Method and system for forecasting traffic flows

US5812069A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Mannesmann AG · DE

Inventors

• Uwe Albrecht · Bitterfeld-Wolfen, DE
• Josef Heimann · Düsseldorf, DE
• Werner Schulz · Dallas, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jul 8, 1996
• Grant date: Sep 22, 1998
• Expiry date: Jul 8, 2016

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G08G1/096775
• WIPO field: Control
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A method and system for forecasting traffic flows at selected locations or in selected sections of road network, which method includes continually determining actual location positions of a plurality of vehicles of a spot check vehicle fleet, storing on the vehicles the determined actual positions as route data of a route traveled by the vehicles, transmitting the route data at intervals from more than one vehicle to a traffic computer containing a digital road map, and determining traffic flow data from the route data using the traffic computer. The traffic flow data includes information concerning traffic density. The inventive method then continues with assigning the traffic flow data to the selected locations and/or sections using the traffic computer, determining and/or updating statistical traffic flow data as time-dependent empirical values from the traffic flow data using the computer, registering actual driving activity data with driving activity sensors over a predefined physical area surrounding the selected locations and sections, transmitting the actual driving activity data to the traffic computer, and forecasting the traffic flows, using the computer, by starting fro…