Navigation based on popular user-defined paths

• US 8,620,586 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2012
• Issued: 12/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Kurtti, Jeffrey Wayne, Relyea, Donald H., Roberts, Brian F.
• Primary Examiner(s): ARTHUR JEANGLAUD, GERTRUDE
• Application Number:
  US13/690,391
• Publication Number:
  US 20130090851A1
• Time in Patent Office: 396 Days
• Field of Search: 701/23, 701/400, 701/410, 701/420, 701/533, 701/537, 340/9.1, 370/310
• US Class Current: 701/537
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3484 Personalized, e.g. from learned user behaviour or user-defined profiles

Abstract

A device receives, from one or more user devices, one or more user-defined paths associated with a starting point and a destination point, and receives, from the one or more user devices, information associated with the one or more user-defined paths. The device also aggregates the one or more user-defined paths and the associated information, and determines one or more popular paths based on the aggregation of the one or more user-defined paths and the associated information, where the one or more popular paths are capable of being utilized by the one or more user devices for selection of a path for navigation.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a computing device, information associated with a path;

receiving, by the computer device and from a mobile communication device, a request to navigate the path;

providing, by the computer device and to the mobile communication device, data associated with a first portion of the path prior to navigation of the first portion of the path by, the mobile communication device;

receiving, by the computer device and from the mobile communication device, an indication of completion of the first portion of the path by the mobile communication device,

the indication of the completion of the first portion of the path including information associated with traversing the first portion of the path by the mobile communication device;

aggregating, by the computer device, the received information associated with the path and the information associated with traversing the first portion of the path by the mobile communication device; and

providing, by the computer device and to the mobile communication, data associated with a second portion of the path, prior to navigation of the second portion of the path by, the mobile communication device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the mobile communication device, an indication of completion of the second portion of the path by the mobile communication device,

the indication of the completion of the second portion of the path including information associated with traversing the second portion of the path by the mobile communication device; and

aggregating the received information associated with the path and the information associated with traversing the second portion of the path by the mobile communication device.

3. The method of claim 1, where the information associated with path includes:

data associated with traversing the path by one or more other mobile communication devices that differ from the mobile communication device.

4. The method of claim 1, where the information associated with the path comprises one or more of:

navigation information associated with the path,

mileage information associated with the path,

directional information associated with the path,

traffic information associated with the path,

construction information associated with the path,

one or more comments associated with the path, or

one or more ratings associated with the path.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining the data associated with the second portion of the path based on the aggregating the received information associated with the path and the information associated with traversing the first portion of the path by the mobile communication device.

6. The method of claim 1, where the mobile communication device comprises one or more of:

a radiotelephone,

a personal communications system (PCS) terminal,

a personal digital assistant (PDA),

a computer,

a global positioning system (GPS) navigation device.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining the data associated with the first portion of the path based on the received information.

8. A device comprising:

a memory to store a plurality of instructions; and

a processor to execute one or more of the instructions in the memory to;

receive information associated with a path,

receive, from a mobile communication device, a request to navigate the path,

provide, to the mobile communication device, data associated with a first portion of the path prior to navigation of the first portion of the path by the mobile communication device,

receive, from the mobile communication device, an indication of completion of the first portion of the path,

the indication of the completion of the first portion of the path including information associated with traversing the first portion of the path by the mobile communication device,

aggregate the received information associated with the path and the information associated with traversing the first portion of the path by the mobile communication device,

provide, to the mobile communication device, data associated with a second portion of the path prior to navigation of the second portion of the path by, the mobile communication device, and

receive, from the mobile communication device, an indication of completion of the second portion of the path by the mobile communication device.

9. The device of claim 8, where the indication of the completion of the second portion of the path including information associated with traversing the second portion of the path by the mobile communication device;

and

where the processor further executes one or more of the instructions in the memory to;

aggregate the received information associated with the path and the information associated with traversing the second portion of the path by the mobile communication device.

10. The device of claim 8, where the information associated with the path includes:

data associated with traversing the path by one or more other mobile communication devices that differ from the mobile communication device.

11. The device of claim 8, where the information associated with the path comprises one or more of:

navigation information associated with the path,

mileage information associated with the path,

directional information associated with the path,

traffic information associated with the path,

construction information associated with the path,

one or more comments associated with the path, or

one or more ratings associated with the path.

12. The device of claim 8, where the processor further executes one or more of the instructions in the memory to:

determine the data associated with the second portion of the path based on aggregating the received information associated with the path and the information associated with traversing the first portion of the path by the mobile communication device.

13. The device of claim 8, where the mobile communication device comprises one or more of:

a radiotelephone,

a personal communications system (PCS) terminal,

a personal digital assistant (PDA),

a laptop computer,

a personal computer, or

a global positioning system (GPS) navigation device.

14. The device of claim 8, where the processor, when receiving the information associated with the path, further executes one or more of the instructions in the memory to:

receive the information from another mobile communication device that differs from the mobile communication device associated with the request.

15. The device of claim 8, where the processor further executes one or more of the instructions in the memory to:

determine the data associated with the first portion of the path based on the received information.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium to store instructions, the instructions comprising:

one or more instructions that, when executed by a first device, cause the first device to;

request, from a second device, data associated with a path,

receive, from the second device and based on the request, the data associated with the path,

determine information associated with traversing a first portion of the path by the first device,

forward, to the second device and prior to traversing a second portion of the path, the information associated with traversing the first portion of the path by the first device,

receive, from the second device, data associated with the second portion of the path,

the data associated with the second portion of the path being determined based on the data associated with the path and the information associated with traversing the first portion of the path by the first device, and

provide, to the second device, an indication of completion of the second portion of the path by the first device.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, where the instructions further comprise:

one or more instructions to;

store, in a memory, the data associated with the path based on receiving the data, and

replace, in the memory, the data associated with the path with the data associated with the second portion of the path.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, where the data associated with the path comprises one or more of:

navigation information associated with the path,

mileage information associated with the path,

directional information associated with the path,

traffic information associated with the path,

construction information associated with the path,

one or more comments associated with the path, or

one or more ratings associated with the path.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, where the information associated with traversing the first portion of the path comprises one or more of:

mileage information associated with the first portion of the path,

directional information associated with the first portion of the path,

traffic information associated with the first portion of the path,

construction information associated with the first portion of the path,

one or more comments associated with the first portion of the path, or

one or more ratings associated with the first portion of the path.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, where the data associated with a path includes:

first data associated with navigating the first portion of the path, and

second data associated with navigating the second portion of the path, and

where at least one instruction, of the one or more instructions, to receive the data associated with the path, when executed by the first device, causes the first device to;

receive the first data,

store the first data in a memory,

receive the second data after traversing the first portion of the path, and

replace, in the memory, the first data with the second data.