Traffic Estimation of Various Connected Vehicle Penetration Rates: Temporal Convolutional Network Approach

Traffic estimation using probe vehicle data is a crucial aspect of traffic management as it provides real-time information about traffic conditions. This study introduced a novel framework for traffic density estimation using Temporal Convolutional Network (TCN) for time series data. The study used two datasets collected from a three-leg intersection in Greece and a four-leg intersection in Germany. The model was built to predict the density in an approach of the signalized intersection using features extracted from the other approaches. The results showed that the highest accuracy was achieved when only probe vehicle data was used. This implies that relying solely on probe vehicle data from two approaches can effectively predict traffic density in the third approach, even when the Market Penetration Rate (MPR) is low. The results also indicated that having Signal Phase and Timing (SPaT) information may not be necessary for high accuracy in traffic estimation and that as the MPR increases, the model becomes more predictable.