WO2013151414A1

WO2013151414A1 - A method and apparatus of obtaining and processing vehicle data

Info

Publication number: WO2013151414A1
Application number: PCT/MY2013/000071
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ahmad Saifizul Abdullah; Mohamed Rehan Karim; Airul Sharizli AABDULLAH
Original assignee: Universiti Malaya (Um)
Priority date: 2012-04-05
Filing date: 2013-04-03
Publication date: 2013-10-10

Abstract

A method and apparatus of obtaining and processing vehicle data at a point of reference simultaneously, the method includes the steps of capturing presence of a vehicle, counting number of vehicles based on the captured presence, classifying vehicles based on type and occupancy and displaying data of vehicles that is processed, and transferring data for further analysis and usage.

Description

A METHOD AND APPARATUS OF OBTAINING AND PROCESSING VEHICLE

DATA

FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates to a method and apparatus of obtaining and processing vehicle data at a point of reference simultaneously.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Improving safety on roads and highways has been identified as high priority due to the large number of accidents and fatalities. Therefore, several significant studies need to be conducted to address the need for information on traffic volume; a knowledge that can be used to obtain more effective countermeasures. However, for many years even organizations in the transportation industry, let alone governmental and law enforcement agencies could only obtain data and information on the number of vehicles passing through a given intersection or a road link segment instead of a whole lot more of accurate and precise information. This accurate and precise means of obtaining information should be able to classify every type of vehicles passing through the intersection or road link segment and number of persons in the vehicle (vehicle occupancy) to support faster and more accurate process of transmitting data and information for any subsequent study purposes. Information obtained from existing traffic counter, intersection counter and traffic classifier were rather limited with minimal data retrieval and could not print out characteristics of vehicle such as described earlier. There have been many advances in technology since the advent of intersection counter and its use to count traffic volume. Generally, the attempt to develop any technology to create such device equipped with reliable software system has always been seen as the most essential for traffic studies at intersections and road network. Currently many kinds of systems or devices are available which count or calculate volume of traffic. The use of these dedicated systems or devices create certain problems in terms of data reliability due to a tedious process of transferring written data on paper into computer storage.

There is therefore a need for more accountable means of obtaining vehicle data that reaches beyond manual transferal into computer storage.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Accordingly there is provided a method of obtaining and processing vehicle data at a point of reference simultaneously, the method includes the steps of capturing presence of a vehicle, counting number of vehicles based on the captured presence, classifying vehicles based on type and occupancy, displaying data of vehicles that is processed and transferring data for further analysis and usage.

There is further provided an apparatus for obtaining and processing vehicle data at a point of reference simultaneously, the apparatus includes a plurality of input means wherein the input means indicate classification of type of vehicle and occupancy of vehicle, a display means and an output port, wherein the data is transferrable to other devices for processing. The present invention consists of several novel features and a combination of parts hereinafter fully described and illustrated in the accompanying description and drawings, it being understood that various changes in the details may be made without departing from the scope of the invention or sacrificing any of the advantages of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The present invention will be fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawing which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, wherein:

Figure 1 shows a flowchart of the method of obtaining and processing vehicle data at a point of reference simultaneously in a preferred embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 2 shows a front view of an apparatus for obtaining and processing vehicle data at a point of reference simultaneously in the preferred embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus of obtaining and processing vehicle data at a point of reference simultaneously. A detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed herein. It should be understood, however, that the disclosed preferred embodiment are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, the details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as the basis for the claims and for teaching one skilled in the art of the invention.

The following detailed description of the preferred embodiment will now be described in accordance with the attached drawings, either individually or in combination.

