Voice-controlled navigation device utilizing wireless data transmission for obtaining maps and real-time overlay information

Abstract

A navigation system and method involving wireless communications technology and speech processing technology is presented. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the navigation system includes a subscriber unit communicating with a service provider. The subscriber unit includes a global positioning system mechanism to determine subscriber position information and a speech processing mechanism to receive destination information spoken by a subscriber. The subscriber unit transmits the subscriber position and destination information to the service provider, which gathers navigation information, including a map and a route from the subscriber position to the specified destination. The service provider transmits the navigation information to the subscriber unit. The subscriber unit conveys the received navigation information to the subscriber via an output mechanism, such as a speech synthesis unit or a graphical display.

What is claimed: 
     
       1. A navigation system device comprising:
 a subscriber unit configured to receive information from and transmit information to the Internet via a service provider, the subscriber unit including a global positioning system mechanism to determine subscriber position information, an output mechanism to convey information to a subscriber, and a speech processing mechanism to accommodate communications between the subscriber unit and the subscriber; 
 and a service provider configured to communicate with the subscriber unit, the communications between the service provider and the subscriber unit including the reception and transmission of navigation information including map information, wherein the output mechanism prompts to prompt the subscriber to speak destination information, 
 the speech processing mechanism receives to receive the destination information, 
 and the subscriber unit transmits to transmit the subscriber position information and the destination information to the service provider, and the service provider responds by transmitting the and receive from the service provider navigation information to including map information, the subscriber unit, which conveys to convey the navigation information to the subscriber via the output mechanism, 
 wherein the navigation information involves a plurality of points along a route from a current position to a destination, and wherein the subscriber unit is configured to determine a distance between a current position and a position related to one or more points along the route, and wherein the subscriber unit requests is to request new map information from the service provider when the distance exceeds a predetermined distance. 
 
     
     
       2. The navigation system device according to  claim 1 , wherein the speech processing mechanism includes a speech processing input mechanism to receive requests spoken by the subscriber. 
     
     
       3. The navigation system device according to  claim 2 , wherein the speech processing input mechanism is trained to recognize the subscriber's requests with an accuracy exceeding an accuracy obtainable without training. 
     
     
       4. The navigation system device according to  claim 1 , wherein the output mechanism includes a speech processing output mechanism configured to output messages by synthetically generating recognizable speech patterns. 
     
     
       5. The navigation system device according to  claim 1 , wherein the output mechanism is configured to convey graphical map information to the subscriber, and to overlay a current position on the graphically-conveyed map information. 
     
     
       6. The navigation system device according to  claim 1 , wherein the subscriber unit is configured to notify the subscriber that the route has been deviated from when the distance exceeds a predetermined distance. 
     
     
       7. The navigation system according to  claim 1 , wherein the information includes information from the Internet. 
     
     
       8. The navigation system device according to  claim 1 , wherein the subscriber unit stores a finite set of map information, and wherein the service provider transmits is to receive new navigation information from the server provider before the subscriber unit leaves a geographic area represented by the finite set of map information. 
     
     
       9. The navigation system device according to  claim 1 , wherein the subscriber unit is configured to be mounted on a personal transportation vehicle. 
     
     
       10. A navigation system device comprising:
 a subscriber unit configured to receive and transmit information, the subscriber unit including a global positioning system mechanism to determine subscriber position information, an output mechanism to convey information to a subscriber, and a speech processing mechanism to accommodate communications between the subscriber unit and the subscriber; 
 and a service provider configured to communicate with the subscriber unit, the communications between the service provider and  the subscriber unit including the reception and transmission of to receive navigation information including map information from a server provider, 
 wherein the output mechanism prompts is to prompt the subscriber to speak destination information, the speech processing mechanism receives to receive the destination information,  
 and the subscriber unit transmits to transmit the subscriber position information and the destination information to the a service provider, and the service provider responds by transmitting the receive navigation information to the subscriber unit, which conveys including map information from the service provider and convey the navigation information to the subscriber via the output mechanism, 
 wherein each of the subscriber unit and the service provider encrypt information before transmitting the information, and 
 wherein each user of the subscriber unit is assigned an encryption key, the speech processing mechanism is configured to identify a user on the basis of the voice of the user, and the subscriber unit is configured to use the encryption key assigned to the identified user during navigation by the identified user. 
 
