Meeting point determination for group members

Abstract

Technologies are generally described to coordinate group members that may be at distinct locations and optionally moving in distinct directions to meet at a coordinated meeting point and/or to move in a common direction. A coordinated meeting point may optimize a parameter of interest for each of the group members or group as a whole. Example parameters may include distance, time, fuel usage, remaining resource levels, a network coverage, and group members' patience, mood, and/or tiredness factors. In some examples, a controller may determine the meeting point that minimizes a parameter of interest for the group members or whole group, where the meeting point may be stationary or dynamic. The controller may map the calculated meeting point to a geographical location, and may determine an optimal or preferred route from each group member to the meeting point to gather the group members together optimizing for a particular parameter of interest.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method to coordinate group members at distinct locations to a meeting point, the method comprising:
 determining travel parameters that include a fuel usage and a coverage of a geographic area by one or more of the group members,   wherein the coverage of the geographic area includes an altitude coverage and a distance coverage of the geographic area by the one or more of the group members, and   wherein at least one of the travel parameters is determined based on an input received from one or more detection devices installed in one or more vehicles associated with the one or more of the group members;   determining a route for each of the group members from a current location of each of the group members to a geographical location that is mapped to by the meeting point; and   wirelessly communicating, via a network controller, the determined route for each of the group members to a corresponding group member of the group members.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 determining the travel parameters includes determining a weighted sum of the travel parameters for each of the group members, and   the travel parameters further include a time to cover the geographic area by the one or more of the group members.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising instructing a navigation system of each of the group members for automatic routing. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining, based on the travel parameters, whether at least one of the group members is outside of a range from the meeting point; and   in response to a determination that the at least one of the group members is outside of the range from the meeting point, one or more of:
 notifying one or more of the group members that correspond to the at least one of the group members; 
 modifying the route for the at least one of the group members; and 
 remotely limiting a capability of the at least one of the group members to move in one or more directions. 
   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 in response to a determination that the meeting point is unreachable for a subset of the group members, modifying the meeting point to another meeting point,   wherein the another meeting point is a closest point to the meeting point and is reachable by the group members, and   wherein the another meeting point is identified by a minimization of a non-planar distance measure for each of the group members.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining the meeting point for the group members based on the travel parameters.   
     
     
         7 . A method to coordinate moving objects, the method comprising:
 determining a meeting point for the moving objects based on travel parameters,   wherein the travel parameters include a fuel usage and a coverage of a geographic area by one or more of the moving objects,   wherein the coverage of the geographic area includes an altitude coverage and a distance coverage of the geographic area by the one or more of the moving objects, and   wherein at least one of the travel parameters is determined based on an input received from one or more detection devices installed in one or more vehicles associated with the one or more of the moving objects;   determining, based on the travel parameters, a cost of travel to the meeting point for each of the moving objects; and   determining, based on the cost of travel:
 a route from a geographic location of each of the moving objects to a geographic location of the meeting point; and 
 a boundary for each of the moving objects. 
   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the travel parameters further include a time to cover the geographic area by the one or more of the moving objects. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the meeting point is moving along a path. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the boundary includes a first boundary, the method further comprising:
 in response to a determination that an object of the moving objects is outside of a second boundary of one or more of a perspective of the object and another perspective of the meeting point, one or more of:
 transmitting a communication to the object, 
 designating the object as out of the second boundary, and 
 remotely limiting a capability of the object to move in one or more directions. 
   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 determining one or more of a speed and a path of the meeting point based on a speed and a path of one of the moving objects.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the one of the moving objects is a group leader. 
     
     
         13 . A controller configured to coordinate group members at distinct locations to a meeting point, the controller comprising:
 a processor configured to:
 determine a fuel usage and a coverage of a geographic area by one or more of the group members, 
 wherein the coverage of the geographic area includes an altitude coverage and a distance coverage of the geographic area by the one or more of the group members, and 
 wherein at least one of the travel parameters is determined based on an input received from one or more detection devices installed in one or more vehicles associated with the one or more of the group members; and 
 determine a route for each of the group members from a current location of each of the group members to a geographical location that is mapped to by the meeting point; and 
   a communication module, communicatively coupled to the processor, configured to communicate the determined route for each of the group members to a corresponding group member of the group members.   
     
     
         14 . The controller of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 a location module, communicatively coupled to the processor and to the communication module, configured to map the meeting point to the geographical location by use of one or more of global position system (GPS) coordinates, wireless local area network communications, and cellular tower signals.   
     
     
         15 . The controller of  claim 13 , wherein the processor is configured to determine the route for each of the group members based on one or more obstructions on the route. 
     
     
         16 . The controller of  claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 in response to a determination that at least one of the group members is outside of a range from the meeting point, one or more of:
 notify one or more of the group members that correspond to the at least one of the group members, 
 modify the route for the at least one of the group members, and 
 remotely limit a capability of the at least one of the group members to move in one or more directions. 
   
     
     
         17 . A system to coordinate moving objects, the system comprising:
 a processor configured to:
 determine a meeting point for the moving objects based on a fuel usage and a coverage of a geographic area by one or more of the moving objects, 
 wherein the coverage of the geographic area includes an altitude coverage and a distance coverage of the geographic area by the one or more of the moving objects, and 
 wherein at least one of the travel parameters is determined based on an input received from one or more detection devices installed in one or more vehicles associated with the one or more of the moving objects; 
 determine a cost of travel to the meeting point for each of the moving objects; and 
 determine, based on the cost of travel:
 a route from a geographic location of each of the moving objects to a geographic location of the meeting point; and 
 a boundary for each of the moving objects; 
 
   a communication module, communicatively coupled to the processor, configured to communicate the determined route for each of the moving objects to a corresponding moving object; and   a location module, communicatively coupled to the processor and to the communication module, configured to map the geographic location of the meeting point to the geographical location of each of the moving objects by use of one or more of global position system (GPS) coordinates, wireless local area network communications, and cellular tower signals.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein:
 the meeting point is moving along a path, and   the path is either predefined from a path of one of the moving objects or determined from the path of the one of the moving objects.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine the path of the meeting point from the path of the one of the moving objects by application of an offset. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the boundary includes a first boundary, and wherein the processor is further configured to:
 in response to a determination that an object of the moving objects is outside of a second boundary from one of a perspective of the object of the moving objects or another perspective of the meeting point, one or more of:
 transmit a communication to the object of the moving objects, 
 designate the object as out of the second boundary, and 
 remotely limit a capability of the object of the moving objects to move in one or more directions.