Patent Application
20230298362
Navigation and mapping service providers are continually challenged to provide users up-to-date digital map data. One particular area of interest is the use of computer vision to enable mapping and sensing of road networks in an environment (e.g., to support autonomous or semi-autonomous operation or other location-based applications). For example, application of vision techniques includes lane marking localization and lane width estimation. Lane widths vary by road level and road geometry, and regulate vehicle lateral offsets when running on a road. Lane width is especially crucial for autonomous driving applications. However, lane marking detections of a road can be scattered and/or incomplete, subject to error (e.g., positioning or heading error), etc. As a result, service providers face significant technical challenges to estimate a lane width from scattered and/or incomplete lane marking detections.
Therefore, there is a need for providing effective and accurate estimation of a lane width from scattered and/or incomplete lane marking detections.
According to example embodiment(s), a method comprises generating one or more perpendicular lines respectively from location centers of one or more first lane marking detections. A respective lane marking detection represents at least a portion of a boundary of the road lane as a line delimited by two location data points in accordance with one or more detections by at least one sensor device onboard at least one vehicle. The method also comprises identifying one or more second lane marking detections that each respectively intersect one of the one or more perpendicular lines. The method further comprises selecting one or more candidate lane widths based on one or more respective distances from the location centers to the one or more second lane marking detections. The method further comprises determining an estimated lane width of the road lane based on the one or more candidate lane widths.
According to another embodiment, an apparatus comprises at least one processor, and at least one memory including computer program code for one or more computer programs, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause, at least in part, the apparatus to generate one or more perpendicular lines respectively from location centers of one or more first lane marking detections. A respective lane marking detection represents at least a portion of a boundary of the road lane as a line delimited by two location data points in accordance with one or more detections by at least one sensor device onboard at least one vehicle. The apparatus is also caused to identify one or more second lane marking detections that each respectively intersect one of the one or more perpendicular lines. The apparatus is further caused to select one or more candidate lane widths based on one or more respective distances from the location centers to the one or more second lane marking detections. The apparatus is further caused to determine an estimated lane width of the road lane based on the one or more candidate lane widths.
According to another embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium carries one or more sequences of one or more instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause, at least in part, an apparatus to generate one or more perpendicular lines respectively from location centers of one or more first lane marking detections. A respective lane marking detection represents at least a portion of a boundary of the road lane as a line delimited by two location data points in accordance with one or more detections by at least one sensor device onboard at least one vehicle. The apparatus is also caused to identify one or more second lane marking detections that each respectively intersect one of the one or more perpendicular lines. The apparatus is further caused to select one or more candidate lane widths based on one or more respective distances from the location centers to the one or more second lane marking detections. The apparatus is further caused to determine an estimated lane width of the road lane based on the one or more candidate lane widths.
In addition, for various example embodiments described herein, the following is applicable: a computer program product may be provided. For example, a computer program product comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform any one or any combination of methods (or processes) disclosed.
According to another embodiment, an apparatus comprises means for generating one or more perpendicular lines respectively from location centers of one or more first lane marking detections. A respective lane marking detection represents at least a portion of a boundary of the road lane as a line delimited by two location data points in accordance with one or more detections by at least one sensor device onboard at least one vehicle. The apparatus also comprises means for identifying one or more second lane marking detections that each respectively intersect one of the one or more perpendicular lines. The apparatus further comprises means for selecting one or more candidate lane widths based on one or more respective distances from the location centers to the one or more second lane marking detections. The apparatus further comprises means for determining an estimated lane width of the road lane based on the one or more candidate lane widths.
In addition, for various example embodiments of the invention, the following is applicable: a method comprising facilitating a processing of and/or processing (1) data and/or (2) information and/or (3) at least one signal, the (1) data and/or (2) information and/or (3) at least one signal based, at least in part, on (or derived at least in part from) any one or any combination of methods (or processes) disclosed in this application as relevant to any embodiment of the invention.
For various example embodiments of the invention, the following is also applicable: a method comprising facilitating access to at least one interface configured to allow access to at least one service, the at least one service configured to perform any one or any combination of network or service provider methods (or processes) disclosed in this application.
For various example embodiments of the invention, the following is also applicable: a method comprising facilitating creating and/or facilitating modifying (1) at least one device user interface element and/or (2) at least one device user interface functionality, the (1) at least one device user interface element and/or (2) at least one device user interface functionality based, at least in part, on data and/or information resulting from one or any combination of methods or processes disclosed in this application as relevant to any embodiment of the invention, and/or at least one signal resulting from one or any combination of methods (or processes) disclosed in this application as relevant to any embodiment of the invention.
For various example embodiments of the invention, the following is also applicable: a method comprising creating and/or modifying (1) at least one device user interface element and/or (2) at least one device user interface functionality, the (1) at least one device user interface element and/or (2) at least one device user interface functionality based at least in part on data and/or information resulting from one or any combination of methods (or processes) disclosed in this application as relevant to any embodiment of the invention, and/or at least one signal resulting from one or any combination of methods (or processes) disclosed in this application as relevant to any embodiment of the invention.
In various example embodiments, the methods (or processes) can be accomplished on the service provider side or on the mobile device side or in any shared way between service provider and mobile device with actions being performed on both sides.
For various example embodiments, the following is applicable: An apparatus comprising means for performing a method of the claims.
Still other aspects, features, and advantages of the invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description, simply by illustrating a number of particular embodiments and implementations, including the best mode contemplated for carrying out the invention. The invention is also capable of other and different embodiments, and its several details can be modified in various obvious respects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.
The embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings:
Examples of a method, apparatus, and computer program for lane width estimation from incomplete lane marking detections of a road lane are disclosed. In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the invention. It is apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details or with an equivalent arrangement. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the embodiments of the invention.
It is contemplated that any type of lane marking associated with a road link segment can be used according to the various embodiments described herein. As shown in
In various example embodiments, vehicles 103 (e.g., equipped with vehicle sensors 104, such as camera), user equipment (UE) devices 105 (e.g., equipped with sensors 106, such as camera, and/or executing respective applications 107 for generating and reporting lane marking detections 109 from sensor data/image data), and/or any other devices capable of traveling over a road network can be used to collect lane marking detections 109 for lane width estimation from incomplete lane marking detections of a road lane. In one embodiment, the sensors 104/106 can directly scan for lane marking detections 109 (e.g., based on reflectivity using Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)) when travelling on the road link segment where the vehicle path is described by a sequence of two or more location data points determined using a positioning sensor of the vehicle 103 or other mobile device(s).
