Smart Traffic Data for the Analysis of Sustainable Travel Modes

Abstract

We present and validate the image analysis algorithm μ-scope to capture personal mobility devices’ (PMDs) movement characteristics and extract their movement dynamics even when they interact with each other and with pedestrians. Experimental data were used for validation of the proposed algorithm. Data were collected through a large-scale, semicontrolled, real-track experiment at the University of Patras campus. Participants (N = 112) included pedestrians, cyclists, and e-scooter drivers. The experiment was video recorded, and μ-scope was used for trajectory extraction. Some of the participants had installed, beforehand, the Phyphox application in their smartphones. Phyphox accurately measures x-y-z acceleration rates and was used, in our case, as the baseline measurement (i.e., “ground truth”). Statistical comparison between Phyphox and camera-based measurements shows very low difference in most cases. High pedestrian densities were the only case where relatively high root mean square errors were registered. The proposed algorithm can be thus considered capable of producing reliable speed and acceleration estimates. Low-quality conventional smartphone cameras were used in this experiment. As a result, the proposed method can be easily applied to all urban contexts under normal traffic conditions, but eventually not in the case of special or emergency events generating very high pedestrian densities.