Maplets for Real-Time Digital Map Updates
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing digital maps for autonomous vehicles and road networks are not updated in real-time, leading to inaccuracies and inefficiencies in navigation due to the lack of timely detection and communication of road changes and conditions.
Innovation Solution
A system that crowdsources data from sensors on vehicles to generate and transmit 'maplets' – standardized data packets containing real-time road information, which are then analyzed to update digital maps, ensuring accuracy and efficiency in bandwidth usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If digital maps are updated in real-time using crowdsourced sensor data from vehicles, then map accuracy and currency are improved, but network bandwidth consumption and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the digital map into discrete road segments, allowing selective updating of only those segments that have changed. This segmentation enables the system to transmit minimal data packets containing only the affected segment information rather than entire map updates, significantly reducing network bandwidth consumption while maintaining real-time accuracy for changed areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of data transmission from complete map data to differential updates containing only changed segment parameters. This parameter change approach allows the system to maintain high map accuracy by frequently updating specific segments while consuming minimal network bandwidth by transmitting only the necessary parameter changes rather than full map datasets.
2Measurement precision
If comprehensive sensor data is collected and transmitted from all vehicles, then map completeness and accuracy are improved, but data processing complexity and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential and changed information from comprehensive sensor data, focusing on specific road segment parameters that have changed. This extraction process filters out redundant data and transmits only the necessary information for map updates, reducing data processing complexity at both vehicle and server endpoints while maintaining map completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs partial data collection and transmission by focusing only on changed road segments rather than processing all sensor data from all vehicles. This partial action approach reduces computational complexity by processing only the necessary subset of data while still achieving complete and accurate map updates through coordinated inputs from multiple vehicles.
3Reliability
If map updates are performed frequently to reflect real-time road changes, then navigation reliability is improved, but energy consumption and processing overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic validation and updating of road segments based on detected changes rather than continuous updates. This periodic action allows the system to maintain high navigation reliability by updating maps when changes are detected while reducing energy consumption by avoiding unnecessary continuous processing and transmission of unchanged data.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses crowd-sourced sensor data from vehicles to automatically detect and report road changes, eliminating the need for dedicated survey vehicles or manual updates. This self-service approach maintains high navigation reliability through frequent real-time updates while minimizing energy consumption by leveraging existing vehicle sensors and infrastructure rather than deploying additional dedicated resources.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus is onboard a vehicle and in communication with sensors onboard the vehicle. The apparatus receives a maplet request identifying a request region; and, responsive to determining that the vehicle is within the request region, processes sensor data captured by sensors to generate a multi-sensor data stream corresponding to a road network segment. The apparatus identifies an observation corresponding to a road marking within the multi-sensor data stream; and generates a maplet based on the observation and the maplet request. Generating the maplet comprises using a predetermined data model and a predetermined data format corresponding to a road marking observation class to encode road data corresponding to the observation corresponding to the road marking. The apparatus provides the maplet such that a network apparatus receives the maplet. The network apparatus is configured to validate/update map data of a digital map representing the road network based on the maplet.