Data Mining in a Digital Map Database to Identify Unusually Narrow Lanes or Roads and Enabling Precautionary Actions in a Vehicle

[0001] This application is a continuation under 37 C.F.R. §1.53(b) of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/156,299 filed May 30, 2008 (Attorney Docket No. 10171/12041AUS (NC58206US)) now U.S. Pat. No. ______, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. The present patent application is related to patent application Ser. No. 12/156,264, filed on May 30, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. ______, entitled “DATA MINING TO IDENTIFY LOCATIONS OF POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS FOR VEHICLE OPERATION AND USE THEREOF,” Attorney Docket No. NO260US, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

[0002] The present invention relates to a method and system that enables taking a precautionary action in a vehicle, such as providing a warning to a vehicle driver about a potentially difficult or hazardous driving condition on the road network.

[0003] Advanced driver assistance systems (“ADAS”), including active safety and fuel economy systems, have been developed to improve the comfort, efficiency, safety, and overall satisfaction of driving. Examples of these advanced driver assistance systems include adaptive headlight aiming, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and control, curve warning, speed limit notification, hazard warning, predictive cruise control, and adaptive shift control, as well as others. Some of these advanced driver assistance systems use a variety of sensor mechanisms in the vehicle to determine the current state of the vehicle and the current state of the roadway in front of the vehicle. These sensor mechanisms may include radar, infrared, ultrasonic and vision-oriented sensors, such as digital video cameras and lidar. Some advanced driver assistance systems also use digital map data. Digital map data can be used in advanced driver assistance systems to provide information about the road network, road geometry, road conditions and other items associated with the road and terrain around the vehicle. Digital map data is not affected by environmental conditions, such as fog, rain or snow. In addition, digital map data can provide useful information that cannot reliably be provided by cameras or radar, such as curvature, grade, bank, speed limits that are not indicated by signage, traffic and lane restrictions, etc. Further, digital map data can provide a predictive capability well beyond the range of other sensors or even beyond the driver's vision to determine the road ahead of the vehicle, around corners, over hills or beyond obstructions. Accordingly, digital map data can be a useful addition for some advanced driver assistance systems.

[0004] Although these kinds of systems provide useful features, there exists room for further improvements. For example, it would be useful to identify locations on the road network where a relatively high number of traffic accidents have occurred. However, statistics pertaining to accidents are maintained by various different administrative entities that use different formats, standards, reporting methods, reporting periods, etc. Accordingly, it is difficult to obtain consistent information about traffic accidents on roads in a large geographic region, such as the entire United States or Europe. Moreover, data indicating locations where a statistically large number of traffic accidents occur may not indicate the causes of the accidents or how accidents can be avoided.

[0005] Accordingly, it is an objective to provide a system that facilitates taking a precautionary action in a vehicle, such as providing a warning to a vehicle operator, when approaching a location where accidents may occur.

[0006] To address these and other objectives, the present invention comprises a feature that enables taking a precautionary action in a vehicle as the vehicle approaches the location of an unusually narrow lane or road section. The precautionary action may be a warning message provided to the vehicle driver to alert the vehicle driver about the unusually narrow lane or road section so that the vehicle driver can pay extra attention. Alternatively, the precautionary action may be an actual modification of the operation or control of the vehicle, such as braking, accelerating, or maneuvering the vehicle, or activating a sensor. Alternatively, the precautionary action may be providing an input to an algorithm that also processes inputs from other sensors for taking such actions. In another alternative, the precautionary action may include a combination of any of these aforementioned actions.

[0007] According to another aspect, a database that represents the road network is used to determine locations where there are unusually narrow lanes or road sections. Then, precautionary action data is added to the database to indicate each location at which a precautionary action is to be provided about an unusually narrow lane or road section.

[0008] According to further aspects, a precautionary action system installed in a vehicle uses this database, or a database derived therefrom, in combination with a positioning system, to determine when the vehicle is at a location that corresponds to the location where a precautionary action should be taken. When the vehicle is at such a location, the precautionary action is taken, such as providing a warning to the vehicle operator, as the vehicle is approaching an unusually narrow lane or road section. Alternatively, the precautionary action may consist of an actual modification of the operation or control of the vehicle, such as braking, accelerating, or maneuvering the vehicle, or activating a sensor. Alternatively, the precautionary action may include providing an input to an algorithm that also processes inputs from other sensors for taking such actions. Alternatively, the precautionary action may be an adjustment of sensitivities of other ADAS applications such as increasing the control authority and sensitivity of a lane departure warning or control system to lane edge approach and violation. In another alternative, the precautionary action may include a combination of any of these aforementioned actions.

