Geohash Grid Pathfinding for Dynamic Indoor Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pathfinding systems for indoors are inefficient due to frequent changes in item locations, requiring real-time computation of the shortest path, which is time-consuming and not addressed by fixed graph topologies used in outdoor modeling.
Innovation Solution
A cell-based digital representation using geohashes to create a hierarchical grid that accounts for multiple floors and heights, combined with a vector field pathfinding algorithm, allowing for efficient runtime pathfinding by pre-computing and caching shortest paths between parent cell edges.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If real-time computation of shortest path is performed in dynamic indoor environments, then pathfinding accuracy is improved, but computation time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-computes and stores shortest paths between all pairs of parent cells before runtime. This preliminary action creates a cached path matrix that can be quickly retrieved during runtime pathfinding, avoiding the need for expensive real-time computations while maintaining accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the indoor space into a hierarchical grid structure with parent cells and child cells. By segmenting the space and pre-computing paths at the parent cell level, the system reduces the computational complexity from considering all individual item locations to considering only parent cell boundaries, significantly speeding up runtime queries.
2Device complexity
If fixed graph topology is used for pathfinding, then system complexity is reduced, but adaptability to dynamic indoor environments deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic pathfinding system where the graph topology is not fixed but adapts to changing item locations. The hierarchical grid allows the system to dynamically determine which parent cells contain items and adjust the pathfinding graph accordingly, maintaining both simplicity and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a hierarchical dimension with parent cells and child cells. This additional layer of abstraction allows the system to maintain a simplified parent-level graph for efficient pathfinding while capturing dynamic item locations at the child cell level, resolving the contradiction between simplicity and adaptability.
3Measurement precision
If detailed item location tracking is implemented, then pathfinding precision is improved, but data processing overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential location information (which parent cell contains the item) needed for pathfinding, rather than tracking all detailed item attributes. This extraction approach maintains sufficient precision for routing while significantly reducing data processing overhead by filtering out unnecessary details.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-processes and stores item locations mapped to parent cells before runtime. This preliminary action consolidates detailed location data into a compact representation that can be quickly queried during pathfinding, reducing real-time processing overhead while preserving location precision.
Data Source
AI summary
The indoors and outdoors are mapped into a grid comprised of cells using geohashing, wherein buildings, solid structures, and walkways are separately rendered and incorporated into the digital computer implementation, the size of each cell being indicative of the physical dimensions. Each cell has associated location-based static and temporal data that represent some aspect of the corresponding real-life representation of the cell, resulting in large amount of well-structured and useful data. A key method of this invention is an adaptation of fast pathfinding using cell-based vector field algorithm that is used in interactive computer gaming in virtual environments.