Portable electronic device and panorama navigation method using the portable electronic device

• US 8,606,507 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2011
• Issued: 12/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cloud Network Technology Singapore Pte. Ltd. (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Hou-Hsien, Lee, Chang-Jung, Lo, Chih-Ping
• Primary Examiner(s): ARTHUR JEANGLAUDE, GERTRUDE
• Application Number:
  US13/249,263
• Publication Number:
  US 20120191339A1
• Time in Patent Office: 802 Days
• Field of Search: 701/25, 701/400, 701/410, 701/412, 701/418, 701/428, 701/436, 340/988, 340/991, 340/995.12
• US Class Current: 701/410
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3647 Guidance involving output of stored or live camera images or video streams

Abstract

In a panorama navigation method using a portable electronic device, the portable electronic device includes a GPS, an electronic compass and a touch screen. A user operation interface is displayed on the touch screen, and driving information is received from a user operation interface when a driver arranges a driving route in a geographic region. The driving route is marked on an electronic map of the geographic region according to the driving information. The GPS detects a current location of a vehicle, and the electronic compass identifies a driving direction of the vehicle. The portable electronic device obtains a series of panoramic images of the geographic region from a host computer according to the current location, the driving direction and a current time of the vehicle, and displays each of the panoramic images on the touch screen to provide panoramic navigation information for the driver.

Claims

1. A portable electronic device, comprising:

a global positioning system (GPS), an electronic compass, a touch screen, a storage system, at least one processor; and

one or more modules stored in the storage system and executable by the at least one processor, the one or more modules comprising;

a route marking module operable to generate and display a user operation interface on the touch screen, receive driving information input from the user operation interface when a driver arranges a driving route within a geographic region, and mark the driving route on an electronic map of the geographic region to analyze panoramic navigation information of the geographic region according to the driving information;

a navigation module operable to detect a current location of a vehicle by collecting geographic information of the geographic region using the GPS, identify a driving direction of the vehicle by detecting an orientation of the portable electronic device using the electronic compass, obtain a current time from the portable electronic device, and send the current location, the driving direction and the current time to a host computer; and

an image obtaining module operable to obtain a series of panoramic images of the geographic region from the host computer according to the current location, the driving direction and the current time of the vehicle, and display the panoramic images on the touch screen to provide the panoramic navigation information for the driver, wherein each of the panoramic images corresponds to a geographic location marked on the electronic map.

2. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the user operation interface displays a selection of a navigation mode that comprises a preset navigation mode and a user-defined navigation mode.

3. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein each of the panoramic images is a whole image of the geographic region that reflects an actual scene around 360 degrees of the geographic region.

4. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the host computer comprises a data transfer unit for receiving the driving information of the driving route from the portable electronic device through a wireless network, and sending the panoramic images of the geographic region to the portable electronic device through the wireless network.

5. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein each of the panoramic images is captured from the geographic region using a camera device at different times, or downloaded from a network provider that provides geographic information of different geographic regions.

6. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein each of the panoramic images is stored into a storage device of the host computer.

7. A panorama navigation method using a portable electronic device, the portable electronic device comprising a global positioning system (GPS), an electronic compass and a touch screen, the method comprising:

generating and displaying a user operation interface on the touch screen, and receiving driving information input from the user operation interface when a driver arranges a driving route within a geographic region;

marking the driving route on an electronic map of the geographic region to analyze panoramic navigation information of the geographic region according to the driving information;

detecting a current location of a vehicle by collecting geographic information of the geographic region using the GPS;

identifying a driving direction of the vehicle by detecting an orientation of the portable electronic device using the electronic compass;

obtaining a current time from the portable electronic device, and sending the current location, the driving direction and the current time to a host computer;

obtaining a series of panoramic images of the geographic region from the host computer according to the current location, the driving direction and the current time of the vehicle; and

displaying the panoramic images on the touch screen to provide the panoramic navigation information for the driver, wherein each of the panoramic images corresponds to a geographic location marked on the electronic map.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising:

capturing the panoramic images of the geographic region using a camera device at different times, or downloading the panoramic images from a network provider that provides geographic information of different geographic regions; and

marking the geographic location on the electronic map according to each of the panoramic images, and storing each of the panoramic images and the marked electronic map into a storage device of the host computer.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the user operation interface displays a selection of a navigation mode that comprises a preset navigation mode and a user-defined navigation mode.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein each of the panoramic images is a whole image of the geographic region that reflects an actual scene around 360 degrees of the geographic region.

11. The method according to claim 7, wherein the host computer comprises a data transfer unit for receiving the driving information of the driving route from the portable electronic device through a wireless network, and sending the panoramic images of the geographic region to the portable electronic device through the wireless network.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a portable electronic device, cause the portable electronic device to perform a panorama navigation method, the portable electronic device comprising a global positioning system (GPS), an electronic compass and a touch screen, the method comprising:

generating and displaying a user operation interface on the touch screen, and receiving driving information input from the user operation interface when a driver arranges a driving route within a geographic region;

marking the driving route on an electronic map of the geographic region to analyze panoramic navigation information of the geographic region according to the driving information;

detecting a current location of a vehicle by collecting geographic information of the geographic region using the GPS;

identifying a driving direction of the vehicle by detecting an orientation of the portable electronic device using the electronic compass;

obtaining a current time from the portable electronic device, and sending the current location, the driving direction and the current time to a host computer;

obtaining a series of panoramic images of the geographic region from the host computer according to the current location, the driving direction and the current time of the vehicle; and

displaying the panoramic images on the touch screen to provide the panoramic navigation information for the driver, wherein each of the panoramic images corresponds to a geographic location marked on the electronic map.

13. The storage medium according to claim 12, wherein the method further comprises:

capturing the panoramic images from the geographic region using a camera device at different times, or downloading the panoramic images from a network provider that provides geographic information of different geographic regions; and

marking the geographic location on the electronic map according to each of the panoramic images, and storing each of the panoramic images and the marked electronic map into a storage device of the host computer.

14. The storage medium according to claim 12, wherein the user operation interface displays a selection of a navigation mode that comprises a preset navigation mode and a user-defined navigation mode.

15. The storage medium according to claim 12, wherein each of the panoramic images is a whole image of the geographic region that reflects an actual scene around 360 degrees of the geographic region.

16. The storage medium according to claim 12, wherein the host computer comprises a data transfer unit for receiving the driving information of the driving route from the portable electronic device through a wireless network, and sending the panoramic images of the geographic region to the portable electronic device through the wireless network.