Patent Publication Number: US-2016231125-A1

Title: Navigation system and methods for route navigation

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Global Positioning System (GPS) car navigation systems use satellites to determine the location of the car on a map and to provide route-planning and navigation guidance, thereby avoiding the need for folded paper maps and printed directions. These personal assistant systems range from expensive factory pre-installed models that include a color display in the dashboard to more affordable and compact systems that can plug in the car&#39;s cigarette lighter. The man-machine interface is typically a touch-screen keypad display for inputting information and displaying maps from a database. However, push-buttons, joysticks and dials-based interfaces are also available. Most recent systems are DVD-based, as opposed to the earlier CD-based versions that required changing map CDs for different areas of the country. The user can typically select a destination from a variety of methods such as address, intersection, address book entry, and directly from the map. Most systems provide directions graphically and vocally. Some systems provide a 3-D capability, often called “bird&#39;s-eye view”, which can be easier to read than a 2-D map. Most navigation systems also automatically display locations of points of interest such as airports, hotels, gas stations, movie theaters, restaurants, banks and other businesses. These points of interest locations can serve as possible destinations. 
     One of the problems with navigation systems, however, is that the entry of a new address is often a tedious and lengthy process, during which the car has to be in park mode for safety reasons. Another problem is that the map databases and points of interest can get out of date because DVD/CDs are not updateable. The map displays are also drawings with street names as opposed to realistic images of surrounding buildings. The navigation&#39;s audio as well as Bluetooth-enabled playback of cellular calls on the car&#39;s speakers is also annoying to passengers who want to sleep or listen to uninterrupted music, radio, video, etc. 
     With the proliferation of cellular handsets and introduction of GPS-enabled cellular phones it is now also possible to use such handsets together with a cellular GPS navigation service to get directions. For example, Nextel offers its subscribers Motorola&#39;s ViaMoto service. The cell phone user launches an application on the Nextel handset and types in the address of the destination. The service then uses GPS and Nextel&#39;s network to send driving directions to the handset. Google has also released a version of Google Maps Mobile for devices like the Palm Treo line of smartphones, Research In Motion&#39;s BlackBerries, and many Java-capable phones from Nokia, Motorola and Sony Ericsson. Additional services can also be provided such as traffic accident alerts, weather forecasts, points of interest, merchant pricing and sales information, sharing one&#39;s location with trusted people, etc. Cellular-based GPS systems have some disadvantages, however. Entering addresses into a mobile handset is difficult because it often requires pressing a number a few times to enter the correct letter. Cellular carriers&#39; navigation systems are also not as comprehensive as portal web sites such as Yahoo and Google. The display of a typical cell phone is also much smaller than that of in-car navigation systems for display of maps and directions. More importantly, if the network coverage is lost then the navigation or map application does not work for mobile-station assisted GPS phones (i.e. phones which send their raw GPS measurement data to a server on the internet for processing, as opposed to mobile-station based phones which run the navigation layer themselves). Web searches and advertising inside a GPS-enabled car or cell phone also does not utilize the information about the position of the car/phone. Existing navigation systems use only map data but do not include up-to-date traffic and weather report information and can thus lead the user to traffic jam areas. 
     Thus, there remains a need for a navigation system that is capable of downloading and synchronizing address or other contact information, calendar data, map data, and other data or information from cell phones, PDA&#39;s or web site portals. 
     One of the main impediments to using car navigation systems (or any other moving object for that matter) is the tedious and long process of entering destination addresses on touch-screen keypad displays. Using voice commands to enter an address is also not easy because the recognition engine has to get all parts of an address (street name, number, city, state, and zip code) correct in the typically noisy car environment. However, we often have access to many addresses in various address books on internet web sites such as Yahoo! Address Book on PDAs and cell phones. For example, Palm offers convergence devices that are phones as well as PDAs with contact and calendar functionality. Such devices also come with synchronization software that will compare contacts and appointments on the device with those on a central database and keep them in agreement. 
     Generally, navigation systems allow manual entry and storage of a limited number of addresses. However, manual entry of destination addresses and manipulating dials while driving often decreases the driver&#39;s ability to drive safely. Because of this liability, navigation systems may not allow manual entry of addresses if the car is in motion. Speech interfaces allow drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and minimize driver distraction. Speech interfaces have been introduced into a number of automobiles for navigation and entertainment systems (e.g., see M. J. Hunt, “Some experience in in-car speech recognition”, IEEE Colloquium on Interactive Dialogue Systems for Telephony Applications, 1999; and A. L. Kun, W. T. Miller III, A. Pelhe, R. L. Lynch, “A software architecture supporting in-car speech interaction”, IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium, Jun. 14-17, 2004, pp. 471-476). These speech systems are not natural conversational speech processing but instead resemble voice buttons that are based on a fixed grammar for particular task domains. This is sufficient for navigation applications where the task are well defined such as looking up addresses, finding points of interest, and route planning. However, the proposed method can also be used with natural language processing engines (e.g., see L. Cavedon et. al., “Developing a Conversational In-Car Dialog System”, In the 12th International Congress on Intelligent Transportation Systems, San Francisco Calif., USA, 2005). 
