METHOD AND PROCESS TO ENSURE THAT A VEHICULAR TRAVEL PATH RECORDING THAT INCLUDES POSITIONAL ERRORS CAN BE USED TO DETERMINE A RELIABLE AND REPEATABLE ROAD USER CHARGE
First Claim
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1. A method of tracking the position of an object that is moving or stationary, comprising the steps of:
- receiving positioning data with respect to the object'"'"'s position in timed intervals;
calculating a position estimate and associated error bound for each timed interval based upon the received positioning data;
fitting each calculated position estimate and associated error bound to a grid of cells;
calculating a maximum-likelihood path of travel based upon the position estimates and associated error bounds and designating a cell as a path element if the maximum-likelihood path of travel crosses that cell; and
thinning the path, except at start and end points, by removing path elements such that each 2×
2 group of cells along the path that initially has three or four path elements has at least two but no more than three path elements, whilst ensuring that each path element remains 8-connected to at least two path elements to produce a recorded travel path with no breaks.
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Abstract
The invention relates to a system and a method for addressing three problems:
- (A) generate a tollpath of consistent length by determining one of a possible set of paths which are all the same length in cell-count every time the same journey is taken,
- (B) determine a consistent price for each tollpath by setting pre-determined values on those cells such that every possible path variant of a specific journey produces the same toll, and
- (C) determine the correct price for each tollpath by adjusting prices in each cell to account for the exact distance actually represented (some roads pass through a cell parallel to the cell edges and some pass through at an angle) so that the toll calculated exactly matches the toll that would be calculated had the exact linear, analogue distance been measured on the actual road.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of tracking the position of an object that is moving or stationary, comprising the steps of:
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receiving positioning data with respect to the object'"'"'s position in timed intervals; calculating a position estimate and associated error bound for each timed interval based upon the received positioning data; fitting each calculated position estimate and associated error bound to a grid of cells; calculating a maximum-likelihood path of travel based upon the position estimates and associated error bounds and designating a cell as a path element if the maximum-likelihood path of travel crosses that cell; and thinning the path, except at start and end points, by removing path elements such that each 2×
2 group of cells along the path that initially has three or four path elements has at least two but no more than three path elements, whilst ensuring that each path element remains 8-connected to at least two path elements to produce a recorded travel path with no breaks. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A system for tracking the position of an object that is moving or stationary, comprising:
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a receiver for receiving positioning data with respect to the object'"'"'s position in timed intervals; and a processor for; calculating a position estimate and associated error bound for each timed interval based upon the received positioning data; fitting each calculated position estimate and associated error bound to a grid of cells; calculating a maximum-likelihood path of travel based upon the position estimates and associated error bounds and designating a cell as a path element if the maximum-likelihood path of travel crosses that cell; and thinning the path, except at start and end points, by removing path elements such that each 2×
2 group of cells along the path that initially has three or four path elements has at least two but no more than three path elements, whilst ensuring that each path element remains 8-connected to at least two path elements to produce a recorded travel path with no breaks. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification