FI127928B

FI127928B - Travel guidance device and method for guided travelling

Info

Publication number: FI127928B
Application number: FI20166040A
Authority: FI
Inventors: Mikko Töykkälä
Original assignee: Appsipaja Oy
Priority date: 2016-12-29
Filing date: 2016-12-29
Publication date: 2019-05-31
Also published as: FI20166040L; WO2018122457A1

Abstract

A system where user links audio data items to geographic points of a route, and the audio data items are output to the user when a trigger condition relating a detected position of the user and the geographic point is fulfilled. The proposed solution broadens the availability of navigation services to various new uses, and also provides increased safety to travelling users.

Description

TRAVEL GUIDANCE DEVICE AND METHOD FOR GUIDED TRAVELLING

The present disclosure relates to guided travelling, and more particularly to an improved device and method for guided travelling.

BACKGROUND

Already for some time, automotive navigation systems have been used as add-on devices or as integrated parts of car control systems to guide travellers to desired destinations. The continuously rising processing capability of mobile telecommunication devices and 10 increased availability of satellite navigation services has led to a situation where also more and more people with handheld devices have access to map and navigation services.

In conventional navigation systems, the application is provided with a start point and a planned end point, and a manufacturer provided algorithm uses a road database vector 15 map to compute one or more routes for user selection/confirmation. While the user travels along the route, these conventional applications follow the user’s progress, and generate navigation instructions based on manufacturer provided navigation algorithms. There are also exercise tracking applications where the user selects geographic points from a map view display, and an algorithm computes one or more routes passable for pedestrians for 20 user selection/confirmation. The selected route may be viewed during the exercise from the screen of a mobile device.

The problem of these known systems is that the routes and guidance provided by the generic algorithms is formal and primarily adjusted for navigation along roads or marked 25 paths. Some systems may suggest alternative routes, and some also allow users to select the route based on predefined criteria (shortest, fastest, etc.) but the options presently available are scarce, and do not support alternative needs and reasons for travelling. It is clear that for a person planning a jogging exercise along paths in the wood, generic navigation instructions like ‘take the next exit’, ‘in the next junction, turn right’ are not very 30 relevant. There is a clear need for more dynamic route planning and varied guidance associated to it.

As another aspect, the known systems do not appropriately consider the situation or surroundings of the travelling person, or the capability of the travelling person to

20166040 prh 12-12-2017 understand and follow the navigation instructions. For example, people in training cannot continuously gaze at the screen of their mobile device, and need more detailed instructions to safely go through their planned route than the generic instructions designed for fast automotive traffic. Furthermore, for an elderly person or a child, who is walking or travelling 5 in or with some kind of vehicle, lack of adapted and topical guidance may be a reason to avoid travelling, or expose them to added risk when travelling.

Document US 2009292462 A1 discloses a system where a user is presented with a set of computer-generated driving directions comprising a plurality of maneuvers, and an option 10 to submit an annotation for one of the plurality of maneuvers. A received annotation is stored with an identification of the maneuver. The stored annotation may be incorporated in the set of computer-generated driving directions.

Document US 2014032110 A1 discloses a solution for managing and programming 15 directional wayfinding content by programming directionally based textual instructions describing navigating to and from map locations along path segments between the locations. The textual instructions are arranged as output to a user in an order corresponding to a travel route to provide customizable textual instructions to a remote location that vary depending on the direction of the paths traversed in the route.

Document US 5408415 A discloses a navigation system that determines a pie-shaped sector zone for triggering an indication of a route intersection on a displayed road map. When a vehicle enters the zone corresponding to the vehicle's velocity, it is determined that the vehicle is approaching the intersection, and a next intersection to be passed by 25 the vehicle is indicated on the road map.

Document US 6259381 B1 discloses a solution for triggering an event in a roving apparatus. An event is triggered when the calculated position of the roving apparatus falls within a predetermined area and at least one other triggering criteria specified for the event 30 is met.

Document US2016076906 A1 discloses a a navigation system with a destination action mechanism.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

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An object of the present disclosure is to provide a solution as to solve or at least alleviate some of the above disadvantages.

The objects of the disclosure are achieved by a method, a device and a program product, 5 which are characterized by what is stated in the independent claims. The preferred embodiments of the disclosure are disclosed in the dependent claims.

The disclosure is based on the idea of enabling a planning user to associate to positions in a planned route data items that include guidance, and trigger output of this guidance in 10 audio format when a travelling user moves along the route. The planning user and the travelling user may be different persons, or a user can be the planning user and the travelling user.

The proposed solution broadens the availability of navigation services to various new uses, 15 and also provides increased safety to travelling users. These and further advantages are discussed in more detail in the following description of embodiments.

This application discloses a mobile computing device equipped with a computing unit, a geographic positioning unit and an audio output unit. The computing unit is configured to 20 receive a first dataset of user input geographic data items, each geographic data item of the first dataset indicating position of a geographic point of a route. The computing unit is configured to receive a second dataset including user input audio data items. The computing unit is configured to receive one or more triggering rules, each of which links one or more of the user input audio data items of the second dataset to a geographic data 25 item, and establishes a primary trigger condition relative to a position of the geographic point indicated by the geographic data item, and a detected position of the mobile computing device. The geographic positioning system is configured to detect positions of the mobile computing device, and to provide positioning data to the computing unit. The computing unit is configured to compare the positioning data to the triggering rules. The 30 computing unit is configured to output, in response to a primary trigger condition relating a detected position of the mobile computing device and a position of a geographic point indicated by a geographic data item being fulfilled, the one or more audio data items linked to said geographic data item through the audio output unit.

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In another aspect, the computing unit is configured to receive geographic data items, each of which includes a geographic coordinate set that defines a geographic point in a geographic coordinate reference system.

In another aspect, the mobile computing device includes a text-to-speech synthesizer capable of transforming text data items into speech, and the computing unit is configured to receive an audio data unit that includes a text data item, and the computing unit is configured to output the text data item through the text-to-speech synthesizer to the audio output unit.

In another aspect, the computing unit is configured to receive in the second dataset at least one user input audio data item that includes an audio data unit in audio file format.

In another aspect, the computing unit is configured to receive in the second dataset at 15 least one user input audio data item that includes an audio data unit that includes a link that points to in text or audio format data accessible from an external source; and the computing unit is configured to output the audio data item by activating the link including the audio data unit.