     There are two types of GPS-enabled phones. Most of today&#39;s GPS-enabled phones are mobile-station assisted. These phones take their raw GPS measurements (e.g., pseudo ranges, pseudo Doppler, time, etc.) and send them to a server on the internet for calculating values such as position and velocity. The GPS functionality of these phones will not work if their cellular network coverage is lost because they will no longer be able to connect to the internet. Some of the next generation phones, however, will be mobile-station based where they have their own GPS receiver that runs the navigation layer for processing the raw measurements. The GPS functionality of these phones will work even if their cellular network coverage is lost. 
     While speech interfaces reduce driver distraction they do not ease the tedious address entry problem. Even with a speech interface the user still has to specify each part of the address (state, city, zip code, street, number) separately and wait for the car&#39;s text to speech engine to repeat back the entry for confirmation. 
     Conventional methods for client location-based advertising use IP addresses, registered addresses/zip codes and telephone numbers. All of these have limitations. Dynamic IP addresses limit the use of fixed IP address methods. The registered address/zip code and phone number of a mobile user do not indicate his/her current location. Furthermore, these methods (IP addresses, addresses/zip codes and telephone numbers) cover large geographical areas and do not provide the fine location accuracy provided by GPS systems. GPS provides positional coordinates in terms of longitude, latitude, and altitude. Addresses may also be specified by users in terms of postal codes. 
     The present invention provides systems and methods for improved GPS navigation. 
     SUMMARY 
     Embodiments of the present invention include systems and methods for providing improved navigation. 
     According to one embodiment, the present invention is directed toward a method of providing improved navigation. The method includes transmitting a destination to a navigation server through a wireless communication channel. The method further includes transmitting position information from a GPS-enabled device to the navigation server through the wireless communication channel automatically at a time interval. The method further includes generating, by the navigation server, navigation information. The navigation information is based on the position information and the destination. The method further includes receiving navigation information on the GPS-enabled device from the navigation server through the wireless communication channel. 
     According to another embodiment, the present invention is directed toward an apparatus including a system for improved navigation. The system includes a GPS module, a wireless communication module, and an output module. The GPS module determines position information. The wireless communication module transmits a destination to a navigation server, transmits the position information to the navigation server automatically at a time interval, and receives navigation information from the navigation server. The output module that outputs the navigation information. 
     As part of the above system, a cellular telephone can interface between a GPS device and a navigation system to provide up-to-date navigation information. 
     These and other features of the present invention are detailed in the following drawings and related description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a touch-screen menu-based vehicle navigation system according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2A  illustrates a vehicle navigation system interacting through speech interface according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2B  illustrates a hands-free cellular operation in a bluetooth-enabled vehicle. 
         FIG. 2C  illustrates the hands-free vehicle navigation system of  FIG. 2A  having a headset use for speech control of a car&#39;s navigation, temperature, audio-visual equipment, etc. 
         FIG. 2D  is a schematic diagram illustrating the navigation system of  FIG. 2A  using a headset for speech control of a car&#39;s navigation, temperature, etc. 
         FIG. 2E  is a schematic diagram illustrating the navigation system of  FIG. 2A  using hybrid approach where commands and responses go through the direct Bluetooth connection between the headset and the car. 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram illustrating a GPS-enabled cellular phone using internet web sites (independent of the cellular service provider&#39;s navigation service) for route planning and guidance. 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram illustrating a GPS-enabled cellular phone using a Web GPS navigation service and the larger touch-screen display of the car. The transcoder may be located in the internet GPS navigation service, the cell phone, or the car. 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram illustrating a GPS-enabled vehicle using internet web sites for route planning and guidance. 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram illustrating a location-based service that keeps track of trusted contacts on the screen map of the car navigation service. 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram illustrating a location-based architecture for a GPS-enabled cell phone. 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram illustrating a car navigation system that uses web traffic/weather information to improve its route planning. 
         FIG. 9  is a flowchart of a method of displaying navigation information according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Described herein are techniques for navigation system and methods. In the following description, the terms “car navigation”, “vehicle navigation”, “handheld navigation”, and “navigation system” are used. These terms are to be considered to interchangeably refer to a car navigation system, a vehicle navigation system, and a handheld navigation system. The particular choice of a specific term is not meant to exclude the other terms, but is to be considered an example of a specific embodiment. 
     In the following description, the term “Bluetooth” is used. “Bluetooth” is a radio standard and communications protocol primarily designed for low power consumption with a short range. The Bluetooth standard may also be referred to as the IEEE 802.15.1 standard. For brevity, the term “Bluetooth” is used, and should be understood to refer both to the IEEE 802.15.1 standard specifically as well as other types of low power, short range communications protocols. For example, the term “Bluetooth module” is used (for brevity) to refer to a short range low power communications module. 
     For purposes of explanation, numerous examples and specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be evident to one skilled in the art that the present invention as defined by the claims may include some or all of the features in these examples alone or in combination with other features described below, and may further include modifications and equivalents of the features and concepts described herein. 
     I. Touch-Screen Car Navigation System using Contact Address Book and Calendar Information from a Web Site or a Cellular Phone 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a touch-screen menu-based vehicle navigation system according to one embodiment of the present invention. Vehicle navigation system  10  includes antenna  112 , GPS receiver  114 , DVD/CD-ROM player  116 , touch-screen display  110 , graphics chip  115 , text-to-speech engine  118 , speakers  120 , microphone  121 , navigation application  122 , alert generation application  123 , synchronization software  134 , contact database  130 , calendar database  132 , CPU  102  and memory  104 . Other elements shown in  FIG. 1  are described in other figures, with corresponding elements having the same element number. 
