WO2009036844A1

WO2009036844A1 - Navigation apparatus and method therefor

Info

Publication number: WO2009036844A1
Application number: PCT/EP2008/006508
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pieter Geelen
Original assignee: Tomtom International B.V.
Priority date: 2007-09-21
Filing date: 2008-07-31
Publication date: 2009-03-26
Also published as: TW200921052A

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a navigation apparatus comprising a processor (202) and a memory (214) storing map data, wherein the processor (202) is arranged to determine a route between at least first and second locations and a dispersion of travelling times or average speeds for the route.

Description

NAVIGATION APPARATUS AND METHOD THEREFOR

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a navigation apparatus of the type that calculates a route to a destination. The present invention also relates to a method of calculating a route to a destination. In particular, although not exclusively, the present invention relates to a navigation apparatus and method which calculates a route to a destination with an estimated time of arrival or travelling time.

Background to the Invention

Portable computing devices, for example Portable Navigation Devices (PNDs) that include GPS (Global Positioning System) signal reception and processing functionality are well known and are widely employed as in-car or other vehicle navigation systems. In general terms, a modern PND comprises a processor, memory (at least one of volatile and non-volatile, and commonly both), and map data stored within said memory. The processor and memory cooperate to provide an execution environment in which a software operating system may be established, and additionally it is commonplace for one or more additional software programs to be provided to enable the functionality of the PND to be controlled, and to provide various other functions.

Typically these devices further comprise one or more input interfaces that allow a user to interact with and control the device, and one or more output interfaces by means of which information may be relayed to the user. Illustrative examples of output interfaces include a visual display and a speaker for audible output. Illustrative examples of input interfaces include one or more physical buttons to control on/off operation or other features of the device (which buttons need not necessarily be on the device itself but could be on a steering wheel if the device is built into a vehicle), and a microphone for detecting user speech. In one particular arrangement, the output interface display may be configured as a touch sensitive display (by means of a touch sensitive overlay or otherwise) additionally to provide an input interface by means of which a user can operate the device by touch.

Devices of this type will also often include one or more physical connector interfaces by means of which power and optionally data signals can be transmitted to and received from the device, and optionally one or more wireless transmitters/receivers to allow communication over cellular telecommunications and other signal and data networks, for example Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, GSM, UMTS and the like. PNDs of this type also include a GPS antenna by means of which satellite- broadcast signals, including location data, can be received and subsequently processed to determine a current location of the device.

The PND may also include electronic gyroscopes and accelerometers which produce signals that can be processed to determine the current angular and linear acceleration, and in turn, and in conjunction with location information derived from the GPS signal, velocity and relative displacement of the device and thus the vehicle in which it is mounted. Typically, such features are most commonly provided in in-vehicle navigation systems, but may also be provided in PNDs if it is expedient to do so. The utility of such PNDs is manifested primarily in their ability to determine a route between a first location (typically a start or current location) and a second location (typically a destination). These locations can be input by a user of the device, by any of a wide variety of different methods, for example by postcode, street name and house number, previously stored "well known" destinations (such as famous locations, municipal locations (such as sports grounds or swimming baths) or other points of interest), and favourite or recently visited destinations.

Typically, the PND is enabled by software for computing a "best" or "optimum" route between the start and destination address locations from the map data. A "best" or "optimum" route is determined on the basis of predetermined criteria and need not necessarily be the fastest or shortest route. The selection of the route along which to guide the driver can be very sophisticated, and the selected route may take into account existing, predicted and dynamically and/or wirelessly received traffic and road information, historical information about road speeds, and the driver's own preferences for the factors determining road choice (for example the driver may specify that the route should not include motorways or toll roads).

In addition, the device may continually monitor road and traffic conditions, and offer to choose or to change the route over which the remainder of the journey is to be made due to changed conditions. Real time traffic monitoring systems, based on various technologies (e.g. mobile phone data exchanges, fixed cameras, GPS fleet tracking) are being used to identify traffic delays and to feed the information into notification systems.

PNDs of this type may typically be mounted on the dashboard or windscreen of a vehicle, but may also be formed as part of an on-board computer of the vehicle radio or indeed as part of the control system of the vehicle itself. The navigation device may also be part of a hand-held system, such as a PDA (Portable Digital Assistant), a media player, a mobile phone or the like, and in these cases, the normal functionality of the hand-held system is extended by means of the installation of software on the device to perform both route calculation and navigation along a calculated route.

