Navigation Patents (Class 701/400)
  • Patent number: 9008858
    Abstract: Systems and methods for adaptively adjusting settings of a vehicle during a known route are described. A method may include storing a driving route, parsing the driving route into a plurality of segments based on at least one of a turn detection, an intersection detection, a change in road conditions, a change in speed of the vehicle, or a predetermined distance traveled. The method may also include assigning to each segment a unique identification code, storing a plurality of values correlating to settings, the settings having values determined during a segment of the driving route, and associating each of the plurality of values to the unique identification code of the segment in which the setting was determined. The method may also include automatically changing each of the plurality of values at the beginning of each segment in which the value was altered.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2015
    Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Joshua D. Payne, Mohammad E. Dufford, Geoffrey D. Gaither
  • Publication number: 20150100229
    Abstract: A method of operation of a navigation system includes: receiving a navigation request for reaching a destination; generating a navigation information based on the navigation request; generating an information segment from the navigation information; and generating a transmission sequence for prioritizing an information type of the information segment for displaying the information segment on a device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 7, 2013
    Publication date: April 9, 2015
    Applicant: Telenav, Inc.
    Inventor: Dongheng Zhao
  • Publication number: 20150100237
    Abstract: A method of operation of a navigation system includes: identifying an activity area with a control unit based on a user's travel meeting or exceeding a travel threshold; determining a guidance mode based on a current location within the activity area and the current location for locating a device; and setting a guidance level based on the guidance mode for presenting a navigation guidance on the device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 3, 2013
    Publication date: April 9, 2015
    Applicant: Telenav, Inc.
    Inventors: George Xiaohong Zhao, Ryan Robert Peterson
  • Publication number: 20150100230
    Abstract: A method of operation of a navigation system includes: determining a designated location for estimating travel information; generating a travel information A for traveling from an designated location to a destination A; generating a travel information B for traveling from the designated location to a destination B; and presenting the travel information A and the travel information B concurrently based on a display priority for displaying on a device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 8, 2013
    Publication date: April 9, 2015
    Applicant: Telenav, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric Michael Lunsford, Salman Dhanani, Sambuddha Saha
  • Publication number: 20150100231
    Abstract: The disclosure includes a system and method for providing personalized recommendations. The system includes a navigation application comprising a route engine, an intersection extractor, a historical analyzer and a user interface module. The processing unit receives data and transmits the data to the corresponding component in the navigation application. The route engine determines a new route from a first location to a second location for a user, the new route comprising directions for each portion of the new route. The intersection extractor identifies intersections that occur on the new route. The historical analyzer determines historical routes traveled by the user, compares the new route to the historical route to identify which portions and intersections in the new route are familiar to the user and removes directions for the portions of the new route that are familiar. The user interface module provides the new route to the user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 8, 2013
    Publication date: April 9, 2015
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: David Frank Russell Weir, Vinuth Rai
  • Publication number: 20150100232
    Abstract: A method of operation of a navigation system includes: determining a travel context with a control unit based on a vehicle information for identifying a vehicle; determining a restriction level based on the travel context for controlling a content retrieval by a head unit from a device; and determining the content retrieval based on the restriction level for displaying a display content on the head unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 9, 2013
    Publication date: April 9, 2015
    Applicant: Telenav, Inc.
    Inventors: Salman Dhanani, Md Ahsan Habib, Harris Warren
  • Patent number: 9002640
    Abstract: An apparatus, the apparatus comprising at least one processor, and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: provide at least one marker to indicate the required current position in a planned journey to reach a destination of the planned journey according to a predetermined time criterion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2015
    Assignee: Nokia Corporation
    Inventors: Jerome Beaurepaire, Philippe Beaurepaire
  • Patent number: 9002641
    Abstract: A navigation system can comprise a microprocessor, a memory, a navigational signal receiver configured to receive a radio signal from at least one external system, a motion sensing device, and a navigation program executable by the microprocessor. The navigational signal receiver can be communicatively coupled to the microprocessor via a communication port. The navigation program can be configured to receive messages from the navigational signal receiver by communicating to the driver of the communication port. The communication port driver can adjust the current position based on the data returned by the motion sensing device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2015
    Assignee: Hand Held Products, Inc.
