding data of the waiting areas in a corresponding or related travel time, for example at the same time on another day when the habits and / or behavior of passengers may be classified as similar, or on the occasion of the same travel event or condition, for example an atmospheric condition.

[0014] The data history is constantly updated at the arrival time and departure time of a transport means at each stop station, and is used to train machine learning processing means designed to estimate the passenger alighting and boarding flow.

[0015] Further features and advantages of the invention will be explained in greater detail in the following detailed description of an embodiment thereof, given by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a stop station of a transport network, at which station a transport means has temporarily stopped; Fig. 2 is a simplified block diagram of a system for signaling the space available, which system is the subject of the invention; and Fig. 3 is a block diagram representing an embodiment of the programming structure of the signaling system which is the subject of the invention.

[0016] Fig. 1 shows, purely schematically, a system for signaling the space available to passengers in a transport system, which system is the subject of the invention.

[0017] A transport system comprises a plurality of passenger transport means, each comprising a plurality of predetermined sections of space for passengers that are associated with respective access openings. The figure shows a transport means T such as a train formed by two cars C, each of which has two sections of space for passengers, indicated by reference signs P1 and P2, which may be accessed via corresponding openings A1, A2. In general, the sections of space for passengers may comprise seats and / or a predetermined free space for standing passengers to stand in. The following description is intended to be understood as purely illustrative and the transport means may also be an automotive vehicle formed by a single car, such as for example an articulated vehicle.

[0018] Each transport means is designed to circulate between a plurality of respective stop stations of a transport network in a predetermined territory, and Fig. 1 shows a waiting platform P of a stop station comprising one or more waiting areas for passengers waiting for a transport means, it being possible to access and leave said platform via two transit areas G.

[0019] First sensor means S1 are installed on board each transport means T, which first sensor means are adapted to detect in real time the number of passengers in each of said plurality of sections of space P1, P2 for passengers, said first sensor means being adapted to issue respective signals or data representing the occupation of the space available to passengers in each of said plurality of sections of space for passengers, according to the detected number of passengers.

[0020] Said sensor means S1 comprise, for example, means for filming the interior of the car that are designed to monitor the occupation and use of the space inside the car, such as a plurality of video cameras, for example surveillance cameras, preferably one for each section of available space, that are adapted to film a scene in the associated section of available space, from which scene an integrated or external image recognition system is able to determine the number of passengers in the scene.

[0021] The sensor means S1 are in particular adapted to detect the number of passengers when the access opening A1, A2 to the transport means are closed, for example when the transport means T is traveling between one stop station and the next. The detection is preferably carried out as soon as the transport means has closed the access openings.

[0022] Second sensor means S2 are installed at a plurality of predetermined waiting areas, for example on the platform P, in the stop station, which second sensor means are adapted to detect in real time the number of people in each of said waiting areas and to issue respective crowding signals or data of the waiting area according to the number of people detected. Before the transport means T has arrived at the stop station, the crowding signals or data are indicative of the number of people waiting to board the transport means, and, upon departure of the transport means from the stop station, the crowding signals or data may be indicative of the alighting flow from the transport means that has taken place.

[0023] The sensor means S2 also comprise, for example, means for filming the platform that are designed to monitor the occupation and use of the space of the platform, such as a plurality of video cameras, for example surveillance cameras, preferably one for each predetermined area of the platform, that are adapted to film a scene in the associated area of the platform, from which scene an integrated or external image recognition system is able to determine the number of people in the scene.

[0024] Sensor means S3 are also installed in the areas G of transit to / from the stop stations, for example along the obligatory exit paths from the platform, which sensor means are adapted to detect in real time the number of people and the direction of flow in each of said transit areas and to issue respective transit signals or data according to the number of people detected. Similarly to the sensor means S1 and S2, the sensor means S3 may also advantageously be designed as filming means.

