WO2009072725A1

WO2009072725A1 - Method and system for arranging dynamic point of interest using unshared r-tree

Info

Publication number: WO2009072725A1
Application number: PCT/KR2008/004404
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jae-Min Lee
Original assignee: Thinkware Systems Corporation
Priority date: 2007-12-04
Filing date: 2008-07-29
Publication date: 2009-06-11

Abstract

A method of dynamically arranging a point of interest (POI), the method including: receiving, from a user, a request for a dynamic POI arrangement with respect to a desired region; and arranging POI information corresponding to the region in a higher priority order in real time is provided.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ARRANGING DYNAMIC POINT OF INTEREST USING UNSHARED R-TREE

Technical Field The present invention relates to a method and system for dynamically arranging a point of interest (POI) using an unshared region tree, and more particularly, a method and system for dynamically arranging a POI using an unshared region tree that can arrange POIs in a higher priority order in real time, so that POI information corresponding to a region requested by a user may not be overlapped with each other.

Background Art

Generally, data associated with a point of interest (POI) used in a navigation system is regarded as a portion of a map and thus is adjusted to not be overlappingly displayed when the data is constructed in advance. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, in the case of a region where POIs are dense, the POIs may be overlapped with each other prior to performing POI arrangement. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 2, the POI arrangement may be performed. Through this, even in the case of the region where the POIs are dense, it is possible to remove relatively less important POIs based on POIs that need to be priorly displayed and generate data and thereby preventing overlapping of the POIs.

However, in the conventional method of generating POI data, an amount of information demanded by a user may continuously increase. Also, due to the POI arrangement performed when generating data, an amount of omitted information may increase. Therefore, the service quality may be deteriorated. For example, when a user A desires to find a gas station but corresponding data is omitted since the gas station is adjacent to a relatively more important facility, a map service provider may have corresponding information but may not provide the information for the user A due to the POI arrangement.

As described above, the conventional method of performing POI arrangement when generating data may restrict the quantitative change in map information and the qualitative improvement of the map service.

Accordingly, there is a need for a scheme that can manage the entire POI information and quickly arrange required POI information in real time.

In addition to the quantitative increase of information, a demand for the qualitative improvement of the map service also continuously increases. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 3, there is a need for a function that enables a user to select a POI type and verify only desired information.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical Goals

An aspect of the present invention provides a method and system that can dynamically arrange points of interest (POIs) in a higher priority order in real time using an unshared region tree so that POI information corresponding to a region requested by a user may not be overlapped with each other.

Another aspect of the present invention also provides a method and system that can sort a POI list in a priority order and then increase or decrease a number of POIs according to a service type or circumstance using a distance between POIs of the sorted

POI list and thereby adjust a POI arrangement density.

Another aspect of the present invention also provides a method and system that can increase or decrease a number of POIs according to a POI arrangement density level desired by a user in a map service and thereby adjust a POI arrangement density. Another aspect of the present invention also provides a method and system that can increase or decrease a number of POIs according to a driving vehicle speed of a user in a navigation service and thereby adjust a POI arrangement density.

Technical solutions According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of dynamically arranging a point of interest (POI), the method including: receiving, from a user, a request for a dynamic POI arrangement with respect to a desired region; and arranging POI information corresponding to the region in a higher priority order in real time. According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for dynamically arranging a POI, the system including: a user interface unit to receive, from a user, a request for a dynamic POI arrangement with respect to a desired region; and a POI arrangement unit to arrange POI information corresponding to the region in a higher priority order in real time.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of adjusting a POI arrangement density using an inter-POI distance, the method including: sorting, according to a priority order, POIs to be displayed in map data associated with a region for adjusting the POI arrangement density; dividing the sorted POIs into POI lists according to the priority order; and adjusting the POI arrangement density for each divided POI list.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for adjusting a POI arrangement density using an inter-POI distance, the system including: a POI sorting unit to sort, according to a priority order, POIs to be displayed in map data associated with a region for adjusting the POI arrangement density; a POI list divider to divide the sorted POIs into POI lists according to the priority order; and a POI arrangement density adjusting unit to adjust the POI arrangement density for each divided POI list.

Advantageous Effect

According to embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a method and system that can dynamically arrange points of interest (POIs) in a higher priority order in real time using an unshared region tree so that POI information corresponding to a region requested by a user may not be overlapped with each other. Through this, it is possible to provide a map service capable of satisfying the user.

Also, according to embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to sort a

POI list in a priority order and then increase or decrease a number of POIs according to a service type or circumstance using a distance between POIs of the sorted POI list and thereby adjust a POI arrangement density. Through this, it is possible to display, for a user, map data that includes POIs arranged according to the desired POI arrangement density of the user in a navigation system.

Also, according to embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a method and system that can increase or decrease a number of POIs according to a POI arrangement density level desired by a user in a map service and thereby adjust a POI arrangement density. Also, according to embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a method and system that can increase or decrease a number of POIs according to a driving vehicle speed of a user in a navigation service and thereby adjust a POI arrangement density.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of map data before performing a point of interest (POI) arrangement according to a conventional art;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of map data after performing a POI arrangement according to a conventional art;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of map data adopting a POI selection and classification according to a conventional art.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a dynamic POI arrangement system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a POI arrangement unit of

FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a POI selecting unit of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of candidate POIs with a priority order according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of POIs selected to be finally displayed according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a storage structure of a general region tree according to a related art; FIG. 10 illustrates an example of an unshared region tree according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of successfully inserting an object G in an unshared region tree according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of unsuccessfully inserting object J in an unshared region tree according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a method of dynamically arranging a POI according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of arranging a POI of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of selecting a POI of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a POI arrangement density adjusting system using an inter-POI distance according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 illustrates an example of a state where a POI arrangement density is not adjusted;

FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a POI arrangement density adjusting unit of FIG. 16; FIG. 19 illustrates an example of a state where a POI arrangement density is adjusted;

FIG. 20 illustrates an example of a POI list sorted according to a priority order;

FIG. 21 illustrates an example of a POI distance list sorted according to an inter-POI distance; FIG. 22 is a graph illustrating an example of the proportional decrease in a POI arrangement density;

FIG. 23 is a graph illustrating an example of the inverse proportional decrease in a POI arrangement density;

FIG. 24 illustrates an example of adjusting a POI arrangement density; FIG. 25 is a flowchart illustrating a method of adjusting a POI arrangement density according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of adjusting a POI arrangement density of FIG. 25.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present invention by referring to the figures. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a dynamic point of interest (POI) arrangement system 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The dynamic POI arrangement system 400 may perform a dynamic POI arrangement in a higher priority order in real time, so that POI information corresponding to a region requested by a user may not be overlapped with each other. Referring to FIG. 4, in order to perform the dynamic POI arrangement, the dynamic POI arrangement system 400 may include a user interface unit 410, a database 420, and a POI arrangement unit 430.

The user interface unit 410 may receive, from the user, a request for a dynamic POI arrangement with respect to a desired region. Specifically, the user interface unit 410 may receive, from the user, a selection on a region for the dynamic POI arrangement and a POI type to be displayed in the selected region.

The database 420 may store and maintain regional information, POI types, and map data. The user interface unit 410 may provide the user with the regional information and the POI types by referring to the database 420. The user interface unit

410 may receive, from the user, a selection for a region and a POI type and arrange the selected POI type in map data of the selected region.

The POI arrangement unit 430 may arrange POI information corresponding to the region in a higher priority order in real time. Hereinafter, a configuration and operation of the POI arrangement unit 430 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the POI arrangement unit

430 of FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 5, the POI arrangement unit 430 may include a sorting unit 510, a POI selecting unit 520, and an arrangement unit 530.

The sorting unit 510 may sort candidate POIs corresponding to a requested region according to a priority order. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the sorting unit 510 may sort the candidate POIs corresponding to the requested region in the priority order.

The POI selecting unit 520 may insert the candidate POIs sequentially from a

POI with a higher priority order and select POIs to be finally displayed. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the POI selecting unit 520 may select the POIs to be finally displayed by sequentially inserting the candidate POIs from the POI with the higher priority order. Hereinafter, a configuration and operation of the POI selecting unit 520 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the POI selecting unit 520 of FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 6, the POI selecting unit 520 may include a POI inserting unit 610, a decision unit 620, and a selector 630.

The POI inserting unit 610 may insert candidate POIs sequentially from a POI with a higher priority order.

Specifically, the POI inserting unit 610 may insert the POIs sequentially from the POI with the higher priority order using an unshared region tree that does not insert a POI into a space where an overlapping region occurs. The unshared region tree is designed to select a region with a nearest central distance and insert a POI in the selected region. Specifically, the unshared region tree is a set of POIs desired by the user where a set of all the inserted objects is performed for the entire POI data and the overlapping region does not occur. FIG. 9 illustrates the structure where a general region tree indexes a space.

Referring to FIG. 9, the general region tree is designed to effectively store an overlapping space. Therefore, an overlapping region may exist between objects. The general region tree is a representative example of a spatial index and is designed to effectively store and withdraw the overlapping region. The general region tree has excellent performance for region searching, whereas it takes some time to construct the general region tree. A tree used for a dynamic POI arrangement has a temporary characteristic in that the tree is used once for a POI arrangement. Therefore, a searching operation for an insertion target node with the least overlapping region and a tree optimization operation that are performed in the general region tree may deteriorate the performance.

Accordingly, a dynamic POI arrangement method according to an embodiment of the present invention may use an unshared region tree that is corrected to not insert a space with an overlapping region since the overlapping region should not exist.

FIG. 10 illustrates a storage structure of an unshared region tree according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 10, the POI inserting unit 610 may select a region with a nearest central distance and insert a POI in the unshared region tree in order to improve a construction performance. Specifically, the POI inserting unit 610 may insert candidate POIs to be displayed in a particular region in the unshared region tree according to a priority order.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of successfully inserting an object G in an unshared region tree according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 11 , the object G does not have an overlapping region with any of regions A, B, C, and D and thus attempts an insertion into the nearest region A.

Although an object F is already inserted into the region A, the object F is not a duplicate of the object G and thus the object G may be successfully inserted. The region A is expanded to include both objects F and G.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example where an object J attempts an insertion in an unshared region tree, but fails due to an overlapping region.

Referring to FIG. 12, the object J does not have an overlapping region with any of regions A, B, C, and D and thus attempts an insertion into the nearest region C. However, an object K is already inserted into the region C and the region J is partially overlapped with the region C. Therefore, the object J is excluded from POIs to be finally displayed.

The decision unit 620 may compare a corresponding POI with initially inserted

POIs and determine whether an overlapping region exists. Specifically, in order to determine a POI to be finally displayed, the decision unit 620 may need to compare the corresponding POI with the initially inserted POIs and then determine whether the corresponding POI is overlapped with another POI. In this instance, a number of decision times performed to insert a single POI in order to determine the POIs to be finally displayed may linearly increase. Accordingly, the unshared region tree may be used to reduce a number of comparison times and more effectively perform a POI arrangement.

The selector 630 may select non-overlapping POIs based on the decision result. The selector 630 may select POIs of which insertion locations are not overlapped with each other based on the decision result regarding comparison between the inserted POIs and an inserting POI.

As described above, a set of all the objects inserted in the unshared R-region according to an aspect of the present invention may be a set of POIs desired by the user where an overlapping region does not occur with respect to the entire POI data.

Therefore, according to an aspect of the present invention, when candidate POIs to be displayed in a particular region are inserted in an unshared R-tree according to a priority order, it is possible to reduce a number of searches and thereby effectively select POIs to be finally displayed.

The arrangement unit 530 may arrange the selected POIs in map data of the requested region in real time. Specifically, the arrangement unit 530 may arrange the selected non-overlapping POIs in the map data of the requested region in real time.

As described above, a dynamic POI arrangement system according to an aspect of the present invention may arrange POI information corresponding to a region requested by a user in a higher priority order using an unshared R-region and thereby provide a satisfactory map service.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a method of dynamically arranging a POI according to an embodiment of the present invention. In operation S 1310, a dynamic POI arrangement system may store and maintain regional information, POI types, and map data in a database. Specifically, in operation S 1310, the dynamic POI arrangement system may store and maintain, in the database, regional information that the user can select, a POI type that the user can select, and map data corresponding to the regional information. Also, in operation Sl 310, the dynamic POI arrangement system may provide the user with the regional information or the POI type by referring to the database. Specifically, in operation Sl 310, the dynamic POI arrangement system may provide the user with regional information that the user can select or the POI type that the user can select. For example, in operation S1310, the dynamic POI arrangement system may provide the stored regional information for each region or in an order of consonants and vowels so that the user may easily select the user's desired region. For example, in operation S1310, the dynamic POI arrangement system may provide the user with various POI types as shown in FIG. 3 so that the user may select the user's desired POI type. In operation S 1320, the dynamic POI arrangement system may receive, from the user, a request for a dynamic POI arrangement with respect to the desired region. Specifically, in operation S 1320, the dynamic POI arrangement system may receive, from the user, a selection on a region for the dynamic POI arrangement and a POI type to be displayed in the selected region. For example, in operation S 1320, the dynamic POI arrangement system may receive, from the user, a selection on "MONGCHONTOSUNG" as a region for the dynamic POI arrangement and "a drugstore, a convenient store, etc.", as a POI type to be displayed in the selected region, so that the selected POI type may be arranged in the selected region.

