Digital Road Map Versioning via Hash Chains
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Solution Overview
Problem
Managing different versions of digital road maps is labor-intensive and prone to errors, as existing methods require duplicating map versions and uploading changes sequentially, lacking flexibility and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A method for versioning digital road maps using incremental updates, where a base map is hashed to generate a version hash, and map difference bundles are linked to form a continuous version chain, allowing for flexible combination and management of different map versions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If map versions are duplicated and maintained separately to offer different maps for different clients, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity and loss of time increase due to high manual effort for managing multiple versions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple map versions into a single unified data structure where all versions share common base data. Instead of maintaining separate duplicated map files, the system combines multiple version histories into one consolidated map database that can serve different clients with different version requirements, thereby reducing management complexity while maintaining adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified map data structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it stores the current version, historical versions, and enables generation of differential updates. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate management systems for different map versions, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining the ability to provide customized maps to different clients.
2Loss of information
If complete map versions are uploaded regularly to ensure up-to-date information, then information freshness is improved, but loss of substance increases due to large data transmission volume
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the differential changes from the complete map data and transmits only these differences to update client devices. By separating the change information from the complete map dataset, the system maintains information freshness while dramatically reducing the volume of data that needs to be transmitted and stored.
Solution Approach 2:
The map update process is segmented into base map data and differential update data. The system divides the update transmission into hierarchical layers: core base map structure remains static, while only the differential bundles containing specific changes are transmitted. This segmentation allows efficient bandwidth utilization while ensuring clients receive up-to-date map information.
3Reliability
If map difference bundles are uploaded sequentially to maintain version integrity, then reliability is improved, but productivity decreases due to inability to upload selective changes to different versions simultaneously
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic update system where the sequential upload constraint is replaced with flexible, on-demand application of differential bundles. The system dynamically determines which version a client should have and applies only the necessary differential bundles to reach that version, allowing parallel processing and selective updates without compromising version integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary organization of differential bundles during map creation, pre-calculating and storing all necessary update bundles in an ordered sequence. This preliminary preparation enables clients to efficiently jump to any version by applying only the required subset of pre-organized bundles, dramatically improving update speed while maintaining reliability through the pre-established version sequence.
Data Source
AI summary
Incremental updates are used for versioning digital road maps. A base map is provide. A hash function is applied to the base map to generate a version hash of the base map. Map difference bundles are provided, a map difference bundle includes at least one individual change of a map feature. The digital road map is versioned by forming at least one continuous version chain, beginning with the base map. To generate a current map version, a map difference bundle to be applied is linked to the map version in the version chain before the current map version. For this the version hash of the previous map version and the map difference bundle to be applied are input into the hash function as input parameters to generate a version hash for the current map version.