US 12,131,630 B2
Methods and systems for generating traffic volume data
Lucian Ionescu, Berlin (DE); Sören Sven Sonnenburg, Berlin (DE); Przemyslaw Polewski, Schonefeld (DE); and Heiko Mund, Hildesheim (DE)
Assigned to TomTom Navigation B.V., Amsterdam (NL); and TomTom Traffic B.V., Amsterdam (NL)
Appl. No. 17/786,936
Filed by TomTom Traffic B.V., Amsterdam (NL); and TomTom Navigation B.V., Amsterdam (NL)
PCT Filed Dec. 21, 2020, PCT No. PCT/EP2020/087540
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 17, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/123453, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 24, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 1918833 (GB), filed on Dec. 19, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2023/0343209 A1, Oct. 26, 2023
Int. Cl. G08G 1/01 (2006.01); G08G 1/065 (2006.01)
CPC G08G 1/0141 (2013.01) [G08G 1/0112 (2013.01); G08G 1/0129 (2013.01); G08G 1/065 (2013.01)] 28 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for estimating a traffic volume in respect of a given time for a given segment of an electronic map representing a navigable network in an area, the electronic map comprising a plurality of segments representing navigable elements of the navigable network in the area, the method comprising:
estimating the traffic volume using data indicative of a count of devices associated with vehicles traversing at least a portion of a stretch of the navigable network represented by the given segment in respect of the given time and an estimated scaling coefficient for the given time for the given segment, the devices including position-determining capabilities, wherein:
the estimated scaling coefficient for the given segment is based on a reference scaling coefficient associated with each one of a subset of one or more reference segments of the electronic map, the reference segments from among the one or more reference segments being associated with the given segment based on one or more properties of the one or more reference segments and the given segment, each reference segment being associated with data indicative of a respective reference scaling coefficient for the given time, the respective reference scaling coefficient being based on:
a measured count of vehicles traversing at least a portion of a stretch of the navigable network represented by the reference segment in respect of the given time; and
a count of devices associated with vehicles traversing the at least the portion of the stretch of the navigable network represented by the reference segment in respect of the given time;
the data indicative of the count of devices associated with the vehicles traversing the at least the portion of the stretch of the navigable network represented by the given segment being based on positional data and associated timing data relating to the movement of a plurality of devices with respect to time along the at least the portion of the stretch of the navigable network represented by the given segment;
generating data indicative of the estimated traffic volume for the given segment in respect of the given time; and
using the data indicative of the estimated traffic volume for performing one or more operations for which traffic volume is an input.