What is Probe Data?
Description
Probe data, or Floating Car data as it is often referred to, is anonymized timestamped trajectory-level vehicle location data.
Data Source
The data is sourced by millions of vehicles globally from our vetted partners including:
Automotive OEMs; vehicles with embedded connectivity from the car manufacturer
Fleets with after-sales in-vehicle hardware telematics devices
Use Cases
Traffic management: Our data fuels dynamic traffic light systems, incident response management and other ITS applications (Intelligent Transport Systems)
Transportation analytics: Traffic consultants, road operators, municipalities and SaaS analytics platforms use our data for understanding road safety, road usage, people movement and performing targeted before & after analytics to assess infrastructure and signage changes.
Site-selection: Our data supports models that assess the best location for new retail store openings and EV charging stations rollout on the basis of footfall and cannibalization estimates.
Event Planning: Organizers of events like concerts or sports can analyze traffic patterns to optimize event organisation including start/end times and manage in real time such events.
Route Planning: Companies with large vehicle fleets (e.g., delivery, taxi, or transportation companies) use this data to optimise routes, reduce fuel consumption, and improve overall operational efficiency.
Emission Analysis: Stakeholders can estimate emission hotspots based on traffic information
Probe Data Schema
Main attributes
The following table provides the main data attributes that are available via the Mobito Probe Data Product:
Attribute | Type | Description |
unique_id OR trip_id | string | Hashed id for a vehicle rotating every few minutes up to maximum every 24 hours OR Hashed id for a single trip |
timestamp | string | Date & time of the record (in UTC in ISO 8601) |
latitude | double | The latitude position of the vehicle (+/- 10m accuracy) |
longitude | double | The longitude position of the vehicle (+/- 10m accuracy) |
speed | double | The speed of the vehicle in km/h |
heading | double | The direction of driving of the vehicle in degrees (0-359,0=North, 90=East) |
vehicle_type | string | The vehicle category (passenger, light van, heavy truck, bus, other) |
Extended Probe data - Additional attributes
Additional attributes might be available depending on the geography of interest. These attributes are offered with an additional cost.
Indicative list:
Acceleration in X, Y, Z axis
Fuel level
Electrical consumption
Wiper state
Fog lights
ESP
Air temperature
Fuel type
Vehicle make & model
Vehicle weight
Road type and speed limit
Data Sample
A small sample is available at the link below for download, which can help you better understand the data schema.
Probe Data Specs
Capturing frequency
Capturing frequency differs depending on the data source and the geography.
It ranges from 3 seconds up to a minute.
Indicative list:
Country | Average frequency |
Italy | 3 seconds |
Germany, France, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Spain | 10 seconds |
Note that long distance un-interrupted travelling in highways might lower the frequency
Historicity
Historical data availability as of 2021. Availability differs per country.
Geographical granularity
Data can be delivered on the following geographical levels:
Country
State/ province
City
Custom polygon area
Specific road segment
Vehicle Types
The following vehicle types area available in the datasets (availability varies per country):
Passenger car
Light commercial vehicle (LCV). This is a van type of vehicle. Examples:
(Renault Master, Renault Trafic, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, Peugeot Boxer, Volkswagen Crafter, Fiat Ducato, Opel Crossland, Citroen Berlingo etc.)
Heavy truck (more than 3.5 tones)
Bus
Other (unclassified)
Car brands and models
MOBITO offers multi-brand vehicle data. However, vehicle make and model details are available for only a limited portion of our total car park.
Data Record Identifier
Each probe data record is matched with an identifier (hashed string) so that multiple records that belong to the same vehicle can be identified. There are 2 types of IDs:
Unique ID: An ID for each vehicle that is persistent for a maximum of 24 hours
Trip ID: A unique ID for each single trip. A trip is defined by the trip stops that each vehicle performs. In each stop, a new trip ID is generated
Data Anonymisation
Further anonymisation is applied on the data in order to prevent any possibility of tracking or identifying individual vehicles or drivers. For more details, refer to the Mobito Anonymisation
Probe Data Volume Coverage
Our data volume availability varies across regions and countries, with some areas having extensive coverage while others are more limited.
The majority of our data is available in Europe.
Indicative volume coverage for 2024:
Country | Vehicles |
Netherlands | 2M+ |
Italy | 760K+ |
Germany | 175K+ |
United Kingdom | 130K+ |
France | 125K |
A detailed volume breakdown by vehicle type is available upon request.
FAQs
How is a vehicle type defined?
How is a vehicle type defined?
A vehicle type is determined either through algorithms that analyze the make and model (e.g., VIN decoding) or through manual input within driver systems.
Does each record have both a unique ID and a trip ID?
Does each record have both a unique ID and a trip ID?
No, a record must have at least one of the two - either a unique ID or a Trip ID. In some cases, it may have both, but this is not always required.
What data volumes are available during nighttime and weekends?
What data volumes are available during nighttime and weekends?
Commercial vehicle volumes decrease significantly during nighttime and weekends, while passenger vehicle volumes remain relatively stable.
How does Mobito measure and report penetration rates?
How does Mobito measure and report penetration rates?
Mobito measures penetration rates using the following methods:
Daily Active Vehicles – Tracking the number of unique vehicles generating data each day.
Country-Level Penetration – Calculated as a percentage of registered vehicles, based on official statistics and other published sources.
Local Penetration (e.g., Highways, Cities) – Estimated by comparing our data with local measurements from partners, data access points, and other relevant sources.
Can I access a sample of this data product?
Can I access a sample of this data product?
Yes! Mobito offers a free 3-day data sample for your preferred location. Send us a message and a Mobito expert will assist you in arranging the details.
For details on how to access the sample data, see Mobito Data Delivery Methods