HK1136868A - Method of indicating traffic delays, computer program and navigation system therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of indicating traffic delays in a navigation system for planning a route of a vehicle is provided. The method comprises a step of receiving traffic information with position information of each one of a number of delay incidents, a step of determining a position of the vehicle on a planned route, a step of determining a relevance of each one of the delay incidents on the planned route based on the position information of the respective delay incident and on the position of the vehicle, a step of selecting at least one delay incident on the planned route, based on the determined relevance of the respective delay incident, and a step of communicating information concerning the selected delay incident to a user. The method provides an intuitive and user-friendly way of informing the user about delays to be expected.

Description

Method for indicating traffic delay, computer program thereof, and navigation system

Technical Field

The invention relates to a method of indicating traffic delays in a navigation system for planning a route of a vehicle, the method comprising receiving traffic information comprising position information for each of a number of delay incidents, determining the position of the vehicle on the planned route, and transmitting information about the delay incidents to a user.

The invention further relates to a computer program product and a navigation system for performing the method of indicating traffic delays.

Background

Today, many motorists use in-vehicle navigation systems to plan routes. Using the digital map and the user's location information, the navigation system calculates the shortest, fastest, or otherwise optimal route to the destination, for example based on GPS signals received by a GPS receiver. One of the problems with route planning by navigation systems is that traffic jams, road engineering and other delay incidents can dramatically increase the time required to reach a destination. For example, by Tom TomTom (TomTom) ((R))www.tomtom.com) Some navigation systems are provided that are capable of receiving traffic information about a planned route and adapting the planned route in a manner that avoids significant delays. For example, an icon indicating a delay event is shown on a map. The user may use the user interface of the navigation system to obtain further information about the delay incident, such as the location of the beginning or end of the delay incident, the expected delay time caused by the delay incident, or the cause of the delay incident. Adaptation of the planned route may be automatically applied after user approval or upon request by a particular user.

A problem with known traffic information services is that icons on the map are only visible when the location of the corresponding delay incident is on the screen. Typically, this is only the case when the user is near a delay incident. The user may not see further related delay incidents. When the icon becomes visible, it may be too late to change the route and avoid delays.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the invention to provide a more intuitive and user-friendly way of informing a user about an expected delay.

According to a first aspect of the invention, this object is achieved by providing a method of indicating traffic delays in a navigation system for planning a route of a vehicle, the method comprising: receiving traffic information comprising location information for each of a number of delay incidents, determining a location of the vehicle on a planned route, determining a relevance of each of the delay incidents on the planned route based on the location information for the respective delay incident and based on the location of the vehicle, selecting at least one delay incident on the planned route based on the determined relevance of the respective delay incident, and communicating information about the selected delay incident to a user.

By only transmitting the most relevant delay incidents to the user, it becomes much easier to transmit the obtained information to the user in a way that is easy for the user to understand without interfering too much with the provision of general route information. For example, the selected delay event may be read aloud by a text-to-speech converter, or may be displayed as text, graphics, or a combination of both on a relatively small sub-portion of the display. The inventors have realized that the relevance of delayed events depends mainly on the location information of the event. A traffic jam located 100km away from the current location is not as relevant as another traffic jam located only 10km away.

In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, the traffic information further comprises an expected delay caused by each of the number of delay incidents, and determining the relevance of each of the delay incidents on the planned route is further based on the expected delay caused by the respective delay incident. A one hour delay starting at 20 kilometers from the current location may be much more relevant than a 2 minute delay that is only 2 kilometers away.

Preferably, the traffic information, the location of the vehicle, and the relevance of each of the number of delay incidents are updated periodically. After each update, a new associated delay incident and a change to the previously transmitted delay incident are transmitted to the user. Further, the system may remove information from the display screen regarding delay incidents with reduced relevance.

