Navigation method, device, system and computer readable medium

• US 6,256,581 B1
• Filed: 07/28/1999
• Issued: 07/03/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation
• Inventors: Sugiyama, Kazuhiro, Fujii, Kensaku
• Primary Examiner(s): Gregory, Bernarr E.
• Application Number:
  US09/362,391
• Time in Patent Office: 706 Days
• Field of Search: 701/200-202, 701/207-216, 707/100, 707/103, 707/104
• US Class Current: 701/202
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3629 Guidance using speech or audio output, e.g. text-to-speech text to speech systems per se G10L13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3644 Landmark guidance, e.g. using POIs or conspicuous other objects

Abstract

A navigation method for guiding a user from a present position to a destination position includes inputting the present position and the destination position, inputting data from a geographic database and a road network database and selecting a route from the present position to the destination position, determining particularity of route guide map according to the area and the density of data representing the selected route, selecting necessary data for guiding a user according to the particularity and generating the route guide map, inputting data corresponding to the area from a spatial object network database and generating route guide sentence with respect to the route guide map, and manipulating information in the route guide map and route guide sentence and outputting the manipulated information.

Claims

1. A navigation method for use in guiding a user from a present position to a destination position, comprising the steps of:

inputting information on said present position and said destination position;

inputting data from a geographic database and a road network database with respect to said information and selecting a route from said present position to said destination position;

determining particularity of route guide map according to the area and the density of data representing said selected route, selecting necessary data for guiding a user to said destination position according to said particularity and generating said route guide map;

inputting data corresponding to said area from a spatial object network database and generating route guide sentence corresponding to said route guide map, and

manipulating information in said route guide map and route guide sentence and outputting said manipulated information.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein data which represents an area nearby said destination position or a dense area is selected as said necessary data.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said necessary data is selected so as to reduce misleading information.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the moving direction and the spatial relationship between the spatial objects which are landmarks are included in said route guide sentence when said route guide sentence is generated.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said route guide map and said route guide sentence compliment each other.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

said route guide map is generated after determining that said particularity is low, and said route guide sentence is generated so as to complement said route guide map.

7. A method for generating route guide information for use in guiding a user from a present position to a destination position, comprising the steps of:

extracting said present position and destination position from a route guide condition;

inputting data from a geographic database and a road network database with respect to said information and selecting nodes and links on a route which is selected from said present position to said destination position;

calculating an angle between two connected links and classifying each link of said two connected links as a separate task, and

generating said route guide information for each separate task.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein said step for generating said route guide information includes a step for generating a route guide map in which landmark data is selected in order of precedence until the number of said landmarks becomes a predetermined number.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein said step for generating said route guide information comprises the steps of:

deleting landmark data which is included commonly in said each task other than predetermined data;

calculating an angle between two links in selected order as a route and converting direction to which said links are turned into a word according to said angle;

inputting landmark data of high priority, extracting connections from other landmarks to said landmark data and classifying said connections as a plurality of patterns with respect to the moving direction, and

converting a combination of said patterns into a word.

10. A navigation device for use in guiding a user from a present position to a destination position, comprising:

means for inputting information on said present position and said destination position;

means for inputting data from a geographic database and a road network database with respect to said information and selecting a route from said present position to said destination position;

means for determining particularity of route guide map according to the area and the density of data representing said selected route, selecting necessary data for guiding a user to said destination position according to said particularity and generating said route guide map;

means for inputting data corresponding to said area from a spatial object network database and generating route guide sentence with respect to said route guide map, and

means for manipulating information in said route guide map and route guide sentence and outputting said manipulated information.

11. A navigation system for use in guiding a user from a present position to a destination position, comprising a navigation device, a network which is connected to said navigation device, and a plurality of terminals which can be connected to said network, said navigation device comprising:

means for selecting a route from said present position to said destination position by receiving input from said terminal;

means for determining particularity of route guide map according to the area and the density of data representing said selected route, selecting necessary data for guiding a user to said destination position according to said particularity and generating said route guide map;

means for generating route guide sentence with respect to said route guide map, and

means outputting said route guide map and said route guide sentence.

12. A computer readable medium storing program code for causing a computer to perform navigation processing for use in guiding a user from a present position to a destination position, said computer readable medium comprising:

program code means for inputting information on said present position and said destination position;

program code means for inputting data from a geographic database and a road network database with respect to said information and selecting a route from said present position to said destination position;

program code means for determining particularity of route guide map according to the area and the density of data representing said selected route, selecting necessary data for guiding a user to said destination position according to said particularity and generating said route guide map;

program code means for inputting data corresponding to said area from a spatial object network database and generating route guide sentence with respect to said route guide map, and

program code means for manipulating information in said route guide map and route guide sentence and outputting said manipulated information.

13. The computer readable medium as claimed in claim 12, wherein data which represents an area nearby said destination position or a dense area is selected as said necessary data.

14. The computer readable medium as claimed in claim 12, wherein said necessary data is selected so as to reduce misleading information.

15. The computer readable medium as claimed in claim 12 , where in the moving direction and the spatial relationship between the spatial objects which are landmarks are included in said route guide sentence when said route guide sentence is generated.

16. The computer readable medium as claimed in claim 12, wherein said route guide map and said route guide sentence compliment each other.

17. The computer readable medium as claimed in claim 12, wherein:

said route guide map is generated after determining that said particularity is low, and said route guide sentence is generated so as to complement said route guide map.