Generating routes from lines based on zoom levels

• US 10,378,918 B2
• Filed: 01/03/2017
• Issued: 08/13/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Thommen, Simon, Smith, Kenneth Douglas, Sethi, Kshitij
• Primary Examiner(s): Moyer, Dale
• Application Number:
  US15/397,390
• Publication Number:
  US 20180188063A1
• Time in Patent Office: 952 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3461 Preferred or disfavoured areas, e.g. dangerous zones, toll or emission zones, intersections, manoeuvre types, segments such as motorways, toll roads, ferries
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3664 Details of the user input interface, e.g. buttons, knobs or sliders, including those provided on a touch screen; remote controllers; input using gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/367 Details, e.g. road map scale, orientation, zooming, illumination, level of detail, scrolling of road map or positioning of current position marker
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3676 Overview of the route on the road map
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

A user of a mapping application can use a user interface to draw a line between an origin address and a destination address on a map. The mapping application uses a zoom level associated with the map to determine if the user intended that the route consist mostly of highways or mostly of local roads. Segments of the line are replaced by similar road sections selected from the map based on the determined zoom level. The line replaced by the selected road sections is presented to the user as a route between the origin address and the destination address.

Claims

1. A system for automatically selecting road sections for a line on a map based on a zoom level, the system comprising:

at least one computing device; and

a route engine adapted to;

determine a zoom level at which a user is viewing a subset of a map on a display, the map defining a plurality of road sections each being associated with one of a plurality of zoom levels from which the determined zoom level is selected;

receive a line, wherein the line has a placement on the map, and further wherein the line comprises a plurality of line segments connecting an origin address and a destination address on the map;

based on the placement of the line on the map, identify a subset of the plurality of road sections combinable to form a route between the origin address and the destination address; and

for each line segment of the plurality of line segments;

compare the line segment to a road section of the identified subset of the plurality of road sections;

determine whether a similarity between the line segment and the road section is above a threshold similarity; and

add the road section to a selected subset of the plurality of road sections responsive to the determination that the similarity is above the threshold similarity, wherein each road section of the selected subset of the plurality of road sections is associated with the determined zoom level with which the user is viewing the map.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the route engine is adapted to receive user input on a display of the at least one computing device defining the line.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the user input is received from one or more of a stylus or a finger.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the route engine is further adapted to:

determine, for at least one line segment of the plurality of line segments, that the similarity between the line segment and the road section is not above the threshold similarity;

in response to the determination, select a different road section from the map that is similar to the line segment with an associated zoom level that is different than the determined zoom level; and

add the selected different road section with the associated zoom level that is different than the determined zoom level to the selected subset of the plurality of road sections.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the route engine is adapted to receive a selection of the zoom level of the plurality of zoom levels that is associated with the map.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein each zoom level of the plurality of zoom levels represents a different road type of a plurality of road types.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the road types of the plurality of road types comprise one or more of freeways, highways, collectors, and local roads.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the route engine is further adapted to replace the line with the route formed by the selected subset of the plurality of road sections.

9. A system for automatically selecting road sections for a line on a map based on a zoom level, the system comprising:

at least one computing device; and

a route engine adapted to;

determine a zoom level at which a user is viewing a subset of a map on a display, the map defining a plurality of road sections each being associated with one of a plurality of zoom levels from which the determined zoom level is selected;

receive a first segment of a line on the map, wherein the first segment has a placement on the map; and

based on the placement of the first segment on the map, select a road section of the plurality of road sections, wherein the selected road section of the subset of the plurality of road sections is associated with the determined zoom level with which the user is viewing the map;

determine that a similarity of the selected road section to the first segment is not above a threshold similarity;

in response to the determination, select a different road section from the map that is similar to the first segment with an associated zoom level that is different than the determined zoom level.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the route engine is adapted to receive user input drawing the first segment of the line on the map.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the user input is received from one or more of a stylus or a finger.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein each zoom level of the plurality of zoom levels represents a different road type of a plurality of road types.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the road types of the plurality of road types comprise one or more of freeways, highways, collectors, and local roads.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the route engine is further adapted to replace the received first segment of the line on the map with the selected road section.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the route engine is further adapted to replace the received first segment of the line on the map with the selected road section before a second segment of the line on the map is received by the route engine.

16. A method for automatically selecting road sections for a line on a map based on a zoom level, the method comprising:

determining a zoom level at which a user is viewing a subset of a map on a display of a computing device, the map defining a plurality of road sections each being associated with one of a plurality of zoom levels from which the determined zoom level is selected;

receiving a line by the computing device, wherein the line has a placement on the map, and wherein the line comprises a plurality of line segments connecting an origin address and a destination address on the map;

based on the placement of the line on the map, identifying a subset of the plurality of road sections combinable to form a route between the origin address and the destination address by the computing device; and

for each line segment of the plurality of line segments;

comparing the line segment to a road section of the identified subset of the plurality of road sections;

determining whether a similarity between the line segment and the road section is above a threshold similarity; and

adding the road section to a selected subset of the plurality of road sections responsive to the determination that the similarity is above the threshold similarity, wherein each road section of the selected subset of the plurality of road associated with the determined zoom level with which the user is viewing the map; and

replacing the line with the route formed by the selected subset of the plurality of road sections by the computing device.