In another embodiment, a computer vision system 111 (e.g., system comprising cameras and object recognition systems or equivalent) or equivalent on-board cameras of vehicles 103 and/or UEs 105 can detect lane markings by detecting the edges of the lane markings in image(s). The computer vision system 111, for instance, can employ a neural network (e.g., a convolutional neural network) or equivalent to recognize and determine feature data points corresponding to the lane marking. The imagery is captured by a camera system of a vehicle 103 and/or UE 105 as raster images at a predetermined pixel resolution. In one example embodiment, the imagery can be captured using cameras sensitive to visible light, infra-red, and/or any other wavelength of light. To support real-time operation, the imagery can be part of an image stream captured at a relatively high frequency (e.g., 20 Hz, 30 Hz, or higher).
Each image or frame of the image stream can then be processed to provide detection of lane markings (e.g., in real-time or as a batch process). To detect a lane marking, the computer vision system 111 uses object recognition image processing to identify pixels of the image corresponding to surfaces or other visual features of the lane marking (e.g., painted surfaces for lane markings or road boundaries, structures associated with medians/curbs/sidewalks/etc., and/or the like). The detected positions of the selected feature points of (GPS) position) of the vehicle 103 or UE 105 traveling the road segment. The output of the detection process is one or more sets of line segments delimited by detected feature points of the lane marking. In some cases, as described above and depending on detection quality, the resulting lane marking detections may comprise a continuous or discontinuous set of line segments that represent the detected lane marking.
The lane markings define the bounds of drive lanes and are useful components in the lane-based autonomous driving or other equivalent location-based applications. Various example embodiments are provided for determining, from vehicle sensor data (e.g., image data, GPS locations), the plurality of lane marking detections 109 associated with a road link segment. For instance, the lane marking detections may correspond to sensor observations (e.g., image data) that are indicative of a lane marking. In one example embodiment, a lane marking detection can represent a lane marking (or portion thereof) as a line segment delimited by two feature points (e.g., end points of the line segment) corresponding to points on the lane marking detected from the image data (or other equivalent sensor data).
The accuracy of the lane width estimation is heavily dependent on the quality of lane marking detections. However, the lane marking detections are usually in low quality, such as orientation inaccuracy, location inaccuracy, duplicate lane marking detections, low coverage, etc., due to partial occlusion, equipment malfunction, bad sunlight, etc.
A lane marking detection can be constituted by at least one set of two or more feature points (e.g., location data points such as GPS points or equivalent) such that each set of two feature points represent a segment of the linear feature as a line. Multiple sets of the feature points can then form a polyline representation of the lane marking detection. A location of a feature point, for instance, refers to a set of geocoordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, and altitude) indicating a point location (e.g., a beginning, end, or other detected point of a line or lane marking). Each set of two or more feature points describes a line segment along a corresponding lane marking. The lane marking detection can include location data points that are ordered (e.g., the location data points are received with a travel direction) and grouped into at least one set of location data points. Each set respectively represent a separate portion of the lane marking.
For instance, the road link segment 205 has three segments defined by four nodes in the diagram 201. The diagram 201 also depicts several scattered and/or incomplete lane marking detections 203 on the left and right side of the road, based on their respective locations (e.g., longitude on the x axis and latitude on the y axis). By way of example, a partial lane marking detection 207 in the diagram 201 corresponds to a partial road segment in an example image 209 on the top of
Accordingly, mapping and navigation service providers face significant technical challenges with respect to how to estimate lane width of a road segment based on inaccurate/incomplete lane marking detentions with issues of low coverage, origination/location accuracy, duplicates, etc., thereby supporting safety critical applications such as but not limited to autonomous driving applications that depend on accuracy lane width data.
In one example embodiment, the image 209 captured by vehicle 103 and/or UE 105 can be processed (e.g., via the computer vision system 111 or equivalent feature detector/object recognition system) to generate lane marking detections 203 that are visible in the diagram 201. The lane marking detections 203 are represented as one or more line segments respectively delimited by the detected locations of two feature points on the lane marking. For example, the detected locations are GPS locations or any other equivalent location data points determined using a positioning system associated with the vehicle 103 and/or UE 105 such as but not limited a satellite-based positioning system or equivalent. Similarly, the image 209 can be processed to generate lane marking detections 203 representing lane markings.
During the pre-filter stage 211, the system 100 can check whether a total length of the lane marking detections falls in a preferred range with respect to a length of a corresponding road link segment. For instance, the system 100 can aggregate a total length of the lane marking detections 203 in
When the total length falls in the preferred range, the system 100 can proceed to Stage 213. When the total length falls outsides of the preferred range, the system 100 can stop the process 210, and/or continue with another set of lane marking detections. For instance, an image 230 in
During the lane marking location and orientation aggregation stage 213, the system 100 can first separate the continuous lane marking detections pre-filtered in Stage 211 into singular lane marking detections and then estimate the most probable lane marking heading per singular lane marking detection. In this case, a single lane marking detection refers to a line formed by two locations. Stage 213 can be employed to counter the effects of the orientation errors in lane width estimation (e.g., in Image 230).
Since the lane marking detections can span across a straight or curved road segment, it can be technically challenging to quantify the location and orientation features over a continuous lane marking detection (e.g., because the orientation can vary over the curved road segment that changes direction). Accordingly, the system 100 separates a continuous lane marking detection into singular lane marking detections to aggregate various in Stage 213.
As mentioned, locations of the lane marking detections can be affected by GPS fluctuations. For instance, a vehicle on-board camera can inherently detect lane marking (due to inaccurate position locations) as incomplete and flawed caused by satellite coverages, imperfections in a map source (e.g., the USGS map), malfunctioning GPS receivers, etc. To obtain a GPS location reading, the number of satellites in view at the time of the reading can affect reading accuracy. For instance, when there are fewer than four satellites in view, the accuracy of the reading can be compromised. For time to time, the GPS receiver can be a clear view of the sky, or obstructed from satellites (e.g., by large buildings, mountains, etc.).
To overcome the issue, the system 100 can separate each of the incomplete and flawed lane marking detections into a set of singular lane marking detections formed by only two location points. To generalize orientation features in such line-based lane marking, the system 100 can aggregate each of the singular lane marking detection into three features: a location center, an orientation, and a lane marking length weight. Such location center and orientation can eliminate the GPS fluctuations in each singular lane marking detection.
