Lane-Level Positioning Using Map-Matched Road and Lane Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional GPS-based navigation systems struggle with accurate lane-level positioning, especially on multi-lane roads, due to noise in GPS data and assumptions that vehicles travel along road centerlines, which obscure lane variations.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses a sensor to generate road information, a navigation circuit to determine the current lane based on map data and surrounding road information, and a control circuit with a state machine to adjust the vehicle's position to the center of the lane, while also handling lane changes and departures from the road.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional GPS-based navigation systems are used to determine vehicle position, then the system is simple and easy to operate, but the positioning accuracy is poor due to GPS noise and inability to distinguish lane-level positions on multi-lane roads
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines GPS receiver data with map-matching algorithms and lane detection technology to create an integrated positioning system. The control circuit processes both GPS coordinates and map data to determine lane-level position, merging multiple data sources to achieve higher accuracy than GPS alone while managing system complexity through integrated processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces map data as an intermediary element between raw GPS coordinates and final position determination. The map-matching process uses map data to interpret GPS positions in the context of known road geometries and lane configurations, enabling lane-level accuracy without requiring direct GPS lane detection capability.
2Stability of the object's composition
If map-matching to the center line of the road is used, then the position estimate is more stable than raw GPS values, but the lane level positioning variations are obscured for multi-lane roads
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the road into multiple lanes within the map data structure, allowing the system to match GPS positions to specific lanes rather than just the road centerline. The control circuit determines which lane the vehicle occupies by comparing processed GPS coordinates with the segmented lane geometries stored in map data, preserving lane-level information while maintaining the stability of map-matching.
3Measurement precision
If a sensor-based lane detection system is added to improve lane-level positioning, then the positioning accuracy improves, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables the navigation system to determine lane-level position using existing GPS receiver and map data resources, without requiring additional external sensors. The control circuit processes available GPS coordinates and matches them against map data containing lane geometries, allowing the system to serve its own positioning needs using existing components rather than adding external sensor systems.
Data Source
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AI summary
An apparatus includes a sensor, a navigation circuit and a control circuit. The sensor may be configured to generate surrounding road information of a road. The road may have a plurality of available lanes. The navigation circuit may be configured to determine a current position of the apparatus on the road. The control circuit may be configured to (i) access map data that identifies a number of the available lanes in the road proximate the position, (ii) determine a current lane among the available lanes that the apparatus is within based on all of the position, the surrounding road information and the map data and (iii) generate feedback data based on both the position and the current lane. The navigation device may be further configured to adjust the current position to a center of the current lane in response to the feedback data.