In another aspect, the computing unit is configured to receive a triggering rule that includes the primary trigger condition, and a detected position of the mobile computing device, and a secondary trigger condition, fulfilment of which is checked if the primary trigger condition is fulfilled.

In another aspect, the computing unit is configured to output the audio data item related to the geographic data item of the primary trigger condition controlled by fulfilment of the secondary trigger condition.

In another aspect, the computing unit is configured to receive from a planning user a 30 primary trigger condition, fulfilment of which depends on a distance between a detected position of the mobile computing device and a position of a geographic point indicated by a geographic data item; and the computing unit is configured to receive from the planning user a secondary trigger condition, fulfilment of which depends on a direction from which the mobile computing device approaches the geographic point indicated by the geographic 35 data item.

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In another aspect, the computing unit is configured to output an error audio item if, at a predefined detected position, the primary trigger condition is fulfilled but the secondary trigger condition is not fulfilled.

In another aspect, the secondary trigger condition is configured to define an entry sector region through which the mobile computing device should approach the geographic point indicated by the geographic data item.

In another aspect, the computing unit is configured to receive a triggering rule that includes 10 a tertiary trigger condition, fulfilment of which is checked after output of the output the audio data item related to the geographic data item of the primary trigger condition.

In another aspect, the computing unit is configured to receive a triggering rule that includes a tertiary trigger condition, fulfilment of which is checked after output of the output the audio 15 data item related to the geographic data item of the primary trigger condition, or after output of the error audio when the primary trigger condition has been fulfilled but the secondary trigger condition has not been fulfilled at the predefined detected position.

In another aspect, the computing unit is configured to output an error audio item if the 20 tertiary trigger condition is not fulfilled.

In another aspect, the computing unit is configured to receive from a planning user a primary trigger condition, fulfilment of which depends on a distance between a detected position of the mobile computing device and a position of a geographic point indicated by 25 the geographic data item; and the computing unit is configured to receive from the planning user a tertiary trigger condition, fulfilment of which depends on a direction in which the mobile computing device moves away from the geographic point indicated by the geographic data item.

In another aspect, the computing unit is configured to receive a tertiary trigger condition configured to define an exit sector region through which the mobile computing device should move away from the geographic point indicated by the geographic data item.

In another aspect, the computing unit is configured to receive a primary trigger condition, 35 fulfilment of which depends on a distance between a detected position of the mobile computing device and a position of a geographic point indicated by the geographic data

20166040 prh 12-12-2017 item; the computing unit is configured to receive a tertiary trigger condition that includes geographic information and a timing parameter, wherein the geographic information defines a checkpoint region through which the mobile computing device should pass within a period defined with the timing parameter after fulfilment of the primary trigger condition;

and the computing unit is configured to output an error audio item if the tertiary trigger condition is not fulfilled.

In another aspect, the mobile computing device is configured to receive a simple user indication.

In another aspect, the computing unit is configured to repeat the output of the audio data item, or to record the current position in response to the simple user indication.

The application discloses also a method for a mobile computing device equipped with a 15 computing unit, a geographic positioning unit and an audio output unit. The method comprises: receiving in the computing unit a first dataset of user input geographic data items, each geographic data item of the first dataset indicating position of a geographic point of a route; receiving in the computing unit a second dataset including user input audio data items; receiving in the computing unit one or more triggering rules, each of which links 20 one or more of the user input audio data items of the second dataset to a geographic data item, and establishes a primary trigger condition relative to a position of the geographic point indicated by the geographic data item, and a detected position of the mobile computing device; detecting with the geographic positioning system positions of the mobile computing device, and providing positioning data to the computing unit; comparing in the 25 computing unit the positioning data to the triggering rules; and outputting, in response to a primary trigger condition relating a detected position of the mobile computing device and a position of a geographic point indicated by a geographic data item being fulfilled, through the audio output unit the one or more audio data items linked to said geographic data item.

In another aspect, the method includes receiving in the computing unit geographic data items, each of which includes a geographic coordinate set that defines a geographic point in a geographic coordinate reference system.

In another aspect, the method includes receiving in the second dataset at least one user 35 input audio data item that includes a text data item, and outputting the audio data unit

20166040 prh 12-12-2017 through the audio output unit that includes a text-to-speech synthesizer capable of transforming the text data item into speech.

In another aspect, the method includes receiving in the second dataset at least one user 5 input audio data item that includes an audio data signal in audio file format.

In another aspect, the method includes receiving in the second dataset at least one audio data unit that includes a link that points to in text or audio format data accessible from an external source, and outputting the audio data item by activating the link including the 10 audio data unit.

In another aspect, the method includes receiving in the computing unit a triggering rule that includes the primary trigger condition, and a secondary trigger condition, fulfilment of which is checked if the primary trigger condition is fulfilled, and outputting the audio data 15 item related to the geographic data item of the primary trigger condition controlled by fulfilment of the secondary trigger condition.

In another aspect, the method includes checking in the computing unit the primary trigger condition, fulfilment of which is configured to depend on a distance between a detected 20 position of the mobile computing device and a position of a geographic point indicated by the geographic data item;

checking in the computing unit the secondary trigger condition, fulfilment of which is configured to depend on a direction from which the mobile computing device approaches the geographic point indicated by the geographic data item; and outputting an error audio 25 item if, at a predefined detected position, the primary trigger condition is fulfilled, but the secondary trigger condition is not fulfilled.

In another aspect, the secondary trigger condition is configured to define an entry sector region through which the mobile computing device should approach the geographic point 30 indicated by the geographic data item.

In another aspect, the method includes receiving in the computing unit a triggering rule that includes a tertiary trigger condition, and checking fulfilment of the tertiary trigger condition after output of the output the audio data item related to the geographic data item 35 of the primary trigger condition.

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In another aspect, the method includes receiving in the computing unit a triggering rule that includes also a tertiary trigger condition, and checking fulfilment of the tertiary trigger condition after output of the output the audio data item related to the geographic data item of the primary trigger condition, or after output of the error audio when the primary trigger 5 condition has been fulfilled but the secondary trigger condition has not been fulfilled at the predefined detected position.

In another aspect, the method includes outputting an error audio item if the tertiary trigger condition is not fulfilled.

In another aspect, the method includes checking in the computing unit a tertiary trigger condition, fulfilment of which is configured to depend on a direction in which the mobile computing device moves away from the geographic point indicated by the geographic data item.

In another aspect, the tertiary trigger condition is configured to define an exit sector region through which the mobile computing device should move away from the geographic point indicated by the geographic data item.

