Data processing method, data processing device, traffic signal controlling method, and computer program

Abstract

This data processing method comprises: a step in which conditions including a road section which includes a series of a plurality of intersections, and including a traveling direction of a vehicle in the road section and a time slot, and simulation results from a traffic simulator conforming to a designated signal control parameter related to the plurality of intersections are acquired; a step in which the simulation results are output; a step in which, after an adjustment of the signal control parameter, the simulation results are updated using the adjustment, and the updated simulation results are used to evaluate the adjustment for a change in situation with respect to the conditions; and a step in which data related to the results of the evaluation are output.

Description

Data Processing Method, Data Processing Apparatus, Traffic Signal Control Method, and Computer Program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a data processing method, a data processing apparatus, a traffic signal control method, and a computer program. This application claims priority based on Japanese Application No. 2024-221595 filed on December 18, 2024, and incorporates all the descriptions described in the above-mentioned Japanese application.

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a method of predicting future link travel time using current traffic data and accumulated past traffic data. Patent Document 2 describes a method of calculating the link travel time of a target link by subtracting the sum of the section 1 travel time of the upstream section and the section 2 travel time of the downstream section from the travel time of the entire section formed by three sections of the target link, the upstream section, and the downstream section.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-173996 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-22649

[0004] The data processing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes steps of obtaining a simulation result by a traffic simulator according to a road section including a plurality of consecutive intersections, a traveling direction of a vehicle in the road section, a condition including a time zone, and a specification of signal control parameters regarding the plurality of intersections; outputting the simulation result; after adjusting the signal control parameters, updating the simulation result by the adjustment, and evaluating the adjustment regarding a change in the situation for the condition using the updated simulation result; and outputting data regarding the result of the evaluation.

[0005] The present disclosure may be realized not only as a method including the above-described characteristic processing but also as a program for causing a computer to execute such characteristic processing or as a system and an apparatus including a characteristic configuration. The present disclosure may be realized as a semiconductor integrated circuit or a processing circuit that realizes part or all of the system and the apparatus.

[0006] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the data processing device. Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a user's work procedure and input data for the data processing device. Figure 3 is a flowchart of an example simulation. Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example evaluation report. Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example evaluation report.

[0007] To improve traffic flow in congested road sections, it is necessary to adjust control parameters such as the intersection cycle length and green light duration set in the traffic signal controller. However, Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not describe methods for evaluating whether adjustments to control parameters by users, such as traffic managers, are effective in shortening link travel times or alleviating congestion.

[0008] In light of the aforementioned conventional problems, this disclosure aims to enable the evaluation of the effectiveness of adjusting signal control parameters.

[0009] According to this disclosure, a data processing method, etc., is available that can evaluate the effectiveness of adjusting signal control parameters. Furthermore, according to this disclosure, a data processing method, etc., is available that can evaluate the effectiveness of adjusting signal control parameters without actually adjusting them.

[0010] The embodiments of this disclosure are outlined below. (1) The data processing method according to this embodiment includes the steps of: obtaining simulation results from a traffic simulator that conform to the specification of a road section including a plurality of consecutive intersections, the direction of travel of vehicles in the road section, conditions including a time period, and signal control parameters relating to the plurality of intersections; outputting the simulation results; adjusting the signal control parameters, updating the simulation results based on the adjustments, evaluating the adjustments for changes in the conditions using the updated simulation results; and outputting data relating to the results of the evaluation.

[0011] According to the data processing method of this embodiment, based on the simulation results updated by the adjustment, it is possible to evaluate the changes in the situation due to the adjustment of signal control parameters at intersections included in the target section (road section). Therefore, based on the above simulation results, the effectiveness of the adjustment of signal control parameters specified by the user can be evaluated. Thus, the effectiveness of the adjustment of signal control parameters can be evaluated without actually adjusting the signal control parameters.

