Etak, Inc.

Sony Corporation

Teleatlas North America Inc

Rodney Jude Fernandez

Richard Frederick Poppen

James L Buxton

A system for computing a path in an electronic map (or other network) starts a pathfinding exploration in the background while the system is waiting for a request to find a path. The system automatically chooses an origin. The system's memory can be divided such that a portion of memory acts as a cache. The data for the nodes in the electronic map are loaded into the cache when needed. The system terminates the pathfinding process when a predetermined condition occurs; for example, a predetermined percentage of the cache is filled. When the system terminates the pathfinding process, the system can start a new pathfinding process from a new origin. Thus, when a user requests a path to be found, the pathfinding process begins with data already loaded in the cache.

Caching for pathfinding computation

A typical pathfinding system provides a user with a set of directions for following a path from an origin to a destination in a network. If the user deviates from the path, the system for recalculating a path determines a new path which directs the user from the user's new location, which is off the original path, to the destination. To decrease the amount of time needed to determine the new path to the destination, the system adds links to the network. Each of the added links connect nodes from the original path directly to the destination. A new path is determined from the new location to the destination using the augmented network.

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Fremont, CA, United States of America

Rodney Jude Fernandez