BY combining traffic and population indicators, a big data model recently developed by a research team in Shenzhen made a list of popular business areas in the city, according to the Shenzhen Economic Daily.

Jointly composed by researchers from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT), Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Shenzhen Polytechnic, a thesis about the model has been published in “Computers in Human Behaviors,” the most influential academic journal in the field of human-computer interaction.

“People can sense that a certain business area is crowded and popular, but there wasn’t a specific method for describing the popularity and attractiveness of the business area,” said Fan Xiaopeng, a doctoral researcher from SIAT.

With the model they developed, Fan found that the Yitian Holiday Plaza is the most popular business area in Nanshan.

Traditionally, researchers would need to collect samples via surveys or field studies to determine the popularity of a business area. With the big data model, this time-consuming qualitative method is replaced by a quantitative method.

The research team uses GPS location data of more than 15,000 cabs citywide along with overall traffic data and other indicators including population, floor area, real estates, road network and comments on social media platforms to form a comprehensive big data system.

The system is based on a Cyber-physical-social model, according to Fan. It is credited for features like being automated and highly accurate. The more than 15,000 taxis around the city will send their GPS information to the system every 20 seconds, providing a total data equivalent of about 5 gigabites on a daily basis. The system also analyzes data collected from multiple sources and comes up with the results automatically. (Zhang Qian)