Method and Apparatus for Determining Representations of Abbreviated Terms for Conveying Navigation Information

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and computer program product are provided to facilitate determining abbreviations of a term for conveying navigation information based on one or more other terms of the navigation information. In the context of a method, one or more terms for conveying navigation information are determined. The method may also determine at least one abbreviation for at least one term of the one or more terms so that the at least one abbreviation is unambiguous with respect to other one or more of the one or more terms. The method may also cause a presentation of at least one representation of the at least one abbreviation.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 determining a first navigation route from a set of navigation information, the first navigation route comprising a plurality of terms as a subset of the navigation information;   determining a first abbreviation for a term of the first navigation route to be one or more characters comprised by the term of the first navigation route, such that the first abbreviation is different than abbreviations of other terms of the first navigation route;   causing a presentation of a navigation guidance instruction that comprises a representation of the first abbreviation;   determining a second navigation route from the set of navigation information, the second navigation route comprising a different plurality of terms as a subset of the navigation information, wherein at least one term of the second navigation route is different compared to the terms of the first navigation route;   determining a second abbreviation for a term of the second navigation route to be one or more characters comprised by the term of the second navigation route, such that the second abbreviation is different than abbreviations of other terms of the second navigation route, wherein the term of the second navigation route is the same as the term of the first navigation route and the second abbreviation is different from the first abbreviation; and   causing a presentation of a navigation guidance instruction that comprises a representation of the second abbreviation.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of terms of the first navigation route and the plurality of terms of the second navigation route are street names corresponding with at least one of:
 i) segments that form the respective route and   ii) segments that cross the respective route.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining a third navigation route from the set of navigation information, wherein the determination of the first navigation route comprises determination of the first navigation route to be a route segment of the third navigation route and the determination of the second navigation route comprises determination of the second navigation route to be another route segment of the third navigation route. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the first navigation route is a segment of the third navigation route between two navigation guidance instructions. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the second navigation route is a segment of the third navigation route between two navigation guidance instructions. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the first navigation route is a segment of the third navigation route between a first navigation guidance instruction and a second navigation guidance instruction, and the second navigation route is a segment of the third navigation route between the second navigation guidance instruction and a third navigation guidance instruction. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the term of the first navigation route indicates at least one of: one or more streets along the first navigation route, one or more cross streets along the first navigation route, one or more landmarks along the first navigation route, or one or more points-of-interest along the first navigation route. 
     
     
         8 . An apparatus comprising:
 at least one processor; and   at least one memory including computer program code for one or more programs, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least:
 determine a first navigation route from a set of navigation information, the first navigation route comprising a plurality of terms as a subset of the navigation information; 
 determine a first abbreviation for a term of the first navigation route to be one or more characters comprised by the term of the first navigation route, such that the first abbreviation is different than abbreviations of other terms of the first navigation route; 
 cause a presentation of a navigation guidance instruction that comprises a representation of the first abbreviation; 
 determine a second navigation route from the set of navigation information, the second navigation route comprising a different plurality of terms as a subset of the navigation information, wherein at least one term of the second navigation route is different compared to the terms of the first navigation route; 
 determine a second abbreviation for a term of the second navigation route to be one or more characters comprised by the term of the second navigation route, such that the second abbreviation is different than abbreviations of other terms of the second navigation route, wherein the term of the second navigation route is the same as the term of the first navigation route and the second abbreviation is different from the first abbreviation; and 
 cause a presentation of a navigation guidance instruction that comprises a representation of the second abbreviation. 
   
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the plurality of terms of the first navigation route and the plurality of terms of the second navigation route are street names corresponding with at least one of:
 i) segments that form the respective route and   ii) segments that cross the respective route.   
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to determine a third navigation route from the set of navigation information, wherein the determination of the first navigation route comprises determination of the first navigation route to be a route segment of the third navigation route and the determination of the second navigation route comprises determination of the second navigation route to be another route segment of the third navigation route. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the first navigation route is a segment of the third navigation route between two navigation guidance instructions. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the second navigation route is a segment of the third navigation route between two navigation guidance instructions. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the first navigation route is a segment of the third navigation route between a first navigation guidance instruction and a second navigation guidance instruction, and the second navigation route is a segment of the third navigation route between the second navigation guidance instruction and a third navigation guidance instruction. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the term of the first navigation route indicates at least one of: one or more streets along the first navigation route, one or more cross streets along the first navigation route, one or more landmarks along the first navigation route, or one or more points-of-interest along the first navigation route. 
     
     
         15 . A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program instructions stored therein, the computer-readable program instructions comprising program instructions configured to:
 determine a first navigation route from a set of navigation information, the first navigation route comprising a plurality of terms as a subset of the navigation information;   determine a first abbreviation for a term of the first navigation route to be one or more characters comprised by the term of the first navigation route, such that the first abbreviation is different than abbreviations of other terms of the first navigation route;   cause a presentation of a navigation guidance instruction that comprises a representation of the first abbreviation;   determine a second navigation route from the set of navigation information, the second navigation route comprising a different plurality of terms as a subset of the navigation information, wherein at least one term of the second navigation route is different compared to the terms of the first navigation route;   determine a second abbreviation for a term of the second navigation route to be one or more characters comprised by the term of the second navigation route, such that the second abbreviation is different than abbreviations of other terms of the second navigation route, wherein the term of the second navigation route is the same as the term of the first navigation route and the second abbreviation is different from the first abbreviation; and   cause a presentation of a navigation guidance instruction that comprises a representation of the second abbreviation.   
     
     
         16 . The medium of  claim 15 , wherein the plurality of terms of the first navigation route and the plurality of terms of the second navigation route are street names corresponding with at least one of:
 i) segments that form the respective route and   ii) segments that cross the respective route.   
     
     
         17 . The medium of  claim 15 , wherein the program instructions are further configured to determine a third navigation route from the set of navigation information, wherein the determination of the first navigation route comprises determination of the first navigation route to be a route segment of the third navigation route and the determination of the second navigation route comprises determination of the second navigation route to be another route segment of the third navigation route. 
     
     
         18 . The medium of  claim 17 , wherein the first navigation route is a segment of the third navigation route between two navigation guidance instructions. 
     
     
         19 . The medium of  claim 17 , wherein the second navigation route is a segment of the third navigation route between two navigation guidance instructions. 
     
     
         20 . The medium of  claim 17 , wherein the first navigation route is a segment of the third navigation route between a first navigation guidance instruction and a second navigation guidance instruction, and the second navigation route is a segment of the third navigation route between the second navigation guidance instruction and a third navigation guidance instruction.