HUMAN ASSISTED TECHNIQUES FOR PROVIDING LOCAL MAPS AND LOCATION-SPECIFIC ANNOTATED DATA

• US 20100235091A1
• Filed: 01/12/2010
• Published: 09/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Hardie, Edward Thomas Lingham, Das, Saumitra Mohan
• Granted Patent: US 8,938,355 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/208
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3602 Input other than that of destination using image analysis, e.g. detection of road signs, lanes, buildings, real preceding vehicles using a camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/024 Guidance services

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses are provided that may be implemented in various electronic devices to allow for location, navigation, and/or other like information and/or services to be provided to a user based, at least in part, on sensory input information corresponding one or more visible environmental features comprising human-readable information which are near by the user of the portable electronic device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

with a portable electronic device;

obtaining one or more electronic signals representing sensory input information corresponding to at least one visible environmental feature at or near by a location of said portable electronic device, wherein said at least one visible environmental feature comprises human-readable information;

obtaining one or more electronic signals representing local map information, said local map information being based, at least in part, on said sensory input information; and

obtaining one or more electronic signals representing location and/or navigation information based, at least in part, on said local map information.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said portable electronic device comprises a camera, and obtaining said one or more electronic signals representing said sensory input information further comprises obtaining at least a portion of said sensory input information using said camera.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said portable electronic device comprises a microphone, and obtaining said one or more electronic signals representing said sensory input information further comprises obtaining at least a portion of said sensory input information using said microphone.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said sensory input information comprises at least one of recorded image information and/or recorded audio information, and wherein obtaining said one or more electronic signals representing said sensory input information further comprises:

determining textual metadata based, at least in part, on at least one of said recorded image information and/or said recorded audio information; and

generating said one or more electronic signals representing said sensory input information based at least in part on said textual metadata.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein generating said one or more electronic signals representing said sensory input information based at least in part on said textual metadata comprises

transmitting one or more electronic signals representing at least a portion of said textual metadata via a communication network;

and

receiving at least a portion of said one or more electronic signals representing said sensory input information based at least in part on said textual metadata via said communication network.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein obtaining said one or more electronic signals representing said sensory input information comprises:

transmitting one or more electronic signals representing at least one of recorded image information and/or recorded audio information via a communication network; and

receiving at least a portion of said one or more electronic signals representing said local map information via said communication network.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein obtaining said one or more electronic signals representing said local map information comprises receiving at least a portion of said one or more electronic signals representing said local map information via a communication network.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein obtaining said one or more electronic signals representing said location and/or navigation information comprises receiving at least a portion of said one or more electronic signals representing said location and/or navigation information via a communication network.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein obtaining said one or more electronic signals representing local map information comprises:

obtaining said one or more electronic signals representing local map information based, at least in part, on estimated location information associated with said portable electronic device.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein said estimated location information associated with said portable electronic device is based, at least in part, on one or more satellite positioning system (SPS) signals.

11. An apparatus comprising:

means for obtaining sensory input information corresponding to at least one visible environmental feature at or near by a location of said portable electronic device, wherein said at least one visible environmental feature comprises human-readable information;

means for obtaining local map information, said local map information being based, at least in part, on said sensory input information; and

means for obtaining location and/or navigation information based, at least in part, on said local map information.

12. The apparatus as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

means for recording image information, and wherein at least a portion of said sensory input information comprises said image information.

13. The apparatus as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

means for recording audio information, and wherein at least a portion of said sensory input information comprises said audio information.

14. The apparatus as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

means for determining textual metadata based, at least in part, on at least one of image information and/or audio information; and

means for generating said sensory input information based at least in part on said textual metadata.

15. The apparatus as recited in claim 14, further comprising:

means for transmitting at least a portion of said textual metadata via a communication network; and

means for receiving at least a portion of said sensory input information based at least in part on said textual metadata via said communication network.

16. The apparatus as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

means for transmitting at least one of image information and/or audio information via a communication network; and

means for receiving at least a portion of said local map information via said communication network.

17. The apparatus as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

means for receiving at least a portion of said local map information via a communication network.

18. The apparatus as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

means for receiving at least a portion of said location and/or navigation information via a communication network.