Also, in operation S 1320, the dynamic POI arrangement system may receive the request for the dynamic POI arrangement so that the selected POI type may be arranged in map data corresponding to the selected regional information with respect to the provided regional information or the POI types.

In operation S 1330, the dynamic POI arrangement system may arrange POI information corresponding to the requested region in a higher priority order in real time. Hereinafter, operation S 1330 will be further described in detail with reference to FIG. 14. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating operation S 1330 of FIG. 13 in detail. In operation S 1410, the dynamic POI arrangement system may sort candidate

POIs corresponding to a requested region in a priority order. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, in operation S1410, the dynamic POI arrangement system may sort the candidate POIs corresponding to the requested region according to the priority order.

In operation S 1420, the dynamic POI arrangement system may insert the candidate POIs sequentially from a POI with a higher priority order and select POIs to be finally displayed. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, in operation S 1420, the dynamic POI arrangement system may select the POIs to be finally displayed by sequentially inserting the candidate POIs from the POI with the higher priority order. Hereinafter, operation S 1420 will be further described in detail with reference to FIG. 15. FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating operation S 1420 of FIG. 14 in detail.

In operation S 1510, the dynamic POI arrangement system may insert candidate POIs sequentially from a POI with a higher priority order. Specifically, in operation S 1510, the dynamic POI arrangement system may insert the POIs sequentially from the POI with the higher priority order using an unshared region tree that does not insert a POI into a space where an overlapping region occurs. The unshared region tree is a set of POIs desired by the user where an arrangement of all the inserted objects is performed for the entire POI data and the overlapping region does not occur. The unshared region tree may be designed to select a region with a nearest central distance and insert a POI in the selected region.

In operation S 1520, the dynamic POI arrangement system may compare a corresponding POI with initially inserted POIs and determine whether the overlapping region occurs. Specifically, in operation S 1520, in order to determine a POI to be finally displayed, the dynamic POI arrangement system may need to compare the corresponding POI with the initially inserted POIs and then determine whether the corresponding POI is overlapped with another POI. In this instance, a number of decision times performed to insert a single POI in order to determine the POIs to be finally displayed may linearly increase. Accordingly, the unshared region tree may be used to reduce a number of comparison times and more effectively perform a POI arrangement.

In operation S 1530, the dynamic POI arrangement system may select non- overlapping POIs based on the decision result. Specifically, in operation S 1530, the dynamic POI arrangement system may select POIs of which insertion locations are not overlapped with each other based on the decision result regarding comparison between the inserted POIs and an inserting POI.

In operation S 153 O, the dynamic POI arrangement system may arrange the selected POIs in map data of the requested region in real time. Specifically, in operation S 1530, the dynamic POI arrangement system may arrange the selected non- overlapping POIs in the map data of the requested region in real time.

As described above, a dynamic POI arrangement method according to an aspect of the present invention may arrange POI information corresponding to a region requested by a user in a higher priority order using an unshared R-region and thereby provide a satisfactory map service.

Hereinafter, a method and system for adjusting a POI arrangement density using an inter-POI distance according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a POI arrangement density adjusting system 1600 using an inter-POI distance according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 16, the POI arrangement density adjusting system 1600 may include a POI sorting unit 1610, a POI list divider 1620, and a POI arrangement density adjusting unit 1630.

In order to prevent a POI with a relatively higher priority order from being excluded, the POI arrangement density adjusting system 1600 may sort POIs in a priority order via the POI sorting unit 1610. In order to adjust the POI arrangement density, the POI sorting unit 1610 may sort all the POIs that need to be displayed in a corresponding region according to the priority order.

FIG. 17 illustrates an example of a state where a POI arrangement density is not adjusted. Referring to FIG. 17, in a first region 1710, POIs are dense. In a second region

1720, POIs are not dense. For example, in order to adjust the POI arrangement density, the POI sorting unit 1610 may sort POIs that are displayed in map data associated with the first region 1710 and the second region 1720 according to the priority order.