In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, the method further comprises determining a total expected delay common to all delay incidents on the planned route, and communicating the total expected delay to a user. The indication of the total amount of delay expected gives the user a good estimate of the duration of the delay incidents that are not selected for transmission and the expected time to reach the destination.

Preferably, the communication of the total expected delay includes providing an audible warning message when the delay condition changes significantly. The traffic information may be updated very often or even almost continuously. However, the user should be focused on the road and should not have to always look at the screen of navigation to approve whether there has been a change in the traffic situation. If the user receives an audible message each time a change or update in traffic conditions of interest is observed, then continuous viewing of the display is not required.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer program product, which program is operative to cause a processor to perform the method according to the invention.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a navigation system for planning a route of a vehicle, the system comprising: a receiver for receiving traffic information comprising location information for each of a number of delay incidents; a memory for storing the received traffic information; a processor. The processor is arranged to: the method comprises determining a location of the vehicle on a planned route, determining a relevance of each of the delay incidents on the planned route based on the location information of the respective delay incident and on the location of the vehicle, and selecting at least one delay incident on the planned route based on the determined relevance of the respective delay incident. The system further comprises an output for communicating information about the selected delay event to a user.

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiment(s) described hereinafter.

Drawings

In the drawings:

figure 1 shows a navigation device according to the present invention,

figure 2 shows schematically the components of the navigation device of figure 1,

figure 3 shows a flow chart of a method according to the invention,

figure 4 shows an exemplary view of a display of a navigation device,

fig. 5, 6, and 7 show examples of traffic bars for indicating traffic delays.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a navigation device 10 according to the present invention. The navigation device 10 comprises a display 11 for showing, for example, route information and traffic information. The navigation device 10 further comprises a set of interface elements 12 for enabling a user to interact with the navigation device 10. Preferably, the display 11 is a touch screen display and the user interface of the navigation device 10 is implemented at least in part by a menu shown and operated on the touch screen. The navigation device 10 may use speech recognition to receive control commands from the user. Preferably, the navigation device uses text-to-speech conversion to inform the user of the planned route, traffic information or other information via an audible message.

Figure 2 schematically shows components of the navigation device 10 of figure 1. The navigation device comprises a processor 13 for controlling the functioning of the navigation device 10. The processor 13 is arranged to process input data from, for example, a user, GPS satellites and traffic delay information services to calculate an optimal route for the user to travel to a destination. The processor 13 is coupled to the user interface 11, 12 for receiving instructions from a user, and to the display 11 for showing, for example, planned routes, traffic information and user interface options. The processor 13 is also coupled to a memory 14 for storing software and data. The software is used by the processor to perform all the functions of the navigation device 10. The data includes, for example, destination, map data, user information, graphics, and sound data. A speaker 15 is coupled to the processor 13 for providing audible messages. The navigation device 10 may comprise several communication units 16, all coupled to the processor 13. Generally, the navigation device 10 comprises a GPS sensor for determining the current position of the navigation device 10. Other suitable techniques may alternatively or additionally be used, such as using information derived from a cell-based wireless communication system (e.g., GSM, UMTS, GPRS, WiFi, or WiMAX). Traffic information may be obtained from traffic information sources via, for example, AM or FM radio, a dedicated satellite system, a mobile telephone communications network (e.g., GSM, UMTS, GPRS), or via local communications means (e.g., bluetooth or USB) via nearby phones or computers. By means of the above components, the navigation device 10 is adapted to perform the method according to the invention. It should be noted, however, that modifications or additions may be made without diminishing the applicability of performing the method according to the invention.

Fig. 3 shows a flow chart of a method according to the invention. The method according to the invention may be performed while the vehicle is traversing the planned route. The method starts with a receiving step 21 for receiving traffic information. The traffic information includes location information for several delay incidents, which may also include additional information about the delay incidents, such as delay type (e.g., roadblock, accident, road work, slow moving traffic, rush hour), expected delay, trend (e.g., growing or shrinking), or other additional information, such as the time of last update of the information. In general, the navigation device 10 will receive all traffic information that is available for a large area (e.g., for an entire country or state, or even for multiple nearby countries or states). However, upon request, the area covered by the traffic information may be reduced depending on the location of the planned route or vehicle.

