DE102008029430A1 - Method for use in road network map for operating navigation system, involves supplying operator commands or statements of places, particularly starting points to input device, where profile data set is read on sub-ordinate target - Google Patents

Abstract

The method involves supplying operator commands or statements of place, particularly starting points or target points to an input device. A profile data set is provided for reading on a sub-ordinate target on the input device. A point of interest (POI)-data set of different accentuated places is compared with a profile data in a profile evaluation module.

Description

The The invention relates to a method for operating a navigation system according to the preamble of claim 1.

Generic navigation systems, especially navigation devices, are for example as mobile or permanently installed functional units used in motor vehicles to guide the driver along a route from a starting point to a destination point. About an input device can the user thereby enter operator commands and make place entries and thereby get in communication with the device. By receiving position signals, which are issued in particular by positioning satellites, for example GPS satellites, can be a signal receiving unit of the navigation system in cooperation with a position determination unit, the position is always current determine. Based on the data of a road network database can Furthermore determined by means of a route calculation unit, the planned route and the route guidance process be based on. The road network database of generic navigation systems contains in addition to that called POI records for the description of points to be highlighted (Points of Interest / POI). Such places to highlight are, for example around petrol stations, restaurants, sights or other places, the for the user may be of particular interest.

Around not only to accept input from the user, but also in the opposite direction a communication from the device to the user to enable is the navigation system in addition even with an output device, such as a Display and / or with a speaker equipped. At this Output device can certain dates for output the user, for example announced acoustically and / or visually displayed.

at the known navigation systems, it is also already possible that the user defines intermediate goals and then the navigation system one calculate a new route that includes the intermediate destination. There are it often Use cases, where certain intermediate goals in the travel planning are not yet considered were, for example, because of a congestion or a need of the user is not predictable. Should in such a situation a new one Intermediate destination must be integrated into the route, the originally planned Itinerary at least temporarily to be left. For such an unplanned change the route for driving a new intermediate destination is often so that the driver, although the requirement profile of his wishes knows the potential intermediate, but no concrete intermediate goal can name. For example, if the driver is in a long traffic jam and gets hungry, so would like He hunger by taking food in a restaurant or fast food, but without being a very special one Restaurant or fast food for its selection can name. at the same time wishes the driver for the satisfaction of his needs the experience of an interim destination through which the original Route minimally extended so that the detour caused by the intermediate destination as possible is short. A disadvantage of the known navigation systems is that these navigation systems help the user solve this Do not support conflicting goals can.

outgoing From this prior art, it is therefore an object of the present Invention, a new method for operating a navigation system to propose that the driver in the selection of new intermediate goals considering of the requirement profile specified by the driver and by the various intermediate objectives each caused detours supported.

These The object is achieved by a method according to the teaching of claim 1 solved.

advantageous embodiments The invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

The inventive method based on the fundamental idea that the navigation system with a profile evaluation module and with equipped with a detour evaluation module. After the user by entering the input device its requirements for the Intermediate target to be selected specified by entering a profile data record has the profile record in the profile rating module with the POI records different compared to highlighted places. For each one of these Places becomes a profile evaluation by the profile evaluation module derived. The user specifies his request to the waypoint For example, by the fact that he wants to eat something and spend only little time is ready, so can through the generated profile record all fast food restaurants be selected as suitable intermediate destinations.

Parallel this is done in the detour evaluation module for each place to be highlighted, which was rated in the profile assessment module passing through this location at Startup each caused Wegzuschostenzuwachs determined and a Derived detour rating. In other words, that means the additional caused by the start of an interim destination Travel costs are included in the detour evaluation and quantified by them become.

To Completion of profile evaluation and detour evaluation will both be Evaluation results combined in a combination assessment module evaluated and derived therefrom a combination rating. The combination rating illustrates the conflict of objectives that the potential intermediate goal on the one hand to meet the requirements of the user well and on the other hand one possible slight detour caused by starting the intermediate goal should. The intermediate goal that best solves this conflict of objectives results in the combination rating the best result.

Last then becomes dependent from the combination score, at least one place to highlight as possible Intermediate destination selected.

By the complete Recording of all costs incurred when taking a stopover in The route may cost a cost-intermediate waypoint planning considering the fulfillment guaranteed by the user-specified requirement profile become. Through the realistic evaluation of the control of an intermediate goal Choosing an interim destination results in effective savings and thus an objective added value of the calculated route with integrated Intermediate target.

In which way the evaluation result of the combination evaluation according to the invention and the selected place to be highlighted is processed further, is basically any. According to a preferred variant of the method is as possible Intermediate target selected location to be highlighted at the output device output, for example, shown on the display. The user then has for example the possibility the possible intermediate goal to confirm and in this way in the route planning to calculate a modified Include route.

