Stochastic motion planning and applications to traffic

This paper presents a stochastic motion planning algorithm and its application to traffic navigation. The algorithm copes with the uncertainty of road traffic conditions by stochastic modeling of travel delay on road networks. The algorithm deter min s paths between two points that optimize a cost function of the delay probability distribution. It c an be used to find paths that maximize the probability of reaching a destination within a partic ular travel deadline. For such problems, standard shortest-path algorithms don’t work because the optimal substructure property doesn’t hold. We evaluate our algorithm using bo th simulations and realworld drives, using delay data gathered from a set of taxis equipped with GPS sensors and a wireless network. Our algorithm can be integrated into on-board navigation systems as well as route-finding Web sites, providing drivers with good paths that meet th ir desired goals.

[1]  Matthew Brand,et al.  Stochastic Shortest Paths Via Quasi-convex Maximization , 2006, ESA.

[2]  Yang Zhang,et al.  CarTel: a distributed mobile sensor computing system , 2006, SenSys '06.

[3]  Ismail Chabini,et al.  Discrete Dynamic Shortest Path Problems in Transportation Applications: Complexity and Algorithms with Optimal Run Time , 1998 .

[4]  Ronald Prescott Loui,et al.  Optimal paths in graphs with stochastic or multidimensional weights , 1983, Commun. ACM.

[5]  Jean Walrand,et al.  Vehicles As Probes , 1995 .

[6]  Haichen Xu,et al.  Real time highway traffic simulation and prediction using inductance loop data , 1995, Pacific Rim TransTech Conference. 1995 Vehicle Navigation and Information Systems Conference Proceedings. 6th International VNIS. A Ride into the Future.

[7]  Roland Chrobok,et al.  Traffic forecast using simulations of large scale networks , 2001, ITSC 2001. 2001 IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems. Proceedings (Cat. No.01TH8585).

[8]  James J. Solberg,et al.  The Stochastic Shortest Route Problem , 1980, Oper. Res..

[9]  Patricia J. Carstensen.  The complexity of some problems in parametric linear and combinatorial programming , 1983 .

[10]  D. Schrank,et al.  THE 2004 URBAN MOBILITY REPORT , 2002 .

[11]  Tsu Chin,et al.  California Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways (PATH) , 2004 .

[12]  S. Sarkar,et al.  Exact algorithms for the stochastic shortest path problem with a decreasing deadline utility function , 1997 .

[13]  David R. Karger,et al.  Optimal Route Planning under Uncertainty , 2006, ICAPS.

[14]  John N. Tsitsiklis,et al.  An Analysis of Stochastic Shortest Path Problems , 1991, Math. Oper. Res..

[15]  Mingyan Liu,et al.  Surface street traffic estimation , 2007, MobiSys '07.

[16]  Michael P. Wellman,et al.  Path Planning under Time-Dependent Uncertainty , 1995, UAI.