A New Synergistic Forecasting Method for Short-Term Traffic Flow with Event-Triggered Strong Fluctuation

Directing against the shortcoming of low accuracy in short-term traffic flow prediction caused by strong traffic flow fluctuation, a novel method for short-term traffic forecasting based on the combination of improved grey Verhulst prediction algorithm and first-order difference exponential smoothing is proposed. Firstly, we constructed an improved grey Verhulst prediction model by introducing the Markov chain to its traditional version. Then, based on an introduced dynamic weighting factor, the improved grey Verhulst prediction method, and the first-order difference exponential smoothing technique, the new method for short-term traffic forecasting is completed in an efficient way. Finally, experiment and analysis are carried out in the light of actual data gathered from strong fluctuation environment to verify the effectiveness and rationality of our proposed scheme

Enhancing statistical wind speed forecasting models : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering at Massey University, Manawatū Campus, New Zealand

In recent years, wind speed forecasting models have seen significant development and growth. In particular, hybrid models have been emerging since the last decade. Hybrid models combine two or more techniques from several categories, with each model utilizing its distinct strengths. Mainly, data-driven models that include statistical and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) models are deployed in hybrid models for shorter forecasting time horizons (< 6hrs). Literature studies show that machine learning models have gained enormous potential owing to their accuracy and robustness. On the other hand, only a handful of studies are available on the performance enhancement of statistical models, despite the fact that hybrid models are incomplete without statistical models. To address the knowledge gap, this thesis identified the shortcomings of traditional statistical models while enhancing prediction accuracy. Three statistical models are considered for analyses: Grey Model [GM(1,1)], Markov Chain, and Holt’s Double Exponential Smoothing models. Initially, the problems that limit the forecasting models' applicability are highlighted. Such issues include negative wind speed predictions, failure of predetermined accuracy levels, non-optimal estimates, and additional computational cost with limited performance. To address these concerns, improved forecasting models are proposed considering wind speed data of Palmerston North, New Zealand. Several methodologies have been developed to improve the model performance and fulfill the necessary and sufficient conditions. These approaches include adjusting dynamic moving window, self-adaptive state categorization algorithm, a similar approach to the leave-one-out method, and mixed initialization method. Keeping in view the application of the hybrid methods, novel MODWT-ARIMA-Markov and AGO-HDES models are further proposed as secondary objectives. Also, a comprehensive analysis is presented by comparing sixteen models from three categories, each for four case studies, three rolling windows, and three forecasting horizons. Overall, the improved models showed higher accuracy than their counter traditional models. Finally, the future directions are highlighted that need subsequent research to improve forecasting performance further

Treatment of input uncertainty in hydrologic modeling: Doing hydrology backward with Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation

There is increasing consensus in the hydrologic literature that an appropriate framework for streamflow forecasting and simulation should include explicit recognition of forcing and parameter and model structural error. This paper presents a novel Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampler, entitled differential evolution adaptive Metropolis (DREAM), that is especially designed to efficiently estimate the posterior probability density function of hydrologic model parameters in complex, high-dimensional sampling problems. This MCMC scheme adaptively updates the scale and orientation of the proposal distribution during sampling and maintains detailed balance and ergodicity. It is then demonstrated how DREAM can be used to analyze forcing data error during watershed model calibration using a five-parameter rainfall-runoff model with streamflow data from two different catchments. Explicit treatment of precipitation error during hydrologic model calibration not only results in prediction uncertainty bounds that are more appropriate but also significantly alters the posterior distribution of the watershed model parameters. This has significant implications for regionalization studies. The approach also provides important new ways to estimate areal average watershed precipitation, information that is of utmost importance for testing hydrologic theory, diagnosing structural errors in models, and appropriately benchmarking rainfall measurement devices

Predicting Urban Medical Services Demand in China: An Improved Grey Markov Chain Model by Taylor Approximation

The sharp increase of the aging population has raised the pressure on the current limited medical resources in China. To better allocate resources, a more accurate prediction on medical service demand is very urgently needed. This study aims to improve the prediction on medical services demand in China. To achieve this aim, the study combines Taylor Approximation into the Grey Markov Chain model, and develops a new model named Taylor-Markov Chain GM (1,1) (T-MCGM (1,1)). The new model has been tested by adopting the historical data, which includes the medical service on treatment of diabetes, heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease from 1997 to 2015 in China. The model provides a predication on medical service demand of these three types of disease up to 2022. The results reveal an enormous growth of urban medical service demand in the future. The findings provide practical implications for the Health Administrative Department to allocate medical resources, and help hospitals to manage investments on medical facilities