MGHCN: Multi-graph structures and hypergraph convolutional networks for traffic flow prediction

Abstract

Accurate and timely traffic flow predictions are essential for effective traffic management and congestion reduction. However, most traditional prediction methods often fail to capture the complex dynamics and correlations within traffic flows due to insufficient processing of spatiotemporal data. Specifically, these methods struggle to integrate and analyze the multi-layered spatial and temporal interactions inherent in traffic data, leading to suboptimal prediction accuracy and robustness. To address this limitation, this paper presents a Multi-Graph Structures and Hypergraph Convolutional Network (MGHCN) that combines diverse graphs and hypergraphs. The MGHCN simplifies the predictive framework by integrating key components that improve its robustness and accuracy. One of the most critical components is the dual hypergraph structure, which captures edge correlations by converting traditional graph edges into hypergraph nodes. To better capture the spatiotemporal correlation of traffic data, a Graph Convolutional Network (GCN) is employed to analyze these hypergraphs in depth. Finally, a novel adjacency matrix and a dynamic graph module are used to accurately simulate interactions between spatiotemporal features, thereby enhancing the accuracy and robustness of predictions. Experimental validation on four distinct real-world traffic datasets shows that MGHCN outperforms existing state-of-the-art traffic prediction methods.