For instance, an image 240 in
During the lane marking location center clustering stage 215, the system 100 can cluster singular lane marking detections and/or continuous lane marking detections processed in Stage 213 (using K-means, DBSCAN, etc.) into different lane marking rows based on respective lateral distances to a map-matched road link segment. The map-matching can use road link segment records of a geographic database 115 (or equivalent digital map data).
It is contemplated that the map matching can use any map matching algorithm including but not limited to point-based map matching, path-based map matching, and/or the like. In one example embodiment, a lane marking detection is associated with or otherwise detected on road represented by a map road link segment (e.g., stored in the digital map data of the geographic database 115). A “map road link segment” or “road link segment” refers to a map representation of a road or road segment stored as a road link data record of the geographic database 115 or equivalent digital map.
In one embodiment, the system 100 can cluster the singular lane marking detections based on their lateral distances (e.g., signed distances, Euclidean distances, etc.) to a corresponding link segment. A signed distance takes into consideration in which half-space the location points lie. An Euclidean distance is calculated on the basis of a spherical earth (ignoring ellipsoidal effects).
In one embodiment, the system 100 can apply center-location clustering to find location center pairs in different clusters for calculating candidate lane widths in Stage 217.
In another embodiment, referring back to
The clustering stage 215 can counter effects of location errors in lane marking detections. For instance, an image 250 in
During the candidate lane width estimation stage 217, the system 100 can deploy the location centers (e.g., the location centers 403) to estimate lateral distances between any two singular lane marking detections 401 that are clustered into different lane marking rows in Stage 215.
For instance, the system 100 can identify lane marking detections 401a, 401d each intersecting one of the perpendicular lines thereby constituting qualified lane marking detections/lines for estimating candidate lane widths. On the other hand, the system 100 can identify lane marking detection 401b not intersecting the perpendicular lines thereby constituting a disqualified lane marking detection/line from estimating candidate lane widths.
The system 100 can generate a candidate lane width for each qualified singular lane marking detection. The length of the perpendicular line from the target lane marking location center (e.g., the lane marking location center 403c) to the intersected location is taken as a candidate lane width shown as in
During the rule-based lane width filtering stage 219, the system 100 can apply rule(s) to filter the plurality of candidate lane widths generated in Stage 217, remove duplications, and calculate the weight for each filtered candidate lane width. The method aims at filtering the lane width estimation based on lane counts in HERE map and civil construction specification.
In one embodiment, the system 100 can remove duplicate candidate lane widths based on two parallel singular lane marking detections.
Therefore, Stage 219 can counter effects of duplicate lane marking detections and/or candidate lane widths. For instance, an image 260 in
In another embodiment, the system 100 can filter the candidate lane widths based on lane counts in a map database, civil construction specifications, etc. For instance, The candidate lane widths are further filtered based on road construction specifications, such as O. F. TRANSPORTATION, “Standard Specifications for Construction of Roads and Bridges on Federal Highway Projects.” For a multi-lane road, the lane widths should be in q range of e.g., 2.6 m-4.6 m. For a single-lane road, the maximum threshold for lane widths can be increased to a larger value (e.g., 5.5 m) to allow more space for median, local roads with missing lane marking, etc. The system 100 can keep filtered candidate lane widths for Stage 521.
During the most probable lane width estimation stage 521, the system 100 can estimate the most probable lane width based on an average or a median of filtered candidate lane widths of a lane topology or road segment based on the filtered candidate lane widths from Stage 519. In another embodiment, the system can employ a weighted-median method on the filtered candidate lane widths to estimate the most probable lane width of the lane topology or road segment. After the filtering, duplication removal as well as weight estimation, the weighted median or average value of all the candidate lane widths on the same lane topology or road segment can be taken as the most probable lane width for that lane topology or road segment.
Therefore, the system 100 can estimate the most probable lane width for a lane topology or road segment, regardless that the lane marking detections may be affected by partial occlusion, equipment malfunction, reflection, etc. and suffer from issues such as low coverage, detection incompleteness, inaccurate orientation and/or location, duplicate detection, etc.
In one embodiment, the system 100 can use the most probable lane width data to reconstruct the lane markings for the respective road segment. In other embodiments, the most probable lane width data can be widely used in other location-based applications and services. For example, the lane marking representations generated based on the most probable lane width data according to the various example embodiments described herein can be stored in the geographic database 115 for access by one or more other component of the system 100 or any other component with connectivity to the mapping platform 101 and/or geographic database 115. For example, the lane marking representations stored in the geographic database 115 can be accessed over a communication network 117 by the vehicle 103 for autonomous driving applications, lane-level navigation, lane-level positioning, and/or the like. In another example embodiment, a services platform 119, one or more services 121a-121n (also collectively referred to as services 121), and/or one or more content providers 123a-123m (also collectively referred to as content providers 123) can access the lane marking representations of the geographic services to perform one or more functions (e.g., location-based functions).
As used herein, the term “circuitry” may refer to (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (for example, implementations in analog circuitry and/or digital circuitry); (b) combinations of circuits and computer program product(s) comprising software and/or firmware instructions stored on one or more computer readable memories that work together to cause an apparatus to perform one or more functions described herein; and (c) circuits, such as, for example, a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that require software or firmware for operation even if the software or firmware is not physically present. This definition of “circuitry” applies to all uses of this term herein, including in any claims. As a further example, as used herein, the term “circuitry” also includes an implementation comprising one or more processors and/or portion(s) thereof and accompanying software and/or firmware. As another example, the term “circuitry” as used herein also includes, for example, a baseband integrated circuit or applications processor integrated circuit for a mobile phone or a similar integrated circuit in a server, a cellular network device, other network device, and/or other computing device.
The functions of the mapping platform 101 and modules 601-609 are discussed with respect to the figures discussed below.
In one embodiment, for example, in step 701, the data processing module 601 can generate one or more perpendicular lines (e.g., the perpendicular lines 411a, 411b, 411c in
In one embodiment, the one or more first lane marking detections and the one or more second lane marking detections can take a form of singular lane marking detections (e.g., portions of lane marking detections 301a-301h in
In one embodiment, in step 703, the data processing module 601 can identify the one or more second lane marking detections (e.g., the singular lane marking detections 401a, 401d) that each respectively intersect one of the one or more perpendicular lines (e.g., the perpendicular lines 411a, 411d).
