EP2288872A1

EP2288872A1 - Method and device for calculating a navigation route to associated destinations

Info

Publication number: EP2288872A1
Application number: EP09761325A
Authority: EP
Inventors: K.C. Dayananda; Richard Malingkas
Original assignee: Navigon AG
Current assignee: Garmin Wurzburg GmbH
Priority date: 2008-06-12
Filing date: 2009-06-10
Publication date: 2011-03-02
Also published as: DE102009025039A1; WO2009149704A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for calculating a navigation route to associated destinations (points of interest POI), comprising the following steps: definition of at least one reference position; definition of a quantity of at least two destination categories of POIs, a first POI destination category being first selected and at least one second POI destination category being selected; determination of the POIs of the first and second destination categories in close proximity to the reference position and calculation of a route, which from a starting position leads at least to one POI of the first category and/or one POI of the second category, the determination and route calculation being determined in accordance with a predefinable optimisation criterion. The method is characterised in that the optimised POI determination and route calculation uses at least one item of information that is assigned to each POI of a destination category and that has been stored in advance, said information containing details of at least one POI of another destination category in close proximity. The invention also relates to a navigation device for carrying out the aforementioned method.

Description

Method and device for calculating a navigation route to related

target points

The invention relates to a method for calculating a navigation route to connected destination points of different POI categories (Points of Interest).

Furthermore, the invention relates to a device for carrying out the navigation method according to the invention.

A common requirement for navigation methods is routing to POIs (Points of Interest), i. to places (points) that have special characteristics or special functions (interest), such as petrol stations, restaurants, amusement parks, banks, etc. Often, it is desired to find "clusters" of POIs, ie accumulations of POIs in coherent spatial Neighborhoods that meet different requirements and are thus assigned to different POI categories, for example a collection of a gas station with a restaurant, and it is desirable that the navigation procedure be as short as possible

BESTATIGUNGSKOPIE between these clustered POI target points.

A so-called "combined goal" is therefore a cluster of POIs that is considered as one entity and comprises POIs of different POI categories, so a combined goal comprises at least two POIs defined as addresses or as different POI categories It is desirable if the POIs of a combined destination have an optimal distance from each other and have an optimal distance to the current vehicle position or to a reference location, where as "optimal" different boundary conditions to the route, such as shortest travel distance, shortest travel time, preference for secondary lines or Highways, etc., should be specified.

Methods are known from the prior art in which initially a destination POI is selected and for this purpose a route is calculated. If a navigation to further destination category POIs is desired, starting from the already selected POI, a route to the POI of the next destination category is calculated. Thus, first a route to a first POI of a first target category is calculated, and on that basis a further route to a POI of another POI category. However, this does not ensure that the POIs to be controlled are in spatial proximity to each other, moreover, this method is correspondingly computationally and time-consuming, since each POI own route planning is performed. So far, a common way to plan a route to POIs of different target categories has been to select a single POI using a navigation system. Typically, the user goes through a multi-level POI category menu and chooses a specific category with the aim of obtaining a list of POIs of that category. From this list, the user can select one of the POIs as the route destination. This process is repeated for each POI of a combined destination, ie for each POI of a POI destination category. Thus, there is the disadvantage of the prior art that a user who needs both a restaurant and a gas station at the same time, for example, must start two separate navigation requests that result in two separate routes. As a rule, the POI of the first category of destination, the selected restaurant, is far removed from the POI of the second category, the filling station, which translates into a high driving distance or an increased travel time between the individual POIs.

The navigation methods known from the prior art do not give the user the possibility of entering a POI of a first target category and a POI of a second target category, so that a combined route is found which is the optimum distance starting from the start position to the first and the second POI calculated close to the starting position. Thus, there has hitherto been no way for a user to make only one step in a destination input to cause the calculation of a route to two POIs of two different destination categories. Furthermore, the known from the prior art POI relationships are only accidentally or rarely used and do not cover all neighborhood relationships, such as a restaurant opposite a central station.

Summary representations, as described in US Pat. No. 6,983,203 B1, do not allow the selection of POIs before a route calculation, but are for illustrative purposes only.