[0016] FIG. 1A depicts a road segment 10. The road segment consists of a lane 12 and a lane 14. These lanes 12 and 14 are normal width for a road. For example, in the United States, a normal road width may be 12 feet.

[0017] FIG. 1B depicts a road segment 16 that consists of lanes 18 and 20. These lanes are narrower than the normal width lanes shown in FIG. 1A. These narrow lanes 18 and 20 may be 10 feet each, for example.

[0018] FIG. 1C depicts a road segment 30 that consists of lanes 32 and 34. These lanes are unusually narrow lanes. These lanes may be found where the geography limits the amount of room for a road, such as on a bridge, along a hillside or mountain side, etc. The lanes 32 and 34 are less than 10 feet each. For example, these lanes 32 and 34 may be 9 feet each.

[0019] In a database that includes data that represents the geographic features in a region, a data record is included to represent each road segment, i.e., that portion of road between adjacent intersections. The data record that represents a road segment includes data that indicates the number of lanes in the road segment and the width of the road segment and/or the width of each lane. The width may be provided for all road segments or lanes or may be provided for only road segments or lanes that vary from the standard. Also, the width may vary along the length of a road segment. If this is the case, data may be included that indicates the road or lane width as well as the location along the road segment to which the width applies and/or changes.

[0020] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a process 100. The process 100 is performed by a software program or routine that is run on a suitable computing platform, such as a database server, PC or plurality of PCs coupled together for parallel computing applications.

[0021] The process 100 uses a database 110 that contains data that represents the road network in a region. The region may be a country, such as the United States, Germany, France or Korea. Alternatively, the region may include several countries or an entire continent. According to another alternative, the region may include only a portion of a country, such as a state or several states or metropolitan areas.

[0022] The process 100 is performed by a map developer, such as NAVTEQ Corporation. Alternatively, the process 100 may be performed by another entity that has access to an editable version of a map database 110. For example, the process may be performed by a customer or licensee of NAVTEQ, such as a manufacturer of navigation systems or active safety systems, or by a traffic information services company or by a government office at any level.

[0023] The database 110 is in a format that can be edited. That is, new or updated information can be added to the database 110. Alternatively, the database 110 is in a format such that new information can be combined with the original data to form a new database that includes both the original data and new data. In one embodiment, the database is in an Oracle spatial format. Alternatively, the database may be in delivery format, such as GDF (Geographic Data File), SIF (Standard Interchange Format), or other formats, including proprietary formats.

[0024] As stated above, the database 110 contains data that represents the road network in the region. The database 110 contains information such as the locations (geographic coordinates, including altitude) of roads and intersections, road names, the three-dimensional shape of the roads including curvature, slope and bank, speed limits along roads, turn restrictions at intersections, addresses or address ranges along roads, the number of lanes each road has, lane width, lane markings, functional classes of roads, the locations of medians, and so on. The database may also contain information about other geographic features, such as bodies of water, parks, administrative areas (including municipal, state and country boundaries), and locations of points of interest, such as businesses, hospitals, police stations, and so on.

[0025] In FIG. 2, the process 100 examines each data record that represents a road segment (also referred to herein as a “link”) to determine whether it represents one similar to the road segment 30 in FIG. 1C. (The process 100 may use a procedure that examines in turn each data record that represents each road segment represented in the entire database.) In one step, a data record that represents a link or road segment is read from the database 110 (Step 130). This road segment record may include data that indicates the road width or lane width. This data is evaluated (Step 134). If the represented road segment indicates the road or lane is not narrower than standard, the process 100 proceeds to a step in which it is determined whether all the road segment records in the database have been examined (Steps 136 and 138). If there are more segment records to examine, the process 100 proceeds to get the next segment record (Step 130) and continues.

[0026] Referring back to Step 136, if the represented road segment is narrower than a standard road or lane, the process 100 proceeds to evaluate the data that indicates the road or lane width along the road segment to determine whether the road or lane is unusually narrow. More specifically, the process evaluates the road or lane width to determine if the road or lane is less than a threshold, e.g., 10 feet for a lane width. From an evaluation of the road or lane width relative to a predetermined threshold, it is determined whether there exists an unusually narrow road or lane (such as the lanes 32 and 34 in FIG. 1C). If examination of the segment's road or lane width indicates that the road or lane is not below the threshold, the process 100 proceeds to the step in which it is determined whether all the road segment records in the database have been examined (Steps 150 and 138) and if there are more segment records to examine, the process 100 proceeds to get the next segment record (Step 130).

