GB2569782A

GB2569782A - A controller for a route tracking system

Info

Publication number: GB2569782A
Application number: GB1720499.1A
Authority: GB
Inventors: James Osgood Thomas; Kobylinski Krzysztof; Phillip Navneesh; Valentin Gheorghe Ionut
Original assignee: Jaguar Land Rover Ltd
Current assignee: Jaguar Land Rover Ltd
Priority date: 2017-12-08
Filing date: 2017-12-08
Publication date: 2019-07-03
Also published as: GB201720499D0

Abstract

A controller for reducing energy consumption in a route tracking system comprises: an input arranged to receive location data associated with a vehicle, e.g. car, lorry, motorbike, watercraft or aircraft, from a location sensor, e.g. mobile device GPS sensor; a processor arranged to generate a first command signal for the location sensor to enter a low power or sleep mode; and an output arranged to output the first command signal to the location sensor. The processor is arranged to: generate a second command signal for the location sensor to exit the low power mode 105; and generate a route query signal for a mapping tool to request a route from a first location associated with the first command signal to a second location associated with the second command signal. A wake up notification signal may be generated when the mobile device connects to a second cell tower or after a predetermined period of time. May determine a most likely route 107, e.g. the shortest route, based on traffic conditions or route preference data. May be used to predict or fill in missing route data when sampling device location at a lower rate to reduce energy drain on device battery.

Description

The present disclosure relates to a controller for a route tracking system and particularly, but not exclusively, to a controller for reducing energy consumption within the route tracking system. Aspects of the invention relate to a controller, to a system, to a method, to a computer program product and to a computer readable medium.

BACKGROUND

Tracking a person and/or vehicle’s position at any given time, for example using a mobile device, Global Positioning System (GPS) or other tracking system, causes a high rate of drain on the device’s battery since it is likely to involve a GPS sensor remaining active constantly. To account for this, tracking may be performed at a lower sampling rate. Sampling the device’s location at a lower rate may result in missing position and/or route data for the device. Known solutions may require a user input to mark the start and end of journeys, which can result in missing or inaccurate data.

At least in certain embodiments, the present invention has been devised to mitigate or overcome at least some of the above-mentioned problems by providing a system that predicts the missing route data with a reduced energy consumption compared to current methods.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aspects and embodiments of the invention relate to a controller, a system, a method, a computer program product and a computer readable medium as claimed in the appended claims.

According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a controller for reducing energy consumption in a route tracking system. The controller comprises an input, an output and a processor. The input is arranged to receive location data of a vehicle from a location sensor. The processor is arranged to generate a first command signal for the location sensor to enter a low power mode. The output is arranged to output the first command signal to the location sensor. The processor is also arranged to generate a second command signal for the location sensor to exit the low power mode, and a route query signal for a mapping tool to request a route from a first location associated with the first command signal to a second location associated with the second command signal.

A controller according to the present invention is also able to switch a location sensor into a low power mode which would reduce the energy drain on a device battery. The ability to query a route mapping tool enables information regarding the route the vehicle is likely to have taken to be determined.

An advantage of the present invention is that it enables a complete route history for a vehicle journey to be determined while reducing the energy consumed by a location sensor. When the location sensor is in a low power mode, the location sensor is consuming less energy, compared to when the location sensor is in a fully active state. For example, if the route tracking system is integrated within a mobile device, and the battery of the mobile device is the power source of the route tracking system, the battery of the mobile device will diminish less quickly than if the location sensor was constantly active. As mobile devices such as phones and tablets are being used in a wider range of applications and more and more frequently, reducing consumption of available energy of a battery of such devices is becoming increasingly desirable.

A further advantage of the present invention is that it also enables users to track journeys without having to manually enter start and stop locations. The ability to provide a complete route is particularly beneficial when predictions are made based on the vehicle and/or vehicle user’s route history. For example, it is possible to predict how much energy would be consumed if the same journey was taken using an electric vehicle. This may help users to decide an electric vehicle would be suited to their vehicle usage routine.

The output may be arranged to send the route query signal to the mapping tool.

The first command signal for the location sensor to enter the low power mode may be generated in dependence on the received location data.

The location sensor may be comprised within a mobile device present within the vehicle.

The processor may be arranged to generate the second command signal in dependence on receipt of a wake up notification signal.

