Popularization of mobile communication media and car navigation system is recently remarkable. Some private companies are making a study of system that collects probe information with above-mentioned equipments. On the other hand, a sensor system, which relies mainly upon infrastructure including infrared beacons, image detectors, and ultrasonic vehicle detectors to collect traffic information on traffic flows on roadways, has been applied as a part of the Universal Traffic Management Systems (UTMS). Taking into account the recent spread of wide range mobile communication, the Universal Traffic Management Society of Japan (UTMS JAPAN) has been carrying out researches on another potential of traffic information service. In other words, while considering vehicles as sensors, the UTMS JAPAN has studied if data collected via wide range mobile communication media, or "probe information" in the following sentences, would be useful to generate traffic information or to supplement one collected from a sensor system based upon existing infrastructure. In fiscal year 2001, it has conducted a verification test to generate and make up for travel time information based upon probe information in order to clarify problems to solve and ways for effective use of the probe information. This paper describes the outline of the verification test and both results and knowledge obtained from it.
Abstract