Information Processing Device for Road Width Calculation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for calculating road and sidewalk widths require center line data, limiting the ability to individually determine widths necessary for navigation and pedestrian passage.

Innovation Solution

An information processing apparatus and method that calculates road and sidewalk widths using terrain data, such as polygon data and polylines, without relying on center line data, by processing terrain data to extract relevant coordinates and calculate widths based on positional relationships between nodes.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If road center line data is used to calculate road width, then the width calculation can be performed, but the roadway width and sidewalk width cannot be calculated individually

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvewidth measurement capabilityVSAvoidindividual width information
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the road boundary data into distinct components: roadway boundaries and sidewalk boundaries. By processing terrain data to identify separate boundary lines for the roadway and sidewalk, the system can calculate individual widths for each component rather than treating them as a single combined entity, thus resolving the contradiction between achieving width measurement and preserving individual width information

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent extracts roadway width and sidewalk width as separate measurable quantities from the terrain data. By isolating the boundary definitions of each component and calculating their respective distances from reference points, the system extracts individual width information that would otherwise be lost when using center line data alone

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Measurement precision

If center line data is required for width calculation, then width information can be obtained, but the method cannot reflect changes in road shapes or structures quickly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvewidth information accuracyVSAvoidresponse to road changes
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary processing of terrain data to establish boundary definitions and width calculation methodologies before actual width measurements are needed. By pre-processing the terrain data to identify roadway and sidewalk boundaries and storing this processed information, the system can quickly reflect changes in road shapes or structures without requiring re-processing of raw data, thus improving productivity while maintaining measurement precision

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP3944215B1Information processing device, method, and program
Publication Date: 2024.04.17 NIPPON TELEGRAPH & TELEPHONE CORP
  • EP3944215B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3944215B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP3944215B1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

According to one aspect, an information processing apparatus includes: a terrain data processing unit which performs a terrain data process of calculating a terrain coordinate group based on terrain data in which a position and a shape of an object are represented by a plurality of nodes or are represented by a plurality of nodes and a link between the nodes; and a selection processing unit which selects nodes adjacent or close to each other, indicated by the terrain coordinate group calculated by the terrain data processing unit, and selects a node suitable to calculate a width of the object from other nodes based on a positional relationship between the selected nodes and the other nodes.