The mobile device may be arranged to generate the wake up notification signal in dependence on a detection of a significant change in location of the mobile device.

The processor may be arranged to register a significant change in location of the mobile device when: a distance travelled from a last known position of the mobile device exceeds a predetermined threshold distance; and/or, the mobile device connects to a second cell tower, different to a first cell tower.

The mobile device may be arranged to generate the wake up notification after a predetermined period of time since the location sensor was placed into low power mode.

In one arrangement, the input may be arranged to receive one or more possible routes from the first location to the second location from the mapping tool. The processor may be arranged to determine a most likely route taken by the vehicle between the first and second locations from the received one or more possible routes.

The route query signal may be sent to the mapping tool if the distance between the first location and the second location is lower than a threshold distance.

The processor may be arranged to determine the most likely route as: the shortest route in distance from the first location to the second location; or the shortest route in time from the first location to the second location.

The processor or mapping tool may be configured to determine the most likely route in dependence on current road and/or traffic conditions.

The most likely route may exclude any one or more of the following: a route the vehicle user has avoided previously; and/or road types the vehicle user has avoided previously.

In an alternative arrangement, the route query signal may comprise the first location, the second location and route preference data; and the input may be arranged to receive a most likely route between the first and second locations as determined by the mapping tool.

The most likely route may exclude certain routes and/or road types depending on the result of comparing the number of times a vehicle user has avoided the route to a threshold value.

In a further arrangement, the input may be arranged to receive one or more possible routes from the first location to the second location from the mapping tool and the vehicle user may select the route travelled from the first location to the second location.

The controller may comprise a memory storage device.

The input may be arranged to receive route data from the mapping tool in response to the route query request and the processor may be arranged to generate a complete journey route for the vehicle, the complete journey route comprising the route data received from the mapping tool.

The complete journey route may comprise location data received from the location sensor when the location sensor was not in low power mode.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a route tracking system comprising a controller according to the foregoing aspect, a location sensor and a mapping tool.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for reducing energy consumption in a route tracking system, the method comprising: receiving location data of a vehicle from a location sensor; generating, using a processor, a first command signal for the location sensor to enter a low power mode; outputting the first command signal to the location sensor; generating, using a processor, a second command signal for the location sensor to exit the low power mode; sending a route query signal to a mapping tool to request a route from a first location associated with the first command signal to a second location associated with the second command signal.

The method may further comprise generating the first command signal for the location sensor to enter the low power mode in dependence on the received location data.

The method may further comprise the processor generating the second command signal in dependence on the receipt of a wake up notification signal.

The method may further comprise registering a significant change in location of the mobile device when: a distance travelled from a last known position of the mobile device exceeds a predetermined threshold distance; and/or, the mobile device connects to a second cell tower, different to a first cell tower.

The mobile device may generate the wake up notification after a predetermined period of time since the location sensor was placed into low power mode.

The method may further comprise receiving one or more possible routes from the first location to the second location from the mapping tool.

The method may further comprise determining a most likely route taken by the vehicle between the first and second locations from the received one or more possible routes.

The method may further comprise sending the route query signal to the mapping tool if the distance between the first location and the second location is lower than a threshold distance.

The location sensor may for example involve any one or more of, but not limited to, GPS (Global Positioning System), GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), GLONASS (Globalnaya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema), ASPN (All Source Positioning and Navigation) and/or INS (Inertial Navigation System) to obtain location data. Alternatively or additionally, the controller may use one or more wireless towers, WAN (Wide Area Network) access devices or LAN (Local Area Network) access devices to determine location. For the purpose of this disclosure, ‘GPS’ may be referred to but any other location tracking system may be used.

The mapping tool may take the form of an API (Application Programming Interface) to a programme such as Google® Maps, Google® Directions, Waze™, TomTom™, and/or Apple® Maps. The mapping tool may receive first location and second location position data values from the controller and determine one or more possible routes the vehicle user may have used to travel between the first and second locations.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a computer program product comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out a method according to an aspect of the invention.

According to an aspect of the invention there is provided a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions stored therein which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out a method according to an aspect of the invention. The computer-readable storage medium may comprise a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a vehicle comprising a controller or a route tracking system as described in a foregoing aspect.

