All-road-section vehicle meeting auxiliary method and system

Abstract

The invention provides an all-road-section vehicle meeting assisting method and system. The method comprises the following steps: (a) providing one or more candidate navigation routes for a user to select at least partially based on information of roads needing vehicle meeting, the information of the road needing meeting can comprise one or more of the length of the road needing meeting, the historical average passing time, the historical median passing time, the historical minimum passing time and the historical maximum passing time; and (b) prompting one or more better candidate navigation routes based on a comparison of the candidate navigation route selected by the user and including the road requiring meeting and the remaining candidate navigation routes of the one or more candidate navigation routes and not including the road requiring meeting and not including the road requiring meeting, of the remaining candidate navigation routes of the one or more candidate navigation routes and not including the road requiring meeting. The method further comprises the step of carrying out vehicle meeting auxiliary prompting at least partially based on the vehicle meeting state of the current vehicle and / or the opposite vehicle relative to the road needing vehicle meeting and the vehicle meeting point information of the road needing vehicle meeting.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle-passing assistance system, and more particularly to a vehicle-passing assistance system for a full road section. Background Art

[0002] The popularity of navigation technology has greatly facilitated the driver's driving experience. Existing navigation systems can promptly remind the driver of the next driving action (for example, turn left / turn right / go straight / change lanes, etc.), allowing the driver to make the best driving plan when driving on urban roads even if he is not familiar with the current road.

[0003] Meeting is one of the most common scenarios encountered during driving. Specifically, meeting is a traffic term that refers to vehicles traveling in opposite directions (for example, cars, trains, etc.) passing each other at a certain location at the same time. In practice, when encountering a meeting situation on a narrow road (for example, a road where two vehicles traveling in opposite directions cannot pass each other in parallel), generally speaking, after entering the road where the passing is required, the driver will pass slowly by accurately judging the distance to the right side of the road; or after entering the road where the passing is required, the driver finds through observation that it is impossible or unsure to successfully pass the other vehicle, so he has to choose to stay (for example, park the vehicle or reverse to) in a relatively wide position and wait for the oncoming vehicle to pass before passing.

[0004] To improve safety and convenience when meeting other vehicles, several meeting assistance systems are currently available. For example, CN112339663A proposes installing a camera on a vehicle to assess the situation around oncoming vehicles and provide driving advice to the driver before meeting. CN111976725A analyzes and warns drivers of high-risk curves. CN108133621A installs several warning devices at both ends of the road to send warning signals to nearby vehicles. CN116767244 detects oncoming vehicles before they enter a narrow road and, if there are oncoming vehicles and no passing opportunities, warns the driver to wait.

[0005] Among them, CN112339663A, CN111976725A, and CN108133621A cannot meet the situation when two vehicles traveling in opposite directions cannot pass each other in parallel on narrow roads (for example, roads where two vehicles traveling in opposite directions cannot pass each other in parallel, hereinafter referred to as passing roads), especially in rural areas or during geological disasters and road construction. CN116767244 is only triggered when the vehicle is about to enter the passing road. If there are many vehicles coming from the opposite direction at this time and there is no passing point on the passing road, it will take a long time to wait. At the same time, if the vehicle still enters the passing road due to network problems or operational errors, there will be no effective and reasonable solution. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present invention content is provided to introduce some concepts in a simplified form that will be further described in the following detailed description. The present invention content is not intended to identify the key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to help determine the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0007] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a meeting vehicle assistance method is provided, including: (a) providing one or more candidate navigation routes for the user to select based at least in part on the meeting vehicle road information, where the meeting vehicle road information includes one or more of the length of the meeting vehicle road, the historical average passing time, the historical median passing time, the historical minimum passing time, and the historical maximum passing time; and (b) prompting one or more more optimal candidate navigation routes based on the comparison between the candidate navigation route including the meeting vehicle road selected by the user and the remaining candidate navigation routes without the meeting vehicle road among the one or more candidate navigation routes.

[0008] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes: (c) performing meeting vehicle assistance prompting based at least in part on the meeting vehicle state of the current vehicle and / or the oncoming vehicle relative to the meeting vehicle road and the meeting point information of the meeting vehicle road; where the meeting point information refers to at least one of whether there is a meeting point on the meeting vehicle road, the position of the meeting point, and the size of the distance from the meeting point, and the meeting vehicle state of the vehicle refers to at least one of whether the vehicle is approaching the meeting vehicle road, whether the vehicle has traveled on the meeting vehicle road, and whether the vehicle has traveled away from the meeting vehicle road.

