Route modification based on receiving a broadcast emergency vehicle route

• US 10,302,441 B2
• Filed: 09/27/2016
• Issued: 05/28/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bravo, Elianne A., Greenblatt, Michael L., Lagares-Greenblatt, Heidi
• Primary Examiner(s): Badii, Behrang
• Application Number:
  US15/276,898
• Publication Number:
  US 20180087914A1
• Time in Patent Office: 973 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3415 Dynamic re-routing, e.g. recalculating the route when the user deviates from calculated route or after detecting real-time traffic data or accidents
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3694 Output thereof on a road map
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/00 Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots drive control systems specially adapted for autonomous road vehicles B60W60/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/02 Control of position or course in two dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/087 Override of traffic control, e.g. by signal transmitted by an emergency vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0965 responding to signals from another vehicle, e.g. emergency vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0967 Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096827 where the route is computed onboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096844 where the complete route is dynamically recomputed based on new data
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/123 indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, tramstransmission of navigation instructions to vehicles G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/16 Anti-collision systems road vehicle drive control systems for predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision otherwise than by control of a particular sub-unit B60W30/08
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information

Abstract

Methods, systems and computer program products for updating a route of a vehicle based on a broadcast emergency signal are provided. Aspects include receiving, by a navigational device associated with the vehicle, the broadcast emergency signal indicating a route of an emergency vehicle and determining, by the navigational device, whether the route of the vehicle associated with the navigational device overlaps with the route of the emergency vehicle. Aspects also include determining a revised route for the vehicle based on a determination that the route of the vehicle associated with the navigational device overlaps with the route of the emergency vehicle.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for updating a route of a vehicle based on a broadcast emergency signal, the method comprising:

receiving, by a navigational device associated with the vehicle, the broadcast emergency signal indicating a route of an emergency vehicle, wherein the route of the emergency vehicle indicated by the broadcast emergency signal consists of a portion of a full route of the emergency vehicle, the portion being determined based on a speed of the emergency vehicle, a type of an emergency and a location of the emergency vehicle;

determining, by the navigational device, whether the route of the vehicle associated with the navigational device overlaps with the route of the emergency vehicle; and

based on a determination that the route of the vehicle associated with the navigational device overlaps with the route of the emergency vehicle, determining a revised route for the vehicle associated with the navigational device, wherein the revised route is determined such that it minimizes the overlap of the route of the vehicle with the route of the emergency vehicle, and

wherein the emergency vehicle broadcasts the emergency signal with sufficient power to enable navigational devices within a desired range of the emergency vehicle to receive the emergency signal, the desired range being a distance that increases as the speed of the emergency vehicle increases and that decreases as the emergency vehicle gets closer to its destination.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

based on a determination that the route of the vehicle associated with the navigational device does not overlap with the route of the emergency vehicle, continuing navigation along the route by the navigational device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the broadcast emergency signal is received from the emergency vehicle.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the emergency vehicle broadcasts the broadcast emergency signal with a power level sufficient to transmit the broadcast emergency signal a maximum distance.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the navigational device is one of a smartphone and an onboard GPS system of the vehicle associated with the navigational device.

6. A computer program product for updating a route of a vehicle based on a broadcast emergency signal, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuit for performing a method comprising;

receiving the broadcast emergency signal indicating a route of an emergency vehicle, wherein the route of the emergency vehicle indicated by the broadcast emergency signal consists of a portion of a full route of the emergency vehicle, the portion being determined based on a speed of the emergency vehicle, a type of an emergency and a location of the emergency vehicle;

determining whether the route of the vehicle overlaps with the route of the emergency vehicle;

based on a determination that the route of the vehicle overlaps with the route of the emergency vehicle, determining a revised route for the vehicle, wherein the revised route is determined such that it minimizes the overlap of the route of the vehicle with the route of the emergency vehicle, and

wherein the emergency vehicle broadcasts the emergency signal with sufficient power to enable navigational devices within a desired range of the emergency vehicle to receive the emergency signal, the desired range being a distance that increases as the speed of the emergency vehicle increases and that decreases as the emergency vehicle gets closer to its destination.

7. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises:

based on a determination that the route of the vehicle does not overlap with the route of the emergency vehicle, continuing navigation along the route.

8. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the revised route is determined such that it minimizes the overlap of the route of the vehicle with the route of the emergency vehicle.

9. A navigational device for updating a route of a vehicle associated with the navigational device based on a broadcast emergency signal, including a processor configured to:

receive the broadcast emergency signal indicating a route of an emergency vehicle, wherein the route of the emergency vehicle indicated by the broadcast emergency signal consists of a portion of a full route of the emergency vehicle, the portion being determined based on a speed of the emergency vehicle, a type of an emergency and a location of the emergency vehicle;

determine whether the route of the vehicle associated with the navigational device overlaps with the route of the emergency vehicle,

based on a determination that the route of the vehicle associated with the navigational device overlaps with the route of the emergency vehicle, determine a revised route for the vehicle associated with the navigational device, wherein the revised route is determined such that it minimizes the overlap of the route of the vehicle with the route of the emergency vehicle, and

wherein the emergency vehicle broadcasts the emergency signal with sufficient power to enable navigational devices within a desired range of the emergency vehicle to receive the emergency signal, the desired range being a distance that increases as the speed of the emergency vehicle increases and that decreases as the emergency vehicle gets closer to its destination.

10. The navigational device of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to:

based on a determination that the route of the vehicle associated with the navigational device does not overlap with the route of the emergency vehicle, continue navigation along the route by the navigational device.

11. The navigational device of claim 9, wherein the revised route is determined such that it minimizes the overlap of the route of the vehicle with the route of the emergency vehicle.

12. The navigational device of claim 9, wherein the navigational device is one of a smartphone and an onboard GPS system of the vehicle associated with the navigational device.

13. The navigational device of claim 9, wherein the navigational device further comprises a display configured to display the route of the of the vehicle associated with the navigational device and wherein the display is further configured to display the route of the emergency vehicle.