     In one embodiment, calendar database  130  may be combined with alert generation application  123  to remind the user about upcoming appointments and tasks. These appointments and tasks may be integrated with navigation application  122 . For example, the navigation application may be able to inform the user of meeting with John Smith in 30 minutes and include a planned route shown on the display. It should be noted that the address book, calendar, and alert application are independent of the navigation and guidance system and can be used for other applications as well (e.g. making phone calls). 
     Navigation system  10  may have a large permanent database for storing contact information that includes the contact&#39;s address as well as other pertinent information. Pertinent information may include contact name, job title, work address, company web site, work phone, work email, home address, personal email, home phone, messenger ID, personal web site, picture, birthday, comments, and custom information. In one embodiment, the latest contact information database as well as the calendar database can be seamlessly loaded into the vehicle with use of synchronization software  134 . A user may download address books from internet web sites and/or mobile devices into the vehicle and synchronize them with existing contact information. In one example, contact database  160  and calendar database  162  may be downloaded from internet web site  164  to the cellular phone and synchronized with contact database  150  and calendar database  152 . In another example, contact database  160  and calendar database  162  may be downloaded from internet web site  164  to the vehicle and synchronized with contact database  130  and calendar database  132 . The user may also recall an address with the use of keyword association. For example, selection of the contact name “John Smith” in the contact database of the vehicle retrieves the stored contact information. This contact information may include his address and phone number. Single touch screen buttons on the navigation unit such as “Find route to work address” or “Call work” may be used to perform common tasks with the stored contact information. In other embodiments of the present invention, these commands may be replaced with voice commands. 
     The synchronization step may include downloading the latest database from the SIM card or memory of a mobile device such as a cell phone or PDA that is in the driver&#39;s pocket, briefcase, or car&#39;s glove box compartment. For example, contact database  150  and calendar database  152  maybe downloaded from the cellular phone to the vehicle and synchronized with contact database  130  and calendar database  132 . In one embodiment, only the delta changes since the last synchronization are downloaded. The communication between the mobile device and the car can be wireless with technologies such as Bluetooth, Wireless LAN, Ultra-WideBand (UWB), WiMax, Zigbee, or other ad-hoc/mesh network technologies. The communication may also be via a patch cord or other wired connection. In another embodiment, the synchronization step includes downloading address and contact information from internet web sites. In one example, address and contact information is downloaded from Yahoo! Address Book and Yahoo Calendar. In one embodiment, the mobile device is used as an intermediary to log into the web site, download the latest databases, and transmit the information wirelessly to the car. Some vehicles may also include integrated cellular phones to be used as either the source of the contact information for download or as an intermediary to connect to the internet web sites. Some vehicles&#39; GPS receivers may have wireless connectivity with integrated WLAN, Bluetooth, WiMax, and 3G/4G cellular radios. Such vehicles may connect directly to cellular base station  170  (or other types of base stations like WLAN, WiMax) and Internet  166  without having to use a cellular phone  140  as an intermediary router. For addresses of interest which are not in any of the databases, data entry of the addresses may be simplified by entering the addresses into an internet web site&#39;s database on a desktop computer through a conventional size keyboard and then downloading them to the phone or the vehicle. 
     The synchronization step may be necessary if there has been a change to the contact databases. In one embodiment, synchronization may be initiated via a menu command button on the phone. In another embodiment, synchronization may be programmed as an automatic background process that does not require any action by the user. Synchronization may also be bi-directional. Most address books and calendar programs provide an export functionality that may generate a Comma Separated Value (.CSV) file, html/xml file, or some other format. Likewise, data may be imported to the address books and calendar programs through the same format. Therefore, if new contacts or calendar events have been entered directly into the vehicle, then the synchronization step may also make those entries available on the cellular phone or the internet web site by exporting them from the vehicle. 
     II. Speech Interface Car Navigation System using Contact Address Book and Calendar Information from a Web Site or a Cellular Phone 
       FIG. 2A  illustrates a vehicle navigation system interacting through speech interface according to one embodiment of the present invention. Combining a speech interface with address book and calendar databases may be used to avoid manual address entry in the car whenever possible. Vehicle navigation system  200  includes microphone  121 , speech recognition engine  214 , grammar files  216 , and press-to-talk button  212 . Different grammar files can be loaded by the speech recognition engine based on the context of the previous commands. For example, if the user is at the stage of using speech to enter the street number of an address then the grammar file containing alphanumeric characters (26 letter plus numbers from 0 to 9) is used. The other elements are as described in  FIG. 1  and the remaining figures. 
     Below is an example interaction where the driver initiates the conversation and the vehicle provided feedback to the driver: 
     Driver: “Audio on” 
     Car: “Audio is on” 
     Driver: “Find route for John Smith office” 
     Car: “Route found” 
     Driver: “Proceed with route” 
     Car: “Guidance information . . . ” 
     Driver: “Zoom” 
     Car: “Zoomed the map” 
     Driver: “Call John Smith at office” 
     Car: “Calling John Smith at office” 
     John Smith: “Hello” 
     Driver: “Hello, it is me. I am on my way”. 
