Integrating maps and street views

• US 9,280,272 B2
• Filed: 04/10/2012
• Issued: 03/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Unnikrishnan, Sreejit, De, Arijit, Katragadda, Lalitesh Kumar, Komaragiri, Vihari
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Matt
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lu, Hua
• Application Number:
  US14/110,705
• Publication Number:
  US 20140053077A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,428 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/206 specially adapted for indoor navigation
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3647 Guidance involving output of stored or live camera images or video streams
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3664 Details of the user input interface, e.g. buttons, knobs or sliders, including those provided on a touch screen; remote controllers; input using gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/367 Details, e.g. road map scale, orientation, zooming, illumination, level of detail, scrolling of road map or positioning of current position marker
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/00 Geometric image transformations in the plane of the image
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/007 using computer methods

Abstract

Methods and systems for improved integration of an overhead representation (e.g., a map) with a street view representation. A user interface with at least two regions is output for display to a user. One region includes an overhead representation of an area and an interactive control overlaid onto the overhead representation. Another region includes a street view perspective that has a point of view corresponding to a position and directional orientation of the interactive control. Information about a user input that adjusts the interactive control is received and the street view perspective is updated to track the control as it is adjusted. The field of view of the street view perspective may be reflected in the appearance of the interactive control. Additionally, the street view perspective may follow the location of a marker as it is moved around the overhead representation.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method, comprising:

outputting, for display in a first region of a user interface, an overhead representation of an area;

outputting a visual indicator for display on the overhead representation, the visual indicator having a position, a directional orientation, and an appearance;

outputting, for display in a second region of the user interface, a street view perspective of the area, the street view perspective having a point of view that corresponds to the position and directional orientation of the visual indicator and a size of a field of view that corresponds to the appearance of the visual indicator;

identifying a plurality of features within the overhead representation of the area that are also within the street view perspective of the area, each of the plurality of features associated with map data describing a location of the feature and other attribute information of the feature; and

projecting the plurality of identified features onto the overhead representation of the area, wherein the projecting comprises marking the plurality of identified features in the overhead representation in a manner that visually distinguishes the identified features from features within the overhead representation of the area that are not within the street view perspective of the area.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual indicator is an interactive control, the method further comprising:

receiving information about a first user input that adjusts the directional orientation of the interactive control by rotating the interactive control; and

updating the street view perspective to track the directional orientation of the interactive control as the interactive control is rotated.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

receiving information about a second user input that changes the position of the interactive control by dragging the interactive control around the overhead representation of the area; and

updating the street view perspective to track the position of the interactive control as the control is dragged around the overhead representation.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual indicator comprises a cone, and an angular size of the cone corresponds to the size of the field of view.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual indicator is partially transparent.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the area is an area of a map.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying, on the overhead representation, a visual marker indicating a stored location of a feature on the map; and

responsive to the user moving the marker to a new location, updating the stored location of the feature to the new location.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 7, further comprising:

updating the street view perspective to show the new location of the marker.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the other attribute information of the feature describes at least one of:

a name, shape, and size of the feature.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of features comprise at least one of:

a road, park, body of water, building, and business.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein a feature of the plurality of features is a building and wherein identifying the plurality of features within the overhead representation of the area that are also within the street view perspective of the area comprises:

identifying the building as being within the overhead representation of the area and also within the street view perspective of the area using a previously stored association between an image of the street view perspective of the area and the building.

12. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer code, the code when executed by the processor causes the processor to perform steps comprising;

outputting, for display in a first region of a user interface, an overhead representation of an area;

outputting a visual indicator for display on the overhead representation, the visual indicator having a position, a directional orientation, and an appearance;

outputting, for display in a second region of the user interface, a street view perspective of the area, the street view perspective having a point of view that corresponds to the position and directional orientation of the visual indicator and a size of a field of view that corresponds to the appearance of the visual indicator;

identifying a plurality of features within the overhead representation of the area that are also within the street view perspective of the area, each of the plurality of features associated with map data describing a location of the feature and other attribute information of the feature; and

projecting the plurality of identified features onto the overhead representation of the area, wherein the projecting comprises marking the plurality of identified features in the overhead representation in a manner that visually distinguishes the identified features from features within the overhead representation of the area that are not within the street view perspective of the area.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the visual indicator is an interactive control, the code when executed by the processor causes the processor to perform steps further comprising:

receiving information about a first user input that adjusts the directional orientation of the interactive control by rotating the interactive control; and

updating the street view perspective to track the directional orientation of the interactive control as the interactive control is rotated.

14. The system of claim 13 further comprising code when executed by the processor causes the processor to perform the steps:

receiving information about a second user input that changes the position of the interactive control by dragging the interactive control around the overhead representation of the area; and

updating the street view perspective to track the position of the interactive control as the control is dragged around the overhead representation.

15. The system of claim 13 further comprising code when executed by the processor causes the processor to perform the steps:

receiving information about a second user input that tilts the interactive control; and

updating the street view perspective to track the directional orientation of the interactive control as the interactive control is tilted.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the visual indicator comprises a cone, and an angular size of the cone corresponds to the size of the field of view.

17. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing executable computer program code for controlling a processor to perform steps comprising:

outputting, for display in a first region of a user interface, an overhead representation of an area;

outputting a visual indicator for display on the overhead representation, the visual indicator having a position, a directional orientation, and an appearance;

outputting, for display in a second region of the user interface, a street view perspective of the area, the street view perspective having a point of view that corresponds to the position and directional orientation of the visual indicator and a size of a field of view that corresponds to the appearance of the visual indicator;

identifying a plurality of features within the overhead representation of the area that are also within the street view perspective of the area, each of the plurality of features associated with map data describing a location of the feature and other attribute information of the feature; and

projecting the plurality of identified features onto the overhead representation of the area, wherein the projecting comprises marking the plurality of identified features in the overhead representation in a manner that visually distinguishes the identified features from features within the overhead representation of the area that are not within the street view perspective of the area.

18. The computer program product of claim 17 wherein the visual indicator is an interactive control and further comprising program code to perform steps comprising:

receiving information about a first user input that adjusts the directional orientation of the interactive control by rotating the interactive control; and

updating the street view perspective to track the directional orientation of the interactive control as the interactive control is rotated.

19. The computer program product of claim 18 further comprising program code to perform steps comprising:

receiving information about a second user input that changes the position of the interactive control by dragging the interactive control around the overhead representation of the area; and

updating the street view perspective to track the position of the interactive control as the control is dragged around the overhead representation.

20. The computer program product of claim 18 further comprising program code to perform the steps comprising:

receiving information about a second user input that tilts the interactive control; and

updating the street view perspective to track the directional orientation of the interactive control as the interactive control is tilted.

21. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the visual indicator comprises a cone, and an angular size of the cone corresponds to the size of the field of view.