Patent Publication Number: US-11397091-B2

Title: Vehicle route optimization

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present invention generally relates to vehicle route planning, and more specifically, to vehicle route optimization. 
     A vehicle, such as a car, truck, van, motorcycle, or similar, can travel along a route from an origin to a destination. In ride-sharing environments, a user requests a pickup at a particular pickup location. The vehicle travels along a route from its origin to a destination corresponding to the pickup location. A ride-sharing vehicle can be selected based on different criteria, such as how long it will take the vehicle to travel to the pickup location. In some situations, the vehicle can be delayed along its route. 
     SUMMARY 
     Embodiments of the present invention are directed to vehicle route optimization. 
     A non-limiting example computer-implemented method includes, responsive to receiving a pickup location request indicating a pickup location, identifying, by a processing device, a vehicle in a vicinity associated with the pickup location, the vehicle having vehicle location data associated therewith. The method further includes selecting a shortest route from the vehicle to the pickup location. The method further includes, responsive to determining that a crossing is present along the shortest route, receiving target object location data for a target object associated with the crossing. The method further includes determining, by the processing device, whether the target object and the vehicle intersect are predicted to intersect at the crossing based on the target object location data and the vehicle location data and respective routes of the target object and the vehicle. The method further includes, responsive to determining the target object and the vehicle are predicted to intersect at the crossing, identifying, by the processing device, another vehicle in the vicinity, wherein the other vehicle traverses a route that avoids the crossing. 
     Other embodiments of the present invention implement features of the above-described method in computer systems and computer program products. 
     Additional technical features and benefits are realized through the techniques of the present invention. Embodiments and aspects of the invention are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed subject matter. For a better understanding, refer to the detailed description and to the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The specifics of the exclusive rights described herein are particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features and advantages of the embodiments of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  depicts routes for a vehicle and an object according to one or more embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 2  depicts a block diagram of a processing system for vehicle route optimization according to one or more embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 3  depicts a flow diagram of a method for vehicle route optimization according to one or more embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 4  depicts a flow diagram of a method for vehicle route optimization according to one or more embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 5  depicts a flow diagram of a method for intersection determination for vehicle route optimization according to one or more embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 6  depicts a flow diagram of a method for crossing window determination for vehicle route optimization according to one or more embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 7  depicts a cloud computing environment according to one or more embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 8  depicts abstraction model layers according to one or more embodiments described herein; and 
         FIG. 9  depicts a block diagram of a processing system for implementing the presently described techniques according to one or more embodiments described herein. 
     
    
    
     The diagrams depicted herein are illustrative. There can be many variations to the diagram or the operations described therein without departing from the scope of the invention. For instance, the actions can be performed in a differing order or actions can be added, deleted or modified. Also, the term “coupled” and variations thereof describes having a communications path between two elements and does not imply a direct connection between the elements with no intervening elements/connections between them. All of these variations are considered a part of the specification. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     One or more embodiments of the present invention provide vehicle route optimization. 
     Roads that a vehicle traverses when traveling a route often cross other roads, train tracks, bodies of water, and the like. For example, a road, which is part of a route being traversed by a vehicle, may cross a railway line at an intersection. Such an intersection between a road and a railway line is referred to as a “level crossing.” As used herein, the terms “crossing” or “level crossing” are used to describe a crossing between a road and another passageway, such as a railway line, the path of a ship along a body of water, and the like. As an example, when a train travels along the railway line through the crossing, the train blocks the road at the level crossing. This is referred to as a “closed crossing” and can inhibit the vehicle from traversing the level crossing. 
     A user may end up stuck waiting at a closed crossing because the user is unaware that the crossing is closed when the user arrives at the crossing. In such cases, the vehicle must wait until the train passes before the vehicle can continue along its route. Sometimes, level crossings are controlled by various traffic control devices, such as lights, audible alarms, and mechanical barriers to warn vehicles and/or prevent the vehicles from crossing the level crossing, such as when a train is or is about to be traversing the level crossing. Similarly, a draw bridge over a body of water can be raised when a ship/boat is passing through the level crossing, which can inhibit the vehicle from traversing the level crossing. Existing approaches to vehicle route planning do not adequately account for closed crossings by considering a route of the vehicle relative to a route of a target object. 
