Unmapped terrain navigational system

• US 20050043881A1
• Filed: 05/12/2004
• Published: 02/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Brulle-Drews, Christian, Schirmer, Hartmut
• Granted Patent: US 7,321,823 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/200
• 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 21/3644 Landmark guidance, e.g. using POIs or conspicuous other objects
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3655 Timing of guidance instructions

Abstract

A navigational system provides information on unmapped terrain based on a waypoint positioned between a point of departure and a destination. The navigational system includes position data stored in a memory and communication logic. The position data represents a current position and a waypoint position in an unmapped space. The memory includes navigational information about the waypoint. The communication logic audibly communicates the navigational information to a vehicle operator.

Claims

1. A method for vehicle navigation, comprising:

establishing a first path waypoint in unmapped space in a navigational system;

establishing a current position in the unmapped space;

generating navigational information for the first path waypoint based on the current position; and

acoustically communicating the navigational information for the first path waypoint.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing a first path waypoint range, and where the act of acoustically communicating occurs when the current position in within the first path waypoint range.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the act of:

establishing a subsequent path waypoint into the navigational system,

and where the act of acoustically communicating further comprises acoustically communicating navigational information for the subsequent path waypoint.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

establishing an attribute waypoint in the navigational system;

generating navigational information for the attribute waypoint based on the current position; and

acoustically communicating the navigational information for the attribute waypoint.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

establishing an attribute waypoint range,

and where the act of acoustically communicating the navigational information for the attribute waypoint occurs when the current position is within the attribute waypoint range.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

accepting a request for the navigational information; and

where the act of acoustically communicating occurs in response to the request.

7. The method of claim 1, where the navigational information comprises current position data or distance data or direction data or deviation data or estimated time of arrival data or waypoint attribute data.

8. The method of claim 2, further comprising the act of determining when the current position is within the first path waypoint range based on a shortest distance metric.

9. The method of claim 2, further comprising the act of determining when the current position is within the first path waypoint range based on a pre-determined path.

10. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

establishing a first path waypoint range, and where the acts of acoustically communicating the navigational information for the first path waypoint and acoustically communicating the navigational information for the attribute waypoint comprises;

communicating the navigational information for the first path waypoint and not the navigational information for the attribute waypoint when the current position in with the first path waypoint range and outside the attribute waypoint range;

communicating the navigational information for the attribute waypoint and not the navigational information for the first path waypoint when the current position is outside the first path waypoint range and within the attribute waypoint range; and

communicating both the navigational information for the first path waypoint and the navigational information for the attribute waypoint when the current position is within the first path waypoint range and within the attribute waypoint range.

11. A navigational system comprising:

position data stored in a memory comprising a current position in an unmapped space and a first path waypoint position for a first path waypoint in the unmapped space;

navigational information stored in the memory for the first path waypoint based on the current position;

communication logic that acoustically communicates the navigational information for the first path waypoint.

12. The navigational system of claim 11, where the communication logic comprises a voice synthesizer.

13. The navigational system of claim 11, further comprising range data stored in the memory comprising a first path waypoint range.

14. The navigational system of claim 13, where the communication logic acoustically communicates the navigational information for the first path waypoint when the current position is within the first path waypoint range.

15. The navigational system of claim 13, where the position data comprises multiple path waypoint positions including the first path waypoint position for multiple path waypoints, and where the range data comprises multiple path waypoint ranges including the first path waypoint range.

16. The navigational system of claim 15, where the communication logic acoustically communicates navigational information for a selected path waypoint in the multiple path waypoints when the current position is within a path waypoint range in the multiple path waypoint ranges associated with the selected path waypoint.

17. The navigational system of claim 11, further comprising waypoint attribute data for an attribute waypoint and an attribute waypoint range associated with the attribute waypoint.

18. The navigational system of claim 17, where the communication logic acoustically communicates navigational information for the attribute waypoint when the current position is within the attribute waypoint range.

19. The navigational system of claim 11, further comprising an operator input for accepting an on-request navigation input.

20. A machine readable medium encoded with instructions that cause a navigational system to perform a method comprising the acts of:

establishing a first path waypoint in unmapped space in a navigational system;

establishing a current position in the unmapped space;

initiating generation of navigational information for the first path waypoint based on the current position; and

acoustically communicating the navigational information for the first path waypoint.

21. The machine readable medium of claim 20, further comprising:

establishing a first path waypoint range, and where the act of acoustically communicating occurs when the current position in within the first path waypoint range.

22. The machine readable medium of claim 20, further comprising:

establishing an attribute waypoint in the navigational system;

initiating generation of navigational information for the attribute waypoint based on the current position; and

acoustically communicating the navigational information for the attribute waypoint.

23. The machine readable medium of claim 22, further comprising:

establishing an attribute waypoint range for the attribute waypoint,

and where the act of acoustically communicating the navigational information for the attribute waypoint occurs when the current position is within the attribute waypoint range.

24. The machine readable medium of claim 21, further comprising determining whether the current position is within the first path waypoint range based on a time metric or a distance metric.

25. The machine readable medium of claim 23, further comprising determining whether the current position is within the attribute waypoint range based on a time metric or a distance metric.

26. A machine readable medium encoded with instructions that cause a navigational system to perform a method comprising the acts of:

establishing a vehicle path comprising multiple path waypoints in unmapped space;

establishing attribute waypoint data for multiple attribute waypoints in the unmapped space;

establishing attribute waypoint preferences;

maintaining a current position in the unmapped space;

determining a distance from the current position to the attribute waypoints and the path waypoints;

initiating generation of navigational information for the proximate attribute waypoint and acoustically communicating the navigational information for the proximate attribute waypoint, when the distance is within range of a proximate attribute waypoint of the multiple attribute waypoints that matches the attribute waypoint preferences; and

initiating generation of navigational information for the proximate path waypoint and acoustically communicating the navigational information for the proximate path waypoint, when the distance is within range of a proximate path waypoint of the multiple path waypoints.

27. The machine readable medium of claim 26, where the attribute waypoint preferences are vehicle operator preferences for waypoints of interest.

28. The machine readable medium of claim 26, where the distance is a vehicle path distance.

29. The machine readable medium of claim 26, where the act of acoustically communicating the navigational information for the proximate path waypoint further comprises acoustically communicating additional navigational information for a subsequent path waypoint of the multiple path waypoints.

30. The machine readable medium of claim 26, where the navigational information for the proximate attribute waypoint or the navigational information for the proximate path waypoint comprises current position data or distance data or direction data or deviation data or estimated time of arrival data or waypoint attribute data.

31. A navigational system comprising:

an operator interface;

acoustic communication logic;

a memory comprising;

position data stored comprising a current position in an unmapped space and a first path waypoint position for a first path waypoint in the unmapped space;

navigational information stored in the memory for the first path waypoint based on the current position; and

a processor coupled to the memory, the acoustic communication logic, and the operator interface, the processor operable to communicate the navigational information for the first path waypoint through the acoustic communication logic.

32. The navigational system of claim 31, where the memory further comprises waypoint range data.

33. The navigational system of claim 32, where the waypoint range data comprises path waypoint range data.

34. The navigational system of claim 32, where the waypoint range data comprises attribute waypoint range data.

35. The navigational system of claim 33, where the waypoint range data comprises a first path waypoint range, and where the processor communicates the navigational information for the first path waypoint when the current position is within the first path waypoint range.

36. The navigational system of claim 31, where the memory further comprises waypoint attributes and waypoint attribute preferences selected from the waypoint attributes.