[0009] According to still another embodiment of the present invention, a meeting vehicle assistance system is provided, including: a navigation route recommendation module configured to: (a) provide one or more candidate navigation routes for the user to select based at least in part on the meeting vehicle road information, where the meeting vehicle road information includes one or more of the length of the meeting vehicle road, the historical average passing time, the historical median passing time, the historical minimum passing time, and the historical maximum passing time; and (b) prompt one or more more optimal candidate navigation routes based on the comparison between the candidate navigation route including the meeting vehicle road selected by the user and the remaining candidate navigation routes without the meeting vehicle road among the one or more candidate navigation routes.

[0010] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the system further includes a oncoming vehicle assistance module, which is configured to: (c) perform oncoming vehicle assistance prompts at least partially based on the oncoming vehicle status of the current vehicle and / or the oncoming vehicle relative to the road where oncoming vehicle is required and the oncoming vehicle point information of the said road where oncoming vehicle is required; wherein, the oncoming vehicle point information refers to at least one of whether there is an oncoming vehicle point on the road where oncoming vehicle is required, the position of the oncoming vehicle point, and the distance from the oncoming vehicle point, and the oncoming vehicle status of a vehicle refers to at least one of whether the vehicle is approaching the road where oncoming vehicle is required, whether the vehicle has traveled on the road where oncoming vehicle is required, and whether the vehicle has left the road where oncoming vehicle is required.

[0011] These and other features and advantages will become apparent by reading the following detailed description and referring to the associated drawings. It should be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are merely illustrative and do not limit the various aspects claimed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] In order to understand in detail the manner in which the above-described features of the present invention are used, the above briefly summarized content can be described more specifically with reference to the various embodiments, some of which are shown in the drawings. It should be noted, however, that the drawings only show certain typical aspects of the present invention and should not be considered to limit its scope, as the description may allow other equally effective aspects.

[0013] Figure 1 FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an all-road oncoming vehicle assistance system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0014] Figure 2 FIG. 2 shows a situation where there is an oncoming vehicle point on the road where oncoming vehicle is required according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0015] Figures 3A - 3C FIG. 3 shows a situation where the current vehicle and the oncoming vehicle have entered the road where oncoming vehicle is required and there is no oncoming vehicle point between the current vehicle and the oncoming vehicle according to the embodiments of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 4 FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of an all-road oncoming vehicle assistance method 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 5 FIG. 5 further shows a method 500 for a detailed description of stage 405 according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0018] Figure 6 FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of an exemplary computing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, and the features of the present invention will be further manifested in the following specific description.

[0020] The following specific description refers to the drawings showing exemplary embodiments of the present invention. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, but is defined by the appended claims. Therefore, embodiments outside the drawings, such as modified versions of the illustrated embodiments, are still encompassed by the present invention.

[0021] References in this specification to "one embodiment", "an embodiment", "an exemplary embodiment", etc. mean that the embodiment may include a specific feature, structure, or characteristic, but each embodiment does not necessarily include that specific feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, these phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Further, when a specific feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it should be understood that the specific feature, structure, or characteristic can be implemented in combination with other embodiments within the knowledge of those skilled in the relevant art, whether or not explicitly described.

[0022] For ease of explanation, only embodiments in which the technical solution of the present invention is applied to "vehicles" are described in detail herein. However, those skilled in the art can fully understand that the technical solution of the present invention can be applied to any means of transportation that may encounter oncoming vehicle situations, such as trains, subways, ships, etc. Unless otherwise specified, the term "A or B" used in this specification refers to "A and B" and "A or B", rather than meaning that A and B are exclusive.

[0023] Term introduction:

[0024] Road requiring oncoming vehicle meeting: In the context of this article, a "road requiring oncoming vehicle meeting" refers to the following roads: The entire section or most sections of this road are too narrow for two oncoming vehicles to pass side by side simultaneously. In practice, a "road requiring oncoming vehicle meeting" may refer to, for example, a narrow rural path, a two-way and / or one-way road under construction, a two-way and / or one-way road where a traffic accident has occurred, a two-way and / or one-way road with obstacles, or a two-way and / or one-way road where natural disasters (such as mudslides, etc.) have occurred.

[0025] Meeting point: In practice, although most sections of the road requiring oncoming vehicle meeting are too narrow, there may be small sections that are wide enough for two oncoming vehicles to pass side by side simultaneously. In the context of this article, these sections can be regarded as "meeting points". For example, a "meeting point" generally refers to a branch road beside the road requiring oncoming vehicle meeting, a building beside the road requiring oncoming vehicle meeting, or other slightly wider sections in the road requiring oncoming vehicle meeting. Of course, there may be no meeting point in the road requiring oncoming vehicle meeting.

