Adjusting heights for road path indicators

• US 9,418,485 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2013
• Issued: 08/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Lindberg, Adrian, Fahlberg, Per, Lindkvisk, Elisabeth
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhai, Kyle
• Application Number:
  US13/907,846
• Publication Number:
  US 20140354628A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,173 Days
• Field of Search: 345/419
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 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 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/05 Geographic models
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/20 Editing of 3D images, e.g. changing shapes or colours, aligning objects or positioning parts
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2219/2016 Rotation, translation, scaling
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2219/2021 Shape modification

Abstract

Some embodiments provide a mapping application that receives input to adjust an amount of tilt from which to view a 3D map for a viewing mode in which the 3D map is specified to be textured with camera captured images (CCIs) of the real world. The mapping application also adjusts a set of heights for a set of road path indicators in the 3D map based on the adjusted amount of tilt. Each road path indicator indicates a path of a road in the 3D map. The mapping application further displays the 3D map with the adjusted amount of tilt and the set of road path indicators at the adjusted set of heights in the 3D map.

Claims

1. A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing a mapping application which when executed on a device by at least one processing unit of a device provides views of a three-dimensional (3D) map, the mapping application comprising sets of instructions for:

for a viewing mode in which the 3D map is specified to be textured with camera captured images (CCIs) of the real world, receiving input to adjust an amount of tilt from which to view the 3D map;

based on the adjusted amount of tilt, adjusting a height for a road path indicator in the 3D map, the road path indicator graphically representing a road ribbon for a path of a road in the 3D map, wherein adjusting the height of the road path indicator includes changing a spacing between the road path indicator and a surface of the 3D map along which the road that corresponds to the road path indicator runs; and

displaying the 3D map with the adjusted amount of tilt and the road path indicators at the adjusted height in the 3D map.

2. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, the mapping application further comprising a set of instructions for:

when the adjusted amount of tilt is less than a threshold amount, displaying the 3D map with the adjusted amount of tilt without the road path indicator in the 3D map.

3. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, the mapping application further comprising a set of instructions for:

when the adjusted amount of tilt is less than a threshold amount, displaying the 3D map with the adjusted amount of tilt and only road path indicator that indicates path for a defined type of road in the 3D map.

4. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 3, wherein the defined type of road includes highways.

5. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the set of instructions for adjusting the height for the road path indicator in the 3D map comprises a set of instructions for increasing the height of the road path indicator in the 3D map when the adjusted amount of tilt is an increase in the amount of tilt.

6. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the set of instructions for adjusting the height for the road path indicator in the 3D map comprises a set of instructions for decreasing the height for the road path indicator in the 3D map when the adjusted amount of tilt is a decrease in the amount of tilt.

7. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the set of instructions for decreasing the height for the road path indicator in the 3D map comprises a set of instructions for decreasing the height for the road path indicator so that the road path indicator follows the contours of the 3D map without colliding with the 3D map.

8. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the road path indicator forms part of a set of road path indicators, and wherein the set of instructions for displaying the 3D map with the adjusted amount of tilt and the road path indicator at the adjusted height in the 3D map comprises a set of instructions for:

displaying the road path indicator that indicates a path for a first type of road in the 3D map with a first appearance; and

displaying the road path indicator indicates a paths for a second type of road in the 3D map with a second, different appearance.

9. A device comprising:

a display screen;

at least one processing unit; and

a storage storing a mapping program which when executed by the processing unit generates views of a three-dimensional (3D) map, the mapping program comprising sets of instructions for;

identifying roads in the 3D map, the 3D map specified to be textured with camera captured images (CCIs) of the real world;

generating meshes in the 3D map for the identified roads, each mesh graphically representing at least one road ribbon for at least one path of at least one identified road in the 3D map;

based on a tilt angle of a virtual camera for identifying a position in the 3D map from which to render the 3D map, adjusting heights of the meshes in 3D map by changing a spacing between a respective mesh and a surface of the 3D map along which a road that corresponds to the mesh runs; and

rendering a view of the 3D map with the meshes at the adjusted heights in the 3D map in order to graphically indicate the paths of the roads in the view of the 3D map.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the mapping program further comprises sets of instructions for determining distances from each mesh in the 3D map to the position of the virtual camera in the 3D map, wherein the set of instructions for rendering the view of the 3D map with the meshes at the adjusted heights in the 3D map comprises a set of instructions for rendering only the meshes having a determined distance less than a threshold distance.

11. The device of claim 9, wherein the set of instructions for adjusting heights of the meshes in 3D map comprises a set of instructions for adjusting heights of the meshes in 3D map further based on a height field of the 3D map that describes the heights of the terrain of the 3D map.

12. The device of claim 9, wherein the set of instructions for generating meshes in the 3D map for the identified roads comprises a set of instructions for positioning the meshes over the corresponding identified roads in the 3D map.

13. The device of claim 9, wherein the mapping program further comprises a set of instructions for receiving input to adjust the tilt angle of the virtual camera.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein the input to adjust the tilt angle of the virtual camera comprise a multi-touch gesture input.

15. The device of claim 9, wherein the mapping program further comprises a set of instructions for adjusting the meshes in 3D map along paths that run from the virtual camera through the meshes in the 3D map based on the tilt angle of the virtual camera.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the set of instructions for adjusting the meshes in 3D map along paths that run from the virtual camera through the meshes in the 3D map comprises a set of instructions for adjusting the meshes along the paths away from the virtual camera when the tilt angle of the virtual camera is at low tilt angles.

17. The device of claim 15, wherein the set of instructions for adjusting the meshes in 3D map along paths that run from the virtual camera through the meshes in the 3D map comprises a set of instructions for adjusting the meshes along the paths towards the virtual camera when the tilt angle of the virtual camera is at high tilt angles.

18. For a mapping application, a method for providing views of a three-dimensional (3D) map, the method comprising:

providing a user interface (UI) control for switching between a first viewing mode that provides views of the 3D map textured mapped with camera captured images (CCIs) of the real world and a second viewing mode that provides views of the 3D map that are textured mapped with the CCIs of the real world and that include a set of road path indicators that graphically represent road ribbons for paths of one or more roads of the 3D map; and

when receiving input to adjust a 3D perspective from which to view the 3D map while operating in the second viewing mode, adjusting heights of the set of road path indicators in the 3D map in order to prevent map elements in the 3D map from occluding the set of road path indicators, wherein adjusting the heights of the set of road path indicators in the 3D map includes changing a spacing between a respective road path indicator and a surface of the 3D map along which a road that corresponds to the road path indicator runs.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein adjusting heights of the set of road path indicators in 3D map comprises adjusting heights of the set of road path indicators in 3D map to a same height in the 3D map when the 3D perspective from which to view the 3D map while operating in the second viewing mode is position in a top-down perspective view of the 3D map.

20. The method of claim 18 further comprising when the adjusted amount of tilt is less than a threshold amount, not displaying the set of road path indicators.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising when the adjusted 3D perspective from which to view the 3D map is less than a threshold amount, displaying only road path indicators in the set of road path indicators that indicate paths for a defined type of road in the 3D map.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the defined type of road includes highways.