Within the scope of this application it is expressly intended that the various aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives set out in the preceding paragraphs, in the claims and/or in the following description and drawings, and in particular the individual features thereof, may be taken independently or in any combination. That is, all embodiments and/or features of any embodiment can be combined in any way and/or combination, unless such features are incompatible. The applicant reserves the right to change any originally filed claim or file any new claim accordingly, including the right to amend any originally filed claim to depend from and/or incorporate any feature of any other claim although not originally claimed in that manner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One or more embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates an example of a controller in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

Figure 2 illustrates an example of a vehicle having the controller of Figure 1 in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

Figure 3 illustrates an example of a system comprising a vehicle and the controller of Figure 1 in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

Figure 4 illustrates a method of operating the controller of Figures 1-3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

There is presented a controller 2 for reducing the energy consumption of a route tracking system. The route tracked may be that of a vehicle 16. The route tracking system may for example be integrated with a smart device such as a mobile phone or tablet, an application on a smart device, a navigation device, computer or any such device. The route tracking system may be located internally or externally to the vehicle being tracked. The controller 2 described herein may be located within the vehicle, within the route tracking system (e.g. within a mobile device 18) or may be located remotely (e.g. a cloud based server).

Reference is made herein to the route tracked being that of a vehicle 16. However, the controller 2 and method may be applied to any structure, body or object that can be tracked, including but not limited to any land vehicle, watercraft, aircraft, person and/or animal. The vehicle 16 may be a transport vehicle for transporting people and/or cargo. The vehicle may be any of a wheeled, tracked, railed or skied vehicle. The vehicle 16 may be a motor vehicle including but not limited to, a car, lorry, a motorbike, a van, a bus and/or a coach.

Turning to Figure 1, a controller 2 is shown comprising an input 4, a processor 6 and an output 8. As shown in Figure 1, the controller 2 comprises a memory storage device 10. It is noted however that the memory storage device 10 may be located remotely from the controller 2.

The controller 2 may be located inside a vehicle (as shown in Figure 2) or within a cloud based server (as shown in Figure 3).

The input 4 of the controller 2 is arranged to receive vehicle location data from a location sensor 12 associated with a vehicle 16 (the location sensor being part of a route tracking system). The processor 6 is arranged to generate, in dependence on the received location data, command signals for controlling the location sensor 12.

The location sensor 12 may for example involve any one or more of, but not limited to, GPS (Global Positioning System), GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), GLONASS (Globalnaya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema), ASPN (All Source Positioning and Navigation) and/or INS (Inertial Navigation System) to obtain location data.

Alternatively or additionally, the controller 2 may use one or more wireless towers, WAN (Wide Area Network) access devices or LAN (Local Area Network) access devices to determine location. For the purpose of this disclosure, ‘GPS’ may be referred to but any other location tracking system may be used.

The processor 6 is also configured to generate route query signals to be sent via the output 8 to a mapping tool 14 to request one or more routes between first and second locations. The processor 6 may be arranged to generate a route query signal for example if location data received from the location sensor 12 is incomplete.

The mapping tool 14 may take the form of an API (Application Programming Interface) to a programme such as Google® Maps, Google® Directions, WazeTM, TomTomTM, and/or Apple® Maps.

The input 4 may receive route data from the mapping tool 14 for subsequent use by the processor 6 in generating a complete route for the vehicle 16.

The processor 6 may store location data and/or route data in the memory storage device 10.

Figure 2 shows an arrangement in which the controller 2 is located within a vehicle 16. The location sensor 12 is shown within a mobile telecommunications device 18 (e.g. a smartphone) within the vehicle 16. Location data from the location sensor 12 may be relayed by a suitable wireless connection between the smartphone 18 and the controller 2 (e.g. via a Bluetooth connection).

It is noted that in the description herein reference is made to the tracking of the location of a vehicle 16. It is to be appreciated that the location sensor 12 may not be part of the vehicle 16 itself and may, for example as shown in Figure 2, be located within another device (e.g. the smart phone 18) that is located within the vehicle 16. The location sensor 12 in such arrangements will therefore strictly be determining the location of the other device 18 but it is appreciated that the location of this device 18 is associated with the vehicle 16 and is a proxy for the location of the vehicle 16. As such references herein to the location of the vehicle 16 should be understood to mean the location of the other device (e.g. smart device 18) which can be taken to equate to the location of the vehicle 16.

The controller 2 is also shown to be in communication with the mapping tool 14 which is remotely located from the vehicle 16 via a communications network 22.