[0026] Navigation System: In the context of this document, a "navigation system" refers to a system / application that uses a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to provide navigation functions to a driver. Generally speaking, a "navigation system" can have the following functions: map query function, route planning / re-planning function, voice or visual navigation function, speed measurement function, positioning function, etc. In practice, a "navigation system" generally refers to a navigation system or application that can be downloaded to a mobile device (e.g., Amap, Baidu Map, etc.) or an in-vehicle navigation system (e.g., BMW Maps).

[0027] User: In the context of this document, a "user" can refer to the driver currently driving the vehicle, other persons in the current vehicle, or a person using the navigation system.

[0028] Oncoming Vehicle: In the context of this document, an "oncoming vehicle" refers to a vehicle traveling in the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the current vehicle. In the case of multiple oncoming vehicles, the "oncoming vehicle" refers to the oncoming vehicle closest to the current vehicle.

[0029] The present invention incorporates oncoming-road information into the initial navigation route planning of navigation, which can avoid a vehicle from driving into an oncoming road to a certain extent. In addition, when the vehicle has driven into an oncoming road and there is no meeting point between the vehicle and the nearest oncoming vehicle, a reverse-distance calculation logic is added, which well solves the problem that both vehicles don't know how to optimally meet at this time and avoids the trouble of neither giving way to the other. The present invention realizes oncoming-vehicle assistance for the entire road section, from the initial navigation route planning of navigation to the preparation to drive on an oncoming road, then to having driven into an oncoming road, and finally to the situation where there is no meeting point with the oncoming vehicle.

[0030] Furthermore, the present invention does not require any improvement to the vehicle itself, and it will not generate additional hardware costs for the user. The present invention also does not require any improvement to the oncoming road, saving costs in road construction. At the same time, the present invention can be integrated into an existing navigation system. For the user, there is no need for additional learning costs and it can be easily used.

[0031] Figure 1 FIG. shows a block diagram of an oncoming-vehicle assistance system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the system 100 can be integrated into an existing navigation system or application (e.g., a navigation application that can be downloaded to a mobile device, an in-vehicle navigation system, etc.) to provide an oncoming-vehicle assistance function. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the system 100 can operate separately from an existing navigation system or application (e.g., be implemented on a remote device, a cloud service, etc.) to independently provide an oncoming-vehicle assistance function or work in cooperation with an existing navigation system to provide an oncoming-vehicle assistance function.

[0032] As Figure 1 shown, the full-section oncoming vehicle assistance system 100 may include a navigation route recommendation module 101 and an oncoming vehicle assistance module 102. Those skilled in the art can fully understand that the present invention is merely explained for clarity purposes. The functions of one or more of the above modules may be combined into a single module or split into multiple modules. Moreover, one or more of the above modules may be implemented in the form of software, hardware, or a combination thereof. And the data transmission method between the modules may adopt a method known in the art, which is not within the scope of discussion of the present invention.

[0033] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the navigation route recommendation module 101 may be configured to provide one or more candidate navigation routes at least partially based on the oncoming vehicle road information, and each candidate navigation route includes at least the estimated time and / or estimated distance of the candidate navigation route.

[0034] Specifically, the navigation route recommendation module 101 may determine whether each candidate navigation route includes an oncoming vehicle road, and when the candidate navigation route includes an oncoming vehicle road, calculate the estimated time and / or estimated distance of the candidate navigation route at least based on the oncoming vehicle road information of the oncoming vehicle road. Generally, the oncoming vehicle road information of the oncoming vehicle road may include the length of the oncoming vehicle road, the historical average passing time, the historical median passing time, the historical minimum passing time, and the historical maximum passing time. In practice, specific oncoming vehicle road information may be selected based on user preferences and / or system settings for calculating the estimated time and / or estimated distance.

[0035] For example, if a candidate navigation route includes Road A, Road B, and Road C. Generally, the estimated time of this candidate navigation route is approximately the estimated time of Road A + the estimated time of Road B + the estimated time of Road C. Currently, in most cases, the calculation of the estimated time for a road is the length of the road divided by the current average speed of the vehicles on the road. However, in the present invention, if based on the background information, Road B is identified as an oncoming vehicle road, then the estimated time of Road B may be based on the oncoming vehicle road information of Road B (such as the historical average passing time, the historical median passing time, the historical minimum passing time, the historical maximum passing time), and may be different from the calculation methods of the estimated times of Road A and Road C.