In one embodiment, in step 705, the estimating module 607 can select one or more candidate lane widths based on one or more respective distances (e.g., the lengths of perpendicular lines 411a, 411d in
In one embodiment, in step 707, the estimating module 607 can determine an estimated lane width of the road lane (e.g., on the road link segment 305) based on the one or more candidate lane widths (e.g., the lengths of perpendicular lines 411a, 411d in
In another embodiment, the clustering module 605 can cluster the one or more first lane marking detections, the one or more second lane marking detections, or a combination thereof (e.g., the singular lane marking detections 401a-401e in
In another embodiment, the filtering module 603 can determine that two of the one or more candidate lane widths (e.g., the candidate lane widths 505a, 505b in
In another embodiment, the estimating module 607 can determine the estimated lane width based on an average or a median of the one or more candidate lane widths. In one embodiment, the estimating module 607 can weight the average or the median based on a respective length of the one or more second lane marking detections. In yet another embodiment, the estimating module 607 can determine the estimated lane width based on a minimum or a maximum of the one or more candidate lane widths.
In one example embodiment, based on the lane width estimation performed according to the various example embodiments described herein, the output module 609 can re-construct a representation of the lane marking on each road link segment. In one example embodiment, the output module 609 can store the reconstructed representation of the lane marking in the geographic database 115 or equivalent map data or otherwise provide the representation of the lane marking, orientation estimation, location estimation, or a combination thereof as an output.
It is contemplated that the output comprising the representation of the lane marking with estimated lane width data can be provided for use by any location-based application or service to perform a corresponding function or action based on the output. For example, any service, application, or platform (e.g., mapping platform 101, services platform 119, services 121, content providers 123, application 107, etc.) can receive or otherwise access the output of the mapping platform 101. The service, application, or function processes the newly reconstructed representation of the lane marking to perform one or more location-based functions. In one example embodiment, the function includes autonomous driving based on lane markings.
When the user selects the “More Details” button 813, the user interface 801 shows a live traffic image 817 and an alert 819: “Do you want to switch driving mode?” This is particularly true in the case of a user that is a rider in an autonomous vehicle. It is contemplated that the system 100 can determine or detect one or more actions by a user (e.g., an eye gaze) and automatically detect user selection of switch driving mode. For instance, an experienced driver may want to take over and drive manually via a very narrow lane. As another example, a new driver would prefer autonomous driving via a very narrow lane.
Another use case includes identifying a lane width change or error of the geographic database 115. In this use case, the lane marking representation generated from sensor data captured by a mapping vehicle (e.g., a vehicle 103 with high accuracy location sensors) is compared against existing map data of the geographic database 115 to identify potential discrepancies and updated accordingly. This potential lane width error can then be marked and presented by manual review, verification, additional map data collection, etc.
These example use cases are provided by way of illustration and not as limitations. Other examples of non-limiting examples uses cases for using the output of the mapping platform 101 include, but is not limited to, providing a route for navigation (e.g., via a user interface), route determination, lane level speed determination, operating the vehicle along a lane level route, route travel time determination, lane maintenance, route guidance, provision of traffic information/data, provision of lane level traffic information/data, vehicle trajectory determination and/or guidance, route and/or maneuver visualization, and/or the like.
Returning to
In one embodiment, the mapping platform 101 may be a platform with multiple interconnected components. The mapping platform 101 may include multiple servers, intelligent networking devices, computing devices, components, and corresponding software for providing parametric representations of lane lines. In addition, it is noted that the mapping platform 101 may be a separate entity of the system 100, a part of the services platform 119, a part of the one or more services 121, or included within the vehicles 103 (e.g., an embedded navigation system).
In one embodiment, content providers 123 may provide content or data (e.g., including probe data, sensor data, etc.) to the mapping platform 101, the UEs 105, the applications 107, the geographic database 115, the services platform 119, the services 121, and the vehicles 103. The content provided may be any type of content, such as map content, textual content, audio content, video content, image content, etc. In one embodiment, the content providers 123 may provide content that may aid in lane width estimation from incomplete lane marking detections of a road lane. In one embodiment, the content providers 123 may also store content associated with the mapping platform 101, the geographic database 115, the services platform 119, the services 121, and/or the vehicles 103. In another embodiment, the content providers 123 may manage access to a central repository of data, and offer a consistent, standard interface to data, such as a repository of the geographic database 115.
By way of example, the UEs 105 are any type of embedded system, mobile terminal, fixed terminal, or portable terminal including a built-in navigation system, a personal navigation device, mobile handset, station, unit, device, multimedia computer, multimedia tablet, Internet node, communicator, desktop computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, netbook computer, tablet computer, personal communication system (PCS) device, personal digital assistants (PDAs), audio/video player, digital camera/camcorder, positioning device, fitness device, television receiver, radio broadcast receiver, electronic book device, game device, or any combination thereof, including the accessories and peripherals of these devices, or any combination thereof. It is also contemplated that a UE 105 can support any type of interface to the user (such as “wearable” circuitry, etc.). In one embodiment, a UE 105 may be associated with a vehicle 103 (e.g., a mobile device) or be a component part of the vehicle 103 (e.g., an embedded navigation system). In one embodiment, the UEs 105 may include the mapping platform 101 to provide lane-level mapping/routing based on route identification information determined from unordered line data.
In one embodiment, as mentioned above, the vehicles 103, for instance, are part of a system for collecting image data and/or other sensor data (e.g., comprising line data) for lane marking reconstruction. The image data and/or lane marking detections 109 generated from image data can be reported from the vehicles 103 in real-time, in batches, continuously, or at any other frequency requested by the system 100 over, for instance, the communication network 117 for processing by the mapping platform 101. The image data and/or lane marking detections 109 also can be map-matched to specific road link segments stored in the geographic database 115 according to the embodiments described herein.
In one embodiment, the vehicles 103 and/or UEs 105 are configured with various sensors for generating or collecting lane marking detections 109, image data, probe data, sensor data, related geographic/map data, etc. In one embodiment, the sensed data represents sensor data associated with a geographic location or coordinates at which the sensor data was collected. By way of example, the vehicle sensors may include a RADAR system, a LiDAR system, global positioning sensor for gathering location data (e.g., GPS), a network detection sensor for detecting wireless signals or receivers for different short-range communications (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Li-Fi, near field communication (NFC) etc.), temporal information sensors, a camera/imaging sensor for gathering image data, an audio recorder for gathering audio data, velocity sensors mounted on a steering wheel of the vehicles 103, switch sensors for determining whether one or more vehicle switches are engaged, and the like. Though depicted as automobiles, it is contemplated the vehicles 103 can be any type of vehicle manned or unmanned (e.g., cars, trucks, buses, vans, motorcycles, scooters, drones, etc.) that travel through road segments of a road network.
