The present application is related to application Ser. No. 11/217,638, filed Aug. 31, 2005, entitled “LOCATION SIGNPOSTING AND ORIENTATION,” and to application Ser. No. 10/998,081, filed Nov. 26, 2004, entitled “LOCATION AWARE MOBILE-DEVICE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT.”
The present subject matter relates to the field of computing, and more particularly, to software mapping.
Maps that do not have a linear mapping to real world space (latitude, longitude, and altitude, or other measurements in the physical world) are very common and useful, but can be difficult to use with generic software systems. Examples of such non-linear maps include: subway maps, ski-maps, industrial diagrams and infrastructure diagrams (e.g. maps of power grids, telecommunications grids and wide area transportation maps).
On such irregularly spaced non-linear maps, spaces get compressed, stretched, rotated, and otherwise distorted. The nature of these distortions also often varies within the map itself, with different regions of the map being distorted in different ways. For instance, one region may be stretched, another may be compressed, and still another region may be rotated—or a combination thereof—and so on.
Because these non-linear maps present an irregular representation of physical space, they are able to convey a great deal of useful information in a small display. However it is difficult to display real world location data on top of non-linear maps because the mapping from latitude, longitude, and altitude (or other physical world coordinate systems) to a position on such irregularly spaced maps is complex and irregular. At least two key difficulties arise: (1) the ability to map real-world locations onto the irregularly spaced maps, (2) the ability to map points on the irregularly spaced maps into physical world coordinates.
Certain techniques can be used for extrapolating the location of map-points on top of non-linear, irregularly spaced maps. Typically these techniques work by attempting to extrapolate location data from nearby points, but this can be complex, time consuming, and error-prone—particularly in systems where the map's data is irregularly spaced. Thus, it would be advantageous to provide other techniques that allow users to make the design-time and run-timeuse of non-linear mapping techniques that are fast, simple, and accessible to moderately skilled programmers and other individuals who are not experts in map-design, complex math or cartography.
Techniques are provided that allow for the designing and using of arbitrary maps, whether these maps may be linear or non-linear. By way of example and not limitation, a first map image and a second map image may be provided. In addition, a plurality of dual-triangles may be mapped onto the first map image and the second map image, where the plurality of dual-triangles have the same vertices in the second map image as in the first map image—yet these maps may be completely different. For instance, the first map image may be a linear street map and the second map image may be a non-linear subway map. Because any points that are converted from the first map image to the second map image (or vice versa) are converted symmetrically, such points will end up in the appropriate relation to the vertices of the dual-triangles.
In another aspect, at least one of the plurality of dual-triangles can be selected into a region to be converted from the first map image to the second map image. Such regions may help users and developers to hone in on best information-conveying maps (or portions thereof). Alternatively, such regions may also be used to exclude maps or portions thereof so that such regions are not be converted. In yet another aspect, the plurality of dual-triangles may also be subdivided into more sub-triangles or aggregated into more comprehensive triangles. Various other aspects are disclosed herein.
Thus, it should be noted, that this Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
The foregoing Summary, as well as the following Detailed Description, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. In order to illustrate the present disclosure, various aspects of the disclosure are shown. However, the disclosure is not limited to the specific aspects discussed. The following figures are included:
Aspects of Linear and Non-Linear Mapping
In one aspect of the presently disclosed subject matter,
For example, a non-linear subway map 104 may depict two people as points on the map 104, the first point being “Bob” 110 and the second point being “Julie” 112, where “Julie” 112 has a signpost pointing to her. “Bob” 110 and “Julie” 112 may want to meet at some point, and the way to accomplish this may be by taking a subway or a “tube”. If “Bob” 110 wants to meet “Julie” 112 he can take the appropriate train by examining the non-linear subway map 104. Once he's above ground, he may want to switch to a linear map 106.
In general terms, a user of such a non-linear map 104 may want to switch 100 to a linear map 106 depicting physical landmarks in linear proportionality to each other because such linear representation may be more intuitive in certain contexts. Thus, in the linear map 106, “Bob” 110 and “Julie” 112 are again depicted, but this time their location is shown on a linear scale, as opposed to a non-linear scale in the previous map 104.