In a position determination step 22, the position of the vehicle on the planned route is determined. Generally, the navigation device 10 comprises a GPS sensor for determining the current position of the navigation device 10. Other suitable techniques may alternatively or additionally be used, such as using information derived from a cell-based wireless communication system (e.g., GSM, UMTS, GPRS, WiFi, or WiMAX).

Then in a relevance determining step 23, the relevance of each of the delay incidents on the planned route. All traffic information received in the receiving step 21 is filtered in order to select delay incidents located on the planned route. For all delay incidents on the planned route, a relevance value is calculated. Wherein the relevance value is based on the current vehicle position and the position information of the delay incident. If, for example, a delay incident is only a few kilometers away from the current vehicle position, the incident is very relevant and a high relevance value will be obtained. If the delay incident is 200 kilometers away, it may have disappeared when the vehicle reaches the location of the delay incident. This event is therefore less relevant and will obtain a lower relevance value. The relevance value may further be based on an expected delay caused by the delay incident. The one hour delay is more relevant than the 3 minute delay. Preferably, the relevance value is based on a combination of its position and its associated expected delay. For example, a 3 minute delay of a few kilometers away may be more relevant than a 10 minute delay of about 200 kilometers, and an hour delay of 20 kilometers away may be more important than a 3 minute delay near the next corner.

Examples of other criteria that may affect the relevance value are the type of delay (e.g. roadblock, accident, road work, slow moving traffic, rush hour), expected delay, trend (e.g. growing or shrinking), or other additional information, such as the time of last update of the information. Preferably, all criteria work together. For example, the one hour delay caused by rush hour traffic congestion 300km away may not be very relevant. However, a tunnel that has been shut down for several days and is 500km away is a relevant delay incident.

After determining the relevance values for all delay incidents on the route, one or more delay incidents are selected for communication to the user in a selection step 24. Only selected events are communicated to the user in a communication step 25. When the user is only notified of the most relevant delay incidents, the user will not be annoyed by less relevant information. The transfer delay event may be performed by presenting graphics or text on the display 11 and/or by providing information as spoken text via the speaker 15. When only the most relevant events are displayed, a larger portion of the display may still be used to display maps, route information, and other information.

In an embodiment of the method according to the invention, the selection of the delay incident depends on a combination of the distance to the delay incident and the delay caused by the delay incident. The most relevant delay incidents are nearby and cause longer delays. The least relevant delay incidents are far away and cause short delays. For each possible event distance, there may be a minimum delay that makes the events relevant. On the other hand, for each possible delay, there may be a maximum distance that correlates delay events. The selection algorithm may, for example, select a delay event for delivery to the user as follows:

if there is only one event on the route, the event is never hidden (hidden when the relevance value of the event is below a predetermined limit).

If the distance to the event is shorter than 15km, the event is never hidden.

The delay is 0-30 seconds. If the distance > 7km, the event is hidden.

The delay is 31-90 seconds. If the distance > 15km, the event is hidden.

Delay 1-2 minutes. If the distance > 30km, the event is hidden.

Delay for 2-3 minutes. If the distance > 45km, the event is hidden.

Delay for 3-4 minutes. If the distance > 60km, the event is hidden.

Delay for 4-5 minutes. If the distance > 75km, the event is hidden.

Delay 5-10 minutes. If the distance > 150km, the event is hidden.

Delay for 10-15 minutes. If the distance > 200km, the event is hidden.

Delay for 15-20 minutes. If the distance > 250km, the event is hidden.

Delaying for 20-30 minutes. If the distance > 300km, the event is hidden.

The delay was > 30 minutes. Never hide events.

