Systems and methods for determining traffic flow using observations of surrounding vehicles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10957188-B2
Application number	US-201816204622-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 29, 2018
Priority date	Apr 4, 2018
Publication date	Mar 23, 2021
Grant date	Mar 23, 2021

Abstract

System, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to determining traffic flow along a roadway segment. In one embodiment, a method includes collecting, in an electronic data store from reporting vehicles that travel over the roadway segment, traffic data about at least surrounding vehicles of the reporting vehicles. The method includes analyzing the traffic data to identify a traffic flow for the respective lanes of the roadway segment. The method includes providing a signal identifying the traffic flow.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A traffic system for determining traffic flow along a roadway segment, comprising:
one or more processors;
a memory communicably coupled to the one or more processors and storing:
an acquisition module including instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to collect, in an electronic data store from reporting vehicles that travel over the roadway segment, traffic data about at least surrounding vehicles of the reporting vehicles, wherein the surrounding vehicles are separate vehicles from the reporting vehicles that the reporting vehicles observe; and
a flow module including instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to analyze the traffic data to identify a traffic flow for respective lanes of the roadway segment, and
wherein the flow module includes instructions to provide a signal identifying the traffic flow by electronically communicating a message to oncoming vehicles approaching the roadway segment to inform the oncoming vehicles about the traffic flow and to cause the oncoming vehicles to adjust operation according to the traffic flow.

2. The traffic system of claim 1 , wherein the traffic data includes lane identifiers that indicate lanes of travel in the roadway segment for respective ones of the surrounding vehicles and observed speeds of the surrounding vehicles.

3. The traffic system of claim 1 , wherein the acquisition module includes instructions to collect the traffic data including instructions to aggregate the traffic data in the electronic data store as the reporting vehicles travel over the roadway segment and communicate the traffic data to a remote device that includes the electronic data store, and
wherein the traffic data indicates variations in speeds for the surrounding vehicles as the surrounding vehicles travel along the roadway segment.

4. The traffic system of claim 1 , wherein the flow module includes instructions to analyze the traffic data including instructions to apply a speed model over the traffic data to identify the traffic flow separately for the respective lanes of the roadway segment by determining speed patterns in successively observed vehicles traveling in the respective lanes of the roadway segment, and
wherein the flow module includes instructions to provide the signal including instructions to indicate the traffic flow as current speeds of the respective lanes.

5. The traffic system of claim 4 , wherein the flow module includes instructions to analyze the traffic data to identify the traffic flow including instructions to generate a flow pattern for the traffic data that indicates trends in the traffic flow across lanes of the roadway segment, and
wherein the flow pattern indicates a likelihood that congestion on the roadway segment is clearing, increasing, or maintaining current levels.

6. The traffic system of claim 1 , wherein the flow module includes instructions to provide the traffic flow including instructions to communicate the traffic flow to devices associated with the roadway segment as average speeds for the respective lanes, and
wherein the devices associated the roadway segment include at least oncoming vehicles that are approaching the roadway segment.

7. The traffic system of claim 1 , wherein the acquisition module includes instructions to collect the traffic data including instructions to:
acquire, in respective ones of the reporting vehicles, sensor data from at least one sensor of respective ones of the reporting vehicles;
analyze, in the respective ones of the reporting vehicles, the sensor data to identify the surrounding vehicles including relative speeds and lanes of the surrounding vehicles; and
communicate, from the respective ones of the reporting vehicles, an electronic data structure that includes the relative speeds and the lanes to a remote device.

8. The traffic system of claim 1 , wherein the acquisition module and the flow module are embodied, at least in part, within a cloud-computing system.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable medium for determining traffic flow along a roadway segment and including instructions that when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to:
collect, in an electronic data store from reporting vehicles that travel over the roadway segment, traffic data about at least surrounding vehicles of the reporting vehicles, wherein the surrounding vehicles are separate vehicles from the reporting vehicles that the reporting vehicles observe;
analyze the traffic data to identify a traffic flow for respective lanes of the roadway segment; and
provide a signal identifying the traffic flow by electronically communicating a message to oncoming vehicles approaching the roadway segment to inform the oncoming vehicles about the traffic flow and to cause the oncoming vehicles to adjust operation according to the traffic flow.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the traffic data includes lane identifiers that indicate lanes of travel in the roadway segment for respective ones of the surrounding vehicles and observed speeds of the surrounding vehicles.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the instructions to provide the traffic flow include instructions to communicate the traffic flow to devices associated with the roadway segment as average speeds for the respective lanes, and
wherein the devices associated the roadway segment include at least oncoming vehicles that are approaching the roadway segment.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the instructions to collect the traffic data including instructions to aggregate the traffic data in the electronic data store as the reporting vehicles travel over the roadway segment and communicate the traffic data to a remote device that includes the electronic data store, and
wherein the traffic data indicates variations in speeds for the surrounding vehicles as the surrounding vehicles travel along the roadway segment.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the instructions to analyze the traffic data include instructions to apply a speed model over the traffic data to identify the traffic flow separately for the respective lanes of the roadway segment by determining speed patterns in successively observed vehicles traveling in the respective lanes of the roadway segment, and
wherein the instructions to provide the signal include instructions to indicate the traffic flow as current speeds of the respective lanes.

14. A method for determining traffic flow along a roadway segment, the method comprising:
collecting, in an electronic data store from reporting vehicles that travel over the roadway segment, traffic data about at least surrounding vehicles of the reporting vehicles, wherein the surrounding vehicles are separate vehicles from the reporting vehicles that the reporting vehicles observe;
analyzing the traffic data to identify a traffic flow for respective lanes of the roadway segment; and
providing a signal identifying the traffic flow by electronically communicating a message to oncoming vehicles approaching the roadway segment to inform the oncoming vehicles about the traffic flow and to cause the oncoming vehicles to adjust operation according to the traffic flow.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the traffic data includes lane identifiers that indicate lanes of travel in the roadway segment for respective ones of the surrounding vehicles and observed speeds of the surrounding vehi

Assignees

• Toyota Eng & Mfg North America

Inventors

• Johnson Miles J
• Smalley Christopher J

Classifications

• G06V20/584

  of vehicle lights or traffic lights · CPC title

• G06V2201/08

  Detecting or categorising vehicles · CPC title

• G08G1/0133 Primary

  for classifying traffic situation · CPC title

• G08G1/0112 Primary

  from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD] · CPC title

• G08G1/0116

  from roadside infrastructure, e.g. beacons · CPC title