Users, such as “Bob” 110, may want to switch back to a non-linear map after a while—even if the non-linear map has changed over time. Thus, in
This type of switching back and forth between linear and non-linear maps can be done indefinitely. And importantly, such switching may be done without any distortions as to the actual location of “Bob” 110 and “Julie” 112 on the linear and non-linear maps. As will be shown in more detail below, the present aspect of the disclosed subject matter overcomes distortions of points placed on maps that result from the eventual aggregation of errors associated with each switch between a linear and non-linear map—and vice versa.
In another aspect disclosed herein,
Thus, eventhough Bob 206 and Julie 204 may be at the exact same locations in the linear map 200 as the non-linear map 202, their positions relative to each other and relative to the maps may differ. For instance, in
Of course, as
This particular non-linear map 400 shows the London Underground “Tube” map. To illustrate the non-linear nature of this map 400, it is instructive to focus on a couple of stations illustrated therein. For example, “Oxford Circus” 402 is shown, as is “Tottenham Court Road” 404, “Weston Street” 406, and “Goodge Street” 408—the first three of these four stations define a triangle between them. From
For instance, T1502 has its vertices between “Russell Square,” “Holborn,” and “Chancery Lane.” T2504 has its vertices between “Holborn,” “Chancery Lane,” and “Mansion House,” and so on. Also, it should be noted, that even though T1502 and T2504 happen to be contiguous, they don't have to be—as can be seen in
Now, turning to
In a manner of speaking, these six triangles have a “dual” nature in that they can be mapped into a linear space and a non-linear space, even though their relative shape may differ in each space context. However, in one aspect of the presently disclosed subject matter, what remains the same in both contexts is the vertices of the triangles. Thus, as already mentioned, triangle T1602 in
Next,
The set of mapping triangles, exemplified by triangles 702 and 714, may have their vertices set at known locations, such as a “Tube” stations of the London Underground. The level of granularity of the vertices will be context and design dependent. For instance, triangles may be set every other tube stop or several vertices between any two tube stops may be used. Thus, the size and number of the triangles depicted in
For example,
The triangular mapping considered so far, in one aspect, can be one from a Cartesian X/Y plane of the non-linear map onto any real-world coordinates such as latitude and longitude (including altitude, if a third coordinate Z is included in the Cartesian space). For instance, if the conversion is from a linear map to a non-linear one, Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates can be used to construct a non-linear map (either a two dimensional flat map, a three dimensional spatial map, a four dimensional spatial map with a temporal component dimension, and so on).
Of course, various conversion techniques could be implemented here, where, for example, a set of linear-based triangles containing N triangles is converted to a non-linear setting, but where only half as many (N/2) triangles were mapped on the non-linear map. Or, vice versa, where twice as many triangles are mapped on the non-linear map, by using various interpolation techniques. The number of triangles used in
In another interesting aspect of the presently disclosed subject matter,
Thus, in
Aspects of a Technique for Conversion of (a) Linear to Non-Linear Mapping and (b) Non-Linear to Linear Mapping
Next,
In order to convert “Triangle 1” to “Triangle 2,” which persists in a linear domain, with latitude, longitude, and altitude coordinates (as opposed to the X and Y coordinates designated for the non-linear domain), several steps may be taken. If, for example, a point, “P1” is to be mapped from a non-linear map to a linear map, in Triangle 2, a first step may be the drawing of a vector from some vertex of Triangle 1 to P1 in Triangle 1. As
Once this vector is computed, in a second step, it is extrapolated to a side opposite of the aforementioned vertex. Thus, another vector is computed: V′A1P1. This vector will then intersect the side of Triangle 1 between vertices C1 and B1. Next, in a third step, a ratio is computed of the two vectors: VA1P1 to V′A1P1. Following this step, in a fourth step, a proportion or percentage is computed of the length of side C1P′ to B1P′, where P′ is the point of intersection of the aforementioned side. This, then, provides enough information to map point P1 into Triangle 2, which, as mentioned, persists in a linear domain.
