WO2010107379A1

WO2010107379A1 - Method for creating a map using real-time positions of a plurality of mobile terminals

Info

Publication number: WO2010107379A1
Application number: PCT/SE2010/050298
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jacob SKOGSTRÖM; Tomas Fiedler
Original assignee: Tactel Ab
Priority date: 2009-03-17
Filing date: 2010-03-17
Publication date: 2010-09-23
Also published as: SE0950163A1

Abstract

A method of creating an electronic representation of a map is disclosed. The method comprises collecting positioning information from a plurality of mobile terminals, producing an electronic representation of real-time plot comprising a location for each of the mobile terminals based on the positioning information, wherein a collection of points of the real-time plot, each defined as a point of flow, forms one or more flows of locations, determining at least one flow characteristic of at least one of the flows, and using the determined flow characteristic to electronically represent one or more geographical items on the electronic representation of the map. Corresponding computer program product, arrangement and device are also disclosed.

Description

METHOD FOR CREATING A MAP USING REAL-TIME POSITIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MOBILE TERMINALS

Technical Field

The present invention relates in general to the field of creating maps. In particular, it relates to creating maps from collected positioning information.

Background

Providers of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), such as TeleAtlas by TomTom and NavTeq by Nokia, commonly supply map information in response to queries to a map database. The map databases may, for example, be created from geographical data collected by the provider itself or by someone else, e.g. a National Land Survey or similar authority. The geographical data is commonly obtained by conventional land survey measurement methods. When a geographical characteristic is changed, e.g. when a new road is built, new land survey measurements must be undertaken to be able to update the geographical data and thereby the map database. This is often a tedious (and costly) process and therefore, the map databases may not be completely up do date regarding changes in the geography.

Therefore, there is a need for methods and arrangements for improved map creation. There is also a need for methods and arrangements for improved updating of maps.

Summary

It should be emphasized that the term "comprises/comprising" when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, or components, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components, or groups thereof.

It is an object of the invention to obviate at least some of the above disadvantages and to provide improved methods and arrangements for map creation. According to a first aspect of the invention, this is achieved by a method of creating an electronic representation of a map comprising collecting positioning information from a plurality of mobile terminals, producing an electronic representation of a real-time plot comprising a location for each of the mobile terminals based on the positioning information, wherein a collection of points of the real-time plot , each defined as a point of flow, forms one or more flows of locations, determining at least one flow characteristic of at least one of the flows, and using the determined flow characteristic to electronically represent one or more geographical items on the electronic representation of the map.

In some embodiments, the positioning information may be at least one of GPS (Global Positioning System) information and Galileo positioning information.

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise repeatedly re- determining the at least one flow characteristic, and using the re-determined flow characteristic to update the electronic representation of the map.

The at least one flow characteristic may comprise one or more of an average velocity of the locations of the flow, a maximum velocity of the locations of the flow, a minimum velocity of the locations of the flow, and a flow volume. In some embodiments, a point of the real-time plot is defined as a point of flow if a number of locations, the number being larger than a first threshold, passes the point within a duration of time, the duration being less than a second threshold. The flow volume may be defined as the number of locations that passes the point per time unit.

A second aspect of the invention is a computer program product comprising a computer readable medium, having thereon a computer program comprising program instructions, the computer program being loadable into a data-processing unit and adapted to cause the data-processing unit to execute the method steps according to the first aspect when the computer program is run by the data-processing unit.

A third aspect of the invention is an arrangement comprising a data-processing unit and a memory. The memory has stored thereon a computer program comprising program instructions, the computer program being loadable into the data-processing unit and adapted to cause the data-processing unit to execute the method steps according to the first aspect when the computer program is run by the data-processing unit.

A fourth aspect of the invention is a device comprising the arrangement of the third aspect. The device may be a server in some embodiments. An advantage of some embodiments of the invention is that a cheap way of creating maps is provided.

Another advantage of some embodiments of the invention is that a simple way of creating maps is provided. Another advantage of some embodiments of the invention is that a fast way of creating maps is provided.