[0036] Further, the navigation route selection module 101 may be configured to, based on the user's selection of one of the one or more candidate navigation routes, when the selected candidate navigation route includes a road section requiring oncoming vehicle meeting and there are remaining candidate navigation routes without such road sections among the one or more candidate navigation routes, compare the estimated time and / or estimated distance of the selected candidate navigation route with the estimated time and / or estimated distance of the remaining candidate navigation routes without road sections requiring oncoming vehicle meeting, and based on the comparison result and preset conditions, prompt the user to switch to one or more better candidate navigation routes to avoid the candidate navigation route including the road section requiring oncoming vehicle meeting.

[0037] For example, the preset conditions may include an estimated time difference threshold and / or an estimated distance difference threshold. Among them, the estimated time difference threshold and / or the estimated distance difference threshold may be dynamically set based on the user's historical selection of navigation routes, the current road conditions, etc. Alternatively, the estimated time difference threshold and / or the estimated distance difference threshold may be specified by the user.

[0038] For example, if the absolute value of the difference between the estimated time of the remaining candidate navigation routes without road sections requiring oncoming vehicle meeting and the estimated time of the selected candidate navigation route is less than (or less than or equal to) the estimated time difference threshold, the remaining candidate navigation route without road sections requiring oncoming vehicle meeting may be identified as a better candidate navigation route.

[0039] For another example, if the absolute value of the difference between the estimated distance of the remaining candidate navigation routes without road sections requiring oncoming vehicle meeting and the estimated distance of the selected candidate navigation route is less than (or less than or equal to) the estimated distance difference threshold, the remaining candidate navigation route without road sections requiring oncoming vehicle meeting may be identified as a better candidate navigation route.

[0040] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the oncoming vehicle assistance module 102 may be configured to provide oncoming vehicle assistance prompts at least partially based on the oncoming vehicle meeting state of the current vehicle and / or the oncoming vehicle relative to the road section requiring oncoming vehicle meeting and the oncoming vehicle meeting point information of the road section requiring oncoming vehicle meeting. Among them, the oncoming vehicle meeting point information refers to whether there is an oncoming vehicle meeting point on the road section requiring oncoming vehicle meeting, the position of the oncoming vehicle meeting point, the size of the distance from the oncoming vehicle meeting point, etc., and the oncoming vehicle meeting point information may be maintained in the navigation system background. And the oncoming vehicle meeting state of the vehicle may refer to one of the following: whether the vehicle is approaching the road section requiring oncoming vehicle meeting, whether the vehicle has traveled on the road section requiring oncoming vehicle meeting, whether the vehicle has traveled away from the road section requiring oncoming vehicle meeting, etc.

[0041] For example, the oncoming vehicle assistance module 102 can be configured to identify whether there is an oncoming vehicle (i.e., an "oncoming vehicle") approaching the oncoming road or already on the oncoming road when the current vehicle is about to enter the oncoming road, and give an oncoming vehicle prompt based on the identified oncoming vehicle and whether there is an oncoming point between the current vehicle and the oncoming vehicle. Specifically, the oncoming vehicle assistance module 102 can determine whether there is an oncoming point between the current vehicle and the oncoming vehicle when an oncoming vehicle is identified. Moreover, the oncoming vehicle assistance module 102 can be configured as follows: (1) if there is no oncoming point, remind the user to wait in place, and after the oncoming vehicle drives out of the oncoming road, then drive onto the oncoming road; (2) if there is an oncoming point, when the current vehicle and the oncoming vehicle drive to the oncoming point, remind the current vehicle and the oncoming vehicle to meet at the oncoming point.

[0042] For example, for better illustration, Figure 2 shows a situation where there is an oncoming point on the oncoming road according to an embodiment of the present invention. Among them, the oncoming vehicle assistance module 102 can remind the current vehicle 201 and the oncoming vehicle 202 to meet at the oncoming point P. Those skilled in the art can fully understand that Figure 2 the oncoming road and the oncoming point shown in are only schematic and are not intended to impose any restrictions on the shape, size, length, etc. of the oncoming road and the oncoming point.