The preferred embodiment of a method of obtaining and processing vehicle data at a point of reference simultaneously is described herein. The method includes the steps of capturing presence of a vehicle, counting number of vehicles based on the captured presence, classifying vehicles based on type and occupancy, displaying data of vehicles that is processed and transferring data for further analysis and usage. The method is used for recording number of vehicles based on data produced by an intersection traffic classifying means. The intersection traffic classifying means is used to count and record the number of vehicles according to vehicle type or class and record vehicle occupancy at intersections and road link segments. An example of an embodiment of the intersection traffic classifying means is an intersection traffic classifier (ITC). The data is used for traffic studies which require determination of number of vehicles and vehicle occupancy for each turning movement at a given

rnorl link- canmon With reference to Figure 1 , the process of obtaining the traffic data may be summarised as follows:

As seen in Figure 1 (a), at the start of the traffic data collection process, the first vehicle is observed and its type or class is determined visually by an observer.

As seen in Figure 1 (b) the observer will then press the appropriate button on the ITC according to the vehicle type or class that he has determined earlier. This data is displayed on the LCD panel and recorded by the ITC.

As seen in Figure 1(c) the observer identifies the number of persons he/she observed in the vehicle.

As seen in Figure 1 (d) the observer then presses the appropriate button on the ITC according to vehicle occupancy. This data is displayed on the LCD panel and recorded by the ITC.

As seen in Figure 1 (e) the observer will now decide whether he/she want to continue the process of traffic data collection or to stop at that point in time. If he/she decides to continue, the next vehicle will be observed and its type/class is determined (Figure 1(a) and the same process that precedes this will follow). On the other hand, if the observer decides to stop collecting traffic data at this point in time, he/she can upload the data from the ITC to a computer (Figure 1 (f)). Vehicle types are selected from, but not restricted to, motorcycle, passenger car, pickup truck, small truck, large truck, and bus that pass through a given intersection or road link. Data that are obtained through recording process by a recorder are transmitted directly to a computer via a USB port from the device to the computer. Captured data transferred are date, time, type/class of vehicle and vehicle occupancy.

All the data is centrally processed, stored, and used in future studies or projects such as on-going traffic monitoring, updating data and information of road users, necessary improvement at intersections or in the road network and for other purposes.

An apparatus for obtaining and processing vehicle data at a point of reference simultaneously is also described. The apparatus includes a plurality of input means wherein the input means indicate classification of type of vehicle and occupancy of vehicle, a display means and an output port, wherein the data is transferrable to other devices for processing.

The apparatus has memory storage with the capability to store a certain amount of data and information to support smooth process of data retrieval by the user. The point of reference referred to is a particular intersection or road link. Captured data that is transferrable are date, time, type/class of vehicle and vehicle occupancy. All data may be uploaded automatically into computer storage. An example of the plurality of input means is buttons. The output from this embodiment of the invention can be uploaded to a computer through various means. An example of the apparatus used in this embodiment is an intersection traffic classifier (ITC) as shown in Figure 2.

It is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention described are exchangeable for other variations of the same in order to be used in various applications. The present embodiment of the invention is intended for, but not restricted to, simultaneously counting and classifying vehicle data and vehicle occupancy at a rior im ilor nint f roforon o

Claims

1. A method of obtaining and processing vehicle data at a point of reference simultaneously, the method includes the steps of:

i. capturing presence of a vehicle;

ii. counting number of vehicles based on the captured presence;

iii. classifying vehicles based on type and occupancy; and

iv. displaying data of vehicles that is processed,

v. transferring and uploading data to a computer.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the data is stored in storage devices.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the data is transferred to other devices for further processing.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the point of reference is a particular intersection or road link.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein captured data that is transferred are date, time, type/class of vehicle and vehicle occupancy.

6. An apparatus for obtaining and processing vehicle data at a point of reference simultaneously, the apparatus includes a plurality of input means wherein the input means indicate classification of type of vehicle and occupancy of vehicle, a display means and an output port, wherein the data is transferable to other devices for processing.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the data is storable in storage devices.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the point of reference is a particular intersection or road link.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein captured data that is transferrable are date, time, type/class of vehicle and vehicle occupancy.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein an example of the apparatus is an intersection traffic classifier (ITC).