     The following aspects of the invention address the shortcomings of the prior art by identifying when a crossing is a closed crossing and providing vehicle route optimization to minimize any delay that might occur as a result of the closed crossing. For example, in the context of a single user, an alternate route may be determined when a crossing is determined to be a closed crossing along the user&#39;s intended route. As another example, in the context of a ride-sharing implementation, an alternate vehicle that may not be affected by the closed crossing can be dispatched to a pickup location associated with a user. 
     One or more embodiments of the present invention provide technological improvements over current methods of vehicle routing that do not consider closed crossings. Disadvantages of contemporary approaches may include selecting a route for a vehicle or selecting a rideshare vehicle to dispatch without considering whether a crossing will be closed upon arrival. One or more embodiments of the present invention provide technical solutions to one or more of these disadvantages of existing solutions by monitoring target objects that may pass through a crossing and cause the crossing to be closed upon a vehicle&#39;s arrival at the crossing. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 1 , a map  100  of a vehicle path  116  of a vehicle  110  crossing a target object path  122  of a target object  120  at a crossing  130  according to one or more embodiments described herein is depicted. In this example, the vehicle  110  is routed to travel along the vehicle path  116  between an origin  112  and a destination  114 . As shown, the vehicle path  116  contains a crossing  130  with the target object path  122 . When the target object, which can include a train, boat/ship, or another similar object, crosses through the crossing  130 , the crossing cannot be traversed by vehicles or other objects, including the vehicle  110 . Thus, when the target object crosses through the crossing  130 , the crossing  130  is a closed crossing. 
     As further shown, the map  100  includes an alternate route  118  that includes an overpass (or underpass)  119  that crosses over (or under) the target object path  122  and thus avoids the crossing  130  and does not include another closed crossing. Accordingly, the vehicle  110  can traverse the vehicle path  118 , including the overpass (or underpass)  119 , and cross the target object path  122  regardless of where the target object  120  is along the target object path. 
     The present techniques of one or more embodiments identify when the crossing  130  will be closed so that a vehicle can be rerouted or that, in the case of ride-sharing, another vehicle  111  can be dispatched to the destination  114  along the vehicle paths  117 ,  118 . For example, the other vehicle  111 , at a location  113 , is farther away from the destination  114  than the vehicle  111 . However, if the crossing  130  is a closed crossing (meaning that the crossing  130  is closed when the vehicle  110  would anticipate intersecting the target object path  122 ), the other vehicle  111  can be dispatched to the destination  114  instead of the vehicle  111 . 
       FIG. 2  depicts a block diagram of a processing system  200  for vehicle route optimization according to one or more embodiments described herein. The processing system  200  includes a processing device  202  (e.g., one of the processors  921  of  FIG. 9 ), a memory  204  (e.g., the RAM  924  of  FIG. 9 ), and a network adapter  206  (e.g., the network adapter  926  of  FIG. 9 ). Additionally, the processing system  200  includes a data collection engine  210 , a vehicle/route determination engine  212 , and a crossing determination engine  214 . In accordance with one or more embodiments of described herein, the processing system  200  is an example of a cloud computing node  10  of  FIG. 7 . 
     The various components, modules, engines, etc. described regarding  FIG. 2  can be implemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium, as hardware modules, as special-purpose hardware (e.g., application specific hardware, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), application specific special processors (ASSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), as embedded controllers, hardwired circuitry, etc.), or as some combination or combinations of these. According to aspects of the present disclosure, the engine(s) described herein can be a combination of hardware and programming. The programming can be processor executable instructions stored on a tangible memory, and the hardware can include the processing device  202  for executing those instructions. Thus a system memory (e.g., memory  204 ) can store program instructions that when executed by the processing device  202  implement the engines described herein. Other engines can also be utilized to include other features and functionality described in other examples herein. 