Route planning and navigation functionality may also be provided by a desktop or mobile computing resource running appropriate software. For example, the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) provides an on-line route planning and navigation facility at http://www.rac.co.uk, which facility allows a user to enter a start point and a destination whereupon the server with which the user's computing resource is communicating calculates a route (aspects of which may be user specified), generates a map, and generates a set of exhaustive navigation instructions for guiding the user from the selected start point to the selected destination. The facility also provides for pseudo three-dimensional rendering of a calculated route, and route preview functionality which simulates a user travelling along the route and thereby provides the user with a preview of the calculated route.

In the context of a PND, once a route has been calculated, the user interacts with the navigation device to select the desired calculated route, optionally from a list of proposed routes. Optionally, the user may intervene in, or guide the route selection process, for example by specifying that certain routes, roads, locations or criteria are to be avoided or are mandatory for a particular journey. The route calculation aspect of the PND forms one primary function, and navigation along such a route is another primary function. During navigation along a calculated route, it is usual for such PNDs to provide visual and/or audible instructions to guide the user along a chosen route to the end of that route, i.e. the desired destination. It is also usual for PNDs to display map information on-screen during the navigation, such information regularly being updated on-screen so that the map information displayed is representative of the current location of the device, and thus of the user or user's vehicle if the device is being used for in- vehicle navigation.

An icon displayed on-screen typically denotes the current device location, and is centred with the map information of current and surrounding roads in the vicinity of the current device location and other map features also being displayed. Additionally, navigation information may be displayed, optionally in a status bar above, below or to one side of the displayed map information, examples of navigation information include a distance to the next deviation from the current road required to be taken by the user, the nature of that deviation possibly being represented by a further icon suggestive of the particular type of deviation, for example a left or right turn. The navigation function also determines the content, duration and timing of audible instructions by means of which the user can be guided along the route. As can be appreciated a simple instruction such as "turn left in 100 m" requires significant processing and analysis. As previously mentioned, user interaction with the device may be by a touch screen, or additionally or alternately by steering column mounted remote control, by voice activation or by any other suitable method. A further important function provided by the device is automatic route recalculation in the event that: a user deviates from the previously calculated route during navigation (either by accident or intentionally); real-time traffic conditions dictate that an alternative route would be more expedient and the device is suitably enabled to recognize such conditions automatically, or if a user actively causes the device to perform route re-calculation for any reason.

It is also known to allow a route to be calculated with user defined criteria; for example, the user may prefer a scenic route to be calculated by the device, or may wish to avoid any roads on which traffic congestion is likely, expected or currently prevailing. The device software would then calculate various routes and weigh more favourably those that include along their route the highest number of points of interest (known as POIs) tagged as being for example of scenic beauty, or, using stored information indicative of prevailing traffic conditions on particular roads, order the calculated routes in terms of a level of likely congestion or delay on account thereof. Other POI-based and traffic information-based route calculation and navigation criteria are also possible. Although the route calculation and navigation functions are fundamental to the overall utility of PNDs, it is possible to use the device purely for information display, or "free-driving", in which only map information relevant to the current device location is displayed, and in which no route has been calculated and no navigation is currently being performed by the device. Such a mode of operation is often applicable when the user already knows the route along which it is desired to travel and does not require navigation assistance.

Devices of the type described above, for example the 920T model manufactured and supplied by TomTom International B. V., provide a reliable means for enabling users to navigate from one position to another. Such devices are of great utility when the user is not familiar with the route to the destination to which they are navigating.

Some PNDs allow a user to input an arrival time by which they wish to arrive at a destination. Having calculated a route to the destination and a travelling time, the PND will then inform the user of a departure time by which they must embark on the route to arrive at the destination by the arrival time. However, if a user to desires to arrive at a destination by a particular time, then the choice of the fastest route, or route having the shortest travelling time, may not always be ideal. An aim of embodiments of the present invention is to improve route planning or selection of a route to a destination, particularly when a user wishes to arrive at a destination by a particular time.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a navigation apparatus comprising a processor; and a memory storing map data; characterised in that: the processor is arranged to determine a route between at least first and second locations and a dispersion of travelling times or average speeds for the route. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for use in a navigation apparatus, comprising: determining a route between first and second locations using map data; characterised by: determining a dispersion of travelling times or average speeds for the route.

