Method and system for updating digital road maps

• US 5,948,042 A
• Filed: 07/02/1996
• Issued: 09/07/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ATX Europe GmbH (Liberty Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mannesmann AG (Vodafone Group PLC)
• Inventors: Weber, Thomas, Hort, Christian, Heimann, Josef
• Primary Examiner(s): ZANELLI, MICHAEL J
• Application Number:
  US08/676,086
• Time in Patent Office: 1,162 Days
• Field of Search: 701/117, 701/208, 701/209, 701/210, 701/201, 701/213, 340/990, 340/995, 340/992, 348/148
• US Class Current: 701/208
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3815 Road data
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3841 Data obtained from two or more sources, e.g. probe vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0104 Measuring and analyzing of parameters relative to traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/106 using electronic means

Abstract

A method of updating digital road maps which are used in traffic direction and guiding vehicles to their destinations. In the method actual route data is determined, stored and transmitted to a traffic computer by at least one test vehicle provided for the purpose. The traffic computer evaluates the information items contained in the route data and assigns them as attributes to the corresponding road sections of a digital road map. At least the actual geographical position of the test vehicle is automatically continually determined as route data and the attributes of the corresponding road sections of the road map are updated by reference to the route data. The attributes include at least the permissibility of driving over the road sections in at least one direction.

Claims

1. A method for updating digital road maps which are used in traffic direction and guiding vehicles to their destinations, comprising the steps of:

determining actual route data with at least one test vehicle, the route data determining step including automatically continually determining at least an actual geographical position of the test vehicle;

storing the route data on the test vehicle;

transmitting the route data from the test vehicle to a traffic computer;

evaluating information items contained in the route data with the traffic computer and assigning the information items as attributes to corresponding road sections of a digital road map; and

updating the attributes of the corresponding road sections of the digital road map by reference to the route data, the attributes comprising at least an attribute indicating an ability to drive over the road sections in at least one direction, the step of updating associated attributes including setting the associated attribute "ability to drive over the road section in a specific direction" to "permissible" if a predefined minimum number of test vehicles have one of driven over the corresponding road section in a corresponding direction in a predefined time interval, and made a corresponding change of direction at an intersection.

2. A method for updating digital road maps which are used in traffic direction and guiding vehicles to their destinations, comprising the steps of:

determining actual route data with at least one test vehicle, the route data determining step including automatically continually determining at least an actual geographical position of the test vehicle;

storing the route data on the test vehicle;

transmitting the route data from the test vehicle to a traffic computer;

evaluating information items contained in the route data with the traffic computer and assigning the information items as attributes to corresponding road sections of a digital road map; and

updating the attributes of the corresponding road sections of the digital road map by reference to the route data, the attributes comprising at least an attribute indicating an ability to drive over the road sections in at least one direction, the step of updating attributes including setting the associated attribute "ability to drive over the road section in a specific direction" to "impermissible" if, over a relatively long predefined time interval, no test vehicle has one of driven over the corresponding road section in a corresponding direction and made a corresponding change of direction at an intersection.

3. A method for updating digital road maps which are used in traffic direction and guiding vehicles to their destinations, comprising the steps of:

determining actual route data with at least one test vehicle, the route data determining step including automatically continually determining at least an actual geographical position of the test vehicle;

storing the route data on the test vehicle;

transmitting the route data from the test vehicle to a traffic computer;

evaluating information items contained in the route data with the traffic computer and assigning the information items as attributes to corresponding road sections of a digital road map; and

updating the attributes of the corresponding road sections of the digital road map by reference to the route data, the attributes comprising at least an attribute indicating an ability to drive over the road sections in at least one direction, the step of determining route data including detecting traffic signs arranged along the road sections.

4. A method as defined in claim 3, including optoelectronically registering, identifying and storing the traffic signs together with the determined geographical positions of the vehicle along the route.

5. A system for updating digital road maps which are used in traffic direction and guiding vehicles to their destinations, comprising:

traffic computer means; and

at least one test vehicle including route data determining means for automatically determining actual route data which describes at least a path traveled by the test vehicle in an interval, memory means for storing the determined route data, data transmission means for transmitting route data to the traffic computer, and a data bus that interconnects the route data determining means, the memory means and the data transmission means in a data transmissive manner, the traffic computer means including data receiving means and a digital road map, the digital road map having individual road sections that are assigned attributes which represent at least an ability to drive over the road sections in at least one direction, the traffic computer further including updating means for updating the attributes assigned to the road sections of the digital road map by reference to the route data transmitted from the test vehicle, the test vehicle further including means for data reduction of the route data, the data reduction means being operative to reduce stored location position data, which determines a first vector train that describes the path travelled by the test vehicle in the interval, so that the reduced location position data determines a second vector train, a maximum perpendicular distance of the vectors of the second vector train from the first vector train being less than a predetermined threshold value.

6. A system as defined in claim 5, wherein the data reduction means includes a microprocessor.

7. A system for updating digital road maps which are used in traffic direction and guiding vehicles to their destinations, comprising:

traffic computer means; and

at least one test vehicle including route data determining means for automatically determining actual route data which describes at least a path traveled by the test vehicle in an interval, memory means for storing the determined route data, data transmission means for transmitting route data to the traffic computer, and a data bus that interconnects the route data determining means, the memory means and the data transmission means in a data transmissive manner, the traffic computer means including data receiving means and a digital road map, the digital road map having individual road sections that are assigned attributes which represent at least an ability to drive over the road sections in at least one direction, the traffic computer further including updating means for updating the attributes assigned to the road sections of the digital road map by reference to the route data transmitted from the test vehicle, the route data determining means including a video camera operative to register traffic signs arranged along the road sections.

8. A system for updating digital road maps which are used in traffic direction and guiding vehicles to their destinations, comprising:

traffic computer means; and

at least one test vehicle including route data determining means for automatically determining actual route data which describes at least a path traveled by the test vehicle in an interval, memory means for storing the determined route data, data transmission means for transmitting route data to the traffic computer, and a data bus that interconnects the route data determining means, the memory means and the data transmission means in a data transmissive manner, the traffic computer means including data receiving means and a digital road map, the digital road map having individual road sections that are assigned attributes which represent at least an ability to drive over the road sections in at least one direction, the traffic computer further including updating means for updating the attributes assigned to the road sections of the digital road map by reference to the route data transmitted from the test vehicle, the updating means being operative to set the associated attribute "ability to drive over the road section in a specific direction" to "permissible" if a predetermined minimum number of test vehicles have one of driven over the corresponding road section in a corresponding direction in a predefined time interval, and made a corresponding change of direction at an intersection.

9. A system for updating digital road maps which are used in traffic direction and guiding vehicles to their destinations, comprising:

traffic computer means; and

at least one test vehicle including route data determining means for automatically determining actual route data which describes at least a path traveled by the test vehicle in an interval, memory means for storing the determined route data, data transmission means for transmitting route data to the traffic computer, and a data bus that interconnects the route data determining means, the memory means and the data transmission means in a data transmissive manner, the traffic computer means including data receiving means and a digital road map, the digital road map having individual road sections that are assigned attributes which represent at least an ability to drive over the road sections in at least one direction, the traffic computer further including updating means for updating the attributes assigned to the road sections of the digital road map by reference to the route data transmitted from the test vehicle, the updating means being operative to set the associated attribute "ability to drive over the road section in a specific direction" to "impermissible" if, over a relatively long predefined time interval, no test vehicle has one of driven over the corresponding road section in a corresponding direction and made a corresponding change of direction at an intersection.