Route Portals for GPS Navigation in Signal-Impaired Zones
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Solution Overview
Problem
GPS navigation systems often provide unnecessary off-route notifications and route recalculation when vehicles pass through areas like tunnels or stacked bridges, where GPS signal interference occurs, leading to erroneous positioning information.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system and method that utilizes designated 'portals' around problem areas, where GPS navigation temporarily suspends certain notifications and recalculations until the vehicle exits the area, using GPS coordinates to define portal regions and resume normal operation upon exiting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If GPS navigation continuously monitors position and provides off-route notifications, then navigation accuracy is improved, but false notifications occur in problem areas like tunnels and stacked bridges
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-loads portal information including GPS coordinates and problem area definitions into memory before navigation begins. This allows the GPS device to quickly determine whether it is in a problem area without real-time calculation delays, enabling immediate suppression of false notifications when entering such zones
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces portals as intermediary geographic regions that mediate between the GPS position and the notification system. When the GPS device determines it is within a portal (a problem area), the portal acts as an intermediary layer that suppresses the transmission of false off-route notifications, while still allowing legitimate navigation guidance to function
2Measurement precision
If GPS navigation provides continuous position tracking and recalculation, then route accuracy is improved, but system reliability deteriorates in areas with poor GPS signal reception
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-identifies and stores information about problem areas with poor GPS signal reception, including their GPS coordinates and boundaries. This preliminary preparation allows the navigation system to anticipate signal degradation zones and prepare appropriate responses, such as suppressing position-based notifications, before actually entering these unreliable areas
Solution Approach 2:
Portals serve as intermediary zones that buffer the impact of poor GPS signal reception. When the GPS device enters a portal, the portal's presence acts as an intermediary that decouples the relationship between position tracking errors and navigation reliability, preventing erroneous position data from triggering unreliable route recalculations
3Object-generated harmful factors
If GPS navigation suspends notifications when entering problem areas, then false notifications are reduced, but navigation responsiveness may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different notification behaviors to different geographic locations. Within portals (problem areas), notifications are suppressed to avoid false alerts. Outside portals, full notification functionality is restored. This local differentiation ensures that responsiveness is maintained in normal areas while false notifications are eliminated in problem areas
Solution Approach 2:
The GPS device continuously monitors its position relative to pre-loaded portal information, enabling rapid determination of whether it has entered or exited a problem area. This preliminary preparation of portal data and continuous position comparison ensures that notification suppression is applied immediately when appropriate, minimizing any delay in navigation responsiveness
Data Source
AI summary
The described method and system provide for utilizing portals during GPS navigation to avoid unnecessary off-route notifications and route recalculation in problem areas. The method and system are described in the context of a GPS unit that is part of a telematics unit in a vehicle. If the route calculated by the GPS unit includes certain problem areas such as tunnels and stacked bridges, the GPS unit may utilize portals to process GPS navigation through those areas. When a user enters a portal, normal GPS navigation is suspended and certain features are disabled. For example, the user will not longer receive Turn-by-Turn (TBT) directions, off-route notifications, error notifications, and route recalculation notifications, until the GPS unit determines that the user has arrived at a second portal or until the user manually re-enables those features. The portals should be preferably located at the inlets and outlets to the problem areas. Thus, while the user is in a problem area, errant GPS information may be discarded or ignored, and the provision of unnecessary off-route notifications and route recalculations to the user may be avoided.