EP2288873A1

EP2288873A1 - Method for operating a navigation system

Info

Publication number: EP2288873A1
Application number: EP09761310A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Christian Schliermann; Jochen Katzer
Original assignee: Navigon AG
Current assignee: Garmin Wurzburg GmbH
Priority date: 2008-06-12
Filing date: 2009-05-29
Publication date: 2011-03-02
Also published as: WO2009149688A1; DE102008027960A1; WO2009149688A8

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating a navigation system (01), which comprises a navigation apparatus (02) and at least one data server (05), the navigation apparatus (02) particularly comprising: - an input device where operator commands and/or location information, particularly departure points and/or destination points, can be input, - a road system database, in which the road system of a defined geographical area is described, the road system database additionally including POI data records for describing points of interest (POI), - a signal reception unit for receiving position signals, particularly satellite signals, - a position determination unit which determines the current position from position signals, - an output device at which data can be output for the user, comprising the following steps: a) selecting a plurality of POI data records from the road system database of the navigation apparatus (02) based on a search profile input by the user, wherein an Internet address associated with the POI is stored at least in one POI data record, b) transmitting at least one query from the navigation apparatus (02) to at least one data server (05), wherein the query includes the Internet address associated with the POI and at least parts of the search profile input by the user, c) determining a profile search result as a function of the agreement and/or non-agreement of the transmitted search profile with the content of the Internet addresses transmitted with the query, d) retransmitting the profile search result from the data server (05) to the navigation apparatus (02).

Description

May 29, 2009

Method for operating a navigation system

The invention relates to a method for operating a navigation system, which comprises a navigation device and at least one data server, according to the preamble of claim 1.

The navigation devices of the navigation system can be mobile navigation devices or other mobile devices with a navigation function or also navigation devices permanently installed in motor vehicles. These navigation devices are known from the prior art and allow the user to enter start and end points. Based on these data, the navigation device then calculates movement routes. By properly determining the position and issuing maneuvering instructions, the navigation device also assists the user in following the route.

The data server may be any server units, preferably data servers offering information over the Internet. There must be a data communication interface between the navigation device and the data server, via which data can be exchanged in both directions between the navigation device and the data server. The road network databases of the known navigation devices usually contain so-called POI data sets for the description of points to be highlighted (points of interest / POI). These are, for example, petrol stations, restaurants, sights or the like. In the known navigation devices, the user can search in the database contained in the POI datasets by specifying certain categories and other criteria and depending on the distance to the current or a predetermined position. Thus, for example, in the case of the known navigation devices in the road network database, the user can search for all restaurants within a certain radius or along its precalculated route.

A disadvantage of the known search for POI data sets is that only a very limited description of the individual points of interest is contained in the road network database, since otherwise the amount of data required for storing the POI data sets becomes too large. Due to this limited amount of data describing the characteristics of the various points of interest in the road network database, the search for suitable destinations only yields results of very limited accuracy. In particular, by entering a particular category, for example entering the category "restaurant", not all selection criteria of the user can be covered.

In addition, there is the disadvantage that the list of existing categories is specified for the specification of the points of interest and can not be adapted by the user in a user-specific manner to his respective situation. Also, overlaps between the different categories are not possible because the goals can not be assigned to multiple categories at the same time.

Admittedly, by supplementing the road network database with additional attributes for the specification of the various points of interest, a more accurate search could be made possible. However, that would become that The disadvantage is that the required amount of data would be greatly expanded and a correspondingly larger storage space would have to be made available. The computing power required in the navigation device would also have to be adjusted upwards, which would ultimately lead to higher costs.

Based on this prior art, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method for operating a navigation system, with which the search for points of interest can be made more accurate and flexible, without causing significant costs. The user should be given the opportunity to tailor his search for points of interest as flexibly and as accurately as possible to his needs. In addition, the search results should be as up-to-date as possible, since the data contained in the road network database naturally outdated relatively quickly.

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

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

The method according to the invention is based on the basic idea that in order to improve the search results when searching for a point of interest, the data which is stored on a data server of the Internet for this POI is also used.

In order to be able to perform the POI search in a targeted manner, in a first step, first all POI data records from the road network database of the navigation device are selected, which match a search profile entered by the user. The road network database contains in each case at least one Internet address for the POI data records, if available, under which further information on the corresponding POI can be called up. These Internet addresses stored to the POI records are then used as search vectors to improve the POI search. For this purpose, a search request is transmitted from the navigation device to at least one data server, the search request containing the respective Internet addresses and the search profile entered by the user.

