ISO 21219-18:2019

Overview

ISO 21219-18:2019 - TPEG2 Traffic Flow and Prediction (TPEG2‑TFP) specifies the TPEG (Transport Protocol Experts Group) Generation‑2 application for delivering traffic flow and prediction information as part of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). Designed for delivery over digital broadcasting and Internet channels, TPEG2‑TFP provides compact, efficient, status‑oriented traffic state updates for in‑car systems and other receivers. The standard supports textual, voice and graphical outputs and is intended to continuously update a receiver’s knowledge of a dedicated road network - including traffic conditions for all road sections, not only incidents.

Key technical topics and requirements

• Status‑oriented traffic model: continuous delivery of traffic states for dedicated networks, including normal (non‑abnormal) conditions.
• Multi‑channel delivery: optimized for digital broadcast and Internet distribution to diverse receivers.
• Message structure and components: defined message containers and components (e.g., TFPMessage, TFPMethod, LocationReferencingContainer, FlowPolygonObject, FlowMatrix, FlowVector) to represent traffic states and predictions.
• Data types and tables: standardized data types (FlowVectorSection, PolygonPoint, StatusParameters, etc.) and reference tables (vehicle classes, causes, spatial resolution, level of service) to ensure interoperable decoding.
• Compact binary and ML formats: normative annexes provide TPEG‑Binary and TPEG‑ML (XML) representations for encoding/decoding.
• Extendibility and versioning: support for ordered components, version signalling and extendibility to accommodate future enhancements.
• Location referencing: integration with TPEG2 location referencing containers enabling map‑based and human‑readable references.

Practical applications

• Dynamic navigation and route guidance: supply up‑to‑date traffic states and short‑term predictions to in‑car navigation and smartphone route planners for rerouting and ETA adjustments.
• Driver safety and awareness: deliver timely traffic status and upcoming congestion warnings via text, voice prompts or HUD displays.
• Traffic management and planning: feed aggregated flow matrices and statistical parameters into traffic control centres for demand management and congestion mitigation.
• Telematics and fleet operations: enable fleet management systems to optimize routing, reduce delays and balance network loads.
• Content distribution via broadcasters and ISPs: allow service providers to multicast compact traffic data to many receivers efficiently.

Who should use this standard

• Automotive OEMs and in‑vehicle infotainment (IVI) and navigation system suppliers
• Traffic information service providers, broadcasters and Internet content distributors
• Telematics vendors, fleet operators and mobility‑as‑a‑service (MaaS) platforms
• Traffic management centres, municipal ITS integrators and map data providers

Related standards

• ISO 21219 series (TPEG2 toolkit and applications) - e.g., ISO/TS 21219‑7 (location referencing), ISO 21219‑6 (message management container)
• Earlier TPEG1 series (ISO/TS 18234) and other TPEG2 application parts (PKI, FPI, WEA)

Keywords: ISO 21219-18:2019, TPEG2‑TFP, traffic flow prediction, intelligent transport systems, traffic state information, TTI, digital broadcasting, traffic data encoding.