     The network adapter  206  transmits data to and receives data from another processing system(s)  222 , data store(s)  224 , and the like either directly or via network(s)  208 . The network(s)  208  represents any one or a combination of different types of suitable communications networks such as, for example, cable networks, public networks (e.g., the Internet), private networks, wireless networks, cellular networks, or any other suitable private and/or public networks. Further, the network(s)  208  may have any suitable communication range associated therewith and may include, for example, global networks (e.g., the Internet), metropolitan area networks (MANs), wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), or personal area networks (PANs). In addition, the network(s)  208  can include any type of medium over which network traffic may be carried including, but not limited to, coaxial cable, twisted-pair wire, optical fiber, a hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) medium, microwave terrestrial transceivers, radio frequency communication mediums, satellite communication mediums, or any combination thereof. 
     The following depicts an example implementation for ride-sharing using the processing system  200  and its components. The data collection engine  210  receives a pickup notification for a user along with location information associated with the user. The vehicle/route determination engine  212  determines a shortest route the pickup location using global positioning system (GPS) navigation techniques. The crossing determination engine  214  determines whether the shortest route contains a level crossing or other similar crossing. If not, a ride-sharing vehicle is deployed along the shortest route. However, if a level crossing is determined to exist, it is determined whether the closing will be closed. If not, the ride-sharing vehicle is deployed along the shortest route. However, if the crossing will be closed, the ride-sharing vehicle can be deployed on an alternate route that does not intersect the closed crossing, an alternate ride-sharing vehicle can be deployed that does not intersect the closed crossing or the like. 
       FIG. 3  depicts a flow diagram of a method  300  for vehicle route optimization according to examples of the present disclosure. The method  300  can be performed by any suitable processing system (e.g., the processing system  200  of  FIG. 2 , the processing system  900  of  FIG. 9 , the cloud computing node  10  of  FIG. 7 , etc.), any suitable processing device (e.g., the processing device  202  of  FIG. 2 , one of the processors  921  of  FIG. 9 , etc.), and/or combinations thereof and the like. The blocks of the method  300  are now described with reference to the components of the processing system  200  of  FIG. 2 . 
     At block  302 , the vehicle/route determination engine  212  identifies a vehicle (e.g., the vehicle  110 ) in a vicinity associated with the pickup location responsive to receiving a pickup location request indicating the pickup location. For example, multiple vehicles (e.g., the vehicles  110 ,  111 ) are available for rideshare pick up, and the vehicle/route determination engine  212  identifies the vehicle  110  to perform the pickup. This determination can be, for example, based on the vehicle  110  being the closest to the pickup location (e.g., the destination  114 ), being estimated to take the least amount of time to travel to the pickup location, or based on another consideration. The vehicle has vehicle location data associated therewith. The vehicle location data can include GPS coordinates, for example, as well as speed and direction of movement data. 
     At block  304 , the vehicle/route determination engine  212  selects a shortest route (e.g., the vehicle path  116 ) to the pickup location (e.g., the destination  114 ). The shortest route can be selected based on distance, time, or other considerations. 
     At block  306 , the data collection engine  210  receives target object location data for a target object (e.g., the target object  120 ) responsive to determining that a crossing (e.g., the crossing  130 ) is present along the shortest route. The target object location data can include GPS coordinates, for example, as well as speed and direction of movement data. 
     At block  308 , the crossing determination engine  214  determines whether the target object and the vehicle are predicted to intersect at the crossing based on the target object location data and the vehicle location data and respective routes of the target object and the vehicle. According to an example, this determination is made by determining a target object crossing window and a vehicle crossing window. The target object crossing window is determined by: determining a first distance to the crossing of the target object based at least in part on the target object location data; calculating a first nominal time to the crossing for the target object; and determining the target object crossing window by applying a first tolerance to the first nominal time. The vehicle crossing window is determined by determining a second distance to the crossing of the vehicle based at least in part on the vehicle location data; calculating a second nominal time to the crossing for the vehicle based on the second distance; and determining the vehicle crossing window by applying a second tolerance to the nominal time. The target object and the vehicle are determined to intersect at the crossing when at least a portion of the target object crossing window overlaps with the vehicle crossing window. However, the target object and the vehicle are determined not to intersect at the crossing when the target object crossing window is distinct from the vehicle crossing window. 
     At block  312 , responsive to determining the target object and the vehicle are predicted to intersect at the crossing, the vehicle/route determination engine  212  can identify another vehicle in the vicinity to dispatch to the pickup location. The other vehicle (e.g., the vehicle  111 ) traverses or travels along a route (e.g., the vehicle paths  117 ,  118 ) that avoids the crossing. 