[0027] Referring back to Step 150, if examination of the segment's road or lane width indicates that the road or lane is below the threshold, the process 100 adds precautionary action data 160 to the database 110 (Step 156). The precautionary action data 160 indicates the presence of a feature in the road network where a precautionary action may be taken.

[0028] After the precautionary action data 160 is added to the database 110, the process 100 proceeds to the step in which it is determined whether all the road segment records in the database have been examined (Step 138) and if there are more segment records to examine, the process 100 proceeds to get the next segment record (Step 130).

[0029] The process 100 ends when it is determined whether all the road segment records have been examined (Step 138).

[0030] It is noted that the process 100, above, performs a data mining function. The existence of the potentially difficult location, i.e., an unusually narrow road or lane along a road, is derived from data already collected and present in the database. It is noted that the process 100, above, evaluates multiple data items in the original database, to determine whether the condition exists, in this case, a road or lane along a road that has a width below a threshold. By evaluating these multiple data items, a determination is made whether these data items describe the condition of interest. If these data items do describe the condition, a new data item, i.e., the precautionary action data, is added to the database.

[0031] The above process for determining whether an unusually narrow road or lane exists along a road can take into account other factors, such as speed limits, road surface, the presence and type of shoulders, and so on. According to this alternative, the threshold may take into account the speed limit along the road segment (which is also stored as data in the database 110.)

[0032] FIG. 3 is a diagram that shows a data record 200 in the database 110. The data record 200 represents a road segment located in a geographic region. As explained above, the geographic region may include an entire country or continent. Accordingly, the database 110 includes many data records like the one shown in FIG. 3.

[0033] The data record 200 shown in FIG. 3 is exemplary and shows only one way to represent a road segment. Databases may represent road segments in various different ways and may include different kinds of information. The present invention is not limited to any particular way of representing roads.

[0034] Referring to FIG. 3, various data are associated with the data record 200 that represents a road segment. This various data indicates features or attributes of the represented road segment. For example, associated with the data record is data that indicates the permitted direction(s) of travel. Also associated with the road segment record 200 are data that indicate a speed limit, a classification of the road segment (i.e., the type of road, such as controlled access, etc.), a rank (e.g., 1-4), the endpoints of the road segment, shape points (i.e., locations along the road segment between its endpoints). Also associated with the road segment records is data that indicate the successors at each endpoint. Successors are those road segments that connect to the represented road segment at each of its endpoints. The segment record 200 may identify these successors by reference to the data records that represent the successors.

[0035] In FIG. 3, the database 110 also includes precautionary action data 160. The precautionary action data 160 is the data added to the database 110 by the process 100 in FIG. 2. In FIG. 3, the precautionary action data 160 is shown as added to the road segment record 200. It should be understood that the process 100 adds precautionary action data 160 with respect to only certain records, i.e., records that represent those roads segments that meet the conditions identified by the process. Accordingly, the database 110 will contain data records that represent road segments that contain the precautionary action data 160 and other data records that represent road segments that do not contain the precautionary action data 160.

[0036] In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the precautionary action data 160 is associated with the road segment identified as having an unusually narrow road or lane. In this embodiment, the precautionary action data 160 includes several components. One component 160(1) indicates a condition type. This condition type 160(1) indicates the type of condition about which a precautionary action is to be taken, which in this case is an unusually narrow road or lane along a road. This condition type 160(1) component is used when different conditions are identified in the database 110 about which precautionary action may be taken.

[0037] Another component of the precautionary action data 160 is the precautionary action location 160(2). The precautionary action location 160(2) indicates where along the represented road segment a precautionary action may be taken. The precautionary action location 160(2) data may include multiple entries. For example, the precautionary action location 160(2) may indicate where a warning may be provided to a vehicle driver to advise the driver about the upcoming condition, i.e., the unusually narrow road or lane along a road. In the case of an unusually narrow road or lane along a road, the warning location 160(2) may indicate a distance (e.g., x meters) from the narrow road or lane. The location 160(2) is determined based on an analysis of factors, such as the superelevation, curvature, the change of curvature, the speed limit along the represented road segment, the road classification, and possibly other factors. These factors may be determined from other data contained in the database 110. According to one example, the location 160(2) may indicate that a warning should be provided at a location 400 meters along the road segment from the narrow road or lane.

[0038] The precautionary action location 160(2) may also indicate where a vehicle control action should be taken, such as tightening the seatbelts, pre-loading or engaging the brakes, tightening sensitivities of lane departure warning systems or stability control systems, etc. This may be a different location from where the precautionary warning is provided and would be based on a different analysis of factors.

[0039] Another component of the precautionary action data 160 is direction data 160(3). The direction data 160(3) indicates the direction along the represented road segment where the precautionary action should be taken. In this case, the direction data 160(3) may indicate both directions. (Note that the database 110 may indicate a direction along a road segment as positive or negative based on the relative latitude and longitude of the road segment endpoints.)

[0040] Another component of the precautionary action data 160 is a reference 160(4). In this case, the reference 160(4) indicates the location of an unusually narrow road or lane along the road. The reference 160(4) refers to shape points that represent the narrow portions of the road.

[0041] The precautionary action data 160 described in FIG. 3 is one way that this data may be included in a database that represents a geographic region. There are alternative ways to include the precautionary action data. For example, the precautionary action data may be included as separate data records in the database 110. If included as separate data records, the precautionary action data may be associated with the road segments to which they apply by pointers or other suitable data references. Alternatively, the precautionary action data may be associated with node data records, instead of the road segments leading to the intersections. Various other ways exist and the present invention is not intended to be restricted to any specific implementation.

[0042] FIG. 4 is a diagram depicting components of a vehicle 300. The vehicle 300 is operated on a road network, such as the road network represented by the database 110 in FIG. 2. The vehicle 300 may be an automobile, truck, bicycle, motorcycle, etc.

[0043] The vehicle 300 includes systems 310. In this embodiment, the vehicle systems 310 include a positioning system 320. The positioning system 320 determines the position of the vehicle 300 on the road network. The positioning system 320 includes appropriate hardware and software to determine the position of the vehicle 300. For example, the positioning system may include hardware 322 that includes a GPS unit, an accelerometer, wheel speed sensors, etc. The positioning system 320 also includes a positioning application 324. The positioning application 324 is a software application that uses outputs from the positioning system hardware 322 and information from a map database 330. The positioning application 324 determines the position of the vehicle 300 with respect to the road network, including the location of the vehicle 300 along a road segment and a direction of travel of the vehicle along the road segment.

[0044] In one embodiment, the map database 330 is located in the vehicle. In an alternative embodiment, the map database 330 may be located remotely and accessed by the vehicle systems 310 using a wireless communication system. In yet another embodiment, part of the map database 330 may be located locally in the vehicle and part of the map database 330 may be located remotely.

[0045] The map database 330 is stored on a computer readable medium 334. The computer-readable medium may be implemented using any suitable technology. For example, the computer readable medium may be a DVD disk, a CD-ROM disk, a hard disk, flash memory, or any other medium, or a plurality of media.

[0046] The map database 330 includes data that represents the geographic region in which the vehicle 300 is being operated. The map database 330 may represent the same geographic region as the database 110 in FIG. 2, or alternatively, the map database 330 may represent only a portion of the region represented by the database 110.

[0047] The map database 330 used by the vehicle systems 310 may be in a different format from the database 110 in FIG. 2. The map database 330 is formed or derived from the database 110 by a compilation process that organizes and presents the data in a form and format that specifically facilitates its use for performing specific functions. For example, the map database 330 may be separated into different collections of data that are used for specific functions, such as vehicle positioning, route calculation, map display, route guidance, destination selection, and so on. The map database 330 may also be organized into groupings spatially. One kind of compiled database format is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,968,109, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. Various other compiled database formats exist, including proprietary formats, and the disclosed embodiment(s) are not limited to any particular format.

[0048] Included among the vehicle systems 310 in FIG. 4 is a navigation system 340. The navigation system 340 uses outputs from the positioning system 320 and data from the map database 330 to provide navigation-related features to a vehicle user, e.g., the vehicle operator or passenger. The navigation system 340 includes applications for route calculation 344, map display 346, as well as possibly other applications. The navigation system 340 provides the navigation-related features to the vehicle user via a user interface 354. (The navigation system 340 is optional and may be omitted.)

[0049] Also included among the vehicle systems 310 is a precautionary action application 350. The precautionary action application 350 uses outputs from the positioning system 320 and data from the map database 330 to take precautionary actions, such as provide warnings to the vehicle operator. The precautionary action application 350 provides the warning to the vehicle operator via the user interface 354.

[0050] FIG. 4 also shows that precautionary action application 350 provides an output to vehicle control systems and actuator 356. The vehicle control systems and actuator are operatively connected to various vehicle mechanical systems, such as the vehicle's brakes 356(1), engine 356(2), seatbelts (including tensioners) 356(3), airbags 356(4), stability control algorithms, as well as other system systems 356(5).

[0051] \FIG. 5 is a flowchart 400 showing operation of the precautionary action application 350 (in FIG. 4). As the vehicle 300 (in FIG. 4) is being operated on a road, the precautionary action application 350 obtains the current vehicle position from the positioning system 320 (Step 410). (During vehicle operation, the positioning system 320 continuously determines the current geographic position of the vehicle 300 as the vehicle is being operated using data from the map database 330.) The positioning system 320 provides the precautionary action application with data that indicates the current vehicle position with respect to the road network as represented by the map database 330. Specifically, the location of the vehicle along a road segment and the direction of travel of the vehicle along the road segment are determined and provided to the precautionary action application 350.

[0052] Next, the process 400 obtains data from the map database 300 that represents the geographic features (i.e., roads, intersections, etc.) at the current location of the vehicle and in the direction in which the vehicle is heading (Step 420). In one embodiment, an electronic horizon is used (Step 430). Building an electronic horizon and using it to provide warnings are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,405,128 and 6,735,515 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/400,151, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein. Using an electronic horizon and/or the inventions disclosed in these patents and pending patent application is optional and the disclosed process 400 is not limited to using the electronic horizon technology.

[0053] After obtaining data from the map database 300 that represents the geographic features at the current location of the vehicle and in the direction in which the vehicle is heading, the process 400 includes the step of examining the data to determine whether any precautionary action data (160 in FIG. 3) is associated with the represented geographic features (Step 440). If there is no precautionary action data associated with the represented geographic features, the process 400 loops back to get a new current vehicle position (Step 410). On the other hand, if there is precautionary action data associated with the represented geographic features, the process 400 takes a precautionary action (Step 450). The precautionary action may be a warning provided to the vehicle operator when the vehicle is at the location (i.e., 160(2) in FIG. 3) indicated by the precautionary action data. The warning may be provided via the user interface 354. The warning may be an audible warning message or a visual warning.

[0054] The precautionary action is not limited to warnings, but may also include other actions. For example, in the case of an unusually narrow road or lane along a road, vehicle systems 356, such as the brakes, engine or transmission, can be readied for a deceleration. In addition, the seatbelts may be tightened or the airbags set to deploy. As explained above, to facilitate these kinds of actions, additional information may be added to the warning data 160 (in FIG. 3) to indicate the type of action as well as the location where the action should be taken.

[0055] Referring still to FIG. 5, after taking the precautionary action, the process 400 loops back to get a new current vehicle position (Step 410).

Alternative with Dynamic Data

[0056] The process (400 in FIG. 5) was described as a way to use the precautionary action data that had been stored in the map database to take an appropriate action in a vehicle when the vehicle is at or is approaching a location identified as having a potentially hazardous condition. This process uses a positioning system and map database in the vehicle to determine when the vehicle is at or is approaching such a location. The process may also take into account dynamic information. Dynamic information may include current traffic and weather conditions, ambient light conditions, road conditions (e.g., ice), and so on. The vehicle may include systems to obtain such information. For example, the vehicle may have a traffic data receiver that obtains real-time traffic information, e.g., RDS-TMC messages. The process 400 may use the dynamic information in combination with the precautionary action data. For example, the process may modify the location at which a warning is provided. As an example, if weather conditions indicate that it is raining, the location at which a warning is provided to the vehicle driver about an unusually narrow road or lane along a road may be modified, i.e., adjusted to a point farther in advance of the location of the hazardous condition, in order to give the vehicle operator additional time or distance. The process may even take certain actions only under certain conditions. For example, a warning about an unusually narrow road or lane along a road may be provided only during nighttime hours or during inclement weather conditions.

[0057] The process (100 in FIG. 2) was described as a way to automatically examine records in a database that represent roads to identify locations or conditions along the road network where a precautionary action might be taken. According to the described process, data is then added to indicate the location where the precautionary action should be taken. Alternatively, instead of automatically adding the precautionary action data to the database, the locations where such conditions are identified could be marked on a temporary basis. Then, a geographic analyst (or other human operator) could review some or all such temporarily marked locations. The analyst may conduct this review by physically traveling to the locations or by reviewing satellite or aerial photographs of the locations, or video taken while driving by the locations (previously or subsequently acquired either by the analyst or others including members of the public). Based on the review, the analyst then determines whether precautionary action data should be added to the database.

[0058] It is intended that the foregoing detailed description be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting and that it is understood that the following claims including all equivalents are intended to define the scope of the invention.