Navigation Device Route Avoidance Analysis

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current navigation devices do not effectively address the user's needs in planning routes that avoid undesirable locations, such as toll roads, congestion charging zones, and other restricted routes, especially when time-dependent costs and preferences change during a journey.

Innovation Solution

A navigation device that determines whether an onward route will inevitably lead to an undesirable location and provides options for route avoidance, using a processing section to analyze map data and cost data, including time-dependent information, to suggest alternative routes or waiting strategies that minimize costs.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If the navigation device provides comprehensive route analysis to avoid undesirable locations, then the user control and cost management are enhanced, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuser control and cost managementVSAvoiddevice complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The processing section acts as an intermediary between the map data storage and the output, automatically analyzing routes and determining whether they lead to undesirable locations. This intermediary component handles the complex analysis work, keeping the user interface simple while maintaining sophisticated route evaluation capabilities.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The device performs preliminary analysis of onward routes before presenting them to the user, determining in advance whether routes will inevitably lead to undesirable locations. This preliminary action allows the user to make informed decisions without having to manually analyze complex route options.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Measurement precision

If the navigation device analyzes time-dependent cost data to optimize routes, then the route planning accuracy is improved, but the processing time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveroute planning accuracyVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The processing section focuses its analysis on specific criteria relevant to avoiding undesirable locations, such as toll roads and congestion charging zones, rather than evaluating all possible route attributes. This partial action approach maintains accuracy for the specific purpose while reducing overall processing time.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Loss of information

If the navigation device provides detailed warnings about undesirable locations, then the information completeness is improved, but the information overload increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinformation completenessVSAvoidinformation overload
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The output is tailored to provide information specifically about undesirable locations and route avoidance, rather than presenting all possible route information. This local quality approach ensures that the information provided is complete for the specific purpose of avoiding undesirable locations without overwhelming the user with unnecessary details.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP2585795B1Navigation device&method
Publication Date: 2019.02.20 TOMTOM NAVIGATION BV
  • EP2585795B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP2585795B1 patent drawingFigure 3
  • EP2585795B1 patent drawingFigure 4a~4b

AI summary

A navigation device that can access map data and avoidance data, the avoidance data including information for identifying undesirable locations, receive location information representing a geographical location and direction of travel in relation to the map data; and establish, based on the location information and map data, whether the geographical location and direction of travel approach a navigation decision point having a plurality of navigation choices, where each navigation choice corresponds to an onward route leaving the navigation decision point; determine, based on the map data and avoidance data, for at least one onward route leaving the navigation decision point, whether the onward route unavoidably includes an undesirable location; and provide result information to the output section based, at least in part, on the determination.