In another aspect, the tertiary trigger condition is configured to include geographic information and a timing parameter, wherein the geographic information defines a checkpoint region through which the mobile computing device should pass within a period defined with the timing parameter after fulfilment of the primary trigger condition; and the method includes outputting an error audio item if the tertiary trigger condition is not fulfilled 25

This application also discloses a computer program product, readable by a computer and encoding instructions for executing the method and its variants in a mobile computing device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following the disclosure will be described in greater detail by means of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a functional device configuration of a mobile computing device;

Figure 2 provides an illustration of a method that may be implemented in the mobile computing device;

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Figure 3 illustrates an exemplary implementation of the method that may be implemented in the mobile computing device;

Figure 4 illustrates an example of operation of a safety device;

Figure 5 shows an exemplary display of a use case;

Figure 6 illustrates linking of a geographic data item of a geographic point to audio data items;

Figure 7 illustrates a situation where two selected geographic points are close to each other;

Figure 8 illustrates generation and use of checkpoint region definitions; and

Figure 9 illustrates further alternatives for use of trigger conditions that improve operability of the system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following embodiments are exemplary. Although the description may refer to “an”, 15 “one”, or “some” embodiment(s) or example(s), this does not necessarily mean that each such reference is to the same example(s), or that the feature only applies to a single example. Single features of different examples herein may be combined to provide further embodiments of the invention

In the following, features of the invention will be described with simple examples of a device architecture in which various embodiments of the invention may be implemented. Only elements relevant for illustrating aspects of the embodiments are described in detail. As well known to a person skilled in the art, a mobile computing device includes a variety of components and elements that are well known to a person skilled in the art and not, as such, relevant for the embodiments. For conciseness, they are not specifically disclosed herein.

Figure 1 illustrates a functional device configuration of a mobile computing device, applicable in embodiments described herein. Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary 30 configuration where the mobile computing device 100 includes a computing unit 102, a geographic positioning unit 104, and an interface unit 106.

The geographic positioning unit 104 is a functional unit configured to detect position of the mobile computing device, and provide positioning data to the computing unit. The 35 geographic positioning unit 104 may feed, or provide at request the detected position for

20166040 prh 12-12-2017 further calculations in the mobile computing device. Alternatively, the geographic positioning unit may compute with detected positions values for one or more predefined parameters (speed, direction, etc.), and feed, or provide at request them for use and/or further calculations in the mobile computing device. The detected position may be provided 5 in form of location coordinates, for example, longitude, latitude, or altitude/elevation. The geographic positioning unit 104 may include electronic receivers, signal conditioning components and computing elements, configured to determine the instantaneous location of the mobile computing device they are included in. The geographic positioning unit 104 may be a satellite navigation system that uses time signals transmitted from earth-orbiting 10 satellites by radio. For example, navigation satellite systems like NAVSTAR Global

Positioning System (GPS), GLONASS, BeiDou Navigation Satellite System/Compass navigation system, Galileo, Navigation with Indian Constellation (NAVIC), or the like may be applied for the purpose. Alternatively, the geographic positioning unit 104 may use signals of fixed-location transceivers for the detection. For example, sites of cellular 15 communication networks, like UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+, TD-SCDMA, CDMA2000,

LTE, WIMAX may be applied for the purpose. Alternatively, signals of surrounding communicating devices that make their location accessible may be used for the purpose. As a further alternative, a pedometer and a magnetometer may be combined to a step-bystep navigation system for the purpose. Accordingly, the mechanism applied for detection 20 of the position is not, as such, relevant. Any of the conventional techniques, or of the ones to be discovered later may be applied, alone or in combination, for the purpose. The geographic positioning unit 104 may be a separate component connected to, or included into an apparatus that includes other elements of the mobile computing device, or it may be an integrated system that applies the same components and processing resources as 25 the other elements of the mobile computing device.

The computing unit 102 may be communicatively coupled to the geographic positioning unit 104, and be configured to receive the detected position data for further processing. The coupling may be wired or wireless. The wired coupling may be an electrical contact, 30 allowing both a power supply to the geographic positioning unit 104, as well as wireline exchange of signals between the geographic positioning unit 104 and the computing unit 102. On the other hand, the geographic positioning unit 104 and the computing unit 102 may be implemented as one integrated physical device, whereby the position data may be input through internal signal processes of the mobile computing device.

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The computing unit 102 may be a combination of one or more computing devices that are configured to perform systematic execution of operations upon predefined data. The processing component may comprise one or more arithmetic logic units, special registers and control circuits. The processing component may comprise, or may be connected to a memory unit 114 that provides a data medium where computer-readable data or programs, or user data can be stored. The memory unit may comprise one or more units of volatile or non-volatile memory, for example EEPROM, ROM, PROM, RAM, DRAM, SRAM, firmware, programmable logic, etc.

The computing unit 102 may comprise, or be connected to an interface unit 106 that comprises at least one input unit 108 for inputting data to the computing processes of the computing unit 102, and at least one output unit 110 for outputting data from the computing processes of the computing unit 102.

The interface unit 106 may comprise a line interface with plug-in units acting as a gateway for information delivered to its external connection points and for information fed to the lines connected to its external connection points. The interface unit 106 may comprise a radio interface that comprises one or more radio transceiver units with a transmitter and/or a receiver. A transmitter of the radio transceiver unit may receive a bitstream from 20 computing unit 102, and convert it to a radio signal for transmission by an antenna.

Correspondingly, the radio signals received by the antenna may be led to a receiver of the radio transceiver unit, which converts the radio signal into a bitstream that is forwarded for further processing to the computing unit 102. A variety of different line and/or radio interfaces may be implemented in one interface unit 106.

The interface unit 106 may also comprise a user interface that allows a user to input data to processes of the mobile computing device, and receive data output from processes of the mobile computing device. The interface unit 106 of the mobile computing device may include an audio output unit 112 that is configured to output sounds audible to a user of 30 the mobile computing device. The audio output unit 112 may include computing means to controllably provide electrical audio signals for output, and audio components to convert the electrical audio signals into sounds. The term sound refers here to a vibration that may propagate as an audible mechanical wave through a medium and cause a perception by the brain. Audio signals may be represented in various analog or digital formats. Audio 35 components may include, for example, loudspeakers or headphones. The interface unit

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106 may further include a keyboard, a display, a touch screen, or equals for inputting and outputting data in other media forms to the user of the mobile computing device.