Other examples of sensors of the vehicle 103 may include light sensors, orientation sensors augmented with height sensors and acceleration sensor (e.g., an accelerometer can measure acceleration and can be used to determine orientation of the vehicle), tilt sensors to detect the degree of incline or decline of the vehicle 103 along a path of travel (e.g., while on a hill or a cliff), moisture sensors, pressure sensors, etc. In a further example embodiment, sensors about the perimeter of the vehicle 103 may detect the relative distance of the vehicle 103 from a physical divider, a lane line of a link or roadway, any other lane marking of the road,), vehicle paths, the presence of other vehicles, pedestrians, traffic lights, potholes and any other objects, or a combination thereof. In one scenario, the vehicle sensors may detect weather data, traffic information, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, the vehicles 103 may include GPS or other satellite-based receivers to obtain geographic coordinates from satellites 113 for determining current location and time. Further, the location can be determined by visual odometry, triangulation systems such as A-GPS, Cell of Origin, or other location extrapolation technologies.
In one embodiment, the UEs 105 may also be configured with various sensors (not shown for illustrative convenience) for acquiring and/or generating probe data and/or sensor data associated with a vehicle 103, a driver, other vehicles, conditions regarding the driving environment or roadway, etc. For example, such sensors may be used as GPS receivers for interacting with the one or more satellites 113 to determine and track the current speed, position, and location of a vehicle 103 travelling along a link or roadway. In addition, the sensors may gather tilt data (e.g., a degree of incline or decline of the vehicle during travel), motion data, light data, sound data, image data, weather data, temporal data and other data associated with the vehicles 103 and/or UEs 105. Still further, the sensors may detect local or transient network and/or wireless signals, such as those transmitted by nearby devices during navigation of a vehicle along a roadway (Li-Fi, near field communication (NFC)) etc.
It is noted therefore that the above-described data may be transmitted via communication network 117 as lane marking detections 109 or associated sensor data according to any known wireless communication protocols. For example, each UE 105, application 107, user, and/or vehicle 103 may be assigned a unique probe identifier (probe ID) for use in reporting or transmitting said lane marking detections 109 and/or associated sensor data collected by the vehicles 103 and/or UEs 105.
In one embodiment, the mapping platform 101 retrieves aggregated lane marking detections 109 and/or associated sensor data gathered and/or generated by the vehicle sensors and/or the UE 105 resulting from the travel of the UEs 105 and/or vehicles 103 on a road segment of a road network. In one instance, the geographic database 115 stores a plurality of lane marking detections 09 and/or associated sensor data generated by different vehicle sensors, UEs 105, applications 107, vehicles 103, etc. over a period while traveling in a monitored area.
In one embodiment, the communication network 117 of the system 100 includes one or more networks such as a data network, a wireless network, a telephony network, or any combination thereof. It is contemplated that the data network may be any local area network (LAN), metropolitan area network (MAN), wide area network (WAN), a public data network (e.g., the Internet), short range wireless network, or any other suitable packet-switched network, such as a commercially owned, proprietary packet-switched network, e.g., a proprietary cable or fiber-optic network, and the like, or any combination thereof. In addition, the wireless network may be, for example, a cellular network and may employ various technologies including enhanced data rates for global evolution (EDGE), general packet radio service (GPRS), global system for mobile communications (GSM), Internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS), universal mobile telecommunications system (UNITS), etc., as well as any other suitable wireless medium, e.g., worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks, 5G New Radio networks, code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), wireless LAN (WLAN), Bluetooth®, Internet Protocol (IP) data casting, satellite, mobile ad-hoc network (MANET), and the like, or any combination thereof.
By way of example, the vehicles 103, mapping platform 101, UEs 105, applications 107, services platform 119, services 121, and/or content providers 123 communicate with each other and other components of the system 100 using well known, new or still developing protocols. In this context, a protocol includes a set of rules defining how the network nodes within the communication network 117 interact with each other based on information sent over the communication links. The protocols are effective at different layers of operation within each node, from generating and receiving physical signals of various types, to selecting a link for transferring those signals, to the format of information indicated by those signals, to identifying which software application executing on a computer system sends or receives the information. The conceptually different layers of protocols for exchanging information over a network are described in the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Reference Model.
Communications between the network nodes are typically effected by exchanging discrete packets of data. Each packet typically comprises (1) header information associated with a particular protocol, and (2) payload information that follows the header information and contains information that may be processed independently of that particular protocol. In some protocols, the packet includes (3) trailer information following the payload and indicating the end of the payload information. The header includes information such as the source of the packet, its destination, the length of the payload, and other properties used by the protocol. Often, the data in the payload for the particular protocol includes a header and payload for a different protocol associated with a different, higher layer of the OSI Reference Model. The header for a particular protocol typically indicates a type for the next protocol contained in its payload. The higher layer protocol is said to be encapsulated in the lower layer protocol. The headers included in a packet traversing multiple heterogeneous networks, such as the Internet, typically include a physical (layer 1) header, a data-link (layer 2) header, an internetwork (layer 3) header and a transport (layer 4) header, and various application (layer 5, layer 6 and layer 7) headers as defined by the OSI Reference Model.
In one embodiment, geographic features (e.g., two-dimensional, or three-dimensional features) are represented using polygons (e.g., two-dimensional features) or polygon extrusions (e.g., three-dimensional features). For example, the edges of the polygons correspond to the boundaries or edges of the respective geographic feature. In the case of a building, a two-dimensional polygon can be used to represent a footprint of the building, and a three-dimensional polygon extrusion can be used to represent the three-dimensional surfaces of the building. It is contemplated that although various embodiments are discussed with respect to two-dimensional polygons, it is contemplated that the embodiments are also applicable to three-dimensional polygon extrusions. Accordingly, the terms polygons and polygon extrusions as used herein can be used interchangeably.
In one embodiment, the following terminology applies to the representation of geographic features in the geographic database 115.
“Node”—A point that terminates a link.
“Line segment”—A straight line connecting two points.
“Link” (or “edge”)—A contiguous, non-branching string of one or more line segments terminating in a node at each end.
“Shape point”—A point along a link between two nodes (e.g., used to alert a shape of the link without defining new nodes).
