SYSTEM, METHOD, AND DEVICE FOR ROUTING THROUGH CRIME AREAS

A navigation system, device, and method for providing a route to a user for travelling based on one or more crime statistics. The user is provided crime related information based on up to date statistics of any selected route or predefined area, and additionally the user is provided alerts upon entering a high crime density area. Moreover, the user is also facilitated with a route that the user may have previously utilized and the corresponding current crime statistics.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The presently disclosed embodiments are generally related to navigation systems, and more particularly to a navigation system that facilitates routing by avoiding areas with high crime density.

BACKGROUND

Each year millions of global positioning devices and electronic navigation devices are purchased worldwide. Many of these devices are used for routing individuals or groups from one location to another. The currently available Global Positioning Systems (GPS) allow a user to know the traffic and any accidents along the selected or instant route. Such Global Positioning Systems also display time to destination, speed of travel, traffic cameras along the route, weather, and other route conditions. One variable that is currently missing in GPS routing devices is the ability to tell a user about the safety of a selected or instant route. For example, if a user selects a certain route or is following a route that takes the user into a high density crime area, then the currently available GPS devices do not have the capability to alert the user about the safety concerns of that particular area. Further, the user is currently not warned of this safety factor when selecting a route. It is also common when using GPS routing systems for a user to vary from the selected route either by mistake or intentionally and end up in a high crime density area. In such a case, the user needs to be alerted about the same.

The need for a GPS device that avoids or alerts regarding high crime areas is intensified in a war struck zone especially for the military personnel and military vehicles. Current GPS routing devices are unable to provide information to the users on all known crime factors that may affect the user's safety while travelling along a route.

Hence, there is a need for a device, system, and method that provides a user the safety of routing their vehicle through a safe area of roads or waterways or airstreams based on currently available up-to-date statistics. Further, there exists a need for a system, method and device that allows a user to utilize previously selected routing patterns and to show if a selected route is safe or not.

BRIEF SUMMARY

It will be understood that this disclosure in not limited to the particular systems, and methodologies described, as there can be multiple possible embodiments of the present disclosure which are not expressly illustrated in the present disclosure. It is also to be understood that the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing the particular versions or embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

In an example embodiment, a system for vehicle routing through low crime areas is described. The system may comprise one or more electronic devices and one or more remote servers. The one or more remote servers are communicatively coupled with the one or more electronic devices by means of a network. The one or more electronic devices may send geographical information corresponding to the one or more electronic devices to the one or more remote servers. The one or more remote servers may retrieve crime related information corresponding to the geographical information of the one or more electronic devices. The retrieved crime related information may then be sent from the one or more remote servers to the corresponding one or more electronic devices. Upon receiving the crime related information, an alert may be generated by the one or more electronic devices based on the corresponding crime related information.

In an example embodiment, a device for vehicle routing through low crime areas is described. The electronic device may comprise a communication module, a GPS location module, a processor, and a user interface. The communication module may be enabled to retrieve crime related information. The GPS location module may be enabled to retrieve geographical information from one or more global positioning satellites. The processor may be enabled to process crime related information retrieved from one or more remote servers and the one or more global positioning satellites. The processor may trigger the user interface to generate an alert based on processing the received geographical information and the crime related information.

In an example embodiment, a method for vehicle routing through low crime areas is described. The method comprises the processor implemented steps of receiving geographical information corresponding to the one or more electronic devices, by one or more remote servers; retrieving crime related information related to the geographical information of the one or more electronic devices, by one or more remote servers; sending the retrieved crime related information to the corresponding one or more electronic devices, by one or more remote servers; and generating an alert by each of the one or more electronic devices based on the corresponding crime related information.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the following discussion, it is appreciated that throughout this specification discussions utilizing terms such as “processing.” “computing,” “calculating,” “selecting,” “forming,” “enabling,” “extracting,” “inhibiting,” “identifying,” “comparing,” “representing,” “modifying,” “receiving,” “transmitting,” “storing,” “authenticating,” “authorizing,” “determining.” “slicing,” “hashing,” “generating” or the like refer to the actions or processes that may be performed by a computing platform, such as a computer or a similar electronic computing device, that is operable to manipulate or transform data represented as physical, electronic or magnetic quantities or other physical quantities within the computing platform's processors, memories, registers, or other information storage, transmission, reception or display devices. Accordingly, a computing platform refers to a system or a device that includes the ability to process or store data in the form of signals. Thus, a computing platform, in this context, may comprise hardware, software, firmware or any combination thereof. Further, unless specifically stated otherwise, a process as described herein, with reference to flowcharts or otherwise, may also be executed or controlled, in whole or in part, by a computing platform.

