Patent US10643465 Smart Cities: Traffic Control

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Iteris, Inc. | Website | LinkedIn | Stock Symbol: ITI | Headquarters: Santa Ana, CA

Patent US10643465

Issued 2020-05-05

Dynamic Advanced Traffic Detection From Assessment Of Dilemma Zone Activity For Enhancement Of Intersection Traffic Flow And Adjustment Of Timing Of Signal Phase Cycles

A framework for precision traffic analysis estimates dilemma zone activity to dynamically adjust phase cycle timing for improved efficiency of traffic flow at a roadway intersection. The framework identifies a traffic detection area at or near a traffic intersection, and detects objects in the traffic detection area from sensors located proximate to the traffic intersection. The framework then correlates lapsed phase cycle times for the traffic signal with associations between object characteristics and known speed characteristics for the roadway for a determination of whether there is dilemma zone activity for the remainder of that phase cycle. The framework then determines whether to adjust a timing of the current phase cycle.

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3 Independent Claims

1. A method, comprising: ingesting input data that includes phase cycle data representing a timing for at least one phase cycle for a roadway approaching a traffic intersection, sensor data captured from a field of view representing a traffic detection area for the roadway approaching the traffic intersection, and at least one of a posted speed and an average estimated speed for the roadway approaching the traffic intersection; analyzing the input data within a computing environment in a plurality of data processing modules executed in conjunction with at least one specifically-configured processor, the data processing modules configured to analyze dilemma zone activity to determine an adjustment of the timing for the at least one phase cycle, by defining a plurality of first trigger points in the traffic detection area, based on the at least one of the posted speed and the average estimated speed, and defining a plurality of second trigger points in the traffic detection area based on an amount of time lapsed in the at least one phase cycle, wherein the plurality of first trigger points and the plurality of second trigger points define a dilemma zone for the traffic detection area; analyzing spatial information in the field of view, by evaluating the sensor data to estimate a speed of at least one object between the plurality of first trigger points and the plurality of second trigger points; analyzing temporal information in the field of view, by evaluating the sensor data to estimate a position of the at least one object between the plurality of first trigger points and the plurality of second trigger points; correlating a lapsed cycle time in the phase cycle data with an association between the speed of the at least one object and one or more of the posted speed and an average estimated speed, and generating an indicator of dilemma zone activity where an object is moving at a particular speed relative to the lapsed cycle time within the traffic detection area; and generating, as output data, an instruction to a traffic signal controller to adjust the timing of the at least one phase cycle from the indicator of dilemma zone activity.
7. A method for adjusting a timing of a phase cycle for a traffic signal, comprising: identifying a traffic detection area on a roadway approaching a traffic intersection, by defining a plurality of first trigger points based on at least one of a posted speed and an average estimated speed for the roadway, and defining a plurality of second trigger points based on at least one phase cycle for a traffic signal, wherein the traffic detection area defines a dilemma zone based on an amount of time lapsed in the at least one phase cycle, and the at least one of the posted speed and the average estimated speed; estimating a speed of at least one object between the plurality of first trigger points and the plurality of second trigger points from input data collected by one or more sensors for a field of view representing the traffic detection area; estimating a position of the at least one object between the plurality of first trigger points and the plurality of second trigger points from the input data collected by the one or more for the field of view representing the traffic detection area; correlating the amount of time lapsed in the at least one phase cycle with an association between the speed of the at least one object and one or more of the posted speed and an average estimated speed, to determine a presence of the at least one object in the dilemma zone; and adjust a timing of the at least one phase cycle for the presence of the at least one object in the dilemma zone, by communicating an instruction to a traffic signal controller to delay a change in the at least one phase cycle.
14. A traffic control system, comprising: a computing environment including at least one computer-readable non-transitory storage medium having program instructions stored therein and a computer processor operable to execute the program instructions to determine an adjustment for at least one phase cycle of a traffic signal at a traffic intersection, the plurality of data processing modules including: a data ingest module configured to ingest input data that includes phase cycle data representing a timing for the at least one phase cycle for a roadway approaching the traffic intersection, sensor data captured from a field of view representing a traffic detection area for the roadway approaching the traffic intersection, and at least one of a posted speed and an average estimated speed for the roadway approaching the traffic intersection; a traffic detection area identification module configured to identify the traffic detection area on a roadway approaching a traffic intersection, by defining a plurality of first trigger points based on at least one of a posted speed and an average estimated speed for the roadway, and defining a plurality of second trigger points based on at least one phase cycle for a traffic signal, wherein the traffic detection area defines a dilemma zone based on an amount of time lapsed in the at least one phase cycle, and the at least one of the posted speed and the average estimated speed; a dilemma zone correlation module configured to analyze spatial information and temporal information in the sensor data, to determine a presence of the at least one object in the dilemma zone, by estimating a speed of at least one object in the field of view and between the plurality of first trigger points and the plurality of second trigger points from input data collected by one or more sensors relative to the roadway, estimating a position of the at least one object in the field of view and between the plurality of first trigger points and the plurality of second trigger points from the input data collected by the one or more sensors relative to the roadway, and correlating the amount of time lapsed in the at least one phase cycle with an association between the speed of the at least one object and one or more of the posted speed and an average estimated speed, wherein a timing of the at least one phase cycle is adjusted for the presence of the at least one object in the dilemma zone, by communicating a signal to a traffic signal controller to delay a change in the at least one phase cycle.