[0025] With reference to the block diagram of Fig. 2, the system further comprises processing means ECU, which include for example a network of processors distributed at the stop stations and on the transport means, and at least one central control unit - interconnected by cable or via radio - that are configured to estimate the space available to passengers in a transport means at a predetermined stop station, by means of machine learning algorithms and advanced statistical models. The processing means ECU are adapted to receive, from the first sensor means S1, occupation signals of the available space in the sections of space for passengers of the transport means T, and, from the second sensor means S2, S3, crowding signals of the waiting and / or transit areas of the stop station toward which the transport means T is heading. The figure shows various groups of sensor means and signaling devices that are indicative of the set of sensor and display devices that are located at a stop station (when a transport means has temporarily stopped). Here and hereinafter, the expression "at a predetermined stop station" is intended to be understood in a broad sense, since the space available to passengers when the transport means is headed toward a stop station may be estimated in advance of the time when the transport means reaches the stop station, in order to provide efficient signaling to people who are standing waiting to board the transport means. In one embodiment, the processing means are distributed in all of the stop stations, from where they receive the signals from the transport means that has stopped and from the stop station itself, and are interconnected in a network to transmit the detected signals, or the results of the processing, to the next stop station along a transport line. The processing means may also be distributed on board the transport means, and may, from here and from the stop stations, communicate with a central unit. Alternatively, it is possible to implement the processing means in the single central unit, providing therefor wireless transmission of the signals or data detected by the on-board sensor means toward repeater modules at the stop stations and transmission via cable of the signals or data received from the on-board sensor means and of the signals or data detected by the sensor means of the stop station from the repeater modules to the central unit.

[0026] Advantageously, the space available to passengers in a transport means is estimated as soon as the transport means has closed the access openings and is preparing to depart toward the next station stop, so as to provide signaling to the passengers as far as possible in advance in order to give them the greatest time possible to position themselves in the easiest place to board the transport means. However, if the departure and arrival stops are sufficiently distant, or when there is a problem with transmitting and processing the images at the departure stop station of the transport means, it is possible to estimate the space available on board when the means is in transit between two stop stations.

[0027] A learning database DB is coupled to the processing means ECU, and is adapted to store a data history including data of the number of passengers in the sections of space for passengers on each transport means, and crowding data of the waiting and / or transit areas, respectively at the arrival time and at the departure time from a station stop, in at least one predetermined travel time.

[0028] The learning database is advantageously designed to store data on the number of passengers and on crowding in a plurality of travel times.

[0029] The learning database is also adapted to store information correlated with an occupation state of the transport means, with a crowding state of the waiting areas and with alighting and boarding flows, for example information on meteorological conditions that influence the rates of use of a transport system.

[0030] The processing means ECU are designed to estimate an alighting flow and a boarding flow of passengers relative to each section of space for passengers of a transport means at a stop station, according to the space occupation signals, crowding signals and data history in a corresponding or related travel time, and to issue signals or data indicative of an estimated space available to passengers according to said estimated alighting flow and said estimated boarding flow. A corresponding travel time includes, for example, a corresponding travel time on a different day of the week or a corresponding travel time in a different week or on the occasion of the same event (even during the same day).

[0031] The processing means ECU are configured to estimate the passenger boarding flow at a stop station according to the crowding data of the waiting areas, and to estimate the passenger alighting flow at a stop station according to the crowding data of the transit areas of the stop station.

[0032] The processing means are also configured to estimate the passenger alighting flow at a stop station according to the historical data which refers to a predetermined number of transport means previously present at the stop station, and / or according to the historical data in a corresponding or related travel time, and / or according to the space occupation signals or data in the sections of space for passengers in the transport means arriving at the stop station.

[0033] Advantageously, data may be stored in the learning database DB that may be correlated with the crowding of the transport means and correlated with the movement from one stop station to another, i.e. not only travel times and / or events but also anomalies in the transport service, weather conditions and in general data that may be correlated with the level of occupation of the transport means.

[0034] The signals or data indicative of the estimated space available to passengers in the sections of the transport means are used by means D for displaying the availability of space for passengers in order to provide signaling of the availability or unavailability of free space for passengers in each of the sections of space of the transport means, for example by means of light sources located level with the location, or the expected location, of the openings A1, A2 of the transport means onto the platform of the stop station.

[0035] Advantageously, in a currently preferred embodiment, the signals or data indicative of an estimated space available to passengers are processed to represent three occupation conditions, respectively a first condition in which the relevant section of space for passengers of the transport means is free or scarcely crowded (the light sources of the display means thus light up in a green color), a second condition in which the relevant section of space for passengers of the transport means is partially occupied (the light sources of the display means thus light up in a yellow or orange color) and a third condition in which the relevant section of space for passengers of the transport means is entirely or almost entirely occupied (the light sources of the display means thus light up in a red color).