At the Approaching a new intermediate destination to be integrated into the route It is often beneficial if the route is not in the same place leave and after return is approached by the intermediate goal again. Rather, let the Detours to start the intermediate goal often shorten considerably, that when approaching the interim destination the previous route at a departure point leave and later after returning from the intermediate destination at a different access point again is approached. To take advantage of this, the detour evaluation module may each pass at least one departure point and at least one Auffahrtspunkt be, with the Wegkostenzuwachs then by difference between the sum of the travel costs for the way to the intermediate destination and the travel costs for the way back from the intermediate goal on the one hand and the travel costs for the way between the departure point and the access point along the route on the other hand. That way, the rating can be the detours are further cost-optimized.

In the case, that when starting a possible Intermediate destination several departure points or several access points are conceivable, can all these alternative departure points and / or points of arrival passed to the detour calculation module and for each individual combination of the travel cost increment for each to be evaluated Intermediate destinations are calculated. As a result, this means that for every Combination of a departure point and an access point the evaluation routine carried out separately and the result with regard to the travel cost increase in the detour evaluation Is evaluated. From all evaluation results can then be the am best suitable combination of departure point and departure point be selected by comparing the different detour ratings.

In which way in the detour evaluation module the travel costs of the respective Being calculated in detours is basically arbitrary. Especially realistic the detours by calculating the path lengths, which additionally caused by the detour be calculated by calculating the estimated journey times extended the detour accordingly will be calculated and evaluated.

Basically it makes sense in the search for potential intermediate goals the To limit the search radius, otherwise too many of places in terms of their fulfillment of the requirement profile in the profile evaluation module and in terms of the additional ones caused by them Travel costs must be assessed in the detour evaluation module. These Limitation of the search radius can be achieved by specifying a detour limit value be achieved. The detour rating of each place to be highlighted becomes then compared with this detour limit and only the POI records for the determination potential Intermediate targets further processed, their detour rating smaller than the detour limit is. As a result, from the outset, all places to be highlighted excluded from further evaluation, which additionally caused Travel costs exceed a certain threshold.

Around a realistic comparison of the user-entered requirement profile with the data stored in the road network database, it is particularly advantageous if in the profile evaluation module the stored in the POI records POI categories, such as gas station, restaurant, hotel, sports ground, with the one you want Category stored in the profile record is compared.

The Web focus in the profile evaluation can about it even further increased if at least one POI parameter is stored for each POI category is. These different POI parameters can then match the requirement profile be compared and evaluated.

For the combined Review of profile rating and detour rating, there are a variety of Options. Particularly characteristic and simple is the combination rating carry out, if in the combination evaluation module the quotient of the detour evaluation and the degree of agreement is calculated from the profile rating. This means with others Words, that the value of the detour evaluation by the value of the profile evaluation is shared. The smaller the resulting value of the combination score, the better is the respectively assigned place to highlight Intermediate target under consideration the fulfillment of the requirement profile and by the start of the intermediate goal caused additional Travel costs suitable.

For the combined Review of profile rating and detour rating is it beneficial the degree of agreement the profile rating to a normal value, in particular to a percentage match, to normalize.

Of Furthermore, it is advantageous below a predetermined degree of agreement the profile evaluation, in particular a standardized degree of agreement, to carry out a combined assessment, but the respective Discard POI record in advance. So can the problem of a No-match and a quotient with 0 in the denominator can be avoided.

When advantageous extension of the method according to the invention, it is conceivable that in addition to the combined evaluation of profile evaluation and detour evaluation also for such POIs that are on the route, a profile evaluation is performed and these valuation results together with the valuation results the method according to the invention be issued. So can be achieved that also POIs with Detour 0 in the overall rating.

• a) unterproportional
• b) proportional
• c) überproportional

wobei für a) zusätzliche Kilometer bei gleicher Parameter-Übereinstimmung weniger stark ins Gewicht fallen. Die Auswahl der jeweiligen Strategie ist dabei vorteilhaft von den Nutzerpräferenzen abzuleiten.The weighting of the combined assessment can be carried out in a further advantageous embodiment according to different strategies:

• a) disproportionately
• b) proportional
• c) disproportionately

where for a) additional kilometers are less significant with the same parameter match. The selection of the respective strategy is advantageously derived from the user preferences.

It has proved to be advantageous to use a function such as f (x) = sqrt (x), g (x) = log (x + 1), h (x) = sqrt ((x + 1) ² - 1) x = detour or combined detour and distance from the current location, to be used for this.

