Traffic information system by position data from moving terminals

Mitsubishi Electric provides car navigation systems and cellular phones, which are information terminals and utilize position information. We are very interested in the terminals that are used for position dependent information services, and we would like to join the discussion at the workshop on " Position Dependent Information Services". This paper shows a use case for position dependent information.

Needs for traffic information

When people move by car, bus or train, they want to know the traffic information on the transportation they use and how long it will take to the destination.
There are a lot of means of transportation in large cities such as Tokyo. There are so many people that most of the trains and buses are crowded, and the main highways and streets are very busy during rush hours in particular. In addition to that, buses and trains are often delayed by traffic accidents, car breakdown or signal disorder. Traffic information on main roads and railroads can be obtained by radio or by TV, and it is useful only when a large accident happens. However, we can not get the real traffic condition on local transportation we really need. This paper shows an idea of a service that utilizes position dependent information and provides specific traffic information for the terminal users.

Traffic information system by position data from moving terminals

Traffic data are collected from the sensors only on the streets and the railroad tracks in usual traffic information systems. More and more people get to carry cellular phones these days, therefore it is possible to collect position information by cellular phones when moving, analyze the data and assume the traffic condition on the traffic information server.

The following shows how the traffic information system works.

• On moving terminals such as cellular phones

1. Users input transportation data (route and means) to the terminals.
2. Users register the traffic route to the server in order to get the specific traffic information they really need.
3. Users select the moving mode (by train, by bus, by car, by bicycle or on foot) when they start to move.
4. Sensors (e.g. GPS) measure the position (and speed) of the terminals.
5. Terminals send the acquired data to the server periodically.
6. Terminals receive the traffic information from the server when moving or before the users leave for destination.
7. Displays or speakers on the terminals output the traffic information.

• On the traffic information server

1. The server receives and collects the position (and speed) data from moving terminals.
2. It analyzes the position data and assumes the traffic condition.
3. It sends the specific traffic information to the registered terminals.