     In another example, the driver initiates the conversation and performs a search for contact information where multiple contacts are found: 
     Driver: “Audio on” 
     Car: “Audio is on” 
     Driver: “Find John” 
     Car: “Multiple Contacts Found. Select from John Doe, John Smith, John Black” 
     Driver: “Find route for John Smith office” 
     . . . 
     In another example, an appointment reminder is triggered through the car&#39;s calendar application and the user may choose to use the appointment location as the destination: 
     Car: “Appointment to see John Smith at office in 30 minutes”, 
     Driver: “Proceed with route” 
     . . . 
     In another example, the driver initiates a synchronization of the contacts: 
     Driver: “Synchronize contacts” 
     Car: “Synchronize contacts succeeded” 
     In another example, the driver initiates a synchronization of calendar information: 
     Driver: “Synchronize calendar” 
     Car: “Synchronize calendar succeeded” 
     In one embodiment, the speech recognition may accept point of interest commands such as “Show all restaurants.” In this example, the command may display all restaurants nearby with icons that, when selected, show more details like phone numbers, web sites, menus, route information, etc. The points of interest information resemble the yellow pages and include information such as addresses and phone numbers. This information may be stored on the digital map DVD/CD of the navigation database. Additional information may also be available via a GPS subscription service. The driver can then pick a point of interest location and make a hands-free-call with the built-in speaker/microphone and a cell phone that communicates with the car&#39;s GPS systems. In one example, the cell phone communicates with the GPS system through a Bluetooth communication channel. In another example, the communication is through a wireless communication method such as WiMax. In one embodiment, a vehicle&#39;s GPS receiver may have wireless connectivity with integrated WLAN, Bluetooth, WiMax, and 3G/4G cellular radios, thereby allowing them to connect directly to the cellular base station  170  (or other types of base stations like WLAN, WiMax) and Internet  166  without having to use cellular phone  140  as an intermediary router. A sample restaurant point of interest dialog is illustrated below: 
     Driver: “Show all restaurants” 
     Car: “Restaurants are displayed” 
     Driver: “Call McDonald&#39;s” 
     Car: “Calling McDonald&#39;s” 
     McDonald&#39;s: “Hello. This is McDonald&#39;s. May I help you” 
     Driver: “Hi, I would to order a big Mac” 
     . . . 
     In another embodiment, the voice recognition engine can also be used by other applications. For example, the driver can use voice commands for setting the car&#39;s temperature: “Set temperature to 77”. 
     The dashed lines in  FIG. 2A  show another embodiment of the present invention wherein the driver of the vehicle may wear Bluetooth-equipped headset  182 . The headset may also be some other wireless technology or a wired headset. The touch-screen interface of the navigation system may offer a menu option that allows the driver to choose to connect the navigation&#39;s sound to the headset as opposed to the vehicle&#39;s speaker system. In one embodiment, communication between vehicle  100  and headset  182  may allow the audio commands from the car navigation system (e.g., “Turn left at the next intersection”) to be transferred to the headset, thereby preventing the audio commands from disturbing other passengers in the car. Passengers can then sleep or listen to music, radio, video, etc, without constant audio interruptions by the car navigation system. In another embodiment, headset  182  may be used to connect with cellular phone  140  so that received cellular audio is only heard by the person wearing the headset. 
       FIG. 2B  illustrates a hands-free vehicle navigation system in a Bluetooth-enabled vehicle. System  220  comprises cellular Bluetooth module  142  communicating with car speaker  120  and car microphone  121  through car Bluetooth module  180 . In the upstream path, the driver&#39;s voice is received by car microphone  121  and is translated to the cellular Bluetooth module through the car Bluetooth module. In the downstream path, audio received by the cellular phone from the cellular network is transmitted to the car speaker through the car Bluetooth module. 
       FIG. 2C  illustrates a hands-free vehicle navigation system according to one embodiment of the present invention. System  230  comprises headset module  182 - 3  communicating with cellular module  142  through a Bluetooth connection. The person using the cellular phone may talk to headset microphone  182 - 1 , as opposed to the car&#39;s microphone. The user may also receive the cellular audio on headset speaker  182 - 2 , as opposed to the car&#39;s speakers. This may provide more privacy since the received audio is not played on the car&#39;s speakers. It also improves the transmitted audio quality since the headset is usually placed on the ear so its microphone is closer to the mouth than the car&#39;s microphone. System  230  also comprises a Bluetooth connection between cellular module  142  and the car module  180 . Thus, speech commands from the driver may go from the headset, through the cellular phone and into the car&#39;s speech processing unit. In one embodiment, the speech commands may be used to control the car&#39;s navigation, temperature, or audio-visual equipment. For example, if the command was to “Set temperature to 70 degrees,” then the car&#39;s response “Setting temperature to 70 degrees” may go from the car through the cell phone to the headset. If the driver wants to give another command, she may need to signal it using a key phrase or with the press-to-talk button. The previous examples illustrate that the cell phone is not required in the loop unless cellular calls are involved. 
       FIG. 2D  illustrates a hands-free vehicle navigation system according to one embodiment of the present invention. System  240  may communicate commands and responses from headset  182 - 3  to car module  180 . Such commands and responses may be used for car navigation or temperature control. Commands may be sent through headset microphone  182 - 1  and processed by the car&#39;s speech processing engine to control the car navigation, temperature, etc. The car&#39;s audio responses may be relayed from car module  180  to the headset speaker  182 - 2 . 
