ROUTE COMPARISON DEVICE, ROUTE COMPARISON METHOD, AND PROGRAM

• US 20120323483A1
• Filed: 06/06/2012
• Published: 12/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: MUTOH, Yasuo
• Granted Patent: US 8,849,564 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/410
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3446 Details of route searching algorithms, e.g. Dijkstra, A*, arc-flags, using precalculated routes
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3469 Fuel consumption; Energy use; Emission aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/106 using electronic means

Abstract

Provided is a route comparison device including a point information acquisition unit for acquiring location information of a starting point and a goal point, a reference route acquisition unit for acquiring shape data of a reference route between the starting point and the goal point, a route search unit for searching for a route between the starting point and the goal point, and a degree-of-matching calculation unit for calculating, by comparing shape data of a found route which has been found by the route search unit and the shape data of the reference route, a degree of matching indicating a degree of correspondence between the routes.

Claims

1. A route comparison device comprising:

a point information acquisition unit for acquiring location information of a starting point and a goal point;

a reference route acquisition unit for acquiring shape data of a reference route between the starting point and the goal point;

a route search unit for searching for a route between the starting point and the goal point; and

a degree-of-matching calculation unit for calculating, by comparing shape data of a found route which has been found by the route search unit and the shape data of the reference route, a degree of matching indicating a degree of correspondence between the routes.

2. The route comparison device according to claim 1, wherein the degree-of-matching calculation unit calculates the degree of matching based on an area of a portion where the shape data of the reference route and the shape data of the found route overlap.

3. The route comparison device according to claim 2, wherein the degree-of-matching calculation unit calculates the degree of matching by using the shape data of the found route whose shape has been obscured.

4. The route comparison device according to claim 3, wherein the degree-of-matching calculation unit obtains the area by using the shape data in which the shape has been obscured by broadening a line width of the found route to be same as a line width of the shape data of the reference route.

5. The route comparison device according to claim 3, wherein the degree-of-matching calculation unit obtains the area by using the shape data in which the shape has been obscured by performing a rounding process on a joint between links of the found route.

6. The route comparison device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a display control unit for causing to be displayed a display screen where the degree of matching calculated by the degree-of-matching calculation unit is superimposed on a map together with the found route.

7. The route comparison device according to claim 6, wherein the display control unit causes to be displayed the display screen where the reference route is further superimposed on the map.

8. The route comparison device according to claim 1,

wherein the route search unit searches for a plurality of routes between the starting point and the goal point, and

wherein the degree-of-matching calculation unit calculates the degree of matching to the reference route for a plurality of the found routes.

9. The route comparison device according to claim 1, wherein the reference route is a route generated based on routes found by a plurality of route search devices.

10. The route comparison device according to claim 1, wherein the reference route is a route generated based on routes that a plurality of users have actually travelled.

11. The route comparison device according to claim 1, wherein the reference route is a route which is determined by matching using pieces of shape data of a plurality of routes to have been adopted most often.

12. A route comparison device comprising:

a point information acquisition unit for acquiring location information of a starting point and a goal point;

a route acquisition unit for acquiring shape data of two routes between the starting point and the goal point; and

a degree-of-matching calculation unit for calculating, by comparing the shape data of the two routes acquired by the route acquisition unit, a degree of matching indicating a degree of correspondence between the two routes.

13. The route comparison device according to claim 12,

wherein the route acquisition unit repeatedly selects two routes from shape data of a plurality of routes, and acquires shape data of the two routes, and

wherein the route comparison device further includes a sorting unit for determining, based on the degree of matching, whether the two routes for which the degree of matching has been calculated are a same route or not, and sorting the plurality of routes.

14. The route comparison device according to claim 13, further comprising:

a selection unit for selecting a reference route based on a sorting result of the sorting unit.

15. A route comparison method comprising:

acquiring location information of a starting point and a goal point;

acquiring shape data of a reference route between the starting point and the goal point;

searching for a route between the starting point and the goal point; and

calculating, by comparing shape data of a found route which has been found and the shape data of the reference route, a degree of matching indicating a degree of correspondence between the routes.

16. A program for causing a computer to function as a route comparison device including:

a point information acquisition unit for acquiring location information of a starting point and a goal point;

a reference route acquisition unit for acquiring shape data of a reference route between the starting point and the goal point;

a route search unit for searching for a route between the starting point and the goal point; and

a degree-of-matching calculation unit for calculating, by comparing shape data of a found route which has been found by the route search unit and the shape data of the reference route, a degree of matching indicating a degree of correspondence between the routes.