System and method for selecting and presenting a route to a user

1. A method for selecting and presenting a route to a user comprising:

storing on at least one of a server and a device a plurality of associations, each association between a route taken by a user and characteristics of the user;

receiving from a particular user a request for at least one recommended route to a destination point;

formulating a query based on user specified parameters, including an origination point, the destination point, and characteristics of other users, to obtain routes taken by other users;

retrieving, in response to the query, from the stored plurality of associations, a plurality of routes taken by other users having at least some of the characteristics of other users and related to at least one of the origination point and the destination point; and

presenting at least one recommended route to the particular user based on at least one of the retrieved routes that most closely matches the user specified parameters,

wherein at least one of the preceding actions is performed on at least one of the server and the device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein formulating the query further comprises: formulating the query based on route parameters, wherein the route parameters include any combination of quickness, personal safety, traffic safety, road conditions, and police activity.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the characteristics of other users include demographic parameters including any combination of a name, address, sex, age, driving experience, and number of children.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising allowing each of the plurality of users to specify a group of users with whom the user's routes may be shared and from whom the routes may be requested.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein retrieving the plurality of stored routes in response to the query further comprises:

generating, by the at least one of the server and the device, one or more candidate routes from the origination point to the destination point; and

assigning, by the at least one of the server and the device, weights to the generated candidate routes based in part on how much the retrieved routes overlap the candidate routes; and

wherein presenting at least one recommended route to the particular user based on at least one of the retrieved routes that most closely matches the user specified parameters includes presenting at least one candidate route having the highest assigned weight to the particular user.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the weight assigned to a particular one of the generated candidate routes is proportional to the distance at least one of the retrieved routes overlaps the particular one the generated candidate routes.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the weight assigned to the particular one of the generated candidate routes is proportional to a number of street segments the at least one of the retrieved routes overlaps the particular one of the generated candidate routes.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein the weight assigned to the particular one of the generated candidate routes is determined by the at least one of the server and the device by:

calculating a total distance of the candidate route;

calculating a total distance that at least one segment of the at least one of the retrieved routes overlaps with a corresponding segment of the candidate route; and

assigning a value to the weight that is equal to either of the total distance of overlapping segments, or the total distance of overlapping segments divided by the total distance of the candidate route.

9. The method of claim 5 wherein presenting to the particular user the at least one recommended route further comprises selecting at least one of the generated candidate routes having a highest weight.

10. A system for selecting and presenting a route to a user comprising system components including:

at least one route database component for storing a plurality of associations, each association between a route taken by a user and characteristics of the user;

a routing module component coupled to the route database for receiving from a particular user a request for at least one recommended route to a destination point, wherein in response to the request, the routing module is configured to:

formulate a query based on user specified parameters, including an origination point, the destination point, and characteristics of other users, to obtain routes taken by other users;

retrieve from the stored plurality of associations, in response to the query, a plurality of routes taken by one or more other users having at least some of the characteristics of other users and related to at least one of the origination point and the destination point; and

present the at least one recommended route to the particular user based on at least one of the received routes that most closely matches the specified parameters,

wherein at least one of the system components includes at least one electronic hardware component.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the routing module formulates the query based on route parameters that include any combination of quickness, personal safety, traffic safety, road conditions, and police activity.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein the characteristics of other users include demographic parameters including any combination of a name, address, sex, age, driving experience, and number of children.

13. The system of claim 10 wherein the routing module component is further configured to allow a user to specify a group of users with whom the user's routes may be shared and from whom the routes may be requested.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein the specified group of users comprises a buddy list.

15. The system of claim 10 wherein the router module is further configured to:

generate one or more candidate routes from the origination point to the destination point; and

assign weights to the generated candidate routes based in part on how much the retrieved routes overlap the candidate routes; and

wherein presenting the at least one recommended route to the particular user using at least one of the received routes that most closely matches the specified parameters includes presenting at least one candidate route having the highest assigned weight to the particular user.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the weight assigned to a particular one of the generated candidate routes is proportional to the distance at least one of the retrieved routes overlaps the particular one the generated candidate routes.

17. The system of claim 15 wherein the weight assigned to the particular one of the generated candidate routes is proportional to a number of street segments the at least one of the retrieved routes overlaps the particular one of the generated candidate routes.

18. The system of claim 15 wherein the weight assigned to the particular one of the generated candidate routes is determined by the routing module by:

calculating a total distance of the candidate route;

calculating a total distance that at least one segment of the at least one of the retrieved routes overlaps with a corresponding segment of the candidate route; and

assigning a value to the weight that is equal to either of the total distance of overlapping segments, or the total distance of overlapping segments divided by the total distance of the candidate route.

19. The system of claim 14 wherein the route module is configured to present to the particular user at least one of the generated candidate routes having a highest weight.

20. A computer-readable medium storing a computer program, executable by a machine, for selecting and presenting a route to a user, the computer program comprising executable instructions for:

storing a plurality of associations, each association between a route taken by a user and characteristics of the user;

receiving from a particular user a request for at least one recommended route to a destination point;

formulating a query based on the request and user specified parameters, including an origination point, the destination point, and characteristics of other users, to obtain routes taken by other users;

retrieving from the stored plurality of associations, in response to the query, a plurality of routes taken by other users having at least some of the characteristics of other users and related to at least one of the origination point and the destination point; and

presenting at least one recommended route to the particular user based on at least one of the retrieved routes that most closely matches the user specified parameters.