JP2004151063A - Navigation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform effective guidance by registering beforehand into an image, additional information (a weather, a time zone at day or night or the like, or the like) in addition to position information at a photographing time of the image, selecting and displaying the image having the additional information optimum to the present position even in the case of the same spot at a navigation time, and displaying the image fit to the weather, the time zone or the like at actual traveling, in a navigation system for displaying the present position and a designated route on a map. <P>SOLUTION: This navigation system is equipped with a database acquired by linking and registering an image photographed at a previous traveling time, position information at that time, and the additional information comprising at least the weather and the time zone, a means for retrieving the database based on the present position or on the present position and the traveling direction and extracting the image coincident to the highest degree, and a means for displaying the extracted image in addition to the present position and the designated route. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a navigation system that displays a current position and a designated route on a map.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art A conventional navigation system records, on a recording device, an actual scene image of a road or the like that is actually photographed by a photographing device mounted on a car. Then, when guiding the same road, there is a technique for reading out and displaying a real scene image in addition to the map information from the storage device and displaying the guidance in an easy-to-understand manner based on the real scene (see Patent Document 1).
[0003]
[Patent Publication 1]
See, for example, the claims of JP-A-05-240724.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the above-described conventional technology, in order to use a real scene image photographed by a navigation device, it is not possible to use it without passing through the actual scene image photographed at that time, that is, when traveling on the same road for the second time or later. However, there is a problem that only the actual scene image is displayed.
[0005]
Further, in the above-described technology, since only one type of real scene image at a certain point is determined, a plurality of types of real scene images at the same point (for example, time zones such as day and night, and weather conditions such as rain and fine weather). However, there is a problem that it is not possible to manage the actual scene image), and it is only possible to display the selected one type of actual scene image, and it is not possible to display the actual scene image that matches the situation during actual driving.
[0006]
According to the present invention, in order to solve these problems, additional information (weather, time zone such as night and day, etc.) is registered in the video in addition to the position information at the time of shooting the video, and the same location is used during navigation. It is also intended to select and display an image of additional information that is optimal for the current position, display an image that matches the actual driving weather, time zone, and the like, and provide effective route guidance.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
Means for solving the problem will be described with reference to FIG.
[0008]
In FIG. 1, a navigation information creating unit 1 links a position data obtained by capturing an image of a real scene with an imaging device mounted at the time of traveling, and at least the additional information of at least the weather and time zone of the point to link and register a registration data table. 11 or the like.
[0009]
The navigation information utilization unit 21 searches the registration data table 11 based on the current position or the current position and the traveling direction, and displays a corresponding image in addition to the current position and the designated route. .
[0010]
Next, the operation will be described.
The navigation information utilization unit 21 searches the registration data table 11 based on the current position or the current position and the traveling direction, extracts the video that matches the most, and displays the extracted video in addition to the current position and the designated route. I am trying to do it.
[0011]
At this time, the registration information table 11 is linked to the position information of the actual image taken by the imaging device mounted on the vehicle when the navigation information creating unit 1 is running, and the additional information of at least the weather and the time zone of the point. I try to register.
[0012]
The additional information is a sound, text, or video description of the path of the video, and the description is reproduced when the video is displayed.
[0013]
In addition, as position information to be linked to a video, a section from a certain position where the video was shot to another position is extracted, and a video in which the section most closely matches is extracted.
[0014]
The registration data table 11 integrates information from different navigation information creating units 1 as a registration data table 11 via a network, and registers the registration data table 11 integrated by the navigation information using units 21 of the respective users. A search is performed to extract and display the best matching video.
[0015]
Therefore, additional information (weather, time zone such as night and day, etc.) is registered in the video in addition to the position information at the time of shooting of the video, and the video of the additional information optimal for the current position even at the same point during navigation is registered. By selecting and displaying, it is possible to display an image that matches the weather, time zone, and the like of actual driving, and to provide effective road guidance.
[0016]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Next, an embodiment and operation of the present invention will be sequentially described in detail with reference to FIGS.
[0017]
FIG. 1 shows a system configuration diagram of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, a navigation information creating unit 1 links and registers a video taken by an imaging device mounted at the time of traveling, position information of the video taken, and additional information of at least weather and time zone of the point. And the like, and is registered in the data table 11 for use. In this case, it is composed of a GPS receiver 2, an imaging device 3, an input device 4, an additional information providing device 5, an information control unit 6, a transmitting device 7, and the like. Things.
[0018]
The GPS receiver 2 detects the position of the navigation information creating unit 1 that constitutes a navigation system mounted on a moving object (a well-known technique).