19. The apparatus as recited in claim 11, further comprising:

means for determining estimated location information associated with said portable electronic device based, at least in part, on one or more satellite positioning system (SPS) signals.

20. The apparatus as recited in claim 19, further comprising:

means for transmitting said estimated location information via a communication network.

21. A portable electronic device comprising:

memory;

at least one user interface mechanism coupled to said memory; and

at least one processing unit coupled to said memory and said user interface mechanism and programmed with instructions to;

obtain sensory input information corresponding to at least one visible environmental feature at or near by a location of said portable electronic device, wherein said at least one visible environmental feature comprises human-readable information;

obtain local map information, said local map information being based, at least in part, on said sensory input information;

obtain location and/or navigation information based, at least in part, on said local map information; and

initiate presentation of at least a portion of said location and/or navigation information via said user interface mechanism.

22. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 21, further comprising:

a camera coupled to at least one of said memory and/or said at least one processing unit, said at least one processing unit being further programmed with said instructions to initiate said camera to record image information, and wherein said sensory input information comprises at least a portion of said image information.

23. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 21, further comprising:

a microphone coupled to at least one of said memory and/or said at least one processing unit, said at least one processing unit being further programmed with said instructions to initiate said microphone to record audio information, and wherein said sensory input information comprises at least a portion of said audio information.

24. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 21, wherein said sensory input information comprises at least one of recorded image information and/or recorded audio information, and wherein said at least one processing unit being further programmed with said instructions to:

determine textual metadata based, at least in part, on at least one of said recorded image information and/or said recorded audio information; and

generate said sensory input information based at least in part on said textual metadata.

25. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 24, further comprising:

a network interface coupled to at least one of said memory and/or said at least one processing unit;

wherein said at least one processing unit is further programmed with said instructions to initiate said network interface to transmit at least a portion of said textual metadata via a communication network; and

wherein said network interface receives at least a portion of said sensory input information based at least in part on said textual metadata via said communication network.

26. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 21, further comprising:

a network interface coupled to at least one of said memory and/or said at least one processing unit;

wherein said at least one processing unit is further programmed with said instructions to initiate said network interface to transmit at least one of recorded image information and/or recorded audio information via a communication network; and

wherein said network interface receives at least a portion of said local map information via said communication network.

27. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 21, further comprising:

a network interface coupled to at least one of said memory and/or said at least one processing unit, said network interface to receive at least a portion of said local map information via a communication network.

28. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 21, further comprising:

a network interface coupled to at least one of said memory and/or said at least one processing unit, said network interface to receive at least a portion of said location and/or navigation information via a communication network.

29. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 21, further comprising:

a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver coupled to at least one of said memory and/or said at least one processing unit, said SPS receiver to determine estimated location information of the portable electronic device based, at least in part, on one or more SPS signals.

30. The portable electronic device as recited in claim 21, wherein said portable electronic device comprises a mobile station.

31. An article comprising:

a computer readable medium having computer implementable instructions stored thereon that in response to being executed by one or more processing units in a portable electronic device enable the electronic device to;

obtain sensory input information corresponding to at least one visible environmental feature at or near by a location of said portable electronic device, wherein said at least one visible environmental feature comprises human-readable information;

obtain local map information, said local map information being based, at least in part, on said sensory input information; and

obtain location and/or navigation information based, at least in part, on said local map information.

32. The article as recited in claim 31, wherein at least a portion of said sensory input information comprises image information and wherein the computer implementable instructions in response to being executed by the one or more processing units in the portable electronic device further enable the portable electronic device to record said image information.

33. The article as recited in claim 31, wherein at least a portion of said sensory input information comprises audio information and wherein the computer implementable instructions in response to being executed by the one or more processing units in the portable electronic device further enable the portable electronic device to record said audio information.

34. The article as recited in claim 31, wherein the computer implementable instructions in response to being executed by the one or more processing units in the portable electronic device further enable the portable electronic device to:

determine textual metadata based, at least in part, on at least one of image information and/or audio information; and

generate said sensory input information based at least in part on said textual metadata.