Figure 3 shows an alternative arrangement in which the controller 2 is located within a remotely located server 20.

The controller 2, mapping tool 14, and/or remotely located server 20 or a combination thereof may be in communication with a communication network 22 such as, but not limited to GSM (Global System for Mobile), Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth.

The operation of the controller 2 of Figures 1-3 will now be described in conjunction with the flow chart of Figure 4.

In step 101, the controller 2 receives location data from the location sensor 12. In step 102, the processor 6 generates, in dependence on the received location data, a first command signal for the location sensor 12 to enter a low power mode. The low power mode may involve the location sensor shutting down, entering a ‘sleep’ mode or entering any mode which uses less energy than when fully active. The first command signal may for example be generated when the vehicle 16 is stationary or if the speed of the vehicle 16 is equal to or below a threshold speed. The first command signal is output from the output 8 to the location sensor 12. In response to receiving the first command signal, the location sensor 12 enters, in step 103, ‘low power’ mode and stops tracking the location of the vehicle 16 (or reduces the frequency that the location is tracked).

A second command signal is generated by the processor 6 for the location sensor 12 to exit the low power mode. The second command signal may be arranged to bring the location sensor 12 back to a fully active state in which the position of the device 18 (and therefore the position of the vehicle 16) is tracked at a higher rate than when the location sensor 12 is in a low power mode, thus generating accurate location data representing the vehicle’s route history.

The second command signal may be generated in dependence on a wake up notification received at the input 4 from the location sensor 12. The wake up notification is generated, in step 104, by the location sensor 12 or the smart device 18 when a significant change in location is registered and/or following a predetermined time duration, such as 5s.

If the location sensor 12 has entered a low power mode in which location data is determined at a relatively low rate (e.g. on the order of minutes between location readings) then a significant change in location may be registered when the distance travelled from the last known position (the first location) exceeds or meets a threshold. This threshold may for example be 50m, 500m, 1km, 5km, 10km or any other distance.

Alternatively, the significant change in location may be registered when the smart device 18 moves between cell towers. It is noted that as the vehicle 16 moves along its route, the mobile device 18 will switch between cell towers. The connection of the mobile device 18 to a new cell tower may trigger the wake up notification to be generated and/or transmitted and sent to the controller 2. In response to receiving the wake up notification the processor 6 is arranged, in step 105, to generate the second command signal for the location sensor 12 to exit the low power mode.

It is noted that the first command signal is associated with a first location and the second command signal is associated with a second location.

In step 106, the processor 6 is configured to send a route query signal to the mapping tool 14 to request one or more routes from the first location to the second location.

When the location sensor 12 enters the low power mode in step 103, the controller 2 no longer receives location data at a high frequency. By the time that the wake up notification has been received the vehicle 16 may have moved far enough from its previous location (the first location above) that the route that the vehicle 16 has been following has a missing section. The processor 6 is therefore arranged to generate the route query signal for the mapping tool 14 in order to “fill in” the missing route data.

It is noted that either the controller 2 and/or mapping tool 14 may determine which route is the most likely route the vehicle 16 user took to travel from the first location to the second location. For the purpose of this disclosure however, the controller 2 is described as determining this route. It should be noted therefore that in alternative arrangements the mapping tool 14 may determine this route based on the data it receives from the controller 2. It is also noted that this route will be termed the ‘most likely route’ in the following description.

In step 107 the ‘most likely route’ is determined. The ‘most likely route’ may for example be the shortest route in distance and/or time from the first location to the second location.

Alternatively, the ‘most likely route’ may be determined by other criteria. For example, the determination of the ‘most likely’ route may take into account the vehicle 16 and/or vehicle user’s route history. If, on previous journeys, the user has repeatedly taken a specific route to reach a certain location this route may be considered the ‘most likely route’ when travelling to that location. Furthermore, if the vehicle user consistently chooses a certain road type over another, such as a motorway over a country road, the route that incorporates the vehicle user’s preferred road type may be the ‘most likely route’. In another example, the ‘most likely’ route may take into account the vehicle user’s browsing history. For example, if the user recently looked up the location of a post office, the ‘most likely route’ may be the route that passed that post office.

The controller 2 may also have access to personal data on the mobile device 18. For, example, the controller 2 may have access to a calendar. If the user is attending an event at a specific location at a certain time as detailed in their calendar, if route data is missing at the time of the event, the ‘most likely route’ may go via the location of the event.

