Dynamic Map Scale Adjustment for Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current navigational devices fail to provide users with an intuitive and accurate sense of map scale, leading to increased travel distances, more stops, and direction errors, as users struggle to comprehend the scale and immediacy of navigational instructions.
Innovation Solution
A navigational device adjusts the map scale based on 'horizons' such as speed, event, and traffic horizons, dynamically changing the level of detail and position of the device location indicator to focus on the most relevant information, using factors like current speed, upcoming events, and traffic conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a single, unchanging stylization of the map is displayed, then the display is simple and consistent, but the user cannot comprehend the scale and immediacy of navigational instructions
Solution Approach 1:
The map display dynamically adjusts its scale and level of detail based on the user's current speed and distance to upcoming navigational events. As the user approaches an event or increases speed, the map automatically zooms in to show more detailed local information. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by making the display adaptive rather than static, providing appropriate scale comprehension without requiring multiple fixed display modes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes key display parameters (map scale, detail level, indicator position) based on calculated horizons derived from speed and event distance. By continuously adjusting these parameters according to real-time navigation state, the system provides intuitive scale comprehension while maintaining a consistent underlying display mechanism, thus resolving the contradiction between information quality and display simplicity.
2Loss of information
If textual distance information is provided, then navigation instructions are clear, but users cannot mentally convert the text into full comprehension of physical distance
Solution Approach 1:
The display segments information by presenting both textual distance data and visual map representation simultaneously. The map is divided into relevant zones showing upcoming events at appropriate scales, allowing users to visually gauge physical distance while reading text instructions. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by providing complementary visual and textual cues rather than relying on text alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The dynamically adjusted map scale acts as an intermediary between textual distance information and user comprehension. By automatically zooming to show the appropriate geographic extent corresponding to the textual distance provided, the system mediates the conversion process, allowing users to visually understand physical distance without requiring mental calculation.
3Loss of information
If extraneous information is included on the map, then comprehensive navigation data is provided, but users become distracted and fail to comprehend the scale
Solution Approach 1:
The display applies local quality by showing different levels of detail in different regions of the map based on their relevance to upcoming navigational events. Areas closer to upcoming events or traffic conditions receive higher detail and prominence, while distant or less relevant areas are shown at lower detail or omitted entirely. This selective information presentation resolves the contradiction by providing comprehensive navigation data only where needed, maintaining user focus on critical information.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs partial action by displaying only the portion of navigational information that is currently relevant to the user's situation, rather than showing all available data. By calculating horizons based on speed and event distance, the system determines the appropriate window of information to display, showing extra detail only when necessary and omitting extraneous information otherwise, thus resolving the contradiction between completeness and focus.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for displaying navigational information are provided. An exemplary navigational device can include a processor, a memory, a user interface, a positioning system, and a network interface. The processor can adjust a scale of a map displayed on the display to reflect the minimum of a first distance that can be travelled over a period of time at a current speed, a second distance between the current position of the navigational device and a first location at which a driving maneuver should be performed, and a third distance between the current position of the navigational device and a second location at which a traffic condition exists. An exemplary method includes adjusting a map based on a comparison of a plurality of horizons respectively providing distances beyond which navigational information is less useful.