Traffic Congestion Quality Estimation Using Probe Space-Time Diagrams

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current traffic congestion reporting systems suffer from noise data in probe data, leading to inaccurate real-time traffic conditions and latency issues, which affect the quality of traffic congestion incident reporting.

Innovation Solution

A system and method for quality estimation of traffic congestion incidents using probe-based space-time diagrams, which involve identifying road segments, generating a probe-based space-time diagram, inferring ground truth, and comparing it with inferred ground truth to calculate quality metrics.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If probe data is used to report traffic congestion incidents, then real-time traffic information can be obtained, but noise data in the probe data reduces the accuracy of the reported traffic conditions

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccuracy of traffic congestion reportingVSAvoidnoise data in probe data

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and removes noise data from the probe data through filtering mechanisms. The system identifies and excludes erroneous or unreliable probe records while retaining valid traffic condition information, thereby improving the accuracy of reported congestion incidents without losing the real-time advantage of probe-based monitoring.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Measurement precision

If real-time probe data is processed to report traffic conditions, then current traffic status can be captured, but latency in accessing probe data causes delay in reporting accurate traffic conditions

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaccuracy of real-time traffic condition reportingVSAvoidlatency in accessing probe data

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements preliminary processing of probe data by pre-filtering and validating records before they are used for congestion reporting. This advance preparation ensures that when traffic conditions need to be reported, the system can quickly access and process only the relevant, cleaned data, reducing latency while maintaining accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Measurement precision

If probe data is filtered to remove noise, then the quality of traffic information improves, but useful data may be lost in the filtering process

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvequality of traffic informationVSAvoiduseful data loss during filtering

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies different filtering criteria and quality thresholds to different types of probe data and road segments. Instead of applying a uniform filter, the system adjusts the filtering parameters locally based on the specific characteristics of each road segment, probe vehicle, and data type, thereby preserving useful information while removing noise.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The system incorporates feedback mechanisms that continuously monitor the quality and usefulness of filtered data. When filtering removes potentially useful information, the feedback loop detects this and adjusts the filtering parameters to retain more data, ensuring that the balance between removing noise and preserving useful information is dynamically optimized.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

4Device complexity

If only real-time probe data is used to determine traffic conditions, then the system remains simple, but the latency causes the system to report congestion incidents before they actually occur or after they have resolved

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesimplicity of real-time reporting systemVSAvoidtiming accuracy of congestion incident reporting

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary validation and quality assessment of probe data before it is used for congestion detection. By pre-checking the reliability and timeliness of each probe record, the system can confidently use real-time data without introducing significant timing errors, maintaining both simplicity and accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS20250209908A1System and method for quality estimation of reported traffic congestion incident

Publication Date: 2025.06.26 HERE GLOBAL BV

AI summary

The disclosure provides a system, and a method for quality estimation of a traffic congestion incident reported by traffic system based on the information from one or more probe vehicles. The system is configured to identify one or more road segments and location information associated with the traffic congestion incident reported by traffic system based on the information from the one or more probe vehicles. A probe-based space-time diagram is generated based on the identified one or more road segments and location information associated with the traffic congestion incident reported by traffic system based on the information from the one or more probe vehicles. Ground truth is inferred for the traffic congestion incident. The generated probe-based space-time diagram is compared with the inferred ground truth for quality estimation of the traffic congestion incident reported by traffic system based on the information from the one or more probe vehicles.