Off-board Navigation Voice Prompts for Mobile Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile devices with resource limitations, such as cellular phones, face challenges in providing real-time voice-prompted turn-by-turn navigation due to limited memory and bandwidth constraints, making it difficult to store and process map data and voice pronunciations, and accurately determine initial route points with single GPS sensors.
Innovation Solution
A system that requests and receives audio navigation voice prompts from a remote client/server system in standardized audio formats, using route snapshots to optimize data transmission and storage, allowing for deterministic resource allocation and accurate navigation computations, even with limited resources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If voice data is obtained from a remote server over a wireless channel, then navigation functionality is enabled on resource-limited devices, but bandwidth consumption increases and costs rise
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-calculates and pre-transfers voice prompt data to the mobile device before navigation is needed. The server generates complete route information including all voice prompts in advance, and transfers them in a single batch operation, eliminating the need for real-time data retrieval during navigation.
Solution Approach 2:
The navigation data is segmented into discrete voice prompt files that can be individually processed and stored. Each voice prompt is treated as an independent unit that can be cached separately, allowing the device to store only the specific segments needed for the current route rather than entire voice databases.
2Measurement precision
If map data and voice pronunciations are stored locally on the mobile device, then navigation accuracy is maintained, but memory requirements exceed device capabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential navigation data needed for accurate positioning and routing from the complete map database. This includes selecting specific road segments, intersections, and navigation points that are relevant to the current route, while excluding unnecessary map data to reduce memory requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of storing complete map databases, the system creates simplified copies of map data that contain only the geometric and topological information necessary for navigation calculations. These compressed representations maintain navigation accuracy while occupying minimal device memory.
3Loss of energy
If real-time voice synthesis is performed on the mobile device, then bandwidth usage is reduced, but processing resources are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The server acts as an intermediary that performs the computationally intensive voice synthesis operations remotely. The server receives route information, generates the appropriate voice prompts using its powerful processing resources, and transfers the synthesized audio files to the mobile device, which then simply plays them without needing sophisticated text-to-speech capabilities.
4Reliability
If complete route information is transferred from the server, then navigation reliability is improved, but transmission time and bandwidth costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary data transfer by sending the complete route package including all voice prompts and map data before the user begins navigation. This upfront transfer ensures all necessary information is available offline for the entire journey, improving reliability while the single-batch approach minimizes total transmission time compared to incremental loading.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is directed to a method and system for providing off-board navigational information from a network server to a mobile communication device, such as a cellular phone. Specifically, upon receiving from the mobile communication device the real time location of the mobile communication device and a location or identification of a destination, the network server transmits to the mobile communication device routing information as well as audible navigation voice prompts. In accordance with the preferred embodiment, the routing information includes maneuver information for traveling from the real location of the mobile communication device to the destination, and the audible navigation voice prompts provide data for generating audible turn-by-turn instructions for traveling from the real time location of the mobile communication device to the destination.