Fig. 4 shows an exemplary view of the display 11 of the navigation device 10. The display 11 shows a map 31 having one or more roads 37. The indicator 34 represents the current position of the vehicle on the map 11. The portion of the road 37 on the map 11 is highlighted to indicate the route 38 suggested to the user. The information panel 33 may provide route information in another form (e.g., using text and arrows). The information panel 33 may also show additional information, such as battery power and display options. In this embodiment, the traffic bar 32 is used to indicate traffic information. Those skilled in the art will be able to use other ways of displaying traffic information on a screen. The traffic bar 32 includes a vehicle icon 35 that represents the current location of the vehicle. Preferably, the same icon is used as the indicator 34 on the map 31 so that the vehicle icon 35 is easier for the user to understand. When a new route is planned and the vehicle has not yet begun traveling, the vehicle icon may be replaced by a "Go (Go)" flag representing the starting location of the route. The end icon 36 represents a destination. The same icon may be used to represent a destination on the map 31. The line extending from the vehicle icon 35 to the end icon 36 represents the planned route. The representation of the delay incident on the route is placed on the line. In the scenario of fig. 3, however, no delay event is reported. In the following figures, a traffic bar 32 is shown that includes one or more delay events. It should be noted that the traffic bar 32 may be completely hidden when no delay incidents are expected.

Fig. 5, 6 and 7 show examples of traffic bars 32 for indicating traffic delays. In fig. 5, only the most relevant delay events 41 are shown. The delay incident shown is a traffic jam, which results in a 6 minute delay and starts at 17km from the current location of the vehicle. The distance indicator 43 indicates the distance from the vehicle to the first related delay incident 41. The location of the selected delay incident 41 on the traffic bar 32 is proportional to the distance from the vehicle to the destination. The route indicator 44 represents the distance between the vehicle and the destination. When the delay incident is, for example, at the midpoint between the vehicle and the destination, the delay incident 41 is shown at the midpoint of the route indicator 44. As the vehicle approaches the delay incident, the route represented by the route indicator 44 becomes shorter and the delay incident slides down toward the vehicle icon. When the vehicle has passed the selected delay incident 41, the next most relevant delay incident may be presented. In this example, the scaling of the route indicators is linear, although other options are also available. The scaling may also be logarithmic, for example. As an option, the scaling of the traffic bar 32 may be indicated by a number displayed along the traffic bar and indicating the distance from the vehicle.

Optionally, the length of the traffic bar may be limited to represent only the area where traffic information is available and may not show the portion of the route where traffic information is not available. In the case where traffic information is no longer up to date, for example due to connection problems, the traffic bar may be "grayed out", i.e. presented in a different color.

A total expected delay indicator 42 at the top of the traffic bar 32 indicates the total delay expected. The fact that the total expected delay indicator 42 is placed next to the end icon 36 will make the user clearer of the total delay that he is involved, as he is likely to make a connection between the end of the route and the total delay it encounters along this route. This will increase usability. The plus sign shown in the total expected delay icon 42 has the advantage of being placed in front of a number to indicate that this number indicates the total delay, rather than the delay of one of the events on the route. It should be noted that the total expected delay icon 42 may of course also be implemented in an alternative way. The total delay is the sum of the expected delays of all delay incidents on the route. In fig. 5, the total delay is 13 minutes. The only event 41 selected for display causes a 6 minute delay. Other delay events that are further away and/or cause less delay are not selected for display. The delay events not shown collectively cause a delay of 7 minutes.

The traffic information is periodically updated, which may cause the displayed information to be changed. Preferably, a warning message is provided if the total expected delay changes by more than a predetermined amount of time. For example, an increase in the total expected delay to 14 minutes will not cause a warning message, but when the total expected delay becomes higher than 18 minutes, a warning message is provided. Preferably, the warning message is provided as an audible signal so that the user does not have to repeatedly check the display. The user may then focus on the road, which improves safety. Most preferably, the alert message is provided using text-to-speech conversion and includes the updated total expected delay. This message may also contain a query to the user as to whether he wishes to optimize the route. If the device supports speech recognition, the user can answer the question without having to let go of the steering wheel.

