WO2020071995A1 - Real time vehicle location system - Google Patents

Real time vehicle location system

Info

Publication number
WO2020071995A1
WO2020071995A1 PCT/SG2018/050499 SG2018050499W WO2020071995A1 WO 2020071995 A1 WO2020071995 A1 WO 2020071995A1 SG 2018050499 W SG2018050499 W SG 2018050499W WO 2020071995 A1 WO2020071995 A1 WO 2020071995A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
location
vehicle
geographic position
beacon
license plate
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/SG2018/050499
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Hsueh Cheng Sagin HSU
Yu Zhang
Original Assignee
Ncs Pte. Ltd.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Ncs Pte. Ltd. filed Critical Ncs Pte. Ltd.
Priority to PCT/SG2018/050499 priority Critical patent/WO2020071995A1/en
Publication of WO2020071995A1 publication Critical patent/WO2020071995A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S5/00—Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
    • G01S5/16—Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S19/00—Satellite radio beacon positioning systems; Determining position, velocity or attitude using signals transmitted by such systems
    • G01S19/01—Satellite radio beacon positioning systems transmitting time-stamped messages, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System], GLONASS [Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System] or GALILEO
    • G01S19/03—Cooperating elements; Interaction or communication between different cooperating elements or between cooperating elements and receivers
    • G01S19/04—Cooperating elements; Interaction or communication between different cooperating elements or between cooperating elements and receivers providing carrier phase data
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S19/00—Satellite radio beacon positioning systems; Determining position, velocity or attitude using signals transmitted by such systems
    • G01S19/01—Satellite radio beacon positioning systems transmitting time-stamped messages, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System], GLONASS [Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System] or GALILEO
    • G01S19/13—Receivers
    • G01S19/21—Interference related issues ; Issues related to cross-correlation, spoofing or other methods of denial of service
    • G01S19/215—Interference related issues ; Issues related to cross-correlation, spoofing or other methods of denial of service issues related to spoofing
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S5/00—Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
    • G01S5/0009—Transmission of position information to remote stations
    • G01S5/0045—Transmission from base station to mobile station
    • G01S5/0054—Transmission from base station to mobile station of actual mobile position, i.e. position calculation on base station
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S11/00—Systems for determining distance or velocity not using reflection or reradiation
    • G01S11/12—Systems for determining distance or velocity not using reflection or reradiation using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S19/00—Satellite radio beacon positioning systems; Determining position, velocity or attitude using signals transmitted by such systems
    • G01S19/38—Determining a navigation solution using signals transmitted by a satellite radio beacon positioning system
    • G01S19/39—Determining a navigation solution using signals transmitted by a satellite radio beacon positioning system the satellite radio beacon positioning system transmitting time-stamped messages, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System], GLONASS [Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System] or GALILEO
    • G01S19/42—Determining position
    • G01S19/48—Determining position by combining or switching between position solutions derived from the satellite radio beacon positioning system and position solutions derived from a further system

Definitions

  • Automated Number Recognition Cameras are being deployed to monitor traffic movement, identify vehicles for tolling, and other functions. These cameras may be video cameras with hardware or software functions that may identify license plates of vehicles that may pass by the camera. Typically, these cameras may be mounted near a roadway and may monitor vehicles on a continuous basis. In many cases, cameras may include infrared lighting or other mechanisms to detect vehicles in daytime and nighttime conditions.
  • a vehicle’s position may be monitored using a combination of a roadside video camera, a stationary satellite positioning receiver, a locally transmitting beacon, and an onboard processing unit mounted in a vehicle.
  • the stationary components may detect a vehicle, determine its position with accuracy, and may broadcast the position to the vehicle’s onboard unit, which may use the location directly, or may compare the onboard unit’s global positioning system location with a location received or derived from the beacon.
  • the beacon may transmit information from a real time kinematic location receiver, which may supplement an onboard unit’s location information.
  • the onboard unit may identify discrepancies between any location detected by the onboard unit and location information received from the roadside beacon.
  • FIGURE 1 is a diagram illustration of an example embodiment showing a roadside video monitoring and location gateway system.
  • FIGURE 2 is a diagram illustration of an embodiment showing a network environment with a location gateway system.
  • FIGURE 3 is a flowchart illustration of an embodiment showing a method for configuring and operating an automated number plate recognition camera.
  • FIGURE 4 is a flowchart illustration of an embodiment showing a method of operation for a location gateway.
  • FIGURE 5 is a flowchart illustration of an embodiment showing a method of operation for a beacon device.
  • FIGURE 6 is a flowchart illustration of an embodiment showing a method for processing location information on a vehicle’s onboard unit.
  • a roadside system may monitor vehicles and assist onboard units mounted in the vehicles with location information.
  • the roadside system may supplement or provide location information that may be transmitted to an onboard unit as a vehicle passes the stationary roadside system.
  • the roadside devices may include a video camera system that may be configured to identify a vehicle’s license plate number as well as determine the vehicle’s location and speed. The location may be useful to determine which lane a vehicle may be traveling, especially for tolling use cases where different tolls may be assessed for using different lanes.
  • the video system may detect a vehicle entering a field of view, then may detect the vehicle’s movement within the field of view. Based on the positioning of the vehicle within the field of view and changes from one frame to another of a video stream, the vehicle’s course and speed may be measured.
  • the video camera may be mounted and calibrated such that the movements of a vehicle from one frame to another may accurately determine both speed and position.
  • the roadside system may include a beacon or other radio transmitter which may communicate with an onboard unit to transmit the position, speed, and other information for the vehicle.
  • the roadside devices may capture license plate and vehicle motion information for multiple cars, such as when a system may be mounted near a multi-lane road or expressway.
  • the roadside system may calculate position and movement information for multiple vehicles, and may transmit the location information with the associated license plate numbers.
  • the onboard units for the vehicles may identify the appropriate location information by associating the license plate number of the vehicle.
  • the roadside system may include a real time kinematic receiver, which may provide signals that may increase the accuracy of a standard satellite navigation system.
  • a real time kinematic receiver may provide signals that may increase the accuracy of a standard satellite navigation system.
  • Such systems may increase the accuracy of an onboard unit’s satellite location receiver.
  • an onboard unit’s satellite location receiver may not have sufficient precision to determine which lane a vehicle may be traveling, and by adding increased precision due to real time kinematic system signaling, such a lane determination may be made with much greater confidence.
  • an onboard unit may not be able to determine its location with great accuracy. For example, in tunnels or under bridges, an onboard unit may not be able to connect with global navigation satellite systems at all. In a dense urban environment with tall buildings nearby, such a system may not be able to connect with enough satellites, or may have multipath or other reflectivity issues which may cause an onboard system to lose accuracy.
  • a roadside beacon may transmit location information to an onboard unit, which may compensate for missing or inaccurate onboard location determination.
  • the roadside system may use video, real time kinematics, or a combination of video and real time kinematics to supplement or replace onboard location determination. Such systems may be used where satellite connectivity may be unreliable, or in cases where higher location accuracy may be desired, such as with a tolling location.
  • tolls may be assessed based on a vehicle’s lane choice. For example, an express lane may incur a higher toll than a conventional travel lane. In such an example, the accuracy of a vehicle’s lane determination may adversely affect the tolls being collected. A higher confidence in the lane selection may result in more accurate toll collection.
