Boosting your traffic modelling productivity with smart data analytics

The most common scenario of collaboration between traffic surveyors and transport modellers today is surveyors sharing collected video footage and spreadsheets with traffic volumes between traffic modellers for a manual video review and calibration of their models. This process is becoming more in-depth and intuitive with the help of GoodVision. We are helping both parties to achieve way, way more... This process is becoming more in-depth and intuitive with the help of GoodVision. We believe that all parties involved in the traffic management process can benefit from having a standardised method of how traffic data is collected, analysed and utilised. In the third webinar of our series, we will focus on traffic modellers and focus on:

Q #1:

By O-D movement do you mean junction OD as MCC count or network OD? As OD would need ANPR data, no?

A #1:

On the micro-level, by O-D we mean the turning movements on the junction level. On the macro-level, the O-D can be provided by GoodVision using the ANPR between separate cameras in different locations. ANPR O-D functionality is currently available in BETA.

Q #2

How do you know the signal phase when calculating sat flow? Does the camera need visibility of a traffic light?

A #2:

Capturing the status of signal lights is not necessary for the sat flow calculation in GoodVision. The fully saturated conditions are determined by analysing the vehicle flow driving through the intersection, which doesn’t happen on red. You can be assured that the sat flow readings all happen between yellows, when the vehicles start to enter the intersection, to the point that the gap after the last vehicle is greater than your selected threshold. The camera, therefore, doesn’t need the visibility of the traffic light. You can easily validate this with the sat flow report readings and the original video.

Q #3:

How link's geometry is being captured and created by GoodVision including distance, number of lanes? Is Signal Timing, Vehicle Speed & Composition are captured as well while exporting to Vissim?

A #3:

Link geometry in GoodVision is captured by how the user draws the movement in Video Insights. This is then reflected in the spline - curvature of the movement in Vissim. of course, the user can adjust the spline in Vissim afterwards, or let Vissim to automatically generate the spline from the entry and exit coordinates of the link, which is present in the *.inpx Vissim input file. For every traffic movement, the distance of the movement is also captured and exported into Vissim. Signal timing is not captured automatically, the user works with the signal timing scheme he has from another source. Vehicle speed, travel time and vehicle composition are provided from GoodVision for each vehicle input in the export file too. A number of lanes per traffic movement are by default set to 1, but the user will be able to change this number when exporting the model to Vissim.

Q #4:

would you be able to differentiate between helmet wearers and non-helmet wearers

A #4:

GoodVision recognizes 8 classes according to the UK and US classification scheme: car, van, bus, light truck, articulated truck, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian.

Q #5:

Do you offer something where I can store my video footage? II need to periodically verify the calculations with the video when calibrating the models, do I have to switch to other applications or is it something Goodvision offers?

A #5:

Yes, GoodVision Vault is the video footage storage service specifically designed for storing your video footage from surveys in a way that can be tightly connected to your processed data. GoodVision Vault is designed for simple and convenient hand-off of the survey data from surveyors to the modellers, and it is also designed for modellers to review the events from the original video in the GoodVision app! So yes, you can jump to your video straight from your analytical dashboard when you find an event or time-frame you are interested in, without the need to switch to another application. GoodVision Vault is coming in June 2020 and will be available to all GoodVision users.

Q #6:

Do you offer assistance or verification of user analytics? Placing the filters is new for me and I need to check if I’m doing good before I get more familiar working with it.

A #6:

Yes, we understand working with the real-world collected vehicle trajectories and data is something new for you, and even if it brings a big number of further benefits, it may seem tricky from the beginning. Am I doing it correctly? Are these the right counts I’m supposed to get? If you’re asking these questions, then the GoodVision Assistant service will be of great help to you. Our assistance and project quality assurance service is included in all monthly plans - Surveyor and Modeller Plan and you can use it. The assistance is available for you during business hours. As an additional service on your survey project, you can ask for the verification of the traffic counts, where GoodVision delivers the proof of the counts provided by Video Insights automated processing.

Q #7:

How much is the cost of a traffic volume report for 4 hours of the survey?

A #7:

All the reports in GoodVision Video Insights are already included in every monthly plan which GoodVision offers, with no additional costs, regardless of the duration of the survey. You can specify your report in the report builder in Video Insights. All reports are generated in the Video Insights, online and you can generate it repeatedly, as many times as you need. All reports are delivered to you within 1 - 15 minutes, depending on the duration of your survey (reported time-frame).

Q #8:

What if I don’t require the modelling analyses in GoodVision, can I still use just the traffic counting or do I have to pay for the modelling toolkit? We are the surveyors and don’t do the modelling.

A #8:

Sure you can, the functionality in GoodVision is bundled in the optimally selected feature packages. For example, you can go with the Surveyor plan where you pick the traffic counting functionality you need, without paying for the advanced analyses for traffic modelling. The Modeller Plan functionality comes in the extra bundle, which also includes all the basic traffic counting functionality. Then the platform offers plenty of additional in-app options which you can select if you need it. As you can see, it is a rich ecosystem of functionality bundled on a single platform, where everyone finds what he needs. To learn more about the bundles and plans, visit: https://goodvisionlive.com/#pricing