Another advantage of some embodiments of the invention is that a cheap way of updating maps is provided.

Another advantage of some embodiments of the invention is that a fast way of updating maps is provided.

Another advantage of some embodiments of the invention is that live updating of maps may be achieved.

Another advantage of some embodiments of the invention is that temporary changes in the geography and/or other temporary changes (such as a road block or traffic accident) may be reflected on a map.

Another advantage of some embodiments of the invention is that no (or at least less) land survey measurements are needed to create a map and to keep it up to date.

Brief Description of the Drawings Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention, with reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a flowchart illustrating example method steps according to some embodiments of the invention; Fig. 2 is a schematic drawing illustrating a number of mobile terminals and a server, wherein the server may comprise an arrangement and/or perform method steps according to some embodiments of the invention; and

Figs. 3A and B are plots illustrating example results achieved when applying some embodiments of the invention. Detailed Description

According to embodiments of the invention, an electronic representation of a map (e.g. a digital map) is created and/or updated based on positioning information collected from a plurality of mobile terminals. Preferably, the plurality should be a large number, such as 100 or 1000, but smaller numbers (for example 30-40) will also yield usable results. If the plurality is large, more terminals may be discarded if they deviate from an average flow. Also, a large plurality results in a cleaner and less noisy plot. This renders the knowledge of the location of all mobile terminals in real time to, for example, a central server. The positioning information may comprise any data indicative of a location, for example GPS (Global Positioning System) information or Galileo positioning information.

The mobile terminals may comprise any movable devices incorporating positioning information, for example a GPS-navigator (in-car or handheld), a GPS- tracking device, a mobile telephone or laptop with a built in navigator.

According to embodiments of the invention it is possible to recognize and automatically categorize different road types (country road, city street, highway, etc), biking paths, walking paths, etc.

In some embodiments of the invention, the positioning information collected from the mobile terminals is transmitted from the mobile terminals as part of some other service and extracted for use in the embodiments. In some embodiments, the positioning information is transmitted from the mobile terminals exclusively for use in the embodiments. In some embodiments of the invention, the positioning information is transmitted from the mobile terminals in response to a broadcast request. Embodiments of the invention produce an electronic representation of a realtime plot based on the collected positioning information. The real-time plot comprises representations of the locations of some or all of the mobile terminals. In some embodiments, the real-time plot may be overlaid with a conventional (digital) map. In some embodiments, there is no possibility to track a certain individual. Thus, the positioning information of the mobile terminals is unidentifiable (containing no information that can map the positioning information to a particular mobile terminal) and can only be used to represent each mobile terminal as an anonymous location ("dot") in the real-time plot.

The real-time plot thus produced comprises points, a collection whereof (wherein each point is defined as a point of flow) together forms one or more flows of locations relating to the aggregated movements of the mobile terminals. A flow may be recognized in various ways. In some embodiments, a point of the real-time plot is defined as a point comprised in one of the flows of locations (a point of flow) if a number of locations, the number being larger than a first threshold, passes the point within a duration of time, the duration being less than a second threshold. The threshold may be fixed or adaptive. If the real-time plot is overlaid with a conventional map this may also aid in identifying flows. For example, in some embodiments points in the realtime flow, which correspond to points of a road in the conventional map, may be evaluated first since these points are most likely to be a point of flow. Alternatively, in other embodiments points in the real-time flow, which correspond to points of a road in the conventional map, may not be evaluated at all since they are already known to represent a road and need not be evaluated. Thus, it is clear that the exact conditions and algorithms used to recognize the flows are subject to the application of the particular embodiment and may be varied correspondingly.