[0019]
The imaging device 3 captures an actual scene of a road when a moving object (e.g., a car) equipped with a navigation system travels, and is, for example, a video camera.
[0020]
The input device 4 is for inputting various operation instructions (commands), and for starting the photographing of the actual scene of the road with the imaging device 3.
[0021]
The additional information providing device 5 takes in information (for example, time zone (day, night, etc.) and weather (sunny, cloudy, rainy, snowy, etc.) to be added to the captured video from a sensor, or a user inputs by voice. It is something to do.
[0022]
The information control unit 6 takes in positional information, video, various operation instructions, and additional information from the GPS receiver 2, the imaging device 3, the input device 4, and the additional information providing device 5, creates them in a predetermined format, and registers the data for registration. The information is registered in the table 11 (see FIG. 3).
[0023]
The transmitting device 7 transmits the data created by the information control unit 6 to the base station 8 wirelessly and registers the data in the registration data table 11.
[0024]
The base station 8 is a base station for receiving data from each user in order to register data in the registration data table 11.
[0025]
The information management unit 9 registers the data received from the navigation information creation unit 1 of each user in the registration data table 11, and includes a registration unit 10 and the like.
[0026]
The registration unit 10 registers the data received from the navigation information creation unit 1 of each user in the registration data table 11.
[0027]
The base station 10 transmits and receives data by wirelessly connecting the information management unit 9 and a navigation information utilization unit 21 constituting a navigation system.
[0028]
The navigation information utilization unit 21 searches the registration data table 11 based on the current position or the current position and the traveling direction, and displays the corresponding image in addition to the current position and the designated route. It comprises a transmission device 22, a reception device 23, an information control unit 24, an input device 26, a condition input unit 27, a display unit 28, a map information storage device 29, and the like.
[0029]
The transmission device 22 and the reception device 23 wirelessly transmit and receive data between the information management unit 9 via the navigation information utilization unit 21 and the base station 12.
[0030]
The information control unit 24 retrieves the registration data table 11 based on the current position or the current position and the traveling direction to fetch a corresponding video, or the current position information (longitude, latitude) acquired by the GPS receiver 2 In addition, a map including the current position is taken out and displayed on the display unit 28. In this case, the map includes a search unit 25 and the like.
[0031]
The search means 25 searches the registration data table 11 based on the current position or the current position and the traveling direction to extract a corresponding video (see FIGS. 6 and 7).
[0032]
The input device 26 is for inputting various operation instructions and the like.
The condition input device 27 is for inputting additional information and the like.
[0033]
The display unit 28 displays images, maps, route information, and the like.
The map information storage device 29 stores map information.
[0034]
Next, according to the order of the flowchart of FIG. 2, a procedure for registering the video, the position information, the additional information, and the like in the registration data table 11 with the configuration of FIG. 1 will be described in detail.
[0035]
FIG. 2 shows a flowchart (registration) for explaining the operation of the present invention.
In FIG. 2, S1 starts recording in a vehicle equipped with a GPS and a camera. This means that, in a vehicle (moving body) equipped with the GPS receiver 2 and the photographing device 3 corresponding to the camera in FIG. Record in association.
[0036]
At step S2, the position information and the image of the point A are recorded and linked and recorded for a certain time or every certain section. At this time, additional information (time periods such as day and night, fine weather, cloudy weather, rainy weather, snowy weather, etc.) ). These S1 and S2 are registered, for example, as shown in FIG. 3A to be described later, that is, for example, an entry on the first line shown in the drawing is created for a certain time or for every certain section, and the position (start position) A, image position (frame No. from the beginning in video data), additional information (time zone such as night and day, weather such as fine, cloudy, rain, snow, etc.), date and time (date and time when video was captured), etc. are recorded.
[0037]
In step S3, a description about the road is input.
S4 links to the video data. In steps S3 and S4, a description (for example, one-way traffic during construction and a risk of congestion) for the road appearing in the image started in S1 is input by voice, key input, or from a menu. As shown in FIG. 3B to be described later, a link is made to a frame number of a video.
[0038]
S5 registers. This is registered in the registration data table 11 of FIG. 1 as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B described later.
[0039]
In step S6, editing is performed. This is because, for example, the registration data table (before editing) 11 of FIG. 3A (to be described later) registered in S1 to S5 is changed to the registration data table (after editing) 11 of FIG. Editing, here, the section of (1) entry in the first row of the registration data table (before editing) 11 in FIG. 3A is divided into two sections as shown in FIG. Edit and register like entries ▼ and ③.
