System and Method for Automatically Receiving Geo-Relevant Information in a Vehicle

• US 20130054132A1
• Filed: 08/29/2011
• Published: 02/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Original Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Inventors: Conner, Brian
• Granted Patent: US 9,267,806 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/411
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3407 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3617 using user history, behaviour, conditions or preferences, e.g. predicted or inferred from previous use or current movement
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3679 Retrieval, searching and output of POI information, e.g. hotels, restaurants, shops, filling stations, parking facilities G01C21/3611 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3691 Retrieval, searching and output of information related to real-time traffic, weather, or environmental conditions arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions G08G1/09
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096833 where different aspects are considered when computing the route
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096844 where the complete route is dynamically recomputed based on new data

Abstract

Path-relevant information is provided by a backend server system to a vehicle without an input or request from the vehicle operator. Program applications, including a web browser application, records vehicle route data in a local memory during vehicle travel. Such vehicle route data may include current GPS coordinates, time of day, day of week, etc. The recorded vehicle route data may then be used to locally generate one or more route prediction models. A predicted vehicle route may be generated from the route prediction models. Once a vehicle route has been predicted, coordinate data corresponding to the predicted route may be transmitted to a backend server. Thereafter, path-relevant information, based on the transmitted coordinate data, may then be received from the backend server, and without the vehicle operator having to provide any input or request.

Claims

1. A method for automatically presenting, in a vehicle, path-relevant information to a vehicle operator, the method comprising the acts of:

recording, by an onboard vehicle computer in a local storage, vehicle route data during vehicle travel;

generating, by the onboard vehicle computer, one or more route prediction models using the vehicle route data;

predicting, by the onboard vehicle computer, a vehicle route based on the one or more route prediction models;

transmitting, by the onboard vehicle computer, coordinate data corresponding to the predicted vehicle route to a backend server over a wireless network connection;

receiving, by the onboard vehicle computer and in response to the transmitted coordinate data, path-relevant information from the backend server over the wireless network connection; and

presenting at least a portion of the path-relevant information to the vehicle operator.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein presenting comprising displaying the at least portion of the path-relevant information on a display screen of the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is implemented using a web application executing on the onboard vehicle computer.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein recording comprises recording, by the onboard vehicle computer in the web application'"'"'s local web storage, vehicle route data during vehicle travel.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is implemented automatically without input from the vehicle operator.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein recording comprises recording, by the onboard vehicle computer, current GPS coordinates, time of day and day of week information in the local storage.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said recording comprises recording the vehicle route data on one of a continuous, periodic and movement basis.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein predicting the vehicle route comprises predicting, by the onboard vehicle computer, the vehicle route based on one or more algorithms that receive, as inputs, current and historical driving behavior data, and which output probability information corresponding to a most likely current route being traveled by the vehicle.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the path-relevant information comprises at least one of business locations, weather conditions, traffic conditions, safety information, street/road topologies, upcoming speed limit changes, points of interest, and naturally occurring physical structures.

10. An onboard vehicle computer system of a vehicle comprising:

a network interface;

a user interface;

a GPS transceiver;

a processor coupled to the network interface, user interface and the GPS transceiver; and

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory having computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the onboard vehicle computer system to;

record, in a local storage, vehicle route data during vehicle travel,

generate one or more route prediction models using the vehicle route data,

predict a vehicle route based on the updated one or more route prediction models,

transmit coordinate data corresponding to the predicted vehicle route to a backend server over a wireless network connection via the network interface,

receive, in response to the transmitted coordinate data, path-relevant information from the backend server over the wireless network connection via the network interface, and

present at least a portion of the path-relevant information to a vehicle operator.

11. The onboard vehicle computer system of claim 10, wherein the onboard vehicle computer system to configured to present the at least portion of the path-relevant information using a display screen of the vehicle.

12. The onboard vehicle computer system of claim 10, wherein the computer-executable instructions in the memory comprise a web application.

13. The onboard vehicle computer system of claim 12, wherein the local storage in which the vehicle route data is recorded is the web application'"'"'s local web storage.

14. The onboard vehicle computer system of claim 10, wherein the computer-executable instructions in the memory are executed by the processor automatically without input from the vehicle operator.

15. The onboard vehicle computer system of claim 10, wherein the vehicle route data comprises current GPS coordinates, time of day and day of week information.

16. The onboard vehicle computer system of claim 10, wherein the computer-executable instructions in the memory are executed by the processor in order to record said vehicle route data on one of a continuous, periodic and movement basis.

17. The onboard vehicle computer system of claim 10, wherein the computer-executable instructions in the memory are executed by the processor to predict the vehicle route based on one or more algorithms that receive, as inputs, current and historical driving behavior data, and which output probability information corresponding to a most likely current route being traveled by the vehicle.

18. The onboard vehicle computer system of claim 10, wherein the path-relevant information comprises at least one of business locations, weather conditions, traffic conditions, safety information, street/road topologies, upcoming speed limit changes, points of interest, and naturally occurring physical structures.

19. A computer program product comprising:

a processor storage medium having computer executable program code embodied therein to automatically present, in a vehicle, path-relevant information to a vehicle operator, the processor storage medium having;

computer executable program code to record, in a local storage, vehicle route data during vehicle travel,

computer executable program code to generate one or more route prediction models using the vehicle route data,

computer executable program code to predict a vehicle route based on the updated one or more route prediction models,

computer executable program code to transmit coordinate data corresponding to the predicted vehicle route to a backend server over a wireless network connection,

computer executable program code to receive, in response to the transmitted coordinate data, path-relevant information from the backend server over the wireless network connection, and

computer executable program code to present at least a portion of the path-relevant information to the vehicle operator.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the computer executable program code to present the at least portion of the path-relevant information comprises computer executable program code to display the at least portion of the path-relevant information on a display screen of the vehicle.

21. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the computer executable program code on the processor storage medium comprises a web application.

22. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the computer executable program code to record comprises computer executable program code to record, in the web application'"'"'s local web storage, vehicle route data during vehicle travel.

23. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the computer executable program code on the processor storage medium is executable automatically without input from the vehicle operator.

24. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the computer executable program code to record comprises computer executable program code to record current GPS coordinates, time of day and day of week information in the local storage.

25. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the computer executable program code to record comprises computer executable program code to record the vehicle route data on one of a continuous, periodic and movement basis.

26. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the computer executable program code to predict comprises computer executable program code to predict the vehicle route based on one or more algorithms that receive, as inputs, current and historical driving behavior data, and which output probability information corresponding to a most likely current route being traveled by the vehicle.

27. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the path-relevant information comprises at least one of business locations, weather conditions, traffic conditions, safety information, street/road topologies, upcoming speed limit changes, points of interest, and naturally occurring physical structures.