[0043] In practice, the current vehicle may very likely drive onto an oncoming road without an oncoming point for various reasons. For example, the navigation system may malfunction due to signal problems and thus fail to give any reminder about the oncoming road. For another example, the user does not pay attention to or comply with the reminder from the navigation system to wait before the oncoming road. For still another example, a road becomes an oncoming road due to unexpected reasons (such as unexpected car accidents, mudslides, etc.), but the information in the navigation system background has not been updated in time, and thus the road has not been marked as an oncoming road in time. In this scenario, the current vehicle is very likely to meet an oncoming vehicle on the oncoming road without an oncoming point, which may cause congestion due to the inability of both drivers to determine the behavior of the other party.

[0044] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the oncoming vehicle assistance module 102 can be configured to, when the current vehicle has entered the oncoming road and it is identified that there is no oncoming point between the current vehicle and the oncoming vehicle, give a reverse prompt to one of the current vehicle and the oncoming vehicle based on the difference between the reverse distance required for the current vehicle to exit the oncoming road or retreat to the previous oncoming point and the reverse distance required for the oncoming vehicle to exit the oncoming road or retreat to the previous oncoming point.

[0045] For example, the oncoming vehicle assistance module 102 may provide a reverse driving prompt to the vehicle with a shorter reverse distance between the current vehicle and the oncoming vehicle based on the reverse distance of the current vehicle from the entrance on the side of the current vehicle of the oncoming road or the previous oncoming point on the side of the current vehicle of the oncoming road and the reverse distance of the other vehicle from the entrance on the side of the other vehicle of the oncoming road or the previous oncoming point on the side of the other vehicle of the oncoming road. Optionally, the oncoming vehicle assistance module 102 may inform the vehicle with a larger reverse distance between the current vehicle and the oncoming vehicle that the oncoming vehicle needs to reverse, so that the user of the current vehicle can drive at a reduced speed.

[0046] For example, for better illustration, Figures 3A - 3C shows a situation where the current vehicle and the oncoming vehicle have entered the oncoming road according to the embodiments of the present invention and there is no oncoming point between the current vehicle and the oncoming vehicle. Among them, the specific distances in the following examples are only illustrative and not intended to limit.

[0047] See Figure 3A , which shows a situation where there is no oncoming point on the entire oncoming road and the current vehicle is notified to reverse. Among them, if the reverse distance of the current vehicle 201 from the entrance A of the oncoming road (for example, 2 meters) is less than the reverse distance of the oncoming vehicle 202 from the entrance B of the oncoming road (for example, 3 meters), the current vehicle 201 will be notified to reverse to exit the oncoming road.

[0048] See Figure 3B , which shows a situation where there is one oncoming point on the entire oncoming road and the oncoming vehicle is notified to reverse. Among them, if the reverse distance of the current vehicle 201 from the previous oncoming point C of the oncoming road (for example, 2 meters) is greater than the reverse distance of the oncoming vehicle 202 from the entrance B of the oncoming road (for example, 1 meter), the oncoming vehicle 202 will be notified to reverse to exit the oncoming road.

[0049] See Figure 3C , which shows a situation where there is more than one oncoming point on the entire oncoming road and the oncoming vehicle is notified to reverse. Among them, if the reverse distance of the current vehicle 201 from the previous oncoming point C of the oncoming road (for example, 2 meters) is greater than the reverse distance of the oncoming vehicle 202 from the previous oncoming point D of the oncoming road (for example, 1 meter), the oncoming vehicle 202 will be notified to reverse to the oncoming point D so that the two vehicles can meet.

[0050] According to another embodiment of the present invention, if there is a following vehicle behind the current vehicle, the reverse distance on one side of the current vehicle is the accumulation of the reverse distances of the current vehicle and each of the one or more following vehicles. For example, if there are following vehicle 1 and following vehicle 2 behind the current vehicle, the reverse distance of the current vehicle from the entrance of the oncoming vehicle meeting road on one side can be calculated as the reverse distance of the current vehicle from the entrance + the reverse distance of following vehicle 1 from the entrance + the reverse distance of following vehicle 2 from the entrance. Similarly, if there is a following vehicle behind the oncoming vehicle, the reverse distance on one side of the oncoming vehicle is the accumulation of the reverse distances of the oncoming vehicle and each of the one or more following vehicles.

[0051] Figure 4 FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a full-section vehicle meeting assistance method 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention. For example, the method 400 can be implemented within at least one processor (e.g., Figure 6 the processor 604), and the processor can be located in a mobile device, an in-vehicle computer system, a remote server, or a combination thereof. Of course, in various aspects of the present invention, the method 400 can also be implemented by any suitable device capable of performing related operations.

[0052] See Figure 4 , the full-section vehicle meeting assistance method 400 mainly includes two stages 405 and 410.