FIG. 20 illustrates an example of a POI list sorted according to a priority order. Referring to FIG. 20, the POI sorting unit 1610 may provide a POI list that is generated by sorting, according to the priority order, POIs displayed in map data associated with a region for adjusting the POI arrangement density.

The POI list divider 1620 may divide the sorted POIs into POI lists according to the priority order. For example, when the sorted POI list has n priority orders, the POI list divider 1620 may divide the sorted POIs into n POI lists.

The POI arrangement density adjusting unit 1630 may adjust the POI arrangement density for each divided POI list.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of a state where a POI arrangement density is adjusted. Referring to FIG. 19, in a first region 710, POIs with a relatively low priority order are excluded from the first region 1710 of FIG. 17 where the POIs are dense and thus the POI arrangement density is adjusted to be low. In a second region 720, POIs are not dense, which is the same as the second region 1720 of FIG. 17 where the POIs are not dense and thus the POI arrangement density is not adjusted. Hereinafter, a configuration and operation of the POI arrangement density adjusting unit 1630 will be further described in detail with reference to FIG. 18.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the POI arrangement density adjusting unit 1630 shown in FIG. 16.

Referring to FIG. 18, the POI arrangement density adjusting unit 1630 may include a distance calculator 1810, a POI distance list generator 1820, an adjustment unit 1830, an input unit 1840, and a measurement unit 1850. The distance calculator 1810 may calculate an inter-POI distance with respect to POIs constituting each divided POI list. For example, as shown in FIG. 20, when m POIs constitute the divided POI list, the distance calculator 1810 may calculate the inter-POI distance with respect to the m POIs constituting the divided POI list. In order to calculate the inter-POI distance, two POIs are required. The distance may be a kind of line connecting the two POIs and thus may be referred to as a connecting line. The POI distance list generator 1820 may generate a POI distance list according to the calculated distance.

FIG. 21 illustrates an example of a POI distance list that is sorted according to an inter-POI distance. Referring to FIG. 21, the POI distance list generator 1820 may generate, as the

POI distance list, a connecting line list that is sorted according to the calculated inter- POI distance.

The adjustment unit 1830 may adjust the POI arrangement density in the POI distance list according to a POI removal criterion. Specifically, the adjustment unit 1830 may adjust the POI arrangement density by removing the shortest connecting line in the POI distance list according to the POI removal criterion. Here, the POI removal criterion may be adjusted according to a service type or a circumstance.

The input unit 1840 may receive a desired POI arrangement density from a user.

Specifically, the input unit 1840 may receive a desired POI arrangement density level from the user. For example, when the user views a currently provided map service and determines the POI arrangement density is high, the input unit 1840 may receive, from the user, a manipulation for decreasing the POI arrangement density. For example, when the user views the currently provided map service and determines the POI arrangement density is low, the input unit 1840 may receive, from the user, a manipulation for increasing the POI arrangement density.

The adjustment unit 1830 may adjust the POI arrangement density according to the POI removal criterion based on the POI arrangement density input via the input unit 1840. Specifically, the adjustment unit 1830 may adjust the POI arrangement density to increase or decrease a number of POIs in the POI distance list according to an input POI arrangement density. For example, when the manipulation is input to decrease the POI arrangement density via the input unit 1840, the adjustment unit 1830 may decrease a number of POIs according to the POI removal criterion for decreasing the POI arrangement density and thereby adjust the POI adjustment density. Conversely, when the manipulation is input to increase the POI arrangement density via the input unit 1840, the adjustment unit 1830 may increase the number of POIs according to the POI removal criterion for increasing the POI arrangement density and thereby adjust the POI adjustment density.

The measurement unit 1850 may measure a vehicle speed. The adjustment unit 1830 may adjust the POI arrangement density to increase or decrease a number of POIs in the POI distance list according to the measured vehicle speed. For example, when the measured vehicle speed is less than a preference value, the adjustment unit 1830 may increase a number of POIs according to the POI removal criterion for increasing the POI arrangement density and thereby adjust the POI arrangement density. Conversely, when the measured vehicle speed is greater than the reference value, the adjustment unit 1830 may decrease the number of POIs according to the POI removal criterion for decreasing the POI arrangement density and thereby adjust the POI arrangement density.