[0036] The processing means advantageously also provide means for updating the learning database DB, which updating means are designed to store in the database the current data of the number of passengers and occupation of the space for passengers in the sections of space of the transport means and the crowding data of the waiting and / or transit areas in the stop station, respectively at the arrival time and at the departure time of the transport means at the stop station.

[0037] In one embodiment, the number of passengers is detected at the access and alighting openings of the transport means, and it is also possible that the occupation state of the space for passengers is estimated by attributing different weightings to the number of passengers who are waiting in front of the openings with respect to the number of passengers who are waiting away from the openings.

[0038] Fig. 3 shows a block diagram of one embodiment of the programming structure of the signaling system which is the subject of the invention, comprising a modular architecture.

[0039] Reference sign 100 indicates the main module of the signaling system that is executed by the processing means ECU, located in the central unit. A set of configuration files are provided as inputs to the main module 100. These files contain all the information required to activate the sensor means S1, S2, S3 and in general to interact with the external environment. The configuration files also contain a schematic representation of the transport system to be monitored, for example a list of stop stations, the geographical location of each stop station, the location of the sensor means S2, S3 within each stop station and the list of monitored waiting and / or transit areas.

[0040] Once the main module 100 has been initialized, it generates a plurality of predetermined dependent software modules which are required for operating the system that is the subject of the invention, i.e. it initiates a series of processes and services, including: a communication services module 110 adapted to receive signals or data from the sensor means S1, S2, S3 that are indicated as a whole by 120 in the figure, and from other possible sensors (for example, laser scanning sensors, weight sensors on footboards, etc.) that are indicated as a whole by 130 in the figure; a metadata generator module 140, adapted to access services and the API 145 of the external infrastructure of the stop stations and transport means; a module 150 for controlling external elements, which module is adapted to be connected to controlled external elements 160, such as the display means D of the stop stations, via a radiocommunication system; a database management module 170, adapted to be connected to the learning database DB; a plurality of predictor modules, based on machine learning statistical analysis algorithms, including a module 180 for predicting the behavior of passengers in predetermined travel times or on the occasion of travel events or conditions, a module 190 for predicting the occupation state of a transport means, and a module 200 for predicting crowding of the waiting and / or transit areas of a stop station; a supervisor module 210.

[0041] When all of the previous software modules have been generated, the main module 100 switches to stand-by and waits for specific events to occur, for example commands from external systems, such as commands for deactivation, reset, or control of the display devices.

[0042] The supervisor module 210 creates virtual elements that are copies which correspond to the real elements of the transport system and are enriched with data processing functions, i.e. the module generates a series of processes that are used to monitor a specific real element of the transport system. In the example in Fig. 3, the supervisor module 210 is associated with a vehicle module 300 which generates a virtual vehicle element, a waiting area module 310 which generates a virtual waiting area element, and a transit area module 320 which generates a virtual transit area element. Over time, the supervisor module 210 tracks the events of interest that occur and relate to the virtual elements generated.

[0043] The vehicle module 300 is associated with respective operating modules, for example an operating module 400 for representing the sensor means S1, an operating module 410 for determining the degree of crowding, and an operating module 420 for estimating the occupation of the transport means from the determined degree of crowding.

[0044] The waiting area module 310 and the transit area module 320 are associated with respective operating modules, for example an object detector operating module 500 adapted to detect, for example, the open state of the access doors to the transport means, an operating module 510 for representing the sensor means S2 and S3, respectively, an operating module 520 for detecting events and behavior of people (for example, the quantity of people alighted from the transport means and outflows from the stop stations through the transit areas in different travel times), and an operating module 530 for determining the degree of crowding of the waiting area and of the transit area, respectively.

[0045] Some of the modules described may interact with one another to exchange commands and / or information with the external environment, for example a vehicle module 300 may use the module 150 for controlling the external elements to command controlled elements 160, for example to switch on and off the light sources of the signaling means in the stop stations.

[0046] In the event that the filming means constituting the sensors S1 of the transport means and the sensors S2 of the waiting areas (or the sensors S3 of the transit areas) are not usable, the system is able to operate autonomously using machine learning models to estimate the occupation of the vehicle or the level of crowding in the waiting area on the basis of historical data, and then using the predictive modules 180, 190, 200.

[0047] The communication services module 110 and the metadata generator module 140 are designed to communicate with the sensor means S1, S2, S3, the web services and the API of the infrastructures 145 and in general with all of the external services, in order to receive in real time all of the data required for the system to operate, for example the position and the direction of travel of the transport means, and the video streams from the video cameras constituting the sensor means S1, S2.