    Inventor: Paul Edward Showering
  • Patent number: 8996295
    Abstract: Vehicle range projection is implemented by a host system having logic executable thereon. The logic identifies a starting location of a vehicle and identifies destination locations for the vehicle. The logic also builds routes from the starting location to the destination locations based on routing objectives and travel constraints. The logic further outputs at least a portion of at least one route and travel cost information associated with the at least a portion of at least one route.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC
    Inventor: Edward D. Tate, Jr.
  • Patent number: 8997121
    Abstract: A method of providing position support to a main processor of a computing device is disclosed. The method may include receiving primary position data from a sensor at a sensor controller. The method may also include analyzing, via the sensor controller, the primary position data to determine secondary position data. The method may also include formatting, via the sensor controller, the secondary position data. The method may also include aggregating, via the sensor controller, the formatted position data. The method may also include providing, via a single channel interface between the sensor controller and the main processor, the aggregated position data to an operating system installed on the main processor. The method may also include communicating, via a driver installed on the operating system, the position data to an application installed on the operating system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: James R. Trethewey, Moulishankar Chandrasekaran
  • Patent number: 8996545
    Abstract: The embodiments provide an in-memory database system having an extraction module configured to extract data (e.g., business data and address data) from one or more external data sources and transform the data into a standard format, a geocoder configured to geocode the address data including obtaining spatial data based on the address data using an internal reference table, and an internal database configured to store the internal reference table, the business data, the address data, and the spatial data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: SAP SE
    Inventors: Yingyu Chen, Bin Dong, Yongyuan Shen
  • Publication number: 20150088408
    Abstract: A pedestrian observation system includes a circuitry acquires an acceleration in accordance with a uniquely defined terminal coordinate system accompanying a pedestrian; obtains a power of an acceleration in a horizontal plane containing mutually perpendicular first and second directions based on acceleration components in the first and second directions, thereby acquiring an observation time of a maximum value of the power and acceleration components in the first and second directions at that time to acquire horizontal peak information; acquires times of observation of maximum and minimum values of a vertical acceleration component to acquire vertical peak information; chooses information on the maximum value of the power from the horizontal peak information based on the vertical peak information to acquire peak information for estimation; and acquires traveling direction information indicating a direction of travel of a pedestrian based on the peak information for estimation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 23, 2014
    Publication date: March 26, 2015
    Applicant: MegaChips Corporation
    Inventor: Takio YAMAOKA
  • Publication number: 20150088407
    Abstract: A method of operation of a navigation system includes: determining a start guidance area excluding a current location; determining an end guidance area excluding a destination; and generating a navigation guidance with a control unit for traversing from the start guidance area to the end guidance area to reach the destination.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 26, 2013
    Publication date: March 26, 2015
    Applicant: Telenav, Inc.
    Inventors: Xiaochuan Niu, Gregory Stewart Aist, Rajeev Agarwal
  • Publication number: 20150088409
    Abstract: A system and method for planning fueling during a travel. The method comprises receiving information identifying a starting point and a destination for the travel; determining a route between the starting point and the destination; identifying one or more candidate fuel stations that are accessible from the route; determining scores for the one or more candidate fuel stations; and outputting information identifying the one or more candidate fuel stations along with their scores. Identifying one or more candidate fuel stations may include determining a search corridor; and identifying the one or more candidate fuel stations within the search corridor. Determining the search corridor may comprise selecting a search point located on the route; selecting a search radius; drawing a search circle with a radius equal to the search radius and centered at the search point; and including the search circle in the search corridor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 25, 2014
    Publication date: March 26, 2015
    Applicant: WEX, INC.
