Patent ID: 7272498

Claim:
A method for providing an online image-based navigation directory service, comprising: receiving by a server uploaded digital images, wherein each of the uploaded images is tagged with location data and metadata, wherein the location data specifies geographic coordinates of the image capture, and the metadata includes a time and date of the image capture and optionally user annotations describing the image; storing the digital images in an image database that is indexed by the location data; allowing a user of a navigation system to log into the server and to submit a request for directions that is wirelessly transmitted to the server; in response to receiving the request for directions, accessing a map database and calculating directions for the route, including route segments; for each segment identified along the route, searching the image database for any digital images that have location data that matches the location of the segment; and transmitting the set of images found for the directions from the server to the navigation system for display to the user along with the directions.