5306results about "Maps/plans/charts" patented technology

An Integrated Routing/Mapping Information System (IRMIS) links desktop personal computer cartographic applications to one or more handheld organizer, personal digital assistant (PDA) or "palmtop" devices. Such devices may be optionally equipped with, or connected to, portable Global Positioning System (GPS) or equivalent position sensing device. Desktop application facilitates user selection of areas, starts, stops, destinations, maps and/or point and/or route information. It optionally includes supplemental online information, preferably for transfer to the PDA or equivalent device. Users' options include route information, area, and route maps. Maps and related route information are configured with differential detail and levels of magnitude. Used in the field, in conjunction with GPS receiver, the PDA device is configured to display directions, text and map formats, the user's current position, heading, speed, elevation, and so forth. Audible signals identifying the next turn along the user's planned route are also provided. The user can pan across maps and zoom between two or more map scales, levels of detail, or magnitudes. The IRMIS also provides for "automatic zooming," e.g., to show greater detail or closer detail as the user approaches a destination, or to larger scale and lower resolution to show the user's overall planned route between points of interest. The IRMIS also enables the user to mark or record specific locations and/or log actual travel routes, using GPS position information. These annotated location marks and/or "breadcrumb" or GPS log data can be saved, uploaded, displayed, or otherwise processed on the user's desktop geographic information or cartographic system. The IRMIS application and data may be distributed online and/or in tangible media in limited and advanced manipulation formats.

Embodiments of an mobile dating system utilizing a location-based social network manager process are described. The social network manager process is executed on a server computer coupled to a plurality of mobile communication devices over a wireless network. Each mobile device is a location-aware mobile communication device. The process determines the geographic location of a mobile communication device operated by a user within an area, displays a map representation of the area around the mobile communication device on a graphical user interface of the mobile communication device, and superimposes on the map places of interest or the respective locations of one or more other users in the network. The user specifies a personal profile that includes information relating to the user that is pertinent to the user. The user also specifies preferences relevant to the type of person and/or relationship the user would like to find. The system includes a matching process that compares the dating information for the users within the system to determine whether any matches are within a preset radius of the user. When any matches are within the proximity of a user, the system sends an alert message to the user to allow the user to initiate communication with matches within the area. The system does not provide actual identifier information for the matched users, but instead provides means that facilitate communication between the user and the matched users. If both users agree, they can enable the display of their location information on the device display of the other user.

Digital mapping techniques are disclosed that provide more flexibility to the user through the use of multiple views of map information, including a secondary map and a main map. The secondary map can provide the user with either a zoomed out or in relative to the main map, or a different type of map view (e.g., satellite images). The secondary map can be turned on and off by the user. The secondary map may include one or more viewing frames that indicate views (e.g., current and alternate views) of the main map. The user can move the main map, viewing frame, or secondary map to achieve desired map views. During such movement, the relationship between the main and secondary maps can be synchronous, partially synchronous, or serial.

User interfaces and computer enabled methods for defining, discovering, and viewing map layers are provided. The map layers annotate an existing map by providing additional information that is not present in the existing map. A contribution user interface receives and configures the map layer on a web browser. The contribution user interface allows the map layer to be positioned over a desired location and displayed as a semi-transparent image overlay superimposed over the existing map. The map layer may be enlarged, reduced, and rotated to match the features of the existing map. The map layer is stored for use by other users. The layer may be retrieved by users who search for the desired location or for related or nearby locations. The layer may be displayed as a search result, and may be displayed for viewing by users as a partially-transparent image overlay over the existing map.

Systems and methods which provide mapping an arbitrary outdoor environment and positioning a ground-based vehicle relative to this map. In one embodiment, a land-based vehicle travels across a section of terrain, recording both location data from sensors such as GPS as well as scene data from sensors such as laser scanners or cameras. These data are then used to create a high-resolution map of the terrain, which may have well-defined structure (such as a road) or which may be unstructured (such as a section of desert), and which does not rely on the presence of any “landmark” features. In another embodiment, the vehicle localizes itself relative to this map in a subsequent drive over the same section of terrain, using a computer algorithm that incorporates incoming sensor data from the vehicle by attempting to maximize the likelihood of the observed data given the map.