  • Another use case may involve providing increased accuracy of vehicle location in areas of poor or zero satellite coverage, or where spoofing or other interference may cause poor location determination.
  • a roadside system may determine a vehicle’s location using a known reference point, which may verify or override an onboard unit’s location determination. Such a system may insure greater accuracy of an onboard unit’s location near the roadside devices.
  • Such systems may be useful in the field of self-driving or self-navigating vehicles, where a vehicle may not have a human operator to aid in navigation.
  • a roadside system may gather location information that may assist onboard units mounted in vehicles.
  • the roadside system may include video cameras, real time kinematics receivers, or merely use pre-surveyed locations to determine a vehicle’s location, then may transmit the location information to an onboard unit.
  • a beacon technology protocol may be used to transmit the location information to the onboard unit.
  • An onboard unit may receive the location information and use the location information in several different scenarios.
  • the information may confirm or supplement the location.
  • a confirmation may increase the confidence in the location information
  • any supplemental information such as with real time kinematic signals, may increase the accuracy of the location information.
  • the roadside system may be considered more accurate and therefore may be used in place of any onboard location determination.
  • Some systems may be able to detect spoofing, intentional or unintentional interference, or other irregularities that may generate an alert to authorities.
  • references to“a processor” include multiple processors. In some cases, a process that may be performed by“a processor” may be actually performed by multiple processors on the same device or on different devices. For the purposes of this specification and claims, any reference to“a processor” shall include multiple processors, which may be on the same device or different devices, unless expressly specified otherwise.
  • the subject matter may be embodied as devices, systems, methods, and/or computer program products. Accordingly, some or all of the subject matter may be embodied in hardware and/or in software (including firmware, resident software, micro code, state machines, gate arrays, etc.) Furthermore, the subject matter may take the form of a computer program product on a computer-usable or computer-readable storage medium having computer-usable or computer-readable program code embodied in the medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system.
  • a computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be any medium that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.
  • the computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium.
  • computer readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media.
  • Computer storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data.
  • Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can accessed by an instruction execution system.
  • the computer-usable or computer-readable medium could be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program can be electronically captured, via, for instance, optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted, of otherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory.
  • the embodiment may comprise program modules, executed by one or more systems, computers, or other devices.
  • program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.
  • functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments.
  • Figure 1 is a diagram illustration of an embodiment 100 showing a vehicle location system.
  • the system may monitor a roadway 102 for various vehicles 104 and 106, and may transmit location information to the vehicles.
  • the location information may be used by onboard units 108 and 110, respectively, to improve the accuracy of a vehicle’s location in various scenarios.
  • Accurately locating a vehicle may be useful in many scenarios, including where a vehicle’s lane selection may cause different tolling to be applied. For example, many cities may have express lanes where a toll may be higher than a conventional lane. In such a use case, the location accuracy may be sufficient to differentiate between lanes, thereby ensuring that correct tolls were assessed to the vehicles.
  • GPS Global Positioning System
  • satellite location receivers may receive satellite signals from which a position may be triangulated.
  • satellite reception may be unavailable (such as in a tunnel) or may be inaccurate (such as near tall buildings).
  • satellite location services may be artificially spoofed or otherwise made ineffective.
  • Such circumstances may be unintentional, such as when inadvertent radio transmissions may interfere with satellite signals, or intentional, such as when a person may intentionally jam or interfere with such signals.
  • the location of vehicles 104 and 106 may be determined at least in part by a video camera 110, which may determine the position, direction, and speed of the vehicles 104 and 106.
  • the video camera 110 may be positioned and calibrated such that measurements of position, direction, and speed may correspond to latitude and longitude coordinates, as well as speed in miles per hour or kilometers per hour.
  • the video camera 110 may be calibrated to detect and analyze vehicles passing through a camera field of view 112.
  • Some systems may classify position in terms of lane designations. Such systems may return a lane designation for a particular vehicle, especially when the lane designation may be meaningful in a tolling use case.
  • the video camera 110 may include a process for identifying and reading a license plate number.
  • a license place may be recognized within a video frame, and optical character recognition may be used to determine the license plate number.
  • the location information about a vehicle may be associated with the vehicle’s license plate number.
  • Some systems may have multiple video cameras. For example, some systems may have several cameras, one for each lane of a roadway 102. Others may have one camera that may span two or more lanes. In another example, some systems may have video cameras positioned to capture the front and back of the vehicles. Such systems may have one set of cameras looking against the direction of travel, which may capture the front of a vehicles, with another set of cameras facing in the direction of travel, which may capture the rear of the same vehicles. In many such cases, the cameras may be coordinated such that images of the front and back of a vehicle may be associated with each other.
  • a location gateway 114 may collect position information about a vehicle and transmit that information back to the vehicle using a beacon 116.
  • the vehicles 104 and 106 may pass through a camera field of view 112, which may be upstream from a beacon active area 118.
  • the vehicle’s positions may be determined by analyzing video from the video camera 110, then that location information may be transmitted to the vehicle’s onboard units as the vehicles pass the beacon active area 118 further down the roadway.
  • the beacon 116 may transmit a set of location coordinates and other information to the vehicles when the vehicles pass through the beacon active area 118.
  • the location information for all of the available vehicles may be transmitted to each vehicle as the vehicles pass by. Such situations may occur when there may be multiple lanes of vehicles and multiple cars passing the beacon nearly simultaneously. In such situations, the onboard units of the various vehicles may parse the information from the beacon 116 to determine which location information may pertain to that specific vehicle.
  • Some systems may include a real time kinematics base station 120, which may be a stationary satellite receiver from which real time kinematics location information may be received. Such information may be used to increase the accuracy of satellite position receivers located in the vehicles. Such information may be transmitted by the beacon 116 to the various vehicles for processing.
  • the system of embodiment 100 may increase the accuracy of position information for vehicles passing through the roadway 102.
  • a video system may determine physical location of the vehicles, and the physical location may be transmitted to the vehicles for processing.
  • Such as system may allow onboard units on the vehicles to determine their location with much higher precision or where GPS or other satellite location systems may be ineffective.
  • Figure 2 is a diagram of an embodiment 200 showing components in a location system that may assist vehicle onboard units with increased precision or for providing location information when an onboard unit may be unable to obtain location information.
  • Embodiment 200 may be an example architecture that may sense location information using video cameras, then transmit location information to onboard units using a beacon. The onboard units may process the location information to improve location accuracy, as well as other functions.
  • the diagram of Figure 2 illustrates functional components of a system.
  • the component may be a hardware component, a software component, or a combination of hardware and software.
  • Some of the components may be application level software, while other components may be execution environment level components.
  • the connection of one component to another may be a close connection where two or more components are operating on a single hardware platform. In other cases, the connections may be made over network connections spanning long distances.
  • Each embodiment may use different hardware, software, and interconnection
  • Embodiment 200 illustrates a device 202 that may have a hardware platform 204 and various software components.
  • the device 202 as illustrated represents a conventional computing device, although other embodiments may have different configurations, architectures, or components.
  • the device 202 may be a server computer. In some embodiments, the device 202 may still also be a desktop computer, laptop computer, netbook computer, tablet or slate computer, wireless handset, cellular telephone, game console or any other type of computing device. In some embodiments, the device 202 may be implemented on a cluster of computing devices, which may be a group of physical or virtual machines.