In the Internet pages stored by the Internet sites of the various POIs then searches for matches or non-matches of the search profile to be transmitted and determined in this way a profile search result for the various POIs. This profile search result is then transmitted from the data server back to the navigation device and can be used for more accurate selection and in particular for more flexible selection of the points of interest depending on the user specification.

The way in which the profile search results of the data server are processed further after retransmission to the navigation device is fundamentally arbitrary. According to a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, it is provided that the POI data records selected in the first step are sorted as a function of their respective profile search results. Thus, POI records that have been found to be highly consistent with the user's search profile in the Internet search may be sorted far forward in a corresponding list, whereas POI records that have yielded only a very low or a high non-match, be set backwards in the result list.

Which type of search profile is used in the POI search is basically arbitrary. For performing the Internet search, it is particularly advantageous if the search profile contains keywords entered by the user. These keywords can then be transmitted from the navigation device to the data server for performing the profile search. Suitable search engines for the keyword search are known in principle from the prior art. So can known concepts for Search engines, in particular the so-called "caching" and "crawling", are used in the Internet search for keywords of the search profile.

In order to allow a suitable refinement of the search for suitable POIs, the keywords of the search profile should be able to be linked with logical operators, for example with the operators "and", "or", "and not", "or not". By means of corresponding logical operators, very specific search queries can be formulated in a simple manner by inputting relatively fewer keywords.

To further assist the user in the search for POIs, a list of predefined keywords may also be stored in the navigation device and displayed on the display device. After displaying this list of predefined keywords, the user can then make a selection suitable for his search.

The specification of the search profile for the first step of the search for POI data sets in the road network database of the navigation device is basically arbitrary. However, when selecting the POI data records from the road network database of the navigation device, it is recommended to resort to the known search algorithms. For this purpose, a specific POI category can be specified in the search profile, and all POI data records of the corresponding category can then be selected. For example, if the user specifies the category "Restaurant", appropriate search algorithms can be used to select all the POI records of that restaurant category, which can be further constrained by supplementary criteria, for example by predefining a certain maximum distance to the current location.

For the profile search on the Internet, there are several variants. According to a first variant, the various search requests from the navigation device are respectively transmitted directly to the data servers, which are identified by the various Internet addresses of the POIs. Datasets are specified. That is, the navigation device itself searches the individual websites specified by the Internet addresses in the POI records, for example, to identify the keywords contained in the search profile. This allows a great independence of the navigation device.

According to an alternative variant, in the profile search, all search queries, which each relate to an Internet address from the POI data records, are transmitted by the navigation device to a central profile search server. This profile search server then performs the profile search on the various websites of the different Internet addresses and transmits the profile search results, for example in the manner of a sorted result list, back to the navigation device.

The way in which the data is exchanged between the navigation device and the data server is basically arbitrary. Preferably, this should be a wireless data connection. In particular, mobile radio connections (GSM, GPRS, UMTS, EDGE, WIMAX, WLAN) are outstandingly suitable for enabling appropriate data communication between the data server and the navigation device. This is especially the case when the navigation device can also be used as a mobile phone at the same time.

The search profile can consist of several parts which, depending on the application, can also be entered by the user at different times. When performing profile search on the Internet, it can often happen that the profile search either results in too little information, incorrect information or too much information. In order to allow the user to respond flexibly, it should preferably be possible to refine or supplement the search by entering a second part of the search profile.

With regard to the preparation of the search results, taking into account the profile search on the Internet, it is particularly advantageous if all the POI data records selected in step a) initially have the same output. received initial evaluation. Depending on the result of the profile search on the Internet, this initial score can then be raised or lowered, resulting in a final score for the various POI records. Depending on this final score, the various POI records can then be sorted and optionally selected.

In order to enable a simple selection of the highly relevant POI data sets, a lower evaluation threshold can be stored in the navigation device, wherein optionally also a configuration of this evaluation threshold by the user should be possible. All POI records with a final score below this lower score threshold are then discarded and no longer scheduled for further processing. As a result, for example, only the best results for the user can be displayed to the user.

Furthermore, it can also be provided that all POI data records with a negative final score, or the specific exclusion criteria, in particular keywords, are automatically discarded.

Various aspects of the invention are illustrated schematically in the drawings and are explained below by way of example.