According to embodiments of the invention one or more flow characteristics are determined for some or all of the flows. Such characteristics include, but are not limited to, the path of the flow, the strength (or volume) of the flow, the direction if the flow (e.g. one-way or two-way, and which direction in the one-way case), a measure of the velocity or speed of the flow (e.g. an average, mean, maximum or minimum value). The determined flow characteristic(s) may then be used to electronically represent one or more geographical items on the electronic representation of the map. For example, the path of a flow may be used to determine where a corresponding path (e.g. road, street, track) is to be plotted on the map. The strength of a flow may be used to determine the type of the path (e.g. if a large number of mobile terminals passes a point of the flow in a short period of time, the path may well be a highway). The velocity measure(s) may be used to determine the type of the path. For example, if the average velocity is 90 km/h, the path may well be a country road, which is even more likely if the minimum velocity is 70 km/h. On the other hand, if the average velocity is 45 km/h, the maximum velocity is 55 km/h and the minimum velocity is 3 km/h, the path is likely a city street with cars, bikes and pedestrians. If the maximum velocity is 8 km/h the path is likely a walking area. The strength and the velocity measure may be used in combination in some embodiments. The direction of the flow may be used to mark one-way streets or may indicate that a road is temporarily closed in one direction (e.g. due to an accident or construction work). If the real-time plot is overlaid with a conventional map, information form the conventional map can be used in combination with the flow characteristic(s) when creating the electronic representation of the map. If the real-time plot is overlaid with a conventional map, the conventional map may be disposed with once all the map content is added as described above.

In some embodiments, the determination of the flow characteristic(s) may be iterated repeatedly (e.g. at regular time intervals or on request). In such embodiments, the re-determined flow characteristic(s) may be used to update the electronic representation of the map accordingly. The electronic representation of the map may be updated every time a flow characteristic is re-determined or only if there has been a change of some sort.

In this way, it may be ensured that the electronic representation of the map is always up-to-date. For example, a newly constructed road appears as soon as it is used and a closed road (e.g. due to an accident or construction work) can easily be reflected as such on the electronic representation of the map. Depending on the application, the electronic representation of the map updating may be immediate (useful for e.g. the accident scenario) or there may be a delay or filtering function to stop a road from being removed just because it is not frequently used at the moment (e.g. an industrial area during a weekend). Pruning may also be based on the previously observed flow at corresponding times, i.e. an industrial road with a recorded history of inactivity during the weekend and holidays would not be pruned/marked as obstructed whilst a known busy city street is more or less immediately marked/pruned. The statistical method of determining obstruction/disuse would in other words depend on the flow history of the road. In some embodiments, the electronic representation of the map may be rendered to appear graphically on, for example, a screen. In some embodiments, the electronic representation may be used to control traffic information.

Embodiments of the invention may be used for various applications. Such applications include, but are not limited to, navigation, traffic control (e.g. re-directing of traffic in case of an accident, construction work, or simply a traffic jam), and Point Of Interest (POI) generation. Based on the flow characteristics POI databases may be built up. For example, a large number of mobile terminals gathered at a particular location and having very low or no velocity could indicate a POI. In this context, real time POI might also be presented (a location may be a temporary POI when, for example, a circus is visiting). Embodiments of the invention may be integrated with cameras that register people's movement. Embodiments of the invention may also be used to analyze cell coverage in a mobile communication system. These embodiments may require that information other than the positioning information can also be used in the analysis, for example information regarding the operator and the communication system used by the mobile terminal.

Figure 1 illustrates example method steps according to some embodiments of the invention. Figure 2 illustrates a server and N mobile terminals, wherein the server collects positioning information from each of the N terminals. The server may comprise an arrangement according to embodiments of the invention and/or perform method steps according to embodiments of the invention (for example, method steps according to Figure 1). Figure 3A and B illustrate how new geographical items may appear and/or disappear in a map when embodiments of the invention are applied. Figure 3 A illustrates a real-time plot and Figure 3 B the same plot after filtering. The invention may, for example, be embodied as a method performed by a server, a base station, or other control unit. The invention may also or alternatively be embodied, for example, as an arrangement comprised in a server, a base station, or other control unit or as the actual server, base station, or other control unit. The invention may also or alternatively be embodied, for example, as a computer program product. The described embodiments of the invention and their equivalents may be realised in software or hardware or a combination thereof. They may be performed by general-purpose circuits associated with or integral to a communication device, such as digital signal processors (DSP), central processing units (CPU), co-processor units, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable hardware, or by specialized circuits such as for example application- specific integrated circuits (ASIC). All such forms are contemplated to be within the scope of the invention.

