Audio Navigation Guidance Using Distance and Address Switching

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing navigation systems using portable devices struggle to provide intuitive guidance information, particularly when relying solely on voice guidance due to the limited display size, necessitating a more recognizable manner of conveying destination proximity and address information.

Innovation Solution

An information providing device and method that acquires guidance location information and provides distance information when within a preset distance and address information when farther, using sound guidance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Volume of moving object

If guidance information is provided using voice sound only due to limited display size, then the portable terminal device can maintain compact size, but the intuitiveness and recognizability of guidance information deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedisplay sizeVSAvoidintuitiveness of guidance information
Core Design Contradiction:
Volume of moving objectVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system changes the parameter of information presentation by switching between distance-based description and address-based description depending on the proximity of the guidance location. When the location is close (within threshold distance), distance information is provided; when farther, address information is provided. This dynamic parameter adjustment optimizes the intuitiveness of voice guidance without requiring visual display.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Ease of operation

If distance information is provided for all guidance locations, then the recognizability of proximity is improved, but the complexity of information processing increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improverecognizability of destination proximityVSAvoidinformation processing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies different information presentation strategies based on the local characteristic of each guidance location's distance from the current position. Close locations (within threshold) receive distance-based information, while distant locations receive address-based information. This local differentiation optimizes recognizability where needed without unnecessarily processing all locations with the same complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS12504294B2Information providing device, information providing method, and information providing program for acquiring guidance location information indicating distance between position of recipient and position of guidance location
Publication Date: 2025.12.23 PIONEER IP
  • US12504294B2 patent drawing
  • US12504294B2 patent drawing
  • US12504294B2 patent drawing

AI summary

An information providing device is provided which can provide necessary guidance in an intuitively and easy-to-recognize form even when guidance is mainly by audio or sound.In searching for a route destination, when the distance to the destination is within a prescribed distance, guidance that includes information indicating the distance to the destination is provided by audio, and when the destination is farther than said prescribed distance, guidance that includes address information indicating the address of the destination is provided by audio (steps S28, S30, S17).