FIRST-PERSON VIDEO-BASED TRAVEL PLANNING SYSTEM

• US 20070150188A1
• Filed: 03/07/2007
• Published: 06/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Outland Research LLC
• Original Assignee: Outland Research LLC
• Inventors: Rosenberg, Louis
• Application Number:
  US11/683,394
• Publication Number:
  US 20070150188A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/211
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3647 Guidance involving output of stored or live camera images or video streams

Abstract

A system provides a first person video depiction of a planned travel route from a designated start location to a designated destination location in response to a user'"'"'s travel planning request. A user interface receives a start location and a destination location for the travel route from a user. A routing component plans the travel route based between the start location and the destination location. A first person image database stores still images associated with locations between the start location and the destination location. The still images display first-person photographic imagery in a driving direction of the travel route. A video generator generates high-speed video media depicting at least a portion of the travel route from the start location to the destination location along a planned travel path. The video media is generated by sequencing a series of the still images associated with locations between the start location and the destination location. A display monitor displays the high-speed video media to the user.

Claims

1. A method for providing a first-person view of a travel route, comprising:

receiving a start location and a destination location for the travel route from a user;

planning the travel route based between the start location and the destination location;

generating high-speed video media depicting at least a portion of the travel route from the start location to the destination location along a planned travel path, wherein the video media is generated by sequencing a series of previously stored still images associated with locations between the start location and the destination location, the still images displaying first photographic imagery in a driving direction of the travel route; and

displaying the high-speed video media to the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the previously stored images is associated with identification data, the identification data comprising at least one of Global Positioning System data, street identification data, and travel direction data.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the high-speed video media is played at a fast frame-rate to allow the user to view a full travel route over a short duration of time.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the previously stored images corresponding to locations along the travel route depict locations approximately evenly spaced from each other for portions of the travel route.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the previously stored images corresponding to the portions of the travel route corresponding to roads having high speed limits depict locations spaced further apart than the portions of the travel route corresponding to roads having lower speed limits.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the previously stored images utilized to generate the high-speed video media are selected based in part on at least one of a current season, current weather condition, current lighting conditions, and an anticipated time of day on which the user plans on traveling along the travel route.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein information corresponding to the at least one of current season, current weather condition, current lighting conditions, and the anticipated time of day on which the user plans on traveling along the travel route is provided by the user.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein information corresponding to at least one of the current season, current weather conditions, current lighting conditions, and the anticipated time of day, is determined based at least in part upon at least one of a date and a time of anticipated travel departure entered by the user.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising simultaneously displaying the high speed video media and a third person overhead map imagery corresponding to the travel route.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying corresponding overlaid travel instructions, accrued mileage, and current street names during the displaying of the video media.

11. A system for providing a first-person view of a travel route, comprising:

a user interface to receive a start location and a destination location for the travel route from a user;

a routing component to plan the travel route based between the start location and the destination location;

a first person image database to store still images associated with locations between the start location and the destination location, the still images displaying first person photographic imagery in a driving direction of the travel route;

a video generator to generate high-speed video media depicting at least a portion of the travel route from the start location to the destination location along a planned travel path, wherein the video media is generated by sequencing a series of the still images associated with locations between the start location and the destination location; and

a video display to display the high-speed video media to the user.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising a routing database to store routing information used by the routing component, the routing information relating to the roads of travel included in the travel route.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the routing database includes node and link data for a plurality of roads within the travel route.

14. The system of claim 11, further comprising a map database for storing geographic map data and overhead map images for geographic regions.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein each of the still images are associated in the first person image database with identification data, the identification data comprising at least one of Global Positioning System data, street identification data, and travel direction data.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein a plurality of the still images are associated in the first person image database with identification data, the identification data including all three of global positioning data, street identification data, and travel direction data.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the video generator is adapted to high-speed video media is played at a fast frame-rate to allow the user to view a full travel route over a short duration of time.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein the still images correspond to locations along the travel route depicting locations approximately evenly spaced from each other for portions of the travel route.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the still images corresponding to the portions of the travel route corresponding to roads having high speed limits depict locations spaced further apart than the portions of the travel route corresponding to roads having lower speed limits.

20. The system of claim 11, wherein the user interface is adapted to receive, from the user, information corresponding to the current weather season and the anticipated time of day on which the user plans on traveling along the travel route.

21. The system of claim 15, wherein the identification data associated with at least one still image includes data indicating at least one of a season, weather conditions, lighting conditions, and a time of day of the at least one still image.

22. The system of claim 11, further comprising simultaneously displaying to the user the high-speed video media and third person overhead map imagery correspond to the travel route.

23. A method for a video generation module to generate a first-person view of a travel route, the method comprising:

receiving a planned travel route based between a start location and a destination location;

accessing a first person image database that stores still images associated with locations between the start location and the destination location, the still images displaying imagery in a driving direction of the travel route;

generating high-speed video media depicting at least a portion of the travel route from the start location to the destination location along a planned travel path, wherein the video media is generated by sequencing a series of previously stored still images associated with locations between the start location and the destination location, the still images displaying first person photographic imagery in a driving direction of the travel route; and

providing the high-speed video media to a display device.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the still images utilized to generate the high-speed video media are selected based in part on at least one of a current weather season, a current weather condition, a current lighting condition, and an anticipated time of day on which the user plans on traveling along the travel route.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein still images within the first person image database are indexed with respect to both the physical location depicted in the image content and the direction of road travel depicted in the image content.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein the high-speed video media depicts a faster rate of travel during portions of the travel route that do not require the driver to prepare to make a turn from one road to another and a slower rate of travel during portions of the travel route that do require the driver to prepare to make a turn from one road to another.

27. The method of claim 23, wherein the high-speed video media depicts a faster rate of travel during portions of the travel route that correspond to highway travel and a slower rate of travel during portions of the travel route that correspond to surface street travel.

28. The method of claim 23, wherein the high-speed video media depicts a daylight view of the travel route during anticipated travel times that correspond with daylight hours and depicts a nighttime view of the travel route during anticipated travel times that correspond with nighttime hours.