35. The article as recited in claim 34, wherein the computer implementable instructions in response to being executed by the one or more processing units in the portable electronic device further enable the portable electronic device to:

initiate transmission of at least a portion of said textual metadata via a communication network; and

access at least a portion of said sensory input information based at least in part on said textual metadata obtained via said communication network.

36. The article as recited in claim 31, wherein the computer implementable instructions in response to being executed by the one or more processing units in the portable electronic device further enable the portable electronic device to:

initiate transmission of at least one of image information and/or audio information via a communication network; and

access at least a portion of said local map information obtained via said communication network.

37. The article as recited in claim 31, wherein the computer implementable instructions in response to being executed by the one or more processing units in the portable electronic device further enable the portable electronic device to:

access at least a portion of said local map information obtained via a communication network.

38. The article as recited in claim 31, wherein the computer implementable instructions in response to being executed by the one or more processing units in the portable electronic device further enable the portable electronic device to:

access at least a portion of said location and/or navigation information obtained via a communication network.

39. The article as recited in claim 31, wherein the computer implementable instructions in response to being executed by the one or more processing units in the portable electronic device further enable the portable electronic device to:

access an estimated location information associated with said portable electronic device obtained based, at least in part, on one or more satellite positioning system (SPS) signals; and

initiate transmission of said estimated location information via a communication network.

40. The article as recited in claim 31, wherein the computer implementable instructions in response to being executed by the one or more processing units in the portable electronic device further enable the portable electronic device to:

initiate presentation of at least a portion of said location and/or navigation information via at least one user interface mechanism.

41. A method comprising:

with at least one network-based electronic device;

obtaining one or more electronic signals representing sensory input information associated with a portable electronic device, said sensory input information corresponding to at least one visible environmental feature at or near by a location of said portable electronic device, wherein said at least one visible environmental feature comprises human-readable information;

obtaining local map information based, at least in part, on said sensory input information; and

transmitting one or more electronic signals representing at least a portion of said local map information to said portable electronic device via a communication network.

42. The method as recited in claim 41, further comprising:

with at least one network-based electronic device;

obtaining location and/or navigation information based, at least in part, on said local map information; and

wherein said one or more electronic signals representing at least a portion of said local map information further comprise at least a portion of said location and/or navigation information.

43. The method as recited in claim 41, wherein said sensory input information comprises at least one of recorded image information and/or recorded audio information, and further comprising:

with at least one network-based electronic device;

determining textual metadata based, at least in part, on at least one of said recorded image information and/or said recorded audio information; and

obtaining said local map information based, at least in part, on said textual metadata.

44. The method as recited in claim 41, wherein said sensory input information comprises textual metadata based, at least in part, on at least one of recorded image information and/or recorded audio information.

45. The method as recited in claim 41, further comprising:

with at least one network-based electronic device;

obtaining one or more electronic signals representing estimated location information associated with said portable electronic device; and

obtaining said local map information based, at least in part, on said estimated location information.

46. The method as recited in claim 45, wherein said estimated location information associated with said portable electronic device is based, at least in part, on one or more satellite positioning system (SPS) signals.

47. The method as recited in claim 45, wherein said portable electronic device comprises a mobile station.

48. An apparatus comprising:

means for obtaining one or more electronic signals representing sensory input information associated with a portable electronic device, said sensory input information corresponding to at least one visible environmental feature at or near by a location of said portable electronic device, wherein said at least one visible environmental feature comprises human-readable information;

means for obtaining local map information based, at least in part, on said sensory input information; and

means for transmitting one or more electronic signals representing at least a portion of said local map information to said portable electronic device via a communication network.

49. The apparatus as recited in claim 48, further comprising:

means for obtaining location and/or navigation information based, at least in part, on said local map information; and

wherein said one or more electronic signals representing at least a portion of said local map information further comprise at least a portion of said location and/or navigation information.

50. The apparatus as recited in claim 48, wherein said sensory input information comprises at least one of recorded image information and/or recorded audio information, and further comprising:

means for determining textual metadata based, at least in part, on at least one of said recorded image information and/or said recorded audio information; and

means for obtaining said local map information based, at least in part, on said textual metadata.

51. The apparatus as recited in claim 48, wherein said sensory input information comprises textual metadata based, at least in part, on at least one of recorded image information and/or recorded audio information.

