GENERATING DRIVING ROUTE TRACES IN A NAVIGATION SYSTEM USING A PROBABILITY MODEL

• US 20110320113A1
• Filed: 06/25/2010
• Published: 12/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations Incorporated (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Tate, Edward D. Jr.
• Application Number:
  US12/823,286
• Publication Number:
  US 20110320113A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/200
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects

Abstract

A navigation system includes a display screen and a host machine operable for calculating and displaying a recommended travel route within a road network using a Markov or other probability model. The probability model statistically models a distribution pattern of speed or other actual driving behavior within a road network. An input device may record risk aversion of a user, with the host machine calculating the recommended travel route using the risk aversion. The host machine reduces the model to a single cost, and then uses the single cost in a Dijkstra algorithm or other costing function to calculate the recommended travel route. A method of operating the navigation system includes calculating the recommended travel route using a probability model, and displaying the recommended travel route via the display screen. The host machine may calculate the recommended travel route using risk aversion entered via an input device.

Claims

1. A vehicle navigation system comprising:

a display screen; and

a host machine operable for calculating a recommended travel route within a road network using a probability model, and for displaying the recommended travel route via the display screen;

wherein the probability model statistically models a distribution pattern of actual driving behavior on a set of roads within a road network.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising an input device for recording a level of risk aversion of a user to possible travel delays, wherein the host machine calculates the recommended travel route using the level of risk aversion.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the input device is one of a dial and a touch-screen device.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the input device is further operable for recording a route destination.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the probability model statistically models an actual vehicle speed distribution along different roads within the road network.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the host machine is in communication with a geospatial mapping database which transmits encoded geospatial mapping information including the probability model to the host machine.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the probability model includes a Markov chain.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the host machine reduces the Markov model to a single cost, and then uses the single cost in a costing function to calculate the recommended travel route.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the costing function is a Dijkstra algorithm.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the recommended travel route is a route having the lowest energy consumption relative to all other possible routes in the road network.

11. A method of operating a vehicle navigation system having a display screen and a host machine, the method comprising:

using the host machine to calculate a recommended travel route within a road network using a probability model, wherein the probability model statistically models a distribution pattern of actual driving behavior on a set of roads within a road network; and

displaying the recommended travel route via the display screen.

12. The method of claim 11, the navigation system including an input device for recording a level of risk aversion of a user to possible travel delays, wherein using the host machine to calculate a recommended travel route includes using the level of risk aversion from the input device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the input device is one of a dial and a touch-screen device.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising using the input to record a route destination.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein using the host machine to calculate a recommended travel route within a road network using a probability model includes statistically modeling an actual vehicle speed distribution along different roads within the road network.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the host machine is in communication with a geospatial mapping database, the method further comprising:

using the host machine to process encoded geospatial mapping information from the geospatial mapping database, the encoded geospatial mapping information including the probability model.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the probability model includes a Markov model, the method further comprising:

reducing the Markov model to a single cost, and then using the single cost in a costing function to calculate the recommended travel route.