A mobile station (1) of a mobile communication network system (2), comprising a GPS/GSM or UMTS based geographical position localising module (3) for localising the geographical position (24c) of the mobile station, which has storage means for storing geographical related base data, and display means (4) for displaying geographical related base data as a map (24) or as a text string, is characterised in that the geographical related base data displayed has been at least partly provided by wireless transmission from the network system and is limited to a predetermined extent depending on the geographical position, travel modus and speed of the mobile station, and the mobile station itself calculates the geographical position which can be presented to others during call set-up or with SMS services and the mobile station can do routing using a navigational algorithm implemented in location finder module (31) of the mobile station.

Unpossessed road data is added to possessed road data stored in a road contour database of an information center. An on-vehicle terminal apparatus first compares a current position of a vehicle detected by a D-GPS unit against the road data stored in a storage section for storing road contour data of possessed roads. If the current position deviates from a known existing road, it is determined that the vehicle travels on an unpossessed road. Road data of the unpossessed road is then obtained based on a travel locus of the vehicle and sent to the information center together with a reliability index of the road data. The information center collects unpossessed road data from a plurality of sources, evaluates the reliability index for each data, and adds sufficiently reliable road data to the possessed road data. Thus, the information center can quickly obtain and utilize new and reliable road data.

A system and method for managing and presenting entity information is described. In an illustrative implementation, information such as product availability and operating hours is stored in a server (130). A query may be sent from a client (202) having a time (1402), date (1410), or both inquiring, for example, which entities are open at a certain or range of times, in the past, present or future. The server (130) compares the queried time with stored information, such as hours entries (4000, 4050). The results are displayed on a map (300) with open entities represented by a first symbol (930R) and closed entities by a second symbol (930G) such that all the entities on the map (300) are viewable without further searches. Clicking on a symbol (422) leads to a display (940) containing information about the associated entity, thereby enabling an entity's information to be found using only its location.

Various methods, systems and apparatus for displaying content associated with a point-of-interest (“POI”) in a digital mapping system, are disclosed. One such method may include detecting a change in the zoom level of an electronic map displayed on a computing device, determining if the new zoom-level is at a pre-determined zoom level (e.g. at maximum zoom), identifying a POI on the map, retrieving content associated with the POI (“POI content”) and displaying the POI content. The method may further include detecting a change in the zoom, or pan, of the digital map while POI content is displayed, and removing the POI content in response. One apparatus, according to aspects of the present invention, may include means of detecting a change in the zoom level in a digital map displayed through an application (e.g. a web browser, an application on web-enabled cellular phones, etc., displaying a map generated by a service such as Google Maps®, Yahoo! Maps®, Windows Live Search Maps®, MapQuest®, etc.) on a computing device (e.g. personal computer, workstation, thin client, PDA, cellular phone/smart phone, GPS device, etc.) means of identifying a POI at the pre-determined zoom level, means of obtaining content associated with the POI, and means of displaying the POI content. POI content may be retrieved from a database (e.g. internet-based database); or, in an alternate embodiment, gathered by crawling websites associated with the POI. In one embodiment, POI content may be displayed as an image (e.g. a PNG file, GIF, Flash® component, etc.) superimposed on the digital map (e.g. as an overlay object on the map image.) In alternate embodiments, POI content may replace the digital map and may contain links to other content.

When information regarding position of a facility, such as a parking lot, is requested from a terminal (22), an information center (10) supplies position information to the terminal (22) as a relative position using a landmark, such as a neighboring road. The terminal (22) computes a shift from a position of a landmark in a local map database (24) and a position of a received landmark in a map matching processor (34), and corrects the facility position. If the landmark has not been stored in the map database (24) at the terminal (22), relative data based on another road is resent.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and system for generating a street map that includes a position identifier that identifies a location on the street map. The method and system may also generate and display a plurality of images representative of the location of the position identifier. A user may interact with a position identifier or one of several scroll icons to view images of other locations on the street map and/or to obtain driving directions between two locations.

In the present invention, advertisements are transmitted electronically at designated locations, as a substitute for stationary billboards. A network navigation center outputs guide access information GAI to a personal computer of an ad sponsor over the Internet and receives registration of advertisement information ADI for the designated location(s) from the personal computer of the ad sponsor according to the guide access information GAI. In addition, the network navigation center receives current position information API from mobile communication device(s) carried by automobile, via a mobile telephone base station and a public telephone network. Likewise, the network navigation center transmits the advertisement information ADI, based on current position information API, to the mobile communication instrument via the public telephone network and mobile telephone base station.