Each user of the vehicle 16 may also be personally identified. The data corresponding to the specific user may be used to help determine the ‘most likely route’ for that user. Examples of personal identifiers that may be used include, but are not limited to the user’s face, voice, fingerprint, mobile device, key and/or a password or passcode. The personal identifier may be identified for example using any one or more of: a computer chip, facial recognition software and/or a device, voice recognition software and/or a device a password/passcode identification system and/or fingerprint identification system. The identification data may also be stored using the memory storage device 10.

If there are multiple personal identifiers and/or mobile devices 18 in the vicinity of the vehicle corresponding to different vehicle users, the controller 2 may be arranged to identify which user data to use in response to a suitable user command (for example, a user-vehicle interface or a user-mobile 18 interface may be used to notify the controller 2 which user data is to be used when determining the ‘most likely route’).

Any criteria used to determine the ‘most likely route’ may be used in combination with each other. For example, the ‘most likely route’ may be the shortest route in distance that involves no motorways or dual carriageways.

The ‘most likely route’ may also exclude certain routes. For example, the ‘most likely route’ may avoid certain routes, parts of routes and/or types of routes or roads, depending, for example, on the user’s route history and/or specified preferences. For example, specific route(s)/roads and/or types of route(s)/roads may be excluded if the number of times a vehicle user has avoided at least part of the route/road exceeds a threshold value. Examples of route(s)/roads, and/or types of route(s)/roads that may be excluded when determining the ‘most likely route’ may non-exclusively include: motorways, dual carriageways, bridges, toll-roads, country roads, off-road tracks, roundabouts, routes that involve a certain terrain and/or routes that have a steep gradient.

Additionally or alternatively, the ‘most likely route’ may be influenced by current road and/or traffic conditions. For example, the controller 2 may receive real-time traffic updates that affect which route is determined to be the ‘most likely route’. If a certain road is known to have roadworks, the ‘most likely route’ may avoid this road.

The time taken for the vehicle to travel from the first location to the second location and/or the speed of the vehicle may also be taken into account when determining the ‘most likely route’. For example, if a vehicle was travelling at 30 mph and two possible route options were considered, one that was 3 miles and one that was 4.5 miles, if it took approximately 9 minutes for the vehicle 16 to travel from the first location to the second location, it suggests that the 4.5 mile route was chosen and should then be determined as the ‘most likely route’.

Alternatively or additionally, the user may manually input the route travelled from the first location to the second location. For example, this may be via a touch screen on a vehicle-user interface.

The ‘most likely route’ may comprise a full journey or part of a journey.

The ‘most likely route’ may not be determined if the distance of the route between the first location and the second location exceeds a threshold value. For example, the threshold value may be 15km, 30km, 45km or any other distance. If the distance between the first location and second location is too great, the predicted ‘most likely route’ is less likely to be the route the vehicle 16 user took.

Once the ‘most likely route’ has been determined in step 107, the processor 6 can, in step 108, incorporate the route data corresponding to the ‘most likely route’ into a complete route for a vehicle journey. The complete journey route may comprise location data received from the location sensor 12 and ‘most likely route’ data received from the mapping tool 14. It is noted that a single vehicle journey may comprise multiple instances of ‘most likely route’ data in the event that the location sensor 12 is placed into a lower power mode more than once in a single journey.

The information regarding the ‘most likely route’ may take any form. For example, the information may be presented visually as a marked route on a digital map, integrating with the display of the route tracked when the location sensor is not in the low power mode. The ‘most likely route’ may be distinguished from the accurately tracked route, for example by being displayed in a different colour. Alternatively or additionally, the information regarding the ‘most likely route’ may be stored using a memory storage device 10, perhaps in the form of position data values.

Many modifications may be made to the above examples without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. A controller for reducing energy consumption in a route tracking system, the controller comprising:

an input arranged to receive location data associated with a vehicle from a location sensor;

a processor arranged to generate a first command signal for the location sensor to enter a low power mode; and an output arranged to output the first command signal to the location sensor; wherein the processor is arranged to:

generate a second command signal for the location sensor to exit the low power mode; and generate a route query signal for a mapping tool to request a route from a first location associated with the first command signal to a second location associated with the second command signal.

2. A controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first command signal for the location sensor to enter the low power mode is generated in dependence on the received location data.

