Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Navigation – Employing position determining equipment
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-15
2001-10-02
Cuchlinski, Jr., William A. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Navigation
Employing position determining equipment
C701S200000, C701S208000, C701S209000, C073S17800T
Reexamination Certificate
active
06298305
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to route guidance in the context of a vehicle navigation system. More specifically, methods and apparatus are provided by which audible route guidance instructions are provided to the user of a vehicle navigation system.
The utility of providing voice guidance in vehicle navigation systems is unquestioned in the industry. This is particularly true where voice guidance reduces the necessity that the driver make visual contact with the system's display in situations where it may be hazardous to do so, i.e., when the vehicle is in motion. In fact, as speech synthesis and voice recognition technologies mature it is likely that vehicle navigation systems will become increasingly dependent on such technologies for many system functions including, for example, destination selection, route guidance, and even vehicle security.
Most currently available vehicle navigation systems provide some level of voice guidance to the user. For example, a driver might be alerted to an upcoming maneuver with a warning “Right turn ahead” or “Next exit on the left” when the vehicle is determined to be within some threshold distance to the maneuver. However, given the complexity and uniqueness of each vehicle's circumstances and the wide variety of road topologies, it is currently very difficult to provide voice instructions which describe an upcoming maneuver with even a moderate level of precision. That is, for example, systems do not typically identify the road at which the right turn is to be made or the name of the upcoming exit. This is largely due to the fact that vehicle navigation systems typically employ a library of voice instructions, the size of which is kept relatively small to conserve memory and processing resources. Obviously, recording and storing a number of maneuvers for each street name in a typical map database is not practicable.
It is therefore desirable to develop enhancements to current voice guidance techniques which provide a greater level of detail with regard to upcoming maneuvers without degrading overall system performance. It is also desirable that systems employing voice guidance techniques provide features which will enable the user to most effectively use the system. For example, presenting maneuver instructions only as the vehicle approaches the associated maneuver may not be sufficient to provide a desirable level of comfort for some users. Therefore, providing some means of previewing, reviewing, and/or repeating instructions is desirable. Another problem which needs to be addressed is the often dramatic variation in background noise affecting the user's ability to hear the instructions as they are given. Some means of compensating for this is therefore desirable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, methods and apparatus are described herein by which voice guidance is provided to the driver of a vehicle navigation system which reduces the driver's dependency on the system's visual display. A number of voice guidance features are described. In each of the described embodiments, the user specifies a destination and a route is generated from the vehicle's current position to the destination. For each maneuver identified in the route, the system then generates a maneuver instruction to be communicated to the user at an appropriate interval before the vehicle arrives at the maneuver location. According to one embodiment, the user may at any time during navigation request that the system sequentially communicate all previous or remaining instructions. The former could be useful where, for example, the user has deviated from the route and would like to review the previous maneuver instructions. The latter could be useful where, for example, the user would like more advance warning of upcoming maneuvers.
According to another embodiment, the user may at any time during navigation request that the system repeat the most recently presented maneuver. This is obviously useful in the situation where the user did not hear the instruction. Another embodiment is also directed at ensuring that the user is able to hear the instructions when presented. In this embodiment, the audio level for the instructions is adjusted to compensate for background noise in the vehicle environment. According to one embodiment, the audio level is adjusted in accordance with the vehicle speed. This takes into account that ambient noise increases with vehicle speed. According to another embodiment, the ambient noise level is sampled and the audio level adjusted accordingly.
According to yet another specific embodiment, the street name associated with each maneuver is included in the audio representation which is communicated to the user. For each instruction, the system determines the street name and then constructs an audio representation of the street name using voice synthesis techniques. The synthesized audio representation is then incorporated with generic prerecorded instruction components, e.g., “right turn ahead at”, to generate an appropriate maneuver instruction. This has the great advantage of identifying the upcoming maneuver with greater particularity therefore further reducing the user's dependence on the visual display. In addition, this embodiment obviates the need to store an audio representation for every street name in the map database, a currently impracticable solution.
Thus, the present invention provides methods and apparatus for providing route guidance to a user of a vehicle navigation system. In response to selection of a destination by the user, a route is generated from a first position to the destination. The route includes a plurality of maneuvers. A plurality of maneuver instructions are generated corresponding to the plurality of maneuvers. An audio representation of each of the maneuver instructions is presented prior to execution of a corresponding one of the maneuvers. In response to a first signal generated when the vehicle is at a first location on the route, all remaining maneuver instructions corresponding to maneuvers on the route after the first location are sequentially presented. According to another embodiment, a most recently presented maneuver instruction is presented in response to the first signal. According to yet another embodiment, the audio level associated with at least one instruction is adjusted in response to the first signal. According to still another embodiment, the audio representation of selected maneuver instructions includes the associated street name.
A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification and the drawings.
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Kadaba Sudha G.
White Laura
Arthur Gertrude
Beyer Weaver & Thomas LLP
Cuchlinski Jr. William A.
Visteon Technologies, LLC
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