       FIG. 2E  illustrates a hands-free vehicle navigation system according to one embodiment of the present invention. System  250  illustrates a hybrid approach between  FIG. 2C  and  FIG. 2D . Commands and car responses may go through the Bluetooth connection between headset module  182 - 3  and car module  180 . Phone operations such as dialing a person may go through the Bluetooth connection between car module  180  and the cellular module  142 . 
     III. GPS-Enabled Cellular Phone using Internet Web Sites for Route Guidance 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a navigation system according to one embodiment of the present invention. GPS-enabled cellular handset  304  may receive route guidance from navigation web sites  310 - 1  to  310 -N. Cellular handset  304  may launch navigation software daemon  328  that uses a browser on the cell phone to communicate with a navigation web site on the internet. The software daemon  328  may communicate with the internet through cellular base station  170  and cellular backbone  168 . The daemon  328  may have different modes of operation including a map mode and a navigation mode. In the map mode, the daemon  328  may send the GPS coordinates from the GPS receiver  324  of the cell phone  304  to the web site  310 , and the web site  310  may return a map with the location of the cell phone  304  marked. In one embodiment, the daemon  328  may continue to send the GPS coordinates of the cell phone  304  at regular time intervals to the web site  310  and the web site  310  may reply with updates of the map and the cell location. Thus as the cell user moves, the location displayed on the map may be updated. The user can also interact with the map (e.g., scroll and zoom) by sending commands back to the web site and receiving responses. 
     In the navigation mode, the cell phone user may provide the daemon  328  with a destination address. In one embodiment, the address may be provided from the address book stored on the phone or on an internet web site. In one example embodiment, addresses from contact database  160  and calendar database  162  stored on internet website  164  may be accessed by cellular device  304 . In one embodiment, the address may be provided by clicking on a point on the map or by manually entering the address on a keyboard. The daemon  328  may send the address to a web navigation site  310  which in turn calculates a route and replies back with a map containing the route marked. In one embodiment, the daemon  328  may continue to send the GPS coordinates of the cell phone  304  at regular intervals to the web site  310  and the web site  310  may reply with map updates, the cell phone location, and the guidance information. In one embodiment, web navigation sites  310 - 1  through  310 -N may contain speech recognition engines and grammar files. In one example, web navigation site  310 -N contains text to speech engine  210 , speech recognition engine  214 , and grammar files  216 . Thus, the cell phone user may interact with the navigation sites  310  using voice, and the navigation site may supplement the maps with voice responses. 
     Because system  300  is a thin-client model where the cell phone  304  sends requests to the servers of the navigation web sites  310  and displays the results, large computations and the associated power consumptions are relieved from the cell phone  304 . The reception quality of the wireless communication link may not be critical because the transfer is mainly data. One advantage of using a web site for navigation is that the latest maps are always accessible, as opposed to DVD/CD maps that are not updatable. Furthermore, web sites also offer the advantage of a single integrated portal location for carrying out several tasks (e.g. searching for a business such as a particular restaurant, getting its coordinates, and then getting directions for it). These portal web sites can also provide targeted advertisement to the cell phone that is related to the user&#39;s destination query. Thus, system  300  frees the cellular user from having to use the navigation service of their cellular provider and instead gives them the freedom to use more popular portal web sites such as Google, Yahoo, etc. 
     In one embodiment, the cell phone  304  may download a partial map of the area of interest, thereby caching information on the cellular phone  304 . This may decrease the communication with the navigation server for small scroll or small zoom requests. In one embodiment, the latest maps and the navigation application may be downloaded from the navigation server  310  or reside on the cell phone  304  to begin with. Thus, there is no need to contact the navigation web server  310  repeatedly. This is known as a fat-client model. 
     IV. GPS-Enabled Cellular Phone using a GPS Navigation Service and the Larger Touch-Screen Display of the Car 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a navigation system  400  according to one embodiment of the present invention. System  400  comprises GPS-enabled cellular phone  404  using GPS navigation service  420  to display navigation information on touch-screen display  110 . Displaying navigation information on touch-screen display  110  may be easier to read than the small screen  326  on cell phone  404 . This may translate to a safer method of using the navigation system  400 . In one embodiment, touch-screen display  110  is located within vehicle  100  that does not contain a navigation system. In one example, this touch-screen display  110  is located in the dash board of the vehicle  100 . 
     The content produced by the internet-based navigation service  420  for the display  326  of the cell phone  404  may be unsuitable for the larger display  110  of the vehicle  100  due to differences in display formats. Therefore, the navigation graphics may be adapted for the display capabilities of the vehicle  100 , such as its screen size and color depth. This adapting which includes scaling and color depth conversion of the graphics and the text may be carried out by a transcoder (e.g., see R. Mohan, J. Smith, C.-S. Li, “Adapting Multimedia Internet Content For Universal Access,”  IEEE Transactions on Multimedia , March 1999, pp. 104-114). In one embodiment transcoder  430  is implemented within the internet GPS service provider  420 . In other embodiments, the transcoder may be implemented in the cell phone or the vehicle&#39;s audio-visual system. GPS navigation service  420  may include speech recognition and text to speech engine  410 . This may allow for voice activation by the user through hands-free voice commands. In one example, the voice command “Use car display” instructs the internet GPS navigation service  420  to provide adapted graphics content for the vehicle  100 . In order to adapt the content, the navigation service  420  has to know the capabilities of the vehicle&#39;s display. In one example, vehicle  100  may transmit its display capabilities to cell phone  404  which in turn forwards it to navigation service  420 . Cell phone  404  may then receive the adapted content and wirelessly transmits it to display  110 . 
