TransFlower: An Explainable Transformer-Based Model with Flow-to-Flow Attention for Commuting Flow Prediction

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Luo, Yan, Wan, Zhuoyue, Chen, Yuzhong, Mai, Gengchen, Chung, Fu-lai, Larson, Kent
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Luo, Yan
Wan, Zhuoyue
Chen, Yuzhong
Mai, Gengchen
Chung, Fu-lai
Larson, Kent
author_facet Luo, Yan
Wan, Zhuoyue
Chen, Yuzhong
Mai, Gengchen
Chung, Fu-lai
Larson, Kent
contents Understanding the link between urban planning and commuting flows is crucial for guiding urban development and policymaking. This research, bridging computer science and urban studies, addresses the challenge of integrating these fields with their distinct focuses. Traditional urban studies methods, like the gravity and radiation models, often underperform in complex scenarios due to their limited handling of multiple variables and reliance on overly simplistic and unrealistic assumptions, such as spatial isotropy. While deep learning models offer improved accuracy, their black-box nature poses a trade-off between performance and explainability -- both vital for analyzing complex societal phenomena like commuting flows. To address this, we introduce TransFlower, an explainable, transformer-based model employing flow-to-flow attention to predict urban commuting patterns. It features a geospatial encoder with an anisotropy-aware relative location encoder for nuanced flow representation. Following this, the transformer-based flow predictor enhances this by leveraging attention mechanisms to efficiently capture flow interactions. Our model outperforms existing methods by up to 30.8% Common Part of Commuters, offering insights into mobility dynamics crucial for urban planning and policy decisions.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2402_15398
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle TransFlower: An Explainable Transformer-Based Model with Flow-to-Flow Attention for Commuting Flow Prediction
Luo, Yan
Wan, Zhuoyue
Chen, Yuzhong
Mai, Gengchen
Chung, Fu-lai
Larson, Kent
Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Computers and Society
Understanding the link between urban planning and commuting flows is crucial for guiding urban development and policymaking. This research, bridging computer science and urban studies, addresses the challenge of integrating these fields with their distinct focuses. Traditional urban studies methods, like the gravity and radiation models, often underperform in complex scenarios due to their limited handling of multiple variables and reliance on overly simplistic and unrealistic assumptions, such as spatial isotropy. While deep learning models offer improved accuracy, their black-box nature poses a trade-off between performance and explainability -- both vital for analyzing complex societal phenomena like commuting flows. To address this, we introduce TransFlower, an explainable, transformer-based model employing flow-to-flow attention to predict urban commuting patterns. It features a geospatial encoder with an anisotropy-aware relative location encoder for nuanced flow representation. Following this, the transformer-based flow predictor enhances this by leveraging attention mechanisms to efficiently capture flow interactions. Our model outperforms existing methods by up to 30.8% Common Part of Commuters, offering insights into mobility dynamics crucial for urban planning and policy decisions.
title TransFlower: An Explainable Transformer-Based Model with Flow-to-Flow Attention for Commuting Flow Prediction
topic Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Computers and Society
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.15398