[0012] (2) The data processing method described in (1) above may further include a step of determining whether or not there is congestion at the multiple intersections in the direction of travel, in order from upstream to downstream, using the updated simulation results, and the evaluation step may include a step of evaluating whether the result of the determination changes from having congestion to not having congestion. In this way, for the multiple intersections included in the target section, it is possible to determine whether or not congestion at the intersections can be resolved by adjusting the signal control parameters, based on the simulation results that have been updated by the adjustments one by one, starting from the upstream intersection.

[0013] (3) The data processing method described in (2) above may be performed on the next intersection after the intersection if the result of the determination for one of the multiple intersections is that there is no congestion, and if the result of the determination for the intersection is that there is congestion, the identification data for the intersection may be output.

[0014] (4) The data processing method described in (3) above may output signal control parameters for each of the multiple intersections if all of the results of the judgments for the multiple intersections indicate no congestion. In this way, the user can determine the signal control parameters for each intersection in cases where congestion in the target section can be resolved based on the simulation results.

[0015] (5) The traffic signal control method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may control the traffic signals for the plurality of intersections using the data processing method described in (4) above. In this way, congestion can be resolved.

[0016] (6) The data processing device according to the embodiment of this embodiment comprises a memory for storing machine-readable instructions and a processing circuit for executing the instructions. The instructions include the steps of: obtaining simulation results from a traffic simulator according to conditions including a road section including a plurality of consecutive intersections, the direction of travel of vehicles in the road section, and a time period, and specifying signal control parameters for the plurality of intersections; outputting the simulation results; adjusting the signal control parameters, updating the simulation results based on the adjustments, evaluating the adjustments for changes in the conditions using the updated simulation results; and outputting data relating to the results of the evaluation. Accordingly, the data processing device of this embodiment has the same effects as the data processing methods (1) to (5) described above.

[0017] (7) The computer program according to the embodiment of this embodiment includes machine-readable instructions that can be executed by a processing circuit. The instructions include the steps of: obtaining simulation results from a traffic simulator according to conditions including a road section including a plurality of consecutive intersections, the direction of travel of vehicles in the road section, and a time period, and specifying signal control parameters for the plurality of intersections; outputting the simulation results; adjusting the signal control parameters, updating the simulation results based on the adjustments, and using the updated simulation results to evaluate the adjustments for changes in the conditions; and outputting data relating to the results of the evaluation. Accordingly, the computer program of this embodiment has the same effects as the data processing methods of (1) to (5) described above.

[0018] The embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. At least some of the embodiments described below may be combined in any way.

[0019] Green growth strategies are being advocated with the aim of achieving carbon neutrality. In the road transport sector, there is a need to introduce and promote transportation systems with low CO2 emissions that utilize new technologies. Focusing on road transport, which is part of the transportation system, traffic congestion is a major cause of high CO2 emissions and needs to be reduced.

[0020] While efforts are being made to reduce CO2 emissions by encouraging idling stops, reducing traffic congestion and thus CO2 emissions from roads requires traffic managers to properly understand road traffic flow and implement appropriate measures. However, it is difficult to properly understand the traffic conditions of a wide-area and dynamic road network, and actually changing control parameters such as the duration of green light illumination and cycle length of traffic signals to evaluate measures could cause confusion among general road users.

[0021] In light of the above-mentioned problems, this embodiment aims to enable users to identify appropriate measures before actually changing the control parameters of traffic signals using a traffic simulator for predetermined road sections that frequently experience congestion (hereinafter referred to as "congested sections"). The traffic simulation is performed at least once for the predetermined road sections by the data processing device. The data processing device may create an evaluation report (for example, Figures 4 and 5) that includes the degree of improvement in congestion as a result of the trial.