“Oriented link”—A link that has a starting node (referred to as the “reference node”) and an ending node (referred to as the “non reference node”).
“Simple polygon”—An interior area of an outer boundary formed by a string of oriented links that begins and ends in one node. In one embodiment, a simple polygon does not cross itself.
“Polygon”—An area bounded by an outer boundary and none or at least one interior boundary (e.g., a hole or island). In one embodiment, a polygon is constructed from one outer simple polygon and none or at least one inner simple polygon. A polygon is simple if it just consists of one simple polygon, or complex if it has at least one inner simple polygon.
In one embodiment, the geographic database 115 follows certain conventions. For example, links do not cross themselves and do not cross each other except at a node. Also, there are no duplicated shape points, nodes, or links. Two links that connect each other have a common node. In the geographic database 115, overlapping geographic features are represented by overlapping polygons. When polygons overlap, the boundary of one polygon crosses the boundary of the other polygon. In the geographic database 115, the location at which the boundary of one polygon intersects they boundary of another polygon is represented by a node. In one embodiment, a node may be used to represent other locations along the boundary of a polygon than a location at which the boundary of the polygon intersects the boundary of another polygon. In one embodiment, a shape point is not used to represent a point at which the boundary of a polygon intersects the boundary of another polygon.
As shown, the geographic database 115 includes node data records 903, road segment or link data records 905, POI data records 907, lane marking data records 909, HD mapping data records 911, and indexes 913, for example. More, fewer, or different data records can be provided. In one embodiment, additional data records (not shown) can include cartographic (“carto”) data records, routing data, and maneuver data. In one embodiment, the indexes 913 may improve the speed of data retrieval operations in the geographic database 115. In one embodiment, the indexes 913 may be used to quickly locate data without having to search every row in the geographic database 115 every time it is accessed. For example, in one embodiment, the indexes 913 can be a spatial index of the polygon points associated with stored feature polygons.
In exemplary embodiments, the road segment data records 905 are links or segments representing roads, streets, or paths, as can be used in the calculated route or recorded route information for determination of one or more personalized routes. The node data records 903 are end points (such as representing intersections, respectively) corresponding to the respective links or segments of the road segment data records 905. The road link data records 905 and the node data records 903 represent a road network, such as used by vehicles, cars, and/or other entities. Alternatively, the geographic database 115 can contain path segment and node data records or other data that represent pedestrian paths or areas in addition to or instead of the vehicle road record data, for example.
The road/link segments and nodes can be associated with attributes, such as geographic coordinates, street names, address ranges, speed limits, turn restrictions at intersections, and other navigation related attributes, as well as POIs, such as gasoline stations, hotels, restaurants, museums, stadiums, offices, automobile dealerships, auto repair shops, buildings, stores, parks, etc. The geographic database 115 can include data about the POIs and their respective locations in the POI data records 907. The geographic database 115 can also include data about places, such as cities, towns, or other communities, and other geographic features, such as bodies of water, mountain ranges, etc. Such place or feature data can be part of the POI data records 907 or can be associated with POIs or POI data records 907 (such as a data point used for displaying or representing a position of a city).
In one embodiment, the geographic database 115 can also include lane marking data records 909 for storing lane marking detections, lane marking orientations, lane marking locations, estimated lane width data, constructed lane marking representations, and/or any other data generated or used by the system 100 according to the various embodiments described herein. By way of example, the lane marking data records 909 can be associated with one or more of the node records 903, road segment records 905, and/or POI data records 907 to support autonomous driving or other location-based applications based on the features stored therein. In this way, the lane marking data records 909 can also be associated with or used to classify the characteristics or metadata of the corresponding records 903, 905, and/or 907.
In one embodiment, as discussed above, the HD mapping data records 911 model road surfaces and other map features to centimeter-level or better accuracy. The HD mapping data records 911 also include lane models that provide the precise lane geometry with lane boundaries, as well as rich attributes of the lane models. These rich attributes include, but are not limited to, lane traversal information, lane types, lane marking types, lane level speed limit information, and/or the like. In one embodiment, the HD mapping data records 911 are divided into spatial partitions of varying sizes to provide HD mapping data to vehicles 103 and other end user devices with near real-time speed without overloading the available resources of the vehicles 103 and/or devices (e.g., computational, memory, bandwidth, etc. resources).
In one embodiment, the HD mapping data records 911 are created from high-resolution 3D mesh or point-cloud data generated, for instance, from LiDAR-equipped vehicles. The 3D mesh or point-cloud data are processed to create 3D representations of a street or geographic environment at centimeter-level accuracy for storage in the HD mapping data records 911.
In one embodiment, the HD mapping data records 911 also include real-time sensor data collected from probe vehicles in the field. The real-time sensor data, for instance, integrates real-time traffic information, weather, and road conditions (e.g., potholes, road friction, road wear, etc.) with highly detailed 3D representations of street and geographic features to provide precise real-time also at centimeter-level accuracy. Other sensor data can include vehicle telemetry or operational data such as windshield wiper activation state, braking state, steering angle, accelerator position, and/or the like.
In one embodiment, the geographic database 115 can be maintained by the content provider 123 in association with the services platform 119 (e.g., a map developer). The map developer can collect geographic data to generate and enhance the geographic database 115. There can be different ways used by the map developer to collect data. These ways can include obtaining data from other sources, such as municipalities or respective geographic authorities. In addition, the map developer can employ field personnel to travel by vehicle (e.g., vehicles 103 and/or UEs 105) along roads throughout the geographic region to observe features and/or record information about them, for example. Also, remote sensing, such as aerial or satellite photography, can be used.
The geographic database 115 can be a master geographic database stored in a format that facilitates updating, maintenance, and development. For example, the master geographic database or data in the master geographic database can be in an Oracle spatial format or other spatial format, such as for development or production purposes. The Oracle spatial format or development/production database can be compiled into a delivery format, such as a geographic data files (GDF) format. The data in the production and/or delivery formats can be compiled or further compiled to form geographic database products or databases, which can be used in end user navigation devices or systems.
For example, geographic data is compiled (such as into a platform specification format (PSF) format) to organize and/or configure the data for performing navigation-related functions and/or services, such as route calculation, route guidance, map display, speed calculation, distance and travel time functions, and other functions, by a navigation device, such as by a vehicle 103 or a UE 105, for example. The navigation-related functions can correspond to vehicle navigation, pedestrian navigation, or other types of navigation. The compilation to produce the end user databases can be performed by a party or entity separate from the map developer. For example, a customer of the map developer, such as a navigation device developer or other end user device developer, can perform compilation on a received geographic database in a delivery format to produce one or more compiled navigation databases.