[0040]
As described above, the navigation system shown in FIG. 1 (the navigation information creation unit 1 and the navigation information utilization unit 21) is mounted on the car, and the video, the position information, the input description, and the like captured by the navigation information creation unit 1 are collectively illustrated. 3 (a) can be created, edited, and registered as the registration data table (after editing) 11 of FIG. 3 (d).
[0041]
FIG. 3 shows a table / data example of the present invention.
FIG. 3A shows an example of the registration data table (before editing) 11. The registration data table (before editing) 11 is a data table before editing registered in S5 of FIG. 2 described above, and here, every predetermined distance, every time, every video frame, or every time specified, The following information shown is registered in association with each other.
[0042]
・ Position (latitude, longitude):
・ Image position:
·Additional information:
・ Date:
・ Others:
Here, the position (latitude, longitude) is information on the latitude and longitude of the current position detected by the GPS receiver 2 when the video is started in S1 and S2 in FIG. Similarly, the image position is the frame number of the video data at the time of starting shooting the video. Similarly, the additional information includes a time zone when the video is started to be shot (a time zone such as morning, noon, evening, night, etc.) and weather (weather such as fine, cloudy, rain, snow, etc.). The date and time is the date and time when the shooting of the video was started.
[0043]
As described above, the position (latitude, longitude), additional information (night, rain, etc.), and the date and time are recorded and registered for each predetermined distance, each time, each video frame, and each time specified. When the vehicle is driven by a subsequent car, the registration data table 11 is searched for each section, and there is a matching section, and the most matching entry of the additional information at that time is extracted. And simultaneously display the image according to the map displayed on the screen during navigation, the current position on the map, and the traveling direction, and display the previous actual image optimal for the traveling state (for example, night or rain). It is possible to assist driving.
[0044]
Also, in FIG. 3A, when an edit instruction for dividing (dividing) a proposal at a position A ′ between A and B is performed, the entry (1) in FIG. 3A is divided. 3 (d) of FIG. 3 is edited into the two entries of (2) and (3), that is, from the head position A of the entry of (1) to the division position A 'of the entry of (2), , The division positions A ′ to B are divided into the entries of (3), as shown in the figure.
[0045]
FIG. 3B shows an example of video data. The position of the video data is managed in association with the frame number (frame number).
[0046]
FIG. 3C shows an example in which the description content is linked to video data. Here, in the description contents (audio, text, image), a frame number of a link position in the video data is set in the link information, and is linked to the video data.
[0047]
As described above, when it is necessary to pay attention to falling rocks while taking the explanation contents, for example, when shooting the direction of travel of the road with a camera, "Be careful because the current position is likely to fall. When the user utters by voice, the frame number of the video at that time is automatically set as link information, and linking is performed. With this, when the video is played back and displayed, when the video comes to the link location of the video, the automatically recorded “Precautions must be taken because the current position is likely to be dropped, It is possible to inform the user (driver) of the contents of the explanation.
[0048]
FIG. 3C shows an example of the registration data table (after editing). As described above, the entry (1) in FIG. 3A is edited by dividing the entry (1) into the entry (2) and the entry (3). For example, as shown in FIG. 5 to be described later, before the editing, the intermediate point B and the end point C are divided into sections (every fixed time, every predetermined distance, every predetermined video frame, 3A) is registered in the registration data table (before editing) 11 in FIG. 3A, and if there is an intersection A ′ between A and B after registration, the A ′ is automatically used. Divide and register as shown.
[0049]
As described above, when a section registered in the registration data table (before editing) 11 has a reference point such as an intersection, the section is divided as much as possible into small sections, so The number of matching sections increases, and the video of the section that matches more finely and efficiently is extracted from the registration data table 11 and the video (actual video) is simultaneously displayed on the map according to the current position and the traveling direction. Becomes possible.
[0050]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart (edit) for explaining the operation of the present invention. Here, the table 11 represents the registration data table 11 of FIG. 3 described above.
[0051]
In FIG. 4, S11 calculates a traveling direction from the current position of the table 11.
In S12, an intersection in the traveling direction is found from the map information. In these steps S11 and S12, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, assuming that the current position is A and the traveling direction of the route is B on the right side, and further the end point is C in the downward direction, the traveling direction is viewed from the current position A. An intersection, here the position A 'of the intersection is found on the map.
[0052]
In S13, it is determined whether or not the intersection is large. This is to determine whether the intersection found in S12 is larger than a predetermined size. In the case of YES, the process proceeds to S14. In the case of NO, the process returns to S12 and repeats for the next intersection in the traveling direction.
