Intelligent route navigation

• US 9,476,724 B2
• Filed: 04/18/2016
• Issued: 10/25/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Caine, Horatio, Houston, Daniel S., Krastev, Mihail S., Wallis, Robert A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Olszewski, John R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Foster, Gerrad A
• Application Number:
  US15/131,344
• Publication Number:
  US 20160258769A1
• Time in Patent Office: 190 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3453 Special cost functions, i.e. other than distance or default speed limit of road segments
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3629 Guidance using speech or audio output, e.g. text-to-speech text to speech systems per se G10L13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3641 Personalized guidance, e.g. limited guidance on previously travelled routes
• 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

Abstract

Embodiments relate to providing navigation instructions to a user for reaching a destination via a route planned on a map of a navigation system, said map comprising a plurality of road segments, at least a subset of said road segments comprising an assigned familiarity score. An aspect includes tracking a route taken by a user. Another aspect includes calculating an updated familiarity score of the one or more road segments of the tracked route using at least one of a user-defined updating variable and an updating variable based on at least one dynamically obtained actual travelling condition. Yet another aspect includes storing the updated familiarity score in a data storage of the navigation system.

Claims

1. A method for providing navigation instructions to a user for reaching a destination via a planned route on a map of a navigation system, said map comprising a plurality of road segments, at least a subset of said road segments comprising an assigned familiarity score, the method comprising:

tracking the user'"'"'s travel along the planned route, which comprises one or more road segments;

calculating an updated familiarity score of the one or more road segments of the planned route using an updating variable based on at least one dynamically obtained actual weather condition; and

storing the updated familiarity score in a data storage of the navigation system.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the calculating of the updated familiarity score of the one or more road segments is further based on a user-defined updating variable, the user-defined updating variable being selected from a predetermined list of updating variables.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining navigation instructions for the planned route, which comprises a set of road segments;

selecting a subset of the navigation instructions based on the updated familiarity score of the set of road segments of the planned route; and

presenting the selected subset of navigation instructions during navigation.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the selected subset of the navigation instructions includes navigation instructions associated with a subset of the set of road segments, wherein the subset of road segments have respective familiarity scores below a predetermined threshold.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the calculating of the updated familiarity score of the one or more road segments is further based on a dynamically obtained actual travelling condition.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the actual travelling condition comprises an actual light condition and an actual traffic condition in an area of travel.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising dynamically obtaining the actual weather condition from an external data source.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the calculating of the updated familiarity score of the one or more road segments is further based on a frequency of use of said one or more road segments.

9. A system for providing navigation instructions to a user for reaching a destination via a planned route on a map of a navigation system, said map comprising a plurality of road segments, at least a subset of said road segments comprising an assigned familiarity score, the system comprising:

an input device configured to receive user input including the destination;

a display device configured to display at least a portion of the planned route, wherein the planned route comprises one or more road segments;

an audio device configured to output navigation instructions associated with the planned route; and

a processor configured to;

track the user'"'"'s travel along the one or more road segments of the planned route;

calculate an updated familiarity score of the one or more road segments of the planned route using an updating variable based on at least one dynamically obtained actual weather condition; and

store the updated familiarity score in a data storage of the navigation system.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the updated familiarity score of the one or more road segments is calculated further based on a user-defined updating variable, the user-defined updating variable being selected from a predetermined list of updating variables.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine navigation instructions for the planned route, which comprises a set of road segments;

select a subset of the navigation instructions based on the updated familiarity score of the set of road segments of the planned route; and

present the selected subset of navigation instructions during navigation.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the selected subset of the navigation instructions includes navigation instructions associated with a subset of the set of road segments, wherein the subset of road segments have respective familiarity scores below a predetermined threshold.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to replace the navigation instructions for the planned route with the selected subset of the navigation instructions.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to receive the actual weather condition from an external data source.

15. A computer program product for providing navigation instructions to a user for reaching a destination via a planned route on a map of a navigation system, said map comprising a plurality of road segments, at least a subset of said road segments comprising an assigned familiarity score, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program code embodied therewith, the program code being executable by a processor, and the program code comprising instructions to;

track the user'"'"'s travel along one or more road segments of the planned route;

calculate an updated familiarity score of the one or more road segments of the planned route using an updating variable based on at least one dynamically obtained actual weather condition; and

store the updated familiarity score in a data storage of the navigation system.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the updated familiarity score of the one or more road segments is calculated further based on a user-defined updating variable, the user-defined updating variable being selected from a predetermined list of updating variables.

17. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the program code further comprises instructions to:

determine navigation instructions for the planned route, which comprises a set of road segments;

select a subset of the navigation instructions based on the updated familiarity score of the set of road segments of the planned route; and

present the selected subset of navigation instructions during navigation.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the selected subset of the navigation instructions includes navigation instructions associated with a subset of the set of road segments, wherein the subset of road segments have respective familiarity scores below a predetermined threshold.

19. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the program code further comprises instructions to replace the navigation instructions for the planned route with the selected subset of the navigation instructions.

20. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the program code further comprises instructions to receive the actual weather condition from an external data source.