摘要:
An aided inertial navigation system and method for navigating a mobile object having constraints comprising an inertial measurement unit, a processor, and an error correction device. The inertial measurement unit provides acceleration data and/or angular velocity data of the mobile object. The processor is adapted to receive the acceleration data and/or angular velocity data, and to provide output data with position output indicative of position of the mobile object. The error correction device receives as input, state and dynamics information and auxiliary input data including map information associated with the path, speed data, wheel-angle data and discrete data. The error correction device provides as output, state corrections to the processor that enhance accuracy of the position output. The state corrections are used by the processor to estimate position of the mobile object based on the constraints to the mobile object and the map information associated with the path.
摘要:
A location of interest is received by a server, and a buffer zone is determined surrounding that location. Real-time spatial events may be continually updated in one or more GIS databases. The database entries may be software spatial objects, which consist of the location and supplemental information pertaining to each event. All locations that are related to a spatial event may be listed in a relationship table. The location of interest is used to query the relationship table for events occurring within the location's buffer zone, and therefore affecting the location.
摘要:
A navigation system with decryption functions. The navigation system may receive from a portable data storage medium an encrypted authentication key, an encrypted first portion of a geographic database, and an unencrypted second portion of the geographic database. The navigation system may then decrypt the encrypted authentication key so as to gain access to a set of verification information and to a decryption key for decryption of the encrypted first portion. The navigation system may then use the verification information to validate use of the database, such as by ensuring that the data storage medium is authorized to hold the database or that the navigation system is authorized to access the database. In turn, the navigation system may then use the decryption key to decrypt the encrypted first portion, so as to gain access to the database as a whole. The navigation system may then use information in the database to convert location coordinates into map information for presentation to a user. Also disclosed is a secure geographic database for use with a navigation system.
摘要:
A travel controlling apparatus of an unmanned vehicle provided with a GPS receiver (13) receiving a GPS signal so as to position a position of a vehicle, an autonomous navigation computing device (14) positioning a position and an azimuth of the vehicle on the basis of a traveling direction and distance of the vehicle, a position measuring portion (11) calculating a present position and azimuth, and a travel controlling portion (17) controlling the vehicle travel. The travel controlling apparatus is provided with a roadside zone distance measuring device (15) for measuring a distance from the vehicle to a roadside zone (5) provided in a side of the traveling path (4), and the present position and azimuth is determined on the basis of the roadside zone distance measured by the roadside zone distance measuring device (15).
摘要:
An advance notification system notifies users of the impending arrival of a vehicle, for example, an overnight package delivery vehicle, at a particular vehicle stop. The system generally includes an on-board vehicle control unit (VCU) for each vehicle and a base station control unit (BSCU) for sending messages to user computers in order to inform the users when the vehicle resides at a certain predefined time period, distance, prior stop, and/or location point from the vehicle stop. Moreover, vehicle tracking, the BSCU, a computer network (e.g., the Internet), and software located on a user computer may be combined in a plurality of configurations for launching and communicating a message of the impending arrival of a particular vehicle before it arrives. Significantly, the computer message is to advise of the impending arrival and preferably will exhibit a distinctive display and/or sound on the recipient computer so that the recipient is informed of the message. The VCU sends vehicle location and/or stop information to the BSCU, the BSCU compares the vehicle route stop list with route management software, then determines when to send an impending arrival message by preferences, normally chosen by the system operator or a user preparing to receive the advance notification message. The user computer displays information associated with the impending arrival of a vehicle in the form of the name of the vehicle, when the vehicle has finished a previous delivery, the miles before a stop, the time before arriving, and/or an actual location of a vehicle when a vehicle reaches a certain point/place. Additionally, other addressable communication devices could be used in place of or in addition to the computer message, such as personal pagers, mobile telephones, television box descramblers, etc. Users may also contact the computer site and/or computer address for impending arrival information.
摘要:
Notification methods and systems are provided. One such method, among others, can be broadly summarized by the following steps: enabling a user to define at least two communications methods for receiving notifications relating to travel of a mobile thing; enabling a user to define one or more criteria when each communications method should be used as opposed to one or more others; monitoring travel data associated with the mobile thing; and providing a notification using one or more of the communications methods, based upon the criteria. A notification system, among others, would have a mechanism for performing each of the foregoing steps.
摘要:
A survey system and method for determining the best source of position data for a particular application. The system includes both an optical unit and a satellite positioning system (SATPS) unit for obtaining position data. The optical unit includes a theodolite and an electronic distance meter for determining the position of a rover unit. The SATPS unit includes a SATPS antenna and a SATPS receiver for receiving signals from satellites of the SATPS and a radio for coupling the received signals to the rover unit. The present invention automatically determines the best source of position data. The best source of position data is then used to calculate the position of the rover unit.
摘要:
A receiver that uses a single processor to control a GPS sub-system and an inertial (“INS”) sub-system and, through software integration, shares GPS and INS position and covariance information between the sub-systems. The receiver time tags the INS measurement data using a counter that is slaved to GPS time, and the receiver then uses separate INS and GPS filters to produce GPS and INS position information that is synchronized in time. The GPS/INS receiver utilizes GPS position and associated covariance information in the updating of an INS Kalman filter, which provides updated system error information that is used in propagating inertial position, velocity and attitude. Whenever the receiver is stationary after initial movement, the INS sub-system performs “zero-velocity updates,” to more accurately compensate in the Kalman filter for component measurement biases and measurement noise. Further, if the receiver loses GPS satellite signals, the receiver utilizes the inertial position, velocity and covariance information provided by the Kalman filter in the GPS filters, to speed up GPS satellite signal re-acquisition and associated ambiguity resolution operations.
摘要:
A reporting program and system whereby end users of navigation systems, or other computing platforms that use geographic data to obtain navigation-related or map-related services, can make reports about the geographic data. The reporting program can be used by end users to report perceived errors or inaccuracies in the geographic data. The end users can use their own personal computers, or other computing devices, to access the reporting program over a network, such as the Internet. When an end user accesses the reporting program, the reporting program provides a graphical map image to the end user on the end user's computing platform. The reporting program allows the end user to zoom and pan the graphical map image in order to display an image of the area about which the end user wishes to make a report. When the area about which the end user wishes to make a report is displayed on the end user's display screen, the reporting program allows the end user to mark up the graphical map image to illustrate a change. The reporting program also allows the end user to include text to describe a change. The reporting program captures the end user's graphical and text input as a report that is used to update or check the geographic database, as appropriate.
摘要:
A method and apparatus are provided for estimating an impedance through a node at an intersection between roads in a roadway network. The impedance may be measured in time or distance, for example. Characteristic information describes at least one feature of the intersecting roads. One or more pieces of characteristic information may impact the impedance of traffic through an intersection and are used to estimate the impedance through the node. Examples of characteristic information are speed information, road-type, network routing level, intersection angle information, one-way, and cross traffic turn information. An impedance factor, or a cost, is assigned to each piece of characteristic information. The cost may be positive if the characteristic information adds impedance to the node, or negative if the characteristic information subtracts impedance from the node.