Multi-Vehicle GPS Coordination for Dynamic Route Reunion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current automotive navigation systems and path-planning algorithms struggle to efficiently coordinate multiple vehicles traveling together, especially in dense traffic conditions, leading to separation and delays as vehicles lose track of each other.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that generates a travel group by syncing GPS applications, allowing real-time tracking and optimization of routes based on traffic and weather data, enabling vehicles to dynamically adjust their courses to reunite and arrive at a destination together without waiting for lost members.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If multiple vehicles travel independently using separate GPS applications, then each vehicle can navigate efficiently to the destination, but the vehicles may become separated and lose track of each other in dense traffic conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple independent GPS applications into a unified travel group system where vehicles share location data and coordinate movements. The system merges individual navigation functions with group coordination capabilities, allowing vehicles to maintain both efficient individual routing and reliable group coordination through real-time position sharing and synchronized route adjustments.
2Reliability
If vehicles wait for lost members to maintain group integrity, then coordination is maintained, but overall travel time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts group coordination strategies based on real-time conditions. When vehicles become separated, the system calculates optimized reunion points and timing that minimize overall travel time rather than enforcing rigid waiting. The coordination mechanism adapts continuously, allowing the group to maintain reliability through flexible, time-optimized reunion strategies rather than static waiting protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary calculations of optimized reunion points and timing before vehicles become significantly separated. By proactively determining reunion strategies based on current positions and predicted trajectories, the system prevents excessive separation and reduces the time needed for regrouping, thereby maintaining both coordination reliability and travel efficiency.
3Measurement precision
If GPS applications sync travel group members automatically, then real-time tracking is achieved, but the system complexity increases due to continuous data synchronization requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal synchronization protocol that serves multiple functions: real-time location tracking, collision avoidance, optimized reunion calculation, and coordinated routing. This multi-functional approach reduces overall system complexity by consolidating what could be separate complex subsystems into a single unified synchronization mechanism that handles all coordination tasks through standardized data exchange.
4Loss of time
If the system calculates optimized courses for separated subgroups based on real-time data, then reunion timing is optimized, but the computational requirements and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies partial optimization by focusing computational resources on calculating reunion strategies only when vehicles become separated beyond a threshold distance. Rather than continuously optimizing routes for all vehicles, the system activates intensive calculations only when needed, balancing computational complexity with reunion efficiency by applying optimization actions selectively rather than universally.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments describe an approach for coordinating the travel of multiple vehicles traveling to a target destination, the embodiments describe generating a travel group, receiving travel group parameters from travel group members, synced GPS applications, and a weather application, generating a course of travel for the travel group members to reach a destination, and tracking each travel group member according to locations identified by the synced GPS applications. Additionally, embodiments describe determining that a subgroup of the travel group is no longer traveling within a pre-determined range of other travel group members; calculating an optimized course of travel for the subgroup to reunite with the other travel group members, adjusting the course of travel to include the optimized course of action for the subgroup, and causing each GPS application to direct the subgroup to travel according to the optimized course of travel.