In fig. 6, not only the most relevant delay incidents but also some other relevant delay incidents are shown. The first correlated delay event 51 is similar to the most correlated delay event 41 in fig. 5. Likewise, the event distance indicator 43 shows the distance between the vehicle and the first related event 51. Two other related delay incidents 52, 53 are also selected for display on the traffic bar 32. The second associated delay incident 52 is also a traffic jam. The third delay incident 53 is a narrowing of the road due to road works. In this example, the particular delays expected for these other events 52, 53 are not shown, as they are determined to be less relevant. However, in alternate embodiments, the expected delays of these events may also be shown.

Fig. 7a, 7b and 7c show three different ways of solving the problem that the distance indicator 43 may be too large to fit between the first relevant delay incident 41 and the vehicle icon 35. In fig. 7a, this problem is solved by making the distance indicator 43 smaller. In fig. 7b, the distance indicator 43 is slid over the vehicle icon 35 and the vehicle icon 35 is no longer visible. In fig. 7c, the route indicator 44 has been made smaller and the distance indicator 43 is displayed below the vehicle icon 35.

It will be appreciated that the invention also extends to computer programs, particularly computer programs on or in a carrier, adapted for putting the invention into practice. The program may be in the form of source code, object code, a code intermediate source and object code such as partially compiled form, or in any other form suitable for use in the implementation of the method according to the invention. It will also be appreciated that this process may have many different structural designs. For example, program code implementing the functionality of the method or system according to the invention may be subdivided into one or more subroutines. Many different ways of distributing the functionality between these subroutines will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The subroutines may be stored together in one executable file to form a self-contained program. Such an executable file may include computer-executable instructions, such as processor instructions and/or interpreter instructions (e.g., Java interpreter instructions). Alternatively, one or more or all of the subroutines may be stored in at least one external library file and linked with a main program either statically or dynamically (e.g., at run time). The main program contains at least one call to at least one of the subroutines. Also, subroutines may include function calls to each other. Embodiments relating to computer program products include computer-executable instructions corresponding to each of the processing steps of at least one of the methods set forth. These instructions may be subdivided into subroutines and/or stored in one or more files that may be linked statically or dynamically. Another embodiment relating to a computer program product comprises computer-executable instructions corresponding to each of the means of at least one of the systems and/or products set forth. These instructions may be subdivided into subroutines and/or stored in one or more files that may be linked statically or dynamically.

The carrier of the computer program may be any entity or device capable of carrying the program. For example, the carrier may comprise a storage medium such as a ROM (e.g. a CD ROM or a semiconductor ROM) or a magnetic recording medium (e.g. a floppy disk or a hard disk). Further, the carrier may be a transmissible carrier such as an electrical or optical signal, which may be conveyed via electrical or optical cable or by radio or other means. When the program is embodied in such a signal, the carrier may be constituted by such cable or other means or components. Alternatively, the carrier may be an integrated circuit in which the program is embedded, the integrated circuit being adapted for performing, or for use in the performance of, the relevant method.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustrate rather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art will be able to design many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. Use of the verb "comprise" and its conjugations does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those stated in a claim. The article "a" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. The invention may be implemented by means of hardware comprising several distinct elements, and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In an apparatus claim enumerating several means, several of these means may be embodied by one and the same item of hardware. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

Claims (17)

1. A method of indicating traffic delays in a navigation system for planning a route of a vehicle, the method comprising:

receiving traffic information including location information for each of a number of delay incidents,

determining a location of the vehicle on the planned route,

determining a relevance of each of the delay incidents on the planned route based on the location information of the respective delay incident and based on the location of the vehicle,

selecting at least one delay incident on the planned route based on the determined relevance of the respective delay incident, an

Communicating information about the selected delay incident to a user.

