Method of detecting transportation network database errors and devices thereof

• US 8,910,010 B2
• Filed: 06/10/2010
• Issued: 12/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tomtom Global Content B.V (TomTom NV)
• Original Assignee: Tomtom North America Incorporated (TomTom NV)
• Inventors: Cooke, Donald
• Primary Examiner(s): ABRAHAM, ESAW T
• Application Number:
  US13/388,736
• Publication Number:
  US 20120254707A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,643 Days
• Field of Search: 714/752, 714/786, 714/799, 701/117, 701/412, 701/414, 701/454, 701/474
• US Class Current: 714/752
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/30 Map- or contour-matching
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3819 Road shape data, e.g. outline of a route
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3841 Data obtained from two or more sources, e.g. probe vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3844 Data obtained from position sensors only, e.g. from inertial navigation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/00 Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring error detection, correction or monitoring in information storage based on relative movement between record carrier and transducer G11B20/18; monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing G11B27/36; in static stores G11C29/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3466 Performance evaluation by tracing or monitoring

Abstract

A method of detecting errors in road characteristics in a transportation network database includes collecting sequential location measurements from probes traversing between two end points, fitting trace segments having a curved or linear shape between the sequential location measurements collected from the probes to form a probe trace, comparing a position of the probe traces with a position of a calculated path between the two end points, where the calculated path is formed from linked transportation network segments each of the linked transportation segments having a curved or linear shape, where the calculated path follows the road characteristics defined by the attributes associated with the linked transportation segments, and identifying a potential error in the attributes if a probe trace deviating in position from the calculated path is greater than a deviation threshold.

Claims

1. A method of detecting errors in road characteristics defined by one or more attributes associated with a transportation network database, comprising:

in a server computer, performing operations for;

collecting a plurality of sequential location measurements from each of a plurality of probes traversing between two end points;

fitting trace segments having at least one of a curved and linear shape between the plurality of sequential location measurements collected from each of the plurality of probes to form a probe trace for each of the of the plurality of probes;

comparing a position of at least one of the plurality of probe traces with a position of a calculated path between the two end points, where the calculated path is formed from a plurality of linked transportation network segments, each of the linked transportation segments having at least one of a curved or linear shape, where the calculated path follows the road characteristics defined by the one or more attributes associated with the one or more of the linked transportation segments; and

identifying a potential error in the one or more attributes if a number of the plurality of probe traces deviating in position from the calculated path is greater than a deviation threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the fitting fits the trace segments to have at least one of a curved and linear shape based on a geometry of a group of the sequential location measurements, where at least the curved trace segment is represented by a function.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the comparing further includes, measuring a distance between the calculated path and at least one of the plurality of probe traces at one or more intervals between the two end points of the calculated path.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the measuring measures the distance at the one or more intervals by measuring the distance at which a perpendicular bisector at the one or more intervals intersects at least one of the plurality of probe traces.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein,

the comparing determines a number of the measured distances that is greater than a distance threshold for each of the one or more intervals, and

the identifying identifies the potential error in the one or more attributes associated with one or more of the linked transportation segments corresponding to the one or more intervals if the number of measured distances at the corresponding one or more intervals is greater than the deviation threshold.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the identifying further identifies potential errors in one or more attributes associated with one or more linked transportation segments in the network database separate from the calculated path that correspond to a position of the deviating probe traces at the one or more intervals if the number of measured distances at the one or more intervals is greater than the deviation threshold.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

updating the one or more attributes associated with one or more of the linked transportation segments corresponding to the one or more intervals by changing a value of the one or more attributes to indicate between one of allowed or prohibited road characteristics if the identifying identifies the potential error in the one or more attributes associated with one or more of the linked transportation segments.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more attributes are related to at least one of geographic indicators and traffic controls,

wherein geographic indicators include at least one of presence of road lanes, number of road lanes, type of road lanes, blocked passages, grade-separated crossings, elevation, and road gradients,

wherein traffic controls include at least one of legal speed limits, stop signs, yields, school zones, turn restrictions, lane change capability, or direction of road lanes,

wherein a value of the one or more attributes are configured to be variable according to a time of day.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the collecting collects the sequential location measurements based on probe trace data collected at least one of automatically at different time intervals and manually by prompting a user for input.

10. A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with computer executable instructions, which when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of claim 1.

11. A server for detecting errors in road characteristics defined by one or more attributes associated with a transportation network database, comprising:

a receiver configured to collect a plurality of sequential location measurements from each of a plurality of probes traversing between two end points;

a processor configured to fit trace segments having at least one of a curved and linear shape between the plurality of sequential location measurements collected from each of the of the plurality of probes to form a probe trace for each of the of the plurality of probes; and

a memory configured to store a plurality of linked transportation network segments, each of the linked transportation segments having at least one of a curved or linear shape, wherein

the processor is further configured to compare a position of at least one of the plurality of probe traces with a position of a calculated path between the two end points stored, where the calculated path is formed from the plurality of linked transportation network segments and the calculated path follows the road characteristics defined by the one or more attributes associated with the one or more of the linked transportation segments, and

the processor is configured to identify a potential error in the one or more attributes if a number of the plurality of probe traces deviating in position from the calculated path is greater than a deviation threshold.

12. The server of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to fit the trace segments to have at least one of a curved and linear shape based on a geometry of a group of the sequential location measurements, where at least the curved trace segment is represented by a function.

13. The server of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to measure a distance between the calculated path and at least one of the plurality of probe traces at one or more intervals between the two end points of the calculated path.

14. The server of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to measure the distance at the one or more intervals by measuring the distance at which a perpendicular bisector at the one or more intervals intersects at least one of the plurality of probe traces.

15. The server of claim 13, wherein, the processor is further configured to,

determine a number of the measured distances that is greater than a distance threshold for each of the one or more intervals, and

identify the potential error in the one or more attributes associated with one or more of the linked transportation segments corresponding to the one or more intervals if the number of measured distances at the corresponding one or more intervals is greater than the deviation threshold.

16. The server of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to identify potential errors in one or more attributes associated with one or more linked transportation segments in the network database separate from the calculated path that correspond to a position of the deviating probe traces at the one or more intervals if the number of measured distances at the one or more intervals is greater than the deviation threshold.

17. The server of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to update the one or more attributes stored in the memory associated with one or more of the linked transportation segments corresponding to the one or more intervals by changing a value of the one or more attributes to indicate between one of allowed and prohibited road characteristics if the identifying identifies the potential error in the one or more attributes associated with one or more of the linked transportation segments.

18. A method of detecting errors in attribution associated with transportation network segments that are part of a digital transportation database, comprising:

in a server computer, performing operations for;

collecting a plurality of sequential location measurements from each of a plurality of probes traversing between two end points;

calculating an optimal route between the two endpoints which traverses linked transportation network segments and adheres to traffic control attributes associated with the traversed linked transportation segments;

for each of the probes traversing between the two end points, comparing a position of at least one of the sequential location measurements with a nearest position along the optimal route; and

identifying a potential error in the one or more traffic control attributes if a number of the plurality of probe traces which have at least one sequential location measurement deviating in position from the calculated path is greater than a deviation threshold.