Real-time identification of probe vehicle trajectories in the mixed traffic corridor

•Semi-supervised clustering algorithms were developed based on horizontal GPS data.•Pre-labeling sample vehicle methods were used to improve clustering accuracy.•Both congested and uncongested conditions had good results.•The enhanced SFCM algorithm could achieve the best performance.

This paper proposes three enhanced semi-supervised clustering algorithms, namely the Constrained-K-Means (CKM), the Seeded-K-Means (SKM), and the Semi-Supervised Fuzzy c-Means (SFCM), to identify probe vehicle trajectories in the mixed traffic corridor. The proposed algorithms are able to take advantage of the strengthens of topological relation judgment and the semi-supervised learning technique by optimizing the selection of pre-labeling samples and initial clustering centers of the original semi-supervised learning technique based on horizontal Global Positioning System data. The proposed algorithms were validated and evaluated based on the probe vehicle data collected at two mixed corridors on Shanghai’s urban expressways. Results indicate that the enhanced SFCM algorithm could achieve the best performance in terms of clustering purity and Normalized Mutual Information, followed by the CKM algorithm and the SKM algorithm. It may reach a nearly 100% clustering purity for the uncongested conditions and a clustering purity greater than 80% for the congested conditions. Meanwhile, it could improve clustering purity averagely by 21% and 14% for the congested conditions and 6.5% and 6% for the uncongested conditions, as compared with the traditional K-Means algorithm and the basic SFCM. The proposed algorithms can be applied for both on-line and off-line purposes, without the need of historical data. Clustering accuracies under different traffic conditions and possible improvements with the use of historical data are also discussed.