It is thus possible to provide an apparatus and method capable of improving route selection by a user. Consequently, user experience is enhanced, because a user is able to determine a route to a destination which carries an acceptable level of risk of arriving after a particular time.

Brief Description of the Drawings At least one embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary part of a Global Positioning System (GPS) usable by a navigation device;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a communications system for communication between a navigation device and a server;

Figure 3 is a schematic illustration of electronic components of the navigation device of Figure 2 or any other suitable navigation device;

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an arrangement of mounting and/or docking a navigation device; Figure 5 is a schematic representation of an architectural stack employed by the navigation device of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a plot of travelling time distributions for two routes; and Figure 7 is an example method of an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

Throughout the following description identical reference numerals will be used to identify like parts.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with particular reference to a PND. It should be remembered, however, that the teachings of the present invention are not limited to PNDs but are instead universally applicable to any type of processing device that is configured to execute navigation software in a portable manner so as to provide route planning and navigation functionality. It follows therefore that in the context of the present application, a navigation device is intended to include (without limitation) any type of route planning and navigation device, irrespective of whether that device is embodied as a PND, a vehicle such as an automobile, or indeed a portable computing resource, for example a portable personal computer (PC), a mobile telephone or a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) executing route planning and navigation software.

It will also be apparent from the following that the teachings of the present invention even have utility in circumstances, where a user is not seeking instructions on how to navigate from one point to another, but merely wishes to be provided with a view of a given location. In such circumstances the "destination" location selected by the user need not have a corresponding start location from which the user wishes to start navigating, and as a consequence references herein to the "destination" location or indeed to a "destination" view should not be interpreted to mean that the generation of a route is essential, that travelling to the "destination" must occur, or indeed that the presence of a destination requires the designation of a corresponding start location.

With the above provisos in mind, the Global Positioning System (GPS) of Figure 1 and the like are used for a variety of purposes. In general, the GPS is a satellite-radio based navigation system capable of determining continuous position, velocity, time, and in some instances direction information for an unlimited number of users. Formerly known as NAVSTAR, the GPS incorporates a plurality of satellites which orbit the earth in extremely precise orbits. Based on these precise orbits, GPS satellites can relay their location to any number of receiving units.

The GPS system is implemented when a device, specially equipped to receive GPS data, begins scanning radio frequencies for GPS satellite signals. Upon receiving a radio signal from a GPS satellite, the device determines the precise location of that satellite via one of a plurality of different conventional methods. The device will continue scanning, in most instances, for signals until it has acquired at least three different satellite signals (noting that position is not normally, but can be determined, with only two signals using other triangulation techniques). Implementing geometric triangulation, the receiver utilizes the three known positions to determine its own two-dimensional position relative to the satellites. This can be done in a known manner. Additionally, acquiring a fourth satellite signal allows the receiving device to calculate its three dimensional position by the same geometrical calculation in a known manner. The position and velocity data can be updated in real time on a continuous basis by an unlimited number of users.

As shown in Figure 1 , the GPS system 100 comprises a plurality of satellites 102 orbiting about the earth 104. A GPS receiver 106 receives spread spectrum GPS satellite data signals 108 from a number of the plurality of satellites 102. The spread spectrum data signals 108 are continuously transmitted from each satellite 102, the spread spectrum data signals 108 transmitted each comprise a data stream including information identifying a particular satellite 102 from which the data stream originates. The GPS receiver 106 generally requires spread spectrum data signals 108 from at least three satellites 102 in order to be able to calculate a two-dimensional position. Receipt of a fourth spread spectrum data signal enables the GPS receiver 106 to calculate, using a known technique, a three-dimensional position.