The computing unit 102 and the interface unit 106 are interconnected to provide means for performing systematic execution of operations on received and/or stored data according to predefined, essentially programmed processes. These operations comprise procedures to be described herein for mobile computing device of Figure 1. While various aspects of the invention may be illustrated, and described as block diagrams, message flow diagrams, flow charts and logic flow diagrams, or using some other pictorial 10 representation, it is well understood that the illustrated units, blocks, apparatus, system elements, procedures and methods may be implemented in, for example, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, a computing device or some combination thereof. Software routines, or software modules which may also be called as program products, are articles of manufacture and can be stored in any apparatus15 readable data storage medium, and they include program instructions to perform predefined tasks. Accordingly, embodiments of this invention also include a computer program product, readable by a computer and encoding instructions for implementing the embodiments disclosed herein in Figures 1-9.

Figure 2 provides a functional illustration of a method that may be implemented in the mobile computing device 100 of Figure 1. A route for travelling may be defined by means of a succession of geographic points through which the route passes. Geographic points may be identified by means of a geographic coordinate set in a geographic coordinate reference system. The geographic coordinate reference system refers herein to an 25 arrangement where a combination of one or more character strings (letters, numbers or symbols) are used as a set of one or more geographical coordinates to uniquely determine positions on the Earth. Typically, numbers are used as coordinates, for example a geographic coordinate set may include a combination of coordinates for latitude, longitude and elevation. When arranged in a predefined order of succession, the geographic points 30 of the first dataset form the route for travelling. Accordingly, the term route refers herein to a course of travel formed by passing through a set of geographic points in a predefined order of succession.

Conventional vector maps and routing algorithms of navigation systems may be applied to 35 generate a user selected route in the mobile computing device. A conventionally generated route may also be input (e.g. downloaded) into the mobile computing device. For more

20166040 prh 12-12-2017 dynamic navigation, the mobile computing device may alternatively be configured to enable the user to define the route by inputting directly coordinates of geographic points of the route for travelling. For example, the mobile computing device may be configured to display to the user a map view display, in which the user can select geographic points to 5 be included in the route. On the other hand, the user may be provided with a list of points of interest, each then related to coordinates of geographic points by the application. The route may be formed to include these points of interest, and passages between them.

The user may also be allowed to directly type coordinates of the geographic points in 10 character format into the mobile computing device. The route for travelling may then be provisionally defined by connecting lines between the geographic points given by the user, and be then adjusted dynamically when the user is on the road. The adjustment may be made according to travelling conditions between the two geographic points. For example, the user can set up a route into a terrain without marked paths recognizable by the 15 conventional applications, but adjust travelling between two geographic points according to thickets, tussocks, ponds or other obstacles on the way. As another example, the user can set up a route that involves riding a bicycle, riding a bus, and walking. The bus route may include twists and turns, but the user only needs to define and be aware of the geographic points where to get in the bus and where to get out of the bus.

These or other means of inputting coordinates of the route may be used alone or in combination. As will be described, in any of such cases, user input travelling instructions received at or around selected geographic points enable more safe and successful travelling.

The mobile computing device may be configured to receive a first dataset DS1(gi) of user input geographical data items gi, that represent the path through which the route passes. The term user input data item thus refers here to data items collected from one or more users when the route is defined or the route has been defined. Accordingly, the user input 30 data is a result of user action, it is not formed only of data items stored in the memory at configuring the mobile computing device, or of data items generated by manufacturer developed navigation or tracking algorithms in the mobile computing device. Each geographical data item gi of the first dataset includes a geographic coordinate of a specific geographic point within the route.

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Implementation of the method includes also receiving in the computing unit a second dataset DS2(ai), which includes user input audio data items ai. A user who acts as the source of the geographic data items and the audio data items is referred herein as a planning user. The planning user may also travel the route, i.e. be also a travelling user.

The planning user may, however, also be some other user that wishes to guide another person to travel a specific planned route, and instruct him or her how to do it.

The term audio data element refers here to any data element that includes an audio signal, or includes data that can be transformed into an audio signal. The audio signal refers 10 herein to an analog or digital representation of sound. Audio signals can be converted in the audio output unit of the mobile computing device into sound. Accordingly, audio data element may include an audio signal in audio file format in which it can be transferred and/or stored into the mobile computing device and can be converted into sound through

e.g. loudspeakers of the mobile computing device, or through headphones connected to 15 audio output of the mobile computing device. On the other hand, audio data item may include one or more text data items, and the mobile computing device may include a textto-speech (TTS) synthesizer capable of transforming text within these text data items into speech. Instead of, or in addition to text, audio data items may include other symbolistic linguistic representations, like phonetic transcriptions, or the like.

The mobile computing device may receive the user input audio data elements locally, from the user of the mobile computing device. As an example, the mobile computing device may be configured to display through the interface unit to the user an input box into which the user may type text items to be rendered through a speech synthesizer. The user may 25 input the audio data element also as a link to a text item or an audio item, and the mobile computing device may be configured to retrieve the linked text item or audio item such that it is accessible to the user in the mobile computing device while travelling along the route. A text item refers herein to a data block that can be separately identified and transferred to the mobile computing device, and transformed in the mobile computing device into text. 30 An audio item refers herein to a data block that can be separately identified and transferred to the mobile computing device, and transformed in the mobile computing device into sound. It is also possible to allow the user to download the route and/or the audio data elements into the mobile computing device through a web link. The audio data item may include a link or a hyperlink that the software module may activate and thereby access the 35 content from an external source through a wireless connection. Various methods for

20166040 prh 12-12-2017 identifying and retrieving user defined audio data elements may be applied within the scope.

The method also includes receiving in the mobile computing device one or more triggering rules TR, that relate audio data items, geographic data items and detected positions of the mobile computing device to each other in a specific manner. A triggering rule links one or more audio data items a, to a geographic data item gi, and establishes at least one trigger condition that is fulfilled or not fulfilled depending on specific proximity of the geographic point of the geographic data item and a detected position of the mobile computing device.

In other words, a trigger condition is relative to a position of the geographic point indicated by the geographic data item, and a detected position of the mobile computing device. Fulfilment of a trigger condition is thus contingent upon a predefined relation of the geographic coordinate set of the geographic data item, and a geographic coordinate set of a detected position of the mobile computing device. When a trigger condition is fulfilled, 15 the one or more audio data items that are linked to the specific geographic data item are output through the audio output unit of the mobile computing device. Use and form of trigger conditions will be discussed in more detail with later examples.

