Navigation Technologies Corporation

Navteq North America, LLC

Here Global B.v.

William McDonough

Richard A Ashby

Matthew Friederich

Paul Ford

Michael Weiland

David Shuman

Yaoguang Wang

Gregory Nyczak

Michael Tsengouras

Asta Khavakh

Oleg Voloshin

John C Jasper

James A Meek

Robert P Fernekes

Vijaya S Israni

Paul M Bouzide

Nicholas E Smith

Senthil K Natesan

Srinivasa Doddapaneni

Asta Kavakh

Srinivasa Rao

Ashutosh Srivastava

Michael Livshutz

William N Gale

A method is disclosed for representing road lanes as data in a database that can be used by a system in a vehicle to provide a safety-related function. Each data representation of a physical road lane includes data indicating start and end points of the represented lane and other data attributes pertaining to the represented lane, including data indicating what physical features are adjacent to the represented lane on right and left sides thereof and data indicating a geometry of the represented lane. The database is compatible with navigation-related applications that use a different data model to provide navigation-related functions.

Method of representing road lanes

A method is disclosed for representing road lanes as data in a database that can be used by a system in a vehicle to provide a safety-related function. Each data representation of a physical road lane includes data indicating start and end points of the represented lane and other data attributes pertaining to the represented lane, including data indicating what physical features are adjacent to the represented lane on right and left sides thereof and data indicating a geometry of the represented lane. Further, at least some of the data representations of lanes are associated with data representations of sublanes. Each data representation of a sublane includes data indicating start and end points thereof, defined relative to the lane of which the sublane is a part. A data representation of a sublane includes at least one data attribute associated therewith that pertains to the represented sublane and that is different than the same attribute of the lane of which the sublane is a part. The database is compatible with navigation-related applications that use a different data model to provide navigation-related functions.

A method is disclosed for representing road intersections as data. A database includes intersection object data entities that represent physical road intersections. Each intersection object data entity includes a maneuver list that identifies each permissible transversal of the intersection from each lane by which the represented intersection can be entered to each lane from which the intersection can be exited from the associated lane by which the intersection can be entered. Each transversal in the maneuver list indicates an entry lane, an exit lane, the geometry of a vehicle path connecting the entry and exit lanes, and an indication of a level of confidence associated with the specified geometry. The database can be used by a system in a vehicle to provide a safety-related function. The database is compatible with navigation-related applications that use a different data model to provide navigation-related functions.

Method and apparatus for representing road intersections

A method and system for representing traffic control signals in a road network database is provided. The database may include lane-level modeling, intersection modeling, and traffic signal modeling of a road network. An individual traffic signal is represented in the database with data indicating the traffic signal's geographic location and other attributes of the traffic signal such as an arrangement of lenses in the signal, an indication as to whether the signal is vertically or horizontally oriented, a height of the traffic signal over the roadway, and others. The database can be used by a system in a vehicle that provides convenience features to the vehicle's driver. The system may attempt to warn or control a vehicle that is determined to be at imminent risk of violating a traffic signal.

Method and system for representing traffic signals in a road network database

A method and system are disclosed for the merging of multiple map databases. These multiple map databases can be stored on separate media. Each map database is comprised of whole parcels and conforms to a baseline parcelization pattern. At run time in a navigation system, a single parcel index is constructed that contains references to parcels from the multiple map databases. References to parcels use a combined media directory covering all media objects. The combined media directory is created by merging tables of contents from each media object. This method can be used to incrementally update a geographic database.

Method and system for forming, updating, and using a geographic database

A method and system of polyline generation for rendering a representation of a geographic region is provided. Within a database containing geographic data, polyline data entities represent geographic features. Each polyline data entity is associated with a drawcode that defines attributes of the data entity, and organized within the database based on the drawcode. During a rendering process, a processor can read a group of data from a database stored on a disc that is organized to contain all polyline data entities associated with the same drawcode. The processor can then render all geographic features in an area that are similar using one or a minimum number of disc reads.

Method and system of polyline generation for rendering a richly attributed representation of a geographic region

A method of organizing map data on a physical storage medium is disclosed. The map data represents geographic features located in a geographic region. The method identifies at least one dense area in the geographic region. The map data representing the geographic features within the dense area have a data size exceeding a predetermined maximum size for a predetermined sized geographic area of the region. The method subdivides the map data representing the geographic features within the dense area into parcels so that the portion of map data contained in the parcel is close to a predetermined parcel size. The method subdivides the map data less the map data representing the dense area into parcels so that the portion of map data contained in the parcel is close to the predetermined parcel size. Additionally, the method locates the map data in each parcel together on the physical storage medium.

Method for organizing map data

A method for route calculation using real time traffic conditions is disclosed. A transmission that includes weightings indicative of traffic conditions on roads is received. Then, a solution route is calculated by forming a list of road segments. The list is formed by expanding a search tree comprised of gates. Each gate represents a physical location on a road segment and an accessible direction relative thereto. Each gate to which a weighting applies is incremented by an amount indicated in the transmission. The solution route is determined by expanding the search tree, which includes determining and evaluating successor gates.

Method and system for route calculation in a navigation application

A method of representing a road network in a geographic database that facilitates determining routes between locations along the road network. In the geographic database, the road network is represented using transition point pair data. Each transition point pair data record indicates an entry point, an arm (or road segment) leading away from the entry point, an exit point, routing attributes (such as a travel cost or time), and possibly other data. Except for certain exceptions, such as multi-segment restricted driving maneuvers, the entry point and the exit point of a transition point pair are adjacent decision point intersections. A decision point intersection is an intersection at which a driver is required to make a decision which one of two or more possible road segments to take leading away from the intersection. The transition point pair data are used when calculating a route between two locations.

Method for streamlined representation of roads in a geographic database

A method for representing a route along a road network in a geographic region is disclosed. A database includes data representations of intersections of roads in the geographic region. Associated with the data representation for each intersection of roads are data indicating one or more nominal paths through the intersection. The nominal paths through an intersection identify, for each road segment by which the represented intersection can be entered, one and only one road segment from which the represented intersection is exited. The route is represented by indicating each intersection at which the route deviates from the nominal path into the intersection.

Method and system for compact representation of routes

A program and method for route calculation for use with a navigation system and used with a map database that represents a road network in a geographic region. A route calculation program is adapted to find at least one solution route between a first location on a road network and a second location on the road network. The route calculation program includes a first search tree associated with the first location and a second search tree associated with the second location. Each search tree is adapted to hold gates. Each of the gates represents a physical position on the road network and a direction from the position to another location along a path on the road network. The route calculation program also includes at least one priority queue associated with one of the search trees. The priority queue assigns a priority to one of the gates in the associated search tree based upon an evaluation using a search algorithm. The gate identified as having a higher priority than any other gate in its respective search tree is expanded to determine one or more successor gates thereof. Each of these successor gates so formed is compared to the gates in the other search tree. The process of growing at least one of the search trees by expanding the gate in the search tree that has a higher priority than any other gate in the search tree is continued until a gate in one search tree corresponds to at least one gate in the other search tree.

Growing community of inventors

Glen Ellyn, IL, United States of America

William McDonough