PICTORIAL NAVIGATION

• US 20130018579A1
• Filed: 09/12/2012
• Published: 01/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hamilton, Rick A. II, Katz, Neil A., O'Connell, Brian M., Walker, Keith R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,983,773 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/436
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3647 Guidance involving output of stored or live camera images or video streams
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/58 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually

Abstract

Pictorial information is provided relevant to a geographic location through selecting characteristics relevant to geographic locations, searching pictorial image databases for images having an embedded tags associated with the characteristics, retrieving image files from databases having embedded tags correlated to characteristics and visually depicting a physical appearance or an attribute of a location, analyzing characteristics image files and responsively selecting preferred image data, formatting preferred image data for presentation to a traveler, associating formatted preferred data with geographic locations, and presenting associated formatted data to the traveler in association with geographic locations. Characteristics include global positioning satellite coordinates. Image data may be selected having preferred image resolutions or perspectives. Formatting pictorial information may comprise synthesizing photographs into a constructs. Associated image data may indicate a distance and direction from a geographic location. Routing system applications are enabled to present pictorial information with navigation route points.

Claims

1. A method for providing pictorial information relevant to a geographic location, the method comprising:

determining via a processing unit global positioning satellite coordinates of a geographic location of a navigation route point of a route computed for a traveler;

retrieving via the processing unit a plurality of images from a pictorial image database for images that each have an embedded global positioning satellite coordinate tag that is within a threshold distance from the determined global positioning satellite coordinates, and that each visually depict a physical appearance of the location in a horizontal perspective and at a view angle correlated with an expected view of the traveler from the computed route and taken at a similar time of day as a current time of day;

selecting via the processing unit a one of the plurality of retrieved images that has a best photo resolution; and

presenting via the processing unit the selected image to the traveler in association with the geographic location navigation route point.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting via the processing unit a scale of field-of-view of the image in response to an anticipated speed of the traveler on the computed route; and

wherein the step of presenting the selected image to the traveler in association with the geographic location navigation route point further comprises presenting the selected image at the selected scale of field-of-view.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the selecting the scale of field-of-view of the selected image in response to the anticipated speed of the traveler on the computed route comprises selecting a low-speed scale of field-of-view for anticipated travel along a low speed road that is more zoomed-in than a high-speed scale of field-of-view selected for anticipated travel along a high-speed road.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the selecting the scale of field-of-view of the selected image in response to the anticipated speed of the traveler on the computed route comprises selecting a first scale of view that includes a plurality of structures for anticipated travel along a high-speed interstate, and selecting a second scale of view that is more zoomed-in than the first scale of view for low speed road travel through a business district road.

5. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a computer readable tangible storage medium having executable program code embodied therewith, the program code comprising instructions which, when executed on a computer system, cause the computer system to;

determine global positioning satellite coordinates of a geographic location of a navigation route point of a route computed for a traveler;

retrieve a plurality of images from a pictorial image database for images that each have an embedded global positioning satellite coordinate tag that is within a threshold distance from the determined global positioning satellite coordinates, and that each visually depict a physical appearance of the location in a horizontal perspective and at a view angle correlated with an expected view of the traveler from the computed route and taken at a similar time of day as a current time of day;

select a one of the plurality of retrieved images that has a best photo resolution; and

present the selected image to the traveler in association with the geographic location navigation route point.

6. The article of manufacture of claim 5, wherein the program code instructions, when executed on the computer system, further cause the computer system to:

select a scale of field-of-view of the image in response to an anticipated speed of the traveler on the computed route; and

present the selected image to the traveler in association with the geographic location navigation route point by presenting the selected image at the selected scale of field-of-view.

7. The article of manufacture of claim 6, wherein the program code instructions, when executed on the computer system, further cause the computer system to select the scale of field-of-view of the selected image in response to the anticipated speed of the traveler on the computed route by selecting a low-speed scale of field-of-view for anticipated travel along a low speed road that is more zoomed-in than a high-speed scale of field-of-view that is selected for anticipated travel along a high-speed road.

8. The article of manufacture of claim 6, wherein the program code instructions, when executed on the computer system, further cause the computer system to select the scale of field-of-view of the selected image in response to the anticipated speed of the traveler on the computed route by selecting a first scale of view that includes a plurality of structures for anticipated travel along a high-speed interstate, and selecting a second scale of view that is more zoomed-in than the first scale of view for low speed road travel through a business district road.

9. A system, comprising:

an identifier that determines global positioning satellite coordinates of a geographic location of a navigation route point of a route computed for a traveler;

a retriever that retrieves a plurality of images from a pictorial image database for images that each have an embedded global positioning satellite coordinate tag that is within a threshold distance from the determined global positioning satellite coordinates, and that each visually depict a physical appearance of the location in a horizontal perspective and at a view angle correlated with an expected view of the traveler from the computed route and taken at a similar time of day as a current time of day;

an analyzer that selects a one of the plurality of retrieved images that has a best photo resolution; and

a presenter that presents the selected image to the traveler in association with the geographic location navigation route point.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising a formatter that:

selects a scale of field-of-view of the image in response to an anticipated speed of the traveler on the computed route; and

formats the selected image at the selected scale of field-of-view.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the formatter selects the scale of field-of-view of the selected image in response to the anticipated speed of the traveler on the computed route by selecting a low-speed scale of field-of-view for anticipated travel along a low speed road that is more zoomed-in than a high-speed scale of field-of-view selected for anticipated travel along a high-speed road.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the formatter selects the scale of field-of-view of the selected image in response to the anticipated speed of the traveler on the computed route by selecting a first scale of view that includes a plurality of structures for anticipated travel along a high-speed interstate, and selecting a second scale of view that is more zoomed-in than the first scale of view for low speed road travel through a business district road.