A Point of Interest (POI) icon display method in a navigation system is described for displaying a POI icon at a POI point on a map. For every POI in a POI category, the location point and type of POI are stored. Each POI is identified on the displayed map by the same POI icon, and when a POI icon of a POI is selected, the type of POI is displayed. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the number of POI icons, recognize the type of POI, such as the type of food of a restaurant (classified by country, such as Japanese food, Chinese food, Italian food, and French food), and provide a guide route to a desired POI quickly.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and system for generating an online listing, such as a yellow pages listing, that includes information about an object, such as a business, and also includes at least one image of the structure containing the object. For example, the image may be a digital image of the store front of a business taken at a street view. Additionally, a user may select an image from a plurality of images that the user perceives as being an appropriate representative image for the business. Based on votes received a default representative image may be identified that is provided in response to a request for information about the business.

A method, device, and system for presenting one or more user-defined private maps with a public map for sharing among a group of users are disclosed. The device includes a processor for executing computer programs, a memory for storing data, an input module for entering user commands, a communication module for transmitting and receiving data, and a display for showing information on a screen. The device further includes logic for importing a public map representing a publicly available mapping of an area or a location, logic for creating one or more user-defined private maps, logic for linking the one or more user-defined private maps to the public map through a set of corresponding map icons, and logic for displaying the public map and the one or more user-defined private maps.

Methods of generating heat maps of assets using clustering of assets are disclosed. Some methods include receiving a list of assets, assigning the assets to one or more heat range categories based on the status of the assets, assigning assets operating within a zone to a zone cluster, assigning the assets of the zone cluster to category clusters based on the heat range categories assigned to the assets. The positions of the clusters may be calculated for mapping, and may be displayed on a map. Some embodiments of these methods allow a user to quickly detect and locate non-standard assets on a map while standard assets are consolidated to clusters that are less prominent to the user. This leads to minimizing the time required to form responses to de-load hotspots in an electrical grid, minimizing the cost of assets by reducing the need for hardware redundancy, and minimized equipment outages.

A new and useful map structure, particularly for an activity within a special region having a geographic boundary, and a technique for creating a map structure are provided. The map and technique are particularly useful in providing a map for use by a hunter in a designated hunting region. The map structure comprises a substrate and map data produced on the substrate. The substrate is designed to withstand the conditions of the special region (e.g. an authorized hunting region), and of the type of handling it is likely to encounter in during the actively in the special region. The map data is also provided in a form that is likely to withstand the conditions of the special region, and is of a type that is particularly useful to the activity in the special region. Moreover, in producing the map structure, an electronic data file is created from which the map data can be produced on the substrate. The electronic data file is configured to produce map data that includes at a predetermined scale a boundary of a special geographic boundary of the special region in which a special outdoor activity, e.g. hunting, is authorized, and that map data includes information (e.g. water tank locations, GPS grid and coordinate information) that are particularly useful for the special outdoor activity.

An ECU executes a program including a step of detecting a present location using a GPS system (S1000); a step of reading out data of a geographical map proximate to the present location (S1010) and presenting in the geographical map charging installations including a charging installation employing solar light, together with the location of its vehicle (S1020); a step of, if a presentation switching request is made (YES in S1030) and a real-time solar radiation correction request is made (YES in S1050), detecting a solar radiation amount (S1060) and correcting a charge amount per unit time provided by the power generation installation employing solar light, based on the detected solar radiation amount (S1070); and a step of detecting an SOC in the battery to calculate an amount of discharge done until arrival at the charging installation (S1080, S1090), calculating time required for charging up to a fully charged state (S1100), and presenting the time required for charging in the geographical map (S1200).

The preferred embodiments of the present invention are directed to an improved mapping and navigational system. Specifically, the present invention is directed to a system for defining and assigning geographical boundaries to points of interests on a graphical map, where the geographical boundaries preferably correlate to spatially defined boundaries of the respective points of interests. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the points of interest, along with the respective defined geographical boundaries, can be transferred from a personal computing device to a telecommunication device, such as a portable communication device, so as to be used for mapping purposes and to set off proximity alerts when the portable communication device, equipped with a GPS unit, enters or exits the geographical boundary of a particular point of interest.