NAVIGATION APPARATUS AND METHOD

• US 20130304379A1
• Filed: 11/08/2011
• Published: 11/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TomTom Navigation B.V (TomTom NV)
• Original Assignee: Steffen Gunther Wiesner
• Inventors: Mieth, Peter, Fulger, Daniel, Wiesner, Steffen Gunther
• Granted Patent: US 9,830,815 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/533
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3415 Dynamic re-routing, e.g. recalculating the route when the user deviates from calculated route or after detecting real-time traffic data or accidents
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3453 Special cost functions, i.e. other than distance or default speed limit of road segments
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3492 employing speed data or traffic data, e.g. real-time or historical traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• 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 1/0967 Systems involving transmission of highway information, e.g. weather, speed limits transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096775 where the origin of the information is a central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096827 where the route is computed onboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096844 where the complete route is dynamically recomputed based on new data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A navigation apparatus 200 comprises a processing resource 260 configured to: determine a route to a selected destination; obtain weather-related data; and modify speed data for a plurality of route segments in dependence on the weather-related data. For each route there is a respective classifier that classifies the road type for the route segment, and the processing resource is configured to modify the speed data for each route segment based on the weather-related data and the road type represented by the classifier for that route segment.

Claims

1. A navigation apparatus comprising:

a processing resource configured to determine a route to a selected destination, to obtain weather-related data and to modify speed data for a plurality of route segments in dependence on the weather-related data,

wherein for each route segment there is a respective classifier that classifies the road type for the route segment, and

wherein the processing resource is configured to modify the speed data for each route segment based on the weather-related data and the road type represented by the classifier for that route segment.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each classified road type represents a respective level of sensitivity to at least one weather condition.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the speed data for a route segment is representative of the expected speed of travel along the route segment, and the processing resource is configured to modify the expected speed of travel in dependence on the weather-related data.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the weather-related data comprises weather-related data for a plurality of different times, and the processing resource is configured to determine, for at least one segment of the route, an expected time of arrival for that segment and to use the weather-related data for that expected time of arrival to modify the speed data for that segment.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the weather-related data received by the apparatus comprises a plurality of sub-sets of weather-related data, each sub-set of weather-related data being specific to a respective one of the road types, and the processing resource, for each route segment, selects a sub-set of weather-related data based on the road type represented by the classifier for that route segment.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the weather-related data comprises data representative of expected weather conditions as a function of location, wherein the weather conditions comprise, for example, one or more of presence or amount of precipitation, for example rain, hail sleet or snow;

wind speed and direction;

presence or amount of lying snow;

presence or amount of ice;

level of visibility;

presence or amount of fog;

temperature.

7. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the weather-related data comprises speed modification data representative of the expected modification of speed due to weather conditions.

8. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the weather-related data comprises at least one set of contour data, each set of contour data representative of a respective area of equal weather conditions or speed modification data, and the processing resource is configured to determine the weather-related data for a route segment from the position of the route segment and the contour data for that position.

9. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing resource is configured to determine an estimated time of arrival at the destination, and to modify the estimated time of arrival based on the modified speed data.

10. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing resource is configured to calculate a route to the selected destination in dependence on expected speed of travel, and to recalculate the route in response to the modification of the speed data.

11. Apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the processing resource is configured to modify the estimated time of arrival or to recalculate the route in dependence on a variation of the weather-related data over a period of time.

12. Apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the processing resource is configured to repeatedly receive updated weather-related data and to repeatedly modify the estimated time of arrival or repeatedly recalculate the route.

13. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing resource is configured to exclude or downgrade route segments having a selected classified road type in a route calculation process, in response to the occurrence of a particular weather type of the occurrence of a weather type of at least a predetermined severity.

14. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing resource is configured to exclude or downgrade route segments having a selected classified road type in a route calculation process, in response to an input from a user of the apparatus.

15. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises a portable device, for example a portable navigation device (PND) or a mobile phone.

16. Apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the mobile device is configured to transmit data representative of at least one of the location of the mobile device and the route to the selected location to a server, and the server is configured to select weather-related data in dependence on the at least one of the location of the mobile device and the route and to transmit the selected weather-related data to the mobile device.

17. A server system for providing weather-related data to at least one navigation apparatus, the server system comprising a processing resource configured to obtain weather data, to process the weather data to produce speed modification data and to transmit the speed modification data to the at least one navigation apparatus, wherein the speed modification data comprises a plurality of sets of speed modification data, each set of speed modification data being associated with a respective, different road classification type.

18. A server system according to claim 17, wherein the weather data comprises data representative of the level of a particular weather type at a location, and the server is configured to apply a model, for example an exponential model, to determine the speed modification data for that location from the weather data.

19. A server system according to claim 17, wherein the processing resource is configured to correlate weather data and travel data for each of a plurality of road segments thereby to determine weather reaction data representing speed modification for each of the plurality of road segments as a function of at least one weather condition.

20. A server system according to claim 19, wherein the processing resource is configured to determine the speed modification data based upon the weather reaction data representing speed modification as a function of at least one weather condition, and current or forecast weather for the at least one road segment.

21. A method of performing a navigation operation, comprising receiving weather-related data, modifying speed data for each of a plurality of route segments in dependence on the weather-related data and in dependence on a respective road classification type, and performing a navigation operation using the modified speed data, wherein the navigation operation comprises at least one of determining a route to a destination and determining an estimated time of arrival (ETA).

22. A non-transitory computer program product comprising computer readable instructions that are executable to perform a method according to claim 21.