Road congestion detection by distributed vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems

1. A method, using programmable hardware and software for programming the hardware, for determining traffic condition comprising the steps of:

determining periodically a position data of a host vehicle, wherein the position data includes a time stamp, position, velocity and driving direction of the host vehicle,

receiving periodically position data of at least an other vehicle, wherein the position data includes a time stamp, position, velocity and driving direction of the other vehicle,

storing the position data of the host vehicle and the position data of at least the other vehicle,

calculating a relative position data, wherein the relative position data includes relative velocity and relative driving direction between the host vehicle and the other vehicle, and

judging a traffic condition based on the position data of the host vehicle, the position data of the other vehicle and the relative position data, wherein:

based on the position data of the host vehicle a traffic jam estimation value is determined;

based on the relative position data between the host vehicle and the other vehicle a relative traffic jam estimation value is determined;

based on the traffic jam estimation value and the relative traffic jam estimation value a voting jam value is determined; and

the software programs the hardware to perform the steps of the method.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

the position data of the other vehicle is discarded when the angle of the relative direction between the host vehicle and the other vehicle is larger than a predetermined angle.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

the position data of the other vehicle is discarded when the time interval between the timestamp of the other vehicle and the actual time is larger than a predetermined period.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

based on the relative position data, the traffic jam estimation value and the relative traffic jam estimation value are weighted.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

based on the voting jam value a voting request message is broadcasted by the host vehicle.

6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein

the other vehicle broadcasts a voting reply message as response to the voting request message of the host vehicle.

7. The method according claim 6 , wherein

based on the voting request message and the voting reply messages received by the host vehicle the traffic condition is determined.

8. The method according to claim 6 , wherein

based on the voting request message and the voting reply messages the position of the host vehicle in respect to the traffic condition is determined.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

based on the position of the host vehicle in respect to the traffic condition a corresponding traffic condition message is broadcasted.

10. An apparatus for determining traffic condition comprising:

a position determining system which periodically determines a position data of a host vehicle, wherein the position data includes a time stamp, position, velocity and driving direction of the host vehicle;

a receiver which periodically receives position data of at least an other vehicle, wherein the position data includes a time stamp, position, velocity and driving direction of the other vehicle;

a memory which stores the position data of the host vehicle and the position data of at least the other vehicle; and

programmable hardware and software for programming the hardware, wherein execution of the software causes the hardware to perform a method comprising:

calculating a relative position data, wherein the relative position data includes relative velocity and relative driving direction between the host vehicle and the other vehicle;

judging the traffic condition based on the position data of the host vehicle, the position data of the other vehicle and the relative position data;

determining a traffic jam estimation value based on the position data of the host vehicle;

determining a relative traffic jam estimation value based on the relative position data between the host vehicle and the other vehicle; and

determining a voting jam value based on the traffic jam estimation value and the relative traffic jam estimation value.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the software further causes the hardware to perform

discarding the position data of the other vehicle when the angle of the relative direction between the host vehicle and the other vehicle is larger than a predetermined angle.

12. The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the software further causes the hardware to perform

discarding the position data of the other vehicle when time interval between the timestamp of the other vehicle and the actual time is larger than a predetermined period.

13. The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the software further causes the hardware to perform

determining a weighting factor based on the relative position data, the traffic jam estimation value and the relative traffic jam estimation value.

14. The apparatus according to claim 10 , further comprising

a transmitter which broadcasts a voting request message of the host vehicle based on the voting jam value or a voting reply message of the other vehicle.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein

the receiver receives a voting reply message from the other vehicle or a voting request message from the host vehicle.

16. The apparatus according to claim 14 , further comprising

a timer to generate the voting reply message at the other vehicle side or to collect the voting reply messages at the host vehicle side.

17. The apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the software further causes the hardware to perform

determining a traffic condition based on the voting request message and at least one received voting reply message.

18. The apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein

the position determining system determines the position of the host vehicle in respect to the traffic condition based on the voting request message and the voting reply message.

19. The apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein

the transmitter broadcasts a corresponding traffic condition message based on the position of the host vehicle in respect to the traffic condition.