  • the hardware platform 204 may include a processor 208, random access memory 210, and nonvolatile storage 212. The hardware platform 204 may also include a user interface 214 and network interface 216.
  • the random access memory 210 may be storage that contains data objects and executable code that can be quickly accessed by the processors 208.
  • the random access memory 210 may have a high-speed bus connecting the memory 210 to the processors 208.
  • the nonvolatile storage 212 may be storage that persists after the device 202 is shut down.
  • the nonvolatile storage 212 may be any type of storage device, including hard disk, solid state memory devices, magnetic tape, optical storage, or other type of storage.
  • the nonvolatile storage 212 may be read only or read/write capable.
  • the nonvolatile storage 212 may be cloud based, network storage, or other storage that may be accessed over a network connection.
  • the user interface 214 may be any type of hardware capable of displaying output and receiving input from a user.
  • the output display may be a graphical display monitor, although output devices may include lights and other visual output, audio output, kinetic actuator output, as well as other output devices.
  • Conventional input devices may include keyboards and pointing devices such as a mouse, stylus, trackball, or other pointing device.
  • Other input devices may include various sensors, including biometric input devices, audio and video input devices, and other sensors.
  • the network interface 216 may be any type of connection to another computer.
  • the network interface 216 may be a wired Ethernet connection.
  • Other embodiments may include wired or wireless connections over various communication protocols.
  • the software components 206 may include an operating system 218 on which various software components and services may operate.
  • a location coordinator 220 may process vehicle location information from one or more cameras, real time kinematics base stations, or other sources, and transmit the location information to moving vehicles through a beacon.
  • the location coordinator 220 may be a conduit through which one or more sources of location information may be presented to onboard units mounted in vehicles, such that the onboard units may be able to verify or improve their location information.
  • One source of location information may be a set of automated number plate recognition (ANPR) systems 222.
  • the automated number plate recognition systems 222 may capture video of vehicles passing by on a roadway, and may determine the vehicle’s license plate number as well as the vehicle’s position, speed, and direction of travel. In many cases, such systems may indicate which lane of a multi-lane roadway a vehicle may be traveling.
  • Some installations may have one such system, while others may have several automated number plate recognition systems 222 arranged to cover multiple lanes and multiple views of vehicles passing by.
  • the automated number plate recognition systems 222 may operate on a hardware platform 224 and may contain a video camera 226 along with several software or hardware components.
  • the video camera 226 may produce a video feed 228.
  • a trigger 230 may determine that a vehicle has entered a field of view, and may cause a vehicle speed and location detector 232 and license plate recognizer 234 to execute.
  • a vehicle speed and location detector 232 may analyze the video feed 228 to determine a vehicle’s position, speed, and direction.
  • the detector 232 may analyze a vehicle’s position in one video frame and compare the position to a second and subsequent video frame. From such analyses, a vehicle’s speed and direction may be determined.
  • the camera 226 may be positioned and calibrated such that the position in a video frame may be correlated to a specific latitude and longitude.
  • the calibration mechanism may determine such locations with a very high accuracy, often more accurate than may be available with conventional satellite position systems.
  • the vehicle speed and direction detector 232 may identify a specific lane of a roadway in which a vehicle may be traveling. Such an identification process may provide an additional data parameter of a lane designation, which may or may not be transmitted to an onboard unit in addition to latitude and longitude coordinates.
  • a license plate recognizer 234 may detect a license place within a video image, and may perform optical character recognition to determine a license number.
  • the license number may be an identifier that may be associated with location information and transmitted to an onboard unit.
  • a beacon 236 may transmit information to various onboard units 238.
  • Each onboard unit 238 may be associated with a different vehicle. In some instances, every vehicle in a jurisdiction may be required to possess an onboard unit 238, while in other instances, the onboard units 238 may be optional.
  • the onboard units 238 may operate on a hardware platform 240 and may have a location analyzer 242.
  • the location analyzer 242 may determine a location of the onboard unit 238 for use in billing and other applications. For example, some systems may use an onboard unit 238 to assess fees for parking or for determining tolls for bridges, tunnels, or express lanes. In some cases, the location accuracy may be a factor in assessing the appropriate toll or fee. For example, a vehicle in an express lane may be assessed a different toll than an adjacent vehicle in a non-express lane.
  • a location analyzer 242 may receive satellite location information from a Global Positioning System (GPS) or other type of satellite location receiver 244.
  • GPS Global Positioning System
  • the satellite location information may be inaccurate or unavailable in some situations. For example, an automated tolling station inside a tunnel or that may be occluded by trees or tall buildings may render a satellite location receiver ineffective. In an extreme case, satellite signals may be intentionally spoofed or otherwise interfered with so that location information may be inaccurate or false.
  • the location analyzer 242 may compare location information from the location coordinator 220 on device 202 to determine whether or not the location information from the receiver 244 may be accurate. In cases where location information provided by the receiver 244 may be inaccurate or unreliable, the location information received from the location coordinator 220 may be used as a substitute. In some cases, location information from the location coordinator 220 may be used to enhance or otherwise increase the accuracy or reliability of location information received from the satellite receiver 244. [0067] The location analyzer 242 may store location information in a location history database 246, which may be used by various billing applications 248 to assess tolls or fees. The location history database 246 may be updated with a timestamped record of location data each time a vehicle passes through a location system such as embodiments 100 and 200.
  • a radio frequency (RF) connector 250 may be a component that may communicate with the beacon 236 to receive location information.
  • the RF connector 250 may detect the presence of a beacon 236, establish a communication path, and receive information from the beacon. Once received, the location analyzer 242 may parse the information to identify location information associated with the vehicle’s license plate number, and then determine how best to use the location information.
  • a real time kinematics base station 252 may receive signals that may be used to enhance the precision of location information received by satellite location systems.
  • the real time kinematics base station 252 may receive correction signals that may be transmitted to an onboard unit 238, where the real time kinematics correction signals may be combined with satellite location information received from a GPS or other satellite receiver 244.
  • Many of the devices illustrated in embodiment 200 may be connected by a network 254.
  • One such device may be an administrative device 256, which may have a hardware platform 258 on which an administrative application 260 may operate.
  • the administrative application 260 may be used to communicate with the device 202, the automated number plate recognition systems 232, or other devices.
  • the administrative application 260 may be used to configure, monitor, and manage the various devices.
  • FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustration of an embodiment 300 showing a calibration and operation sequence for a camera system, such as the automated number plate recognition camera system illustrated as item 222.
  • Embodiment 300 is an example of the steps that may be performed during the installation and use of an automated camera system that identifies a vehicle, determines its license plate number, and calculates the vehicle’s position, direction, and velocity.
  • the camera system may be positioned over or near a roadway, and in many cases, multiple cameras may be arranged in a zone to capture vehicles on a multi-lane roadway.
  • Video cameras may be installed over or near a roadway in block 302.
  • the camera may be calibrated for detecting vehicle positions and movement vectors.
  • a camera may be mounted above or beside a roadway. The camera may be positioned and adjusted to capture an image of at least one vehicle in one lane of the roadway.
