Passenger Counting for Transportation Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Commuters waiting for shared transportation vehicles are unaware of the passenger load and potential congestion of arriving vehicles, making it difficult to choose less crowded options, especially during high congestion times.
Innovation Solution
A system that acquires occupancy data from transportation vehicles, determines the number of passengers, and provides this information along with the vehicle's location to user interface systems, allowing users to make informed boarding decisions by comparing the occupancy of multiple vehicles on the same route.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If multiple transportation vehicles are scheduled to arrive at different times, then the transportation system can handle high congestion, but commuters are unaware of the passenger load and cannot choose less crowded vehicles
Solution Approach 1:
An onboard monitoring system acts as an intermediary between the transportation vehicle and the fleet tracking system. This intermediary captures occupancy data using cameras or sensors, processes it locally, and transmits only the processed occupancy count to the central system, reducing communication bandwidth requirements and protecting passenger privacy while providing necessary information.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements real-time feedback by continuously monitoring occupancy levels in transportation vehicles and immediately transmitting this information to the fleet tracking system. This feedback loop allows the system to dynamically update occupancy status, enabling commuters to make informed decisions about which vehicle to board based on current load conditions.
2Productivity
If occupancy data is collected and transmitted in real-time, then users can make informed boarding decisions, but data transmission and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential occupancy count information from the raw camera or sensor data, rather than transmitting the complete video feed or raw sensor streams. This extraction approach transmits only the processed occupancy number to the fleet tracking system, significantly reducing data transmission volume and energy consumption while preserving the decision-making utility for commuters.
3Ease of operation
If occupancy information is provided for multiple vehicles, then commuters can compare and choose less crowded options, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates simplified digital representations (copies) of the occupancy status for multiple vehicles, displaying only the essential occupancy count or visual indicator for each vehicle. This copying approach allows commuters to compare vehicles easily without the system needing to manage complex real-time video feeds or detailed sensor data for each vehicle, reducing system complexity while maintaining ease of use.
Data Source
AI summary
According to an aspect, a method of passenger counting and vehicle status reporting includes acquiring occupancy data indicative of a number of passengers in a transportation vehicle. The method also includes determining the number of passengers in the transportation vehicle based on the occupancy data and determining a geographic location of the transportation vehicle. An identifier of the transportation vehicle, an indicator of the number of passengers on the transportation vehicle, and the geographic location of the transportation vehicle are provided to a user interface system.