Geographic space management

• US 9,792,288 B2
• Filed: 07/16/2015
• Issued: 10/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2015
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Green Market Square Limited
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Gotoh, Yasuhisa, Miyahira, Tomohiro, Sasaki, Taku, Tanibayashi, Makoto
• Primary Examiner(s): Shaawat, Mussa A
• Assistant Examiner(s): KIM, KYUNG J
• Application Number:
  US14/800,782
• Publication Number:
  US 20160370195A1
• Time in Patent Office: 824 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/005 with correlation of navigation data from several sources, e.g. map or contour matching G01C21/30 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3407 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3881 Tile-based structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/444 Spatial browsing, e.g. 2D maps, 3D or virtual spaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus

Abstract

At least one subsystem among the plurality of subsystems includes a managing section operable to manage individual route information for routes in a management target region of the at least one subsystem among the plurality of regions and adjacent route information for routes positioned in a partial range from a boundary of the management target region among routes in an adjacent region that is adjacent to the management target region, and an identifying section operable to identify the route on which the moving object is positioned based on the observation position, by using the individual route information and the adjacent route information managed by the at least one subsystem. Also provided is a method and computer program product.

Claims

1. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a computer to cause the computer to perform operations comprising:

managing, via a first subsystem, a first information region and a first management region, wherein the first information region is a first portion of a geographic space including a first route, and the first management region is the first portion of geographic space in which the first subsystem manages a first plurality of mobile objects;

managing, via an adjacent subsystem, an adjacent information region and an adjacent management region, wherein the adjacent information region is a second portion of the geographic space including a second route, wherein the portion of the adjacent information region overlaps the first information region forming a redundant region, wherein the adjacent management region is the portion of the geographic space adjacent to the first management region in which the adjacent subsystem manages a second plurality of mobile objects, and wherein a management boundary is located in the redundant region;

wherein management of a first mobile object of the first plurality of mobile objects comprises;

managing individual route information for routes located in the first information region;

determining a route on which the first mobile object is positioned based on an obtained position of the first mobile object and the individual route information;

determining an event located on the route on which the first mobile object is positioned; and

notifying the first mobile object of the event; and

changing the management boundary based on the load of the first subsystem, wherein changing the management boundary causes at least one of the plurality of first mobile objects to be managed by the second subsystem.

2. The computer program product according to claim 1, wherein the identifying the route includes:

identifying a first route candidate for the route on which the moving object is positioned within the management target region, by using the individual route information;

identifying a second route candidate for the route on which the moving object is positioned within the adjacent region, by using the adjacent route information, on a condition that the observation position is closer to the boundary of the management target region than the route of the first route candidate; and

identifying the route on which the moving object is positioned while prioritizing the route of the second route candidate over the route of the first route candidate, in response to the observation position being closer to the route of the second route candidate than the route of the first route candidate.

3. The computer program product according to claim 1, wherein the managing includes managing, as the adjacent route information, information concerning a portion of routes selected as routes whose distance to a geographic point on the boundary of the management target region is shorter, from among a plurality of routes positioned within the partial range in the adjacent region.

4. The computer program product according to claim 1, wherein the identifying the route includes identifying a plurality of candidates for routes on which the moving object is positioned based on the observation position, by using the individual route information and the adjacent route information managed by the at least one subsystem.

5. The computer program product according to claim 1, wherein the respectively managing with the plurality of subsystems further includes:

dividing each of the plurality of regions into block units and performing management in block units; and

managing the adjacent route information for routes within each block included in the partial range.

6. The computer program product according to claim 1, wherein the managing includes excluding, from the adjacent route information, any route from among the plurality of routes positioned in the partial range in the adjacent region having a distance to a geographic point on the boundary of the management target region greater than any route positioned within the management target region.

7. The computer program product according to claim 1, wherein the managing includes selecting routes while prioritizing routes having a distance to a geographic point on the boundary of the management target region that is not greater than the distance to a geographic point on the boundary of the management target region of any route within the management target region, from among the plurality of routes positioned within the partial range in the adjacent region, and manage the selected routes as the adjacent route information.

8. The computer program product according to claim 1, wherein the identifying the route includes identifying, as the plurality of candidates for routes on which the moving object is positioned, routes within a threshold error range from the observation position, by using the individual route information and the adjacent route information managed by the at least one subsystem.

9. The computer program product according to claim 1, wherein the identifying the route includes selecting candidates from among the plurality of candidates for the route on which the moving object is positioned while prioritizing routes on which the moving object has been positioned in the past.