52. The apparatus as recited in claim 48, further comprising:

means for obtaining estimated location information associated with said portable electronic device; and

means for obtaining said local map information based, at least in part, on said estimated location information.

53. The apparatus as recited in claim 52, wherein said estimated location information associated with said portable electronic device is based, at least in part, on one or more satellite positioning system (SPS) signals.

54. The apparatus as recited in claim 48, wherein said portable electronic device comprises a mobile station.

55. A network-based electronic device comprising:

memory;

a network interface; and

at least one processing unit coupled to said memory and said network interface and programmed with instructions to;

obtain sensory input information associated with a portable electronic device received via said network interface, said sensory input information corresponding to at least one visible environmental feature at or near by a location of said portable electronic device, wherein said at least one visible environmental feature comprises human-readable information;

obtain local map information based, at least in part, on said sensory input information; and

initiate transmission of at least a portion of said local map information to said portable electronic device via said network interface.

56. The network-based electronic device as recited in claim 55, wherein said at least one processing unit is further programmed with said instructions to:

obtain location and/or navigation information based, at least in part, on said local map information; and

wherein said one or more electronic signals representing at least a portion of said local map information further comprise at least a portion of said location and/or navigation information.

57. The network-based electronic device as recited in claim 55, wherein said sensory input information comprises at least one of recorded image information and/or recorded audio information, and wherein said at least one processing unit is further programmed with said instructions to:

determine textual metadata based, at least in part, on at least one of said recorded image information and/or said recorded audio information; and

obtain said local map information based, at least in part, on said textual metadata.

58. The network-based electronic device as recited in claim 55, wherein said sensory input information comprises textual metadata based, at least in part, on at least one of recorded image information and/or recorded audio information.

59. The network-based electronic device as recited in claim 55, wherein said at least one processing unit is further programmed with said instructions to:

obtain one or more electronic signals representing estimated location information associated with said portable electronic device; and

obtain said local map information based, at least in part, on said estimated location information.

60. The network-based electronic device as recited in claim 59, wherein said estimated location information associated with said portable electronic device is based, at least in part, on one or more satellite positioning system (SPS) signals.

61. The network-based electronic device as recited in claim 55, wherein said portable electronic device comprises a mobile station.

62. An article comprising:

a computer readable medium having computer implementable instructions stored thereon that in response to being executed by one or more processing units in a network-based electronic device enable network-based electronic device to;

obtain sensory input information associated with a portable electronic device, said sensory input information corresponding to at least one visible environmental feature at or near by a location of said portable electronic device, wherein said at least one visible environmental feature comprises human-readable information;

obtain local map information based, at least in part, on said sensory input information; and

initiate transmission of at least a portion of said local map information to said portable electronic device via a communication network.

63. The article as recited in claim 62, wherein the computer implementable instructions in response to being executed by the one or more processing units in the network-based electronic device further enable the network-based electronic device to:

obtain location and/or navigation information based, at least in part, on said local map information; and

wherein at least a portion of said local map information further comprises at least a portion of said location and/or navigation information.

64. The article as recited in claim 62, wherein said sensory input information comprises at least one of recorded image information and/or recorded audio information, and wherein the computer implementable instructions in response to being executed by the one or more processing units in the network-based electronic device further enable the network-based electronic device to:

determine textual metadata based, at least in part, on at least one of said recorded image information and/or said recorded audio information; and

obtain said local map information based, at least in part, on said textual metadata.

65. The article as recited in claim 62, wherein said sensory input information comprises textual metadata based, at least in part, on at least one of recorded image information and/or recorded audio information.

66. The article as recited in claim 62, wherein the computer implementable instructions in response to being executed by the one or more processing units in the network-based electronic device further enable the network-based electronic device to:

obtain one or more electronic signals representing estimated location information associated with said portable electronic device; and

obtain said local map information based, at least in part, on said estimated location information.

67. The article as recited in claim 66, wherein said estimated location information associated with said portable electronic device is based, at least in part, on one or more satellite positioning system (SPS) signals.

68. The article as recited in claim 62, wherein said portable electronic device comprises a mobile station.