US 2005/0177303 A1 discloses a method for finding a cluster of POIs of a single target category. For example, it is proposed to search a spatial area for a specific POI target category and display its distribution as a distribution matrix so that a desired POI of a single POI target category can be found quickly. However, the Dl does not teach to create a route to linked POIs of different target categories. In addition, US 2005/0187707 A1 discloses a method which calculates an optimized route to two or more nearby POIs of different POI target categories starting from a starting position. However, as already known in the prior art, in each case a first POI of a first target category is found, and from this starting recursively a route to a second POI of a second destination category, then from the second POI to a third POI of a third destination category, etc calculated. In this case, recursive route segments are calculated from the last found POI to the next POI along which they are navigated. A combined route calculation that visits several POIs in advance and calculates a coherent optimized route is not apparent from this document.

US Pat. No. 7,082,365 B2 describes a method for determining POIs in spatial proximity to the position of a vehicle. For this purpose, advanced information on POIs of a specific target category that are located nearby can be displayed. Furthermore, EP 1 174 685 A1 discloses a method and a device for the combined search of POIs of a target category in spatially adjacent areas. Finally, EP 1 703 257 A1 describes a navigation method that is able to find POIs based on a starting position in a specific spatial area and adjacent areas. From all the above documents, however, no method emerges that can optimally calculate a combined route to POIs of different target categories.

For example, US Pat. No. 6,983,203 B1 discloses, in the context of combined objectives, the characterization of clusters of POIs by special icons, ie icons, which comprise a collection of POIs of different target categories, for example combined restaurants and filling stations, combined parking lots and toilets etc. , to mark. In summary, it should be noted that the prior art methods do not allow selection of multiple POIs of different target categories in a single query at the same time. Furthermore, the conventional methods do not always allow the finding of an "optimal" route, ie a route between a starting position and a contiguous number of POIs of different target categories, selected according to an optimization criterion such as shortest travel time, shortest distance, preferred road type, etc. is determined.

Thus, the prior art presents the problem of finding two closely located POIs of different target categories, the route being optimally calculated from a starting position to find POIs of different target categories located at a reference position.

This object is achieved by a method according to the teaching of claim 1 and a device according to the teaching of claim 17.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

The method according to the invention for calculating a navigation route to connected target points comprises the steps:

• definition of a reference position;

• Definition of a set of at least two target categories of POIs (Points of Interest), whereby first a first POI target category and at least a second POI target category is selected;

Determination of the POIs of the first and second target category and calculation of a route which, starting from a starting position, is routed to at least one POI of the first and / or one POI of the first and second target categories. th category leads near the reference position, wherein the determination and route calculation is determined under a pre-definable optimization criterion.

The method according to the invention is characterized in that the optimized POI determination and route calculation uses at least one information item assigned to each POI of a destination category and stored in advance, which contains information about at least one nearby POI of another destination category.

Thus, the method is based on the determination of a route between POIs of different destination categories, whereby information of each POI about nearby POIs of other destination categories is used to determine the route and the location of the individual POIs. By doing so, the method obtains the ability to find a plurality of POIs in direct proximity to each other, i. So that the complexity of the use of the navigation system is reduced, since only a request for approaching POIs of different target categories must be made. Furthermore, the method enables a minimization of the breakpoints to be approached by a user. Finally, the method allows the user to save time and money by driving an optimal route that meets multiple requirements (e.g., food and gas station) simultaneously.

Initially, the method is given a start position, for example the current vehicle position, in particular via a GPS position determination, or a desired starting point of the route as entered address, zip code, district, place name or the like or by selecting or entering an excellent POI. After this, the method is informed in the same way of a reference position, in the spatial proximity of which are to be found the POIs. In many cases, the reference position will be identical to the starting position, so that POIs close to the starting position are searched for under the search criterion shortest airline (radius search). or shortest distance (shortest route) can be found. However, the reference position may also be selected differently from the starting position by selecting an address, postal code, district or place name, etc., or by selecting an excellent POI.

Subsequently, POIs are selected by defining a POI target category and / or, for example, an address specification. By selecting POI target categories and grouping them into POI clusters, the task is to determine a close spatial relationship between POIs of the POI cluster in order to calculate an optimal route.

Thus, starting from the starting position, POIs are found at a remote reference position, whereby the reference position can itself be a POI. Thus, for example, it is possible to locate a restaurant (first destination category) near a lake (second destination category and at the same time reference position) under the boundary condition of spatial proximity to the lake, such that route planning to a POI of a first destination category under the boundary condition of spatial proximity In addition, even the route planning from the current vehicle location (starting position) to an ATM (POI of a first destination category) in a specific district (reference position) is subject to the constraint of a nearby shopping center In principle, a plurality of reference positions can be selected in the context of the method according to the invention so that POIs of the first and / or second target category can be found in spatial proximity of a first and / or a second reference position.