Turning to Figure 2, a navigation device 200 comprising or coupled to the GPS receiver device 106, is capable of establishing a data session, if required, with network hardware of a "mobile" or telecommunications network via a mobile device (not shown), for example a mobile telephone, PDA, and/or any device with mobile telephone technology, in order to establish a digital connection, for example a digital connection via known Bluetooth technology. Thereafter, through its network service provider, the mobile device can establish a network connection (through the Internet for example) with a server 150. As such, a "mobile" network connection can be established between the navigation device 200 (which can be, and often times is, mobile as it travels alone and/or in a vehicle) and the server 150 to provide a "real-time" or at least very "up to date" gateway for information.

The establishing of the network connection between the mobile device (via a service provider) and another device such as the server 150, using the Internet for example, can be done in a known manner. In this respect, any number of appropriate data communications protocols can be employed, for example the TCP/IP layered protocol. Furthermore, the mobile device can utilize any number of communication standards such as CDMA2000, GSM, IEEE 802.11 a/b/c/g/n, etc.

Hence, it can be seen that the internet connection may be utilised, which can be achieved via data connection, via a mobile phone or mobile phone technology within the navigation device 200 for example.

Although not shown, the navigation device 200 may, of course, include its own mobile telephone technology within the navigation device 200 itself (including an antenna for example, or optionally using the internal antenna of the navigation device 200). The mobile phone technology within the navigation device 200 can include internal components, and/or can include an insertable card (e.g. Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card), complete with necessary mobile phone technology and/or an antenna for example. As such, mobile phone technology within the navigation device 200 can similarly establish a network connection between the navigation device 200 and the server 150, via the Internet for example, in a manner similar to that of any mobile device. For telephone settings, a Bluetooth enabled navigation device may be used to work correctly with the ever changing spectrum of mobile phone models, manufacturers, etc., model/manufacturer specific settings may be stored on the navigation device 200 for example. The data stored for this information can be updated.

In Figure 2, the navigation device 200 is depicted as being in communication with the server 150 via a generic communications channel 152 that can be implemented by any of a number of different arrangements. The communication channel 152 generically represents the propagating medium or path that connects the navigation device 200 and the server 150. The server 150 and the navigation device 200 can communicate when a connection via the communications channel 152 is established between the server 150 and the navigation device 200 (noting that such a connection can be a data connection via mobile device, a direct connection via personal computer via the internet, etc.).

The communication channel 152 is not limited to a particular communication technology. Additionally, the communication channel 152 is not limited to a single communication technology; that is, the channel 152 may include several communication links that use a variety of technology. For example, the communication channel 152 can be adapted to provide a path for electrical, optical, and/or electromagnetic communications, etc. As such, the communication channel 152 includes, but is not limited to, one or a combination of the following: electric circuits, electrical conductors such as wires and coaxial cables, fibre optic cables, converters, radio-frequency (RF) waves, the atmosphere, free space, etc. Furthermore, the communication channel 152 can include intermediate devices such as routers, repeaters, buffers, transmitters, and receivers, for example.

In one illustrative arrangement, the communication channel 152 includes telephone and computer networks. Furthermore, the communication channel 152 may be capable of accommodating wireless communication, for example, infrared communications, radio frequency communications, such as microwave frequency communications, etc. Additionally, the communication channel 152 can accommodate satellite communication.

The communication signals transmitted through the communication channel 152 include, but are not limited to, signals as may be required or desired for given communication technology. For example, the signals may be adapted to be used in cellular communication technology such as Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), etc. Both digital and analogue signals can be transmitted through the communication channel 152. These signals may be modulated, encrypted and/or compressed signals as may be desirable for the communication technology.

The server 150 includes, in addition to other components which may not be illustrated, a processor 154 operatively connected to a memory 156 and further operatively connected, via a wired or wireless connection 158, to a mass data storage device 160. The mass storage device 160 contains a store of navigation data and map information, and can again be a separate device from the server 150 or can be incorporated into the server 150. The processor 154 is further operatively connected to transmitter 162 and receiver 164, to transmit and receive information to and from navigation device 200 via communications channel 152. The signals sent and received may include data, communication, and/or other propagated signals. The transmitter 162 and receiver 164 may be selected or designed according to the communications requirement and communication technology used in the communication design for the navigation system 200. Further, it should be noted that the functions of transmitter 162 and receiver 164 may be combined into a single transceiver. As mentioned above, the navigation device 200 can be arranged to communicate with the server 150 through communications channel 152, using transmitter 166 and receiver 168 to send and receive signals and/or data through the communications channel 152, noting that these devices can further be used to communicate with devices other than server 150. Further, the transmitter 166 and receiver 168 are selected or designed according to communication requirements and communication technology used in the communication design for the navigation device 200 and the functions of the transmitter 166 and receiver 168 may be combined into a single transceiver as described above in relation to Figure 2. Of course, the navigation device 200 comprises other hardware and/or functional parts, which will be described later herein in further detail.