[0053]
In S14, it is determined whether or not the position information of the intersection exists in the table 11. For example, it is determined whether or not the position A ′ of the intersection found in FIG. 5 is registered in the position column of the table (before editing) 11 in FIG. Here, since it has not been registered, the determination is NO, and the process proceeds to S15. On the other hand, if YES, it means that it has been registered, and so goes to S21.
[0054]
In S15, since NO in S14, for example, it is determined that the intersection A 'is not in the column of the position of the table (before editing) 11, the frame position of the intersection is calculated based on the position information before and after. This is because, for example, it is found that the intersection A ′ is not in the column of the position of the table (before editing) 11, so the frame information of the intersection is obtained from the preceding and following positional information A (frame position 0) and C (frame position 600). The position (for example, 300) is calculated.
[0055]
In step S16, data is added to the edited table 11 with the probable intersection position as the end point. This registers, for example, the entry (2) in FIG. 3 (d).
[0056]
In step S17, the next start point X is set to the position of the assumed intersection (here, the frame position 300).
[0057]
In step S18, it is determined whether or not there is link information (audio, text, video). That is, as shown in FIG. 3B described above, it is determined whether or not there is an explanation content (voice, character, video) linked with the link information in association with the video data. In the case of YES, as shown in FIG. 3B, description contents (audio, text, image) are added and registered in association with link information (frame number of video).
[0058]
In S20, it is determined whether or not the next start point X is the end point. In the case of YES, the editing ends. In the case of NO, S11 is repeated because the route has not been reached.
[0059]
In S21, the information of A 'in FIG. 5, for example, is additionally registered as shown in the entry (2) in FIG. 3C from S15 to S17 as described in S14 with YES in S14. S11, S12, S13: YES, S14: YES, and it is determined that the travel direction of the prorated A 'has reached B and registered in the table 11 here. At the position (here, B) is added. As a result, the entry (3) in FIG. 3D is additionally registered.
[0060]
In S22, the next start point is set to X = the position of the intersection. Here, for example, B in FIG. 5 is set as the position of the next intersection, and the process proceeds to S18.
[0061]
As described above, the registration data table (before editing) 11 of FIG. 3A described above is input, and the registration data table (after editing) 11 of FIG. At the same time, it is possible to additionally register explanation contents as shown in FIG.
[0062]
FIG. 5 shows an explanatory diagram of the present invention. Here, the start point is A, B in the rightward traveling direction, and C in the downward traveling direction are already registered in the registration data table (before editing) 11 in FIG. FIG. 6 shows how the intersection A ′ is prorated and added according to the flowchart of FIG. 4 described above. By adding A ′, the entry (1) of the registration data table (before editing) 11 in FIG. 3A is changed to the entry (1) of the registration data table (after editing) 11 in FIG. In addition to dividing into 2 and 3 and registering them, the contents of explanation in FIG. 3C are linked and registered with link information (frame number of video).
[0063]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart (search) for explaining the operation of the present invention.
In FIG. 6, in step S31, a navigation operation starts in a vehicle equipped with a GPS.
[0064]
In step S32, a destination is input and a route is searched.
In step S33, all data matching the route are extracted and listed. For example, when a starting point A and a destination C in FIG. 5 are input, a route is searched, and a section corresponding to the route is searched from the registration data table (after editing) 11 in FIG. Here, the search is performed, and here, the entries of (2) and (3) are extracted. At this time, the shared registration data table 11 registered by another user in the same manner is searched, and all the data in the section matching the route is extracted. Then, a list (list) of the extracted data is created by searching for each section from the departure point to the destination.
[0065]
In S34, the user selects from the list. This is because a list is displayed for each section, and the user selects the most appropriate one from the list. For example, as additional information, time zones such as night and day, and weather such as clear, cloudy, rain, snow, etc. Is displayed, and the user sees them and selects the most suitable one for the current situation. Alternatively, the current time zone may be obtained from a timer, the weather may be detected by a sensor, and the video of the matching additional information may be automatically selected.
[0066]
A step S35 decides whether or not all sections have been selected. That is, it is determined whether or not appropriate data has been selected from the list for all sections of the route from the departure point to the destination. In the case of YES, the process proceeds to S36. In the case of NO, the process returns to S33, and S33 and S34 are repeated for another section.