Accordingly, when the driving speed of a driver using a navigation service increases, the POI arrangement density adjusting system 1600 may adjust the POI density to be low and thereby decrease the number of POIs. Through this, it is possible to improve the map visibility displayed for the driver. FIG. 22 is a graph illustrating an example of the proportional decrease in a POI arrangement density.

Referring to FIG. 22, the adjustment unit 1830 may adjust the POI arrangement density so that a number of POIs to be displayed in the POI distance list may decrease in proportion to an increase of a change element such as a step of the POI arrangement density input by the user or the measured vehicle speed.

FIG. 23 is a graph illustrating an example of the inverse proportional decrease in a POI arrangement density. Referring to FIG. 23, the adjustment unit 1830 may adjust the POI arrangement density so that a number of POIs to be displayed in the POI distance list may decrease in inverse proportion to an increase of a change element such as a step of the POI arrangement density input by the user or the measured vehicle speed. When shortest connecting lines are deleted in the sorted POI distance list until the POI removal criterion is satisfied, the adjustment unit 1830 may terminate adjusting of the POI arrangement density.

For example, when it is assumed that seven POIs exist with respect to a particular priority order and the POI removal criterion is a half of the entire POIs, the adjustment unit 1830 may remove a POI with the shortest connecting line and thereby adjust the POI adjustment density as shown in FIG. 24.

FIG. 24 illustrates an example of adjusting a POI arrangement density.

Referring to FIG. 24, a first POI arrangement density 1210 shows a case where seven POIs exist with respect to a particular priority order. A second POI arrangement density 1220 shows a case where a POI B with the shortest distance is deleted in a sorted POI distance list of the first POI arrangement density 1210. A third POI arrangement density 1230 shows a case where a POI C with the shortest distance is deleted in a sorted POI distance list of the second POI arrangement density 1220. A fourth POI arrangement density 1240 shows a case where a POI D with the shortest distance is deleted in a sorted POI distance list of the third POI arrangement density

1230.

As described above, the POI arrangement density adjusting system 1600 using the inter-POI distance according to an aspect of the present invention may adjust the POI arrangement density in a map service by sorting a POI list according to a priority order and then increasing or decreasing the number of POIs in the sorted POI list according to a service type or a circumstance using an inter-POI distance. Through this, the POI arrangement density adjusting system 1600 may display, for a user, map data that includes POIs arranged according to the desired POI arrangement density of the user in a navigation service. FIG. 25 is a flowchart illustrating a method of adjusting a POI arrangement density according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 25, in operation S2510, a POI arrangement density adjusting system may sort, according to a priority order, POIs displayed in map data associated with a region for adjusting the POI arrangement density. Specifically, in operation S2510, the POI arrangement density adjusting system may provide a POI list that is generated by sorting, according to the priority order, the POIs displayed in the map data associated with the region for the POI arrangement density.

In operation S2520, the POI arrangement density adjusting system may divide the sorted POIs into POI lists according to the priority order. For example, when the sorted POI list has n priority orders, the POI arrangement density adjustment system may divide the sorted POIs into n POI lists. In operation S2530, the POI arrangement density adjusting system may adjust the POI arrangement density for each divided POI list. Hereinafter, operation S2530 will be further described in detail with reference to FIG. 26.

FIG. 26 illustrates operation S2530 of FIG. 25 in detail.

Referring to FIG. 26, in operation S2610, the POI arrangement density adjusting system may calculate an inter-POI distance with respect to POIs constituting each divided POI list. For example, as shown in FIG. 20, when m POIs constitute the divided POI list as shown in FIG. 20, the POI arrangement density adjusting system may calculate the inter-POI distance with respect to each of the m POIs constituting the divided POI list in operation S2610. In operation S2620, the POI arrangement density adjusting system may generate a POI distance list according to the calculated distance.

In operation S2630, the POI arrangement density adjusting system may adjust the POI arrangement density in the POI distance list according to a POI removal criterion. Specifically, in operation S2630, the POI arrangement density adjusting system may adjust the POI arrangement density by removing the shortest connecting line in the POI distance list according to the POI removal criterion. Here, the POI removal criterion may be adjusted according to a service type or a circumstance.

For example, the POI arrangement density adjusting system may further perform an operation of receiving a desired POI arrangement density from a user. Specifically, the POI arrangement density adjusting system may receive a desired POI arrangement density level from the user. Next, in operation S2630, the POI arrangement density adjusting system may adjust the POI arrangement density to increase or decrease a number of POIs in the POI distance list according to an input POI arrangement density.

