Patents by Inventor James L McErlain, II

James L McErlain, II has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10871378
    Abstract: In some implementations, a computing device evaluates map data used by a mapping application to determine whether the map data represents a current road. The computing device gets probe data from mobile devices including probe points representing location and compares probe data against the stored map data (e.g., for the road segment corresponding to the probe points). A vector field is generated across the probe points and road segment to induce directionality. The computing device calculates a normal distance from probe points to the road segment. The computing device calculates map accuracy values from the comparison and normal distance. The values include a vector shift and a cosine similarity value between the stored road segment and the actual road. In some implementations the values are used to conform the map data to the actual road. Road segment data is updated to reflect probe data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: James L McErlain, II, Nicholas G Guggemos, Seth E Spielman
  • Publication number: 20200011684
    Abstract: In some implementations, a computing device evaluates map data used by a mapping application to determine whether the map data represents a current road. The computing device gets probe data from mobile devices including probe points representing location and compares probe data against the stored map data (e.g., for the road segment corresponding to the probe points). A vector field is generated across the probe points and road segment to induce directionality. The computing device calculates a normal distance from probe points to the road segment. The computing device calculates map accuracy values from the comparison and normal distance. The values include a vector shift and a cosine similarity value between the stored road segment and the actual road. In some implementations the values are used to conform the map data to the actual road. Road segment data is updated to reflect probe data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 6, 2018
    Publication date: January 9, 2020
    Applicant: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: James L McErlain, II, Nicholas G Guggemos, Seth E Spielman