    Inventor: John Lind Thomas
  • Patent number: 8990003
    Abstract: A webpage for a GPS device enables sending information automatically to the GPS device. The user can search on the search engine, and receive results. The results in the form of addresses or named in the automatically exported to the GPS device. The exporting may be wirelessly or via a portable hard drive.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignee: Harris Technology, LLC
    Inventor: Scott C. Harris
  • Patent number: 8989982
    Abstract: A velocity calculation device includes: a vertical direction acceleration detection portion that is mounted on a vehicle and detects an acceleration in a vertical direction generated correspondingly to undulation of a road surface; a horizontal direction angular velocity detection portion that is mounted on the vehicle and detects an angular velocity about a horizontal axis orthogonal to a travel direction of the vehicle generated correspondingly to the undulation of the road surface; and a velocity calculation portion that calculates a velocity in the travel direction of the vehicle on the basis of the acceleration in the vertical direction and the angular velocity about the horizontal axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignee: Sony Corporation
    Inventor: Masashi Ohkubo
  • Patent number: 8990013
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for displaying a search item in a portable terminal is disclosed. When an item (for example, a particular place, a route to a destination place, particular content, etc.), for which the user requests to search, is searched and displayed, the location information regarding the search item can be displayed, in steps, from a wide range (i.e., upper information) to a narrow range (i.e., lower information), thereby the user can intuitively and easily recognize the location of the search item.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jin Yong Kim, Se Jin Kwak
  • Patent number: 8990005
    Abstract: Georeferenced predictive information is provided by a backend server system to vehicles. Such provided predictive information may be specifically relevant to a provided planned or estimated route of the particular vehicle, and may be used by the vehicle to reconstruct a digital map specific to such planned or estimated route.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Robert Hein, Andreas Winckler
  • Patent number: 8990004
    Abstract: A method of operation of a navigation system includes: preprocessing an intersection from map data into an edge in query data; generating a route having a turn at the intersection; and sending the route for displaying at a device and for maneuvering the turn at the intersection by querying the query data for the edge of the intersection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignee: Telenav, Inc.
    Inventor: Jie Huang
  • Patent number: 8990016
    Abstract: A navigation apparatus, method, and program store map/road data including information on parking lots, provide position information on a position of the vehicle, and output guidance information. The apparatus, method, and program process the position information and the map/road data to generate guidance information, and make a first determination whether the vehicle enters a first threshold area around a target destination. The apparatus, method, and program make, in response to the first determination, a second determination that the vehicle has not been parked before a parking notification output condition is fulfilled and output parking notification information on the output unit in response to the second determination.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignee: Aisin AW Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Sanjay Kashalkar
  • Patent number: 8989917
    Abstract: A system for operating a remotely controlled powered system, the system including a feedforward element configured to provide information to the remotely controlled powered system to establish a velocity, and a feedback element configured to provide information from the remotely controlled powered system to the feedforward element. A method and a computer software code are further disclosed for operating the remotely controlled powered system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventor: Ajith Kuttannair Kumar
  • Publication number: 20150081203
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method and system are provided for determining the shortest path between two nodes in a network comprising a plurality of nodes. A non-transitory computer-readable medium is also provided that includes a plurality of instructions that, when executed by at least one electronic device, at least cause the at least one electronic device to determine the shortest path between two nodes in a network comprising a plurality of nodes.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 19, 2014
    Publication date: March 19, 2015
    Inventor: Alexander Tesov
  • Publication number: 20150081204
    Abstract: A system and method for processing a 3-dimensional landmark providing a 3-dimensional representation of a 3-dimensional real world object located at a predefined geographic location is provided. The method includes the steps of providing a data set containing the 3-dimensional landmark, determining a largest continuous horizontal surface of the 3-dimensional landmark, and storing the determined largest horizontal surface as road traffic area of a road network used by a user when moving on the object.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2014
    Publication date: March 19, 2015
    Inventors: Martin FISCHER, Carsten-Christian SPINDLER, Vladimir IVANOV
  • Publication number: 20150081205
