Uncovering Spatio-Temporal Cluster Patterns Using Massive Floating Car Data

doi:10.3390/ijgi2020371

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ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2013, 2(2), 371-384; doi:10.3390/ijgi2020371

Article

Uncovering Spatio-Temporal Cluster Patterns Using Massive Floating Car Data

Xintao Liu * and Yifang Ban

Division of Geoinformatics, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm SE-10044, Sweden

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 20 March 2013; in revised form: 22 April 2013 / Accepted: 2 May 2013 / Published: 10 May 2013

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Abstract: In this paper, we explore spatio-temporal clusters using massive floating car data from a complex network perspective. We analyzed over 85 million taxicab GPS points (floating car data) collected in Wuhan, Hubei, China. Low-speed and stop points were selected to generate spatio-temporal clusters, which indicated the typical stop-and-go movement pattern in real-world traffic congestion. We found that the sizes of spatio-temporal clusters exhibited a power law distribution. This implies the presence of a scaling property; i.e., they can be naturally divided into a strong hierarchical structure: long time-duration ones (a low percentage) whose values lie above the mean value and short ones (a high percentage) whose values lie below. The spatio-temporal clusters at different levels represented the degree of traffic congestions, for example the higher the level, the worse the traffic congestions. Moreover, the distribution of traffic congestions varied spatio-temporally and demonstrated a multinuclear structure in urban road networks, which suggested there is a correlation to the corresponding internal mobile regularities of an urban system.

Keywords: spatio-temporal cluster; floating car data; scaling and urban mobility patterns

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MDPI and ACS Style

Liu, X.; Ban, Y. Uncovering Spatio-Temporal Cluster Patterns Using Massive Floating Car Data. ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2013, 2, 371-384.

AMA Style

Liu X, Ban Y. Uncovering Spatio-Temporal Cluster Patterns Using Massive Floating Car Data. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information. 2013; 2(2):371-384.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Liu, Xintao; Ban, Yifang. 2013. "Uncovering Spatio-Temporal Cluster Patterns Using Massive Floating Car Data." ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2, no. 2: 371-384.

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