     Additional processes also may be included, and it should be understood that the process depicted in  FIG. 3  represents an illustration, and that other processes may be added or existing processes may be removed, modified, or rearranged without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
       FIG. 4  depicts a flow diagram of a method  400  for vehicle route optimization according to examples of the present disclosure. The method  400  can be performed by any suitable processing system (e.g., the processing system  200  of  FIG. 2 , the processing system  900  of  FIG. 9 , the cloud computing node  10  of  FIG. 7 , etc.), any suitable processing device (e.g., the processing device  202  of  FIG. 2 , one of the processors  921  of  FIG. 9 , etc.), and/or combinations thereof and the like. The blocks of the method  400  are now described with reference to the components of the processing system  200  of  FIG. 2 . 
     At block  402 , the data collection engine  210  receives a notification for a pickup location. For example, a user can use a ridesharing application to request a pickup and designate an associated pickup location. 
     At block  404 , the vehicle/route determination engine  212  determines a closest suitable vehicle (e.g., the vehicle  110  or another suitable vehicle). This can be determined, for example, by comparing a location of the user requesting the pickup to locations of vehicles and selecting a closest vehicle. The closest vehicle can be the closest by distance, the closest by travel time, or some other measure. The location of the user and/or the location of the vehicles can be determined based on global positioning system (GPS) data or other suitable location-based data. 
     At block  406 , the vehicle/route determination engine  212  determines a shortest route to the pickup location. According to an example, the shortest route is determined from various routes by comparing travel time among the various routes, with the shortest travel time being determined to be the shortest route. According to another example, the shortest route is determined from various routes by comparing travel distance among the various routes, with the shortest travel distance being determined to be the shortest route. 
     At decision block  408 , the crossing determination engine  214  determines whether the shortest route (determined at block  406 ) contains a level crossing. If not, the method  400  proceeds to block  410  and the closest suitable vehicle (determined at block  404 ) is dispatched to travel along the shortest route (determined at block  406 ) to pick up the user. However, if at decision block  408  it is determined that the shortest route contains a level crossing, the method proceeds to decision block  412 . 
     At decision block  412 , the crossing determination engine  214  determines whether the vehicle will intersect the level crossing when the level crossing is closed. In this example, closed in the context of a level crossing indicates that the level crossing is closed to cross-traffic, such as the vehicle, because the level crossing is or is about to be traversed by an object, such as a train. This determination at block  412  is further described herein with reference to  FIG. 5 . If it is determined at decision block  412  that the vehicle will not intersect the level crossing when the level crossing is closed, the method  400  proceeds to block  410  and the closest suitable vehicle (determined at block  404 ) is dispatched to travel along the shortest route (determined at block  406 ) to pick up the user. However in an example, if at decision block  412  it is determined that the vehicle will intersect the level crossing when the level crossing is closed, the vehicle is deployed along an alternate route at block  414 . In another example, if at decision block  412  it is determined that the vehicle will intersect the level crossing when the level crossing is closed, another vehicle is deployed at block  416 . In such examples, the other vehicle may be dispatched along a route that does not cross the level crossing or at least does not cross the level crossing when the level crossing is closed. 
     Additional processes also may be included, and it should be understood that the process depicted in  FIG. 4  represents an illustration, and that other processes may be added or existing processes may be removed, modified, or rearranged without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
       FIG. 5  depicts a flow diagram of a method  500  for vehicle route optimization according to examples of the present disclosure. The method  500  can be performed by any suitable processing system (e.g., the processing system  200  of  FIG. 2 , the processing system  900  of  FIG. 9 , the cloud computing node  10  of  FIG. 7 , etc.), any suitable processing device (e.g., the processing device  202  of  FIG. 2 , one of the processors  921  of  FIG. 9 , etc.), and/or combinations thereof and the like. The blocks of the method  500  are now described with reference to the components of the processing system  200  of  FIG. 2 . 
     At block  502 , the data collection engine  210  collects target object location data from the target object (e.g., the target object  120 , which can be, for example, a train, boat/ship, etc.). The target object location data can include position and speed data and can be collected using GPS techniques. 
