Navigation device and method

1. A navigation device, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory store containing map data, the map data comprising one or more temporally-variant features and predetermined temporal information for each of the one or more temporally-variant features, wherein each temporally-variant feature is a road, a point of interest, or a map location and each temporally-variant feature has at least one property that changes with time in a manner that is known in advance and is defined in corresponding predetermined temporal information, and wherein said predetermined temporal information includes: (i) a start time of a variation in the map data associated with the corresponding temporally-variant feature and an end time of the variation in the map data; or (ii) a start time of the variation in the map data and duration of the variation in the map data,

the processor being arranged to:

determine a route from a start location to a destination location in a route planning process, wherein said determining comprises:

determining, based on the predetermined temporal information for at least one of the temporally-variant features in the map data, whether temporally-variant weightings associated with the at least one temporally-variant feature are to be applied to the map data;

determining a temporally-variant weighting for each road in a vicinity of the at least one temporally-variant feature based upon a distance of each road from the at least one temporally-variant feature; and

upon determining that the temporally-variant weightings associated with the at least one temporally-variant feature are to be applied to the map data, when determining the route, applying the temporally-variant weightings for the roads in the vicinity of the at least one temporally-variant feature; and

provide the route determined in the route-planning process.

2. The navigation device of claim 1 , wherein the temporally-variant weighting is determined based on whether a subdivided portion of each road in the vicinity of the temporally-variable feature falls within one of a plurality of radii emanating from the temporally-variable feature.

3. The navigation device of claim 1 , wherein the temporally-variant weighting is determined based on a continuous weighting function applied to the distance of each road from the temporally-variant feature.

4. The navigation device of claim 1 , wherein the temporally-variant feature of the map data is a map feature having a temporally-variable attribute or a map feature having temporally-variable validity.

5. The navigation device of claim 1 , wherein the map data comprises first map data comprising map feature information and second map data comprising the temporally variable feature.

6. The navigation device of claim 5 , further comprising a data receiving device to receive data, wherein the second map data is received from the data receiving device and stored in the store.

7. The navigation device of claim 1 , wherein the temporally-variant feature is one or more of: a road; a point of interest (POI); and a car park.

8. A method of determining a route from a start location to a destination location in a route-planning process, comprising:

accessing, by a processor, a memory store containing map data, the map data comprising one or more temporally-variant features and predetermined temporal information for each of the one or more temporally-variant features, wherein each temporally-variant feature is a road, a point of interest, or a map location and each temporally-variant feature has at least one property that changes with time in a manner that is known in advance and is defined in corresponding predetermined temporal information, wherein said predetermined temporal information includes: (i) a start time of a variation in the map data associated with the corresponding temporally-variant feature and an end time of the variation in the map data; or (ii) a start time of the variation in the map data and duration of the variation in the map data;

determining, by the processor, based on the predetermined temporal information for at least one of the temporally-variant features in the map data, whether temporally-variant weightings associated with the at least one temporally-variant feature are to be applied to the map data;

determining, by the processor, a temporally-variant weighting for each road in a vicinity of the at least one temporally-variant feature based upon a distance of each road from the at least one temporally-variant feature;

upon determining, by the processor, that the temporally-variant weightings associated with the at least one temporally-variant feature are to be applied to the map data, when determining the route, applying the temporally-variant weightings for the roads in the vicinity of the at least one temporally-variant feature; and

providing, by the processor, the route determined in the route-planning process.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the temporally-variant weighting is determined based on whether a subdivided portion of each road in the vicinity of the temporally-variable feature falls within one of a plurality of radii emanating from the temporally-variable feature.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the temporally-variant weighting is determined based on a continuous weighting function applied to the distance of each road from the temporally-variant feature.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the temporally-variant feature of the map data is a map feature having a temporally-variable attribute or a map feature having temporally-variable validity.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the map data comprises first map data comprising map feature information and second map data comprising the temporally variable feature.

13. The method of claim 8 , further receiving the second map data and storing the received data in the store.

14. The method of claim 8 , wherein the temporally-variant feature is one or more of: a road; a point of interest (POI); and a car park.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium which stores a set of instructions which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform a method of determining a route from a start location to a destination location in a route-planning process, the method executed by the set of instructions comprising:

accessing a memory store containing map data, the map data comprising one or more temporally-variant features and predetermined temporal information for each of the one or more temporally-variant features, wherein each temporally-variant feature is a road, a point of interest, or a map location and each temporally-variant feature has at least one property that changes with time in a manner that is known in advance and is defined in corresponding predetermined temporal information, wherein said predetermined temporal information includes:(i) a start time of a variation in the map data associated with the corresponding temporally-variant feature and an end time of the variation in the map data; or (ii) a start time of the variation in the map data and duration of the variation in the map data;

determining, by the processor, based on the predetermined temporal information for at least one of the temporally-variant features in the map data, whether temporally-variant weightings associated with the at least one temporally-variant feature are to be applied to the map data;

determining a temporally-variant weighting for each road in a vicinity of the at least one temporally-variant feature based upon a distance of each road from the at least one temporally-variant feature;

upon determining, by the processor, that the temporally-variant weightings associated with the at least one temporally-variant feature are to be applied to the map data, when determining the route, applying the temporally-variant weightings for the roads in the vicinity of the at least one temporally-variant feature; and

providing the route determined in the route-planning process.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the temporally-variant weighting is determined based on whether a subdivided portion of each road in the vicinity of the temporally-variable feature falls within one of a plurality of radii emanating from the temporally-variable feature.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the temporally-variant weighting is determined based on a continuous weighting function applied to the distance of each road from the temporally-variant feature.