It is an object of the current disclosure to provide a system, method and device that enables a user to know if they are in a safe area, and further to avoid unsafe high density crime areas when selecting routing.

FIG. 1illustrates a device for enabling routing through low crime areas, according to an example embodiment. The electronic device100may be a Global Position Satellite (GPS) system, or a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) device, or a personal computer, or a laptop, or a tablet, or a mobile phone and the like. The electronic device100may be installed in a vehicle such as personal car, or a motorcycle, or a bicycle, or a driverless car, or a military vehicle, or a commercial vehicle and the like. The electronic device100may include a user interface102, a communication module104, a GPS location module106, a processor108, and a memory110. In an aspect, the user interface102may comprise a speaker and a display screen. The user interface102is enabled to output certain data and may also enable a user to input certain data and instructions. The display screen may be configured to display information received by the communication module104. Display screen may include any of a variety of user interface components. The display screen may include a liquid crystal display (LCD) display, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, a plasma display, or another type of display. As another example, the display screen may be integrated with an input unit and include a data entry component, such as a keyboard in a QWERTY keyboard arrangement, a touch screen such as a resistive or capacitive touch screen, or another type of data entry component. In an aspect, the user interface102may include an input unit for entering data and instructions. The input unit may facilitate entering one or more commands that needs to be sent to another electronic device, or to the processor108, or to a remote server. The input unit may act as a data entry component, such as a keyboard in a QWERTY keyboard arrangement, a touch screen such as a resistive or capacitive touch screen, a voice recognition interface, or another type of data entry component.

The various components of electronic device100may be communicatively coupled with each other by means of a bus or a network of cables in a desired configuration. In one aspect, the various components may also be embedded on a single circuit board. The GPS location module106may enable determining the GPS coordinates of the electronic device100by means of communicating with one or more Global Positioning System navigation satellites.

The communication module104may be communicatively coupled with one or remote servers. The communication module104may send the geographical information retrieved by the GPS location module106to the one or more remote servers. The communication module104may also enable receiving certain information such as crime related information related to the geographical information from the one or more remote servers. The communication module104may also enable receiving certain data and instructions from one or more other electronic devices. The received data and instructions may then be stored in the memory110. Alternatively, the communication module104may enable sending certain data and instructions that are stored in the memory110or inputted by means of the user interface102to one or more other electronic devices, or to one or more remote servers.

The processor108may execute computer program instructions stored in the memory110. The processor108may also be configured to decode and execute any instructions received from one or more other electronic devices or one or more remote servers. The processor may also execute a client application for desired functioning of the electronic device100. Processor108may include one or more general purpose processors (e.g., INTEL microprocessors) and/or one or more special purpose processors (e.g., digital signal processors). Processor108is configured to execute one or more computer-readable program instructions, such as program instructions to carry out any of the functions described in this description.

The memory110may include a computer readable medium. A computer readable medium may include volatile and/or non-volatile storage components, such as optical, magnetic, organic or other memory or disc storage, which may be integrated in whole or in part with a processor, such as processor108. Alternatively, the entire computer readable medium may be remote from processor108and coupled to processor108by connection mechanism and/or network cable. In addition to memory110, there may be additional memories that may be coupled with the processor108.

The electronic device100enables routing through low crime areas. The GPS location module106may enable retrieving geographical information from one or more global positioning satellites. In an aspect, the geographical information comprises the current location coordinates of the electronic device100. In another aspect, the geographical information comprises the geographical coordinates of a starting location and a destination location. The retrieved geographical information may then be used by the communication module104for retrieving crime related information corresponding to the geographical information.

