Search

EP-3710784-B1 - ENHANCING MAP DATA BASED ON POINTS OF INTEREST

EP3710784B1EP 3710784 B1EP3710784 B1EP 3710784B1EP-3710784-B1

Inventors

  • MOORE, CHRISTOPHER

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20181228

Claims (10)

  1. A method comprising: receiving a trip request, the trip request including a location (300) of a user requesting a trip; identifying, based on the received location (300), a set of hotspots (320) in an area of the received location (300), each hotspot at or within a threshold distance of the received location (300), each hotspot (320) representing a cluster of locations in which trips commonly begin; identifying a set of points of interest (310) in the area at or within a threshold distance of the location (300); scoring each point of interest of the set of points of interest, a score representing a relative value of displaying each point of interest (310) based on the ability of the point of interest (310) to assist the user's orientation or navigation of the area, the scoring comprising: analyzing one or more images associated with a point of interest to identify text content in each image; determining the visibility of the point of interest by comparing identified text content in each image to terms associated with the point of interest and determining whether the text matches the terms; based on the comparison, scoring a point of interest that is more visible more highly relative to a point of interest that is less visible; modifying a user interface to display a map, the map showing the area including one or more of the points of interest (310) based on the scoring and one or more of the identified hotspots (320); and receiving via the user interface a selection from the user of a hotspot (320) to be a pickup spot from which to begin the trip.
  2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving an input from the user to move the displayed map; identifying a second set of points of interest based on a new area of the displayed map; identifying a second set of hotspots (320) based on the new area of the displayed map; scoring each point of interest of the second set of points of interest; and modifying the user interface to display the new area, the second set of hotspots, and one or more of the second set of points of interest based on the scoring.
  3. The method of claim 1, wherein a score for each point of interest further represents a relative visibility of the point of interest.
  4. The method of claim 1, wherein a score for each point of interest further represents a frequency of trips associated with the point of interest at a time of the trip request.
  5. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of points of interest includes one or more of: businesses, landmarks, and building names.
  6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying, based on the received location, one or more buildings or geographies associated with the location of the user; identifying a location boundary associated with the one or more buildings or geographies; and modifying the user interface to include the identified location boundary.
  7. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying the user interface to display a map further comprises identifying a curb or side of a street as a meeting location.
  8. The method of claim 7, wherein the curb or side of the street is determined based on a selection by the user requesting the trip.
  9. The method of claim 7, wherein the curb or side of the street is determined based on the selected hotspot.
  10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer program instructions executable by a processor to perform a method according to any one of the preceding claims.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 62/612,628, filed December 31, 2017. BACKGROUND This invention relates generally to visualizing mapping data, and more particularly to improving a user interface for navigating users. Designating real-life geography for a user on a display may be a challenge, particularly when an automated system attempts to coordinate a rendezvous at a common location for more than one user while minimizing the time it takes for the users to identify the rendezvous. In particular, the system designate a meeting location, for example for a travel service, that may lack effective landmarks and which may be difficult for users to determine what real-life location corresponds to the meeting location. Accordingly, there is a need for user interfaces to more effectively communicate information about such locations to users and improve user understanding of such maps. US20 14074395 proposes a method of displaying points of interest to a user of a portable electronic device. The method includes receiving an input from a user for entering a destination location into the portable electronic device for generating navigation instructions to the destination location, determining a current location of the portable electronic device according to received position signals, and providing navigation instructions to the destination location along a suggested navigation route according to the current location of the portable electronic device. The method further includes displaying points of interest located within a display area of a map shown on a display of the portable electronic device according to weighted scores assigned to the points of interest, where the weighted scores are modified according to the relevance of the points of interest to the suggested navigation route, and the points of interest having higher weighted scores are displayed. US2017314954 proposes a method to generate navigation directions for a driver of a vehicle. According to the method, a route for guiding the driver to a destination is obtained, visual landmarks corresponding to prominent physical objects disposed along the route are retrieved, and real-time imagery is collected at the vehicle approximately from a vantage point of the driver during navigation along the route. Using (i) the retrieved visual landmarks and (ii) the imagery collected at the vehicle, a subset of the visual landmarks that are currently visible to the driver is selected. Navigation directions describing the route are provided the driver, the navigation directions referencing the selected subset of the visual landmarks and excluding the remaining visual landmarks. US2009055087 proposes systems and methods for displaying maps and points such as points corresponding to points of interest on displayed maps, the display of the points being dynamically and automatically altered in response to alterations in the displayed maps. The systems and methods include providing a map view and points therefor in response to a user request, as well as supplying preloaded map records for map views and points records so that the records and points are ready for display in the event the user selects actions to change the displayed view, such as by panning or zooming. US2016370194 proposes systems and methods for providing suggested locations for pick up and destination locations. Pick up locations may include locations where an autonomous vehicle can pick up a passenger, while destination locations may include locations where the vehicle can wait for an additional passenger, stop and wait for a passenger to perform some task and return to the vehicle, or for the vehicle to drop off a passenger. As such, a request for a vehicle may be received from a client computing device. The request may identify a first location. A set of one or more suggested locations may be selected by comparing the predetermined locations to the first location. The set may be provided to the client computing device. SUMMARY According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method as set out in claim 1. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as set out in claim 10. To improve the display of location information, an online system may designate street-level information for a location and include points of interest near the location to improve understanding of users navigating to the location. For example, an online system may provide a travel coordination service between a rider and a provider. When the rider initiates a trip request, the online system may identify geographic information near the rider and customize a map for the user to select a pickup location. The pickup location, when displayed to the rider and the provider, may include points of interest and highlight a curb or side of the road of the pickup location, ra