Mobile Camera Directional Navigation via Visual Cues
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current GPS and mobile search systems fail to determine a user's directional orientation, providing navigation and search information based on direction of travel or radius rather than the direction the user is facing, which limits their ability to locate points of interest without linear motion.
Innovation Solution
A mobile device system that uses a camera to capture visual cues for directional orientation, combining this information with GPS and image processing to provide directional guidance and search results relevant to the user's current direction, allowing for navigation and information retrieval without requiring linear motion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If GPS systems provide navigation based on direction of travel, then navigation information is provided continuously during motion, but the system cannot determine the user's facing direction when stationary or moving in reverse
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines GPS location data with camera-based visual cue analysis to determine directional orientation. The camera captures images of the environment, and image processing algorithms analyze visual features (such as building orientations, street layouts, and landmarks) to infer the direction the device is facing, merging multiple sensing modalities into a unified navigation system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces visual cues from the camera as an intermediary to determine directional orientation. Instead of directly measuring orientation with complex sensors, the system uses the camera to capture environmental features and processes these visual intermediaries to infer the user's facing direction, thereby solving the orientation determination problem without requiring direct orientation sensors.
2Productivity
If mobile search systems display results in a radius around current location, then all nearby results are shown, but results are not prioritized according to the user's current direction of interest
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating search result prioritization based on directional context. Instead of treating all results within a radius equally, the system identifies which direction the user is facing and prioritizes results in that specific direction, making the search results locally optimized for the user's current orientation and interest.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of search result ranking from purely distance-based to a composite parameter that includes both distance and directional alignment. By introducing directional orientation as a new parameter, the system reweights search results to favor those that are both nearby and in the direction the user is facing, thereby improving retrieval efficiency.
3Adaptability or versatility
If navigation systems are tuned for driving speed, then navigation updates occur at appropriate intervals for vehicles, but the system is not optimized for pedestrian movement or stationary observation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamics by making the navigation update rate adaptive to the user's movement state. The system continuously monitors whether the user is stationary, walking, or driving, and dynamically adjusts the frequency of navigation updates and re-orientations. When stationary, the system can perform detailed visual analysis without motion constraints; when moving, it adjusts update frequency to match the pace of movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent achieves universality by designing a navigation system that functions effectively across multiple movement modes (stationary, pedestrian, vehicular). The camera-based visual cue system works regardless of movement speed or type, and the adaptive update mechanism ensures the system performs optimally for each mode, making it universally applicable to different user scenarios.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables users to obtain relevant search results and navigate by pointing their device in a specific direction, providing distance indicators and filtering information based on orientation, thus enhancing mobile navigation and search capabilities.
Implementation Method 1
A mobile device system that uses a camera to capture visual cues for directional orientation, combining this information with GPS and image processing to provide directional guidance
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the invention are directed to obtaining information based on directional orientation of a mobile imaging device, such as a camera phone. Visual information is gathered by the camera and used to determine a directional orientation of the camera, to search for content based on the direction, to manipulate 3D virtual images of a surrounding area, and to otherwise use the directional information. Direction and motion can be determined by analyzing a sequence of images. Distance from a current location, inputted search parameters, and other criteria can be used to expand or filter content that is tagged with such criteria. Search results with distance indicators can be overlaid on a map or a camera feed. Various content can be displayed for a current direction, or desired content, such as a business location, can be displayed only when the camera is oriented toward the desired content.