[0053] In 405, at least partially based on the oncoming vehicle meeting road information, one or more candidate navigation routes are provided for the user to select, and a prompt for a better candidate navigation route is made based on the comparison between the candidate navigation route including the oncoming vehicle meeting road selected by the user and the remaining non-oncoming vehicle meeting road candidate navigation routes among the one or more candidate navigation routes. Among them, the oncoming vehicle meeting road information may include the length of the oncoming vehicle meeting road, the historical average passing time, the historical median passing time, the historical minimum passing time, and the historical maximum passing time.

[0054] Figure 5 FIG. 5 further shows a method 500 for a detailed description of stage 405 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0055] In 505, at least partially based on the oncoming vehicle meeting road information, one or more candidate navigation routes are provided for the user to select, and each candidate navigation route includes at least the estimated time and / or estimated distance of the candidate navigation route.

[0056] In 510, the selection of a candidate navigation route from the one or more candidate navigation routes by the user is received. For example, the user can make a selection based on information such as the estimated time and / or estimated distance of each candidate navigation route among the one or more candidate navigation routes.

[0057] At 515, it is determined whether the selected candidate navigation route includes a road where oncoming vehicles need to pass each other, and whether there are remaining candidate navigation routes without oncoming vehicle passing requirements that do not include such roads among the one or more candidate navigation routes. If so, proceed to 520; if not, proceed to 535.

[0058] At 520, the selected candidate navigation route is compared with the remaining candidate navigation routes without oncoming vehicle passing requirements to determine whether there are one or more better candidate navigation routes among the remaining candidate navigation routes without oncoming vehicle passing requirements. Specifically, the estimated time and / or estimated distance of the selected candidate navigation route can be compared with the estimated time and / or estimated distance of the remaining candidate navigation routes without oncoming vehicle passing requirements. Among them, the one or more better candidate navigation routes can refer to candidate navigation routes whose estimated time and / or estimated distance minus the estimated time and / or estimated distance of the selected candidate navigation route is less than (less than or equal to) the estimated time difference threshold and / or estimated distance difference threshold. If so, proceed to 525; if not, proceed to 535.

[0059] At 525, it is determined whether there are multiple better candidate navigation routes. If so, return to 505, where the multiple better candidate navigation routes are used as the candidate navigation routes in 505. If not, that is, if there is only one better candidate navigation route, proceed to 530.

[0060] At 530, the better candidate navigation route is used for navigation.

[0061] At 535, navigation is performed using the selected candidate navigation route.

[0062] Thus, through stage 405, it is possible to assist the user in selecting a navigation route without oncoming vehicle passing requirements.

[0063] At 410, passing assistance prompts are provided at least partially based on the passing state of the current vehicle and / or oncoming vehicle relative to the road where oncoming vehicles need to pass each other and the passing point information of the road where oncoming vehicles need to pass each other. Among them, the passing point information can refer to whether there is a passing point on the road where oncoming vehicles need to pass each other, the position of the passing point, the magnitude of the distance from the passing point, etc. And the passing state of the vehicle can be one of the following: whether the vehicle is approaching the road where oncoming vehicles need to pass each other, whether the vehicle has traveled on the road where oncoming vehicles need to pass each other, whether the vehicle has traveled away from the road where oncoming vehicles need to pass each other, etc.

[0064] For example, stage 410 may include indicating whether there is an oncoming vehicle approaching or already on the road where oncoming vehicles need to pass each other when the current vehicle is about to enter the road where oncoming vehicles need to pass each other, and providing passing prompts based on the indicated oncoming vehicle and whether there is a passing point between the current vehicle and the oncoming vehicle.

[0065] For another example, when the current vehicle has entered the oncoming vehicle road and there is no passing point identified between the current vehicle and the oncoming vehicle, stage 410 may provide a reverse warning for one of the current vehicle and the oncoming vehicle based on the difference between the reverse distance required for the current vehicle to exit the oncoming vehicle road or retreat to the previous passing point and the reverse distance required for the oncoming vehicle to exit the oncoming vehicle road or retreat to the previous passing point.

[0066] In the present invention, stage 405 and stage 410 may be implemented separately, rather than necessarily being executed as a whole. For example, stage 405 may be separately applied to the route recommendation scenario, while stage 410 may be separately applied to the passing vehicle scenario.

[0067] Figure 6 FIG. shows a block diagram of an exemplary computing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The computing device is an example of a hardware device applicable to various aspects of the present invention.