[0048] The database management module 170 represents the interface between the processing means ECU and the database DB, in order to acquire the stored historical data and to store new historical data.

[0049] Advantageously, on account of the system of the present invention, the users of a transport system, for example an automotive or railway public transport system, who are waiting for a transport means in a waiting area of a stop station may arrange themselves to be level with the access openings to the arriving transport means following the visual signals of the level of occupation of the sections of space available inside the transport means, so as to arrange themselves to be level with the access openings associated with the sections of the transport means that are less crowded.

Claims

1. A system for signalling the space available to passengers of a transport system comprising passenger transport means (T) each comprising a plurality of predetermined sections of space (P1, P2) for passengers associated with respective access openings (A1, A2), wherein each transport means (T) is designed to circulate between a plurality of respective stop stations of a transport network in a predetermined territory, wherein the system comprises: - first sensor means (S1) installed on board each transport means (T) to detect in real time the number of passengers in each of said plurality of sections of space (P1, P2) for passengers, said first sensor means (S1) being adapted to issue respective space occupation signals or data in each of said plurality of sections of space for passengers, according to the detected number of passengers; - second sensor means (S2) installed at a plurality of predetermined waiting areas (P) in the stop stations and / or third sensor means (S3) installed at a plurality of predetermined transit areas (G) to / from the stop stations of said transport network, to detect in real time the number of people in each of said waiting and / or transit areas, said second and / or third sensor means (S2, S3) being adapted to issue respective crowding signals or data of a corresponding waiting and / or transit area according to the number of people detected; - a learning database (DB), adapted to store a data history including data on the number of passengers in said predetermined sections of space (P1, P2) for passengers for each transport means (T) and crowding data of said predetermined waiting and / or transit areas (P, G), respectively at the arrival time and at the departure time from a stop station, in a plurality of predetermined travel times; - processing means (ECU) configured to estimate the space available to passengers in a predetermined transport means (T) at a predetermined stop station, adapted to receive from said first sensor means (S1) said space occupation signals or data in said sections of space (P1, P2) for passengers of said transport means (T), and from said second and / or third sensor means (S2, S3) said crowding signals or data of the waiting and / or transit areas (P, G) of said stop station for access to said transport means (T), said processing means (ECU) being designed to estimate a passenger alighting flow and a passenger boarding flow relative to each of said sections of space (P1, P2) for passengers according to said space occupation signals or data, said crowding signals or data and said data history in a corresponding or related travel time, and to issue signals or data indicative of an estimated space available to passengers according to the current space occupation signals or data, said estimated alighting flow and said estimated boarding flow; - means (D) for displaying the availability of space for passengers in a transport means (T), adapted to receive said signals or data indicative of the estimated space available to passengers and to provide signalling of the availability of space for passengers or signalling of the unavailability of space for passengers in each of said sections of space (P1, P2) for passengers; and - means for updating the learning database (DB), designed to store in the database the data of number of passengers in the sections of space (P1, P2) for passengers of the transport means (T), and the crowding data of the waiting and / or transit areas (P, G), in the stop station, respectively at the arrival time and at the departure time of the transport means (T) at the stop station.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein said first, second and third sensor means (S1, S2, S3) include surveillance cameras adapted to detect the number of passengers at the openings (A1, A2).

3. The system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said first sensor means (S1) are adapted to detect the number of passengers when the access openings (A1, A2) to the transport means (T) are closed.

4. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said processing means (ECU) are configured to estimate the passenger boarding flow at a stop station according to the crowding signals or data of the waiting areas (P), and to estimate the passenger alighting flow at a stop station according to the crowding signals or data of the transit areas (G) of the stop station.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the transit areas (G) from the stop stations include the exit paths from the waiting areas (P) of the stop stations.

6. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said processing means (ECU) are configured to estimate the passenger alighting flow at a stop station according to the historical data referring to a predetermined number of transport means previously present at the stop station.

7. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said processing means (ECU) are configured to estimate the passenger alighting flow at a stop station according to the historical data in a corresponding or related travel time.

8. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said processing means (ECU) are configured to estimate the passenger alighting flow at a stop station according to the space occupation signals or data in said sections of space (P1, P2) for passengers of said transport means (T).

9. The system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said learning database (DB) is adapted to further store information correlated with an occupation state of the transport means (T), with a crowding state of the waiting areas (P) and with alighting and boarding flows.

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