Method and system for classifying traffic flow
A method, device and system for measuring the volume, classification, direction, and turning movement of vehicular and/or pedestrian traffic through a given location in a given time period. The device is portable and incorporates a touch screen. A set of buttons corresponding to each direction at the location are selected by the user to count particular types of vehicles. The buttons are mapped to fields in a database on a server. The fields correspond to a particular direction. When the orientation of the portable device changes, the buttons are remapped to different database fields than originally mapped. The new fields corresponding to the orientation. The collected data may be transmitted to a server.
1. A device for collecting traffic data comprising:
a touch screen display;
a computer readable medium;
an orientation sensor configured to report a current orientation; and
a processor configured to execute instructions stored on said computer readable medium for:
displaying on said touch screen display a representation of an intersection comprising a plurality of legs in different directions;
displaying on said touch screen display a first plurality of count buttons on each one of said plurality of legs, each one of said first plurality of count buttons representing a vehicle type moving in a first direction of motion on each one of said plurality of legs;
displaying on said touch screen display a second plurality of count buttons on each one of said plurality of legs, each one of said second plurality of count buttons representing a vehicle type moving in a second direction of motion on each one of said plurality of legs;
associating each one of said first and second plurality of count buttons with an associated counter, said touch screen display configured to detect contact with each one of said first and second plurality of count buttons, and said processor configured to increment the associated counter in response to said contact;
wherein said processor is configured to record each associated counter with said first and second plurality of count buttons to a database along with a time code at the end of a predetermined slice of time;
setting an original orientation during a calibration period; and
remapping each one of said first and second plurality of count buttons to a different counter in response to an orientation change.
2. The device for collecting traffic data according to claim 1 wherein the processor is further configured to execute instructions to display an orientation indicator indicating an original orientation on the touch screen display.
3. The device for collecting traffic data according to claim 2 wherein when the touch screen display is configured to detect contact with the orientation indicator in a region different from the original orientation, and upon the touch screen display detecting said contact with the orientation indicator a new orientation is selected.
4. The device for collecting traffic data according to claim 2 wherein when the touch screen display is configured to detect contact with the orientation indicator, a new orientation is selected from a predefined set of orientations.
5. The device for collecting traffic data according to claim 2 wherein the processor is further configured to process the current orientation to determine a new orientation; and to update the orientation indicator.
6. The device for collecting traffic data according to claim 5 wherein the processor updates the orientation indicator only during a calibration period.
7. The device for collecting traffic data according to claim 3 wherein on an orientation change, the processor is further configured to automatically record each counter associated with each one of said plurality of count buttons into the correct database field corresponding to the new orientation.
8. The device for collecting traffic data according to claim 1 further comprising the processor configured to execute instructions to display at least one multiplier button on the display; the touch screen configured to detect contact with the at least one multiplier button and to detect contact with at least one of said plurality of count buttons; the processor configured to add the contacted count buttons to a multiplier list wherein subsequent contacts with the contacted count buttons are multiplied by a multiplier corresponding to the at least one multiplier button.
9. The device for collecting traffic data according to claim 8 further comprising the processor configured to execute instructions to display a multiplier reset button; the touch screen configured to detect contact with the multiplier reset button; whereby the processor removes all the count buttons from the multiplier list.
10. The device for collecting traffic data according to claim 1 further comprising a transceiver configured to automatically transmit each counter according to a time interval.
11. The device for collecting traffic data according to claim 10 wherein the time interval is 15 minutes.
12. The device for collecting traffic data according to claim 10 wherein the processor resets each counter value on successful transmission by the transceiver.
13. The device for collecting traffic data according to claim 10 wherein the processor resets each counter value based on the time interval.
14. The device for collecting traffic data according to claim 1 further comprising the processor configured to execute instructions to display a send button; the touch screen display configured to detect contact with the send button and to initiate the transceiver to transmit each counter.
15. The device for collecting traffic data according to claim 1 further comprising the processor configured to execute instructions to display a vehicle data collection screen and a pedestrian data collection screen.