On the Potential of Floating Car Data for Traffic Light Signal Reconstruction

The knowledge of future Signal Phase and Timing information (SPaT) of traffic lights ahead enables a vast number of driving assistance functions, such as Green Light Optimal Speed Control, Red Light Duration Advisory or efficient Start-Stop Control. However, these assisting functionalities necessitate information on future signals of the traffic light ahead. One approach to obtain this information is to estimate SPaT from vehicular probe data, also called Floating Car Data. With the determination of the exact crossing time of traffic lights, it is possible to reconstruct the past signaling times. This paper addresses the question of how many recorded crossings of street intersections are needed in order to reconstruct SPaT of pre-timed (traffic lights with fixed pre-programmed settings) with a certain quality. We distinct between cycle time reconstruction and green signaling reconstruction and indicate a lower bound of necessary data under ideal conditions. We show that, albeit the amount of collected probe data is highly dependent on the intersections´ complexity, the needed number of recorded crossings is within an attainable range.