For example, the POI arrangement density adjusting system may further perform an operation of measuring a vehicle speed. Next, in operation S2630, the POI arrangement density adjusting system may adjust the POI arrangement density to increase or decrease the number of POIs in the POI distance list according to the measured vehicle speed.

For example, in operation S2630, the POI arrangement density adjusting system may adjust the POI arrangement density so that a number of POIs to be displayed in the POI distance list may decrease in proportion to an increase of a change element based on the POI removal criterion, as shown in FIG. 20. Here, the change element may be a step of the POI arrangement density input by the user or the driving speed of the user.

For example, in operation S2630, the POI arrangement density adjusting system may adjust the POI arrangement density so that a number of POIs to be displayed in the POI distance list may decrease in inverse proportion to an increase of a change element based on the POI removal criterion, as shown in FIG. 23.

For example, in operation S2630, the POI arrangement density adjusting system may adjust the POI arrangement density in the POI distance list by deleting a POI until the POI removal criterion is satisfied with respect to POIs with the shortest distance. As described above, the method of adjusting the POI arrangement density using the inter-POI distance according to an aspect the present invention may adjust the POI arrangement density in a map service by sorting a POI list according to a priority order and then increasing or decreasing the number of POIs in the sorted POI list according to a service type or a circumstance using an inter-POI distance. Through this, the method may display, for a user, map data that includes POIs arranged according to the desired POI arrangement density of the user in a navigation service.

The exemplary embodiments of the present invention include computer-readable media including program instructions to implement various operations embodied by a computer. The media may also include, alone or in combination with the program instructions, data files, data structures, tables, and the like. The media and program instructions may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or they may be of the kind well known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts. Examples of computer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD ROM disks; magneto-optical media such as floptical disks; and hardware devices that are specially configured to store and perform program instructions, such as read- only memory devices (ROM) and random access memory (RAM). Examples of program instructions include both machine code, such as produced by a compiler, and files containing higher level code that may be executed by the computer using an interpreter.

Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments. Instead, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method of dynamically arranging a point of interest (POI), the method comprising: receiving, from a user, a request for a dynamic POI arrangement with respect to a desired region; and arranging POI information corresponding to the region in a higher priority order in real time.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the arranging comprises: sorting candidate POIs corresponding to the requested region according to a priority order; inserting the candidate POIs sequentially from a POI with a higher priority order to select POIs to be finally displayed; and arranging the selected POIs in map data of the requested region in real time.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the inserting to select the POIs comprises: inserting the candidate POIs sequentially from the POI with the higher priority order; comparing the inserted candidate POIs with initially inserted POIs to determine whether an overlapping region occurs; and selecting non-overlapping POIs based on the decision result.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the inserting comprises inserting the candidate POIs sequentially from the POI with the higher priority order using an unshared region tree that enables a POI to not be inserted into a space where an overlapping region occurs.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the unshared region tree is designed to select a region with a nearest central distance and insert the POI in the selected region.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the unshared region tree is a set of POIs desired by the user where a set of all the inserted objects is performed for the entire POI data and an overlapping region does not occur.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the inserting comprises inserting candidate POIs to be displayed in a particular region in the unshared region tree according to the priority order.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving comprises receiving, from the user, a selection on a region for the dynamic POI arrangement and a POI type to be displayed in the selected region, and arranging the POI type in the selected region.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: storing and maintaining regional information, POI types, and map data in a database; and providing the user with the regional information or the POI types by referring to the database, wherein the receiving comprises arranging a POI type selected by the user in map data corresponding to regional information selected by the user with respect to the provided POI types or the regional information.

10. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 through 9.

