Automotive Digital Mapping Service Context-Aware Content Filtering

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing digital mapping services generate a large amount of content that can be time-consuming for users to review, particularly in automotive contexts where interaction should be minimized.

Innovation Solution

A digital mapping service determines if a client device is operating in a vehicle and filters geographic content based on previous user interactions, prioritizing relevant information such as navigation directions, searches, and reviews, and deprioritizing or excluding irrelevant data, to provide a 'car-friendly' list of suggestions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If the digital mapping service provides comprehensive geographic content including all previous user interactions, then the completeness of information is improved, but the user interaction time and complexity increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecompleteness of geographic contentVSAvoiduser review time
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and separates geographic content based on contextual relevance. It identifies and removes irrelevant content from the complete set of geographic data, presenting only the subset that is appropriate for the current driving context. This extraction principle resolves the contradiction by providing complete information when needed while filtering out unnecessary details during driving to reduce review time.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically adjusts the amount and type of geographic content presented based on the detected context (driving vs. non-driving). When driving is detected, the system automatically modifies the content presentation to be more concise and relevant. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to maintain information completeness when needed while reducing content volume during driving to minimize user interaction time.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Loss of information

If the digital mapping service provides comprehensive geographic content including all previous user interactions, then the completeness of information is improved, but the complexity of the content selection process increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecompleteness of geographic contentVSAvoidcontent selection complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces context detection as an intermediary mechanism between the complete geographic content database and the user interface. This intermediary automatically analyzes the current situation (detecting driving context) and mediates the selection process by filtering content accordingly. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining access to complete information while using an automated intermediary to manage the complexity of content selection.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs self-service by automatically detecting the driving context and autonomously filtering geographic content without requiring manual user intervention or complex selection processes. The system serves itself by making intelligent decisions about what content to present based on detected context, thereby maintaining information completeness while simplifying the content selection process through automation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

3Loss of information

If the digital mapping service provides extensive geographic content suggestions, then the information availability is improved, but the user distraction and safety risk increases in automotive context

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinformation availabilityVSAvoiduser distraction
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts only the essential geographic content relevant to the current driving context, removing extraneous information that could cause distraction. By selectively presenting only necessary information (such as immediate navigation directions) while omitting less critical content, the system maintains information availability for safe driving while minimizing distracting elements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system applies local quality by adjusting the information presentation based on the specific driving context. Different levels of information detail are provided in different contexts: more concise and focused information during active driving, while maintaining the capability to provide more comprehensive information when not in driving mode. This localized adaptation of information quality reduces distraction while preserving information availability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP3149431B1Selection and presentation of geographic content in an automotive environment
Publication Date: 2024.09.04 GOOGLE LLC
  • EP3149431B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3149431B1 patent drawingFigure 2A~2B
  • EP3149431B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A request for geographic content is received from a client device. The request includes (i) an indication that a user invoked the digital mapping service in a vehicle and (ii) an identifier of the user. In response to the request, profile data for the user is automatically retrieved. The profile data includes indications of previous interactions of the user with a digital mapping service. Geographic content then is generated based on the indications of previous interactions in view of relevance of the previous interactions to an automotive context. The generated geographic content is provided to the client device for presentation in the vehicle.