Patent ID: 8290695

Claim:
A method for creating Longitudinal Speed Profile (LSP) data, said method comprising the steps of: collecting probe data from a plurality of probes traversing a road segment in the form of vehicular traffic flow, each probe developing a respective probe trace comprising a sequence of discrete time-stamped probe positions; establishing daily time spans; bundling probe data recorded during each time span; statistically deriving Longitudinal Speed Profiles (LSPs) from the bundled probe data, the Longitudinal Speed Profiles (LSPs) describing the speed variations along the road segment during the respective time spans; associating the Longitudinal Speed Profiles (LSPs) with the road segment; and storing the Longitudinal Speed Profiles (LSPs) in a digital medium; said method further comprising the steps of: utilizing the Longitudinal Speed Profiles (LSPs) data to calculate by a processor an energy cost for a direction of travel supported by the link; and associating the energy cost with the road segment.