Basically, the invention is based on a route planning to one or more destinations in the vicinity of one or more reference positions and includes a radius search for POIs of certain other POI destinations. categories starting from the reference position, for example a preselected POI of a POI target category or an address, a district, etc .; This process is called determining the POIs and finds spatially adjacent POIs. In this regard, the method according to the invention proposes improved indexing of POI information, in order in particular to be able to store conventional POI combinations with the least possible memory overhead, and enables an improved route planning technique, for example by using routing threads (multiple simultaneous routing method queries), which allows fast locating of multiple targets. To do this, additional CPU capacity can be used in the search for a destination, while the search for other POI destinations is waiting for a database access. In this context, adaptation of the user interface of a navigation device is necessary in order to be able to efficiently input multiple destinations or categories by the user.

In the context of the method according to the invention, a finding of POIs associated with two or more POI categories is possible, so that a single POI is simultaneously a destination POI of the first and the second POI destination category. Thus, the method would find a single POI that fulfills the function of the first and second POI target category. For example, finding a restaurant at the port may serve as an example, with this destination being assigned to both the POI category "Restaurant" and the destination category "Port". Entering these two target categories would therefore find at least one restaurant at the port, in addition to restaurants that are located near a port. It may be conceivable to prefer the finding of POIs that are assigned to more than one POI target category, such as finding a car rental at an airport, the POI "car rental" also meets the POI "airport". Equivalent to this is the finding of a POI under the boundary condition of the spatial proximity to another POI (be it that the other POI has been selected as the reference position or that the POI belongs to another POI target category). An example is the search query for the route planning of a "restaurant" on "Lake Starnberg", whereby Lake Starnberg was selected as the POI reference location.

In one embodiment of the method according to the invention, the route calculation calculates a route to a POI of a first destination category under the boundary condition of spatial proximity to a POI of a second POI destination category. Thus, for example, a route request for finding a restaurant (POI of a first target category) in the vicinity of a lake (POI of a second target category and boundary condition) in Greater Munich can be answered as reference position by the inventive method. In this case, a POI of the second target category has to be approached by the found route, the route leads only to a POI of the first target category, but its boundary is determined by the spatial proximity to a POI of the second target category.

In an advantageous embodiment of the method, a target position is defined in addition to a reference position and an implicit start position, the calculated route leading from the start position over the specific POIs in the vicinity of the reference position of the individual target categories to the target position. This further development allows the planning of a route from a start to a destination position, whereby a number of POIs of the desired destination categories lie along the route. Thus, this embodiment makes it possible to link the POI cluster search with a desired route from the start position to the destination position.

In a further advantageous refinement, the search for the desired categories corresponding POI clusters instead of the starting position in the. By entering address information by the user

Near the entered address as a reference position performed. there the address can be defined by entering a place name and / or a postcode, but also the entry of street and optional house number is conceivable. The type of search is arbitrary, in addition to the radius search, as it is advantageous to the reference position, a search of POIs within the desired municipality to the entered place name is advantageous, as a filtering of the desired destination POIs is easily possible.

According to a further embodiment serve as an optimization criterion at least for part of the route as a presettable criterion shortest route distance, shortest travel time, most scenic route, least traffic obstructions, a breakpoint for several spatially closely adjacent POIs or the like. Thus, an optimization criterion for planning the route desired according to the above-mentioned list can be used to adapt the route planning to the wishes of the user. Based on this, it is furthermore advantageous that an optimization criterion relates only to a partial route, in particular the route between the individual POIs of the different destination categories, the route between the starting point to the first POI to be approached or the route between the last approaching POI and the destination position. This makes it possible that only on individual sub-routes an optimization criterion is followed.

In principle, the order of the POIs to be approached is arbitrary, so that first a POI of a first target category, then a POI of a further category is approached, without the user having any influence on the order, and this is only influenced by the preset optimization criterion. However, constellations arise in which a prioritization of the approaching POI target category is desirable, so that, for example, first refueled and then a restaurant should be searched. It is also possible to search for a toilet as quickly as possible and then search for a tourist information center. In these cases it is advantageous that the definitions tion of the set of POI target categories includes a prioritization of POI target categories, the POI determination and / or the route calculation takes into account the prioritization of the POI categories to determine the order of the POIs to be approached. In this way, the order of the POI destination categories to be approached can be defined in the route sequence, so that a cardialization of the POI destination requests becomes possible.