[0022] As a traffic simulator, software such as "SUMO" (Simulation of Urban Mobility) developed by the German Aeronautics and Space Administration's Institute for Transport Systems, or "ADVENTURE_Mates" developed by the University of Tokyo, can be used. The data processing device of this embodiment performs simulations by either running the above software itself or by having the above software run on a cloud server. The configuration and functions of the data processing device of this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0023] [Example of Data Processing Device Configuration] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the data processing device 1. As shown in Figure 1, the data processing device 1 of this embodiment comprises a housing 10 and electronic equipment housed in the housing 10. In this case, the data processing device 1 is a personal computer (PC). The data processing device 1 may also be a terminal such as a notebook computer, tablet, or smartphone. The data processing device 1 includes a control unit (data processing unit) 11 and an operation unit (acquisition unit) 14. The electronic equipment includes the control unit (data processing unit) 11. The electronic equipment may further include a storage unit 12 and a communication unit 13. The housing 10 of the data processing device 1 is connected to the operation unit (acquisition unit) 14 and the display unit 15.

[0024] The control unit 11 is mounted on the motherboard inside the enclosure 10. The storage unit 12 and the communication unit 13 are attached to dedicated connectors provided on the motherboard. The operation unit 14 and the display unit 15 are connected to predetermined connection ports provided on the enclosure 10, and exchange predetermined data with the control unit 11 via a backplane or bus. The control unit 11 controls the operation of each hardware component, such as the storage unit 12, the communication unit 13, the operation unit 14, and the display unit 15.

[0025] The control unit 11 is implemented by an arithmetic processing unit including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and main memory. The main memory of the control unit 11 is volatile memory, specifically RAM (Random Access Memory). The CPU of the control unit 11 reads the computer program (software) installed in the storage unit 12 into the main memory and performs various data processing operations according to the machine-readable instructions contained in the read computer program. Machine-readable instructions can be stored in a non-temporary storage medium.

[0026] The computer program installed in the memory unit 12 includes software such as the aforementioned traffic simulator (SUMO or ADVENTURE_Mates) or an API (Application Programming Interface) for connecting the device to the traffic simulator on the cloud.

[0027] The storage unit 12 is an auxiliary storage device that includes at least one of a recording medium which is a non-volatile memory and an optical drive. The non-volatile memory is, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive). The optical drive is an external or internal optical drive. The communication unit 13 is a communication card (for example, a LAN card) that performs Ethernet® communication with an external device. The communication unit 13 is connected to a gateway that leads to the internet via a communication cable such as a LAN (Local Area Network) cable or a wireless LAN.

[0028] The operation unit 14 is an input device that includes a keyboard and a pointing device such as a mouse. The operation unit 14 may also include a touch panel device that allows the user to input operations by touching the screen of the display unit 15 with a finger or pen tip. Users such as traffic managers can send predetermined commands to the control unit 11 by inputting operations such as keyboard input, mouse clicks, or touch operations.

[0029] The display unit 15 is a display device such as a liquid crystal monitor or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) panel. The display unit 15 displays a GUI (Graphical User Interface) screen for receiving operation input from the operation unit 14, and a GUI screen that includes a map internally.

[0030] The memory unit 12 stores map data 16 covering a predetermined area on Earth (for example, all of Japan or the whole world). The map data 16 can be obtained from a cloud server. In this case, the control unit 11 communicates with the cloud server through the communication unit 13 to download the map data 16 for the predetermined range, temporarily records the map data 16 for the predetermined range in the memory unit 12, and displays it on the display unit 15.

[0031] Each part (each function) of the above-described embodiment may be executed by a processing circuit (Circuitry) that includes at least one processor. In addition to the processor, the Circuitry may consist of a circuit such as an integrated circuit that combines at least one memory, various analog circuits, and various digital circuits.

[0032] Map data 16 includes multi-layer data, with a background data layer and a road data layer superimposed. The background data includes data such as rivers, coastlines, administrative boundaries, railway lines, facilities such as stations or airports, and traffic light marks according to the size of the intersection. Traffic light marks are often placed in two or more locations at relatively large intersections that employ a centralized control system, while at relatively small intersections that employ a single-location control system, there is often only one mark or no traffic light marks at all.