The first dataset DS 1 (g,), the second dataset DS2(a,) and the triggering rules TR, received 20 in the mobile computing device are made accessible to the computing unit at least during the time the user travels along the route. Advantageously, but not necessarily, the first dataset, the second dataset and the triggering rules are downloaded and stored in the memory of the mobile computing device such that they are accessible to the computing unit also when in the mobile computing device is without terrestrial radio connection along 25 the route. Advantageously, the first dataset, the second dataset and the triggering rules are input into the mobile computing device before the user begins the travel so that no user activity for accessing the audio instructions is needed on the way.

As another example, an initial set of a first dataset, a second dataset and triggering rules 30 may be downloaded and stored in the memory of the mobile computing device, but if a terrestrial radio connection is available along the route, the mobile computing device may receive one or more complementary sets to be combined with the initial set when on the way. A complementary set may include one or more geographic data items, one or more audio data items, associated by a triggering rule that is also delivered in the 35 complementary set, or is readily applied in the mobile computing device. If progress of the travelling user along the route can be monitored remotely, a planning user could, for

20166040 prh 12-12-2017 example, add new audio data items including pep talk to be output in the vicinity of geographic points in the untraveled parts of the route.

The geographic positioning unit may be configured to detect the position of the mobile computing device when the user travels along the route, and provide the detected positions to the computing unit. The computing unit may compare (denoted as TR(pos)) the detected coordinates of the mobile computing device to the triggering rules, and if any of the trigger conditions is fulfilled, the computing unit may activate output of audio items linked to the geographic data item identified in the fulfilled trigger condition. More specifically, if a trigger 10 condition for a relation of a geographic coordinate set of a geographic data item, and a detected a geographic coordinate set of the mobile computing device is fulfilled, the one or more audio data items linked to said geographic data item are output (denoted as S(a)) through the audio output unit of the mobile computing device.

This arrangement enables a planning user to select a route, and before travelling the route, attach into the route audio instruction points wherever they are needed. The instructions may be navigation instructions (own or given by another user), or any other advice enabling safe travelling on the route. The process enables improved guidance along any freely selected route, and does not require any operative user actions in the course of the 20 travel.

Figure 3 illustrates an exemplary implementation of the method described with Figure 2. The closed graph represents herein a route 300 for travelling, input into the computing unit of the mobile computing device. As described above, the computing unit may receive 25 information on the route 300 in various ways. In this particular example, execution of the method in the mobile computing device is controlled by means of a coded software module that the user of the mobile computing device may activate through the user interface of the device. Such software module may include or apply known elements of conventional tracking applications, in which the user may be provided with a map view display in which 30 the user may click with a mouse or tap with a pointer (e.g. finger) one or more route points 302. The software module may also include or have access to a road database vector map, and compute one or more route options for user selection. The route options may be displayed to the user, and the user may confirm selection of the specific route 300 through the user interface. These means for establishing routes is well known to a person skilled 35 in the art, and other means generating or inputting routes may be applied without deviating from the scope of protection. It is also noted that the route 300 does not necessarily be

20166040 prh 12-12-2017 closed, the solution may be applied also with routes where the start point is different from the end point.

The undulating line of the route 300 is formed of a continuum of points in an order of 5 succession, each point representing an actual geographic point on the Earth. The geographic points of the route 300 may be presented by geographic data elements, each of which includes at least a set of geographic coordinates that enable navigation to the geographic point by applying rules of a respective geographic coordinate reference system. If necessary, the geographic data elements may include other information, as well. 10

Of this infinite number of geographic points and respective geographic data elements, the user may establish a first dataset of user defined geographical data items. The first dataset includes one or more geographic data elements representing geographic points (P1, P2, P3, P4, P5) 304 included in the route 300, and arranged into an order of succession. In 15 this example, the software module may be configured to allow the user to select items the first dataset by clicking or tapping points in the map view display. The software module may be configured to transform the selections then into geographic data elements of the first dataset. The order of succession of the geographic data elements of the first dataset may correspond to the order of succession of the actual geographic points (P1, P2, P3, 20 P4, P5) 304 in the planned route for travelling. The first dataset may include a geographic data item more than one time, if the route crosses itself on the way.

As described above, the mobile computing device may also be configured to receive a second dataset of user input audio data items to be linked with the one or more of the 25 geographic data elements of the first dataset. In the present example, the software module may be configured to allow the user to select a geographic point in the map view and input the audio data item to be linked to it through the user interface. The user may provide, for example, a text string into an input field of the software module display, an activation link to another application (e.g. a hyperlink to a web page), or a recorded pep talk or instruction 30 audio message. Possible contents of the audio data items will be discussed in more detail later on.

The links between the geographic data items and audio data items are included in triggering rules. Accordingly, a triggering rule links one or more audio data items to a 35 geographic data item, and establishes at least one trigger condition for a relation of the geographic coordinate set of the geographic data item, and a geographic coordinate set

20166040 prh 12-12-2017 of a detected position of the mobile computing device. The software module may be configured to allow definition of a trigger condition separately for each geographic data item, or activate a generic trigger condition to apply to all geographic data items, or to allow definition of a trigger condition separately for some geographic data item, and activate a 5 generic trigger condition to apply to the remaining geographic data items. A generic trigger condition could be configured to activate, for example, when the distance between the geographic coordinate set of the geographic data item, and a coordinate of a detected position of the mobile computing device is less than a predefined number of meters.

Advantageously, but not necessarily, the first dataset, the second dataset, and the triggering rules are stored into the mobile computing device before the travel begins so that access to the instructions is not dependent on terrestrial network coverage on the way. In the present example, the software module may be configured to prompt the user to provide the audio data item, link it to a specific geographic data and provide an associated 15 trigger condition. On the other hand, the software module may be configured to prompt the user to provide the audio data item, link it to a specific geographic data item, and a generic trigger condition would be applied to the relation of the coordinate sets of the geographic data items and the detected positions. The software module may be configured to include a predefined trigger condition, which a planning user may complement with additional 20 definitions. For example, fulfilment of a trigger condition may depend on a distance between a detected position of the mobile computing device and a position of a geographic point, and the planning user may be allowed to activate the trigger condition and set the distance to be applied for a geographic data items separately.