     At block  504 , the data collection engine  210  collects vehicle location data from the vehicle (e.g., the vehicle  110 ). The vehicle location data can include position and speed data and can be collected using GPS techniques. 
     At block  506 , the crossing determination engine  214  uses the collected target object location data from the target object to determine a target object crossing window. The target object crossing window is a time (or window/range of time) that a target object is anticipated to be at the crossing. At block  508 , the crossing determination engine  214  uses the collected vehicle location data from the vehicle to determine a vehicle crossing window. The vehicle crossing window is a time (or window/range of time) that the vehicle is anticipated to be at the crossing. The determinations of the target object crossing window at block  504  and of the vehicle crossing window at block  506  are further described herein with reference to  FIG. 6 . 
     At decision block  510 , the crossing determination engine  214  determines whether the target object crossing window overlaps with the vehicle crossing window  510 . For example, the crossing determination engine  214  compares the target object crossing window to the vehicle crossing window to determine if the windows overlap. As an example, if the target object crossing window is 10:41 am-10:59 am and the vehicle crossing window is 10:50 am-10:52 am, the crossing determination engine  214  determines that an overlap exists. As another example, if the target object crossing window is 10:41 am-10:59 am and the vehicle crossing window is 10:40 am-10:43 am, the crossing determination engine  214  determines that an overlap exists. Similarly, as another example, if the target object crossing window is 10:41 am-10:59 am and the vehicle crossing window is 10:57 am-11:02 am, the crossing determination engine  214  determines that an overlap exists. If, however, as another example, the target object crossing window is 10:41 am-10:59 am and the vehicle crossing window is 11:00 am-11:02 am, the crossing determination engine  214  determines that no overlap exists. 
     If at decision block  510  it is determined that no overlap exists, the method  500  continues to block  512 , and the crossing determination engine  214  reports that no overlap exists. However, if at decision block  510  it is determined that an overlap exists, the method  500  continues to block  514 , and the crossing determination engine  214  reports that an overlap exists. In some examples, if it is determined that an overlap exists at decision block  510 , it can be determined whether the vehicle the delay is long enough to warrant taking an alternate route, which may be longer. For example, if the delay is less than the amount of time taking the alternate route would require, it may be determined that the vehicle should wait at the crossing instead of taking the alternate route. If, however, the delay is longer than the amount of time taking the alternate route would require, it may be determined that the vehicle should take the alternate rout instead of waiting at the crossing. 
     Additional processes also may be included, and it should be understood that the process depicted in  FIG. 5  represents an illustration, and that other processes may be added or existing processes may be removed, modified, or rearranged without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
       FIG. 6  depicts a flow diagram of a method  600  for intersection determination for vehicle route optimization according to one or more embodiments described herein. The method  600  can be performed by any suitable processing system (e.g., the processing system  200  of  FIG. 2 , the processing system  900  of  FIG. 9 , the cloud computing node  10  of  FIG. 7 , etc.), any suitable processing device (e.g., the processing device  202  of  FIG. 2 , one of the processors  921  of  FIG. 9 , etc.), and/or combinations thereof and the like. The blocks of the method  600  are now described with reference to the components of the processing system  200  of  FIG. 2 . 
     At block  602 , the crossing determination engine  214  uses the location of the target object or the location of the vehicle to calculate a distance from the respective target object or vehicle to the crossing. 
     At block  604 , the crossing determination engine  214  divides the calculated distance for the respective target object or vehicle by the speed of the respective target object or vehicle to determine a nominal time to crossing of the target object or vehicle. 
     At block  606 , the crossing determination engine  214  applies a tolerance to the nominal value to determine the window crossing for the respective target object (e.g., the target object crossing window) or vehicle (e.g., the vehicle crossing window). The tolerance is applied to account for variations and uncertainties, such as a length of the target object (e.g., a train), traffic conditions, weather conditions, changes to the speed of the target object or vehicle, etc. 
     Additional processes also may be included, and it should be understood that the process depicted in  FIG. 6  represents an illustration, and that other processes may be added or existing processes may be removed, modified, or rearranged without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
     It is to be understood that, although this disclosure includes a detailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachings recited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather, embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented in conjunction with any other type of computing environment now known or later developed. 
     Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing, memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or interaction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may include at least five characteristics, at least three service models, and at least four deployment models. 