In contrast, if the strategy were disproportionate, extending the detour would have a particularly large impact on the combined assessment. Here are some useful functions: f (x) = x ² , g (x) = e ^ x, h (x) = sqrt (1 + x ² ). Compared to static weighting factors, these functions have the advantage of having a large impact on the rating only after a certain Grenzumweglänge. Thus, with a small detour, the parameter match in the evaluation comes to bear, whereas, starting with a certain detour path, the weighting of the detour increases more and more during the evaluation.

at execution the combination rating for different places to highlight results in a list of each associated combination ratings. This list could be the Driver as a whole or at least partially displayed. To a preferred embodiment The invention provides that the place to be highlighted, the has the best combination score, selected as a possible intermediate goal and in particular also output at the output device. The driver is thus not affected by various evaluation results confused, but it is issued only the most appropriate intermediate goal.

Basically exists the problem that when looking for a potential intermediate goal itself the intermediate target with the best combination score in itself unsuitable is, since even the best combination rating in absolute terms too bad is. To exclude the issue of such inappropriate intermediate goals, should the combination score of each potential intermediate goal be compared with an output threshold. Only if the combination rating is better as the output threshold is, this corresponding intermediate destination displayed. By contrast, the combination score falls short of the the quality threshold specified by the output threshold, then an error message issued by the user through the unsuccessful search for a suitable intermediate destination is informed.

Of course, the method according to the invention can be carried out on individual devices, for example mobile navigation devices or permanently installed navigation devices. Basically, it is also conceivable that at at least part of the data required for the calculation of the combination evaluation, in particular the POI data records, are stored on a data server which is spatially separated from the navigation system and are queried by the navigation system by remote data retrieval, in particular via the Internet. Thus, the inventive method can be carried out in particular in conjunction with an online server. For this purpose, for example, by means of a user profile entered on the navigation system, in particular a context-related user profile (since a user probably has different interests when traveling than when he is at home or at a holiday destination or at a business location), information is retrieved on the online server. It is irrelevant whether all data are online, or whether only POI-related additional information can be accessed online. Furthermore, the user profile can also be online, eg. For example, through a community platform where the user's own usage behavior can be used to determine or manually set a preference for specific categories or parameters.

Various Aspects of the invention are described below with reference to the drawings exemplified.

It demonstrate:

1 a schematic road map with several potential intermediate destinations;

2 the category weighting of the potential intermediate goals according to 1 ;

3 the detours of the potential intermediate goals according to 1 ;

4 various interim results of the profile evaluation of the intermediate goals according to 1 ;

5 the profile ratings and the combination ratings of the intermediate goals according to 1 ;

6 the road map according to 1 with the modified route after selecting the most appropriate intermediate destination according to combination score.

Based on the illustration in 1 to 7 the process of the invention will be explained with reference to an application example. This example concerns the journey of a family on holiday, with the planned route containing a traffic jam that informed the family about a detour recommendation. Since it is clear that the highway should be left at the next exit and the driveway is to take place according to the detour recommendation, the start and end point of the detour are clearly defined. The length of avoided by the bypass highway section results directly.

There the family has been traveling for some time, it is decided to use the detour to a restaurant visit. It is doing in the one for the Family unknown surroundings wanted a restaurant that as possible little detour can be achieved. As an acceptable detour z. B. maximum of 10 kilometers opposite the diversion recommendation. In addition, under different options a restaurant, either the category "fast food restaurant", the category "good middle class" or the Category "Frutti di Mare ".

In 1 the road network in the area in question is schematized. Various restaurants are in places to highlight 1 to 6 registered in the road network database of the navigation system. At the POI 1 is the restaurant Lobster Pot, at the POI 2 the restaurant Quick Pizza, at the POI 3 the restaurant Waldesruh, at the POI 4 the restaurant Zum Ochsen, at the POI 5 the restaurant Fish'n Chips and at the POI 6 the restaurant Fat Mac. The original route 7 contains a traffic jam and should therefore according to Umfahrungsempfehlung at the departure point 8th leave and at the access point 9 be approached again.

2 exemplifies the category weighting according to the wishes of the family in the vehicle. This category weighting can also be determined from a free profile or by accessing an online server.

3 exemplifies the result of the detour evaluation. For each of the POIs 1 to 6 the additional detour in kilometers was calculated by the arrival of the POI.

4 represents the comparison of category preferences with the actual POI parameters available for each POI.

In the upper part of 5 will be based on these various intermediate results for each of the POIs 1 to 6 carried out a profile evaluation. For the POI 1 (Lobster Pot), for example, results in a profile evaluation with the value 0.21.

