Human-like global positioning system (GPS) directions

• US 9,097,531 B2
• Filed: 12/04/2014
• Issued: 08/04/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Inventors: Karumuri, Ram Suman
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheung, Mary
• Assistant Examiner(s): BRUSHABER, FREDERICK M
• Application Number:
  US14/561,097
• Publication Number:
  US 20150088418A1
• Time in Patent Office: 243 Days
• Field of Search: 701/540
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3641 Personalized guidance, e.g. limited guidance on previously travelled routes
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/13 Receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method includes receiving a request for a route from a first geolocation to a second geolocation; calculating the route from the first geolocation to the second geolocation; identifying one or more inferred paths that coincide with at least a portion of the route; replacing one or more navigation instructions of the route with an abbreviated navigation instruction associated with the inferred paths; and providing a set of navigation instructions of the route that includes the abbreviated navigation instruction.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

by a computing device, receiving a request for a route from a first geolocation to a second geolocation;

by the computing device, calculating the route from the first geolocation to the second geolocation;

by the computing device, identifying one or more inferred paths that coincide with at least a portion of the route;

by the computing device, replacing one or more navigation instructions of the route with an abbreviated navigation instruction associated with the inferred paths; and

by the computing device, providing a set of navigation instructions of the route comprising the abbreviated navigation instruction.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the inferred paths are determined at least in part based on previous location data of a user.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising, by the computing device, polling a mobile computing device of a user to obtain the previous location data.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the previous location data comprises global positioning system (GPS) data received from a mobile computing device of the user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the abbreviated navigation instruction comprises navigation instructions to a geolocation associated with a user.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising, by the computing device, modifying one or more navigation instructions of the route to include the geolocation associated with the user.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising, by the computing device, accessing a social graph comprising a plurality of nodes and a plurality of edges connecting the nodes, and each node corresponding to an object associated with a social network, wherein the geolocation associated with the user corresponds to a particular node of the social graph.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the particular node comprises a node associated with a checkin by the user.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the particular node comprises a node associated with information of the user.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising, by the computing device, identifying a highest ranked inferred path based on an affinity coefficient between the user and the particular node.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising, by the computing device, identifying a highest ranked inferred path based at least in part on a length of the inferred paths.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising, by the computing device, identifying a highest ranked inferred path based on a frequency each of the inferred paths is traveled by a user.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising, by the computing device, providing one or more of the inferred paths to a user for confirmation.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising, by the computing device, receiving an input corresponding to a selection of one or more of the inferred paths by the user.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving the request for the route comprises receiving the request from an in-car navigation system.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving the request for the route comprises receiving the request from a route guidance application executing on a mobile computing device.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising, by the computing device, accessing a data store for the inferred paths.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein particular ones of the inferred paths are accessed based on an identifier of a user.

19. One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying software configured when executed to:

receive a request for a route from a first geolocation to a second geolocation;

by the computing device, calculating the route from the first geolocation to the second geolocation;

identify one or more inferred paths that coincide with at least a portion of the route;

replace one or more navigation instructions of the route with an abbreviated navigation instruction associated with the inferred paths; and

provide a set of navigation instructions of the route comprising the abbreviated navigation instruction.

20. A device comprising:

a processor; and

one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media coupled to the processor and embodying software that;

receive a request for a route from a first geolocation to a second geolocation;

by the computing device, calculating the route from the first geolocation to the second geolocation;

identify one or more inferred paths that coincide with at least a portion of the route;

replace one or more navigation instructions of the route with an abbreviated navigation instruction associated with the inferred paths; and

provide a set of navigation instructions of the route comprising the abbreviated navigation instruction.