Dynamic Position Tracking Data Downsampling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Maritime vessel tracking systems face excessive data transmission due to frequent position updates, leading to high bandwidth requirements and inefficient geofence detection, especially when vessels travel in predictable paths, and current down sampling methods are crude and costly.
Innovation Solution
Implementing the Ramer-Douglas-Peucker algorithm in four-dimensional hyperspace to simplify vessel tracking data, converting positions to 3D Cartesian coordinates with timestamps, applying time scaling coefficients, and using spherical spatial discretization for efficient geofence intersection detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If frequent position updates are transmitted from vessels, then tracking accuracy and real-time monitoring are improved, but data transmission bandwidth requirements increase excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes redundant position data points from the tracking stream by applying the Ramer-Douglas-Peucker algorithm. This algorithm identifies and eliminates points that do not contribute significantly to the geometric representation of the vessel path, keeping only the essential data points that maintain tracking accuracy while reducing overall data volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extends the traditional 2D spatial coordinate system to a 4D hyperspace by adding time as an additional dimension. This dimensional expansion allows the application of geometric algorithms to temporal sequences of position data, enabling the identification of redundant points based on their contribution to the overall path geometry in spacetime rather than just spatial coordinates.
2Quantity of substance
If crude down sampling methods are applied to reduce data volume, then bandwidth requirements are reduced, but geofence detection accuracy and reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary geometric simplification of the vessel path using the Ramer-Douglas-Peucker algorithm before conducting geofence detection. By pre-processing the position data to identify and retain only the most significant data points that define the vessel's trajectory, the system prepares an optimized dataset that maintains geometric fidelity for subsequent geofence intersection tests.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces crude, arbitrary down-sampling methods with a mathematically rigorous geometric algorithm. Instead of randomly or uniformly sampling position data, the system uses the Ramer-Douglas-Peucker algorithm with a configurable tolerance parameter to systematically identify and remove only those points whose removal would not significantly alter the path geometry, thereby maintaining detection reliability.
3Reliability
If all position data points are retained for accurate geofence detection, then detection reliability is maintained, but computational costs and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes computationally redundant position data points that do not contribute to defining the vessel's path geometry. By eliminating these unnecessary points through the Ramer-Douglas-Peucker algorithm, the system reduces the number of geometric calculations required for geofence detection while preserving the essential geometric characteristics needed for accurate detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a tolerance parameter (epsilon) that controls the degree of path simplification. By adjusting this parameter, the system can optimize the balance between computational efficiency and detection reliability. A larger tolerance value results in more aggressive data reduction and higher computational efficiency, while a smaller tolerance maintains greater geometric fidelity for enhanced reliability.
Data Source
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AI summary
Dynamically down sampling vehicle tracking data is provided. The method comprises receiving an original set of position data points from a vehicle, including a first and last data point. Each data point includes a timestamp. A path for the vehicle in four-dimensional hyperspace is simplified from the original set of points according to the Ramer-Douglas-Peucker algorithm. Positions are converted to three-dimension coordinates on a sphere with the timestamp comprising the fourth dimension. The simplified path comprises a reduced set of points that describe a minimum contiguous path of line segments between the first and last data points. All other position points from the original set satisfy a proximity criterion with regard to the minimum contiguous path. The reduced set represents the original set within a specified hyperspace tolerance and has a lower transmission bandwidth requirement. The reduced set of position points is then transmitted to users.