Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Navigation – Employing position determining equipment
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-09
2003-02-25
Cuchlinski, Jr., William A. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Navigation
Employing position determining equipment
C701S213000, C701S201000, C701S207000, C701S208000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06526351
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of electronic tour guides and, more particularly, to an interactive multimedia tour guide that includes packaged tours in a multimedia format and which provides directions and useful information about a selected tour as the tour progresses. The packaged tours are part of a Geographic Information System (GIS) database, and a selected tour is controlled by the Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system. The user interface includes voice recognition and speech synthesis to provide audible directions and prompts and to respond to voiced commands. The interactive multimedia tour guide allows the user to modify the packaged tour while in progress and, in addition, serves the function of a concierge to identify dining and lodging options and to make reservations for the user. The flexibility of the interactive multimedia tour guide allows the user to begin a tour at any point and to change the tour as the spirit dictates, allowing the user an unprecedented degree of freedom in their sightseeing. Combined with optional still or video camera, the interactive multimedia tour guide allows for rapid identification and editing of pictures or videos made on a tour.
2. Background Description
Sightseeing has become an abiding pastime for many people who are eager to see and learn about new things. To take advantage of this, many tour book authors and publishers have generated a vast amount of information to assist the eager travelers. Most big cities have tour buses with tour guides that provide a running commentary on notable buildings and events as the tour bus passes through various sections of the city. Sometimes it is possible to hire a knowledgeable taxi cab driver to provide a more personal tour of a city. However, once outside the city, the tourist is more or less left to his or her own devices guided only by one or more of the many tour books available on the market. This can be a problem because on the one hand there is a large amount of information and on the other hand a dearth of information. It is often difficult to find just the information needed for a particular tour. The information may be there in all those tour books, but it is buried and hard to find.
Consider an example. Suppose that a couple wanted to take a nice day trip to visit several wineries in the region. Assuming that there are a number of wineries, the question arises, which ones to go to on this particular day trip? How many can we see, and what else might be in the same general locale that might be of interest? Is there a country inn where lunch or dinner might be enjoyed? And if we were to spend two or more days in the wine country, are there bed and breakfasts or other suitable lodging? Clearly, by the time one researches all these topics and determines where to go, what to see and, if dining and lodging is desired, where to eat and stay, it is quite possible that something more familiar not requiring all this work will be the alternate choice. But even if one were to undertake the logistical planning involved, there are inevitably surprises. The hours listed in the tour book have changed since the book was published, there are fees that had not been anticipated, and that picnic you had planned to have at one of the wineries for which you had purchased the nice loaf of French bread and the cheese to be enjoyed with the wine you were going to purchase, well the winery does not allow picnics on the property or does not have the required off license for you to consume the wine off premises. And that country inn that is so highly recommended, it requires reservations at least a week in advance—it is after all highly recommended.
The problem is not unique to wineries, of course. Those interested in history might enjoy a tour of Revolutionary War and/or Civil War battle fields or historic houses. Others interested in the great scenic wonders of the country might want a tour of some of our National Parks. Again, for either of these topics there are a great many books to pore over plotting out a strategy of where to go and what to do. But no matter how carefully one may plan, something may be omitted or a turn missed, making an eagerly anticipated tour something less memorable than had been anticipated.
The problems are exacerbated when one contemplates a tour of a foreign country, particularly when one is unfamiliar with the language. For many, the answer is a pre-packaged tour, typically on a crowded bus with a translator/tour guide. On such a tour, one is herded with the mass like so many cattle from one photo opportunity to the next without ever having the time the fully appreciate the historical significance or beauty of the place. Quite often on return home, when reviewing the pictures taken, the traveler wonders where some of his or her pictures were taken and what was the subject of the picture.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an interactive multimedia tour guide which provides a user an experience equivalent to having a personal tour guide.
It is another object of the invention to provide an interactive multimedia tour guide which is portable, allowing the user to carry the interactive multimedia tour guide with them on foot, on a bicycle, or in an automobile or other conveyance.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an interactive multimedia tour guide which allows the user complete flexibility not only in the planning of a trip, but also during the trip.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide an interactive multimedia tour guide which allows the user a choice of language with which to interact with the tour guide thereby providing the user with the equivalent of a translator.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide an interactive multimedia tour guide which includes an optional digital camera connection so that a picture or video taken with the camera will be automatically date and time stamped and provided with the location and a brief description of the subject of the picture.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the interactive multimedia tour guide is implemented using a GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) system enabled map program with a GIS (Geographic Information System) database running on a computer. Tour data are prepackaged and stored on computer readable media, and this data may be correlated to a hard cover book that describes the tours. The data may be updated online by down loading data from Internet Web sites prior to taking a tour. In addition, for those destinations having a Web site, the interactive multimedia tour guide may access that Web site via a wireless phone, such as a cell phone, on approach to the destination as determined by the GPS system.
The interactive multimedia tour guide can be used in several ways. First, the interactive multimedia tour guide can be used in a home computer system to preview tours, much as a hard cover book equivalent would be used, by accessing the GIS database. One advantage over a hard cover book is that the computer system can be connected via the Internet to a Web site that will provide the latest information on the destinations in a tour being reviewed. Such information might include opening times, admission prices and discounts, amenities, and the like which may change from time to time and season to season. The text of the tour description includes hyperlinks to those destinations having Web sites so that the latest information provided by the destinations themselves may be accessed. The user can select a tour and, by means of a print icon displayed on the computer screen, open a menu to select a print out of a map of a tour and printed text description of tour highlights, as updated by access to one or more Web sites. With this information, the user may then go on the selected tour. However, rather than print the tour, the user can download the tour to a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) having an att
Cuchlinski Jr. William A.
Marc-Coleman Marthe Y.
LandOfFree
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