FAQs

What is “Zen Traffic Data”

Q.What kind of effort is “Zen Traffic Data”?
A.Zen Traffic Data is an effort that aims to use the traffic data (see “How we make Data ”) gathered by Hanshin Expressway Co., Ltd. to improve transportation services in order to develop more safe, secure and comfortable transportation services for the next generation. In that regard to contribute to the development of transportation, we plan to have research institutions like universities and corporations, that meet our usage conditions, use the data for basic research, technology and service development. For more information about the data, please see “About our Data” section on our website. We ask each organization that wishes to use the data to submit an application. For more details, please refer to “How to Apply.”

Data Overview

Q.Where can I find the composition of the usable data data items and datasets?
A.Please refer to “Database Configuration” and “Data Sets” pages on this website.
Q.What is the percentage that the vehicles on the road will have their information turned into vehicle trajectory data?
A.The data for vehicle trajectory is made with image sensing technology utilizing images obtained by cameras installed on light poles of expressways. Roughly 100% of the vehicles traveling in the target section are turned into data. However, motorcycles are not included.
Q.Is each vehicle trajectory continuous in the target section?
A.Due to occlusion and other reasons which are specific to image sensing, there may be cases where a part of the trajectory may not be continuous for some vehicles. Even in this case, a vehicle ID will remain for trips within the target section.
Q.What is included in vehicle attributes?
A.Vehicle attributes include vehicle size class (mid-sized or large cars) and vehicle length. Information that can be used to identify a specific vehicle in different trips is not included. For more information, please refer to “ Database Configuration” page of the “About our Data” section on our website.
Q.Does the vehicle trajectory data include data that was made with corrections?
A.For vehicle trajectory, in case where there is missing data due to occlusion and others, we supplement the data with calculations from measured points both before and after the missing point. Each record can be specified whether they are obtained from camera captured data or they are calculated.
Q.What part of vehicles are you measuring for location data?
A.Vehicle location data (latitude and longitude) is measured at the center of the rear end of the vehicle. There are cases where miscalculations are included due to the limitations of data generation.
Q.How are you measuring the speed of vehicles?
A.The speed at each point sequence is calculated from the coordinate distance between two points at 0.1 second intervals.
Q.What is the section of the currently available vehicle trajectory data?
A.As of February 2023, data from the approximately 2 km section of the Hanshin Expressway Route 11 Ikeda Line (Osaka bound) nearby the Tsukamoto Junction
Hanshin Expressway Route 4 (Wangan Route Osaka bound) at the Ohama-Sambo section
Hanshin Expressway Route 13 (Higashiosaka Route Nara bound) nearby the Morinomiya Junction can be used.
Q.Is there a user manual for the database?
A.There is no user manual.

How to Apply

Q.How should I start using the data?
A.Zen Traffic Data is intended to be used by research and development organizations to contribute to the development of basic research, technology and services that will make road traffic more safe, secure and comfortable for the next generation.
An application for data usage must be submitted by each university research facility or corporate organization. Please note that personal applications will not be accepted.
If the proposed data use expressed in the organization’s application does not match the intended usage of Hanshin Expressway Co. Ltd., and if the purpose or plan stated is not clear, access to the data may not be granted.
Q.I would like to know the application procedure.
A.Please refer to “ How to Apply” on this website.
Q.Do we need to purchase a license to use this data?
A.If the usage of the data remains within the usage conditions, the data will be provided free of charge. All costs related to download and communicate with the secretariat must be borne by the applicant.
Q.Can organizations outside of Japan apply to use this data?
A.Yes. The application method for organizations inside Japan and those outside Japan is different. The application for organizations located in Japan can be accessed from the Japanese (language) website, while the application for organizations located outside of Japan can be accessed from the English (language) website.
Q.Do you accept e-mails from a personal address with applicant organizational domain?
A.We only accept applications sent from an e-mail address with the domain of the representative organization.
Q.I have yet to receive a response from the secretariat after submitting my application.
A.There are cases where, because of application concentration, etc., we may take time to respond. The address that the secretariat will use to deliver usage permission and other communications is info@zen-traffic-data.net. Please set the domain “@zen-traffic-data.net” as a registered safe domain in the filters of your system and e-mail client. On certain e-mail clients and virus prevention software, the e-mail may be automatically registered as spam so please check the spam folder of your e-mail client.
Q.We would like to use the data between multiple organizations. Who should apply?
A.One application for data usage must be submitted by each university research facility or corporate organization per each research or project. In case the research or project will be done with cooperation between multiple organizations, please designate a representative organization in charge of the research project to submit the application. It is necessary to register the usage structure of the organization that intends to use this data in the application, even if the organization will not directly handle the data for this research but share the results.
Q.Is it permitted to use the vehicle trajectory data in different departments within the same organization?
A.The data can be used between different departments in the same organization as long as they are in the same research project sharing usage and data use period. If the usage goal, intended usage or period of usage are different within the department, please apply separately.
Q.After applying, we welcomed a new organization to our research project. What should be done?
A.To allow an organization that is not listed in the application, we need to review the usage conditions, so please contact the secretariat by e-mail as soon as possible.
Q.Are there cases where the data will be changed after it has been supplied?
A.Currently there are no such plans. Please refer to the “ Data Sets” page in the “About our Data” section on our website for more information about the data we provide currently.
Q.Is it possible to receive the camera-captured image data that is the source for creating the vehicle trajectory data?
A.We cannot provide the camera-captured image data.
Q.Could you provide the simulation software that can output the data to the virtual environment, or the analysis tools used to output the time-space diagrams?
A.We cannot provide the analysis tools or the virtual environment (such as simulation software, etc.). We assume that the direct users of the data conduct their own analysis by themselves.
Q.Is there a limit to the usage period?
A.The maximum amount of time to use the data is two years. If you intend to use the data for longer period, please apply again. When the usage period is expired, please delete the data with absolute certainty in its entirety as soon as possible.
Even after the applicant organization has deleted the data, the secretariat and Hanshin Expressway Co., Ltd. will keep it stored. If the data needs to be supplied to the applicant organization again, please contact the secretariat.
Q.Can I write and publish a paper with results gained from using this data?
A.You can publish the results gained from using this data in a paper. However, in published articles (papers, etc.) we ask you to correctly cite the data as “Zen Traffic Data”. In case of an academic paper, include the link to the data (https://zen-traffic-data.net) in the reference list. Please send the published articles to the secretariat when they have been published.
Q.Can we apply for a patent for independently developed ideas that came about using this data?
A.In the event of applying for patents for the produced items that have a close relationship to the operations of Hanshin Expressway Company in Japan, Hanshin Expressway Company may request the applicant to discuss the implementation with Hanshin Expressway Company.
If the user organization applied for a patent using the supplied data, and the patent is effective in the vicinity of the business domains in Japan by Hanshin Expressway, please inform the secretariat.
Q.I found an error in the dataset.
A.In principle, we do not accept questions related to the details of the data. However, in the event that you believe there is an error in the data, please let the secretariat know by e-mail. We will use the information as a reference when we update the data.