[0068] Reference Figure 6 , a computing device 600 will now be described. The computing device is an example of a hardware device applicable to various aspects of the present invention. The computing device 600 may be any machine configured to perform processing and / or computing, and may be, but is not limited to, a workstation, a server, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant, a smartphone, an in-vehicle computer, or any combination thereof. The foregoing various methods / devices / servers / client devices may be fully or at least partially implemented by the computing device 600 or a similar device or system.

[0069] The computing device 600 may include components that can be connected or communicate via one or more interfaces and buses 602. For example, the computing device 600 may include a bus 602, one or more processors 604, one or more input devices 606, and one or more output devices 608. The one or more processors 604 can be any type of processor and may include, but are not limited to, one or more general-purpose processors and / or one or more dedicated processors (e.g., specialized processing chips). The input device 606 can be any type of device capable of inputting information into the computing device and may include, but are not limited to, a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen, a microphone, and / or a remote controller. The output device 608 can be any type of device capable of presenting information and may include, but are not limited to, a display, a speaker, a video / audio output terminal, a vibrator, and / or a printer. The computing device 600 may also include a non-transitory storage device 610 or be connected to the non-transitory storage device. The non-transitory storage device can be any storage device that is non-transitory and capable of implementing data storage, and the non-transitory storage device may include, but are not limited to, a disk drive, an optical storage device, a solid-state memory, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, an optical disk, or any other optical medium, a ROM (read-only memory), a RAM (random access memory), a cache memory, and / or any storage chip or cartridge tape, and / or any other medium from which a computer can read data, instructions, and / or code. The non-transitory storage device 610 can be separated from the interface. The non-transitory storage device 610 may have data / instructions / code for implementing the above methods and steps. The computing device 600 may also include a communication device 612. The communication device 612 can be any type of device or system capable of implementing communication with internal devices and / or communication with a network and may include, but are not limited to, a modem, a network card, an infrared communication device, a wireless communication device, and / or a chipset, such as a Bluetooth device, an IEEE 1302.11 device, a WiFi device, a WiMax device, a cellular communication device, and / or a similar device.

[0070] When the computing device 600 is used as an in-vehicle device, it can also be connected to external devices (e.g., a GPS receiver, sensors for sensing different environmental data (such as an acceleration sensor, a wheel speed sensor, a gyroscope, etc.)). In this way, the computing device 600 can receive, for example, positioning data and sensor data indicating the driving condition of the vehicle. When the computing device 600 is used as an in-vehicle device, it can also be connected to other devices for controlling the driving and operation of the vehicle (e.g., an engine system, a windshield wiper, an anti-lock braking system, etc.).

[0071] In addition, the non-transitory storage device 610 may have map information and software components, so that the processor 604 can implement route guidance processing. In addition, the output device 606 may include a display for displaying a map, a positioning marker of the vehicle, and an image indicating the driving condition of the vehicle. The output device 606 may also include a speaker or a headphone interface for audio guidance.

[0072] The bus 602 may include, but is not limited to, an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, a Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, an Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, a Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus. In particular, for in-vehicle devices, the bus 602 may also include a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus or other architectures designed for automotive applications.

[0073] The computing device 400 may also include a working memory 614, which can be any type of working memory capable of storing instructions and / or data beneficial to the operation of the processor 604 and may include, but is not limited to, random access memory and / or read-only storage devices.

[0074] The software components may be located in the working memory 614, and these software components include, but are not limited to, an operating system 616, one or more application programs 618, drivers, and / or other data and code. The instructions for implementing the above methods and steps may be included in the one or more application programs 618, and the modules / units / components of the various devices / servers / client devices described above may be implemented by the processor 604 reading and executing the instructions of the one or more application programs 618.

[0075] It should also be recognized that changes can be made according to specific requirements. For example, custom hardware may also be used, and / or specific components may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or any combination thereof. In addition, connections with other computing devices, such as network input / output devices, etc., may be adopted. For example, part or all of the disclosed methods and devices may be implemented by programming hardware (such as programmable logic circuits including Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and / or Programmable Logic Arrays (PLAs)) with assembly language or hardware programming languages (such as VERILOG, VHDL, C++) using the logic and algorithms according to the present invention.

[0076] Although aspects of the present invention have been described so far with reference to the accompanying drawings, the above methods, systems, and devices are merely examples, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to these aspects, but is defined only by the appended claims and their equivalents. Various components may be omitted or may also be replaced by equivalent components. Additionally, the steps may be implemented in an order different from the order described in the present invention. Furthermore, the various components may be combined in various ways. It is also important that, as technology develops, many of the components described may be replaced by equivalent components that emerge later.

