METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND APPARATUS FOR ROUTING A VEHICLE TO AVOID AN ADVERSE CONDITION

• US 20090063032A1
• Filed: 08/30/2007
• Published: 03/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Das, Sanjib K.
• Application Number:
  US11/848,042
• Publication Number:
  US 20090063032A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/201
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3461 Preferred or disfavoured areas, e.g. dangerous zones, toll or emission zones, intersections, manoeuvre types, segments such as motorways, toll roads, ferries

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus are provided for generating a route to a destination for a vehicle to travel to avoid an adverse condition. One method includes defining a boundary of the adverse condition and identifying a plurality of reference points between a present location of the vehicle and the destination. The method also includes automatically generating a plurality of routes from the present location to the destination, each of the plurality of routes including a reference point, and providing one of the plurality of routes to a user. A system includes means for performing the steps of the above method. One apparatus includes a sequence of instructions which, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform the steps of the above method.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for routing a vehicle to its destination in response to an adverse condition, the method comprising the steps of:

defining a boundary of the adverse condition;

identifying a plurality of reference points between a present location of the vehicle and the destination;

automatically generating a plurality of routes from the present location to the destination, each of the plurality of routes including one of the plurality of reference points; and

providing a first route of the plurality of routes to a user.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

eliminating each of the plurality of routes that include a reference point within the boundary of the adverse condition; and

providing each of the plurality of routes that do not include a reference point within the boundary of the adverse condition to the user.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first route does not include a reference point within the boundary of the adverse condition.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the providing step comprises the step of providing a second route not including a reference point within the boundary of the adverse condition to the user.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising the steps of:

comparing the first route and the second route to at least one pre-determined constraint;

ranking the first route and the second route based on the comparison; and

providing the rankings of the first route and the second route to the user.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising the step of identifying a preferred one of the first route and the second route based on the rankings.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the at least one pre-determined constraint is one of a distance factor, an estimated fuel consumption factor, a travel time factor, a number of reference points factor, a number of turns factor, an estimated traffic factor, and a speed factor.

8. A system for routing a vehicle to its destination in response to an adverse condition, comprising:

means for defining a boundary of the adverse condition;

means for identifying a plurality of reference points between a present location of the vehicle and the destination;

means for automatically generating a plurality of routes from the present location to the destination, each of the plurality of routes including a first reference point; and

means for providing a first route of the plurality of routes to a user, wherein the first route does not include a second reference point within the boundary of the adverse condition.

9. The system of claim 8, further comprising the steps of:

means for eliminating each of the plurality of routes including a reference point within the boundary of the adverse condition; and

means for providing each of the plurality of routes not including a reference point within the boundary of the adverse condition to the user.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the means for providing step comprises means for providing a second route of the plurality of routes not including a reference point within the boundary of the adverse condition to the user.

11. The system of claim 10, further comprising:

means for comparing the first route and the second route to at least one pre-determined constraint;

means for ranking the first route and the second route based on the comparison; and

means for providing the rankings of the first route and the second route to the user.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising means for identifying a preferred one of the first route and the second route based on the rankings.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one pre-determined constraint is one of a distance factor, an estimated fuel consumption factor, a travel time factor, a number of reference points factor, a number of turns factor, an estimated traffic factor, and a speed factor.

14. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions which, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method comprising the steps of:

defining a boundary of an adverse condition;

identifying a plurality of reference points between a present location of a vehicle and a destination for the vehicle;

automatically generating a plurality of routes from the present location to the destination, each of the plurality of routes including a reference point; and

displaying a first route of the plurality of routes to a user.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, further comprising instructions that cause the computing device to perform the steps of:

eliminating each of the plurality of routes including a reference point within the boundary of the adverse condition; and

displaying each of the plurality of routes not including a reference point within the boundary of the adverse condition to the user.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the first route does not include a reference point within the boundary of the adverse condition.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the instructions causing the computing device to perform the providing step comprise instructions causing the computing device to perform the step of providing a second route not including a reference point within the boundary of the adverse condition to the user.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising instructions that cause the computing device to perform the steps of:

comparing the first route and the second route to at least one pre-determined constraint;

ranking the first route and the second route based on the comparison; and

providing the rankings of the first route and the second route to the user.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, further comprising instructions that cause the computing device to perform the step of identifying a preferred one of the first route and the second route based on the rankings.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the at least one pre-determined constraint is one of a distance factor, an estimated fuel consumption factor, a travel time factor, a number of reference points factor, a number of turns factor, an estimated traffic factor, and a speed factor.