     In one embodiment, the car  100  may also contain a navigation system. In situations where the network coverage of the cell phone is lost, the cellular phone may transfer the destination address to the vehicle&#39;s navigation system through a short-range wireless communication (e.g. Bluetooth, WiMax, etc.) and use the vehicle navigation system instead. The transfer of the address can be initiated by pressing a button or via a voice command. 
     V. GPS-Enabled Vehicle using Internet Web Sites for Route Guidance 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a navigation system  500  according to one embodiment of the present invention. System  500  includes GPS-enabled vehicle  502  that may receive route guidance from different navigation web sites  310 . In one embodiment, navigation software daemon  510  may communicate with navigation web sites  310 - 1  to  310 -N through a wireless connection with a cellular phone  504  (e.g., Bluetooth, WiMax, etc.). Thus, the cellular phone  504  acts as a network router capable of performing the tasks described in  FIG. 3 . In another embodiment, the GPS receiver  114  of vehicle  502  may have wireless connectivity with integrated WLAN, Bluetooth, WiMax, and 3G/4G cellular radios. This may allow the vehicle to connect directly to cellular base station  170  (or other types of base stations like WLAN, WiMax) and Internet-based web navigation site  310  without having to use cellular phone  504  as a network router. 
     In one embodiment, the daemon  510  has a map mode of operation. In the map mode, the daemon  510  may send the GPS coordinates of the vehicle  502  from the GPS receiver  114  to the web site  310  through the cellular phone  504 . In response, the web site  310  may return a map with the location of the vehicle  502  marked. A transcoder  430  may be used by the web site  310  to return the appropriate size/color depth image for the vehicle&#39;s display  110 . In one example, GPS receiver  114  has sent the GPS coordinates of vehicle  502  to web navigation web site  310 - 1  and the web site has returned a map that has been adjusted by transcoder  430 - 1  for touch screen display  110 . In one embodiment, the daemon  510  may continue to send the GPS coordinates of the vehicle  502  at regular time intervals to the web site  310  and the web site may in turn update the map and the vehicle location. Thus, the location displayed on the map is updated as the vehicle  502  moves. The user may also interact with the map (e.g., scroll, zoom) by sending commands back to the web site  310  and getting back responses. 
     In the navigation mode, the vehicle  502  may provide the daemon  510  with a destination address. In one embodiment, the address may be provided by using the address book stored on the vehicle  502 , the address book stored on the cellular phone  504 , or the address book stored on an internet web site  164 . In one example embodiment, addresses from contact database  160  and calendar database  162  may be accessed by internet website  164  through the cellular device  504 . In one embodiment, the address may be provided by clicking on a point on the map or by manually entering the address on a keyboard. The daemon  510  may send the address to a web navigation site  310  which in turn calculates a route and sends back a map with the route marked. In one embodiment, the daemon  510  may continue to send the GPS coordinates of the vehicle  502  at regular intervals to the web site  310  and the web site  310  in turn updates the map, the vehicle location, and the guidance information. In one embodiment, web navigation sites  310 - 1  through  310 -N may contain speech recognition engines  214  and grammar files  216 . Thus, the vehicle user may interact with the navigation sites  310  using voice, and the navigation site  310  may supplement the maps with voice responses. 
     The use of a web site for navigation may allow for more up to date maps when compared to DVD/CD maps that are not updatable. Web sites such as Google also have the advantage that they offer a single integrated portal location for carrying out several tasks (e.g., searching for a business such as a particular restaurant, getting its coordinates, and then getting directions for it). These portal web sites can also send the vehicle targeted advertisements that are related to the user&#39;s destination query. Thus, the architecture of  FIG. 5  frees the user from having to use the navigation system of the car and instead gives them the freedom to use more popular portal web sites such as Google, Yahoo, etc. 
     In one embodiment, the vehicle  502  may use the cell phone  504  as a router to contact an internet web navigation site  310  and download the most up-to-date maps and navigation information. Once that information is stored on the vehicle  502  there may be no need to go back to the server  310  for interactions such as scroll and zooming requests. 
     VI. Improved Map Display with Satellite and Hybrid Views 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, improved map displays capable of offering satellite and hybrid views are available in the navigation system. A user may choose between a standard map view, hybrid view, and a satellite view. The standard map view displays a drawing with streets and their names. The satellite view displays aerial imagery of streets and buildings. The hybrid view superimposes street names onto satellite images. In many ways, the satellite and hybrid views are more useful because they more closely resemble what the driver sees as he drives. Future satellite images will provide even more resolution than today, such that streets signs and other important visual cues can be more clearly visible. In one embodiment, the satellite imagery may be stored on the navigation CD/DVD. In another embodiment, the satellite imagery may be downloaded from the internet. This improved display methodology may be applied to navigation services for GPS-equipped cell-phones, as well as the displays of car navigation systems. 