[0033] Therefore, a node n with two or more signal light symbols can be presumed to be an intersection employing a centralized control system. A node n with fewer than two signal light symbols can be presumed to be an intersection employing a single-unit control system. The road data is data that represents the actual road alignment as a directed graph formed by node n and directed links l (lowercase L).

[0034] The road data in map data 16 is a directed graph in which multiple nodes n, corresponding to intersections and merging points in the actual road network, are connected by directed links l. Therefore, one-way roads are represented by only one-way links l. The data assigned to node n includes a node ID. The node ID is an identification number that is pre-assigned to intersections and merging points. The data assigned to node n also includes the node's location data (latitude, longitude, and altitude).

[0035] A "crossroads" refers to the point where two or more roads intersect, such as a crossroads, T-junction, or other intersection (or the roadway in the case of roads with separate sidewalks and roadways) (Article 2, Paragraph 1, Item 5 of the Japanese Road Traffic Act). A "merging point" refers to the point where two traffic flows merge into one. Traffic signal controllers are usually installed at crossroads, but they are often not installed at merging points.

[0036] The data assigned to link l includes the link ID, which is the identification number of link l, and the following data associated with the link ID: 1) Position data of the link's start point, end point, and interpolation point (latitude, longitude, and altitude) 2) Link ID connected to the link's start point 3) Link ID connected to the link's end point 4) Link cost of the link

[0037] The links l in the map data 16 may include road class data representing the scale of the road (basic roads such as national and prefectural roads, narrow roads, etc.). The map data 16 may also include road type data indicating whether a particular link l representing a road is a general road or a toll road, and in-link data indicating whether the link l includes bridges, tunnels, toll booths, etc.

[0038] [Traffic Database] As shown in Figure 1, the data processing device 1 can access the traffic data server (hereinafter abbreviated as "server") 18 via a public communication network including the Internet. Server 18 is the server that operates the traffic database (hereinafter abbreviated as "database") 17. The database 17 stores the following data as historical traffic data for intersections where traffic signals are installed.

[0039] Data 1: Traffic volume entering the intersection (number of vehicles / hour) Data 2: Intersection branching rate (straight-ahead rate, left-turn rate, and right-turn rate) Data 3: Intersection cycle, split, and offset Data 4: Green light duration, red light duration, right-turn arrow duration, left-turn arrow duration, etc. for each direction of traffic entering the intersection Data 1 to 4 are stored in a time-series data format, aggregated at predetermined intervals (e.g., 10 minutes).

[0040] Data 1 and Data 2 are a type of "measurement data" generated by the server 18 from probe data including the traveling position and the passing time. The server 18 generates Data 1 and Data 2 at predetermined time intervals and accumulates them in the traffic database 17. Data 3 and Data 4 are a type of "control data" set in the signal control parameters or the traffic signal control device that controls the traffic lights at intersections. The server 18 can acquire Data 3 and Data 4 from the central device of the traffic control center. The server 18 may generate Data 3 and Data 4 using the probe data.

[0041] [User's operation procedure (data processing method) and input data] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the user's operation procedure and input data for the data processing device 1. The definitions of the parameters in FIG. 2 are as follows.

[0042] TS: Target section TD: Target direction TT: Target period Ji: Intersection included in the target section TS Qik: Inflow traffic volume to the intersection Ji Bim: Branching rate of vehicles at the intersection Ji Pi: Target control data at the intersection Ji Gi: Green light time of the target direction TD at the intersection Ji

[0043] i: A number assigned to each intersection, increasing by 1 from the upstream to the downstream in the target direction k: Identification number representing the inflow direction m: Identification number representing the branching direction As an example, k = 1 is defined as the southward direction, k = 2 is defined as the eastward direction, k = 3 is defined as the northward direction, and k = 4 is defined as the westward direction. m = 1 is defined as the straight-ahead direction, m = 2 is defined as the left-turn direction, and m = 3 is defined as the right-turn direction.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 2, the operation procedure (data processing method) performed by the user includes the following steps. Step S101: Specification of the target section TS and the target direction TD Step S102: Specification of the target period TT and the target control data Pi Step S103: Execution request for simulation (FIG. 3) Step S104: Examination of the evaluation report

[0045] By the operation unit 14 (e.g., a mouse, a touch panel, or a keyboard) of the data processing device 1, in the above steps S101 and S102, input data for the traffic simulator, such as the target section TS, the target direction TD, the target period TT, and the target control data Pi, is acquired. The operation unit 14 is an example of an "acquisition unit".

