Open Area Map Cost Grid for Pedestrian Routing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing navigation systems are inadequate for areas without defined paths, such as building floors and parks, as they fail to provide efficient routing due to confusion or lack of knowledge about the layout, leading to inefficient movement patterns.
Innovation Solution
An open area map is generated with an image of the layout and an array of spaced objects, where cost values are assigned to each object, enabling point-to-point routing based on these values, allowing for the creation of a routable floor plan by forming a grid of contiguous tiles and compiling separate spatial layers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional navigation systems are used in open areas without defined paths, then the system can provide basic routing functionality, but the routing efficiency is poor due to confusion and lack of knowledge about the layout
Solution Approach 1:
The open area is segmented into a grid of discrete cells, where each cell represents a navigable unit. This segmentation transforms the continuous open space into a structured representation that can be processed by routing algorithms, enabling efficient pathfinding while preserving spatial relationships and layout information.
Solution Approach 2:
A cost map is introduced as an intermediary data structure between the raw layout information and the routing algorithm. The cost map encodes navigability and movement costs for each cell, serving as a mediator that translates physical layout characteristics into quantitative parameters that guide efficient route calculation.
2Measurement precision
If a detailed grid map with cost values is created for every area, then routing precision improves, but the data processing complexity and memory requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by assigning different cost values to different cells based on their specific characteristics (e.g., walkability, terrain, obstacles). Each cell is evaluated and assigned costs locally according to its properties, rather than applying a uniform cost structure, which maintains routing precision while allowing efficient processing through localized decision-making.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses parameter changes by varying the cost values assigned to different cells to reflect changing navigability conditions. This allows the routing algorithm to adapt to different areas of the open space dynamically, achieving high routing precision through parameter variation rather than through complex structural changes in the data representation.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Open area maps as well as related systems and methods are disclosed. For example, an open area map includes an image of a layout corresponding to a real-world area in which pedestrians walk about. An array is associated with the image. The array includes a plurality of spaced objects. A cost value is designated to each of the spaced objects. The open area map is configured for point-to-point routing based, in part, on the designation of the cost values.