In an aspect, the communication module104may send the geographical information to one or more remote servers. The one or more remote servers upon receiving the geographical information may in turn retrieve crime related information corresponding to the geographical information. The one or more remote servers then send the crime related information to the communication module104.

In another aspect, the crime related information such as the crime statistics of a given geographical location may be pre-stored in an internal non-removable memory of the electronic device100. In yet another aspect, the crime related information such as the crime statistics of a given geographical location may be received from a removable memory storage associated with the electronic device100. In such cases, the communication module104may retrieve the crime related information from the memory itself.

The retrieved crime related information is then sent to the processor108by the communication module104. The processor108then processes the geographical information and the corresponding crime related information. The processor108may trigger the user interface102to generate an alert based on processing of the received geographical information and the corresponding crime related information.

FIG. 2illustrates a system200for enabling routing through low crime areas, according to an example embodiment. The system200comprises of one or more electronic devices100. The electronic device100may be a device capable of communication and processing such as a smartphone206, or a laptop208, or a tablet. The electronic device100may also be certain communication and processing module that may be embedded in a vehicle such as car210, or a driverless car212, or a military vehicle214. The electronic devices100may be capable of being communicatively coupled with each other. The system200also comprises of one or more global positioning system satellites204, and one or more remote servers202. The one or more remote servers202are communicatively coupled with the one or more electronic devices. The one or more electronic devices100are also capable of retrieving geographical information from the one or more global positioning system satellites204. The one or more electronic devices100may send the geographical information to the one or more remote servers202. The one or more remote servers202upon receiving the geographical information may retrieve crime related information related to the geographical information of the one or more electronic devices100. The retrieved crime related information may then be sent to the corresponding one or more electronic devices100. In an aspect, the crime related information may comprise crime statistics regarding one or more geographic locations, and/or density of crime associated with the one or more geographic locations, and/or a coverage area of the crime density associated with the one or more geographic locations, and/or the crime statistics mapped on geographical information corresponding to the one or more electronic devices100. The one or more electronic devices100may then generate an alarm based on the corresponding crime related information. The alert may be a pop-up message, a text alert, an audio alert, a visual alert, or a haptic feedback. In an aspect, the geographical information is sent from each electronic device100and the corresponding crime related information is sent from each remote server, at a pre-selected programmed time intervals.

In an example embodiment, the system200may enable the electronic device100to retrieve a route between a source location and a destination location to the user. The source location coordinates and the destination location coordinates may be retrieved by the communication module104upon receiving the corresponding instruction from the user interface102. The communication module104may retrieve the source location coordinates and the destination location coordinates by communicating with the one or more global positioning system satellites204. The retrieved source location coordinates and the destination location coordinates may then be sent to the one or more remote servers202. The one or more remote servers202may then retrieve crime related information corresponding one or more possible routes between the source location and the destination location. In an aspect, the route having least crime density may be sent to the electronic device by the one or more remote servers202. In another aspect, the one or more remote servers202may send one or more possible routes between the source location and the destination location along with a mapping of corresponding crime density with each of the one or more routes.

In an aspect, the system100facilitates mapping crime statistics and crime alerts on a digital map that is utilized by the electronic device. The electronic device presents crime statistics or other crime alerts displayed on a graphical map that the device presents to the user as part of the users routing and directions from point to point. The crime information may also come to the user on the device in the form of an alert. For example, if there is a special Alert, this information can be displayed in text or via audio with the electronic device. In addition the notation of a special alert may be graphically mapped on the users route, so that while the user is travelling that specific route a text balloon, or map highlight, or audio alert, or some other type of indication lets the user know that for that specific route a special alert exists.

In another example embodiment, the system200) may enable the one or more electronic devices100to retrieve crime related information regarding the current location of the user. In such a case, the geographical information comprises the current geographical location of the one or more electronic devices100. Accordingly, the corresponding crime related information is sent by the one or more remote servers202.