  • a surveyed location may be identified within the field of view of the camera, and the location may be stored, as well as the distance from the camera to the surveyed location. Such a location may be used as a reference point for measuring movements of vehicles within the video stream.
  • the normal operation of the camera system may begin in block 308 when a vehicle may be detected.
  • a vehicle’s license place may be identified within the video stream in block 310, and optical character recognition may be performed in block 312 to determine the vehicle’s license plate number.
  • the movement vector of the vehicle may be determined in block 314 by comparing the position of the vehicle from one frame to the next. In many cases, a movement vector may be computed over several video frames.
  • the lane position of the vehicle may be determined in block 316.
  • a camera may be positioned and calibrated with a boundary within the field of view.
  • the boundary may be positioned such that a vehicle inside or outside the boundary may be classified as being within a specific lane.
  • a timestamp may be determined in block 318 and a set of location information may be transmitted in block 320.
  • a typical transmission may include the vehicle license plate number, the position, direction, and velocity of the vehicle, the lane position, and the timestamp of the observation.
  • the transmission may be made to a gateway location coordinator, which may subsequently transmit the information to onboard units mounted on the vehicle.
  • a camera system may be capable of recognizing and processing multiple vehicles.
  • two or more cameras may be positioned to capture the front and back of each vehicle.
  • Video streams from such cameras may be analyzed together or separately to identify the vehicle and calculate the vehicle’s position, direction, and velocity, as well as lane identifier.
  • Figure 4 is a flowchart illustration of an embodiment 400 showing a method for operation of a location gateway.
  • the operations of embodiment 400 may be the operations of a location gateway 114 or location coordinator 220, as illustrated in embodiments 100 and 200, respectively.
  • a location gateway may operate by receiving vehicle information from a camera system in block 402.
  • vehicle information may include a license plate number, vehicle position, direction, and velocity, lane designation, timestamp, and other information.
  • the gateway may also receive real time kinematic correction information in block 404, which may be used to refine or enhance positioning information from satellite location systems.
  • the various location information may be formatted in block 406 and transmitted to a beacon system in block 408.
  • FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustration of an embodiment 500 showing a method for operation of a beacon, such as the beacon 116 or 236 illustrated in embodiments 100 and 200, respectively.
  • a beacon may receive vehicle and location information in block 502.
  • a beacon may receive information for multiple vehicles.
  • a vehicle may be detected nearby in block 504, and all available information may be transmitted to the vehicle in block 506.
  • information for multiple vehicles may be contained in a single transmission.
  • a beacon transmission may include a set of location coordinates that may be a set of default location coordinates for any vehicle within range of the beacon.
  • the default location coordinates may represent a location that may be used by an onboard unit when no other location information may be available and when a beacon may not have information relating to that vehicle.
  • the beacon transmission may be made without identifying the nearby vehicles to determine whether or not the vehicle sensed by the beacon may be a vehicle for which location information may be available. In many cases, a vehicle may receive location information for a different vehicle, and the onboard unit of the vehicle may determine that the location information may not apply to that vehicle.
  • Figure 6 is a flowchart illustration of an embodiment 600 showing processes used by an onboard unit in a vehicle for processing location information received from a location gateway.
  • Embodiment 600 shows a process for analyzing location information received from a location gateway.
  • the location information may be used to improve location accuracy, verify existing location information, or replace location information that may be untrustworthy.
  • a vehicle’s onboard unit may detect a beacon in block 602 and may receive a beacon transmission in block 604.
  • the beacon transmission may include license plate numbers and associated location information for one or more vehicles.
  • the beacon transmission may also include a default location that may be used when no other location information may be available.
  • satellite location information is not available from an onboard satellite receiver in block 606
  • an analysis may be performed in block 608 to determine whether or not the vehicle’s license plate number was contained in the transmission. If the beacon transmission contained the vehicle’s license plate and associated information in block 608 but a satellite location information was not available in block 606, the location information provided in the beacon transmission may be used as the vehicle’s location in block 610.
  • beacon information does not include the vehicle’s license plate number in block 608 and there is no onboard satellite location information in block 606, the default location information contained in the beacon transmission may be used as the vehicle’s location in block 612.
  • the difference between the beacon-supplied location information and the satellite location information may be determined in block 614. If the difference is greater than a pre defined threshold in block 616, the location may be labeled as possibly spoofed in block 618. The satellite location information may be considered void and the process may continue with block 608.
  • the location information may be updated and refined using the real time kinematics correction data in block 622.
  • the location may be updated using the onboard satellite information supplemented by the lane designation provided in the beacon transmission in block 624.

Abstract

A vehicle's position may be monitored using a combination of a roadside video camera, a stationary satellite positioning receiver, a locally transmitting beacon, and an onboard processing unit mounted in a vehicle. The stationary components may detect a vehicle, determine its position with accuracy, and may broadcast the position to the vehicle's onboard unit, which may use the location directly, or may compare the onboard unit's global positioning system location with a location received or derived from the beacon. In some cases, the beacon may transmit information from a real time kinematic location receiver, which may supplement an onboard unit's location information. The onboard unit may identify discrepancies between any location detected by the onboard unit and location information received from the roadside beacon.

Description

Real Time Vehicle Location System
Background
[0001] Automated Number Recognition Cameras are being deployed to monitor traffic movement, identify vehicles for tolling, and other functions. These cameras may be video cameras with hardware or software functions that may identify license plates of vehicles that may pass by the camera. Typically, these cameras may be mounted near a roadway and may monitor vehicles on a continuous basis. In many cases, cameras may include infrared lighting or other mechanisms to detect vehicles in daytime and nighttime conditions.
Summary
[0002] A vehicle’s position may be monitored using a combination of a roadside video camera, a stationary satellite positioning receiver, a locally transmitting beacon, and an onboard processing unit mounted in a vehicle. The stationary components may detect a vehicle, determine its position with accuracy, and may broadcast the position to the vehicle’s onboard unit, which may use the location directly, or may compare the onboard unit’s global positioning system location with a location received or derived from the beacon. In some cases, the beacon may transmit information from a real time kinematic location receiver, which may supplement an onboard unit’s location information. The onboard unit may identify discrepancies between any location detected by the onboard unit and location information received from the roadside beacon.
[0003] This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Brief Description of the Drawings
[0004] In the drawings,
[0005] FIGURE 1 is a diagram illustration of an example embodiment showing a roadside video monitoring and location gateway system.
[0006] FIGURE 2 is a diagram illustration of an embodiment showing a network environment with a location gateway system.
[0007] FIGURE 3 is a flowchart illustration of an embodiment showing a method for configuring and operating an automated number plate recognition camera.
[0008] FIGURE 4 is a flowchart illustration of an embodiment showing a method of operation for a location gateway.
[0009] FIGURE 5 is a flowchart illustration of an embodiment showing a method of operation for a beacon device.
[0010] FIGURE 6 is a flowchart illustration of an embodiment showing a method for processing location information on a vehicle’s onboard unit.
Detailed Description
[0011] Roadside Location Monitoring
[0012] Overall System
[0013] A roadside system may monitor vehicles and assist onboard units mounted in the vehicles with location information. The roadside system may supplement or provide location information that may be transmitted to an onboard unit as a vehicle passes the stationary roadside system.