In a further desirable embodiment of the method, the POI determination and / or the route calculation summarizes the POIs of the defined POI categories assigned to a route as a combined destination and provides the user with additional information about the estimated travel time, driving distance, etc. of a route the combined goal, ie to the totality of the POIs of the different target categories. In other words, the selection of individual POI target categories according to this embodiment enables the definition of a combined target, for example a commonly used combination of ATM, gas station and restaurant. Thus, combined targets can be defined as "templates" so that they can be retrieved, for example, in a simple POI cluster template as a stored combined target for which the best possible route is to be calculated.

Based on this, it is quite conceivable and possible for the method to determine several combined targets and to provide the user with a selection list of combined targets, ie multiple cluster templates, for selecting a combined target. Thus, it is conceivable, for example, that combined destinations can be stored in a combination of "filling station WC bank machine" or "restaurant shopping center hotel" and made available to the user in a selection list. Alternatively, it is also possible and quite reasonable to consider several possible combined objectives of a common set of POI target categories, for example a group "Gas station". ATM "with different distances and route suggestions as alternative combined destinations.

On this basis, it is furthermore conceivable to arrange a selection list of combined destinations according to prioritization criteria, such as estimated travel time, shortest travel distance, closer specification of a destination category, etc. in a further development of the method according to the invention. For example, if several combined goals "gas station ATM" found, so they can be listed in a selection list in terms of distance or travel time, so that a user can easily and easily select from them to his

To select a suitable combined target accordingly.

The calculation of the route between the individual POIs of different target categories can basically be carried out arbitrarily. In a particular embodiment, within the framework of the POI

Determination and / or the route calculation created a graph network of all eligible POIs the defined target groups and set within the graph an underlying the optimization criterion route from the start position on the plurality of POIs of the different target categories in the vicinity of the reference position. The establishment of the graph network of candidate POIs of the selected POI target categories in spatial proximity to the reference position is here considered to be a determination of the POIs. Consequently, by means of a graph network, all POIs of all selected POI target categories lying near the reference position are networked with each other by means of available road courses, by means of a graph which adheres to the presettable optimization criteria, a path through the graph network is sought which optimally matches the POIs of the different target categories "connects with each other.

Basically, the graph can be searched for any algorithm. For example, a Bellmann Ford Algorithm or algorithm of Floyd and Warshall conceivable. The application of a Dijkstra algorithm has proved to be particularly advantageous, which can optionally be extended to an A * algorithm. This class of graph algorithms allows for efficient, optimizable criteria graph search within a graphing network to find an optimal route.

The goal of a Dijkstra algorithm is to find the shortest path connecting the POIs of the different categories. Spatial positions of the POIs are set as vertices (vertices) and thus are nodes of the graph. Preferably, the straight-line between the vertices and optionally additional costs are used as the weight of the edge from one node to another. The search of the nodes within the graph is started from the reference location (probably the current vehicle position) and moves from there to all directions of the graph. Alternatively, a shortest route between the two nodes can be used as edge, whereby this variant requires a corresponding computing power of the system. This allows a request to be made to a database for geographically located POIs from a reference position. By means of a predefined initial query radius around the reference position, in particular start position or entered address, individual POIs of a first POI target category are then found. If no POI can be found, the polling radius can be increased. The POI result list creates nodes for the network. For this purpose, it may be advantageous that airline distances between the candidate POIs are taken into account as optimization criteria for the POI determination and / or the route calculation by means of the graph network. Alternatively, it is quite conceivable to use shortest road routes between candidate POIs as an optimization criterion. The method according to the invention proposes that at least one information item associated with each POI of a target category is used about spatially nearby POIs of other target categories for route calculation and POI determination. Moreover, it is quite conceivable and advantageous that pre-stored information of POIs of one target category about nearby POIs of another target category comprise information about a combination of several spatially proximate POIs, these POIs originating from different POI target categories. In particular, information about a frequently requested category combination, for example "gas station and restaurant", "gas station and toilet", "shopping center and ATM" or comparable such combinations, can be assigned to each POI of a respective other POI category In addition, such combined information can also be dynamically created and assigned to the POIs over time by means of experience-based software, for example, in the event of frequent demand, the POI may be dynamically generated -Combination "ATM station" Any POIs that are not ATMs or gas stations will be assigned information about nearby ATMs and gas stations as part of data maintenance operations.

If the nodes of the graph network are identified, spatially adjacent nodes that represent POIs of other target categories can be found by means of the additional information. For this purpose, it is particularly advantageous for the previously stored information of each POI of one target group to be stored in bit-coded fashion via nearby POIs of other target categories. If this information is stored by means of a bit marker index, the nearby POIs can be incorporated into the graph network very quickly and in a memory-efficient manner. If a graph network has been created, all possible paths will be from the reference position (in most cases identical to the Start position) to the potential result POIs while searching in graphs. Each path is incrementally built with the goal that each POI for a given category exists at least once, but is found regardless of the order. The found paths represent a shortest path tree (SPT) and are evaluated according to an optimization criterion, whereby the path with the lowest weight is selected as the "shortest path" and thus as the end result All POIs, the nodes of the The said POIs within the combined destination are stored according to the shortest path and thereby correspond to the optimization criterion of the shortest path distance, using known methods for calculating a route to a plurality of predetermined destinations. so-called Traveling Salesman problems, which can be used to improve the route planning algorithm.

For this purpose, it is also advantageously conceivable that the POI determination and / or the route calculation comprises a recursive POI search based on a found POI of a destination category for locating a POI of another destination category. Thus, for example, first all POIs of a target category lying in a spatially limited area can be found and recursively thereafter the POIs of another target category are added to a graph network tree so that the graph network tree can be recursively built for all POIs of all desired target categories.

The invention further relates to a navigation device for carrying out a method according to one of the preceding claims. For this purpose, the navigation device comprises an input device for inputting a start position, in particular a GPS-determined current vehicle position, a reference position in the vicinity of which the sought-after POIs are to be located, and for defining a set of target categories of POIs; a POI determination and route calculation device for determining POIs of the target categories and calculating a route from the start position to the determined POIs of the individual target categories in the vicinity of the reference position; and output means for outputting the route and information regarding the particular POIs.

The navigation device is characterized in that it comprises a POI category storage unit in which information for at least one POI category can be stored pointing to nearby POIs of at least one further POI category.

In other words, the navigation device according to the invention comprises a POI category storage unit in which with respect to each POI information relating to spatially nearby POIs of other POI categories can be stored, so that in the context of a request of a combined destination, the corresponding spatially nearby POIs the other requested target categories can be found as quickly as possible.

Accordingly, the device according to the invention proposes that POIs of at least one POI category store information relating to spatially adjacent POIs of another POI category, in particular for a frequently occurring POI category combination, in a card storage format (PSF = Physical Storage Format) become. This information can include the exact spatial location of the other POIs, but also additional information about usage details for the POI, such as in the case of restaurants about the available food offer, opening hours, telephone number, etc. For example, for the gas station restaurant combination, a bit index list or one or more ID lists of all nearby gas station POIs could be maintained for all restaurant POIs, and vice versa. In an advantageous further development of the device, the POI determination and route calculation device comprises an optimization unit which can perform an optimization of the POI determination and / or route calculation, in particular of a partial route calculation on the basis of optimization criteria that can be set in advance. Accordingly, the optimization unit undertakes an optimization of the route calculation either between the individual POIs of the different destination categories or between start position and first POI or last POI to be approached in the vicinity of the reference position and a destination position.

Furthermore, it is conceivable and advantageous for the input device and the POI determination and route calculation device to comprise at least parts of a prioritization unit which makes it possible to prioritize POI target categories for determining the starting order of POIs of different destination categories for the route calculation. Thus, a cardinalized prioritization of the approached POIs of the individual POI categories can be defined, so that first of all a most wanted POI is approached, and thereafter a POI of a second most urgently desired POI target category, etc.

Furthermore, in a particularly excellent embodiment, the input device, the POI determination and route calculation device and / or the output device comprise at least parts of a combined destination unit which is designed to combine certain POIs of all defined destination categories of a POI determination as a combined destination issue. Thus, combined destinations, such as "gas station restaurant" or "bank vending machine shopping center", may be entered as a combined destination both in the input device and in the POI determination and route calculation device, the route planning is jointly stored and processed, as well as in the output device a combined goal can be summarized. This allows a simplified handling of such in the case of particularly frequent POI target category clusters Combined goals and forms the basis for a template system of combined goals.

In another embodiment, the input device comprises a selection unit for selecting a combined destination from a selection list of combined destinations. For example, for frequently selected combined targets, these can be included in a list that can be made available to the user as a "combined target template".

Furthermore, the POI determination and route calculation device advantageously comprises a graph network analysis unit which is designed to create a network graph between a plurality of POIs of the same and different destination categories and an optimized path from the start position to a plurality of POIs of different destination categories near the reference position. The graphene network analysis unit can advantageously be based on a Dijkstra algorithm.