The user may attach the mobile computing device to his body, for example by means of a separate strap, or by placing it into a specific compartment or pocket in the clothing. When the passage of the travel begins, the user may carry the mobile computing device, and the mobile computing device may detect its positions along the route. For example, the geographic positioning unit may be configured to provide an application programming 30 interface (API), through which software modules may access specified topical position data items generated in the geographic positioning unit. The access may be implemented as queries, and the queried data may include, for example, instantaneous geographical coordinates, speed of travel and direction of travel. A query by the software module may also include a set of coordinates identifying a position of a geographic point, and the 35 response to the query by the geographic positioning unit may include a data item indicating distance from the present position of the mobile computing device to said geographic point.

The detected positions are compared to the triggering rules, and as described above, whenever a trigger condition for coordinates of the detected position and any of the geographic points is fulfilled, the one or more audio data items linked to said geographic 5 data item is output by the mobile computing device. In order to enable appropriately interactive operation, the software module is typically configured to make queries quite often, and triggering rules may be checked after each query, so it is possible that a specific trigger condition is fulfilled in each of these checks. The software module may be configured so that output of an audio data item is triggered only once for each geographic 10 data item. Re-rendering of the audio data item may be made possible at user request.

Accordingly, in this example, the user may plan the route, and input the first dataset and second dataset in the map view of the software module, as described above. Table 1 below illustrates the set of user input geographic data items (g_b g₂, g₃, g₄, gs) that identify the 15 geographic points (P1, P2, P3, P4, P5) of the route, and corresponding triggering rules (TR1, TR2, TR3, TR4, TR5) that link audio data items (ai, a₂, a₃, a₄, a₅, a₆, a?) to the geographic data items (g_b g₂, g₃, g₄, gs) in the example of Figure 3. The configuration illustrates that more than one audio data items can be linked to a geographic data item.

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Geographic point	Geographic data item	Triggering rule	Audio data item
Pl	gl	TRI	al,
P2	g2	TR2	a2, a3
P3	g3	TR3	a4
P4	g4	TR4	a5, a6
P5	g5	TR5	a7

Table 1 Exemplary configuration of items and rules of a route

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The user may plan to begin the travel from a user selected start point P1 306. For simplicity, let us assume that the software module is configured to apply a generic trigger condition mandating that an audio data item is output when the distance between the 5 mobile computing device and a geographic point is for the first time less than ten meters.

When the user is ready to start travelling, he may plug a headset to the mobile computing device, and without necessarily gazing to the map view, wander to the neighbourhood of the start point. When the distance to the selected start point, the first geographic point P1, is less than a defined amount of meters, say ten meters, the trigger condition of first 10 triggering rule TR1 becomes fulfilled, and the mobile computing device outputs the first user generated audio data item S(ai).

The audio data item may include a directional instruction, like ‘run first to the big oak by the river, and then follow the bank up until the white building with red roof’. By following 15 the instruction conveyed through the audio data item ai, the user is then guided to the neighbourhood of the second geographic point P2 where the trigger condition of the second triggering rule TR2 is fulfilled. The mobile computing device now outputs the audio data item a₂, linked to the geographic data item g₂ of the second geographic point P2. The travel progresses along the route similarly: the geographic data items have an order of 20 succession, and an audio data item or audio data items output within the predefined region around a geographic point include instructions that lead to the neighbourhood the next geographic point, where output of new audio data item or audio data items is triggered. In this example, the audio data item a? guides the user from the fifth geographic point P5 to the first geographic point P1, which is also the end point.

In this specific example, the disclosed solution was used to provide the user with guiding instructions that enable one to navigate through a user planned route by means of dynamically adjusted and illustrative audio instructions. Accordingly, the arrangement may be applied to transform a conventional mobile computing device into a navigation device 30 that enables more dynamic and versatile route planning than conventional navigation products, and more user-friendly provision and content of the navigation instructions. The arrangement is specifically well suited for pedestrian use because it enables routes that are at least partly off roads, and provision of specific instructions without the user holding the device. The user can, for example, jog down a freely selected route by means of 35 dynamically adapted instructions, and maintain one’s own rhythm and posture of motion when one’s hands are free to be swung with it.

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The disclosed solution is, however, not limited to provision of navigation instructions. The audio data items may convey also other information that enables one to progress down the route more safely and securely. For example, parents sending their children to travel 5 alone are typically concerned about their safety, and try to make sure that a travelling child stays on track and remembers to take appropriate actions (e.g. buy a ticket) by calling them, or following their progress with some tracking device or application. As another example, elderly people or persons with memory loss tend to feel insecure when forced to move in less familiar surroundings. Without further assistance, they tend to refrain from 10 activities that would otherwise significantly help them to maintain their physical and mental condition.

The arrangement disclosed herein may be applied to transform a conventional mobile computing device into a safety device that enables the user to move along freely defined 15 routes with instructions that are uniquely adapted to one’s own language, and ways of describing and recognizing things. Accordingly, instead of conventionally only tracking progress of a travelling person, the person can be assisted through the route with instructions that are specifically designed or selected for him or her to enable a safe and secure trip.

Figure 4 illustrates an example of operation of such safety device. In this example, let us assume that the safety device is used to guide an elderly person by public transportation to a dentist’s appointment. The route may be set up by a planning user, who can be the travelling person, or another person, for example, a family member of the travelling user.

The planning user may generate the route 400 with any available navigation, routing or timetable application and download it to the safety device, as described above. For example, a mobile computing device may be configured with a software module that can access a routing and timetable application of a public transportation authority through an application programming interface (API), and download a route planned with it therefrom.

The route 400 may include different legs travelled with different means. In Figure 4, passages planned to be travelled by walking, by bus, and again by walking are denoted as <walk>, <bus>, and <walk>, respectively.

Accordingly, in this example, the first leg includes walking from home to a bus stop. The 35 first geographic point P1 is thus start point in the travelling user’s home and geographic points P2 and P3 correspond to street corners where the travelling user needs to take a specific turn. At the geographic point P4, the travelling user needs to get into a specific bus, and at P5 to get off the bus. The travelling user then needs to walk from the geographic point P5 to P6.

The planning user may be provided the map view of the route 400, and allowed to select points on the route in the display. After the selection, a pop up window may appear and the user may type into the window an instruction in text format. Figure 5 shows an exemplary display of a situation where the planning user has clicked the geographic point P2 and types in an instruction “Turn left to Firststreet” into a pop-up window. In a similar 10 manner, the planning user may set up a series of instructions that guide a travelling user from the start point A to the end point B. The following Table 2 illustrates with descriptive expressions use of instructions applicable in the example of Figures 4 and 5.

