System and method for providing georeferenced predictive information to motor vehicles

• US 8,990,005 B2
• Filed: 04/22/2011
• Issued: 03/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BMW AG (Bayerische Motoren Werke AG)
• Original Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Inventors: Hein, Robert, Winckler, Andreas
• Primary Examiner(s): Badii, Behrang
• Application Number:
  US13/092,473
• Publication Number:
  US 20120271544A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,432 Days
• Field of Search: 701/411, 701/20, 701/301, 701/414, 701/13, 701/540, 701/117, 701/423, 701/3, 340/903, 340/995.19, 340/995.13, 370/328, 315/154, 709/203, 705/7.26, 705/7.25
• US Class Current: 701/400
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/30 Map- or contour-matching
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3407 specially adapted for specific applications
• 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 21/3461 Preferred or disfavoured areas, e.g. dangerous zones, toll or emission zones, intersections, manoeuvre types, segments such as motorways, toll roads, ferries
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3617 using user history, behaviour, conditions or preferences, e.g. predicted or inferred from previous use or current movement
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3679 Retrieval, searching and output of POI information, e.g. hotels, restaurants, shops, filling stations, parking facilities G01C21/3611 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3691 Retrieval, searching and output of information related to real-time traffic, weather, or environmental conditions arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions G08G1/09
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096827 where the route is computed onboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096872 where instructions are given per voice

Abstract

Georeferenced predictive information is provided by a backend server system to vehicles. Such provided predictive information may be specifically relevant to a provided planned or estimated route of the particular vehicle, and may be used by the vehicle to reconstruct a digital map specific to such planned or estimated route.

Claims

1. A method for providing georeferenced predictive information to motor vehicles, the method comprising the acts of:

receiving, by one or more backend servers from a vehicle over a wireless network, vehicle route information corresponding to a vehicle route, wherein the vehicle route information comprises digital map data organized into nodes and links having specific data describing route attributes;

reconstructing the vehicle route on a server-side digital map, by the one or more backend servers, using the vehicle route information received from the vehicle;

populating, by the one or more backend servers, the server-side digital map with predictive information that is relevant to the vehicle route, wherein the predictive information is georeferenced to a particular location or area;

converting, by the one or more backend servers, the predictive information into a format corresponding to the vehicle; and

transmitting, by one or more backend servers over the wireless network, the predictive information to the vehicle, wherein the transmitted predictive information is configured to be used by the vehicle in constructing and displaying the vehicle route on a vehicle-side digital map.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the vehicle route information comprises receiving, by one or more backend servers over the wireless network, a planned vehicle route from a navigational system of the vehicle based on user-defined destination information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the vehicle route information comprises receiving, by one or more backend servers over the wireless network, an estimated vehicle route from the vehicle based, at least in part, on driver habit information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the predictive information comprises identifying, by the one or more backend servers, a subset of the available predictive information that identifies one or more current conditions affecting at least a portion of the vehicle route.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, by one or more backend servers over the wireless network, information from the vehicle corresponding to a version of the vehicle-side digital map.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein converting the identified predictive information comprises converting, by the one or more backend servers, the identified predictive information into the format corresponding to the vehicle based on said version of the vehicle-side digital map.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the predictive information comprises information corresponding to one or more of traffic conditions, weather conditions, traffic light phase and timing information and approaching speed limits.

8. A system for providing georeferenced predictive information to motor vehicles, the system comprising:

a backend server system coupled to a wireless connection and configured to;

receive, from a vehicle, vehicle route information corresponding to a vehicle route, wherein the vehicle route information comprises digital map data organized into nodes and links having specific data describing route attributes,

reconstruct the vehicle route on a server-side digital map using the vehicle route information received from the vehicle,

populate the server-side digital map with predictive information that is relevant to the vehicle route, wherein the predictive information is georeferenced to a particular location or area,

convert the predictive information into a format corresponding to the vehicle, and

transmit, over the wireless network, the predictive information to the vehicle, wherein the transmitted predictive information is configured to be used by the vehicle in constructing and displaying the vehicle route on a vehicle-side digital map.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the vehicle route information is a planned vehicle route, and wherein the backend server system is further configured to receive the planned vehicle route, over the wireless network, from a navigational system of the vehicle based on user-defined destination information.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the vehicle route information is an estimated vehicle route based, at least in part, on driver habit information.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the backend server system is further configured to identify the predictive information by identifying a subset of the available predictive information that identifies one or more current conditions affecting at least a portion of the vehicle route.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the backend server system is further configured to receive, over the wireless network, information from the vehicle corresponding to a version of the vehicle-side digital map.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the backend server system is configured to convert the identified predictive information by converting the identified predictive information into the format corresponding to the vehicle based on said version of the vehicle-side digital map.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the predictive information comprises information corresponding to one or more of traffic conditions, weather conditions, traffic light phase and timing information and approaching speed limits.

15. A computer program product comprising:

a processor storage medium having computer executable program code embodied therein to provide georeferenced predictive information to motor vehicles, the processor storage medium having;

computer executable program code to reconstruct a vehicle route on a server-side digital map based on vehicle route information that was provided by a vehicle, wherein the vehicle route information comprises digital map data organized into nodes and links having specific data describing route attributes,

computer executable program code to populate the server-side digital map with predictive information that is relevant to the vehicle route, wherein the predictive information is georeferenced to a particular location or area,

computer executable program code to convert the predictive information into a format corresponding to the vehicle, and

computer executable program code to provide the predictive information to the vehicle, wherein the transmitted predictive is configured to be used by the vehicle in constructing and displaying the vehicle route on a vehicle-side digital map.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the vehicle route information comprises a planned vehicle route provided by a navigational system of the vehicle based on user-defined destination information.

17. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the vehicle route information comprises an estimated vehicle route based, at least in part, on driver habit information.

18. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the computer executable program code to identify the predictive information comprises computer executable program code to identify a subset of the available predictive information that identifies one or more current conditions affecting at least a portion of the vehicle route.

19. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the computer executable program code to convert the identified predictive information comprises computer executable program code to convert the identified predictive information into the format corresponding to the vehicle based on a version of the vehicle-side digital map provided by the vehicle.

20. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the predictive information comprises information corresponding to one or more of traffic conditions, weather conditions, traffic light phase and timing information and approaching speed limits.