Client-Server Navigation for Low Bandwidth
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicular navigation systems experience unacceptable lag times due to high data bandwidth requirements for map and audio instructions, which exceed the capabilities of typical Bluetooth connections in head units.
Innovation Solution
A client-server navigation solution using an HTML-5 based navigation app on a vehicle head unit and a smartphone, where the smartphone acts as a server, transmitting navigational map tiles and voice guidance data in vector format and clipped geometry over Bluetooth, reducing data transfer by utilizing caching and predictive pre-generation of map tiles and voice guidance chunks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If maps and audio navigational instructions are provided in bulk to the head unit via Bluetooth, then the head unit has access to complete navigational data, but the Bluetooth bandwidth is exceeded resulting in unacceptable lag times
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides navigational data into map tiles that are loaded on-demand rather than bulk transfer. Each map tile represents a discrete geographic area that can be independently requested and rendered, allowing the system to transfer only the specific data needed at each moment rather than all navigational data at once, thus resolving the bandwidth vs. completeness contradiction
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-loads map tiles into a cache before they are needed for display. By anticipating future navigation needs and pre-fetching map tiles into local storage, the system prepares data in advance during periods of lower demand, ensuring that when navigational data is needed, it is already available locally without requiring high-speed Bluetooth transfer at the moment of need
2Measurement precision
If high-resolution navigational maps and audio data are transmitted via Bluetooth, then data accuracy is maintained, but power consumption increases due to continuous high-bandwidth transmission
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting navigational data into discrete map tiles and transferring only the specific tiles needed for current display rather than continuous high-bandwidth streams, the system maintains data accuracy while dramatically reducing the power required for Bluetooth communication
Solution Approach 2:
The system transfers only the partial amount of data needed (specific map tiles) rather than excessive data (continuous high-resolution streams), achieving sufficient navigational accuracy with minimal power consumption by transferring just enough data to meet current display requirements
Data Source
AI summary
A method of providing vehicular navigation information includes providing a head unit embedded in a vehicle and configuring the head unit as a client device running an HTML-5 based navigation app. A smart phone is configured as a server device and linked to the head unit utilizing wireless local area network technologies. The wireless local area network technology may be Bluetooth. The smart phone transmits to the head unit via the wireless local area network technologies as needed a navigational map tile in vector format, a calculated route, and a proper subset of navigational raw voice guidance data stored on the smart phone. The HTML-5 based navigation app renders the navigational map tile and the calculated route geometry on a display of the head unit and the head unit plays at least a portion of the proper subset of the navigational raw voice guidance data through a speaker.