Method of creating map data comprising transit times for intersections

Abstract

A computerised method of creating map data from position data derived from the positions ( 606 ) of at least one vehicle over a period of time, the map data comprising a plurality of navigable segments representing segments ( 602,604 ) of a navigable route ( 607 ) in the area covered by the map and the map data also comprising intersections between navigable segments ( 602,604 ) representing intersections in the navigable route, the method comprising using a processing circuitry to perform the following steps: i. processing the position data; ii. calculating from the processing of the position data a transit time or set of transit times for at least some of the intersections in the map data; and iii generating further map data, which for at least some of the intersections therein, contains the calculated transit time or set of transit times associated with the intersection for which the calculation was made.

1 - 13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . A computerized method of creating data for a map from position data derived from the positions of a plurality of vehicles traversing a road network over a period of time in an area covered by the map, the map comprising a plurality of segments, each segment representing a portion of the road network, the map further comprising intersections between segments representing intersections in the road network, each intersection having a plurality of manoeuvers associated therewith, wherein one of the manoeuvers is a reference manoeuver, and wherein each segment has an associated speed profile indicative of average speeds of travel of vehicles along the portion of the road network represented by the segment and the reference manoeuver at a plurality of time periods, the method comprising using a processing circuitry to:
 analyze the position data to determine, for each of a plurality of intersections, position data corresponding to a portion of a vehicle trip that passed through the intersection, and classify the determined position data according to the manoeuver made by the vehicle when it passed through the intersection and a time at which the manoeuver was performed;   analyze the classified position data to determine the time taken to perform each other manoeuver at each of the plurality of intersections relative to the time taken to perform the reference manoeuver at the respective intersection, and average the determined times for each of the other manoeuvers at each intersection to calculate a differential penalty profile for each of the other manoeuvers, the differential penalty profile comprising a plurality of transit time offsets for the respective manoeuver relative to the reference manoeuver, each transit time offset being indicative of an average time offset in a predetermined time period; and   creating map data for the map which, for at least some of the other maneuvers of the intersections and approaching road segments, contains the calculated differential penalty profile.   
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 14 , in which each time offset is either positive indicating a transit time gain relative to the reference manoeuver or negative indicating a transit time delay relative to the reference manoeuver. 
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 14 , in which the reference manoeuver is the ‘least time loss’ manoeuver at the intersection. 
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 16 , in which each time offset is negative indicating a transit time delay relative to the reference manoeuver. 
     
     
         18 . The method according  claim 14 , further comprising determining at least one of: a route from an origin to a destination using the created data; and a journey time for a route from an origin to a destination using the created data. 
     
     
         19 . A computerized method of determining a journey time of a route from an origin to a destination using a map, said map comprising:
 a plurality of segments, each segment representing a portion of a road network in an area covered by the map;   intersections between segments representing intersections in the road network, each intersection having a plurality of manoeuvers associated therewith, wherein one of the manoeuvers is a reference manoeuver; and   a differential penalty profile for each of the manoeuvers other than the reference manoeuver at each of the intersections, each differential penalty profile being indicative of average time offsets for vehicles to perform the respective manoeuver relative to the reference manoeuver at a plurality of time periods,   wherein each segment has a length and an associated speed profile indicative of average speeds of travel of vehicles along the portion of the road network represented by the segment and the reference manoeuver at a plurality of time periods,   the method comprising using a processing circuitry to:
 determine a route from an origin to a destination using said map, said route comprising at least one segment and at least one manoeuver at an intersection other than the reference manoeuver; 
 determine the journey time for the route by summing the travel time for the at least one segment and the transit time offset for the at least one manoeuver, wherein said travel time for the at least one segment is determined using the length of the segment and the average speed from the speed profile for the respective time period, and wherein said transit time offset for the at least one manoeuver is determined using the average time offset from the differential penalty profile for the respective time period; 
 providing a user the determined journey time for the route. 
   
     
     
         20 . A machine arranged to create data for a map, the map comprising a plurality of segments, each segment representing a portion of a road network in an area covered by the map, the map further comprising intersections between segments representing intersections in the road network, each intersection having a plurality of manoeuvers associated therewith, wherein one of the manoeuvers is a reference manoeuver, and wherein each segment has an associated speed profile indicative of average speeds of travel of vehicles along the portion of the road network represented by the segment and the reference manoeuver at a plurality of time periods, the machine comprising processing circuitry arranged to process position data derived from the positions of a plurality of vehicles traversing the road network over a period of time, the processing circuitry being programmed to:
 analyze the position data to determine, for each of a plurality of intersections, position data corresponding to a portion of a vehicle trip that passed through the intersection, and classify the determined position data according to the manoeuver made by the vehicle when it passed through the intersection and a time at which the manoeuver was performed;   analyze the classified position data to determine the time taken to perform each other manoeuver at each of the plurality of intersections relative to the time taken to perform the reference manoeuver at the respective intersection, and average the determined times for each of the other manoeuvers at each intersection to calculate a differential penalty profile for each of the other manoeuvers, the differential penalty profile comprising a plurality of transit time offsets for the respective manoeuver relative to the reference manoeuver, each transit time offset being indicative of an average time offset in a predetermined time period; and   generating map data for the map which, for at least some of the other maneuvers of the intersections and approaching road segments, contains the calculated differential penalty profile.   
     
     
         21 . The machine according to  claim 20 , in which each time offset is either positive indicating a transit time gain relative to the reference manoeuver or negative indicating a transit time delay relative to the reference manoeuver. 
     
     
         22 . The machine according to  claim 20 , in which the reference manoeuver is the ‘least time loss’ manoeuver at the intersection. 
     
     
         23 . The machine according to  claim 22 , in which each time offset is negative indicating a transit time delay relative to the reference manoeuver. 
     
     
         24 . The machine according to  claim 20 , further comprising determining at least one of: a route from an origin to a destination using the created data; and a journey time for a route from an origin to a destination using the created data. 
     
     
         25 . A non-transitory machine readable medium containing instructions which, when read by a machine, cause that machine to perform the method of  claim 14 . 
     
     
         26 . A non-transitory machine readable medium containing instructions which, when read by a machine, cause that machine to perform the method of  claim 19 .