Dynamic Location Correction for Wearable GPS Accuracy
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electronic devices, such as smartwatches, face challenges in accurately estimating location due to errors in GPS data, leading to incorrect mapping of user positions, especially when users are not on roads or during specific activities like walking or biking.
Innovation Solution
An electronic apparatus with a location acquiring unit, correction area setting unit, and location correcting unit that sets a correction area based on link attributes in map data to adjust the current location to the nearest link, considering user activities and time, thereby improving location estimation precision.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the current location is corrected to the closest link on the map data, then the location can be displayed on the map, but the location precision deteriorates when the user is not on a road or link
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the correction area dynamic and context-dependent. Instead of uniformly correcting all locations to the nearest link, the system adjusts the correction area based on local conditions such as user activities (walking, biking, driving), time of day, and day of week. This allows location correction to be applied selectively in areas where users are likely to be on links (roads) while avoiding correction in areas where users may be off-road, thereby maintaining location display capability while improving location estimation accuracy for specific contexts.
2Device complexity
If a fixed correction area is used for all locations, then the location correction process is simple, but the location precision deteriorates for different user activities and contexts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamics by making the correction area variable rather than fixed. The correction area is dynamically adjusted based on user activities detected by sensors (acceleration sensor, magnetic field sensor), time information, and day of week. For example, during nighttime hours or on weekends when walking or biking activities are detected, the correction area is reduced or disabled, whereas during daytime weekdays when driving is detected, the correction area is expanded. This dynamic approach maintains system simplicity while significantly improving location estimation accuracy for different user contexts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the correction area parameters (size, shape, position) based on detected user activities and contextual information. The system changes the correction area parameters dynamically: expanding the area when driving is detected, reducing it when walking or biking is detected, and adjusting it based on time and day of week. This allows the location correction mechanism to adapt to different scenarios without requiring a completely different system architecture, thus improving location precision while maintaining reasonable system complexity.
3Device complexity
If location correction is always applied to the nearest link, then map display is simplified, but location precision deteriorates during activities like walking or biking where users may be off-road
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by using sensor data (acceleration sensor, magnetic field sensor), time information, and day of week to continuously monitor user activities and adjust the correction area accordingly. The system receives feedback about user context (walking, biking, driving, time of day) and uses this feedback to dynamically modify the correction area. For example, when the sensor detects walking patterns during nighttime, the feedback mechanism reduces or disables location correction, whereas when driving patterns are detected during daytime, the correction is enhanced. This feedback loop maintains a simple correction process while significantly improving location estimation accuracy for different activities.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic apparatus for acquiring a location, comprising: a location acquiring unit which acquires a current location of the electronic apparatus; a correction area setting unit which, based on a link attribute indicating an attribute of an adjacent area of a link in map data, sets a correction area within the adjacent area, the correction area being referred to correct the current location to a location on the link; and a location correcting unit which, in a case in which the current location acquired by the location acquiring unit belongs to the correction area set within the adjacent area, corrects the current location to a location on the link which corresponds to the correction area.