Optimal route calculation based upon cohort analysis
View Patent ↗The invention includes cohort analysis as an element of an in-vehicle navigation system. As an operator makes trips from an origin to a destination, the navigation system records various route segments chosen. These choices are compared to route segments comprising a minimal time route calculated for the trip. Segments not part of the prescribed route are collected and periodically sent along with the origin and destination to a centralized server, wherein they are stored in a database. The central server also has an extensive map database that lists many attributes for each segment not generally included in an in-vehicle database. The attributes include variables pertaining to traffic flow, e.g. speed, number of lanes, lane width; topology, e.g. possible turns at endpoints; geometry, e.g. horizontal shape, vertical curvature, and super-elevation; usage, e.g. freeway, arterial, local, residential, business; and topography, e.g. buildings, trees, open-space, facilities, and stores.
1. Method for identifying a preferred travel route for an operator of a vehicle, comprising:
providing a navigation system having a route optimization function incorporating a cohort attribute model;
selecting an origin point and a destination point; and,
determining a travel route based upon estimated travel time, travel distance and cohort attribute information;
wherein providing a navigation system having a route optimization function incorporating a cohort attribute model comprises:
A) determining information for a plurality of vehicle operators, including:
1) creating an operator profile for each operator based upon attributes of operator-selected route segments, comprising:
a) comparing operator-selected route segments to optimal route segments for a plurality of trips;
b) capturing operator-selected route segments divergent from the optimal route segments; and,
c) evaluating the operator-selected route segments divergent from the optimal route segments based upon attributes of the operator-selected route segments; and,
2) capturing a plurality of operator profiles, each based upon similarity of attributes of divergent operator-selected route segments;
B) determining a plurality of categories of operators, each category defined by attributes of divergent operator-selected route segments; and,
C) assigning each operator to one of the plurality of categories, based upon the operator profile.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
D) generating navigation instructions.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein determining a travel route based upon estimated travel time, travel distance and cohort attribute information further comprises: determining a travel route based upon operator-selectable weightings of the estimated travel time, travel distance and cohort attribute information.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein comparing operator-selected route segments to optimal route segments for each trip comprises comparing operator-selected route segments to a corresponding minimal-time route segment.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein comparing operator-selected route segments to optimal route segments for each trip comprises comparing operator-selected route segments to a corresponding minimal-distance route segment.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the attributes comprise at least one of: traffic flow, route topology, road geometry, road type, and topography.
7. Article of manufacture comprising:
a storage medium having a computer program encoded therein for effecting a method to identify a preferred travel route for an operator of a vehicle, the vehicle having an in-vehicle system operable to access a navigation system, and having a user interface operable to input an operator-selectable origin point and a destination point;
said computer program comprising:
code for the navigation system comprising a route optimization function incorporating a cohort attribute model;
code to determine a travel route based upon estimated travel time, travel distance, and cohort attribute information, the cohort attribute information communicable to the storage medium from a remote navigation system; and,
code to generate navigation instructions;
wherein the remote navigation system comprises: a remote storage medium having a computer program encoded therein for effecting a method to determine the cohort attribute information; said computer program encoded in the remote storage medium comprising:
code to capture a plurality of operator profiles, each operator profile comprising a plurality of attributes of divergent operator-selected route segments;
code to create a plurality of clusters of operator profiles based upon similarity of the plurality of attributes of divergent operator-selected route segments;
code to determine a plurality of categories of operators based upon the clusters of operator profiles; and,
code to assign each operator to one of the plurality of categories of operators based upon an operator profile.
8. The article of manufacture of claim 7 , wherein the code to determine a travel route based upon estimated travel time, travel distance, and cohort attribute information farther comprises: code to determine the travel route modifiable by operator-selectable weightings of the estimated travel time, travel distance, and cohort attribute information.
9. Article of manufacture, comprising:
a remote storage medium having a computer program encoded therein for effecting a method to determine cohort attribute information for a navigation system; said computer program comprising:
code to capture a plurality of operator profiles, each operator profile comprising a plurality of attributes;
code to create a plurality of clusters of operator profiles based upon similarity of attributes and similarity of divergent operator-selected route segments;
code to determine a plurality of categories of operators based upon the clusters of operator profiles, each category defined by attributes of divergent operator-selected route segments; and,
code to assign each operator to one of the plurality of categories of operators based upon an operator profile.