Method and apparatus for device probe point data object determinations and validations
A method, apparatus and computer program product are provided to determine one or more probe point data objects and/or validate one or more probe point data objects for use with determination of traffic conditions. A determined probe point data object may be determined and/or updated with one or more probe point data objects which exclude any probe point data objects determined to correspond to an off-road location. A validated probe point data object may additionally or alternatively be determined using one or more first validation sequence check operations and using one or more second validation sequence check operations. The determined probe point data object and/or validated probe point data object may be used to determine one or more traffic conditions, and as a result, traffic condition determinations may be determined more accurately and efficiently.
1 . A method for probe point validation, the method comprising:
receiving, from a mobile device, two or more sequential probe point data objects corresponding to a unique device identifier, wherein the mobile device comprises a mobile phone, an in-vehicle navigation system, or an advanced driving assistance system (ADAS);
determining whether the two or more sequential probe point data objects are valid based on one or more first validation sequence check operations;
responsive to determining that the two or more sequential probe point data objects are valid based on the one or more first validation sequence check operations, determining whether the two or more sequential probe point data objects are valid based on one or more second validation sequence check operations;
responsive to determining that the two or more sequential probe point data objects are valid based on the one or more second validation sequence check operations, generating a validated probe point set data object comprising the two or more sequential probe point data objects;
determining one or more traffic conditions for one or more road segments based at least in part on the validated probe point set data object; and
using, by a computing entity, the one or more traffic conditions that are determined for at least one of a determination of a navigational route, an estimation of a time of arrival or event planning for a road segment,
wherein the one or more first validation sequence check operations and the one or more second validation sequence check operations are configured to determine whether a quality of the two or more sequential probe point data objects will affect the accuracy of determining the one or more traffic conditions for the one or more road segments.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the two or more sequential probe point data objects are not validated by the one or more first validation sequence check operations in an instance the two or more sequential probe point data objects comprise the same timestamp.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the two or more sequential probe point data objects are not validated by the first validation sequence check operation in an instance the two or more sequential probe point data objects comprise the same set of coordinates.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the two or more sequential probe point data objects are not validated by the first validation sequence check operation in an instance the two or more sequential probe point data objects comprise zero value speeds.
5 . The method of claim 1 , the method further comprising determining an absolute device speed difference for each of the two or more sequential probe point data objects based at least in part on corresponding device speeds for the two or more sequential probe point data objects.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the two or more sequential probe point data objects are not validated by the second validation sequence check operation in an instance the absolute device speed difference fails to satisfy one or more device speed difference threshold values.
7 . The method of claim 5 , the method further comprising:
determining an estimated device speed based at least in part on the set of coordinates for the two or more sequential probe point data objects; and
determining an estimated device speed difference based at least in part on the absolute device speed and the estimated device speed.
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the two or more sequential probe point data objects are not validated by the second validation sequence check operation in an instance the estimated device speed difference fails to satisfy one or more estimated device speed difference threshold values.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each probe point data object comprises one or more of a timestamp at which the probe point data object was generated by the device, a set of coordinates, a device speed, and a device heading value.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more first validation sequence check operations comprise:
determining whether the two or more sequential probe point data objects are associated with a same timestamp value,
determining whether the two or more sequential probe point data objects comprise a same set of coordinates, or
determining whether the two or more sequential probe point data objects comprise a zero value for device speed.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more second validation sequence check operations comprise:
determining an absolute device speed difference for respective ones of the two or more sequential probe point data objects based at least in part on corresponding device speeds for the two or more sequential probe point data objects, and
determining whether the absolute device speed difference satisfies one or more device speed difference threshold values.
12 . An apparatus comprising:
at least one processor; and
at least one memory including computer program code,
the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:
receive, from a mobile device, two or more sequential probe point data objects corresponding to a unique device identifier, wherein the mobile device comprises a mobile phone, an in-vehicle navigation system, or an advanced driving assistance system (ADAS);
determine whether the two or more sequential probe point data objects are valid based on one or more first validation sequence check operations;
responsive to determining that the two or more sequential probe point data objects are valid based on the one or more first validation sequence check operations, determine whether the two or more sequential probe point data objects are valid based on one or more second validation sequence check operations;
responsive to determining that the two or more sequential probe point data objects are valid based on the one or more second validation sequence check operations, generate a validated probe point set data object comprising the two or more sequential probe point data objects;
determine one or more traffic conditions for one or more road segments based at least in part on the validated probe point set data object; and
use, by a computing entity, the one or more traffic conditions that are determined for at least one of a determination of a navigational route, an estimation of a time of arrival or event planning for a road segment,
wherein the one or more first validation sequence check operations and the one or more second validation sequence check operations are configured to determine whether a quality of the two or more sequential probe point data objects will affect the accuracy of determining the one or more traffic conditions for the one or more road segments.
13 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the two or more sequential probe point data objects are not validated by the first validation sequence check operation in an instance the two or more sequential probe point data objects comprise the same set of coordinates.
14 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the two or more sequential probe point data objects are not validated by the first validation sequence check operation in an instance the two or more sequential probe point data objects comprise zero value speeds.
15 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to determine an absolute device speed difference for each of the two or more sequential probe point data objects based at least in part on corresponding device speeds for the two or more sequential probe point data objects.
16 . The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the two or more sequential probe point data objects are not validated by the second validation sequence check operation in an instance the absolute device speed difference fails to satisfy one or more device speed difference threshold values.
17 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:
determine an estimated device speed based at least in part on the set of coordinates for the two or more sequential probe point data objects; and
determine an estimated device speed difference based at least in part on the absolute device speed and the estimated device speed.
18 . The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the two or more sequential probe point data objects are not validated by the second validation sequence check operation in an instance the estimated device speed difference fails to satisfy one or more estimated device speed difference threshold values.
19 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein each probe point data object comprises one or more of a timestamp at which the probe point data object was generated by the device, a set of coordinates, a device speed, or a device heading value.
20 . A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable program code portions stored therein, the computer-executable program code portions comprising program code instructions configured to:
receive, from a mobile device, two or more sequential probe point data objects corresponding to a unique device identifier, wherein the mobile device comprises a mobile phone, an in-vehicle navigation system, or an advanced driving assistance system (ADAS);
determine whether the two or more sequential probe point data objects are valid based on one or more first validation sequence check operations;
responsive to determining that the two or more sequential probe point data objects are valid based on the one or more first validation sequence check operations, determine whether the two or more sequential probe point data objects are valid based on one or more second validation sequence check operations;
responsive to determining that the two or more sequential probe point data objects are valid based on the one or more second validation sequence check operations, generate a validated probe point set data object comprising the two or more sequential probe point data objects;
determine one or more traffic conditions for one or more road segments based at least in part on the validated probe point set data object; and
use, by a computing entity, the one or more traffic conditions that are determined for at least one of a determination of a navigational route, an estimation of a time of arrival or event planning for a road segment,
wherein the one or more first validation sequence check operations and the one or more second validation sequence check operations are configured to determine whether a quality of the two or more sequential probe point data objects will affect the accuracy of determining the one or more traffic conditions for the one or more road segments.