The first column includes exemplary geographic points P, selected by the planning user.

The second column includes exemplary coordinate sets p, included in geographic data items g, of the selected geographic points P,. The third column includes exemplary texts of the audio data items a,, typed in by the planning user. The fourth column includes exemplary trigger conditions tc, that link audio data items to geographic data items, and indicate when the linked audio data item is to be output.

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Geographic point	Coordinate set of the geographic point	Audio data item	Trigger condition
Pl	pl=(xl, y2, zl)	al: Start walking straight along the Firststreet	tel: When software module activated
P2	p2=(x2, y2, z2)	a2: This is the corner of Firststreet and Secondstreet. Turn left.	tc2: Distance to p2 less than 10 meters
P3	p3=(x3, y3, z3)	a3:This is the corner of Secondstreet and Thirdstreet. Turn right	tc3: Distance to p3 less than 10 meters
P4	p4=(x4, y4, z4)	a4:Get into bus 111. Read you card in the machine.	tc4: Distance to p4 less than 10 meters
P5	p5=(x5, y5, z5)	a4:Signal the driverand get off the bus at the next stop	tc5: Distance to p5 less than 100 meters
P5	p5=(x5, y5, z5)	a5:When out of bus, start walkingalongthe Thirdstreet towards the tall building with a big sign Officetowers'	tc6: Distance to p5 less than 10 meters
P6	p6=(x6, y6, z6)	a6:Get in, and into the seventh floor, the dentist's door is in the end of the corridor	tc7: Distance to p7 less than 10 meters

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Table 2. Exemplary series of instructions

When the travelling user is at home and activates the route 400 in the software module of the mobile computing device, the positioning unit of the mobile computing device determines its position and detects that trigger condition tc1 is fulfilled. It therefore 10 transforms the text of the audio data item into speech and outputs it to the travelling user.

The travelling user progresses according to the instruction towards the geographic point P2, and when the trigger condition tr2 is fulfilled, the second audio data item is output. The user may this way progress from one point to another until the destination B is reached. It is noted that in this example, the geographic point P5 is linked to two different audio data

20166040 prh 12-12-2017 items, each of which through a different trigger condition applying a different distance to P5. This is one way to ensure that two instructions associated to different stages of the passage are provided in correct successive order.

Figure 6 illustrates another example where a geographic data item of a geographic point needs to be linked to more than one audio data items. Figure 6 illustrates again a pedestrian navigation solution. The planned route 600 is closed but it crosses itself once at the geographic point Pn. It is clear that when the travelling user comes to point Pn for the first time, he must receive a different instruction than when he comes to the same point 10 for the second time. For this, the planning user may include into a triggering rule a primary trigger condition and a secondary trigger condition.

The primary trigger condition applies to the relation of the geographic coordinate set of the geographic data item that corresponds to Pn, and the geographic coordinate set of a 15 detected position of the mobile computing device. The secondary trigger condition is a trigger condition applied in a situation when the primary trigger condition related to a geographic data item is already fulfilled. The secondary trigger condition may be used to further control output of the audio data item(s) triggered by the primary trigger condition.

The secondary trigger condition may be used, for example, to implement an activity before 20 the audio data item is output. Such activity may include, for example, delaying the output of the audio data item until the primary trigger condition has been fulfilled for a predefined number of times. Such activity helps to eliminate incorrect audio outputs if case of isolated positioning errors. The secondary trigger condition may also be used to control which one of two or more audio data items linked to the geographic data item of Pn is to be output. 25 For example, the primary trigger condition may link to the geographic data item an audio data item and an error audio data item, and the secondary trigger condition may be used to select between these two. The error audio data item may be a generic audio data item applied in all error situations, or the planning user may input and link one or more separately generated error audio data items to secondary trigger conditions separately.

Exemplary use of primary and secondary trigger conditions in the use case of Figure 6 is illustrated with Table 3 below. In this case, two alternative audio data items are linked to the geographic data item of Pn.

Geographic point	Coordinate set of the geographic point	Audio data item	Primary trigger condition	Secondary trigger condition
Pn	pn=(xn, yn, zn)	anl: Do not turn, continue straight	tcnl: Distance to pn less than 10 meters (TRUE)	tcn2: Pm passed (FALSE)
Pn	pn=(xn, yn, zn)	an2: Turn left after the big stone	tcnl: Distance to pn less than 10 meters (TRUE)	tcn2: Pm passed (TRUE)

Table 3. Exemplary use of secondary trigger condition

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For the secondary trigger condition, a geographic point Pm is established between the two consecutive crossings of the path. The mobile computing device may then configured to record a parameter that indicates whether the travelling user has passed through point Pm or not. The parameter value may be determined independently of the route by comparing detected positions and coordinates of Pm. Alternatively, if Pm is one of the geographic 10 points associated with a primary trigger condition tern 1, the parameter value may be set to TRUE when the primary trigger condition tcm1 of Pm is fulfilled. Accordingly, when the travelling user comes to the neighbourhood of Pn for the first time, and the primary trigger condition tcn1 is fulfilled, the mobile computing device may check also the secondary trigger condition tcn2, and thereafter decide which one of the linked audio data items to 15 output, if the secondary trigger condition tcn2 is not fulfilled, it is determined that the travelling user comes to Pn for the first time, and audio data item an1 is output. If the secondary trigger condition tcn2 is fulfilled, it is determined that the travelling user comes to Pn for the second time, and audio data item an2 is output. Accordingly, secondary trigger conditions may be applied to ensure correct successive order of audio data items along 20 the route.

Secondary trigger conditions may be applied for the same purpose also in other type of routes. Figure 7 illustrates a situation where two selected geographic points are so close to each other that trigger conditions of their respective geographic data items may become 25 fulfilled at the same time. It may, however, be important that the order of the instructions is maintained on the way. Use of primary and secondary trigger conditions in this example case is illustrated with Table 4 below.