In an aspect, the memory110may store a route previously taken by the user. The electronic device100may automatically retrieve the current crime statistics of the stored route and may display the crime density along the route previously taken by the user on the user interface102. For example, a driverless car may take decision regarding a route based on the familiarity of the user and current crime density of the areas along the route.

In another embodiment, the vehicle in which the electronic device100is installed or located may take a route according to the user's choice. In such a case, the electronic device100may periodically retrieve and send the geographical information to the one or more remote servers202. Likewise, the remote servers202may send the corresponding crime related information to the electronic device100. The processor108of the electronic device100may continually process the received crime related information, and if the current location of the vehicle is detected to be in a high crime density area then an appropriate alert may be generated by means of the user interface102.

FIG. 3illustrates a method for enabling routing through low crime areas, according to an example embodiment. At step302, the geographical information corresponding to the one or more electronic devices100is retrieved and sent to the one or more remote servers202. At step304, crime related information related to the geographical information of the one or more electronic devices100is retrieved, by one or more remote servers202. At step306, the retrieved crime related information is sent to the corresponding one or more electronic devices100, by one or more remote servers202. Finally at step308, an alert may be generated by each of the one or more electronic devices100based on the corresponding crime related information.

In an aspect, routing information may be generated for each of the one or more electronic devices100based on the crime related information related to the one or more geographic location. The generated routing information may then be displayed on the user interface102of the electronic device100. In an aspect, one or more routes between two geographic locations may be tagged with a user generated data that is indicative of the safety associated the one or more routes. The tagged one or more routes may be stored in a corresponding internal non-removable memory110of each of the one or more electronic devices100. Such stored tagged one or more routes may be communicatively shared between one or more other electronic devices100. The routes may be retrieved by the user in the future upon the users request. For example, military vehicles of an army may share the safe routes between themselves.

In an aspect, pre-stored crime statistics may be transmitted to one or more other electronic devices100that are communicatively coupled with each other. For example, the crime statistics may be shared between a fleet of commercial vehicles.

The flow chart ofFIG. 3shows the method steps executed according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the drawings. For example, two blocks shown in succession inFIG. 3may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. Any process descriptions or blocks in flow charts should be understood as representing modules, segments, or portions of code which include one or more executable instructions for implementing specific logical functions or steps in the process, and alternate implementations are included within the scope of the example embodiments in which functions may be executed out of order from that shown or discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionality involved. In addition, the process descriptions or blocks in flow charts should be understood as representing decisions made by a hardware structure such as a state machine.

In an aspect, the method comprises of collecting crime statistical information and crime alerts and mapping such information on a digital map that is utilized by the electronic device.

The logic of the example embodiment(s) can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. In example embodiments, the logic is implemented in software or firmware that is stored in a memory and that is executed by a suitable instruction execution system. If implemented in hardware, as in an alternative embodiment, the logic can be implemented with any or a combination of the following technologies, which are all well known in the art: a discrete logic circuit(s) having logic gates for implementing logic functions upon data signals, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) having appropriate combinational logic gates, a programmable gate array(s) (PGA), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc. In addition, the scope of the present disclosure includes embodying the functionality of the example embodiments disclosed herein in logic embodied in hardware or software-configured mediums.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be provided as a computer program product, which may include a computer-readable medium tangibly embodying thereon instructions, which may be used to program a computer (or other electronic devices) to perform a process. The computer-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, fixed (hard) drives, magnetic tape, floppy diskettes, optical disks, compact disc read-only memories (CD-ROMs), and magneto-optical disks, semiconductor memories, such as ROMs, random access memories (RAMs), programmable read-only memories (PROMs), erasable PROMs (EPROMs), electrically erasable PROMs (EEPROMs), flash memory, magnetic or optical cards, or other type of media/machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions (e.g., computer programming code, such as software or firmware). Moreover, embodiments of the present disclosure may also be downloaded as one or more computer program products, wherein the program may be transferred from a remote computer to a requesting computer by way of data signals embodied in a carrier wave or other propagation medium via a communication link (e. g., a modem or network connection).