Mobile Tolling System Using GPS Road Usage Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current funding for transportation infrastructure maintenance is inadequate due to decreasing revenue from federal sales taxes on gas, necessitating more comprehensive and feasible tolling solutions to manage road usage and maintenance costs.
Innovation Solution
A tolling system that uses mobile devices to collect and process road usage data, apply toll pricing models based on traveled roads and distances, and enforce charges or fines, while also providing users with alerts and payment options, thereby enhancing revenue collection and user engagement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional gas tax funding is used for transportation infrastructure, then funding source is simple to implement, but funding adequacy deteriorates due to decreasing revenue from federal sales taxes on gas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a mobile device application as an intermediary between the user and the tolling system. The application collects road usage data, communicates with the tolling system, and facilitates toll payment, thereby resolving the contradiction by providing a user-friendly interface that enables comprehensive tolling without requiring complex infrastructure changes at the user level
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical toll collection methods (such as cash transactions at toll booths or electronic toll tags requiring infrastructure installation) with a software-based mobile application that uses GPS and cellular communication to collect and report road usage data, thereby simplifying implementation while enabling comprehensive funding collection
2Quantity of substance
If comprehensive tolling solutions are implemented to improve funding adequacy, then funding adequacy improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile device application serves multiple functions: it collects GPS data for road usage tracking, communicates with the tolling system, stores user profile information, processes toll payments, and provides user notifications. This multi-functionality consolidates what would otherwise require multiple separate systems into a single universal platform, improving funding adequacy without proportionally increasing system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically collects road usage data through the mobile device's GPS hardware, automatically communicates this data to the tolling system, and automatically processes toll charges based on the collected data and applicable pricing models. This automation eliminates the need for manual intervention in data collection and payment processing, reducing operational complexity while enabling comprehensive tolling
3Measurement precision
If mobile device application collects road usage data continuously, then measurement precision of road usage improves, but user device energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile device application collects GPS data at periodic intervals rather than continuously, and transmits this data to the tolling system at regular intervals. This periodic operation maintains sufficient measurement precision for tolling purposes while significantly reducing energy consumption compared to continuous data collection and transmission
Solution Approach 2:
The application collects GPS data with higher precision than strictly necessary for basic tolling, capturing detailed road usage information that exceeds minimum requirements. This partial excess ensures accurate toll calculation while the system only processes the necessary portion of the data, balancing measurement precision with reasonable energy consumption
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
The system effectively determines and collects toll charges based on actual road usage, encourages user compliance through incentives and fines, and provides users with transparent and timely payment options, addressing funding shortfalls and improving infrastructure maintenance.
Implementation Method 1
receiving global positioning system data collected by the mobile device application using global positioning system hardware of the mobile processing device
Data Source
AI summary
In one aspect, a tolling system is operable to perform operations, which may include: receiving, over a network and from a mobile device application operating on a mobile processing device, an identifier and road usage data collected by the mobile device application; identifying a profile based on the identifier; accessing a toll pricing model applicable to an entity associated with the identified profile; and determining a tolling charge incurred by the entity based on the road usage data collected by the mobile device application, the identified profile, and the accessed toll pricing model. In another aspect, a mobile device application is operable to perform operations that may include: collecting road usage data; communicating, over a network to a tolling system, the collected road usage data and an identifier; and receiving, from the tolling system, tolling charge data computed based on the communicated road usage data.