[0014] The roadside devices may include a video camera system that may be configured to identify a vehicle’s license plate number as well as determine the vehicle’s location and speed. The location may be useful to determine which lane a vehicle may be traveling, especially for tolling use cases where different tolls may be assessed for using different lanes. [0015] The video system may detect a vehicle entering a field of view, then may detect the vehicle’s movement within the field of view. Based on the positioning of the vehicle within the field of view and changes from one frame to another of a video stream, the vehicle’s course and speed may be measured. The video camera may be mounted and calibrated such that the movements of a vehicle from one frame to another may accurately determine both speed and position.
[0016] The roadside system may include a beacon or other radio transmitter which may communicate with an onboard unit to transmit the position, speed, and other information for the vehicle. In many cases, the roadside devices may capture license plate and vehicle motion information for multiple cars, such as when a system may be mounted near a multi-lane road or expressway. In such cases, the roadside system may calculate position and movement information for multiple vehicles, and may transmit the location information with the associated license plate numbers. The onboard units for the vehicles may identify the appropriate location information by associating the license plate number of the vehicle.
[0017] In some cases, the roadside system may include a real time kinematic receiver, which may provide signals that may increase the accuracy of a standard satellite navigation system. Such systems may increase the accuracy of an onboard unit’s satellite location receiver. In many cases, an onboard unit’s satellite location receiver may not have sufficient precision to determine which lane a vehicle may be traveling, and by adding increased precision due to real time kinematic system signaling, such a lane determination may be made with much greater confidence.
[0018] Use Cases
[0019] In many situations, an onboard unit may not be able to determine its location with great accuracy. For example, in tunnels or under bridges, an onboard unit may not be able to connect with global navigation satellite systems at all. In a dense urban environment with tall buildings nearby, such a system may not be able to connect with enough satellites, or may have multipath or other reflectivity issues which may cause an onboard system to lose accuracy. [0020] A roadside beacon may transmit location information to an onboard unit, which may compensate for missing or inaccurate onboard location determination. The roadside system may use video, real time kinematics, or a combination of video and real time kinematics to supplement or replace onboard location determination. Such systems may be used where satellite connectivity may be unreliable, or in cases where higher location accuracy may be desired, such as with a tolling location.
[0021] In a tolling use case, different tolls may be assessed based on a vehicle’s lane choice. For example, an express lane may incur a higher toll than a conventional travel lane. In such an example, the accuracy of a vehicle’s lane determination may adversely affect the tolls being collected. A higher confidence in the lane selection may result in more accurate toll collection.
[0022] Another use case may involve providing increased accuracy of vehicle location in areas of poor or zero satellite coverage, or where spoofing or other interference may cause poor location determination. A roadside system may determine a vehicle’s location using a known reference point, which may verify or override an onboard unit’s location determination. Such a system may insure greater accuracy of an onboard unit’s location near the roadside devices. Such systems may be useful in the field of self-driving or self-navigating vehicles, where a vehicle may not have a human operator to aid in navigation.
[0023] System Operation
[0024] A roadside system may gather location information that may assist onboard units mounted in vehicles. The roadside system may include video cameras, real time kinematics receivers, or merely use pre-surveyed locations to determine a vehicle’s location, then may transmit the location information to an onboard unit. In many cases, a beacon technology protocol may be used to transmit the location information to the onboard unit.
[0025] An onboard unit may receive the location information and use the location information in several different scenarios. When the roadside location information may be consistent with location information determined onboard the vehicle, the information may confirm or supplement the location. A confirmation may increase the confidence in the location information, and any supplemental information, such as with real time kinematic signals, may increase the accuracy of the location information.
[0026] In some cases, there may be a discrepancy between onboard location information and location information coming from a roadside system. In such cases, the roadside system’s location information may be considered more accurate and therefore may be used in place of any onboard location determination. Some systems may be able to detect spoofing, intentional or unintentional interference, or other irregularities that may generate an alert to authorities.
[0027] Throughout this specification, like reference numbers signify the same elements throughout the description of the figures.
[0028] In the specification and claims, references to“a processor” include multiple processors. In some cases, a process that may be performed by“a processor” may be actually performed by multiple processors on the same device or on different devices. For the purposes of this specification and claims, any reference to“a processor” shall include multiple processors, which may be on the same device or different devices, unless expressly specified otherwise.
[0029] When elements are referred to as being“connected” or“coupled,” the elements can be directly connected or coupled together or one or more intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when elements are referred to as being “directly connected” or“directly coupled,” there are no intervening elements present.
[0030] The subject matter may be embodied as devices, systems, methods, and/or computer program products. Accordingly, some or all of the subject matter may be embodied in hardware and/or in software (including firmware, resident software, micro code, state machines, gate arrays, etc.) Furthermore, the subject matter may take the form of a computer program product on a computer-usable or computer-readable storage medium having computer-usable or computer-readable program code embodied in the medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system. In the context of this document, a computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be any medium that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. [0031] The computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium. By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media.
[0032] Computer storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can accessed by an instruction execution system. Note that the computer-usable or computer-readable medium could be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program can be electronically captured, via, for instance, optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted, of otherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory.
[0033] When the subject matter is embodied in the general context of computer- executable instructions, the embodiment may comprise program modules, executed by one or more systems, computers, or other devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Typically, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments.
[0034] Figure 1 is a diagram illustration of an embodiment 100 showing a vehicle location system. The system may monitor a roadway 102 for various vehicles 104 and 106, and may transmit location information to the vehicles. The location information may be used by onboard units 108 and 110, respectively, to improve the accuracy of a vehicle’s location in various scenarios. [0035] Accurately locating a vehicle may be useful in many scenarios, including where a vehicle’s lane selection may cause different tolling to be applied. For example, many cities may have express lanes where a toll may be higher than a conventional lane. In such a use case, the location accuracy may be sufficient to differentiate between lanes, thereby ensuring that correct tolls were assessed to the vehicles.
[0036] Many onboard units 108 and 110 may contain Global Positioning System (GPS) or other satellite location receivers. These receivers may receive satellite signals from which a position may be triangulated. In many situations, satellite reception may be unavailable (such as in a tunnel) or may be inaccurate (such as near tall buildings). In some severe cases, satellite location services may be artificially spoofed or otherwise made ineffective. Such circumstances may be unintentional, such as when inadvertent radio transmissions may interfere with satellite signals, or intentional, such as when a person may intentionally jam or interfere with such signals.
[0037] The location of vehicles 104 and 106 may be determined at least in part by a video camera 110, which may determine the position, direction, and speed of the vehicles 104 and 106. The video camera 110 may be positioned and calibrated such that measurements of position, direction, and speed may correspond to latitude and longitude coordinates, as well as speed in miles per hour or kilometers per hour. The video camera 110 may be calibrated to detect and analyze vehicles passing through a camera field of view 112.
[0038] Some systems may classify position in terms of lane designations. Such systems may return a lane designation for a particular vehicle, especially when the lane designation may be meaningful in a tolling use case.
[0039] The video camera 110 may include a process for identifying and reading a license plate number. A license place may be recognized within a video frame, and optical character recognition may be used to determine the license plate number. The location information about a vehicle may be associated with the vehicle’s license plate number.
