Traffic Information Collection Based on Cell Phone Positioning

Accurate and reliable real-time traffic information is the foundation of Intelligent Transportation Systems. Cell phone positioning technique provides a new method for traffic information collection with the rapid expansion of cell phone subscriber group. In this paper, we did theoretical analysis and simulation study on the application of this method, indicating three crucial issues which are location, accuracy, sample size, and data filtering. We analyzed these three issues respectively and advanced proposals of their solution. According to the theoretical analysis and simulation study, we get the conclusion that there are still lots of problems about the application of this new technique to traffic information collection, especially the low location accuracy of cell phones, which restrains this new application significantly.