    Abstract: An apparatus, method, computer program and user interface where the apparatus includes at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, enable the apparatus to: display a perspective view of a geographical location at a first scale in a first region of a display; identify a point of interest associated with the geographical location; and display the identified point of interest at a second scale in a second region of the display.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 20, 2014
    Publication date: March 19, 2015
    Inventors: Jason Robert Wither, Ray William Rischpater, Carmen Esther Au, Petri Piippo, Tuomas Vaittinen, David Racz
  • Publication number: 20150081202
    Abstract: An arrangement, a vehicle and a method for providing vehicle driver support during manual or semi-autonomous driving in a potential overtake scenario are provided. The arrangement includes a detector, a communication unit arranged to receive from a preceding vehicle information of a probable route of the preceding vehicle based on at least one of preceding vehicle historical route information and preceding vehicle navigation system information, a processing unit arranged to determine, for one or more routes ahead of the host vehicle, the probability that the preceding vehicle will drive along the one or more route, to process the received information into a format suitable for display, and to display the processed information, thereby providing support to the vehicle driver.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 9, 2014
    Publication date: March 19, 2015
    Inventor: Daniel LEVIN
  • Patent number: 8983763
    Abstract: An apparatus may include a landmark selector configured to receive selection of a landmark. A sensory device may determine at least one position indicator relating to alignment with the landmark from a sensing location, such as orientation, attitude, and/or altitude. The apparatus may further include a position determiner configured to determine a relative position of the sensing location with respect to the landmark based at least in part on the position indicator. Accordingly, the apparatus may determine the relative position of the sensing location with respect to the landmark. In some embodiments the apparatus may be further configured to determine the absolute position of the sensing location. Thereby position information may be used, for example, to create collaborative content captured at an event occurring near the landmark.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: Nokia Corporation
    Inventors: Sujeet Shyamsundar Mate, Radu Ciprian Bilcu, Igor Danilo Diego Curcio, Francesco Cricri
  • Patent number: 8983661
    Abstract: Disclosed are a robot cleaner, a controlling method of the same, and a robot cleaning system. The robot cleaner can perform a cleaning operation with respect to only a user's desired region, in a repeated and concentrated manner. Further, as the robot cleaner runs on a user's desired region in a manual manner, a designated region can be precisely set. Further, as the robot cleaner performs a cleaning operation by setting a user's desired region, only a simple configuration is added to a terminal device such as a remote control unit. Accordingly, additional costs can be reduced, and a malfunction can be prevented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: LG Electronics Inc.
    Inventors: Ilsoo Cho, Taebum Kwon, Suuk Choe
  • Patent number: 8983766
    Abstract: To provide useful information to a user of a personal navigation device (PND) related to their current mode of transportation the PND receives a plurality of satellite navigation signals, utilizes the plurality of satellite navigation signals to determine position of the PND, determines a plurality of data based on the plurality of satellite navigation signals, utilizing the plurality of data as inputs to a statistical model to determine the mode of transportation, determines the information corresponding to the mode of transportation, and displays the information corresponding to the mode of transportation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: Mitac International Corp.
    Inventor: Simon Dean Morley
  • Patent number: 8983773
    Abstract: Pictorial information is provided relevant to a geographic location through selecting characteristics relevant to geographic locations, searching pictorial image databases for images having an embedded tags associated with the characteristics, retrieving image files from databases having embedded tags correlated to characteristics and visually depicting a physical appearance or an attribute of a location, analyzing characteristics image files and responsively selecting preferred image data, formatting preferred image data for presentation to a traveler, associating formatted preferred data with geographic locations, and presenting associated formatted data to the traveler in association with geographic locations. Characteristics include global positioning satellite coordinates. Image data may be selected having preferred image resolutions or perspectives. Formatting pictorial information may comprise synthesizing photographs into a constructs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Rick A. Hamilton, II, Neil A. Katz, Brian M. O'Connell, Keith R. Walker
  • Patent number: 8984147
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatuses, including computer program products, may be used for content delivery. In particular implementations, methods, systems, and apparatuses may include the ability to identify that a content item request for a user device has been received, determine a position and velocity of the user device, select a content item to provide to the user device based at least on its position and velocity, and sending the content item to the user device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: Google Inc.