     VII. Location Service for Keeping Track of GPS-Enabled Contacts 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a navigation system  600  according to one embodiment of the present invention. System  600  includes a location-based service through GPS to keep track of trusted family, friends, or contacts who are on the road. For example, the location of the vehicles belonging to a driver&#39;s trusted friends may be displayed on his own vehicle&#39;s navigation map allowing him to drive towards them if he so desires. Likewise, his friends may also see his vehicle location on their navigation maps. Location server  612  located on internet  166  may link people in a trusted group. Each vehicle  602  may regularly transmit its GPS coordinate to the cell phone  604  of the driver through Bluetooth, WiMax, or other wireless methods. The GPS coordinates may then be forwarded to location server  612  via their cellular connection to the internet  166 . Therefore, the location server  612  has the location of all the vehicles. In practice, many physical servers may share this responsibility. The location server  612  may also maintain a list of trusted vehicles for each vehicle. For example, vehicle  602  can setup its preferences such that vehicle  602 -N can view its location. Vehicle  602 -N can then see its own location as well as that of vehicle  602  and any other vehicles that have given them permission on their navigation maps. In one embodiment, each subscriber to the location service may go through an authentication step. After a vehicle is authenticated, it can make a request to the location server  612  to view all or some of the vehicles in its trusted group. In one example, the request is manual with a touch-screen  110 . In another example, the vehicles have speech recognition capability and the request is vocal with voice commands. In another embodiment, GPS receiver  114  of vehicle  602  may have wireless connectivity with integrated WLAN, Bluetooth, WiMax, and 3G/4G cellular radios, thereby allowing it to connect directly to cellular base station  170  (or other types of base stations like WLAN, WiMax) and Internet  166 , and regularly transmit its GPS coordinate to location server  612  without having to use cellular phone  604  as a network router. 
     Elements not otherwise described are similar to the same-numbered elements detailed with reference to other figures. 
     In one embodiment, location server  612  may run location-based software applications that access databases of users, their authentication profiles, and preferences. This database is illustrated as database  610 . The server  612  may provide a variety of web services with the information stored on database  610 . In one example, in response to a request from a vehicle, the server  162  can just supply the names and space coordinates of trusted users and let the navigation system  122  of the car  602  plot those users on its map. In another example, the server  612  may provide more sophisticated services such as navigation, proximity searches, and points of interest. For example, with a voice interface the user may say “Drive to John Smith.” The location server  612  may then retrieve the GPS coordinates of John Smith and pass the result to the navigation system  122  which calculates the route and proceeds with guidance. 
     VIII. Location-Based Web Access 
       FIG. 7  illustrates a navigation system  700  capable of location-based web services according to one embodiment of the present invention. Location-based web services may provide value-added service for electronic commerce (“e-commerce”). For example, location-based advertising may be an effective sales and marketing tool because customers are more likely to go to stores and services that are close to their location. Other examples of location-based services may include emergency services, store location finders, traffic alerts and weather reports. 
     GPS information provides fine granularity positional information that can be used to provide location-based web advertising for E-commerce. For example, web viewing on a GPS-enabled cellular phone may be customized by the GPS location of the cell phone client. Cellular or Wi-Max networks may also be used inside a car to access the web. In one embodiment, the car&#39;s GPS information can provide the location of the car to the web sites at regular time intervals. The web sites may respond with location-based content (e.g. search results) and advertising that may be displayed inside the car. In one example, location-based advertising can be provided about products and services from nearby businesses such as restaurants, gas stations, movie theaters, retail stores, etc. 
     In one embodiment, location-based services may be provided by modifying the browser on a client. The browser may be modified so that it is aware of the client&#39;s location. In one example, the browser may reside in a cellular phone. In another example, the browser is running on the car&#39;s navigation display. System  700  includes cellular phone  702  wherein the cellular phone includes browser  712  for delivery of location-based web services received from web site  720 . In one embodiment, browser  712  may receive permission to open a side connection to location daemon  710 . Location daemon  710  may receive the location of the client through GPS receiver  114  or other means including WLAN or RFID. The location of the client may be sent from the browser to websites through request  730 . Response  732  may include content and advertising tailored for the information provided in request  730 . In one embodiment, the location daemon  710  may continue to send the GPS coordinates of the cell phone at regular time intervals to the browser  712 . When the browser  712  receives the GPS coordinates, the browser  712  may resend the request to the web sites  720  and receive updated responses. The responses may include updated content and advertising. In one example, the web servers  720  use XML formats such as Web Services Description Language (WSDL) to describe their web services so that the client can read the WSDL and find what functions the server  720  supports. If the user is concerned about privacy issues, permission may be denied to the browser  712  when connecting to the location daemon  710  and/or transmitting its location information to servers. The navigation software daemon  510  may provide a similar function to the combined functionality of the browser and location daemon  710  but is limited to navigation applications. Thus, its functionality could also be incorporated into the browser  712  and the location daemon  710 . 
     The elements of  FIG. 7  not otherwise discussed are similar to the same-numbered elements described with reference to  FIG. 1  and other figures. 