Finally, in another advantageous embodiment, the POI category storage unit comprises a binary storage unit that can store binary attributes relating to each POI via neighborhood relationships to spatially adjacent POIs of other destination categories, in particular POIs of combinations of destination categories. Thus, in the case of limited storage space for a map database, instead of the index of the POIs of the neighboring destination categories, a bit marker may be stored for each POI, indicating, for example, the proximity of a gas station POI at a restaurant POI. Thus, a bit marker can be set memory efficient for all common combinations of categories. The position of the nearby eg gas station POI can then be carried out by a runtime search in a smaller radius around the restaurant POI, so that the bit marker only gives an indirect indication of the POI of the other destination category. This is a compromise between runtime and card storage space. By A single byte per POI can thus define up to eight neighboring categories for each category, although it may also make sense to define the same category as a potential neighboring category. This information of each POI about neighboring POIs of other target categories may be pre-stored in the map data and thus prepared "factory-made." However, since there are usually a large number of POI categories, it is quite possible and possible to refer to POIs only frequently Furthermore, a dynamic creation of the neighborhood information is conceivable, for example, in the context of an evolutionary process, during the POI category combinations frequently requested by the user in the past as neighborhood information of the corresponding POIs as part of a data maintenance process.

Finally, a typical user interface of a navigation system has to be revised in order to allow a selection of several POI categories at the same time. In order to assist the user in entering the request data for a combined destination, it is proposed to use a button in order to be able to select an additional POI of a further POI category in the course of route planning for a POI of a specific destination category.

In the following the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to exemplary embodiments showing drawings.

Show it:

1a shows an exemplary embodiment of a graph network of spatially adjacent POIs of different target categories; FIG. 1b shows an embodiment of a bit marker index as stored information of each POI about spatially adjacent POIs of other target categories; FIG.

2 shows an embodiment of a user interface of a navigation device for carrying out an inventive device

procedure;

Fig. 3 shows another user interface of an embodiment of a

Navigation device for carrying out the method according to the invention;

4 is a construction diagram of an embodiment of a navigation device according to the invention.

In a generic prior art navigation system, for a user who wishes to visit both a restaurant and a gas station, there is typically the need to perform two search queries that ultimately exist as a result of two separate routes. The probability that the selected restaurant is relatively far in terms of distance and / or travel time from the selected gas station is very high.

With the proposed method, a query can be made after the POI category "gas station" and "restaurant" are selected. In this case, the query processing comprises an area search around a reference position, usually the start position, ie current GPS position of the vehicle, or an entered address / postal code / district etc., for all POIs of the corresponding categories within a predefinable distance limit. The resulting POIs are used to create a Graph Network of Shortest Path Tree (SPT), as discussed earlier. The generated shortest path tree can now be searched for the shortest route in terms of distance by providing an optimized path through the Tree that links the POIs of the desired categories together.

One of the scenarios is now the selection of a petrol station closest to the starting position and a nearest restaurant to the petrol station. Serve for this purpose, the embodiments shown below.

Another scenario is when the restaurant is first selected and then the nearest gas station is to be visited. With an increase in the POI categories in the search, the complexity of the query processing increases nonlinearly. The proposed method according to the invention is able to solve this problem. It is irrelevant in which order the POI categories are specified, but it is possible to specify a prioritization of the individually approaching POIs of the various POI target groups.

1 a shows a graph network which links spatially adjacent POIs of a first category 1 (POI 1), a second category 2 (POI 2) and a third category 3 (POI 3). The two POIs, POI I a and POI Ib (triangle) have been found for the target category POI 1. For the second target category POI 2, three POIs, POI 2a to POI 2c (rectangle) and for the third target category POI 3 two POIs, POI 3 a and POI 3b (oval) have been found.

The graph network graphically illustrates the possible drivable routes between the reference position (ref) and the various POIs of the individual target categories. The graph network is examined to find a route to POIs belonging to a plurality of categories. The user asks for a route that passes the POIs of categories 1, 2 and 3. A POI of category 1 is designated in Fig. 1 as POI Ix with x from {a, b, c ...}. In this example, the order of reaching the POIs of certain given categories is not important. Based on the reference position, a plurality of relevant POIs, which now belong to one of the various categories, are selected as POI candidates. Now, routes are calculated that take into account the weights between the various POIs, taking into account the distance between the POIs, in particular the airline distance and / or other cost parameters.

As a result, a route is found which, starting from the start position, which is also the reference position (ref point), leads via the POIs I a, 3b and 2b as best route to connect the POIs of the categories 1, 2 and 3 (thicker black continuous arrow).

