METHODS AND ARRANGEMENTS FOR ASCERTAINING A TARGET POSITION

• US 20110013014A1
• Filed: 07/17/2009
• Published: 01/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications USA Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: WASSINGSBO, Tomas
• Application Number:
  US12/505,060
• Publication Number:
  US 20110013014A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/113
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3614 through interaction with a road map, e.g. selecting a POI icon on a road map
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3667 Display of a road map G01C21/3614 takes precedence; guidance using 3D or perspective road maps G01C21/3635
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/422 Technical drawings; Geographical maps

Abstract

A method of determining a target geographic location, using an electronic device including a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, a digital camera, and a display for presenting images and functioning as a viewfinder for the digital camera, is provided. The method includes creating, by one or more components of the electronic device, an image of a physical map; comparing, by the one or more components, at least a portion of the image of the physical map with map data stored in a database associated with the electronic device; identifying, based on the comparing, particular map data that substantially corresponds to the map picture; indicating, by a user of the electronic device, a position on the physical map, the image of the physical map as presented via the display, or the identified map data as presented via the display; and corresponding the indicated position to a particular location in the identified map data, the particular location being information usable by the GPS receiver as the target geographic location.

Claims

1. A method of determining a target geographic location, using an electronic device including a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, a digital camera, and a display for presenting images and functioning as a viewfinder for the digital camera, the method comprising:

creating, by one or more components of the electronic device, an image of a physical map;

comparing, by the one or more components, at least a portion of the image of the physical map with map data stored in a database associated with the electronic device;

identifying, based on the comparing, particular map data that substantially corresponds to the map picture;

indicating, by a user of the electronic device, a position on the physical map, the image of the physical map as presented via the display, or the identified map data as presented via the display; and

corresponding the indicated position to a particular location in the identified map data, the particular location being information usable by the GPS receiver as the target geographic location.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

presenting to the user, based on the particular location, a suggested geographic location; and

receiving a selection, from the user, the suggested geographic location as the target geographic location to be used by the GPS receiver.

3. The method of claim 2, where presenting the suggested geographic location is based on a current position of the electronic device determined by the GPS receiver.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

retrieving the identified map data from the database; and

transferring the retrieved map data including the indicated position to the GPS receiver.

5. The method of claim 1, where indicating a position on the physical map comprises using a pointer to point to the indicated position.

6. The method of claim 5, where using a pointer comprises:

pointing to the physical map, at the indicated position, using a physical pointer, where the image of the physical map includes at least a partial image of the physical pointer,

identifying the physical pointer in the image of the physical map,

determining an end of the physical pointer in the image of the physical map, and

selecting a position on the physical map at the end of the physical pointer as the indicated position.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

creating another image of the physical map that does not include the at least partial image of the physical pointer, where determining the end of the physical pointer comprises comparing the other image of the physical map to the image of the physical map.

8. The method according to claim 5, further comprising:

pointing to the displayed image of the physical map or the displayed identified map data, where the display comprises a touch screen, and

identifying the indicated position as a position of the physical pointer on the touch screen corresponding to an area of the displayed image of the physical map or the displayed identified map data.

9. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

pointing to the displayed image of the physical map or the displayed identified map data, using a digital pointer on the display, and

identifying the indicated position as a position of the digital pointer in the displayed image of the physical map or the displayed identified map data.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a pattern in an image, received or captured by the electronic device, as corresponding to map information; and

automatically initiating the determining the target geographic location when the pattern is identified.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a pattern in an image, received or captured by the electronic device, as corresponding to map information;

identifying a physical pointer in the image, received or captured by the electronic device; and

automatically initiating the determining the target geographic location when the pattern and the physical pointer are identified.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

automatically initiating the determining the target geographic location upon activation of a trigger of the digital camera.

13. The method of claim 1, initiating the determining the target geographic location, responsive to the user capturing the image of the physical map using the digital camera.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

indicating another position on the physical map, the displayed image of the physical map, or the displayed identified map data.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

indicating at least one other position on the physical map, the displayed image of the physical map, or the displayed identified map data;

forming a route, by the GPS receiver using the identified position, the other position, and the at least one other position; and

presenting the route to the user via the display.

16. The method according to claim 1, where the comparing at least a portion of the image of the physical map comprises identifying text and/or particular features on the physical map.

17. The method of claim 1, where the database resides in the electronic device.

18. The method of claim 1, where the database resides on a server remote to the electronic device.

19. A wireless electronic device to present a suggested target geographic location, comprising:

a digital camera including an image sensor and to take a map picture of a physical map and to sense a corresponding map picture on the image sensor;

a processor to compare at least a portion of the map picture with maps stored in a database to identify and match the map picture with an actual map stored in the database or to receive at least a part of an actual map corresponding to at least a part of the map picture;

a display to present taken pictures and operate as a viewfinder for the digital camera, and

a GPS receiver, where the processor is to

identify a first position on the physical map, the map picture as presented on the display, or the actual map as presented on the display,

match the first position with an actual position by utilizing the actual map or to receive an actual position based on the first position from the database, the actual position being in a format to be utilized by the GPS receiver as a target position, and

present the actual position as the suggested target position to be used by the GPS receiver.

20. The wireless electronic device according to claim 19, where the display presents an image in several layers, and one of the layers include the map picture and another one of the layers includes the actual map.

21. The wireless electronic device of claim 20, where the display presents the first position in yet another one of the layers.

22. The wireless electronic device of claim 19, where a user interface incorporates the display for output of visual information from the GPS receiver.

23. The wireless electronic device of claim 19, where the digital camera functions as a video camera capturing serial images and the display is a touch screen that shows the serial images and receives input from a user pointing on at least two different positions on the display, and where the processor identifies the first position as one of the at least two different positions and a second position as a second of the at least two different positions in two corresponding map pictures out of the serial images.

24. The wireless electronic device of claim 23, where the touch screen and the processor create each of the two corresponding map pictures responsive to a user touching the touch screen.