Show it:

1 shows the basic structure of a navigation system for implementing the method;

2 shows an example of a possible flow chart for carrying out the method according to the invention;

3 shows an input mask for entering keywords;

4 shows the input mask for inputting keywords for the Internet search;

5 shows the input mask for specifying the search profile; 6 shows the search result of the profile search;

7 shows the result of a selection of a plurality of POI data records from the road network database of a navigation device;

FIG. 8 shows the result list of the points of interest selected in FIG. 7 after carrying out a first internet search; FIG.

9 shows the result list according to FIG. 8 after carrying out a supplementary Internet search.

Fig. 1 shows the basic structure of a navigation system for carrying out the method according to the invention. In this navigation system 01, the user is input to a navigation device 02

Search profile used to search for a suitable point of interest, for example a restaurant with certain characteristics. In a first step, all the POIs which correspond to a specific part of the search profile, for example the specified category "restaurant", are then selected on the navigation device 02 from the road network database installed on the navigation device 02. Thereafter, the extent to which the selected POI data sets are checked to the individual POIs Internet addresses are deposited.

For all POIs for which Internet addresses are stored in the road network database, a search query is subsequently sent to a profile search server 04 via a data connection 03, which may be, for example, a wireless GSM data connection. This central profile search server receives with the search query all Internet addresses for the profile search to be carried out and the parts of the search profile, for example all keywords contained in the search profile that are to be used for the Internet search. Subsequently, the profile search server 04 queries all the websites specified by the Internet addresses from the POI database with regard to the keywords contained in the search profile and checks the respective match or non-match. Once the corresponding search results If the data server 05 is present, the profile search server 04 returns the search result via the data connection 03 back to the navigation device 02, where the POI data records selected in the first step are re-sorted in the Internet as a function of the profile search result.

2 schematically illustrates the program sequence of the navigation system 01 when carrying out the method according to the invention. After the user has started a user query by entering a search profile, first all POI data sets are selected from the road network database installed in the navigation device, which corresponds to a primary criterion. for example, a specific category. For the POIs that contain an Internet address (URL), a profile search is performed on the corresponding website and the match of the keywords contained in the search profile is checked. Subsequently, the relevance of the various POIs is changed as a function of the profile search, and finally the relevance, which describes the hit quality of the various POIs, is compared with a rating threshold. Only those POIs that are above the scoring threshold are then inserted into the results list and displayed to the user, whereas all hits below the scoring threshold are automatically discarded.

3 shows the input mask for inputting flexibly formulated keywords in the formulation of a search profile by the user. By selecting the different letters, the user can ultimately generate any keywords and insert them into the search profile.

4 shows the input mask for formulating the search profile consisting of several keywords. In input field 06, all keywords can be mentioned for which an increase in relevance should be made if they match the content of the corresponding website. By pressing the key 07, the input mask illustrated in FIG. 3 can be called up and further keywords can be called up to be added. By pressing the key 08, individual keywords can be deleted from the input field 06. In input field 09, keywords can be specified which are to be checked for non-conformity. In other words, this means that if the keywords in box 08 match the content of a website, the rating of the corresponding POIs should be lowered.

Fig. 5 shows the input mask for entering the entire search profile. In the input fields 10 and 1 1, the location and the category of the points of interest to be selected are specified. This data is then used to make a preselection of POIs in the road network of the navigation system. The input field 12 contains the keywords which have been specified via the input mask shown in FIG. By pressing the key 13, the input mask shown in FIG. 4 can be called again and the selection of the keywords can be changed. By pressing the key 14, the program sequence shown in FIG. 2 is started.

6 shows the result of the two-stage POI search. After all POIs in Würzburg in the category "Restaurant" from the road network database were selected, the websites of these restaurants were based on the Internet network addresses stored in the road network database for the match or non-match Of the four keywords, the highest ranked match and the lowest number of mismatches are in the restaurant ranked first in result list 15, so this hit has the highest relevance + 2 and appears first, and there are two more Hits with a slightly lower relevance + 1, which are also displayed in the result list 14. All other POIs selected in the first step, on the other hand, were discarded due to their insufficient match with the searched keywords. Based on the lists in Fig. 7 to Fig. 9, the two-stage search according to the inventive method will be further explained. FIG. 7 shows a result list after execution of the first selection step in the road network database of the navigation device. Based on a first part of a search profile, for example by specifying a specific category and a specific location, five POIs, namely five restaurants, were selected from the road network database. For four of these five hits an Internet address (URL) is stored in the road network database. All five hits receive an initial score of relevance 0. Then, the web pages of the four restaurants to which an Internet address is stored match the keywords stored in the search profile, for example the keywords "Terrace" and "Fish" , because the user wants to find a terrace restaurant that also serves fish. This search on the websites of the various restaurants reveals that the restaurant "Chez Marcel" advertises on its website both with the term "terrace" and with the expression "fish" as well as the "restaurant Mainaussicht". For the restaurant "La Mamma", however, only the keyword "terrace" is included in the website and on the website of the restaurant "The Vat" is the term "fish" included.