In order to place P1 in the proper location vis-à-vis points A2, B2, and C2, which define Triangle 2, the following steps may be taken: first, in step 5 (to continue the progression of steps 1-4 considered so far), the proportion of the computed length of sides C1P′ to B1P′ is used to compute P2′, which now stands for the point of intersection between vertices B2 and C2 (this proportion was computed in step 4). Once P2′ is computed, the results computed in step 3, can be used in step 6.
In step 6, using the newly computed P2′ and the ratio of VA1P1 to V′A1P1, a newly computed vector VA2P2 can be computed. Once this vector is computed, all that is left to do, in step 7, is the computation P2 based on the results obtained from VA2P2 and from the location of A2. After the computation in step 7 is obtained, P2 is found. And this location of P2 in Triangle 2 represents where this point should be vis-à-vis vertices A2, B2, and C2. This process, naturally, can be used to go back to P1 in Triangle 1, based on where P2 is located in Triangle 2. Thus, this process works not only for conversions from non-linear maps to linear maps, but also from linear maps to non-linear maps. Put another way, it is symmetric.
One major benefit of this kind of symmetry is that conversion between linear and non-linear maps can occur an infinite amount of times, without causing any distortion as to the location of points P1 and P2, which, as mentioned in above, was a major shortcoming of any previous mapping techniques.
Thus, in contrast to
A triangle ABC is defined in the image 1300, with vertex A corresponding to “Oxford Circus” (as shown in
Next,
Aspects of Exemplary Classes
Various classes can be used to implement the above-discussed aspects of the presently disclosed subject matter. For example, a “NonLinearMapInfo” class can be used to perform the following functionalities: (1) Use the coarse grained bounding areas described above to determine whether the non-liner map it represents is appropriate for the map-locations that need to be displayed; and (2) when appropriate, loads the “NonLinearMapView” class and points it to the dual-triangle data and the map image.
The “NonLinearMapView” class, in turn, may provide the following functionalities: (1) contain a “LocationTriangleManager” class that manages all the triangles in the map; (2) contain the non-linear map image (or the capability of rendering one as needed). The above referred to class of “LocationTriangleManager” may perform the following functionalities: (1) maintain a (sorted) list of LocationTriangles for use in X/Y to Lat/Long/Alt coordinates; (2) select the correct LocationTriangle for a given X/Y or Lat/Long point; (3) provide the capability of performing X/Y->Lat/Long and Lat/Long->X/Y transformations; (4) provide the capability of computing the error-distortion in any given triangle (or any given point), where both average and maximum distortion are computed; (5) provide the capability of splitting triangles into sub-triangles using a variety of different heuristics; (6) provide the capability of loading and saving sets of “LocationTriangle” data.
Such data may be associated with a “LocationTriangle” class that: (1) holds data for two triangles: (1) a triangle on the surface of the X/Y image of the non-linear map, and a triangle in physical (real world) space, i.e. latitude, longitude, and altitude; (2) provides the capability of quickly determining if a point is contained in the either triangle; (3) provides the capability of translating points inside it between the non-linear map X/Y and real-world coordinate systems. Of course, this class and the three other classes discussed herein are merely exemplary, and not limiting.
Implementation Aspects of Linear and Non-Linear Mapping
In one exemplary implementation, in
With this system, moderately skilled programmers and other non-experts, for example, working with map images can apply and/or use them in the following manner: (1) import existing non-linear and irregularly spaced map images into the system; (2) quickly annotate the non-linear map's images with real-world physical location data (using, for instance, a combination of other maps to help guide their mapping process); (3) design a set of triangle shapes on map surfaces that connect known points and define boundary conditions inside which translations between real-world coordinates and points on the non-linear map can take place; (4) project these triangles and location points onto a variety of maps to audit the area covered by the non-linear map and its user annotations; (5) audit the non-linear map annotations to determine areas of unacceptable error distortions that need to be corrected; (6) guide and aid developers or map designers in correcting and minimizing these distortions; (7) allowing developers or map designers to view the areas covered by the defined triangles on a physical world map, and to choose coarse bounding regions that define the physical world areas well covered by the non-linear map (alternatively, default bounding regions can be automatically chosen to assist the user in this process); (8) use these maps at run-time in arbitrary software applications that utilize the maps, simultaneously conveying to users map data on both linear (e.g. street maps) and non-linear surfaces (e.g. subway maps); and (9) construct these maps at design time (in contrast to run-time).