3. A controller as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the location sensor is comprised within a mobile device present within the vehicle.

4. A controller as claimed in claim 3, wherein the processor is arranged to generate the second command signal in dependence on receipt of a wake up notification signal.

5. A controller as claimed in claim 4, wherein the mobile device is arranged to generate the wake up notification signal in dependence on a detection of a significant change in location of the mobile device.

6. A controller as claimed in claim 5, wherein the processor is arranged to register a significant change in location of the mobile device when: a distance travelled from a last known position of the mobile device exceeds a predetermined threshold distance;

and/or, the mobile device connects to a second cell tower, different to a first cell tower.

7. A controller as claimed in claim 4, wherein the mobile device is arranged to generate the wake up notification after a predetermined period of time since the location sensor was placed into low power mode.

8. A controller as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the input is arranged to receive one or more possible routes from the first location to the second location from the mapping tool.

9. A controller as claimed in claim 8 wherein the processor is arranged to determine a most likely route taken by the vehicle between the first and second locations from the received one or more possible routes.

10. A controller as claimed in claim 8 or 9, wherein the route query signal is sent to the mapping tool if the distance between the first location and the second location is lower than a threshold distance.

11. A controller as claimed in claim 8, 9 or 10, wherein the processor is arranged to determine the most likely route as: the shortest route in distance from the first location to the second location; or the shortest route in time from the first location to the second location.

12. A controller as claimed in any of claims 8 to 11, wherein the processor or mapping tool is configured to determine the most likely route in dependence on current road and/or traffic conditions.

13. A controller as claimed in any of claims 8 to 12, wherein the most likely route excludes any one or more of the following: a route the vehicle user has avoided previously; and/or road types the vehicle user has avoided previously.

14. A controller as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the route query signal comprises the first location, the second location and route preference data; and wherein the input is arranged to receive a most likely route between the first and second locations as determined by the mapping tool.

15. A controller as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the input is arranged to receive one or more possible routes from the first location to the second location from the mapping tool and wherein the vehicle user selects the route travelled from the first location to the second location.

16. A controller as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the controller comprises a memory storage device.

17. A controller as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the input is arranged to receive route data from the mapping tool in response to the route query request and the processor is arranged to generate a complete journey route for the vehicle, the complete journey route comprising the route data received from the mapping tool.

18. A controller as claimed in claim 17, wherein the complete journey route comprises location data received from the location sensor when the location sensor was not in the low power mode.

19. A route tracking system comprising a controller as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 18, a location sensor and a mapping tool.

20. A method for reducing energy consumption in a route tracking system, the method comprising:

receiving location data of a vehicle from a location sensor;

generating, using a processor, a first command signal for the location sensor to enter a low power mode;

outputting the first command signal to the location sensor; generating, using the processor, a second command signal for the location sensor to exit the low power mode;

sending a route query signal to a mapping tool to request a route from a first location associated with the first command signal to a second location associated with the second command signal.

21. A method as claimed in claim 20, comprising generating the first command signal for the location sensor to enter the low power mode in dependence on the received location data.

22. A method as claimed in claim 20 or claim 21, wherein the location sensor is comprised within a mobile device present within the vehicle.

23. A method as claimed in claim 22, comprising the processor generating the second command signal in dependence on the receipt of a wake up notification signal.

24. A method as claimed in claim 23, wherein the mobile device is arranged to generate the wake up notification signal in dependence on a detection of a significant change in location of the mobile device.

25. A method as claimed in claim 24, comprising registering a significant change in location of the mobile device when:

a distance travelled from a last known position of the mobile device exceeds a predetermined threshold distance;

26. A method as claimed in claim 23, comprising the mobile device generating the wake up notification after a predetermined period of time since the location sensor was placed into low power mode.

27. A method as claimed in any of claims 20 to 26, comprising receiving one or more possible routes from the first location to the second location from the mapping tool.

28. A method as claimed in claim 27, comprising determining a most likely route taken by the vehicle between the first and second locations from the received one or more possible routes.

29. A method as claimed in claim 27 or 28, comprising sending the route query signal to the mapping tool if the distance between the first location and the second location is lower than a threshold distance.

30. A computer program product comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method of any one of claims 20 to 29.

31. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions stored therein which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method of any one of claims 20 to 29.

32. A vehicle comprising a controller as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 18 or a route tracking system as claimed in claim 19.