    Inventors: Ehren Andrew Kret, Ronald Ho
  • Patent number: 8983778
    Abstract: Some embodiments provide a method for generating intersection data for paths in a map region. The method receives a set of junctions at which paths intersect in the map region. For a particular junction of at least two paths, the method automatically determines whether any of the other junctions in the map region satisfy criteria to be part of a single intersection with the particular junction. When at least one of the other junctions satisfies the criteria, the method automatically combines the other junctions that satisfy the criteria with the particular junction into a single intersection for use in performing mapping operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventor: Paul S. McCarthy
  • Patent number: 8983767
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method and system for generating a swath coverage pattern for a given working area to be traversed by a vehicle or equipment attached thereto.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: Jaybridge Robotics, Inc.
    Inventors: Joshua J. Pieper, Jeremy W. Nimmer
  • Publication number: 20150073695
    Abstract: A route management system comprising dispatch operations; fleet management software; at least one onboard computing device; weather data; and a weather-fleet comparison method. More specifically, the system collects information about a place of departure, a place of arrival, a scheduled route, scheduled stops, and a weather forecast; compares the predicted weather forecast to the scheduled route; displays the weather forecast information to a driver and/or a dispatcher; determines if a new route or departure time should be scheduled; and, if a new route should be scheduled, displays the new route or departure time to the driver and/or the dispatcher.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 12, 2014
    Publication date: March 12, 2015
    Inventors: Rory Groves, David Ladner
  • Publication number: 20150073694
    Abstract: In a method for operating a vehicle, based on a current travel route of the vehicle, a database which includes reference route data assigned to the current travel route is queried as to whether a change in a feature of the current travel route has occurred, and a response of the database that corresponds to the query is made available.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2012
    Publication date: March 12, 2015
    Inventor: Stefan Nordbruch
  • Patent number: 8977407
    Abstract: A method is provided for semi-automatic operation of a portable control device for a remote-controlled, unmanned vehicle. The method includes the steps of monitoring parameters of an operational environment of the portable control device, switching from a manual operation mode to a semi-automatic operation mode in response to occurrence of predetermined criteria within the operational environment, and presenting a semi-automatic operation graphical user interface to a user of the portable control device. The semi-automatic operation graphical user interface includes a reduced set of user interfaces for the semi-automatic operation mode presented by the portable control device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2015
    Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Christian Dorneich, Stephen Whitlow, William Rogers, Karen Feigh, Robert E. De Mers
  • Publication number: 20150066350
    Abstract: A traffic control device and a traffic control system are provided, and the traffic control device includes a route calculating unit configured to detect candidates of a route to a destination, and decide a guidance route from the detected route candidates, an infrastructure communicating unit configured to acquire signal cycle information related to a cycle at which a display of a traffic signal at a traffic signal location on the route calculated by the route calculating unit is switched, and a fuel consumption simulating unit configured to perform fuel consumption simulation including fuel economy improvement assistance executed at a time of passing the traffic signal location with respect to the route candidates based on the signal cycle information acquired by the infrastructure communicating unit, and the route calculating unit decides the guidance route based on the fuel consumption simulation calculated corresponding to the route candidates by the fuel consumption simulating unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2012
    Publication date: March 5, 2015
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yasunari Iwata
  • Publication number: 20150066270
    Abstract: A vehicle has an on-board control device installed therein, and the on-board control device is provided with a movement information learning unit that learns by associating movement information for the vehicle and the like with information specifying corresponding links or nodes. The movement information learned by the movement information learning unit is recorded in a movement information database. During driving assistance performed by a driving assistance unit, an information integration unit integrates movement information corresponding to at least two consecutive links or nodes among the movement information recorded in the movement information database.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 6, 2012
    Publication date: March 5, 2015
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yuki Ogawa
  • Publication number: 20150066351
    Abstract: A method for providing vehicle navigation information within an elevated road area comprising the steps of: extracting at least one specific object from each of a plurality of images in an advancing direction of a vehicle while the vehicle is approaching to one ramp of the elevated road area, the plurality of images being obtained over time; determining a driving direction of the vehicle on the ramp in accordance with time characteristic of the specific object; and generating the vehicle navigation information from the driving direction and rendering the generated vehicle navigation information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2014