In the lower part of 5 the determination of the combination rating is shown. The one for each of the POIs 1 to 6 determined detour in kilometers, which represents the detour evaluation, is divided by the respectively assigned profile evaluation value. For the POI 1 (Lobster Pot) results in a combination valuation with the value 142.857. As Continue from the list below 5 is apparent, results for the POI 6 (Fat Mac) the best combination rating with a score of 26,042. This will be the POI 6 selected as the most suitable intermediate destination.

In 6 is the modified route 10 shown, resulting from the departure of the original route 7 at the departure point 8th , the selected intermediate destination at the POI 6 and re-starting the original route 7 at the access point 9 results.

1

potential intermediate target

2

potential intermediate target

3

potential intermediate target

4

potential intermediate target

5

potential intermediate target

6

potential intermediate target

7

original route

8th

point of departure

9

driveway point

10

modified route

Claims (15)

Method for operating a navigation system, comprising - an input device, at which operator commands and / or location information, in particular starting points and / or destination points, can be entered, - a road network database, in which the road network of a particular geographical area is described, the road network database additionally POI Datasets for the description of points to be highlighted (Points of Interest POI) ( 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 ), - a route calculation unit for calculating a route ( 7 ) taking into account the location information and the road network database, the route leading from the starting point to the destination point, - a signal receiving unit for receiving position signals, in particular satellite signals, - a position determining unit, which determines the current position from the position signals, - an output device, at the Data can be output for the user, characterized in that a) at least one profile data record for specifying the requirements for an intermediate destination is read in at the input device; b) in a profile evaluation module, the POI data sets of different places to be highlighted ( 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 ) are compared with the profile data record and from this a profile rating is derived for each location to be highlighted; c) in a detour evaluation module, by starting the various places to be highlighted ( 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 ) each determined Wegkeostenzuwachs and from this a detour evaluation is derived for each highlighted location; d) in a combinatorial assessment module, of the profile scores and the detour scores for each place to be highlighted ( 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 ) a combination score is derived; e) at least one place to highlight, depending on the combination score ( 6 ) is selected as a possible intermediate destination. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the location to be emphasized as a possible intermediate destination ( 6 ) is output at the output device, in particular displayed. A method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the detour evaluation module at least one departure point ( 8th ) from which the route ( 7 ) towards the intermediate objective ( 6 ) and at least one approach point ( 9 ), where the intermediate objective ( 6 ) coming back on the route ( 7 ), whereby the increase in distance costs by subtraction between a) the sum of the travel costs for the way to the intermediate destination ( 6 ) and the travel costs for the return journey from the intermediate destination ( 6 ) on the one hand and b) the travel costs for the route between the departure point and the access point along the route on the other hand is calculated. A method according to claim 3, characterized in that the detour evaluation module several departure points ( 8th ) and / or several access points ( 9 ) for each possible combination of a departure point ( 8th ) and an access point ( 9 ) in each case the travel cost increase for all intermediate destinations ( 6 ) is calculated. Method according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized that in the detour evaluation module, the travel costs by calculating the path lengths or by calculating the estimated travel times be calculated. Method according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the detour evaluation of each place to be highlighted ( 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 ) is compared with a predetermined detour limit value, wherein only the POI data sets for the determination of possible intermediate destinations are further processed whose detour evaluation is smaller than the detour limit value. Method according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that compared in the profile evaluation module stored in the POI data sets POI category (gas station, restaurant, hotel, sports field) with the desired category which is stored in the profile record. Method according to claim 7, characterized in that that in each POI category at least one, in particular several, POI parameters are stored. Method according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized that in the combination evaluation module for calculating the combination rating the quotient of the detour evaluation and the degree of agreement is calculated from the profile rating. Method according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized that for the combined evaluation of profile evaluation and detour evaluation the degree of agreement the profile rating to a normal value, in particular to a percentage match, normalized. Method according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized that falls below a lower limit for the degree of agreement the profile rating, in particular if it falls below a lower Limit value for the normalized degree of agreement, the associated POI records be discarded. Method according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized that in the combination assessment module the profile rating is relative disproportionately for detour evaluation or disproportionately weighted. Method according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that only the place to be highlighted ( 6 ), which has the best combination score, is selected as a possible intermediate destination and, in particular, output at the output device. Method according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized that the combination score is compared to an output threshold, when falling below the output threshold instead of the Best combination rating assigned to highlight a error message is issued, which is an unsuccessful search for a suitable one Intermediate destination reports. Method according to one of claims 1 to 14, characterized that at least part of the for the calculation of the combination rating required data, in particular the POI records, on a data server which is spatially separated from a navigation system are stored by the navigation system through remote data retrieval, in particular via the Internet, be queried.