Abstract: A vehicle route planning system takes a trip origin location and a trip destination location provided by the driver then considers alternative routes, taken from a map (107), between the trip origin location and trip destination location. Certain attributes, such as traffic congestion and concentration intensity, and driver preferences are considered in a fuzzy inferencing device for planning a preferred route.

Abstract: A vehicle route guidance system considers driver preferences, vehicle parameters such as speed and performance capabilities in a navigation computer, and outputs flexible guidance instructions based on these considerations. The system monitors vehicle parameters such as current location and speed with sensors such as an odometer (109), a compass (115), and a GPS receiver (113). The system also determines the location of a vehicle maneuver and then, considering the former attributes with a model free mechanism, in this case a navigation computer with fuzzy inferencing (101), communicates to the driver instructing him how to manoeuver.

Abstract: A multi-mode route guidance system and a corresponding method for same include a device to determine a present position, preferable a GPS receiver, and an input device (111) for inputting a traveler specified destination position. A map database (115) provides memory capable of storing a first, or topology, type of record (225) that has topology and connectivity information (227), and a second, or route guidance, type of record (217) that has topology, connectivity, and traffic flow restriction information (227, 229). A route guidance device (101) retrieves selected records (217, 219, 221, 223, 225) from the map database (115). The selected records (217, 219, 221, 223, 225) retrieved are determined by the specified destination position and the present position of the traveler.