     
     
       11. A navigation system comprising:
 a subscriber unit configured to receive and transmit information, the subscriber unit including a global positioning system mechanism to determine subscriber position information, an output mechanism to convey information to a subscriber, and a speech processing mechanism to accommodate communications between the subscriber unit and the subscriber; and   a service provider configured to communicate with the subscriber unit, the communications between the service provider and the subscriber unit including the reception and transmission of navigation information including map information,   wherein the output mechanism prompts the subscriber to speak destination information, the speech processing mechanism receives the destination information and the subscriber unit transmits the subscriber position information and the destination information to the service provider, and the service provider responds by transmitting the navigation information to the subscriber unit, which conveys the navigation information to the subscriber via the output mechanism, and   wherein the service provider is configured to store the subscriber position information, the subscriber unit is configured to measure the distance between the stored subscriber position information and a current position, and the subscriber unit transmits the current position to the service provider when the distance exceeds a predetermined distance.   
     
     
       12. A navigation system device comprising:
 a subscriber unit configured to receive and transmit information, the subscriber unit including a global positioning system mechanism to determine subscriber position information, an output mechanism to convey information to a subscriber, and a speech processing mechanism to accommodate communications between the subscriber unit and the subscriber; 
 and a service provider configured to communicate with the subscriber unit, the communications between the service provider and the subscriber unit including the reception and transmission of to receive navigation information including map information from a service provider, 
 wherein the output mechanism prompts is to prompt the subscriber to speak destination information, the speech processing mechanism receives to receive the destination information, 
 and the subscriber unit transmits to transmit the subscriber position information and the destination information to the service provider, and the service provider responds by transmitting the receive navigation information to the subscriber unit, which conveys from the service provider and convey the navigation information to the subscriber via the output mechanism, and 
 wherein the subscriber unit includes a firmware and a software portion, the subscriber unit being configured to receive encrypted firmware and software upgrades, the upgrades being decrypted by, and programmed into, the subscriber unit. 
 
     
     
       13. A navigation method comprising:
 receiving, by a subscriber unit, position information and destination information, the destination information being spoken by a subscriber; 
 transmitting, by the subscriber unit, the position information and the destination information to a service provider, after encrypting the information; 
 receiving, by the subscriber unit, encrypted navigation information from the service provider, the navigation information involving a plurality of points along a route from a current position to a destination; 
 conveying, by the subscriber unit, the navigation information to the subscriber; 
 encrypting, by each of the subscriber unit and the service provider, information before transmission; 
 assigning, by the subscriber unit, a first user of a the subscriber unit an encryption key; 
 associating the encryption key of the first user with the voice of the first user; 
 identifying the first user when the first user speaks; and 
 using the encryption key assigned to the first user during navigation by the first user. 
 
     
     
       14. The navigation method according to  claim 13 , wherein the subscriber unit conveys conveying comprises conveying navigation information by synthetically generating recognizable speech patterns. 
     
     
       15. The navigation method according to  claim 13 , further comprising:
 determining, by the subscriber unit or the service provider, the distance between the current position and a position related to one or more points along the route; and 
 notifying the subscriber that the route has been deviated from when the distance exceeds a predetermined distance. 
 
     
     
       16. A navigation method comprising:
 receiving, by a subscriber unit, position information and destination information, the destination information being spoken by a subscriber; 
 transmitting, by the subscriber unit, the position information and the destination information to a service provider, after encrypting the information; 
 receiving, by the subscriber unit, encrypted navigation information from the service provider, the navigation information involving a plurality of points along a route from a current position to a destination; 
 conveying, by the subscriber unit, the navigation information to the subscriber; 
 encrypting, by each of the subscriber unit and the service provider, information before transmission; and 
 receiving, by the subscriber unit, encrypted firmware or software upgrades. 
 
