Crowd Estimation Using Aggregated Mobile Network Data
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing crowd counting methods using mobile communication networks face challenges in accurately determining the number of people attending public events within specific areas of interest while protecting user privacy, as they often rely on detailed user location data that can be intrusive and are influenced by the size of the analyzed area, leading to inefficiencies in resource management and potential privacy violations.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that estimate the number of persons in a crowd by using aggregated data from mobile phone network usage to determine an optimal area of interest based on user equipment served during events and previous days, ensuring privacy by not revealing individual user information, and calculating an optimum radius value to accurately count attendees without infringing on privacy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If detailed user location data is collected to accurately count crowd members, then measurement precision is improved, but user privacy is violated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary aggregated information (total user equipment count) from the mobile communication network without accessing or processing detailed individual location data. This allows accurate crowd counting while removing the privacy-intrusive elements from the system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary approach by using mobile communication network data as a mediator between physical crowd presence and digital counting. The network data serves as an indirect proxy that reveals crowd size without exposing individual user information, bridging the gap between accurate measurement and privacy protection.
2Device complexity
If a fixed area radius is used for crowd analysis, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision deteriorates due to area size influence
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the area radius adaptive rather than fixed. The system dynamically adjusts the radius parameter based on the specific public happening and location characteristics, allowing the analysis area to optimize itself for each event type (concert, sports match, exhibition) rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach.
3Productivity
If aggregated data from mobile networks is used for crowd estimation, then productivity is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to area size influence
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs parameter changes by systematically varying the area radius parameter to find the optimal value for each public happening. By adjusting this key parameter based on event type and location, the system maintains high reliability in crowd estimation while preserving the productivity gains from using aggregated mobile network data.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2E
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A method of estimating a number of persons that gathered at an Area of Interest (107) during an observation time interval on a day, wherein said Area of Interest (107) is defined by an Area of Interest center and an Area of Interest radius and is covered by a mobile telecommunication network (105) having a plurality of communication stations (105a) each of which is adapted to manage communications of User Equipment in one or more served areas (105b) in a covered geographic region (300; 300') over which the mobile telecommunication network (105) provide services. The method comprises defining (604) a plurality of calculated radius values of the Area of Interest radius. For each calculated radius value, the method comprises: computing (610, 612) a first number of User Equipment that has been served by the mobile communication network (105) during the observation time interval on the day within the Area of Interest (107) based on aggregated data regarding a usage of the mobile communication network (105); computing (614, 616) a second number of User Equipment that has been served by the mobile communication network (105) during the observation time interval for each day of a predetermined number of previous days preceding the day within the Area of Interest (107) based on the aggregated data regarding the usage of the mobile communication network (105); combining (618, 620) the first number of User Equipment and the second numbers of User Equipment for obtaining a statistical quantity; detecting (622) the occurrence of a gathering of people if the statistical quantity reaches a certain threshold; computing (636) an optimum radius value of the Area of Interest radius as the average of the calculated radius values within which the gathering of people is detected; estimating (638-654) a number of persons that gathered within an Area of Interest (107) having the Area of Interest radius equal to the optimum radius values. In one embodiment, the aggregated data regarding a usage of the mobile communication network (105) comprise a number of served User Equipment traffic load, number of voice calls, number of SMS transmitted and/or volume of binary data exchanged within preferably each one of the communication stations (105a) of the mobile communication network (105).