Software stored in server memory 156 provides instructions for the processor 154 and allows the server 150 to provide services to the navigation device 200. One service provided by the server 150 involves processing requests from the navigation device 200 and transmitting navigation data from the mass data storage 160 to the navigation device 200. Another service that can be provided by the server 150 includes processing the navigation data using various algorithms for a desired application and sending the results of these calculations to the navigation device 200.

The server 150 constitutes a remote source of data accessible by the navigation device 200 via a wireless channel. The server 150 may include a network server located on a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), virtual private network (VPN), etc.

The server 150 may include a personal computer such as a desktop or laptop computer, and the communication channel 152 may be a cable connected between the personal computer and the navigation device 200. Alternatively, a personal computer may be connected between the navigation device 200 and the server 150 to establish an internet connection between the server 150 and the navigation device 200.

The navigation device 200 may be provided with information from the server 150 via information downloads which may be periodically updated automatically or upon a user connecting the navigation device 200 to the server 150 and/or may be more dynamic upon a more constant or frequent connection being made between the server 150 and navigation device 200 via a wireless mobile connection device and TCP/IP connection for example. For many dynamic calculations, the processor 154 in the server 150 may be used to handle the bulk of processing needs, however, a processor (not shown in Figure 2) of the navigation device 200 can also handle much processing and calculation, oftentimes independent of a connection to a server 150. Referring to Figure 3, it should be noted that the block diagram of the navigation device 200 is not inclusive of all components of the navigation device, but is only representative of many example components. The navigation device 200 is located within a housing (not shown). The navigation device 200 includes a processing resource comprising, for example, the processor 202 mentioned above, the processor 202 being coupled to an input device 204 and a display device, for example a display screen 206. Although reference is made here to the input device 204 in the singular, the skilled person should appreciate that the input device 204 represents any number of input devices, including a keyboard device, voice input device, touch panel and/or any other known input device utilised to input information. Likewise, the display screen 206 can include any type of display screen such as a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), for example. In one arrangement, one aspect of the input device 204, the touch panel, and the display screen 206 are integrated so as to provide an integrated input and display device, including a touchpad or touchscreen input 250 (Figure 4) to enable both input of information (via direct input, menu selection, etc.) and display of information through the touch panel screen so that a user need only touch a portion of the display screen 206 to select one of a plurality of display choices or to activate one of a plurality of virtual or "soft" buttons. In this respect, the processor 202 supports a Graphical User Interface (GUI) that operates in conjunction with the touchscreen.

In the navigation device 200, the processor 202 is operatively connected to and capable of receiving input information from input device 204 via a connection 210, and operatively connected to at least one of the display screen 206 and the output device 208, via respective output connections 212, to output information thereto. The navigation device 200 may include an output device 208, for example an audible output device (e.g. a loudspeaker). As the output device 208 can produce audible information for a user of the navigation device 200, it is should equally be understood that input device 204 can include a microphone and software for receiving input voice commands as well. Further, the navigation device 200 can also include any additional input device

204 and/or any additional output device, such as audio input/output devices for example.

The processor 202 is operatively connected to memory 214 via connection 216 and is further adapted to receive/send information from/to input/output (I/O) ports 218 via connection 220, wherein the I/O port 218 is connectible to an I/O device 222 external to the navigation device 200. The external I/O device 222 may include, but is not limited to an external listening device, such as an earpiece for example. The connection to I/O device 222 can further be a wired or wireless connection to any other external device such as a car stereo unit for hands-free operation and/or for voice activated operation for example, for connection to an earpiece or headphones, and/or for connection to a mobile telephone for example, wherein the mobile telephone connection can be used to establish a data connection between the navigation device 200 and the Internet or any other network for example, and/or to establish a connection to a server via the Internet or some other network for example. Figure 3 further illustrates an operative connection between the processor 202 and an antenna/receiver 224 via connection 226, wherein the antenna/receiver 224 can be a GPS antenna/receiver for example. It should be understood that the antenna and receiver designated by reference numeral 224 are combined schematically for illustration, but that the antenna and receiver may be separately located components, and that the antenna may be a GPS patch antenna or helical antenna for example.