Thus, per the discussion above, in one aspect of the presently disclosed subject matter, any useful non-linear or irregularly shaped map image can be broken down into a series of dual-triangles. Each dual-triangle specifies an X and Y area on the non-linear map, and a parallel real-world area having latitude and longitude coordinates (hence the name “dual-triangle”). Transformations or conversions with controllable error magnitudes can be done between linear and non-linear maps in both directions. A rich design surface, capable of showing the map data in several different projections may be useful in doing this.
In this aspect, then, an arbitrary number of sub triangles can be defined to lower translation or conversion error as may be needed. Many heuristics are possible for automating this triangle refinement process. Moreover, the specification of coarse bounding areas for maps may allow for quick determination whether any individual map is suitable to display a set of map coordinate information.
This system of dual-triangles and related points can be persisted in a text or binary file for use at run-time. For flexibility purposes, a text representation such as XML may be useful. Alternatively, for compactness and performance purposes, a binary representation may be useful. At both design-time and run-time, specified classes can be used to efficiently manage the use of all these dual-triangles for coordinate mapping. Thus, it is possible to a manager module to be optimized to allow for efficient access to commonly used triangles.
Put in other words, this system provides a mechanism for non-experts to quickly and with predictable accuracy to annotate arbitrary non-linear and irregularly spaced maps, allowing for the projection of location based data onto these maps in software applications. This is useful for all kinds of software applications, and particularly useful for mobile devices used by individuals in real-world environments in need of these maps.
To this end, a map design surface 1600, such as the one illustrated in
Notably, an important question when dealing with sets of maps (some linear, some irregular) is which is the best map to display to meet users' needs. Several maps may be applicable given some set of data. It may be important for an application to be able to choose the maps that can show the data most accurately and efficiently. Unlike linearly spaced maps, the region of effective display may not be defined by a simple rectangle or circle. For this, a high performance and flexible mechanism may be provided for designating the real-world regions for which a given irregularly or non-linearly spaced map is best suited for. The presently disclosed subject matter may provide both a design-time and run-time mechanisms for this.
Thus, in another aspect, a display surface may be provided that allows a non-expert developer or map designer to visually see, understand, and modify the sets of triangles that will govern the X/Y to latitude and longitude transformations or conversions for a given map. This design surface may allow for simultaneous display of the sets of mapping triangles on both the non-linear map and the other map representations, such as linear street maps. The result may be flexible and useful in allowing for the rapid use of non-linear maps in software applications by the mapping framework described herein.
Furthermore, a system may be provided for the detection of error distortions and overlapping mapping triangles. Since a triangle set describes a bounded transformation or conversion between X/Y and latitude/longitude spaces, with its own internal distortions, having two sets of significantly overlapping triangles would potentially introduce conflicting X/Y to latitude/longitude mappings. It may be important to be able to detect this situation at design time when the triangles defining map transformations are being designated. Further, when an unacceptable magnitude of error exists in a transformation, this error should be detectable and fixable at design time by non-experts (the actual rate of acceptable error will vary from application to application). This system, then, may provide this detection. The developer or map designer may also be shown a visual representation of the distortions that exist inside map-triangles between X/Y to latitude/longitude transformations and latitude/longitude to X/Y mappings, thus allowing for the developer or map designer to take corrective action. Such corrective action may comprise of defining additional, more fine-grained mapping triangles, as may be required).
