3D Terrain Display LOD Segmentation for Navigation Systems
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional navigation systems face challenges in displaying three-dimensional route guidance effectively, as roads may appear disconnected from the terrain due to mismatched data sources, leading to visual discomfort and confusion, especially when roads cross hills or valleys, requiring high computation and memory resources.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that allow dynamic control of viewing angles, heights, and levels of detail for three-dimensional images, using a terrain database and map database to ensure roads conform to terrain, with user or system-controlled adjustments and border compensation to prevent discontinuities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If high level of detail (LOD) terrain and road images are displayed, then visual realism and user understanding improve, but memory consumption and processing capability requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the terrain and road data into different levels of detail (LOD), allowing the system to display only the necessary detail level for each region. High LOD is applied to areas of interest (near the vehicle, route waypoints) while lower LOD is used for distant or less important areas, reducing overall memory consumption while maintaining visual realism where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by applying different detail levels to different spatial regions of the display. Areas close to the vehicle or containing important route information are rendered with high detail, while distant areas use lower detail. This selective approach optimizes memory usage by storing and processing only the necessary detail level for each local region.
2Manufacturing precision
If high level of detail (LOD) terrain and road images are displayed, then visual realism and user understanding improve, but processing capability requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments processing requirements by LOD level, allowing the system to process and render only the necessary detail level for each region. This reduces the overall computational burden while maintaining high detail where visually important, thereby improving processing efficiency without sacrificing critical visual information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by rendering high detail only for portions of the terrain and roads that are currently visible or important to the user's navigation task. Distant or less critical areas are rendered at lower detail levels, reducing the total processing capability required while maintaining adequate visual information for navigation decisions.
3Reliability
If roads are displayed conforming to terrain at high detail, then visual comfort and realism improve, but computation and memory resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the road and terrain data into LOD levels, storing detailed road-terrain conforming geometry only where visually important (near the vehicle, at route waypoints). Distant roads are stored at lower LOD with simplified geometry that still maintains basic terrain conformity. This segmentation reduces memory resource requirements while preserving visual comfort in critical viewing areas.
4Ease of operation
If dynamic control of viewing angle and height is implemented, then user visibility and understanding of complex maneuvers improve, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic control of viewing angle and height, allowing the 3D terrain and road display to adapt to the user's navigation needs. The system can dynamically adjust the camera position, viewing angle, and detail level based on the vehicle's location, upcoming maneuvers, and user interactions. This dynamic adaptation improves visibility and understanding of complex maneuvers while the underlying LOD management keeps computational complexity manageable.
Data Source
AI summary
A display method and apparatus for displaying three-dimensional terrains and route guidance achieves a flexible and high detail three-dimensional display operation by enabling to change parameters, such as a viewing angle of a selected three-dimensional object, a height of a selected three-dimensional object, and a level of details (LOD) of a selected part of the image. The display method and apparatus also enables to compensate discontinuity, if any, at a border portion of two or more images where such parameters have been changed. Since such a change is made only a selected portion or object on the three-dimensional image, a computation power, memory space or other resources of the navigation system may not be overburdened by such operations.