    Publication date: March 5, 2015
    Inventors: Jian Wang, Jian An
  • Publication number: 20150066368
    Abstract: A video route-previewing system includes a route-previewing device for receiving input defining a starting point and a destination point and for identifying a route based on the starting point and the destination point. A preview-generating device receives the route from the route-previewing device and generates an image request for the route. A street-level imagery server receives the image request from the preview-generating device and communicates imagery of the route to the preview-generating device in response to the image request. The preview-generating device generates a time-compressed nonlinear route preview from the imagery of the route and communicates the preview to the route-previewing device. The route-previewing device displays the preview video of the route. The preview video may time-compress segments without navigational decision points and present in slow-motion segments around navigational decision points.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 30, 2013
    Publication date: March 5, 2015
    Applicant: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Donald Somerset McCulloch MCKENZIE, David Ryan WALKER
  • Publication number: 20150066349
    Abstract: A system for informing a navigation system of a vehicle of a protrusion includes a sensor and a processing circuit. The sensor is configured to generate sensor data based on a position of cargo. The processing circuit is configured to determine a contour of the vehicle, detect protruding cargo extending outside the contour of the vehicle, where detecting the protruding cargo is based on the sensor data and the contour, and notify the navigation system of the vehicle of the protruding cargo.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 30, 2013
    Publication date: March 5, 2015
    Inventors: Alistair K. Chan, Hon Wah Chin, William D. Duncan, Roderick A. Hyde, Jordin T. Kare
  • Patent number: 8971970
    Abstract: A system and a method are provided for displaying location information on a mobile device. The location information can include direction, distance, positional coordinates, etc. The mobile device's display displays an image captured using the mobile device's camera. A selection input is received to identify an object in the image. A facing direction of the mobile device is detected using the mobile device's magnetometer. The mobile device determines a bearing to the object relative to the mobile device's facing direction. The mobile device then determines a distance between the mobile device and the object. The obtained or computed location data is overlaid on the image, thereby augmenting the image. The location data can include at least a direction indicator of the object and the distance between the mobile device and the object, whereby the direction indicator can be determined using the bearing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2015
    Assignee: Blackberry Limited
    Inventor: Jeffery Lindner
  • Patent number: 8972103
    Abstract: An automotive vehicle mapping system is disclosed. The mapping system includes an on-vehicle electronic storage device, a GPS receiver, and an electronic controller. The electronic controller is configured to receive GPS data from the GPS receiver indicative of a current location of the vehicle. The electronic controller is also configured to store the GPS data on the electronic storage device if the location of the vehicle is outside of a location envelope.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2015
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Shane S. Elwart, Thomas Edward Pilutti
  • Patent number: 8972164
    Abstract: A collaborative control method for tracking Lagrangian coherent structures (LCSs) and manifolds on flows employs at least three autonomous sensors each equipped with a local flow sensor for sensing flow in a designated fluid medium, e.g. water or air. A first flow sensor is a tracking sensor while the other sensors are herding sensors for controlling and determining the actions of the tracking sensor. The tracking sensor is positioned with respect to the herding sensors in the fluid medium such that the herding sensors maintain a straddle formation across a boundary; obtaining a local fluid flow velocity measurement from each sensor. A global fluid flow structure is predicted based on the local flow velocity measurements. In a water medium, mobile autonomous underwater flow sensors may be deployed with each tethered to a watersurface craft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2015
    Assignee: The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Ira B. Schwartz, Mong-ying Ani Hsieh, Eric Forgoston
  • Patent number: 8972160
    Abstract: A navigation device apparatus and method are provided. The apparatus includes a fuel consumption determination unit that determines a fuel consumption during a travel of a vehicle. Also included is a fuel consumption information storage unit that stores point information identifying a departing point and a destination in the travel of the vehicle and fuel consumption information identifying the fuel consumption during a previous travel A display unit is included that acquires previous fuel consumption information identifying the fuel consumption during the previous travel corresponding to the departing point and the destination during a current travel of the vehicle, and controls the display of the fuel consumption during the previous travel based on the acquired previous fuel consumption information and the fuel consumption during the current travel determined by the fuel consumption determination unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2015
