Back-end Server for Automatic Transport Network Usage Detection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional eTicketing systems are inflexible and costly, requiring special infrastructure for different transport networks and services, and fail to provide seamless integration with various service providers, limiting user convenience and increasing costs for both travelers and transport companies.
Innovation Solution
A back-end server system that uses mobile device position reports to automatically identify start and end nodes in a traffic network, allowing for flexible billing and integration with diverse transport services without the need for special hardware, utilizing GPS, WiFi, or mobile network location systems, enabling a unified app for multiple service providers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional eTicketing systems are implemented with special infrastructure (RFID chip readers, beacons, hardware), then ticket validation and control can be performed, but infrastructure costs and system complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces physical infrastructure (RFID readers, beacons, hardware validators) with a software-based solution using mobile device GPS positioning and cellular network data. The determination of transport network usage is performed through software algorithms that analyze position reports from mobile devices, eliminating the need for mechanical/electronic validation hardware at stops and vehicles.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses mobile devices as portable validators that contain copies of the necessary validation logic and transport network data. Instead of requiring centralized hardware infrastructure, each mobile device can independently determine usage based on its position reports, effectively distributing the validation function across multiple portable units.
2Reliability
If special infrastructure hardware is deployed at every stop and vehicle, then service control is improved, but maintenance costs and system inflexibility increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal system where a single mobile device can validate multiple types of tickets across different transport networks (railway, bus, tram, ferry) without requiring network-specific hardware. The software-based approach allows the same mobile device to adapt to various transport providers and ticket types, making the system universally applicable across diverse transport infrastructures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a dynamic system where the validation capability can be updated remotely through software updates to the mobile device application. Transport companies can modify validation rules, add new ticket types, or change pricing structures without deploying new hardware, allowing the system to adapt dynamically to changing operational requirements.
3Ease of manufacture
If travelers manually select tickets and connections before each journey, then ticket purchasing can be completed, but time consumption and user effort increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements automatic determination of transport network usage where the system itself identifies the start and end points of journeys based on mobile device position reports. The back-end server automatically determines which transport connections were used without requiring the traveler to manually input or select tickets, making the service determine usage autonomously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary determination of usage parameters by continuously monitoring mobile device positions and pre-calculating potential transport connections. When a journey is completed, the system has already identified the relevant start and end nodes and applicable tickets, eliminating the need for last-minute manual selection at the ticket machine.
4Loss of time
If annual or monthly subscriptions are purchased instead of individual tickets, then time spent on ticket selection is reduced, but overall travel costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter of ticket pricing from fixed subscription models to dynamic usage-based pricing. The system calculates the actual transport network usage based on mobile device positions and determines the optimal ticket type (single journey, day ticket, weekly, monthly) retrospectively, allowing travelers to pay exactly for what they used rather than committing to fixed subscription amounts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the system continuously monitors travel patterns and usage data from mobile devices. This feedback is used to automatically adjust and optimize ticket recommendations, suggesting the most cost-effective ticket types based on actual observed usage rather than estimated or assumed travel behavior.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables simplified and cost-effective use of multiple transport services through a single mobile app, reducing infrastructure costs and enhancing user flexibility by automatically recognizing network usage and optimizing tariffs, allowing seamless transitions between different transport modes.
Implementation Method 1
GPS positioning is suggested as a possible alternative because of its fine-grained nature
Implementation Method 2
utilizing GPS, WiFi, or mobile network location systems
Implementation Method 3
The mobile device of the road user determines its position using the radio cells of the mobile network
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A back-end server setup and a method for automatically calculating the use of a traffic network (1) by a road user are described, wherein the use includes traveling on at least one network connection (2) of the traffic network (1). Position reports (5, 5', 5") from a mobile device of the road user are compared with node information (3, 3', 3") of the traffic network (1) using a path detection unit, and the traveled network connection (2) is thereby determined. The mobile device (8) and a method for transmitting the position reports are also described.