The invention may be embodied within an electronic apparatus comprising circuitry/logic or performing methods according to any of the embodiments of the invention. The electronic apparatus may, for example, be a server, a base station, a portable or handheld mobile radio communication equipment, a mobile radio terminal, a mobile telephone, a computer, a camera, or an embedded drive.

According to some embodiments of the invention, a computer program product comprises a computer readable medium such as, for example, a diskette, a USB-stick or a CD-ROM. The computer readable medium may have stored thereon a computer program comprising program instructions. The computer program may be loadable into a data-processing unit, which may, for example, be comprised in a mobile terminal. When loaded into the data-processing unit, the computer program may be stored in a memory associated with or integral to the data-processing unit. According to some embodiments, the computer program may, when loaded into and run by the data- processing unit, cause the data-processing unit to execute method steps according to, for example, the methods as described above.

The invention has been described herein with reference to various embodiments. However, a person skilled in the art would recognize numerous variations to the described embodiments that would still fall within the scope of the invention. For example, the method embodiments described herein describes example methods through method steps being performed in a certain order. However, it is recognized that these sequences of events may take place in another order without departing from the scope of the invention. Furthermore, some method steps may be performed in parallel even though they have been described as being performed in sequence.

In the same manner, it should be noted that in the description of embodiments of the invention, the partition of functional blocks into particular units is by no means limiting to the invention. Contrarily, these partitions are merely examples. Functional blocks described herein as one unit may be split into two or more units. In the same manner, functional blocks that are described herein as being implemented as two or more units may be implemented as a single unit without departing from the scope of the invention. Hence, it should be understood that the limitations of the described embodiments are merely for illustrative purpose and by no means limiting. Instead, the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than by the description, and all variations that fall within the range of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.

Claims

1. A method of creating an electronic representation of a map comprising: collecting positioning information from a plurality of mobile terminals; producing an electronic representation of real-time plot comprising a location for each of the mobile terminals based on the positioning information, wherein a collection of points of the real-time plot, each defined as a point of flow, forms one or more flows of locations; determining at least one flow characteristic of at least one of the flows; and using the determined flow characteristic to electronically represent one or more geographical items on the electronic representation of the map.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the positioning information is at least one of: GPS - Global Positioning System - information and Galileo positioning information.

3. The method of any of claims 1 through 2, further comprising: repeatedly re-determining the at least one flow characteristic; and using the re-determined flow characteristic to update the electronic representation of the map.

4. The method of any of claims 1 through 3, wherein the at least one flow characteristic comprises one or more of: an average velocity of the locations of the flow, a maximum velocity of the locations of the flow, a minimum velocity of the locations of the flow, and a flow volume.

5. The method of any of any of claims 1 through 4, wherein a point of the realtime plot is defined as a point of flow if a number of locations, the number being larger than a first threshold, passes the point within a duration of time, the duration being less than a second threshold.

6. The method of claims 4 and 5, wherein the flow volume is defined as the number of locations that passes the point per time unit.

7. The method of any of claims 1 through 6, wherein the step of determining at least one flow characteristic of at least one of the flows is based on aggregated movements of the locations of the flows.

8. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium, having thereon a computer program comprising program instructions, the computer program being loadable into a data-processing unit and adapted to cause the data- processing unit to execute the method steps according to any of claims 1 to 7 when the computer program is run by the data-processing unit.

9. An arrangement comprising a data-processing unit and a memory, the memory having stored thereon a computer program comprising program instructions, the computer program being loadable into the data-processing unit and adapted to cause the data-processing unit to execute the method steps according to any of claims 1 to 7 when the computer program is run by the data-processing unit.

10. A device comprising the arrangement of claim 9.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the device is a server.