Claims

1. A meeting-vehicle assistance method, comprising: (a) providing one or more candidate navigation routes for a user to select at least partially based on meeting-vehicle road information, wherein the meeting-vehicle road information includes one or more of the length of the meeting-vehicle road, the historical average passing time, the historical median passing time, the historical minimum passing time, and the historical maximum passing time; and (b) prompting one or more better candidate navigation routes based on a comparison between the candidate navigation route including the meeting-vehicle road selected by the user and the remaining non-meeting-vehicle road candidate navigation routes among the one or more candidate navigation routes that do not include the meeting-vehicle road.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: (c) performing meeting-vehicle assistance prompting at least partially based on the meeting-vehicle state of the current vehicle and / or the oncoming vehicle relative to the meeting-vehicle road and the meeting-point information of the meeting-vehicle road; wherein the meeting-point information refers to at least one of whether there is a meeting point on the meeting-vehicle road, the position of the meeting point, and the distance from the meeting point, and the meeting-vehicle state of a vehicle refers to at least one of whether the vehicle is approaching the meeting-vehicle road, whether the vehicle has traveled on the meeting-vehicle road, and whether the vehicle has traveled away from the meeting-vehicle road.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein Step (b) further comprises: comparing the estimated time and / or estimated distance of the candidate navigation route selected by the user with the estimated time and / or estimated distance of the remaining non-meeting-vehicle road candidate navigation routes; and prompting the one or more better candidate navigation routes based on the comparison result and preset conditions, wherein the preset conditions include an estimated time difference threshold and / or an estimated distance difference threshold.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein, Step (c) further comprises: identifying whether an oncoming vehicle is approaching the meeting-vehicle road or is already on the meeting-vehicle road when the current vehicle is about to enter the meeting-vehicle road; and performing meeting-vehicle prompting based on the identified oncoming vehicle and whether there is a meeting point between the current vehicle and the oncoming vehicle.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein Step (c) further comprises: when the current vehicle has entered the meeting-vehicle road and it is identified that there is no meeting point between the current vehicle and the oncoming vehicle, performing reverse prompting for one of the current vehicle and the oncoming vehicle based on the difference between the reverse distance required for the current vehicle to exit the meeting-vehicle road or retreat to the previous meeting point and the reverse distance required for the oncoming vehicle to exit the meeting-vehicle road or retreat to the previous meeting point.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein, If there are one or more following vehicles behind the current vehicle or the oncoming vehicle, the reverse distance on one side of the current vehicle or the oncoming vehicle is the accumulation of the reverse distances of the current vehicle or the oncoming vehicle and each vehicle among the one or more following vehicles.

7. A meeting-vehicle assistance system, comprising: a navigation route recommendation module, the navigation route recommendation module being configured to: (a) Provide one or more candidate navigation routes for the user to select, at least partially based on the oncoming road information, where the oncoming road information includes one or more of the length of the oncoming road, the historical average passing time, the historical median passing time, the historical minimum passing time, and the historical maximum passing time; and (b) Prompt one or more better candidate navigation routes based on the comparison between the candidate navigation route including the oncoming road selected by the user and the remaining candidate navigation routes without the oncoming road among the one or more candidate navigation routes.

8. The system according to claim 7, further comprising an oncoming assistance module, where the oncoming assistance module is configured to: (c) Provide oncoming assistance prompts at least partially based on the oncoming state of the current vehicle and / or the oncoming vehicle relative to the oncoming road and the oncoming point information of the oncoming road; Among them, The oncoming point information refers to at least one of whether there is an oncoming point on the oncoming road, the position of the oncoming point, and the distance from the oncoming point, where the oncoming state of the vehicle refers to at least one of whether the vehicle is approaching the oncoming road, whether the vehicle has traveled on the oncoming road, and whether the vehicle has traveled away from the oncoming road.

9. The system according to claim 7, wherein (b) Further comprising: Compare the estimated time and / or estimated distance of the candidate navigation route selected by the user with the estimated time and / or estimated distance of the remaining candidate navigation routes without the oncoming road; and Prompt the one or more better candidate navigation routes based on the comparison result and preset conditions, where the preset conditions include an estimated time difference threshold and / or an estimated distance difference threshold.

10. The system according to claim 8, wherein, (c) Further comprising: Indicate whether there is an oncoming vehicle approaching the oncoming road or already on the oncoming road when the current vehicle is about to enter the oncoming road; and Provide oncoming prompts based on the identified oncoming vehicle and whether there is an oncoming point between the current vehicle and the oncoming vehicle.

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