[0040] Some systems may have multiple video cameras. For example, some systems may have several cameras, one for each lane of a roadway 102. Others may have one camera that may span two or more lanes. In another example, some systems may have video cameras positioned to capture the front and back of the vehicles. Such systems may have one set of cameras looking against the direction of travel, which may capture the front of a vehicles, with another set of cameras facing in the direction of travel, which may capture the rear of the same vehicles. In many such cases, the cameras may be coordinated such that images of the front and back of a vehicle may be associated with each other.
[0041] A location gateway 114 may collect position information about a vehicle and transmit that information back to the vehicle using a beacon 116. The vehicles 104 and 106 may pass through a camera field of view 112, which may be upstream from a beacon active area 118. The vehicle’s positions may be determined by analyzing video from the video camera 110, then that location information may be transmitted to the vehicle’s onboard units as the vehicles pass the beacon active area 118 further down the roadway.
[0042] The beacon 116 may transmit a set of location coordinates and other information to the vehicles when the vehicles pass through the beacon active area 118. The location information for all of the available vehicles may be transmitted to each vehicle as the vehicles pass by. Such situations may occur when there may be multiple lanes of vehicles and multiple cars passing the beacon nearly simultaneously. In such situations, the onboard units of the various vehicles may parse the information from the beacon 116 to determine which location information may pertain to that specific vehicle.
[0043] Some systems may include a real time kinematics base station 120, which may be a stationary satellite receiver from which real time kinematics location information may be received. Such information may be used to increase the accuracy of satellite position receivers located in the vehicles. Such information may be transmitted by the beacon 116 to the various vehicles for processing.
[0044] The system of embodiment 100 may increase the accuracy of position information for vehicles passing through the roadway 102. A video system may determine physical location of the vehicles, and the physical location may be transmitted to the vehicles for processing. Such as system may allow onboard units on the vehicles to determine their location with much higher precision or where GPS or other satellite location systems may be ineffective.
[0045] Figure 2 is a diagram of an embodiment 200 showing components in a location system that may assist vehicle onboard units with increased precision or for providing location information when an onboard unit may be unable to obtain location information. Embodiment 200 may be an example architecture that may sense location information using video cameras, then transmit location information to onboard units using a beacon. The onboard units may process the location information to improve location accuracy, as well as other functions.
[0046] The diagram of Figure 2 illustrates functional components of a system. In some cases, the component may be a hardware component, a software component, or a combination of hardware and software. Some of the components may be application level software, while other components may be execution environment level components. In some cases, the connection of one component to another may be a close connection where two or more components are operating on a single hardware platform. In other cases, the connections may be made over network connections spanning long distances. Each embodiment may use different hardware, software, and interconnection
architectures to achieve the functions described.
[0047] Embodiment 200 illustrates a device 202 that may have a hardware platform 204 and various software components. The device 202 as illustrated represents a conventional computing device, although other embodiments may have different configurations, architectures, or components.
[0048] In many embodiments, the device 202 may be a server computer. In some embodiments, the device 202 may still also be a desktop computer, laptop computer, netbook computer, tablet or slate computer, wireless handset, cellular telephone, game console or any other type of computing device. In some embodiments, the device 202 may be implemented on a cluster of computing devices, which may be a group of physical or virtual machines. [0049] The hardware platform 204 may include a processor 208, random access memory 210, and nonvolatile storage 212. The hardware platform 204 may also include a user interface 214 and network interface 216.
[0050] The random access memory 210 may be storage that contains data objects and executable code that can be quickly accessed by the processors 208. In many embodiments, the random access memory 210 may have a high-speed bus connecting the memory 210 to the processors 208.
[0051] The nonvolatile storage 212 may be storage that persists after the device 202 is shut down. The nonvolatile storage 212 may be any type of storage device, including hard disk, solid state memory devices, magnetic tape, optical storage, or other type of storage. The nonvolatile storage 212 may be read only or read/write capable. In some embodiments, the nonvolatile storage 212 may be cloud based, network storage, or other storage that may be accessed over a network connection.
[0052] The user interface 214 may be any type of hardware capable of displaying output and receiving input from a user. In many cases, the output display may be a graphical display monitor, although output devices may include lights and other visual output, audio output, kinetic actuator output, as well as other output devices.
Conventional input devices may include keyboards and pointing devices such as a mouse, stylus, trackball, or other pointing device. Other input devices may include various sensors, including biometric input devices, audio and video input devices, and other sensors.
[0053] The network interface 216 may be any type of connection to another computer. In many embodiments, the network interface 216 may be a wired Ethernet connection. Other embodiments may include wired or wireless connections over various communication protocols.
[0054] The software components 206 may include an operating system 218 on which various software components and services may operate.
[0055] A location coordinator 220 may process vehicle location information from one or more cameras, real time kinematics base stations, or other sources, and transmit the location information to moving vehicles through a beacon. The location coordinator 220 may be a conduit through which one or more sources of location information may be presented to onboard units mounted in vehicles, such that the onboard units may be able to verify or improve their location information.
[0056] One source of location information may be a set of automated number plate recognition (ANPR) systems 222. The automated number plate recognition systems 222 may capture video of vehicles passing by on a roadway, and may determine the vehicle’s license plate number as well as the vehicle’s position, speed, and direction of travel. In many cases, such systems may indicate which lane of a multi-lane roadway a vehicle may be traveling.
[0057] Some installations may have one such system, while others may have several automated number plate recognition systems 222 arranged to cover multiple lanes and multiple views of vehicles passing by.
[0058] The automated number plate recognition systems 222 may operate on a hardware platform 224 and may contain a video camera 226 along with several software or hardware components. The video camera 226 may produce a video feed 228. A trigger 230 may determine that a vehicle has entered a field of view, and may cause a vehicle speed and location detector 232 and license plate recognizer 234 to execute.
[0059] A vehicle speed and location detector 232 may analyze the video feed 228 to determine a vehicle’s position, speed, and direction. The detector 232 may analyze a vehicle’s position in one video frame and compare the position to a second and subsequent video frame. From such analyses, a vehicle’s speed and direction may be determined.
[0060] The camera 226 may be positioned and calibrated such that the position in a video frame may be correlated to a specific latitude and longitude. In many cases, the calibration mechanism may determine such locations with a very high accuracy, often more accurate than may be available with conventional satellite position systems.
[0061] The vehicle speed and direction detector 232 may identify a specific lane of a roadway in which a vehicle may be traveling. Such an identification process may provide an additional data parameter of a lane designation, which may or may not be transmitted to an onboard unit in addition to latitude and longitude coordinates. [0062] A license plate recognizer 234 may detect a license place within a video image, and may perform optical character recognition to determine a license number.
The license number may be an identifier that may be associated with location information and transmitted to an onboard unit.
[0063] A beacon 236 may transmit information to various onboard units 238. Each onboard unit 238 may be associated with a different vehicle. In some instances, every vehicle in a jurisdiction may be required to possess an onboard unit 238, while in other instances, the onboard units 238 may be optional.
[0064] The onboard units 238 may operate on a hardware platform 240 and may have a location analyzer 242. The location analyzer 242 may determine a location of the onboard unit 238 for use in billing and other applications. For example, some systems may use an onboard unit 238 to assess fees for parking or for determining tolls for bridges, tunnels, or express lanes. In some cases, the location accuracy may be a factor in assessing the appropriate toll or fee. For example, a vehicle in an express lane may be assessed a different toll than an adjacent vehicle in a non-express lane.
