Patent ID: 8700294
Filing Date: 2014-04-15
Classification: G08G

Abstract:
1. A computer-implemented method for generating representative traffic flow information for roads to facilitate future travel, the method comprising: receiving an indication of a location on a road in a geographic area; selecting multiple time-based categories for which representative traffic flow information will be distinctly generated for the road location, the multiple time-based categories each corresponding to one or more time periods based on day-of-week and time-of-day information; selecting multiple other condition-based categories for which representative traffic flow information will be distinctly generated for the road location, the multiple condition-based categories each corresponding to at least one of multiple variable traffic-altering conditions that affect traffic in the geographic area, the multiple traffic-altering conditions including one or more holiday-based conditions that each has a corresponding condition-based category; for each of multiple distinct prior times, obtaining, by a configured computing system, one or more prior traffic flow values that correspond to actual traffic flow at the road location at the prior time, at least some of the prior traffic flow values each corresponding to one of the one or more holiday-based conditions; for each of the at least some prior traffic flow values, associating, by the configured computing system, the prior traffic flow value with at least one of the time-based categories and at least one of the condition-based categories, the at least one time-based categories being determined by matching the prior time to time periods to which the time-based categories correspond, and the at least one condition-based categories being determined by matching the one or more traffic-altering conditions to which the prior traffic flow value corresponds to traffic-altering conditions to which the condition-based categories correspond, such that a prior traffic flow value for a prior time that corresponds to an occurrence of a holiday related to one of the holiday-based conditions is associated with the condition-based category corresponding to that one holiday-based condition; for each of one or more traffic flow aggregation classifications that each includes at least one of the time-based and condition-based categories, automatically generating, by the configured computing system, representative traffic flow information for traffic at the road location corresponding to the traffic flow aggregation classification, the generating of the representative traffic flow information being based at least in part on aggregating the prior traffic flow values associated with the at least one categories and on determining one or more typical traffic flow values based on the aggregated traffic flow values; and providing, by the configured computing system, one or more indications of the generated representative traffic flow information for the road location for use in facilitating travel on the road at future times.