The processes described herein for reconstructing road lane markings may be advantageously implemented via software, hardware (e.g., general processor, Digital Signal Processing (DSP) chip, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), etc.), firmware or a combination thereof. Such exemplary hardware for performing the described functions is detailed below.
A bus 1010 includes one or more parallel conductors of information so that information is transferred quickly among devices coupled to the bus 1010. One or more processors 1002 for processing information are coupled with the bus 1010.
A processor 1002 performs a set of operations on information as specified by computer program code related to reconstructing road lane markings. The computer program code is a set of instructions or statements providing instructions for the operation of the processor and/or the computer system to perform specified functions. The code, for example, may be written in a computer programming language that is compiled into a native instruction set of the processor. The code may also be written directly using the native instruction set (e.g., machine language). The set of operations include bringing information in from the bus 1010 and placing information on the bus 1010. The set of operations also typically include comparing two or more units of information, shifting positions of units of information, and combining two or more units of information, such as by addition or multiplication or logical operations like OR, exclusive OR (XOR), and AND. Each operation of the set of operations that can be performed by the processor is represented to the processor by information called instructions, such as an operation code of one or more digits. A sequence of operations to be executed by the processor 1002, such as a sequence of operation codes, constitute processor instructions, also called computer system instructions or, simply, computer instructions. Processors may be implemented as mechanical, electrical, magnetic, optical, chemical or quantum components, among others, alone or in combination.
Computer system 1000 also includes a memory 1004 coupled to bus 1010. The memory 1004, such as a random access memory (RANI) or other dynamic storage device, stores information including processor instructions for reconstructing road lane markings. Dynamic memory allows information stored therein to be changed by the computer system 1000. RAM allows a unit of information stored at a location called a memory address to be stored and retrieved independently of information at neighboring addresses. The memory 1004 is also used by the processor 1002 to store temporary values during execution of processor instructions. The computer system 1000 also includes a read only memory (ROM) 1006 or other static storage device coupled to the bus 1010 for storing static information, including instructions, which is not changed by the computer system 1000. Some memory is composed of volatile storage that loses the information stored thereon when power is lost. Also coupled to bus 1010 is a non-volatile (persistent) storage device 1008, such as a magnetic disk, optical disk or flash card, for storing information, including instructions, which persists even when the computer system 1000 is turned off or otherwise loses power.
Information, including instructions for reconstructing road lane markings, is provided to the bus 1010 for use by the processor from an external input device 1012, such as a keyboard containing alphanumeric keys operated by a human user, or a sensor. A sensor detects conditions in its vicinity and transforms those detections into physical expression compatible with the measurable phenomenon used to represent information in computer system 1000. Other external devices coupled to bus 1010, used primarily for interacting with humans, include a display device 1014, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) or a liquid crystal display (LCD), or plasma screen or printer for presenting text or images, and a pointing device 1016, such as a mouse or a trackball or cursor direction keys, or motion sensor, for controlling a position of a small cursor image presented on the display 1014 and issuing commands associated with graphical elements presented on the display 1014. In some embodiments, for example, in embodiments in which the computer system 1000 performs all functions automatically without human input, one or more of external input device 1012, display device 1014 and pointing device 1016 is omitted.
In the illustrated embodiment, special purpose hardware, such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) 1020, is coupled to bus 1010. The special purpose hardware is configured to perform operations not performed by processor 1002 quickly enough for special purposes. Examples of application specific ICs include graphics accelerator cards for generating images for display 1014, cryptographic boards for encrypting and decrypting messages sent over a network, speech recognition, and interfaces to special external devices, such as robotic arms and medical scanning equipment that repeatedly perform some complex sequence of operations that are more efficiently implemented in hardware.
Computer system 1000 also includes one or more instances of a communications interface 1070 coupled to bus 1010. Communication interface 1070 provides a one-way or two-way communication coupling to a variety of external devices that operate with their own processors, such as printers, scanners and external disks. In general the coupling is with a network link 1078 that is connected to a local network 1080 to which a variety of external devices with their own processors are connected. For example, communication interface 1070 may be a parallel port or a serial port or a universal serial bus (USB) port on a personal computer. In some embodiments, communications interface 1070 is an integrated services digital network (ISDN) card or a digital subscriber line (DSL) card or a telephone modem that provides an information communication connection to a corresponding type of telephone line. In some embodiments, a communication interface 1070 is a cable modem that converts signals on bus 1010 into signals for a communication connection over a coaxial cable or into optical signals for a communication connection over a fiber optic cable. As another example, communications interface 1070 may be a local area network (LAN) card to provide a data communication connection to a compatible LAN, such as Ethernet. Wireless links may also be implemented. For wireless links, the communications interface 1070 sends or receives or both sends and receives electrical, acoustic or electromagnetic signals, including infrared and optical signals, which carry information streams, such as digital data. For example, in wireless handheld devices, such as mobile telephones like cell phones, the communications interface 1070 includes a radio band electromagnetic transmitter and receiver called a radio transceiver. In certain embodiments, the communications interface 1070 enables connection to the communication network 117 for reconstructing road lane markings.
The term computer-readable medium is used herein to refer to any medium that participates in providing information to processor 1002, including instructions for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media and transmission media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as storage device 1008. Volatile media include, for example, dynamic memory 1004. Transmission media include, for example, coaxial cables, copper wire, fiber optic cables, and carrier waves that travel through space without wires or cables, such as acoustic waves and electromagnetic waves, including radio, optical and infrared waves. Signals include man-made transient variations in amplitude, frequency, phase, polarization or other physical properties transmitted through the transmission media. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, CDRW, DVD, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, optical mark sheets, any other physical medium with patterns of holes or other optically recognizable indicia, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave, or any other medium from which a computer can read.
Network link 1078 typically provides information communication using transmission media through one or more networks to other devices that use or process the information. For example, network link 1078 may provide a connection through local network 1080 to a host computer 1082 or to equipment 1084 operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP). ISP equipment 1084 in turn provides data communication services through the public, world-wide packet-switching communication network of networks now commonly referred to as the Internet 1090.
A computer called a server host 1092 connected to the Internet hosts a process that provides a service in response to information received over the Internet. For example, server host 1092 hosts a process that provides information representing video data for presentation at display 1014. It is contemplated that the components of system can be deployed in various configurations within other computer systems, e.g., host 1082 and server 1092.
