Quantum harmonic oscillator model for fine-grained expressway traffic volume simulation considering individual heterogeneity

Accurate and robust fine-grained expressway traffic volume simulation is a critical issue in intelligent transportation systems and real-time traffic-related applications. However, the fine-grained expressway traffic volumes aggregated from vehicle trajectories heavily rely on individual heterogeneity, making it challenging for modeling and accurate simulation. In order to eliminate the influence of individual heterogeneity on the modeling and simulation of the fine-grained expressway traffic volume, this paper proposes a novel method named Quantum Harmonic Oscillator Model for Fine-grained Expressway Traffic Volume Simulation (FGTVS-QHO). FGTVS-QHO adopts the wave function of the quantum harmonic oscillator model to describe the irregular evolution of the location of the vehicle. Then several optimization strategies are applied to the numerical solution of the wave function. FGTVS-QHO is validated with the expressway traffic volumes of six exits along the Nanjing-Shanghai Expressway in China. The simulation performance of FGTVS-QHO is compared with the methods of Long and Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks and Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA). FGTVS-QHO shows higher simulation accuracy, less time cost, and lower parameter complexity. Especially, the average simulation accuracy of FGTVS-QHO is improved by 24.80% and 58.05% compared with the above two methods, respectively. The scale effects of FGTVS-QHO also indicate that it is adaptive to simulate the expressway traffic volume at fine time granularity. This paper provides a new potential method for fine-grained expressway traffic volume simulation with strong individual heterogeneity.