To increase the computation speed, bit markers for the most common category combinations can be provided and stored together with each POI. An example of such bit-marker values is shown in FIG. 1b with reference to the example case shown in FIG. 1a. For two POIs from FIG. 1a, the neighborhood relation is listed by way of example, which can be stored for these POIs in the so-called PS format (physical storage format). The PS format designates the individually specified format, which is optimized for both volume and access, in which map data is stored for a navigation application.

It is clear from the graph network of FIG. 1a that the POI 1a has the POIs 2a, 2b and 3b as immediately adjacent and directly approachable POIs. Thus, as a bit marker index for POI I a (POI I a bit index), a reference to POI 2a, POI 3b and POI 2b is stored. Correspondingly, for the bit marker index of the POI 2a, the neighboring POIs 3a, POI 3b, POI 1a and POI Ib are stored as directly approachable spatially adjacent POIs. For POIs of other categories, however, no information is stored.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show, by way of example, adaptations of the user interfaces of navigation devices to the method according to the invention to carry out. 2 shows a familiar user interface 1 for the POI input for determining a destination of a route calculation. In this case, the POI input screen of a Navigon Mobile Navigator 6.x will be displayed. For other designed surfaces analog adjustments are possible. In this context, it is possible to define a location by city and / or zip code by input using the touch screen keypad. Optionally and not shown, an entry of a street or house number and / or cross street is possible. Under the "Add Category" section, another POI category can be selected, for example, through a drop-down menu or drop-down list Depending on the number of categories, a fuzzy search may be useful, for example, for the industries a business directory.

The new UI feature in this example is placed below the preselected category in FIG. With button 2 an additional category can be selected, or with button 3 the POI search for the entered category "restaurant" can be started After entering another category "harbor", the user interface looks like in fig. In addition to the category "Restaurant", the second target category "Harbor" 4 has been added. With the selection shown, a restaurant near a port would be searched or a route selected, with a restaurant and a harbor on it, with the restaurant mainly located near the port.

The user now has the possibility to add further categories to his search and thus to enlarge the POI cluster with button 2 or to start the search by pressing button 3.

4 schematically illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a navigation device for carrying out a method according to the invention. For this purpose, the navigation device 05 comprises an input device 06 as well as a POI determination and route calculation device 07. An the POI determination and route calculation device 07 is connected to a storage device 08, which comprises a POI storage unit 14, in which a POI category storage unit 15 is embedded. Finally, the navigation device 05 comprises an output device 09 which can output a route to the POIs of different target groups and thereby comprises a combined destination output unit 18 for outputting a combined destination, for example a frequently used and popular group of POI destination categories ,

By means of the input device 06, a current position as a start position and at the same time reference position by a GPS module or an address by means of a data input or by example Bluetooth transmission of a radiotelephone from the contact data can be entered. A prioritization input unit 10 serves to define an order of desired POI destination categories, so that a predetermined approach order of POIs of different destination categories can be set. Furthermore, the combined destination selection unit 1 1 makes it possible to combine several target categories into frequently desired combined target templates in order to be able to conveniently and easily plan a route to a group of POIs without a high interaction effort between the user and the navigation device. The data of the input device 06 are forwarded to the POI determination and route calculation device 07. This comprises a prioritization calculation unit 12, which orders the order of the POIs of the different POI target groups to be approached, and a graph network analysis unit 13, which can create a graph network of spatially adjacent POIs of different target groups. By means of an optimization unit 16, an optimized route is laid through the created graphics network or, using a combined destination calculation unit 17, an optimal route is created between a preset combined destination. For this purpose, data are read from the card memory unit 08, in particular from the POI memory unit 14, the information about the location of the POIs of the individual Contains target categories. Most significantly, the information stored in the POI category storage unit 15 serves to determine the neighborhood relationships between spatially adjacent POIs of different target groups. These neighborhood relationships can already be pre-stored when creating the map data. In addition, a subsequent creation of such neighborhood relationships, in particular bit index fields, is possible, for example, "evolutionary" after finding a frequently used POI query combination.After finding an optimized route through the graphics network, this can be output in the output device 09, where Combined goals can be summarized by the combined target output unit 18.

Claims

claims

Method for calculating a navigation route to connected target points, comprising the steps of: defining at least one reference position;

- Definition of a set of at least two target categories of POIs (Points of Interest), wherein first a first POI target category and at least a second POI target category is selected; Determining the POIs of the first and second target category in the spatial vicinity of the reference position and calculating a route that leads starting from a start position to at least one POI of the first and / or a POI of the second category, wherein the determination and route calculation under a pre-definable Opti the criterion for the classification is determined; Thereby, the optimized POI determination and route calculation uses at least one information associated with each POI of a target category and stored in advance, which contains information about at least one nearby POI of another target category.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the route calculation calculates a route to a POI of a first destination category under the boundary condition of spatial proximity to a POI of a second POI destination category.

3. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in addition to a reference position, a target position is defined, wherein the calculated route starting from the starting position via at least one of the specific POIs of the target categories near the reference position leads to the target position.

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized geke nn zei chn et that the optimization criterion at least parts of the route with regard to presettable criteria, such as shortest route distance, shortest travel time, scenic route, least traffic obstructions, a breakpoint for multiple POIs or the like , optimized.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the optimization criterion optimizes a partial route, in particular the route between the POIs, the route between the starting point to the first approaching POI or the route between the last approaching POI and the destination position.

6. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the definition of the set of target POI categories comprises a prioritization of the target POI categories, the POI determination and / or the route calculation prioritizing the POI categories to determine the Order of the POIs to be approached.

7. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized g ek ennz ei chn et, that the POI determination and / or the route calculation of a

Route associated POIs of the defined POI categories combined to a combined destination and the user stating additional information, such as estimated travel time, driving distance, etc., provides a route to the combined destination.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the method determines a plurality of combined targets and provides the user with a selection list of combined targets for selecting a combined target.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the selection list of combined destinations is selected according to prioritization criteria, such as estimated travel time, shortest travel distance, and more

Specification of a target category, etc., is ordered.

10. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized gekennzei ch net, that the POI determination and / or the route calculation includes the creation of a graph network of all candidate POIs the defined target categories and within the graph a the optimization criterion, in particular radius proximity or shortest route, the following path from the start position over a plurality of POIs of the different target categories in the vicinity of the reference position.

11. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pre-stored information of each POI of one destination category via nearby POIs of another destination category comprises information about a combination of destination categories, in particular about a frequently requested category combination , such as gas station and restaurant, gas station and toilet, shopping center and ATM etc.

12. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the previously stored information of each POI of a target category is stored in bit-coded fashion via POIs located in the vicinity.

13. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the POI determination and / or the route calculation comprises a recursive POI search based on a found POI of a destination category for locating a POI of a further destination category.

14. Navigation device (05) for carrying out a method according to one of the preceding claims, comprising an input device (06) for inputting a start position, in particular a GP S -vermedten current vehicle position, at least one reference position, in the vicinity of the sought or those POIs and to define a set of target categories of POIs; a POI determination and route calculation device (07) for determining POIs of the destination categories and calculating a route from the start position to the determined POIs of the individual destination categories in the vicinity of the reference position; an output device (09) for outputting the route and information relating to the particular POIs, characterized in that the device further comprises a POI category

Memory unit (15), in which for at least one POI category information indicative of nearby POIs at least one other POI category can be stored.

15. Device according to device claim 14, characterized in that the POI determination and route calculation device (07) comprises an optimization unit (16) which can perform an optimization of the POI determination and / or route calculation, in particular a partial route calculation based on pre-set optimization criteria.

16. Device according to one of the preceding device claims, characterized in that the input device and the POI determination and route calculating means (07) comprise at least parts of a prioritization unit (10), which prioritization of POI target categories for determining the Anfahrtsreiheinfolge of POIs different destination categories for the route calculation.

17. Device according to one of the preceding device claims, characterized geke nn records that the input device (06), the POI determination and route calculation device (07) and / or the output device (09) at least parts of a combined target unit (11, 17, 18) arranged to summarize and output the determined POIs of all defined target categories of a POI destination as a combined destination.

18. Device according to one of the preceding device claims, characterized in that the input device (06) comprises a selection unit (11) for selecting a combined destination from a selection list of combined destinations.

19. Device according to one of the preceding device claims, characterized in that the POI determination and route calculation device (07) comprises a graph network analysis unit (13) which is designed to create a network graph between a plurality of POIs of the same and different target categories and determine an optimized path from the starting position over a plurality of POIs of different target categories.

20. Device according to one of the preceding device claims, characterized in that the POI category storage unit (15) is a binary storage unit which stores binary attributes relating to each POI via neighbor shank relationships to spatially adjacent POIs of other target categories, in particular POIs of combinations of target categories.