For the restaurants "Chez Marcel" and "Gasthaus Mainaussicht" the relevance is increased by + 2 due to these two similarities, whereas the relevance of the restaurants "La Mamma" and "The Vat" is only increased by + 1. The relevance of the inn "Zum Hirschen" is not increased, since it is not part of the Internet search The result after performing the Internet search is shown in Fig. 8 as a result list.

It can be seen that the result list according to FIG. 8 has not yet yielded a clear result. In order to make the user's decision easier, the search profile can now be supplemented or changed. By For example, the user adds the terms "rustic" and "home-style" to the entry field 09, because he does not want to visit the corresponding restaurants. The keyword "lifted" is also entered in the input field 06, since a restaurant of the higher category is searched for With this modified search profile, the internet search is then repeated on the websites of the various restaurants.

Fig. 9 shows the result list after performing this supplementary Internet search. According to this, the restaurant "Chez Marcel" has the highest similarities, whereas "The Vat" has received a relevance of - 1 on the website due to the advertising with the terms "rustic" and "home-style". Subsequently, for example, only the hit "Chez Marcel" with the highest hit quality could be displayed to the user and offered for selection for the routing.

Claims

claims

1. A method for operating a navigation system (01), the

Navigation device (02) and at least one data server (05), wherein the navigation device (02) comprises in particular: - an input device to which operator commands and / or location information, in particular start points and / or destination points, can be entered,

a road network database in which the road network of a certain geographic area is described, the road network database additionally containing POI data sets for the description of points of interest POI,

a signal receiving unit for receiving position signals, in particular satellite signals,

a position determination unit which determines the current position from the position signals,

an output device on which data can be output for the user, characterized by the following method steps: a) Selection of a plurality of POI data records from the road network database of the navigation device (02) on the basis of a user input

B) transmission of at least one search request from the navigation device (02) to at least one data server (05), wherein the search query the POI associated Internet address and at least parts of the

C) determination of a profile search result as a function of the correspondence and / or non-conformity of the transmitted search profile with the contents of the Internet addresses transmitted with the search query; d) retransmission of the profile search result from the data server (05) to the navigation device (02).

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the selected POI data sets are sorted depending on their respective profile search results.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, characterized in that in the search profile at least one input by the user at the input device keyword is included, wherein the keyword from the navigation device (02) to the data server (05) is transmitted to perform the profile search.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the keywords are combined with logical operators, in particular with the operators "and", "or", "and not" "or not.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a list of predefined keywords for the selection by the user is displayed on the display device.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that in step a) for the selection of the POI data sets from the road network database in the search profile at least one specific POI category is specified, all POI data sets of the corresponding category to be selected.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that in the profile search, the various searches from the navigation device are each transmitted directly to the data server, which are specified by the Internet addresses associated with the various POIs.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that in the profile search all searches from the navigation device (02) to a central profile search server (04) are transmitted, the profile search server profile search for the various Internet addresses of all searches on different data servers ( 05) and transmits the profile search results, in particular in the manner of a sorted result list, back to the navigation device (02).

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the data between the navigation device (02) and data server (05) or between navigation device (02) and profile search server (04) wireless, in particular via a mobile radio connection (GSM, GPRS .

UMTS, EDGE, WIMAX, WLAN).

10. Method according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that a first part of the search profile is entered and, taking into account this first part of the search profile, the selection of the POI

Data records from the road network database of the navigation device (02) is performed, after which a second part of the search profile is entered to refine the search and the profile search to the data server (05) or the profile search server (04) is transmitted.

1 1. The method of claim 10, characterized in that after retransmission of the profile search results of the second part of the search profile changed and / or supplemented and for renewed profile search to the data server or the profile search server (04) is transmitted.

12. The method of claim 1 1, characterized in that all selected in step a) POI data sets receive a same initial evaluation, the initial evaluation by the

Profile search result is increased or decreased depending on the match and / or the non-conformity of the transmitted search profile with the contents of the Internet addresses transmitted with the search query when calculating a final score.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that there is a lower rating threshold, wherein POI data records with a final rating that is below the rating threshold are discarded.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that POI records are discarded with a negative final score.