In one embodiment, the chip set 1100 includes a communication mechanism such as a bus 1101 for passing information among the components of the chip set 1100. A processor 1103 has connectivity to the bus 1101 to execute instructions and process information stored in, for example, a memory 1105. The processor 1103 may include one or more processing cores with each core configured to perform independently. A multi-core processor enables multiprocessing within a single physical package. Examples of a multi-core processor include two, four, eight, or greater numbers of processing cores. Alternatively or in addition, the processor 1103 may include one or more microprocessors configured in tandem via the bus 1101 to enable independent execution of instructions, pipelining, and multithreading. The processor 1103 may also be accompanied with one or more specialized components to perform certain processing functions and tasks such as one or more digital signal processors (DSP) 1107, or one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) 1109. A DSP 1107 typically is configured to process real-world signals (e.g., sound) in real time independently of the processor 1103. Similarly, an ASIC 1109 can be configured to performed specialized functions not easily performed by a general purposed processor. Other specialized components to aid in performing the inventive functions described herein include one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) (not shown), one or more controllers (not shown), or one or more other special-purpose computer chips.
The processor 1103 and accompanying components have connectivity to the memory 1105 via the bus 1101. The memory 1105 includes both dynamic memory (e.g., RAM, magnetic disk, writable optical disk, etc.) and static memory (e.g., ROM, CD-ROM, etc.) for storing executable instructions that when executed perform the inventive steps described herein to reconstruct road lane markings. The memory 1105 also stores the data associated with or generated by the execution of the inventive steps.
A radio section 1215 amplifies power and converts frequency in order to communicate with a base station, which is included in a mobile communication system, via antenna 1217. The power amplifier (PA) 1219 and the transmitter/modulation circuitry are operationally responsive to the MCU 1203, with an output from the PA 1219 coupled to the duplexer 1221 or circulator or antenna switch, as known in the art. The PA 1219 also couples to a battery interface and power control unit 1220.
In use, a user of mobile station 1201 speaks into the microphone 1211 and his or her voice along with any detected background noise is converted into an analog voltage. The analog voltage is then converted into a digital signal through the Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) 1223. The control unit 1203 routes the digital signal into the DSP 1205 for processing therein, such as speech encoding, channel encoding, encrypting, and interleaving. In one embodiment, the processed voice signals are encoded, by units not separately shown, using a cellular transmission protocol such as global evolution (EDGE), general packet radio service (GPRS), global system for mobile communications (GSM), Internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS), universal mobile telecommunications system (UNITS), etc., as well as any other suitable wireless medium, e.g., microwave access (WiMAX), Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks, 5G New Radio networks, code division multiple access (CDMA), wireless fidelity (WiFi), satellite, and the like.
The encoded signals are then routed to an equalizer 1225 for compensation of any frequency-dependent impairments that occur during transmission though the air such as phase and amplitude distortion. After equalizing the bit stream, the modulator 1227 combines the signal with a RF signal generated in the RF interface 1229. The modulator 1227 generates a sine wave by way of frequency or phase modulation. In order to prepare the signal for transmission, an up-converter 1231 combines the sine wave output from the modulator 1227 with another sine wave generated by a synthesizer 1233 to achieve the desired frequency of transmission. The signal is then sent through a PA 1219 to increase the signal to an appropriate power level. In practical systems, the PA 1219 acts as a variable gain amplifier whose gain is controlled by the DSP 1205 from information received from a network base station. The signal is then filtered within the duplexer 1221 and optionally sent to an antenna coupler 1235 to match impedances to provide maximum power transfer. Finally, the signal is transmitted via antenna 1217 to a local base station. An automatic gain control (AGC) can be supplied to control the gain of the final stages of the receiver. The signals may be forwarded from there to a remote telephone which may be another cellular telephone, other mobile phone or a land-line connected to a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), or other telephony networks.
Voice signals transmitted to the mobile station 1201 are received via antenna 1217 and immediately amplified by a low noise amplifier (LNA) 1237. A down-converter 1239 lowers the carrier frequency while the demodulator 1241 strips away the RF leaving only a digital bit stream. The signal then goes through the equalizer 1225 and is processed by the DSP 1205. A Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) 1243 converts the signal and the resulting output is transmitted to the user through the speaker 1245, all under control of a Main Control Unit (MCU) 1203—which can be implemented as a Central Processing Unit (CPU) (not shown).
The MCU 1203 receives various signals including input signals from the keyboard 1247. The keyboard 1247 and/or the MCU 1203 in combination with other user input components (e.g., the microphone 1211) comprise a user interface circuitry for managing user input. The MCU 1203 runs a user interface software to facilitate user control of at least some functions of the mobile station 1201 to reconstruct road lane markings. The MCU 1203 also delivers a display command and a switch command to the display 1207 and to the speech output switching controller, respectively. Further, the MCU 1203 exchanges information with the DSP 1205 and can access an optionally incorporated SIM card 1249 and a memory 1251. In addition, the MCU 1203 executes various control functions required of the station. The DSP 1205 may, depending upon the implementation, perform any of a variety of conventional digital processing functions on the voice signals. Additionally, DSP 1205 determines the background noise level of the local environment from the signals detected by microphone 1211 and sets the gain of microphone 1211 to a level selected to compensate for the natural tendency of the user of the mobile station 1201.
The CODEC 1213 includes the ADC 1223 and DAC 1243. The memory 1251 stores various data including call incoming tone data and is capable of storing other data including music data received via, e.g., the global Internet. The software module could reside in RAM memory, flash memory, registers, or any other form of writable computer-readable storage medium known in the art including non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. For example, the memory device 1251 may be, but not limited to, a single memory, CD, DVD, ROM, RAM, EEPROM, optical storage, or any other non-volatile or non-transitory storage medium capable of storing digital data.
An optionally incorporated SIM card 1249 carries, for instance, important information, such as the cellular phone number, the carrier supplying service, subscription details, and security information. The SIM card 1249 serves primarily to identify the mobile station 1201 on a radio network. The card 1249 also contains a memory for storing a personal telephone number registry, text messages, and user specific mobile station settings.
While the invention has been described in connection with a number of embodiments and implementations, the invention is not so limited but covers various obvious modifications and equivalent arrangements, which fall within the purview of the appended claims. Although features of the invention are expressed in certain combinations among the claims, it is contemplated that these features can be arranged in any combination and order.
