Navigation apparatus, audible instruction generation system and method of generating audible instructions

• US 8,886,455 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2009
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TomTom Navigation B.V (TomTom NV)
• Original Assignee: TomTom International BV (TomTom NV)
• Inventors: Tkachenko, Serhiy
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheung, Mary
• Assistant Examiner(s): BERNS, MICHAEL ANDREW
• Application Number:
  US13/516,745
• Publication Number:
  US 20120265436A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,790 Days
• Field of Search: 701/438, 701/431, 701/211
• US Class Current: 701/438
• 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 apparatus (200) comprises a processing resource (202) arranged to support an operating environment and a route follower (256) supported by the operating environment and arranged to monitor progression, when in use, along a route to be followed. The apparatus also comprises an instruction generator (260) supported by the operating environment and arranged to determine an identity of a location in advance of the location being reached where a manoeuvre has to be executed in order to continue following the route, and to generate manoeuvre data in relation to the manoeuvre. The apparatus further comprises a voice command generator (266) supported by the operating environment and arranged to obtain the manoeuvre data and to generate in response to the manoeuvre data voice instruction data for reproduction by a loudspeaker (276) as an audible voice instruction. The manoeuvre data comprises route manoeuvre instruction component data and supplementary descriptive instruction component data.

Claims

1. A navigation apparatus comprising:

a processing resource arranged to support an operating environment;

a route follower supported by the operating environment and arranged to monitor progression, when in use, along a route to be followed;

an instruction generator supported by the operating environment and arranged to determine an identity of a location in advance of the location being reached where a manoeuvre has to be executed in order to continue following the route, and to generate manoeuvre data in relation to the manoeuvre;

an image processing engine arranged to recognize a geospatial feature in one or more images associated with the location of a forthcoming manoeuvre and to pass information associated with the geospatial feature to the instruction generator; and

a voice command generator supported by the operating environment and arranged to obtain the manoeuvre data and to generate in response to the manoeuvre data voice instruction data for reproduction by a loudspeaker as an audible voice instruction;

wherein the manoeuvre data comprises route manoeuvre instruction component data and supplementary descriptive instruction component data, the supplementary descriptive instruction component comprising the information associated with the geospatial feature.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the instruction generator is arranged to identify the geospatial feature relating to the location of the forthcoming manoeuvre by identifying a geospatial feature relating to the location such that the geospatial feature supplements any geospatial features identified in the route manoeuvre instruction component data in a non-repetitive manner.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the geospatial feature has a category of information associated therewith, the category of information being a non-transportation or navigation network category.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the instruction generator is arranged to determine a physical attribute of the geospatial feature.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the physical attribute relates to a dimension of the geospatial feature.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the physical attribute is derived from at least one of three-dimensional data and texture data associated with the geospatial feature.

7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an external source interface module for procuring geospatial feature data stored externally to the navigation apparatus.

8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the external source interface module is arranged to generate a search query in order to find a geospatial feature associated with the location of the forthcoming manoeuvre.

9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the external source interface module is arranged to download Point of Interest data.

10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the external source interface module is arranged to download an image associated with the location of the forthcoming manoeuvre.

11. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the image processing engine is arranged to determine a physical attribute of the recognised geospatial feature.

12. An apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the physical attribute relates to a dimension of the geospatial feature.

13. An apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the physical attribute is derived from at least one of three-dimensional data and texture data associated with the geospatial feature.

14. An apparatus as claimed claim 1, further comprising a text-to-speech engine arranged to translate a name associated with the geospatial feature into audible reproduction data when predefined audible reproduction data is not available in relation to the name associated with the geospatial feature.

15. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an image capture device arranged to capture an image associated with the location of the forthcoming manoeuvre.

16. A method of providing voice instructions for a navigation apparatus, the method comprising:

monitoring, by a processing resource, progression along a route to be followed;

determining, by an instruction generator, an identity of a location in advance of the location being reached where a manoeuvre has to be executed in order to continue following the route;

obtaining, by an external source interface module, one or more images associated with the location of a forthcoming manoeuvre;

recognizing, by an image processing engine, a geospatial feature in the one or more images;

generating, by the instruction generator, manoeuvre data in relation to the manoeuvre;

obtaining, by a voice generator, the manoeuvre data; and

generating, by the voice generator, in response to the manoeuvre data voice instruction data for reproduction by a loudspeaker as an audible voice instruction;

wherein the manoeuvre data comprises route manoeuvre instruction component data and supplementary descriptive instruction component data, the supplementary descriptive instruction component data comprising information associated with the recognized geospatial feature.

17. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising a computer program element having computer program code means to make a computer execute a method of providing voice instructions for a navigation apparatus, the method comprising:

monitoring progression along a route to be followed;

determining an identity of a location in advance of the location being reached where a manoeuvre has to be executed in order to continue following the route;

obtaining one or more images associated with the location of a forthcoming manoeuvre;

recognizing a geospatial feature in the one or more images generating manoeuvre data in relation to the manoeuvre;

obtaining the manoeuvre data; and

generating in response to the manoeuvre data voice instruction data for reproduction by a loudspeaker as an audible voice instruction;

wherein the manoeuvre data comprises route manoeuvre instruction component data and supplementary descriptive instruction component data, the supplementary descriptive instruction component data comprising information associated with the recognized geospatial feature.