[0065] A location analyzer 242 may receive satellite location information from a Global Positioning System (GPS) or other type of satellite location receiver 244. The satellite location information may be inaccurate or unavailable in some situations. For example, an automated tolling station inside a tunnel or that may be occluded by trees or tall buildings may render a satellite location receiver ineffective. In an extreme case, satellite signals may be intentionally spoofed or otherwise interfered with so that location information may be inaccurate or false.
[0066] The location analyzer 242 may compare location information from the location coordinator 220 on device 202 to determine whether or not the location information from the receiver 244 may be accurate. In cases where location information provided by the receiver 244 may be inaccurate or unreliable, the location information received from the location coordinator 220 may be used as a substitute. In some cases, location information from the location coordinator 220 may be used to enhance or otherwise increase the accuracy or reliability of location information received from the satellite receiver 244. [0067] The location analyzer 242 may store location information in a location history database 246, which may be used by various billing applications 248 to assess tolls or fees. The location history database 246 may be updated with a timestamped record of location data each time a vehicle passes through a location system such as embodiments 100 and 200.
[0068] A radio frequency (RF) connector 250 may be a component that may communicate with the beacon 236 to receive location information. The RF connector 250 may detect the presence of a beacon 236, establish a communication path, and receive information from the beacon. Once received, the location analyzer 242 may parse the information to identify location information associated with the vehicle’s license plate number, and then determine how best to use the location information.
[0069] A real time kinematics base station 252 may receive signals that may be used to enhance the precision of location information received by satellite location systems. In particular, the real time kinematics base station 252 may receive correction signals that may be transmitted to an onboard unit 238, where the real time kinematics correction signals may be combined with satellite location information received from a GPS or other satellite receiver 244.
[0070] Many of the devices illustrated in embodiment 200 may be connected by a network 254. One such device may be an administrative device 256, which may have a hardware platform 258 on which an administrative application 260 may operate. The administrative application 260 may be used to communicate with the device 202, the automated number plate recognition systems 232, or other devices. The administrative application 260 may be used to configure, monitor, and manage the various devices.
Such an application may set configuration settings, operate calibration routines, monitor and report vehicle sightings, and other functions. In some cases, the administrative application 260 may be a browser application where each of the various devices may serve Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) web pages through which various administrative functions may be performed. [0071] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustration of an embodiment 300 showing a calibration and operation sequence for a camera system, such as the automated number plate recognition camera system illustrated as item 222.
[0072] Other embodiments may use different sequencing, additional or fewer steps, and different nomenclature or terminology to accomplish similar functions. In some embodiments, various operations or set of operations may be performed in parallel with other operations, either in a synchronous or asynchronous manner. The steps selected here were chosen to illustrate some principles of operations in a simplified form.
[0073] Embodiment 300 is an example of the steps that may be performed during the installation and use of an automated camera system that identifies a vehicle, determines its license plate number, and calculates the vehicle’s position, direction, and velocity. The camera system may be positioned over or near a roadway, and in many cases, multiple cameras may be arranged in a zone to capture vehicles on a multi-lane roadway.
[0074] Video cameras may be installed over or near a roadway in block 302. For each video camera in block 304, the camera may be calibrated for detecting vehicle positions and movement vectors. In a typical deployment, a camera may be mounted above or beside a roadway. The camera may be positioned and adjusted to capture an image of at least one vehicle in one lane of the roadway.
[0075] Once positioned, a surveyed location may be identified within the field of view of the camera, and the location may be stored, as well as the distance from the camera to the surveyed location. Such a location may be used as a reference point for measuring movements of vehicles within the video stream.
[0076] Once the setup and calibration routines have been completed and verified, the normal operation of the camera system may begin in block 308 when a vehicle may be detected.
[0077] Once detected, a vehicle’s license place may be identified within the video stream in block 310, and optical character recognition may be performed in block 312 to determine the vehicle’s license plate number. [0078] Because the positions of the cameras were calibrated in block 306, the movement vector of the vehicle may be determined in block 314 by comparing the position of the vehicle from one frame to the next. In many cases, a movement vector may be computed over several video frames.
[0079] The lane position of the vehicle may be determined in block 316. In many cases, a camera may be positioned and calibrated with a boundary within the field of view. The boundary may be positioned such that a vehicle inside or outside the boundary may be classified as being within a specific lane.
[0080] A timestamp may be determined in block 318 and a set of location information may be transmitted in block 320. A typical transmission may include the vehicle license plate number, the position, direction, and velocity of the vehicle, the lane position, and the timestamp of the observation. The transmission may be made to a gateway location coordinator, which may subsequently transmit the information to onboard units mounted on the vehicle.
[0081] In many cases, a camera system may be capable of recognizing and processing multiple vehicles. In some systems, two or more cameras may be positioned to capture the front and back of each vehicle. Video streams from such cameras may be analyzed together or separately to identify the vehicle and calculate the vehicle’s position, direction, and velocity, as well as lane identifier.
[0082] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustration of an embodiment 400 showing a method for operation of a location gateway. The operations of embodiment 400 may be the operations of a location gateway 114 or location coordinator 220, as illustrated in embodiments 100 and 200, respectively.
[0083] Other embodiments may use different sequencing, additional or fewer steps, and different nomenclature or terminology to accomplish similar functions. In some embodiments, various operations or set of operations may be performed in parallel with other operations, either in a synchronous or asynchronous manner. The steps selected here were chosen to illustrate some principles of operations in a simplified form.
[0084] A location gateway may operate by receiving vehicle information from a camera system in block 402. The vehicle information may include a license plate number, vehicle position, direction, and velocity, lane designation, timestamp, and other information. The gateway may also receive real time kinematic correction information in block 404, which may be used to refine or enhance positioning information from satellite location systems.
[0085] The various location information may be formatted in block 406 and transmitted to a beacon system in block 408.
[0086] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustration of an embodiment 500 showing a method for operation of a beacon, such as the beacon 116 or 236 illustrated in embodiments 100 and 200, respectively.
[0087] Other embodiments may use different sequencing, additional or fewer steps, and different nomenclature or terminology to accomplish similar functions. In some embodiments, various operations or set of operations may be performed in parallel with other operations, either in a synchronous or asynchronous manner. The steps selected here were chosen to illustrate some principles of operations in a simplified form.
[0088] A beacon may receive vehicle and location information in block 502. In some cases, a beacon may receive information for multiple vehicles. A vehicle may be detected nearby in block 504, and all available information may be transmitted to the vehicle in block 506. In many cases, information for multiple vehicles may be contained in a single transmission.
[0089] In many cases, a beacon transmission may include a set of location coordinates that may be a set of default location coordinates for any vehicle within range of the beacon. The default location coordinates may represent a location that may be used by an onboard unit when no other location information may be available and when a beacon may not have information relating to that vehicle.
[0090] The beacon transmission may be made without identifying the nearby vehicles to determine whether or not the vehicle sensed by the beacon may be a vehicle for which location information may be available. In many cases, a vehicle may receive location information for a different vehicle, and the onboard unit of the vehicle may determine that the location information may not apply to that vehicle. [0091] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustration of an embodiment 600 showing processes used by an onboard unit in a vehicle for processing location information received from a location gateway.