11. A system for dynamically arranging a POI, the system comprising: a user interface unit to receive, from a user, a request for a dynamic POI arrangement with respect to a desired region; and a POI arrangement unit to arrange POI information corresponding to the region in a higher priority order in real time.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the POI arrangement unit comprises: a sorting unit to sort candidate POIs corresponding to the requested region according to a priority order; a POI selecting unit to insert the candidate POIs sequentially from a POI with a higher priority order and select POIs to be finally displayed; and an arrangement unit to arrange the selected POIs in map data of the requested region in real time.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the POI selecting unit comprises: a POI inserting unit to insert the candidate POIs sequentially from the POI with the higher priority order; a decision unit to compare the inserted candidate POIs with initially inserted POIs to determine whether an overlapping region occurs; and a selector to select non-overlapping POIs based on the decision result.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the POI inserting unit inserts the candidate POIs sequentially from the POI with the higher priority order using an unshared region tree that enables a POI to not be inserted into a space where an overlapping region occurs.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the unshared region tree is designed to select a region with a nearest central distance and insert the POI in the selected region.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the unshared region tree is a set of POIs desired by the user where a set of all the inserted objects is performed for the entire POI data and an overlapping region does not occur.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the POI inserting unit inserts candidate POIs in the unshared region tree according to the priority order.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein the user interface unit receives, from the user, a selection on a region for the dynamic POI arrangement and a POI type to be displayed in the selected region, and arranging the POI type in the selected region.

19. The system of claim 11, further comprising: a database to store and maintain regional information, POI types, and map data, wherein the user interface unit provides the user with the regional information and the POI types by referring to the database, and receives, from the user, a section for a region and a POI type, and arranges the selected POI type in map data of the selected region.

20. A method of adjusting a POI arrangement density using an inter-POI distance, the method comprising: sorting, according to a priority order, POIs to be displayed in map data associated with a region for adjusting the POI arrangement density; dividing the sorted POIs into POI lists according to the priority order; and adjusting the POI arrangement density for each divided POI list.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the adjusting comprises: calculating the inter-POI distance with respect to POIs constituting each divided POI list; generating a POI distance list according to the calculated distance; and adjusting the POI arrangement density in the POI distance list according to a POI removal criterion.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising: receiving a desired POI arrangement density from a user, wherein the adjusting of the POI arrangement density according to the POI removal criterion comprises adjusting the POI arrangement density to increase or decrease a number of POIs in the POI distance list according to an input POI arrangement density.

23. The method of claim 21 , further comprising: measuring a vehicle speed, wherein the adjusting of the POI arrangement density according to the POI removal criterion comprises adjusting the POI arrangement density to increase or decrease a number of POIs in the POI distance list according to the measured vehicle speed.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the adjusting of the POI arrangement density according to the POI removal criterion comprises adjusting the POI arrangement density to decrease a number of POIs to be displayed in the POI distance list in proportion to an increase of a change element based on the POI removal criterion.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein the adjusting of the POI arrangement density according to the POI removal criterion comprises adjusting the POI arrangement density to decrease a number of POIs to be displayed in the POI distance list in inverse proportion to an increase of a change element based on the POI removal criterion.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein the adjusting of the POI arrangement density according to the POI removal criterion comprises adjusting the POI arrangement density by removing a POI in the POI distance list until the POI removal criterion is satisfied with respect to POIs with a shortest distance.

27. A system for adjusting a POI arrangement density using an inter-POI distance, the system comprising: a POI sorting unit to sort, according to a priority order, POIs to be displayed in map data associated with a region for adjusting the POI arrangement density; a POI list divider to divide the sorted POIs into POI lists according to the priority order; and a POI arrangement density adjusting unit to adjust the POI arrangement density for each divided POI list.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the POI arrangement density adjusting unit comprises: a distance calculator to calculate the inter-POI distance with respect to POIs constituting each divided POI list; a POI distance list generator to generate a POI distance list according to the calculated distance; and an adjustment unit to adjust the POI arrangement density in the POI distance list according to a POI removal criterion.

29. The system of claim 28, further comprising: an input unit to receive a desired POI arrangement density from a user, wherein the adjustment unit adjusts the POI arrangement density to increase or decrease a number of POIs in the POI distance list according to an input POI arrangement density.

30. The system of claim 28, further comprising: a measurement unit to measure a vehicle speed, wherein the adjustment unit adjusts the POI arrangement density to increase or decrease a number of POIs in the POI distance list according to the measured vehicle speed .

31. The system of claim 28, wherein the adjustment unit adjusts the POI arrangement density to decrease a number of POIs to be displayed in the POI distance list in proportion to an increase of a change element based on the POI removal criterion.

32. The system of claim 28, wherein the adjustment unit adjusts the POI arrangement density to decrease a number of POIs to be displayed in the POI distance list in inverse proportion to an increase of a change element based on the POI removal criterion.

33. The system of claim 28, wherein the adjustment unit adjusts the POI arrangement density by removing a POI in the POI distance list until the POI removal criterion is satisfied with respect to POI with a shortest distance.