2. The method of indicating traffic delays of claim 1, wherein the traffic information further comprises an expected delay caused by each of the number of delay incidents, and wherein the determining the relevance of each of the delay incidents on the planned route is further based on the expected delay caused by the respective delay incident.

3. A method of indicating traffic delays as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the traffic information further comprises a delay type for each of the number of delay incidents and wherein the determining the relevance of each of the delay incidents on the planned route is further based on the delay type of the respective delay incident.

4. The method of indicating traffic delays of claim 2, wherein the determining the relevance of each of the delay incidents on the planned route comprises: assigning a high relevance value to the respective delay incident if an incident distance between the position of the vehicle and a position of the respective delay incident is below a predetermined distance limit and/or the expected delay of the respective delay incident is above a predetermined delay limit.

5. A method of indicating traffic delays as claimed in claim 4, wherein the predetermined delay limit depends on the event distance.

6. A method of indicating traffic delays as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the communicating comprises showing a representation of the selected delay incident on a display of the navigation system, the representation of the selected delay incident including a representation of the location of the selected delay incident.

7. A method of indicating a traffic delay as recited in claim 6, wherein the representation of the location of the selected delay incident is a representation of an incident distance between the location of the vehicle and the location of the selected delay incident.

8. The method of indicating a traffic delay of claim 7, wherein the communicating comprises displaying a traffic bar along an edge of a display screen, one end of the traffic bar comprising the representation of the location of the vehicle on the planned route in the form of a vehicle icon, the other end of the traffic bar comprising an end icon for representing a destination of the planned route, the representation of the location of the selected delay event comprising between the vehicle icon and the end icon, the representation of the delay event being displayed at a distance from the vehicle icon and the end icon corresponding to the event distance and the distance between the selected delay event and the destination, respectively.

9. A method of indicating traffic delays as claimed in claim 2, wherein the communicating comprises communicating the expected delay caused by the selected delay incident to the user.

10. A method of indicating traffic delays as claimed in claim 2, further comprising determining together a total expected delay for all delay incidents on the planned route, and communicating the total expected delay to the user.

11. The method of indicating traffic delays of claim 10, further comprising

Periodically updating the traffic information and the total expected delay, and communicating the updated total expected delay,

an audible warning message is provided if the predetermined criteria are met.

12. A method of indicating traffic delays as claimed in claim 11, wherein the predetermined criterion is met when the updating of the total expected delay has caused the total expected delay to increase more than a first predetermined amount of time since a previous warning message.

13. A method of indicating traffic delays as claimed in claim 11, wherein the predetermined criterion is met when the previous warning message has been provided more than a second predetermined amount of time ago.

14. A method of indicating traffic delays as claimed in claim 11, 12 or 13, wherein the audible warning message is generated using text to speech conversion.

15. A computer program product for indicating traffic delays, the program operative to cause a processor to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 14.

16. A computer program stored on a computer readable medium, the computer program comprising:

a program portion arranged to receive traffic information comprising location information for each of a number of delay incidents,

a program portion arranged to determine a position of the vehicle on a planned route,

a program portion arranged to determine a relevance of each of the delay incidents on the planned route based on the location information of the respective delay incident and based on the location of the vehicle,

a program portion arranged to select at least one delay event on the planned route based on the determined relevance of the respective delay event, an

A program portion arranged to communicate information about the selected delay event to a user.

17. A navigation system for planning a route of a vehicle, the system comprising:

a receiver for receiving traffic information comprising location information for each of a number of delay incidents,

a memory for storing the received traffic information,

a processor arranged to:

determining a location of the vehicle on the planned route,

determining a relevance of each of the delay incidents on the planned route based on the location information of the respective delay incident and based on the location of the vehicle, an

Selecting at least one delay incident on the planned route based on the determined relevance of the respective delay incident, an

An output for communicating information about the selected delay event to a user.