     Characteristics are as follows: 
     On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with the service&#39;s provider. 
     Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs). 
     Resource pooling: the provider&#39;s computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to demand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumer generally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher level of abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter). 
     Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elastically provisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out and rapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be purchased in any quantity at any time. 
     Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported, providing transparency for both the provider and consumer of the utilized service. 
     Service Models are as follows: 
     Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer is to use the provider&#39;s applications running on a cloud infrastructure. The applications are accessible from various client devices through a thin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail). The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage, or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exception of limited user-specific application configuration settings. 
     Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer is to deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquired applications created using programming languages and tools supported by the provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, or storage, but has control over the deployed applications and possibly application hosting environment configurations. 
     Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to the consumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and other fundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy and run arbitrary software, which can include operating systems and applications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage, deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networking components (e.g., host firewalls). 
     Deployment Models are as follows: 
     Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for an organization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party and may exist on-premises or off-premises. 
     Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by several organizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns (e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and compliance considerations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third party and may exist on-premises or off-premises. 
     Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the general public or a large industry group and is owned by an organization selling cloud services. 
     Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more clouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting for load-balancing between clouds). 
     A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus on statelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability. At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure that includes a network of interconnected nodes. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 7 , illustrative cloud computing environment  50  is depicted. As shown, cloud computing environment  50  includes one or more cloud computing nodes  10  with which local computing devices used by cloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA) or cellular telephone  54 A, desktop computer  54 B, laptop computer  54 C, and/or automobile computer system  54 N may communicate. Nodes  10  may communicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physically or virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community, Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combination thereof. This allows cloud computing environment  50  to offer infrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloud consumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computing device. It is understood that the types of computing devices  54 A-N shown in  FIG. 7  are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes  10  and cloud computing environment  50  can communicate with any type of computerized device over any type of network and/or network addressable connection (e.g., using a web browser). 
     Referring now to  FIG. 8 , a set of functional abstraction layers provided by cloud computing environment  50  ( FIG. 7 ) is shown. It should be understood in advance that the components, layers, and functions shown in  FIG. 8  are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments of the invention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layers and corresponding functions are provided: 
     Hardware and software layer  60  includes hardware and software components. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes  61 ; RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers  62 ; servers  63 ; blade servers  64 ; storage devices  65 ; and networks and networking components  66 . In some embodiments, software components include network application server software  67  and database software  68 . 
     Virtualization layer  70  provides an abstraction layer from which the following examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers  71 ; virtual storage  72 ; virtual networks  73 , including virtual private networks; virtual applications and operating systems  74 ; and virtual clients  75 . 
     In one example, management layer  80  may provide the functions described below. Resource provisioning  81  provides dynamic procurement of computing resources and other resources that are utilized to perform tasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing  82  provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloud computing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of these resources. In one example, these resources may include application software licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloud consumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources. User portal  83  provides access to the cloud computing environment for consumers and system administrators. Service level management  84  provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such that required service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planning and fulfillment  85  provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of, cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipated in accordance with an SLA. 
     Workloads layer  90  provides examples of functionality for which the cloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads and functions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping and navigation  91 ; software development and lifecycle management  92 ; virtual classroom education delivery  93 ; data analytics processing  94 ; transaction processing  95 ; and vehicle route optimization  96 . 
     It is understood that one or more embodiments described herein is capable of being implemented in conjunction with any other type of computing environment now known or later developed. For example,  FIG. 9  depicts a block diagram of a processing system  900  for implementing the techniques described herein. In accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention, system  900  is an example of a cloud computing node  10  of  FIG. 7  In examples, processing system  900  has one or more central processing units (“processors” or “processing resources”)  921   a ,  921   b ,  921   c , etc. (collectively or generically referred to as processor(s)  921  and/or as processing device(s)). In aspects of the present disclosure, each processor  921  can include a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) microprocessor. Processors  921  are coupled to system memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM)  924 ) and various other components via a system bus  933 . Read only memory (ROM)  922  is coupled to system bus  933  and may include a basic input/output system (BIOS), which controls certain basic functions of processing system  900 . 