     
     
       17. A navigation method comprising:
 receiving, by a subscriber unit, position information and destination information, the destination information being spoken by a subscriber; 
 transmitting, by the subscriber unit, the position information and the destination information to a service provider; 
 receiving, by the subscriber unit, navigation information from the service provider, the navigation information involving a plurality of points along a route from a current position to a destination; 
 conveying, by the subscriber unit, the navigation information to the subscriber by synthetically generating a recognizable speech pattern; 
 determining, by the subscriber unit, the distance between the current position and a position related to one or more points along the route; and 
 requesting new map information from the service provider when the distance exceeds a predetermined distance. 
 
     
     
       18. A navigation method comprising:
 receiving, by a subscriber unit, position information and destination information, the destination information being spoken by a subscriber;   transmitting, by the subscriber unit, the position information and the destination information to a service provider;   receiving, by the subscriber unit, navigation information from the service provider, the navigation information involving a plurality of points along a route from a current position to a destination;   conveying, by the subscriber unit, the navigation information to the subscriber;   storing, by the service provider, the position information;   measuring, by the subscriber unit, the distance between the stored position information and the current position; and   transmitting, by the subscriber unit, the current position to the service provider when the distance exceeds a predetermined distance.   
     
     
       19. A computer-readable medium encoded with a plurality of processor-executable instruction sequences for:
 receiving, by a subscriber unit, position information and destination information, the destination information being spoken by a subscriber; 
 transmitting, by the subscriber unit, the position information and the destination information to a service provider; 
 receiving, by the subscriber unit, navigation information from the service provider, the navigation information involving a plurality of points along a route from a current position to a destination; 
 conveying, by the subscriber unit, the navigation information to the subscriber; 
 determining, by the subscriber unit, the distance between the current position and a position related to one or more points along the route; and 
 requesting new map information from the service provider when the distance exceeds a predetermined distance; and 
 notifying the subscriber that the route has been deviated from when the distance exceeds a predetermined distance. 
 
     
     
       20. The computer-readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein the subscriber unit conveys navigation information by synthetically generating recognizable speech patterns. 
     
     
       21. The computer-readable medium of  claim 19 , further comprising processor-executable instruction sequences for:
 determining, by the subscriber unit or the service provider, the distance between the current position and a position related to one or more points along the route; and   notifying the subscriber that the route has been deviated from when the distance exceeds a predetermined distance.   
     
     
       22. A computer-readable medium encoded with a plurality of processor-executable instruction sequences for:
 receiving, by a subscriber unit, position information and destination information, the destination information being spoken by a subscriber; 
 transmitting, by the subscriber unit, the position information and the destination information to a service provider, after encrypting the information; 
 receiving, by the subscriber unit, encrypted navigation information from the service provider, the navigation information involving a plurality of points along a route from a current position to a destination; 
 conveying, by the subscriber unit, the navigation information to the subscriber; 
 encrypting, by each of the subscriber unit and the service provider, information before transmission; 
 assigning, by the subscriber unit, a first user of a the subscriber unit an encryption key; 
 associating the encryption key of the first user with the voice of the first user; 
 identifying the first user when the first user speaks; and 
 using the encryption key assigned to the first user during navigation by the first user. 
 
     
     
       23. A computable-readable medium encoded with a plurality of processor-executable instruction sequences for:
 receiving, by a subscriber unit, position information and destination information, the destination information being spoken by a subscriber;   transmitting, by the subscriber unit, the position information and the destination information to a service provider;   receiving, by the subscriber unit, navigation information from the service provider, the navigation information involving a plurality of points along a route from a current position to a destination;   conveying, by the subscriber unit, the navigation information to the subscriber;   storing, by the service provider, the position information;   measuring, by the subscriber unit, the distance between the stored position information and the current position; and   transmitting, by the subscriber unit, the current position to the service provider when the distance exceeds a predetermined distance.