Directions based on predicted future travel conditions

• US 9,709,413 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2013
• Issued: 07/18/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cellco Partnership, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cellco Partnership, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Caceres, Manuel E., Jackowski, Craig, Li, Yuk Lun
• Primary Examiner(s): Mawari, Redhwan K
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sood, Anshul
• Application Number:
  US14/104,343
• Publication Number:
  US 20150168169A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,314 Days
• Field of Search: 701414, 701423, 701537
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3492 employing speed data or traffic data, e.g. real-time or historical traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0112 from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0133 for classifying traffic situation
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0141 for traffic information dissemination
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096811 where the route is computed offboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096844 where the complete route is dynamically recomputed based on new data

Abstract

A device is configured to receive a request for directions from a user device. The device determines a start time, a start location, and a destination location for the directions. The device determines a route from the start location to the destination location and obtains travel condition information corresponding to the route. The travel condition information indicates a traffic condition or a weather condition. The device predicts a future travel condition along the route based on the travel condition information and the start time. The device generates the directions based on the future travel condition and provides the directions to the user device.

Claims

1. A device, comprising:

one or more processors to;

receive a request for directions from a user device;

determine a start time, a start location, and a destination location for the directions;

determine that the user device is currently on a past route from the start location to the destination location based on past pattern information,

the past route being included in the past pattern information;

obtain travel condition information corresponding to the past route,

the travel condition information indicating at least one of a traffic condition or a weather condition;

predict a future travel condition along the past route based on the travel condition information and the start time,

the travel condition information including information indicating a weather condition at a time prior to a current time, and

the future travel condition including;

a predicted weather condition at a predicted arrival time at the destination location, and

a predicted road condition, along the past route, that is predicted based on the weather condition at the time prior to the current time;

generate directions for an alternate route based on the future travel condition,

the alternate route being different from one or more routes, generated for one or more other user devices, to mitigate the future travel condition,

the alternate route and the one or more routes including the start location and a particular intermediary location, and

the alternate route having a different route toward the particular intermediary location than the one or more routes; and

provide, to the user device, the directions for the alternate route, information identifying the predicted weather condition, and information identifying the predicted arrival time.

2. The device of claim 1, where the one or more processors are further to:

generate a different start time to address the future travel condition.

3. The device of claim 1, where the one or more processors are further to:

obtain the past pattern information,

the past pattern information indicating at least one location to which the user device has previously traveled; and

predict the destination location based on the past pattern information.

4. The device of claim 1, where the one or more processors are to:

obtain current travel information indicating at least one of;

a current location of the user device,

a location where the user device started moving, or

a current route the user device is using; and

predict the destination location based on the past pattern information and the current travel information.

5. The device of claim 1, where the predicted weather condition is associated with a first weight and the predicted road condition is associated with a second weight;

and

where the one or more processors, when generating the directions for the alternate route, are to;

generate the directions for the alternate route based on the first weight and the second weight.

6. The device of claim 1, where the one or more processors are further to:

generate directions for multiple alternate routes based on the future travel condition.

7. The device of claim 1, where the one or more processors, when providing, to the user device, the directions for the alternate route, are to:

provide, to the user device, the directions for the alternate route, instead of directions for the one or more routes, based on an order in which requests for directions are received from the user device and the one or more other user devices.

8. A computer-readable medium storing instructions, the instructions comprising:

a plurality of instructions that, when executed by a processor of a device, cause the processor to;

receive a request for directions from a user device;

determine a start time, a start location, and a destination location for the directions;

determine that the user device is currently on a past route from the start location to the destination location based on past pattern information,

the past route being included in the past pattern information;

obtain travel condition information related to the past route,

the travel condition information indicating at least one of a current condition along the past route or a planned condition along the past route;

predict a first future travel condition that intersects the past route at a future time based on the start time, the travel condition information, information regarding a first segment of the past route, and a second future travel condition for a second segment of the past route,

the travel condition information including at least one of;

information indicating a weather condition at a time prior to a current time,

information regarding a location, of the user device, prior to the start location,

information regarding a speed, of the user device, prior to the start time, or

information regarding an acceleration, of the user device, prior to the start time;

generate directions for an alternate route based on the first future travel condition,

the alternate route being different from one or more routes, generated for one or more other user devices, to mitigate the first future travel condition,

the alternate route and the one or more routes including the start location and a particular intermediary location, and

the alternate route having a different route toward the particular intermediary location than the one or more routes; and

provide the directions for the alternate route to the user device.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the travel condition information is obtained by crowdsourcing a plurality of user devices and from a server device.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the travel condition information indicates at least one of a planned route or a planned destination location for a plurality of user devices,

where the plurality of instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to:

determine an intersect location where the plurality of user devices will intersect the past route at the future time based on the at least one of the planned route or the planned destination location for the plurality of user devices; and

where the plurality of instructions, that cause the processor to predict the first future travel condition, cause the processor to;

predict the first future travel condition based on the intersect location.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the travel condition information indicates a predicted weather pattern, and

where the plurality of instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to:

determine an intersect location where the predicted weather pattern will intersect the past route at the future time; and

where the plurality of instructions, that cause the processor to predict the first future travel condition, cause the processor to;

predict the first future travel condition based on the intersect location.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the travel condition information indicates a timing of a traffic light, and

where the plurality of instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:

determine an amount of traffic caused by the traffic light at the future time based on the timing of the traffic light; and

where the plurality of instructions, that cause the processor to predict the first future travel condition, cause the processor to;

predict the first future travel condition based on the amount of traffic.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the first future travel condition corresponds to an amount of traffic at a location along the past route at the future time, and

where the amount of traffic is independent of an amount of traffic present at the location along the past route at the current time.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the first future travel condition is a weather condition at a location along the past route at the future time, and

where the weather condition is independent of a weather condition present at the location along the past route at the current time.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the directions include information, about the first future travel condition, to be displayed on the user device.

16. A method, comprising:

identifying, by a device, that a user device is currently on a past route to a destination location based on past pattern information and without receiving a request for directions,

the past route being included in the past pattern information;

acquiring, by the device, travel condition information associated with the past route,

the travel condition information indicating a travel condition along the past route;

predicting, by the device, a future travel condition occurring at a future time along the past route based on the travel condition information and a start time,

the travel condition information including information indicating a particular weather condition at a time prior to a current time, and

predicting the future travel condition including;

predicting a weather condition at an arrival time at the destination location, and

predicting a road condition, along the past route, based on the particular weather condition at the time prior to the current time;

generating, by the device, directions for an alternate route based on the future travel condition,

the alternate route being different from one or more routes, generated for one or more other user devices, to mitigate the future travel condition,

the alternate route and the one or more routes including a starting location and a particular intermediary location, and

the alternate route having a different route toward the particular intermediary location than the one or more routes; and

transmitting, by the device and to the user device for display, the directions for the alternate route, information identifying the predicted weather condition, and the arrival time.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

determining the arrival time at the destination location based on the future travel condition.

18. The method of claim 16, where the road condition is independent of a road condition present along the past route at the current time.

19. The method of claim 16, where generating the directions for the alternate route includes:

generating the directions for the alternate route based on a plurality of start times.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

updating the future travel condition based on updated travel condition information;

generating updated directions based on the updated future travel condition; and

providing the updated directions to the user device.