     IX. Navigation System that uses Web Information to Improve its Path Planning 
       FIG. 8  illustrates a navigation system  800  with improved path planning according to one embodiment of the present invention. System  800  may use information from traffic and weather web sites  810 - 1  through  810 -N to improve path planning by avoiding congested areas in its car navigation program. Vehicle  802  may launch navigation software daemon  510  for communication with weather and sig-alert traffic web sites  810 - 1  through  810 -N. In one embodiment, cell phone  140  may act as a network router for communication between web traffic sites  810  and navigation daemon  510 . In one example, the cell phone  140  communicates through Bluetooth. In another example, the cell phone communication is through WiMax. In another embodiment, GPS receiver  114  of vehicle  802  may have wireless connectivity with integrated WLAN, Bluetooth, WiMax, and 3G/4G cellular radios, thereby allowing it to connect directly to cellular base station  170  (or other types of base stations like WLAN, WiMax) and web traffic sites  810 - 1  through  810 -N without having to use cellular phone  140  as a network router. In one example, navigation software daemon  510  may send a request to traffic web site  810 - 1 . The daemon  510  may include the GPS coordinate of the vehicle  802  taken from the GPS receiver  114  and/or its destination address in the request to the traffic web site  810 . The traffic web site  810  may respond by sending a list of coordinates of traffic jam roads and intersections within the area of interest, a given radius, or the path between the GPS coordinate and the destination. After the navigation daemon  510  receives the list of traffic jam roads and intersections, it may forward them to navigation application  124 . The navigation application&#39;s path planning algorithm may alter the path based on the information received. In one example, the traffic jam areas are marked on the navigation map so the driver knows why he is being diverted onto a different route. In one example, the navigation software daemon  510  continues to send updated requests to the traffic web site  810  at regular time intervals and the web site  810  may respond with updated traffic and weather information. Thus, the path planning and the displayed locations of traffic jams on the map can continue to be updated. Similar to web traffic sites, web weather alert sites can provide information about bad road conditions due to weather, and hence can be used to find alternative routes where weather is not an issue. This may be useful in longer distance journeys. 
     The elements of  FIG. 8  not otherwise discussed are similar to the same-numbered elements described with reference to  FIG. 1  and other figures. 
     In one embodiment, the request and the responses may use XML for message passing. For example XML may be used to specify the location of traffic jam areas in a standardized manner. The web servers  810  can also use XML formats such as Web Services Description Language (WSDL) to describe their web services so that the navigation software daemon  510  can read the WSDL and find what functions the server  810  supports. In one embodiment, web traffic sites  810 - 1  through  810 -N may contain text to speech engine  210 , speech recognition engine  214 , and grammar files  216 . Thus, the vehicle user could interact with the navigation sites using voice (i.e., “Show me all traffic jam in Los Angeles), and the traffic site can respond with voice which is fed to the car&#39;s speech recognition engine and the locations are marked on the map. 
       FIG. 9  is a flowchart of a method of displaying navigation information  900  according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method  900  may be performed by the systems detailed with reference to the previous figures, or by components thereof. The method  900  may be at least partly performed by a computer program. 
     In step  910 , a destination is transmitted to a navigation server through a wireless communication channel. For example, the cellular phone  304  transmits a destination to the web navigation site  310 - 1  (see  FIG. 3 ). 
     In step  920 , position information is transmitted from a GPS-enabled device to the navigation server. This information is transmitted through the wireless communication channel automatically at a time interval. For example, the cellular phone  304  transmits position information to the web navigation site  310 - 1  (see  FIG. 3 ). 
     In step  930 , navigation information is generated by the navigation server. The navigation information is based on the position information and the destination. For example, the web navigation site  310 - 1  generates navigation information based on the position information and the destination. (see  FIG. 3 ). 
     In step  940 , the navigation information is received by the GPS-enabled device from the navigation server through the wireless communication channel. The navigation information may also be output to show the position on the map. For example, the cellular phone  304  displays the navigation information on its display  326  (see  FIG. 3 ). 
     More details of these method steps may be obtained with reference to the various embodiments shown in the previous figures and accompanying description. 
     The navigation information may correspond to route information from the current position to the destination. The route information may then be used to give a different type of information than information based on just the current position. 
     For example, with reference to the navigation system  300  (see  FIG. 3 ), the advertising may be targeted according to the route, not just the current position. If the user requests the nearest gas station, the navigation system  300  may provide information corresponding to the nearest gas station on the projected route. This may be useful when the user has just passed a gas station and is deciding whether to go to the next gas station or to perform a U-turn and go back to the previous gas station. 
     As another example, with reference to the navigation system  700  (see  FIG. 7 ), the advertising may be targeted according to the route, not just the current position. Advertising based just on the current position may result in ads for locations that may be nearest, but have been passed. Advertising based on the route allows for the ads to be targeted according to future progress, which may be more useful to the user. 
     Certain embodiments of the present invention may have a number of advantages as compared to many existing navigation systems. The integration of a contacts and calendaring system with a navigation system, and synchronization thereof, increases efficiency as compared to having separate systems. The use of Bluetooth technology in various embodiments increases safety and convenience. The combination of cellular systems and navigation systems allows for the most recent information to be available. Automatically transmitting the position information saves the user from having to manually enter the position information into a map server. 
     The above description illustrates various embodiments of the present invention along with examples of how aspects of the present invention may be implemented. The above examples and embodiments should not be deemed to be the only embodiments, and are presented to illustrate the flexibility and advantages of the present invention as defined by the following claims. Based on the above disclosure and the following claims, other arrangements, embodiments, implementations and equivalents will be evident to those skilled in the art and may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims.