METHOD OF PROCESSING POSITIONING DATA

• US 20100312472A1
• Filed: 10/22/2008
• Published: 12/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TomTom Traffic B.V. (TomTom NV)
• Original Assignee: TomTom Traffic B.V. (TomTom NV)
• Inventors: Wolf, Martin, Atkinson, Ian Malcom, Hilbrandie, Karine, Schäfer, Ralf-Peter, Mieth, Peter, Hilbrandie, Geert, Rutten, Ben
• Granted Patent: US 10,024,676 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/209
• 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: G01C 21/3844 Data obtained from position sensors only, e.g. from inertial navigation
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0104 Measuring and analyzing of parameters relative to traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0129 for creating historical data or processing based on historical data
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/052 with provision for determining speed or overspeed speed measuring in general G01P
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096827 where the route is computed onboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096844 where the complete route is dynamically recomputed based on new data
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096888 where input information is obtained using learning systems, e.g. history databases

Abstract

A method of creating map data is disclosed, the map data including a plurality of navigable segments representing segments of a navigable route in the area covered by the map with each segment being arranged to have speed data associated therewith. In at least one embodiment, the method includes processing speed data relating to a plurality of the segments of the navigable route covered by the map to generate a set of generated speed profiles, with each generated speed profile within the set being an approximation to traffic speed along one or more of the segments of the navigable route and each speed profile varying with respect to time; and associating at least one speed profile from the set with a navigable segment within the map data.

Claims

1. A method of creating map data, the map data comprising a plurality of navigable segments representing segments of a navigable route in an area covered by the map, speed data being associated with each segment, the method comprising:

i. processing speed data relating to a plurality of the segments of the navigable route covered by the map to generate a set of generated speed profiles, each generated speed profile within the set being an approximation to traffic speed along one or more of the segments of the navigable route and each speed profile varying with respect to time; and

ii. associating at least one speed profile from the set with a navigable segment within the map data.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising initially receiving captured positioning data, comprising a plurality of positions, from at least one _navigation devices, and storing the captured positioning data for processing in the method.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the captured positioning data is processed to generate trip data representing an individual journey for a navigation device.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the captured positioning data is processed in order to associate positions within that data with a navigable segment.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the positioning data is processed in order to generate speed data therefrom.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the speed data is categorised into one of a plurality of time periods for the navigable segment with which they have been associated.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the method averages the speeds within each of the time periods for at least some, and generally for each navigable segment for which there is sufficient data, to generate a measured speed profile, comprising an average speed for each time period, for each processed navigable segment.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising modifying the measured speed profile to replace a portion thereof with modified values for the average speeds for one or more time periods.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising processing the measured speed profiles in order to generate the generated speed profiles therefrom.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the measured speed profiles are normalised using a normalisation criteria before the generated speed profiles are generated.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising adding at least one roughly flat line to the set of generated speed profiles which does not vary with respect to time.

12. A method according to claim 1, further comprising generating a map being constituted by the map data.

21. The method of claim 3, wherein the captured positioning data is processed in order to associate positions within that data with a navigable segment.

22. The method of claim 3, wherein the positioning data is processed in order to generate speed data therefrom.

23. The method of claim 8, wherein the modifying of the measured speed profile, to replace a portion thereof with modified values for the average speeds for one or more time periods, includes using an average of the speed averages to be replaced as the modified value for each of the time periods within the replaced portion.

24. The method of claim 9, wherein each generated speed profile provides an approximation to one or more of the measured speed profiles, and wherein the generation is achieved by way of a clustering method.

25. The method of claim 8, further comprising processing the measured speed profiles in order to generate the generated speed profiles therefrom, wherein each generated speed profile provides an approximation to one or more of the measured speed profiles, and wherein the generation is achieved by way of a clustering method.

13. A machine, comprising:

a processor to process map data comprising a plurality of navigable segments representing segments of a navigable route in an area covered by the map, speed data being associated with each segment, the processor being arranged to;

process speed data relating to a plurality of the segments of the navigable route covered by the map data to generate a set of generated speed profiles, each generated speed profile within the set being an approximation to traffic speed along one or more of the segments of the navigable route and each speed profile varying with respect to time; and

associate at least one speed profile from the set with a navigable segment within the map data.

14. Map data comprising:

a plurality of navigable segments representing segments of a navigable route in an area covered by the map, speed data being associated with each segment; and

a set of generated speed profiles, each generated speed profile within the set being an approximation to traffic speed along one or more segments of the navigable route, wherein the speed data associated with each segment comprises a reference to one of the generated speed profiles.

15. Map data according to claim 14, wherein each generated speed profile within the set is normalised between parameters.

16. Map data according to claim 15, wherein a normalisation criteria is also associated with at least some navigable segments.

17. Map data according to claim 14, wherein the set of generated speed profiles comprises a profile that remains substantially constant with respect to time.

26. A memory, for storing the map data of claim 14.

18. A navigation device, comprising:

processing circuitry including a memory, the processing circuitry of the navigation device being arranged to;

process map data held within the memory in order to generate a set of routing instructions to guide a user of the device, the memory being arranged to hold the map data which comprises at least one set of generated speed profiles and a set of navigable segments, wherein each navigable segment has associated therewith a reference to at least one generated speed profile from the set of generated speed profiles.

19. A navigation device according to claim 18, arranged to hold a normalisation criteria associated with each navigable segment which the processing circuitry is arranged to use to scale the generated speed profile of use with that navigable segment.

20. A machine readable medium containing instructions which when processed by a machine, the machine is arranged to perform.