Vehicle On-Board Equipment Map Matching for Position Accuracy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current route usage evaluation schemes, particularly in road user charging, face challenges in accurately determining whether a vehicle is within a territory due to GPS errors, leading to revenue loss and user confusion, especially in urban environments where GPS accuracy is compromised.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of vehicle on-board equipment (OBE) that uses a readiness zone with stored maps to accurately determine vehicle position by matching position data with map vectors, eliminating the need for large buffer zones and costly infrastructure, and combining satellite signals with directional sensors for enhanced accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If GPS-type systems are used to determine vehicle position, then infrastructure costs are reduced, but measurement precision deteriorates due to GPS errors especially in urban environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines GPS satellite positioning with map matching technology, merging two positioning approaches to compensate for their respective weaknesses. The map matching component corrects GPS errors by constraining the vehicle position to valid road locations, thereby maintaining low infrastructure costs while improving position accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces map data as an intermediary element between the GPS receiver and the final position determination. The map matching process acts as a mediator that filters and corrects GPS positions, using road network geometry to resolve ambiguities and errors in urban canyons where GPS signals are compromised.
2Measurement precision
If large buffer zones are implemented to account for GPS errors, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and infrastructure requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the approach from using spatial buffer zones to using map-based constraints. Instead of expanding the acceptable position area, the system constrains positions to valid road segments defined in the map database, achieving precision without increasing spatial complexity or infrastructure requirements.
3Measurement precision
If beacon-based systems with roadside infrastructure are used, then measurement precision is improved, but infrastructure costs and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses map data as a virtual copy of the road network to constrain vehicle positioning. Instead of deploying physical beacons along roads, the system creates a digital representation of the road geometry that serves the same function of defining valid positions, thereby achieving precision without physical infrastructure deployment.
Data Source
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AI summary
Vehicle on-board equipment implementing at least one route usage evaluation scheme having a territory with a surrounding border in use, including: vehicle position means configured to provide vehicle position data; map storage configured to hold one or more maps; and map matching means configured to receive data from the vehicle position means and the map storage and to match the vehicle position data to the map and thereby determine whether the vehicle is within the territory; wherein the map storage is configured to hold at least one map in the form of information corresponding only to routes within a readiness zone extending along the territory border.