[0092] Other embodiments may use different sequencing, additional or fewer steps, and different nomenclature or terminology to accomplish similar functions. In some embodiments, various operations or set of operations may be performed in parallel with other operations, either in a synchronous or asynchronous manner. The steps selected here were chosen to illustrate some principles of operations in a simplified form.
[0093] Embodiment 600 shows a process for analyzing location information received from a location gateway. The location information may be used to improve location accuracy, verify existing location information, or replace location information that may be untrustworthy.
[0094] A vehicle’s onboard unit may detect a beacon in block 602 and may receive a beacon transmission in block 604. The beacon transmission may include license plate numbers and associated location information for one or more vehicles. The beacon transmission may also include a default location that may be used when no other location information may be available.
[0095] If satellite location information is not available from an onboard satellite receiver in block 606, an analysis may be performed in block 608 to determine whether or not the vehicle’s license plate number was contained in the transmission. If the beacon transmission contained the vehicle’s license plate and associated information in block 608 but a satellite location information was not available in block 606, the location information provided in the beacon transmission may be used as the vehicle’s location in block 610.
[0096] If the beacon information does not include the vehicle’s license plate number in block 608 and there is no onboard satellite location information in block 606, the default location information contained in the beacon transmission may be used as the vehicle’s location in block 612.
[0097] If the onboard unit has satellite location information in block 606, the difference between the beacon-supplied location information and the satellite location information may be determined in block 614. If the difference is greater than a pre defined threshold in block 616, the location may be labeled as possibly spoofed in block 618. The satellite location information may be considered void and the process may continue with block 608.
[0098] If the difference between the onboard satellite location information and the beacon-supplied location information is within a pre-defined threshold in block 616, and if real time kinematic correction data is available in block 620, the location information may be updated and refined using the real time kinematics correction data in block 622.
[0099] If the real time kinematics correction data is not available, the location may be updated using the onboard satellite information supplemented by the lane designation provided in the beacon transmission in block 624.
[00100] The foregoing description of the subject matter has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the subject matter to the precise form disclosed, and other modifications and variations may be possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the appended claims be construed to include other alternative embodiments except insofar as limited by the prior art.

Claims

1. A system comprising:
at least one processor;
a video camera positioned near a roadway;
a beacon positioned near said roadway;
said at least one processor configured to perform a method comprising:
sensing a first vehicle in a video stream of said video camera;
determining a first license plate number for said first vehicle in said video stream; determining a first velocity for said first vehicle from said video stream;
determining a first geographic position of said first vehicle in said video stream; and broadcasting said first geographic position through said beacon.
2. The system of claim 1 further comprising:
an onboard unit mounted in said first vehicle comprising:
a global navigation satellite system receiver;
said onboard unit configured to:
receive said first geographic position;
determine a global navigation satellite system location from said global navigation satellite system receiver; and
compare said first geographic position from said beacon to said global navigation satellite system location from said global navigation satellite system receiver and determine a verified location; and
store said verified location.
3. The system of claim 2 further comprising:
a fixed location receiver positioned near said roadway and generating a location correction signal; and
said method further comprising:
transmitting said location correction signal through said beacon.
4. The system of claim 3, said onboard unit further configured to:
receive said location correction signal; and
determine said verified location using at least said location correction signal.
5. The system of claim 4, said location correction signal being a pseudo-differential location correction signal.
6. The system of claim 4, said location correction signal being a real time kinematic location correction signal.
7. The system of claim 4, said verified location being used to determine a lane designation within said roadway.
8. The system of claim 4, said method further comprising:
sensing a second vehicle in said video stream of said video camera;
determining a second license plate number for said second vehicle in said video stream;
determining a second velocity for said second vehicle from said video stream;
determining a second geographic position of said second vehicle in said video stream; and broadcasting said first geographic position with said first license plate number and second geographic position with said second license plate number through said beacon.
9. The system of claim 4, said onboard unit further configured to:
receive said first geographic position with said first license plate number and said second
geographic position with said second license plate number; and
determine that said onboard unit is associated with said first license plate number.
10. The system of claim 4, said onboard unit further configured to:
compare said first geographic position from said beacon to said global navigation satellite system location from said global navigation satellite system receiver and determine that said first geographic position and said global navigation satellite system location differs more than a predetermined allowable error; and
transmit an alert based on exceeding said predetermined allowable error.
11. The system of claim 10, said onboard unit further configured to:
select said first geographic position as said verified location.
12. The system of claim 1 , said method further comprising:
detecting said first vehicle with said beacon prior to said broadcasting.
13. The system of claim 1 , said first geographic position being a lane location within said roadway.
14. The system of claim 1 , said first geographic position being a set of geographic coordinates.
15. A method performed on at least one computing device, said method comprising:
sensing a first vehicle in a video stream of a video camera;
determining a first license plate number for a first vehicle in said video stream; determining a first velocity for said first vehicle from said video stream;
determining a first geographic position of said first vehicle in said video stream; and
broadcasting said first geographic position through a beacon.
16. The method of claim 15 further comprising:
receiving a location correction signal from a fixed location receiver positioned near said roadway; and
transmitting said location correction signal through said beacon.
17. The method of claim 16, said location correction signal being a pseudo-differential location correction signal.
18. The method of claim 16, said location correction signal being a real time kinematic location correction signal.
19. The method of claim 15 further comprising:
sensing a second vehicle in said video stream of said video camera;
determining a second license plate number for said second vehicle in said video stream;
determining a second velocity for said second vehicle from said video stream;
determining a second geographic position of said second vehicle in said video stream; and broadcasting said first geographic position with said first license plate number and second
geographic position with said second license plate number through said beacon.
20. The method of claim 15 further comprising:
detecting said first vehicle with said beacon prior to said broadcasting.
21. The method of claim 15, said first geographic position being a lane location within said roadway.
22. The method of claim 15, said first geographic position being a set of geographic coordinates.
23. A device mountable in a vehicle comprising:
at least one processor;
said at least one processor configured to perform a method comprising:
establishing a communication session with a beacon;
receiving a first geographic position from said beacon;
determining a global navigation satellite system location from said global navigation satellite system receiver; and comparing said first geographic position from said beacon to said global navigation satellite system location from said global navigation satellite system receiver and determine a verified location; and
storing said verified location.
24. The device of claim 23, said method further comprising:
25. The device of claim 23, said method further comprising:
receiving said location correction signal; and
determining said verified location using at least said location correction signal.
26. The device of claim 25, said method further comprising:
receiving said first geographic position with said first license plate number and said second
geographic position with said second license plate number; and
determining that said onboard unit is associated with said first license plate number.
27. The device of claim 26, said method further comprising:
comparing said first geographic position from said beacon to said global navigation satellite system location from said global navigation satellite system receiver and determine that said first geographic position and said global navigation satellite system location differs more than a predetermined allowable error; and
transmitting an alert based on exceeding said predetermined allowable error.
28. The device of claim 27, said method further comprising:
selecting said first geographic position as said verified location.
PCT/SG2018/050499 2018-10-02 2018-10-02 Real time vehicle location system WO2020071995A1 (en)

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