It will, of course, be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the electronic components shown in Figure 3 are powered by one or more power sources (not shown) in a conventional manner. As will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, different configurations of the components shown in Figure 3 are contemplated. For example, the components shown in Figure 3 may be in communication with one another via wired and/or wireless connections and the like. Thus, the navigation device 200 described herein can be a portable or handheld navigation device 200.

In addition, the portable or handheld navigation device 200 of Figure 3 can be connected or "docked" in a known manner to a vehicle such as a bicycle, a motorbike, a car or a boat for example. Such a navigation device 200 is then removable from the docked location for portable or handheld navigation use.

Referring to Figure 4, the navigation device 200 may be a unit that includes the integrated input and display device 206 and the other components of Figure 2 (including, but not limited to, the internal GPS receiver 224, the microprocessor 202, a power supply (not shown), memory systems 214, etc.). The navigation device 200 may sit on an arm 252, which itself may be secured to a vehicle dashboard/window/etc, using a suction cup 254. This arm 252 is one example of a docking station to which the navigation device 200 can be docked. The navigation device 200 can be docked or otherwise connected to the arm 252 of the docking station by snap connecting the navigation device 200 to the arm 252 for example. The navigation device 200 may then be rotatable on the arm 252. To release the connection between the navigation device 200 and the docking station, a button (not shown) on the navigation device 200 may be pressed, for example. Other equally suitable arrangements for coupling and decoupling the navigation device 200 to a docking station are well known to persons of ordinary skill in the art. Turning to Figure 5, the processor 202 and memory 214 cooperate to support a

BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) 282 that functions as an interface between functional hardware components 280 of the navigation device 200 and the software executed by the device. The processor 202 then loads an operating system 284 from the memory 214, which provides an environment in which application software 286 (implementing some or all of the above described route planning and navigation functionality) can run. The application software 286 provides an operational environment including the GUI that supports core functions of the navigation device, for example map viewing, route planning, navigation functions and any other functions associated therewith. In this respect, part of the application software 286 comprises a view generation module 288. As noted above, when calculating a route to a destination, a choice of apparently fastest (or shortest travelling time) route may not be an ideal or suitable for the user's situation. This is because road and/or traffic conditions actually encountered on a route may vary from those which may be predicted in advance. In order to address this, actual transit times or speeds along roads or routes may be recorded as historical data. The historical information may also be shared amongst a plurality of users. From this historical data, an average time to travel a particular route may be calculated. However, whilst an average time to travel a route may be calculated, some routes may carry a higher probability of having a much longer travel time or lower average speed. For example, suppose that a route to a destination has an average travelling time of 50 minutes based upon historical data. Whilst this provides the user with an improved estimate of the actual time taken to travel the route, the average travelling time does not consider the probability of travelling the route in the average time. In some situations, the historical data may show that the time taken to travel the route may be much longer and thus two apparently identical routes may differ in the probability of travelling the route in a longer time. For example, Figure 6 shows a comparison of historical travelling times for two routes. The first route has an average (mean) travelling time of 148 minutes, whereas route two has an average travelling time of 152 minutes. Therefore, based upon a comparison of average historical travelling time, route one would appear to be the best choice since it has historically been the quickest route. However, there is a greater probability that route one would have a travelling time over 158 minutes than route two. Thus if it is important for a user to arrive at a destination by a particular time, the user may wish to choose route two since this carries the lower probability of having a longer travelling time since it has the lowest variance in travelling time.

Embodiments of the present invention allow a user to select a route or a route to be calculated by a navigation device by taking into account the dispersion of historical travelling times or average speeds of the route.

For a set of historical travelling times along a road having a mean travelling time xthen the variance of travelling times along that road can be calculated by:

|>, - *)² var iance = — ( 1 ) n Where n is the total number of travelling time samples in the set considered.

Another measure of the dispersion of historical travelling times is standard deviation σ, which is the square route of variance, as shown:

The standard deviation may be expressed as a percentage of the average travelling time in order to represent the dispersion to a user.