[0046] (Contents of step S101) The target section TS is a road section including a plurality of consecutive intersections Ji. The target section TS is usually a section recognized by the user as a traffic jam section. The designation of the target section TS is performed, for example, by an operation of clicking a plurality of intersections Ji included in the road map displayed on the screen, or an operation of surrounding and clicking a plurality of intersections Ji included in the road map by a range designation tool.

[0047] When the target section TS is designated by the user, the control unit 11 extracts the data of the nodes n of the designated plurality of intersections Ji from the map data 16, and uses the extracted data as part of the input data of the traffic simulator. The target section TS may be a section where a plurality of intersections Ji are arranged in a straight-ahead direction, or a section where a right turn or a left turn is made at an intermediate intersection Ji. As an example, assume that the target section TS is a straight section in the eastward direction including three intersections J1, J2, and J3.

[0048] The target direction TD is the traveling direction of the vehicle designated by the user with respect to the target section TS. The target direction TD is usually designated in the same direction as the traveling direction of the traffic jam section. The designation of the target direction TD is performed by an operation of clicking a direction icon (not shown) displayed on both ends of the target section TS. When the target direction TD is designated by the user, the control unit 11 determines the intersection numbers i in order from the upstream of the traveling direction, and uses the determined intersection numbers i as part of the input data of the traffic simulator.

[0049] (Content of Step S102) The target period TT is, for example, a predetermined time period included in a day. The target period TT is usually specified as the time period when the user recognizes that congestion occurs in the target section TS (for example, the morning commute time). The target period TT is specified by selecting it from a pull-down menu displayed on the screen, or by entering the start time and end time in a text input field displayed on the screen.

[0050] The target control data Pi is the control data (data 3 and data 4 mentioned above) of the traffic signal controller that controls the signal lights at intersection Ji, which the user designates as the target for adjustment. The target control data Pi is designated, for example, by clicking on a pull-down menu displayed on the screen, or by entering the control data as text in a text input field displayed on the screen. In the following example, the target control data Pi designated by the user is the green light duration Gi for the target direction TD.

[0051] When the user specifies the target period TT and the target control data Pi, the control unit 11 requests the server 18 for the measurement data (Qik, Bim) and target control data Pi (green light illumination time Gi) for intersections J1, J2, and J3 included in the target period TT. In this case, the server 18 transmits the incoming traffic volume Qik, branching ratio Bim, and green light illumination time Gi for intersections J1, J2, and J3 included in the target period TT to the data processing device 1, and the control unit 11 uses the received data Qik, Bim, and Gi as input data for the traffic simulator.

[0052] (Contents of Step S103) The simulation execution request is a command that requests the start of a simulation, and can be accepted only after the completion of the specifications in Steps S101 and S102. The execution request is made by clicking an icon such as "Execute Simulation" displayed on the screen. Upon this click, the control unit 11 causes the traffic simulator to execute the simulation described later (see Figure 3) using the input data.

[0053] (Contents of Step S104) An evaluation report is a description of the evaluation of the effectiveness of adjusting the target control data Pi (blue light illumination time Gi), which is created based on the simulation results. Figure 2 shows an example of an evaluation report based on the simulation results after adjusting the blue light illumination time Gi, which states, "If the blue light illumination times G1, G2, and G3 are set to 100 seconds, the congestion in the target section TS will be eliminated."

[0054] [Simulation Details] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a simulation that the control unit 11 of the data processing device 1 has the traffic simulator execute. The definitions of the parameters in Figure 3 are as follows.