     Further depicted are an input/output (I/O) adapter  927  and a network adapter  926  coupled to system bus  933 . I/O adapter  927  may be a small computer system interface (SCSI) adapter that communicates with a hard disk  923  and/or a storage device  925  or any other similar component. I/O adapter  927 , hard disk  923 , and storage device  925  are collectively referred to herein as mass storage  934 . Operating system  940  for execution on processing system  900  may be stored in mass storage  934 . The network adapter  926  interconnects system bus  933  with an outside network  936  enabling processing system  900  to communicate with other such systems. 
     A display (e.g., a display monitor)  935  is connected to system bus  933  by display adapter  932 , which may include a graphics adapter to improve the performance of graphics intensive applications and a video controller. In one aspect of the present disclosure, adapters  926 ,  927 , and/or  932  may be connected to one or more I/O busses that are connected to system bus  933  via an intermediate bus bridge (not shown). Suitable I/O buses for connecting peripheral devices such as hard disk controllers, network adapters, and graphics adapters typically include common protocols, such as the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI). Additional input/output devices are shown as connected to system bus  933  via user interface adapter  928  and display adapter  932 . A keyboard  929 , mouse  930 , and speaker  931  may be interconnected to system bus  933  via user interface adapter  928 , which may include, for example, a Super I/O chip integrating multiple device adapters into a single integrated circuit. 
     In some aspects of the present disclosure, processing system  900  includes a graphics processing unit  937 . Graphics processing unit  937  is a specialized electronic circuit designed to manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display. In general, graphics processing unit  937  is very efficient at manipulating computer graphics and image processing, and has a highly parallel structure that makes it more effective than general-purpose CPUs for algorithms where processing of large blocks of data is done in parallel. 
     Thus, as configured herein, processing system  900  includes processing capability in the form of processors  921 , storage capability including system memory (e.g., RAM  924 ), and mass storage  934 , input means such as keyboard  929  and mouse  930 , and output capability including speaker  931  and display  935 . In some aspects of the present disclosure, a portion of system memory (e.g., RAM  924 ) and mass storage  934  collectively store the operating system  940  such as the AIX® operating system from IBM Corporation to coordinate the functions of the various components shown in processing system  900 . 
     Various embodiments of the invention are described herein with reference to the related drawings. Alternative embodiments of the invention can be devised without departing from the scope of this invention. Various connections and positional relationships (e.g., over, below, adjacent, etc.) are set forth between elements in the following description and in the drawings. These connections and/or positional relationships, unless specified otherwise, can be direct or indirect, and the present invention is not intended to be limiting in this respect. Accordingly, a coupling of entities can refer to either a direct or an indirect coupling, and a positional relationship between entities can be a direct or indirect positional relationship. Moreover, the various tasks and process steps described herein can be incorporated into a more comprehensive procedure or process having additional steps or functionality not described in detail herein. 
     The following definitions and abbreviations are to be used for the interpretation of the claims and the specification. As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,” “having,” “contains” or “containing,” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a composition, a mixture, process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements but can include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such composition, mixture, process, method, article, or apparatus. 
     Additionally, the term “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance or illustration.” Any embodiment or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. The terms “at least one” and “one or more” may be understood to include any integer number greater than or equal to one, i.e. one, two, three, four, etc. The terms “a plurality” may be understood to include any integer number greater than or equal to two, i.e. two, three, four, five, etc. The term “connection” may include both an indirect “connection” and a direct “connection.” 
     The terms “about,” “substantially,” “approximately,” and variations thereof, are intended to include the degree of error associated with measurement of the particular quantity based upon the equipment available at the time of filing the application. For example, “about” can include a range of ±8% or 5%, or 2% of a given value. 
     For the sake of brevity, conventional techniques related to making and using aspects of the invention may or may not be described in detail herein. In particular, various aspects of computing systems and specific computer programs to implement the various technical features described herein are well known. Accordingly, in the interest of brevity, many conventional implementation details are only mentioned briefly herein or are omitted entirely without providing the well-known system and/or process details. 
     The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computer program product at any possible technical detail level of integration. The computer program product may include a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention. 
     The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire. 
     Computer readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device. 
     Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The computer readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instruction by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention. 
     Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable program instructions. 
     These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions. 
     The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments described herein.