For a route which combines two or more roads, the total travelling time for the route is the sum of the individual road segments forming the route. A total standard deviation of the route is the square root of the sum of squared standard deviations of the individual road segments forming the route, as shown below:

Wherein z is the number of road segments forming the route. In a first embodiment of the present invention, a navigation device 200 displays an indication of a dispersion of travelling times or average speeds for a proposed route to a user.

When calculating a route between at least first and second destinations, the navigation device 200 of a first embodiment indicates to the user an indication of the dispersion of historical travelling times or average speeds of the proposed route. For example, a user may input to the navigation device 200 a destination location and request that the navigation device calculates a route to the destination from the determined current location of the navigation device 200. Once a "fastest" route to the destination has been calculated by the navigation device 200, the navigation device is arranged to display on the display device 206 an indication of the dispersion of historical travelling times or average speeds for that route. In one embodiment, the navigation device 200 displays an indication of the standard deviation. For example that the route has an estimated and/or mean historical average travelling time of 148 minutes and a standard deviation travelling time of ±5 minutes. Therefore, the user can make a decision about, for example, their time of departure or whether to request that the navigation device calculates an alternative route, for example using more motorway or avoiding a certain area which is known to be prone to traffic build up and consequently affects the dispersion of travelling times. In this way, the user is able to avoid being surprisingly delayed by reducing the variation in travelling time. Alternatively, the navigation device may display the indication of variance to the user in the form of a percentage e.g. 148 minutes ± 3%. In a further alternative, the navigation device 200 may warn the user that there is a certain percentage probability of the route taking over a certain time. For example, for a normal distribution of historical travelling times, 68.2% of journeys would be completed within one standard deviation of the mean which. Therefore, for the example above, the navigation device may display a warning on the display device that 15.9% (50-(68.2/2)) of journeys would take longer than 153 minutes or that 5% of journeys would take longer than 156.2 minutes (148+1.645σ). It will be realised that warnings comprising other values or examples may be used. In some embodiments, the navigation device 200 calculates two or more proposed routes and indicates for those routes the dispersion in travelling times in one of the forms previously mentioned, thus giving the user an opportunity to select from amongst the proposed routes according to the dispersion in travelling times. In this way, the user is able to determine whether the route carries a high enough probability of arriving at the destination in time for the user's purpose.

In a second embodiment of the present invention, a navigation device and method of calculating a route to a destination allows a user to define a minimum level of dispersion in travelling time for a route.

When entering details of a route to be calculated, for example the destination, a navigation device 200 according to embodiments of the present invention, allows a user to enter a minimum level of dispersion which a selected route must meet. With reference to Figure 7, a method according to an embodiment of the present invention begins in step 701. In step 702, the user inputs details of the route to be determined, such as a destination location. In step 703, the user inputs a maximum level of dispersion for the route to be calculated. For example, a user may input a standard deviation value for the route e.g. 5 minutes, alternatively the user may input a maximum percentage dispersion. Still alternatively, the user may input a confidence interval value e.g. that 95% (2σ) or 99% (3σ) of historical journeys must have been completed within 10 minutes. The processor 202 of the navigation device 200 then calculates in step 704, with reference to map data and stored dispersion information, a "fastest" route, or route having the shortest mean or estimated travelling time. In step 705, the processor 202 determines whether the dispersion of the fastest route is less than the maximum input by the user in step 703. If the fastest route meets the dispersion requirement, then it is used in step 706 to navigate the user to the destination. If, however, the fastest route has a dispersion greater than the maximum input by the user, then it is determined in step 707 whether another possible route to the destination exists. If no other possible route exists, a warning message is displayed on the display device 206 to alert the user that the dispersion requirement could not be met. The navigation device 200 may then still use the determined route. If it is determined that another route is possible, then that route is determined in step 709 and the dispersion of that new route compared against the input maximum requirement in step 705. Thus, the navigation device determines routes until a route is found which meets the dispersion requirement input by the user or all routes have been exhausted. Preferably, the method evaluates routes from the fastest to the slowest, that is, from the shortest mean or estimated travelling time to the longest. Thus, the navigation device 200 allows a user to specify a maximum dispersion so that a risk of arriving surprisingly later than expected at a destination is minimised or is at an acceptable level. For example, a user may not care if a possibly slower or longer duration route is chosen, but would prefer to be more likely to arrive at an estimated time rather than being surprisingly late.