Lastly, while the present disclosure has been described in connection with the preferred aspects, as illustrated in the various figures, it is understood that other similar aspects may be used or modifications and additions may be made to the described aspects for performing the same function of the present disclosure without deviating therefrom. For example, in various aspects of the disclosure, a visual identity mechanism was disclosed. However, other equivalent mechanisms to these described aspects are also contemplated by the teachings herein. Therefore, the present disclosure should not be limited to any single aspect, but rather construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
4937570 | Matsukawa et al. | Jun 1990 | A |
5631642 | Brockelsby et al. | May 1997 | A |
5638523 | Mullet et al. | Jun 1997 | A |
5774829 | Cisneros et al. | Jun 1998 | A |
5841443 | Einkauf | Nov 1998 | A |
5925091 | Ando | Jul 1999 | A |
6121972 | Takahashi | Sep 2000 | A |
6141013 | Nelson | Oct 2000 | A |
6178380 | Millington | Jan 2001 | B1 |
6196516 | Lan | Mar 2001 | B1 |
6222482 | Gueziec | Apr 2001 | B1 |
6233523 | Sood | May 2001 | B1 |
6252544 | Hoffberg | Jun 2001 | B1 |
6321158 | DeLorme et al. | Nov 2001 | B1 |
6429812 | Hoffberg | Aug 2002 | B1 |
6442483 | Doglione | Aug 2002 | B1 |
6526178 | Fukuhara | Feb 2003 | B1 |
6615134 | Ando | Sep 2003 | B2 |
6697734 | Suomela | Feb 2004 | B1 |
6710774 | Kawasaki et al. | Mar 2004 | B1 |
6857016 | Motoyama et al. | Feb 2005 | B1 |
6879909 | Hirano et al. | Apr 2005 | B2 |
6956590 | Barton et al. | Oct 2005 | B1 |
7038681 | Scott et al. | May 2006 | B2 |
7126616 | Jasa et al. | Oct 2006 | B2 |
7519470 | Brasche et al. | Apr 2009 | B2 |
20010038718 | Kumar et al. | Nov 2001 | A1 |
20020049533 | Kusano | Apr 2002 | A1 |
20020118118 | Myllymaki et al. | Aug 2002 | A1 |
20030052896 | Higgins et al. | Mar 2003 | A1 |
20030184654 | Kinjo | Oct 2003 | A1 |
20040008138 | Hockley, Jr. et al. | Jan 2004 | A1 |
20040073356 | Craine | Apr 2004 | A1 |
20040073361 | Tzamaloukas et al. | Apr 2004 | A1 |
20040153238 | Miyahara | Aug 2004 | A1 |
20040204063 | Van Erlach | Oct 2004 | A1 |
20040220726 | Jin et al. | Nov 2004 | A1 |
20040243307 | Geelen | Dec 2004 | A1 |
20040255718 | Steers | Dec 2004 | A1 |
20050117215 | Lange | Jun 2005 | A1 |
20050131660 | Yadegar et al. | Jun 2005 | A1 |
20050149251 | Donath et al. | Jul 2005 | A1 |
20060064243 | Hirose | Mar 2006 | A1 |
20060132482 | Oh | Jun 2006 | A1 |
20070014488 | Chen et al. | Jan 2007 | A1 |
20070027628 | Geelen | Feb 2007 | A1 |
20070050129 | Salmre | Mar 2007 | A1 |
20070185651 | Motoyama et al. | Aug 2007 | A1 |
20070203641 | Diaz et al. | Aug 2007 | A1 |
20070203643 | Ramaswamy et al. | Aug 2007 | A1 |
20070203646 | Diaz et al. | Aug 2007 | A1 |
20070233367 | Chen et al. | Oct 2007 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
2007231862 | May 2008 | AU |
201000710 | Jan 2008 | CN |
3512000 | Oct 1986 | DE |
1 235 142 | Aug 2002 | EP |
1318379 | Jun 2003 | EP |
1435600 | Jul 2004 | EP |
2343300 | Nov 1977 | FR |
2 374 763 | Oct 2002 | GB |
63222215 | Sep 1988 | JP |
04366991 | Dec 1992 | JP |
06118870 | Apr 1994 | JP |
08211830 | Aug 1996 | JP |
2004085779 | Mar 2004 | JP |
2004118685 | Apr 2004 | JP |
2004310717 | Nov 2004 | JP |
WO 0049530 | Aug 2000 | WO |
WO 0132480 | May 2001 | WO |
WO 2007027374 | Mar 2007 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20070176932 A1 | Aug 2007 | US |