[0067]
In step S36, the video is displayed on the basis of the GPS position information, and if there is a description, it is reproduced. This is because, as the vehicle travels, based on the current position acquired from the GPS receiver 2, if there is an image at a position slightly different from the current position in the traveling direction, it is reproduced and the actual image is displayed. If the sentence is linked, the explanation is reproduced together with the sentence and guidance is provided. Further, in the present embodiment, the video is displayed based on the current position information acquired from the GPS receiver 2 during traveling, but the video in which the sections searched in S31 to S35 are connected before traveling is reproduced. It is also possible to check the road condition in advance.
[0068]
As described above, the route is searched based on the departure place (current location) and the destination, all the data (video) of the section included in the route are extracted and displayed in a list, and the selected data (video) is displayed. Automatically displaying the current position acquired from the GPS receiver 2 and automatically displaying the description, if the description is linked, also reproduces the description together, so that the time zone such as night, daytime, etc. can be used during route guidance. It is possible to extract and display previously shot images and explanations that match the weather such as cloudy, rainy, snowy, etc., and to provide efficient route guidance.
[0069]
FIG. 7 shows a flowchart (selection) for explaining the operation of the present invention.
In FIG. 7, in step S41, those having the same section are extracted. This is because, for the route found by searching from the departure point to the destination in S33 of FIG. 6 described above, the registration data table 11 of FIG. Take what you want from the one near the starting point.
[0070]
In S42, one is determined. In the case of YES, it is determined that there is only one data (video) in the section, and the process proceeds to S46. In the case of NO, the process proceeds to S43.
[0071]
A step S43 extracts a match of the additional information. In this case, the information which coincides with additional information such as time zones such as day and night, and weather such as fine, cloudy, rain, and snow is extracted.
[0072]
S44 is determined. Through S41 to S46, all the data (video) of the section included in the route from the departure point to the destination is extracted from the registration data table 11 of FIG. 3D described above, and there are a plurality of section data. In some cases, select data for which additional information (time zones such as night and day, weather such as clear, cloudy, rain, snow, etc.) matches the current situation, and determine one optimal data (video) for each section. Becomes possible.
[0073]
In S47 and S48, it is determined whether the section is divided, that is, it is determined whether one section on the route is divided into a plurality of sections by the determination in S42 to S46, and in the case of YES, the same (S41 to S46) Then, the optimum data is selected for each of the sections into which the one section is divided, and the processing is terminated. In the case of NO, the section is not divided and the processing ends.
[0074]
As described above, for the route from the departure point to the destination, the registration data table 11 is searched to extract all the data of the section included in the route, and from these, the data that best matches the current state based on the additional information. Data to be performed can be selected. Then, following the current position detected by the GPS receiver 2, the data (video) of the current position and a position slightly advanced in the traveling direction are displayed, and if the description is linked, the description is also added. By playing back, play back the optimal previous actual video that matches the current position and situation (night, daytime, weather such as sunny, cloudy, rain, snow, etc.) and provide efficient route guidance Becomes possible.
[0075]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, in addition to the position information at the time of shooting the video, additional information (weather, time zone such as night and day, etc.) is registered in the video, and the same location is used during navigation. Also adopts a configuration that selects and displays the video of the additional information that is optimal for the current position, so that it is possible to display video that matches the actual driving weather, time zone, etc., and to provide effective route guidance Become.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory flowchart (registration) of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a table / data example of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart (edit) for explaining the operation of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart (search) for explaining the operation of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart (selection) for explaining the operation of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1: Navigation information creation unit 2: GPS receiver 3: Imaging device 4: Input device 5: Additional information providing device 6: Information control unit 7, 22: Transmission device 8, 12: Base station 9: Information management unit 10: Registration Means 11: Registration data table 23: Receiving device 24: Information control unit 25: Search unit 26: Input device 27: Condition input device 28: Display unit 29: Map information storage device

Claims (5)

In a navigation system that displays the current position and a specified route on a map,
A data table for linking and registering images taken during a previous run, positional information at that time, and additional information including at least weather and time zone;
Means for searching the data table based on the current position or the current position and the traveling direction to extract the most matching video,
Means for displaying the extracted video in addition to the current position and the designated route. 2. The data table according to claim 1, wherein the information is linked with position information obtained by capturing an image of a real scene by an image pickup device mounted at the time of traveling, and further added with at least weather information and time zone information of the point. The navigation system described. 3. The navigation system according to claim 1, wherein the additional information is an audio, text, or video description of a video path, and the description is reproduced when the video is displayed. The position information to be linked to the video is a section from a position where the video is photographed to another position, and a video in which the section is most matched is extracted. Navigation system. The data table according to claim 1, wherein the data tables registered by different users are integrated via a network, each user is searched for the integrated data table, and the most matching video is delivered. Item 4. The navigation system according to any one of Items 3.

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