[0055] Ji: Intersection included in the target section TS Gij: Green light duration at intersection Ji after the jth simulation ΔG: Adjustment amount for the green light duration Gij (set value: e.g., 5 seconds) i: A number assigned to each intersection, increasing by 1 from upstream to downstream in the target direction j: Identification number representing the number of simulation runs

[0056] As shown in Figure 3, the control unit 11 sets the intersection number i and the execution count j to initial values ​​(i=1, j=1) (step S10), and then executes a simulation using the input data (see Figure 2) (step S11). Next, the control unit 11 displays the results of the initial simulation on the screen (step S12) and determines whether or not there is a request for "execute adjustment" (step S13).

[0057] The "Execute Adjustment" command is a command that requests the execution of a simulation (hereinafter also referred to as "adjustment simulation") after adjusting the target control data Pi (blue light illumination time Gi) based on the input data. The adjustment is executed by clicking an icon such as "Execute Adjustment Simulation" displayed on the screen. Based on this click operation, the control unit 11 starts processing from step S14 onward.

[0058] If no click operation is detected for a predetermined period of time, or if a forced termination is detected, such as by operating the exit icon, the control unit 11 skips the processing from step S14 onward and terminates the process. The reason for this is that if no congestion occurs in the target section TS during the initial simulation, it is considered that the designation of the target section TS or target period TT was inappropriate, and there is no need to perform an adjustment simulation regarding the blue light illumination time Gi.

[0059] If the result of the determination in step S13 is positive, the control unit 11 changes the blue light illumination time Gij to (Gij + ΔG) and increments the execution count j (step S14), and performs an adjustment simulation using the adjusted target control data and other input data (step S15). Next, the control unit 11 determines whether or not there is congestion at intersection Ji (step S16). "Congestion" refers to a traffic situation in which, for example, vehicles cannot pass through intersection Ji even after two cycles have elapsed, and the inflow of traffic in the target direction TD cannot be handled.

[0060] Thus, in step S16, based on the results of the adjustment simulation after adjusting the blue light illumination time Gij to (Gij + ΔG), it is determined whether or not there is congestion at intersection Ji included in the target section TS.

[0061] If the result of step S16 is positive, the control unit 11 determines whether the execution count j is at the maximum value MAXj (step S17). The maximum value MAXj is a predetermined setting value for each type of target control data Pi. For example, if the adjustable range of the green light illumination time Gi at intersection Ji is 20 seconds, the maximum value MAXj will be 20 / 5 = 4 times.

[0062] If the result of the determination in step S17 is negative, the control unit 11 returns to the state before step S14. This allows for a simulation in which the adjustment amount ΔG of the green light illumination time Gij is further increased for intersection Ji. If the result of the determination in step S17 is positive, the control unit 11 outputs the current intersection number i (step S18) and terminates the process. In this case, intersection number i represents an intersection in the target section TS where congestion cannot be resolved by adjusting the green light illumination time Gij.

[0063] If the result of the determination in step S16 is negative, the control unit 11 determines whether the intersection number i is the maximum value MAXi (step S20). The maximum value MAXi is the intersection number of the downstream intersection Ji in the target section TS (in the example in Figure 2, it is "3"). If the result of the determination in step S20 is negative, the control unit 11 increments the intersection number i (step S19) and returns the process to before step S14. This causes a simulation to be performed to adjust the green light illumination time Gij for the next downstream intersection Ji+1.

[0064] If the determination result in step S20 is positive, the control unit 11 outputs the green light illumination time Gij for each intersection Ji (step S21). In this case, the green light illumination time Gij means the green light illumination time Gij for each intersection Ji when no congestion occurs at any of the intersections Ji included in the target section TS, that is, when congestion in the target section TS is resolved. In this case, the user can actually adjust the control parameters of the traffic signal controller according to the green light illumination time Gij of each intersection Ji (target control data where no congestion occurs) and resolve the congestion.

