Route modifications

• US 8,332,141 B2
• Filed: 06/15/2007
• Issued: 12/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Couckuyt, Jeffrey Darren
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Holwerda, Stephen
• Application Number:
  US11/763,791
• Publication Number:
  US 20080312766A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,006 Days
• Field of Search: 701/200, 701/201, 701/400, 701/408, 701/409, 701/410, 701/411, 701/414, 701/415, 701/416, 701/418, 701/420, 701/422, 701/423, 701/424, 701/425, 701/428, 701/430
• US Class Current: 701/430
• 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 21/3484 Personalized, e.g. from learned user behaviour or user-defined profiles

Abstract

A computer system and media for delivering routing information are provided. The computer system includes a routing engine, a database, and routing network that are employed to respond to routing requests and user modifications of routing information received in response to the routing requests. The routing engine receives the routing requests and generates routing information that illustrates a route and metadata for directions that guides a user when navigating the route. A user that is dissatisfied with the routing information may use route modification tools to alter the route in a manner that is consistent with the user'"'"'s understanding of alternate routes that may supplement the routing information provided by the routing engine. The computer system receives the user modifications, stores the user modifications, and updates the routing network to learn the alternate route provided in the user modifications.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable media, not signals per se, having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that perform a method to deliver routing information, the method comprising:

receiving a request for directions at a routing engine;

generating routing information in response to the request for directions received by the routing engine;

transmitting the routing information generated by the routing engine;

receiving user modifications to the routing information at the routing engine, wherein the routing engine conflates the user modifications to a routing network having a plurality of routes and modifies a weight associated with one or more routes based on the user modifications to make the user modifications to the routing information available to future requests for directions received by the routing engine;

generating a notification that the user modification is incomplete when the user modification does not completely connect with the routing information generated by the routing engine;

receiving additional information from the user that clarifies the user modification in the response to the notification, wherein the additional information includes a period of validity for the user modifications;

generating, by the routing engine, updated routing information based on the user modifications;

receiving, by the routing engine, a subsequent request similar to the request for directions; and

in response to the subsequent request, providing both the routing information and the updated routing information, wherein providing both the routing information and the updated routing information further comprises;

verifying that a count associated with client devices that transmit modifications similar to the user modification is above a specified threshold before providing the updated routing information that includes the user modification as a shareable modification.

2. The media of claim 1 wherein the routing information illustrates a route and provides directions from a start location to an end location on the route.

3. The media of claim 1, wherein the user modifications are generated using a route modification tool.

4. The media of claim 3, wherein the route modification tool allows the user to draw modifications on a graphical representation of the routing information.

5. The media of claim 3, wherein the route modification tool layers the user modification on a graphical representation of the routing information.

6. The media of claim 3, wherein the route modification tool provides a user with a set of modification options.

7. The media of claim 6, wherein the route modification options include a polyline.

15. The method of claim 6, wherein the route modification options include a polyline.

8. A client device having a processor, and computer readable medium configured to execute a method for modifying routing information, the method comprising:

receiving routing information in response to a request for directions;

displaying the routing information;

observing user modifications to the routing information;

transmitting the user modifications to a routing engine; and

receiving updated routing information based on the user modifications, wherein user modifications are observed over a specified time interval by a monitoring component that monitors coordinate information of users that request for direction, to identify deviations from the routing information for a specified route identified by the users, to count a frequency of the deviation from the specified route, to count the number of users that perform a similar deviation, and to learn the deviation when the frequency of the deviation from the specified route is above a specified threshold and the count for the number of users is above a shareable deviation threshold by including the deviation in the updated routing information.

9. A computer-implemented method to deliver routing information, the method comprising:

receiving a request for directions at a routing engine;

generating routing information in response to the request for directions received by the routing engine;

transmitting the routing information generated by the routing engine;

receiving user modifications to the routing information at the routing engine, wherein the routing engine conflates the user modifications to a routing network having a plurality of routes and modifies a weight associated with one or more routes based on the user modifications to make the user modifications to the routing information available to future requests for directions received by the routing engine;

generating a notification that the user modification is incomplete when the user modification does not completely connect with the routing information generated by the routing engine;

receiving additional information from the user that clarifies the user modification in the response to the notification, wherein the additional information includes a period of validity for the user modifications;

generating, by the routing engine, updated routing information based on the user modifications;

receiving, by the routing engine, a subsequent request similar to the request for directions; and

in response to the subsequent request, providing both the routing information and the updated routing information, wherein providing both the routing information and the updated routing information further comprises;

verifying that a count associated with client devices that transmit modifications similar to the user modification is above a specified threshold before providing the updated routing information that includes the user modification as a shareable modification.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the routing information illustrates a route and provides directions from a start location to an end location on the route.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the user modifications are generated using a route modification tool.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the route modification tool allows the user to draw modifications on a graphical representation of the routing information.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the route modification tool layers the user modification on a graphical representation of the routing information.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the route modification tool provides a user with a set of modification options.