In a third embodiment, of the present invention, a navigation device 200 allows a user to input a required time of arrival at a destination and a maximum dispersion required of a route. The method of the third embodiment is similar to that of the second embodiment with the addition that in step 703 a required arrival time and maximum dispersion of the route are input by the user. Thus the user can operate the navigation device 200 to determine a route to a destination which will allow them to arrive in time, for example for a meeting, and which carries an acceptably low risk of arriving late.

It will also be appreciated that whilst various aspects and embodiments of the present invention have heretofore been described, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the particular arrangements set out herein and instead extends to encompass all arrangements, and modifications and alterations thereto, which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Whilst embodiments described in the foregoing detailed description refer to GPS, it should be noted that the navigation device may utilise any kind of position sensing technology as an alternative to (or indeed in addition to) GPS. For example the navigation device may utilise using other global navigation satellite systems such as the European Galileo system. Equally, it is not limited to satellite based but could readily function using ground based beacons or any other kind of system that enables the device to determine its geographic location.

Alternative embodiments of the invention can be implemented as a computer program product for use with a computer system, the computer program product being, for example, a series of computer instructions stored on a tangible data recording medium, such as a diskette, CD-ROM, ROM, or fixed disk, or embodied in a computer data signal, the signal being transmitted over a tangible medium or a wireless medium, for example, microwave or infrared. The series of computer instructions can constitute all or part of the functionality described above, and can also be stored in any memory device, volatile or non-volatile, such as semiconductor, magnetic, optical or other memory device.

It will also be well understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art that whilst the preferred embodiment implements certain functionality by means of software, that functionality could equally be implemented solely in hardware (for example by means of one or more ASICs (application specific integrated circuit)) or indeed by a mix of hardware and software. As such, the scope of the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited only to being implemented in software. Lastly, it should also be noted that whilst the accompanying claims set out particular combinations of features described herein, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the particular combinations hereafter claimed, but instead extends to encompass any combination of features or embodiments herein disclosed irrespective of whether or not that particular combination has been specifically enumerated in the accompanying claims at this time.

Claims

1. A navigation apparatus comprising: a processor (202); and a memory (214) storing map data; characterised in that: the processor (202) is arranged to determine a route between at least first and second locations and a dispersion of travelling times or average speeds for the route.

2. The navigation apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor (202) is arranged to display the dispersion information to a user on a display device (202).

3. The navigation apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the processor (202) is arranged to compare the dispersion information against maximum dispersion information to determine if the route is acceptable to a user.

4. The navigation apparatus of claim 3, comprising an input device (204) for allowing a user to input the maximum dispersion information.

5. The navigation apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the processor (202) is arranged to determine the dispersion information from historical travelling time or average speed information.

6. The navigation apparatus of any preceding claim, wherein the dispersion information represents a standard deviation of historical travelling times or average speeds for the route.

7. The navigation apparatus of claim 6, wherein the dispersion information is displayed as a percentage of the estimated or mean historical journey time or average speed.

8. The navigation apparatus of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the dispersion information represents a percentage of historical journeys taking longer than a determined duration or having an average speed lower than a determined speed.

9. A method for use in a navigation apparatus (200), comprising: determining a route between first and second locations using map data; characterised by: determining a dispersion of travelling times or average speeds for the route.

10. The method of claim 9, comprising displaying information indicative of the dispersion to a user.

11. The method of claim 9 or 10, comprising determining whether the dispersion is lower than a maximum dispersion value.

12. The method of claim 11 , comprising determining if another route between the first and second locations is possible if the dispersion exceeds the maximum dispersion or informing a user than the dispersion exceeds the maximum dispersion if no further routes exist.

13. The method of claim 11 or 12, comprising receiving the maximum dispersion value from a user.

14. The method of claim 11 , 12 or 13, comprising receiving information indicating an arrival time at the second location from the user and determining if the route allows arrival at the second location by the arrival time.

15. A computer-readable storage medium comprising computer executable instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any of claims 9 to 14.