[0065] [Specific Examples of Evaluation Reports] Figures 4 and 5 are explanatory diagrams showing examples of evaluation reports. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the evaluation report includes a "summary" section and a "changes in intersection conditions" section. The summary includes, for example, an evaluation of the effectiveness of the entire target section TS obtained when the target control data Pi (e.g., green light illumination time Gi) is adjusted.

[0066] In the summary of the evaluation report in Figure 4, "traffic congestion" refers to a traffic situation where vehicles cannot pass through intersection Ji even after two cycles have elapsed, as mentioned above. In the summary of the evaluation report in Figure 5, "total travel time" and "total carbon dioxide emissions" are calculated from the behavior of simulated vehicles generated by the traffic simulator in the target section TS according to the incoming traffic volume Qik. The changes in intersection conditions are described as the changes that occur at each intersection included in the target section TS after the target control data has been adjusted.

[0067] [Other Variations] The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The scope of rights of this disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and includes all modifications within the scope of equivalence to the configurations described in the claims.

[0068] In the above embodiment, an example was given in which the green light duration Gi is specified as the target control data Pi for the traffic signal controller. The target control data Pi can be any signal control parameter that can be adjusted in a way that alleviates congestion in the target direction TD of the intersection Ji, such as the split or cycle length of the intersection Ji.

[0069] 1 Data Processing Unit 10 Enclosure 11 Control Unit (Data Processing Unit) 12 Memory Unit 13 Communication Unit 14 Operation Unit (Acquisition Unit) 15 Display Unit 16 Map Data 17 Traffic Database 18 Traffic Data Server TS Target Section (Road Section) TD Target Direction (Vehicle's Direction of Travel) TT Target Period (Time Zone) Pi Target Control Data (Signal Control Parameters)

Claims

1. A data processing method comprising:

1. Obtaining simulation results from a traffic simulator that conforms to conditions including a road section containing multiple consecutive intersections, the direction of travel of vehicles in the road section, and the time of day, as well as the specification of signal control parameters relating to the multiple intersections; 2. Outputting the simulation results; 3. After adjusting the signal control parameters, updating the simulation results based on the adjustments, and using the updated simulation results to evaluate the adjustments for changes in the conditions; and 4. Outputting data relating to the results of the evaluation.

2. The data processing method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of determining whether or not there is congestion at the plurality of intersections in the direction of travel from upstream to downstream using the updated simulation results, wherein the evaluation step includes the step of evaluating whether the result of the determination changes from having congestion to not having congestion.

3. The data processing method according to claim 2, wherein if the result of the determination for one of the plurality of intersections is that there is no congestion, the determination is made for the next intersection after the one intersection, and if the result of the determination for the one intersection is that there is congestion, identification data for the one intersection is output.

4. The data processing method according to claim 3, wherein if the results of all the judgments for the plurality of intersections are that there is no congestion, a signal control parameter for each of the plurality of intersections is output.

5. A traffic signal control method for controlling traffic signals for a plurality of intersections using the data processing method described in claim 4.

6. A data processing device comprising: a memory for storing machine-readable instructions; and a processing circuit for executing the instructions, wherein the instructions include: obtaining simulation results from a traffic simulator according to conditions including a road section including a plurality of consecutive intersections, the direction of travel of vehicles in the road section, and a time period, and specifying signal control parameters relating to the plurality of intersections; outputting the simulation results; adjusting the signal control parameters, updating the simulation results based on the adjustments, and using the updated simulation results to evaluate the adjustments for changes in the situation relative to the specified conditions; and outputting data relating to the results of the evaluation.

7. A computer program comprising machine-readable instructions executable by a processing circuit, wherein the instructions include: obtaining simulation results from a traffic simulator according to conditions including a road section including a plurality of consecutive intersections, the direction of travel of vehicles in the road section, and a time period, and specifying signal control parameters relating to the plurality of intersections; outputting the simulation results; adjusting the signal control parameters, updating the simulation results by the adjustment, and using the updated simulation results to evaluate the adjustment for changes in the conditions; and outputting data relating to the results of the evaluation.

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