    Assignee: Aisin AW Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Naoki Miura, Junichi Nonomura
  • Patent number: 8972165
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer program products are provided for identifying a serviceable address that is associated with a street network connection point and a parcel drop-off point. For example, in one embodiment, the serviceable address may be associated with a street network connection point that is part of a digital map. The serviceable address may also be associated with a parcel drop-off point that includes parcel drop-off point information, such as a parcel drop-off point geo coordinate associated with the parcel drop-off point and street network connection point geo coordinate associated with the street network connection point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2015
    Inventors: Shawn Patrick Hurley, Stephen Myron Snyder, Robert Edward Trevillian, IV, Terry Alan Fry
  • Patent number: 8965688
    Abstract: A system and method for locating, tracking, and/or monitoring the status of personnel and/or assets (collectively “trackees”), both indoors and outdoors, is provided. Tracking data obtained from any number of sources utilizing any number of tracking methods may be provided as input to a mapping application. The mapping application generates position estimates for trackees using a suite of mapping tools to make corrections to the tracking data. The mapping application further uses information from building data, when available, to enhance position estimates. Indoor tracking methods including sensor fusion methods, map matching methods, and map building methods may be implemented compute a more accurate tracking estimate for trackees. Outdoor tracking methods may be implemented to enhance outdoor tracking data by combining tracking estimates such as inertial tracks with magnetic and/or compass data if and when available, and with GPS, if and when available.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: TRX Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Amrit Bandyopadhyay, Daniel Hakim, Benjamin E. Funk, Eric Asher Kohn, Carole A. Teolis, Gilmer Blankenship
  • Patent number: 8965675
    Abstract: A system for navigation along a desired route on a desired future date may include a map interface operable to display a traffic condition and a travel time received via a communication network, and an automobile navigation network communicatively coupled to the communication network. The automobile navigation network may estimate the traffic condition and the travel time for travel along the desired route on the desired future date based on historical travel information, current traffic information and current weather information. Information regarding the estimated travel conditions may be automatically communicated to the map interface. The traffic condition may include geographic location information and/or route information. The historical travel information may include historical traffic information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventor: Gary R. Ignatin
  • Patent number: 8965623
    Abstract: A system, method and computer program product for attending to an environmental condition by an electronic cleaning device. A computer receives one or more data signals from one or more sensors through a network, with each of the one or more sensors associated with a physical location. The computer determines that due to an environmental condition a signal strength of the one or more data signals received from the one or more sensors is out of a threshold value range. The computer determines an optimal route from a current location of the electronic cleaning device to the one or more physical locations of the one or more sensors associated with the one or more data signals experiencing signal strength out of the threshold value range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventor: Sarbajit K. Rakshit
  • Patent number: 8965681
    Abstract: The present invention is a system and method for caching data in mobile devices to improve field assessment capabilities in a relief management system. The system analyzes captured geolocation information associated with one or more mobile field devices to identify a set of data to be cached by a mobile field device. The system then communicates the set of data to be cached to the mobile field device. The data cached is predicated upon the predicted likely location of field assessment operations and the data includes server-side image tiles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: Global Relief Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael D. Gray, Arthur Peter, III, Mark A. Jadkowski
  • Patent number: 8965696
    Abstract: A method of displaying navigational instructions when a navigation application is running in a background mode of an electronic device is provided. The method displays a non-navigation application in the foreground on a display screen of the electronic device. The method displays a navigation bar without a navigation instruction when the device is not near a navigation point. The method displays the navigation bar with a navigation instruction when the device is near a navigation point. In some embodiments, the method receives a command to switch from running the navigation application in the foreground to running another screen view in the foreground. The method then runs the other screen view in the foreground while displaying a navigation status display on an electronic display of the device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: Apple Inc.
    Inventors: Marcel van Os, Emanuele Vulcano, Bradford A. Moore, Andrew B. Cato