Method and apparatus for providing dynamic warnings for navigations

• US 9,869,564 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2014
• Issued: 01/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: MacGougan, Glenn D., Charignon, Laurent
• Primary Examiner(s): Khatib, Rami
• Assistant Examiner(s): Foster, Gerrad A
• Application Number:
  US14/503,393
• Publication Number:
  US 20160091323A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,204 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3697 Output of additional, non-guidance related information, e.g. low fuel level G01C21/3679 takes precedence

Abstract

A navigation application that provides a dynamic set of warnings based on a set of collected and calculated data. The navigation application collects a series of data and identifies a set of critical points along the route. The navigation application analyzes the collected data to determine whether to provide a navigation warning to the user. The navigation application uses the collected data to determine whether a navigation instruction for the critical point should be modified to account for different driving conditions. Finally, the navigation application of some embodiments determines a timing for when a navigation instruction should be provided to the user, ensuring that the instruction is presented to the user with sufficient time to safely adjust their behavior.

Claims

1. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing a program which when executed by a set of processing units provides a plurality of navigation warnings for a vehicle, the program comprising sets of instructions for:

receiving a set of data;

based on the received set of data, determining whether a navigation warning of the plurality of navigation warnings should be modified, the navigation warning to be provided using a first method in a plurality of methods, the plurality of methods comprising an audio navigation warning and a visual navigation warning;

when it is determined that the navigation warning is to be modified, providing a modified navigation warning, said modification comprising specifying a second method in the plurality of methods, the second method of providing the modified navigation warning being different than the first method; and

wherein the set of instructions for determining that the warning is to be modified comprises a set of instructions for determining a timing for providing the navigation warning or the modified navigation warning based on a calculated safe speed.

2. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 1, wherein the set of instructions for receiving the set of data comprises sets of instructions for:

receiving a set of environmental data describing conditions external to the vehicle; and

receiving a set of vehicle data describing conditions of the vehicle.

3. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 2, wherein the set of instructions for receiving the set of environmental data comprises a set of instructions for receiving weather data.

4. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 3, wherein the set of instructions for receiving the weather data comprises a set of instructions for accessing a set of external sensors of the vehicle.

5. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 3, wherein the set of instructions for receiving the weather data comprises a set of instructions for accessing a weather service over a network.

6. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 2, wherein the navigation warning comprises an instruction to travel in a particular lane along a road.

7. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 2, wherein the set of instructions for receiving the set of environmental data comprises a set of instructions for receiving ambient light data.

8. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 2, wherein the set of instructions for receiving the set of vehicle data comprises a set of instructions for determining a current speed of travel for the vehicle.

9. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 1, wherein the set of instructions for providing the modified navigation warning comprises a set of instructions for providing a reduced speed at which to travel.

10. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 1, wherein the set of data is associated with current road conditions for an upcoming portion of the route, wherein the program further comprises sets of instructions for:

identifying a designated speed for an upcoming portion of a route; and

calculating a safe speed at which to travel along the upcoming portion of the route that is different from the designated speed based on the received set of data,

wherein providing the modified navigation warning comprises providing the calculated safe speed.

11. An electronic device comprising:

a set of processing units;

a non-transitory machine readable medium storing a program which when executed by a processing unit in the set of processing units provides a plurality of navigation warnings for a vehicle, the program comprising sets of instructions for;

receiving a set of data comprising environmental data regarding a visibility of street signage;

based on the received set of data, determining whether a first navigation warning of the plurality of navigation warnings should be modified;

if the first navigation warning is to be modified, providing a modified second navigation warning through at least one output interface of the electronic device; and

if the navigation warning is not to be modified, providing the first navigation warning through the at least one output interface of the electronic device.

12. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the data regarding a visibility of street signage comprises data regarding a point at which street signage becomes visible.

13. The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the set of instructions for determining whether the navigation warnings are to be modified comprises sets of instructions for:

calculating a safe braking distance at which the vehicle can safely reduce speed for an upcoming turn; and

determining that an instruction is to be modified when the safe braking distance is greater than a distance between the point at which particular street signage for the upcoming turn becomes visible and the upcoming turn.

14. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the set of instructions for determining that the warning is to be modified comprises a set of instructions for determining a timing for providing the instruction based on the safe braking distance.

15. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the set of data further comprises a set of vehicle data describing conditions of the vehicle, and

the environmental data further comprises data describing conditions external to the vehicle.

16. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the environmental data comprises weather data.

17. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the set of instructions for receiving the set of vehicle data comprises a set of instructions for determining a current speed of travel for the vehicle.

18. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the at least one output interface comprises an audio interface.

19. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the at least one output interface comprises a visual display.