Location-aware reminders in vehicle navigation systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional reminders are typically time-based and do not account for situations where a specific location needs to be remembered for retrieval at an unknown future time, such as picking up items from a dry cleaner.
Innovation Solution
A method for managing location-aware reminders in a vehicle, where the system monitors the vehicle's geographic location and issues reminders when the vehicle enters a specified or associated geographic region, using a navigation system to deliver messages audibly or visually to the driver.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional time-based reminders are used, then the reminder system is simple and easy to operate, but the reminder cannot be effectively tied to specific locations where items need to be retrieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the reminder system with the navigation system by integrating location monitoring capabilities and geographic region detection into the existing navigation infrastructure. The reminder manager utilizes the navigation system's location data to trigger reminders when the vehicle enters predefined geographic regions, merging two functions (navigation and reminders) into a unified system that enhances versatility without requiring a completely separate complex system.
Solution Approach 2:
The navigation system is extended to serve multiple functions: traditional navigation guidance plus location-based reminder delivery. By making the navigation system universal, it can handle both route guidance and context-aware reminder notifications, allowing the same system to adapt to different user needs (navigation vs. reminders) based on situational context.
2Reliability
If location monitoring is continuously performed to enable location-aware reminders, then reminders can be accurately triggered at the right location, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous monitoring, the system uses periodic location checks that are already inherent in navigation systems (typically updated at regular intervals during vehicle operation). The reminder manager polls the current geographic location at these periodic intervals and compares it against stored geographic regions for active reminders, achieving reliable location-based triggering while consuming energy only at these periodic intervals rather than continuously.
Solution Approach 2:
The system leverages the navigation system's existing location determination capabilities to serve the reminder function. Rather than implementing a separate continuous location monitoring system, the reminder manager utilizes the navigation system's self-generated location data, allowing the reminder subsystem to benefit from location information without bearing the full energy cost of continuous GPS monitoring.
3Measurement precision
If reminders are issued only when the vehicle enters a fixed geographic region, then the reminder is precisely targeted, but the system cannot adapt to situations where the exact location is unknown or variable
Solution Approach 1:
The geographic region definition is made universal by supporting multiple types: fixed coordinates for precise locations and polygonal regions for variable or approximate areas. This allows the same reminder system to handle both precisely known locations (fixed coordinates) and situations where the exact location is uncertain or covers an area (polygons), providing flexibility across different use cases without requiring separate systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter representation of geographic regions from fixed coordinates only to include both fixed coordinates and polygonal definitions. By allowing users to define regions as either precise point coordinates or as polygons with multiple vertices, the system can adapt to different levels of location precision needed, transforming the parameter structure to accommodate both precise and flexible location requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for managing location-aware reminders in an automobile includes monitoring a geographic location of the automobile using a computer system installed in the vehicle. The computer system detects that the automobile has entered a geographic region associated with a location-aware reminder and issues a reminder message associated with the location-aware reminder to a driver of the automobile based on the detecting.