Geographic point	Coordinate set of the geographic point	Audio data item	Primary trigger condition	Secondary trigger condition
Pk	pl=(xl, yl, zl)	akl: Watch out, a hole in the path	tckl: Distance to pn less than 5 meters (TRUE)
PI	pl=(xl, yl, zl)	all: Turn left	tell: Distance to pn less than 10 meters (TRUE)	tcl2: akl output (TRUE)

Table 4. Use of secondary trigger condition in another example case

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In this case, a parameter for the secondary trigger condition is used to indicate whether the travelling user has already passed the geographic point Pk or not. For example, the parameter value of the secondary trigger condition tcl2 may be set to TRUE when audio data item ak1 has been output. Accordingly, when the travelling user comes to a position where both trigger conditions teki and tel 1 are fulfilled, existence and/or state of secondary 10 trigger conditions is checked as well. In this exemplary case, the triggering rule of Pk includes only a primary trigger condition and the triggering rule of PI includes a primary trigger condition and a secondary trigger condition. The secondary trigger condition of PI is not fulfilled before the audio data item of Pk is output, so the audio data item ak1 becomes output first and the audio data item all only after that. A correct order of 15 instructions is thus easily established.

The secondary trigger condition may also be used to increase reliability of operations. For example, the secondary trigger condition may be arranged to be fulfilled only after the first trigger condition has been fulfilled more than one time, for example three times. In such a 20 case, isolated operational errors, for example in positioning, would not result into false instructions.

For a person skilled in the art it is clear that the above use cases are examples only. The described solution enables various ways to combine geographic data items, audio data 25 items, triggering rules, primary trigger conditions and secondary trigger conditions to achieve an optimal combination of instructions for each travelling user.

A potential problem with user generated directional instructions is that despite good adapted guidance, it is still possible that the travelling user makes mistakes and ends up

20166040 prh 12-12-2017 travelling in a wrong direction. For example, in the case of safety device, the travelling user may mix left and right directions, and end up walking away from the planned route. As another example, a jogging person can be so excited or exhausted from the physical exercise that he misses an instruction and continues running along a wrong path. In such 5 situations, conventional navigation applications quickly compute a new route and generate new instructions based on the standard blocks of the application. For dynamic, user generated instructions schemes, this kind of error management is not, however, available.

In view of such situations, trigger conditions may be combined to configure the mobile 10 computing device to use for each geographic data item, or at least for some geographic data items, one or more checkpoint regions that enable early detection of such error situations. Figure 8 illustrates generation and use of such checkpoint region definitions.

The solid thick line represents the planned route, and Ps is a geographic point in which a turn should, according to the plan, be taken. As earlier described, the planning user may 15 generate or acquire the planned route, and identify therefrom geographic points to which audio data items will be linked. The link may be established with trigger conditions that are based on continuously changing relation between coordinates of geographic data items, and coordinates of detected positions. Each trigger condition thus establishes a trigger region 800 of positions, within which output of the audio data item may be triggered. Figure 20 8 illustrates a circular form of the trigger region, established with a simple trigger condition that defines a distance between the coordinate of the geographic data item and the detected coordinate of the position of the mobile computing device.

The dashed line in Figure 8 illustrates two potential paths that the travelling user may take 25 on his way. Figure 8 shows that the travelling user may come to a point Ps, get the instruction (“turn right”) when he enters the trigger region 800 of geographic point Ps, and continue correctly along the dashed line denoted with R. On the other hand, the travelling user may come to a point Ps, miss the instruction provided in the trigger region of Ps, and continue incorrectly along the dashed line denoted with W. In the latter case, the travelling 30 user could progress for a long time before noticing that something is wrong. In order to avoid this, the mobile computing device may be configured to detect that a geographic data item is generated and linked to a respective audio data item, and in response to the detection, enable definition of a checkpoint region 802 that is also linked to the geographic data item.

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Definition of a checkpoint region may apply tertiary trigger conditions, which are optional elements of the triggering ruleset, used to control operations when output of audio data item triggered by the primary trigger condition has taken place. The definition of the exemplary checkpoint region may be implemented by means of a tertiary trigger condition 5 that includes geographic information, and a timing parameter. The tertiary trigger condition may be linked to a further audio data item, for example an error audio data item. The error audio data item may be a generic audio data item applied in all error situations, or the planning user may input and link one or more separately generated error audio data items to tertiary trigger conditions separately.

The geographic information may identify a group of coordinates, or point to a group of coordinates that are within the checkpoint region, and the timing parameter may indicate a predetermined period within which the travelling user should enter the checkpoint region 802 after the audio data item of the primary trigger condition has been output. Check of 15 the tertiary trigger condition of the checkpoint region 802 may be activated when the travelling user enters the trigger region 800 (primary trigger condition fulfilled), and the audio data item linked to the geographic data item is output. A timer of the tertiary trigger condition may be started at the time of activation. The tertiary trigger condition may be configured to check whether the user enters the checkpoint region within the 20 predetermined period of the checkpoint definition. If not, the tertiary trigger condition trigger output of an error audio data item to the travelling user.

In the simple example of Figure 8, after the planning user has input a geographic data item, the mobile computer device may be configured to prompt him to select also whether 25 to define a checkpoint region for the geographic data item. Accordingly, the planning user may be allowed to select in the map view a geographic point Pse near the geographic point Ps, and define a proximity rule for it. The geographic point Pse and the proximity rule for maximum distance to it thus establish the geographic information for the definition of the checkpoint region 802. In addition, the planning user may be enabled to create the 30 tertiary trigger condition that sets a predefined time for a timing parameter, and input or create a link to an error audio data item. Alternatively, the mobile computing device may also be configured with rules and stored parameters to generate the checkpoint region definitions fully or partly automatically whenever a geographic data item is input.

Let us now assume that the travelling user enters the trigger region 800, and is provided with the audio data item of Ps, but unintentionally follows the path W. However, in this

20166040 prh 12-12-2017 example, output of the audio data item of Ps starts timer of the checkpoint region definition, and if the travelling user does not enter the checkpoint region before the predetermined period, output of the associated error audio data item is triggered. In Figure 8, the estimated point where the error audio data item is output is marked with a cross X.

Accordingly, instead of progressing to a wrong direction for a long time, the user is very quickly warned of the situation.

When the user returns back and enters the trigger region 800, he may hear the audio data item of Ps again. However, if the instruction of the audio data item was directional (e.g.

“turn right”) and dependent on the direction from which the travelling user approaches Ps, it is now incorrect, because the travelling user returns to Ps from a different direction. In view of these situations, a secondary trigger condition may be configured to further control that the audio data item linked to a geographic data item is output automatically only once, and in other times an audio error message is output. This ensures that if the travelling user progresses as planned, he does not get an incorrect directional instruction if he needs to return back to a trigger region from another direction. The travelling user may be provided with a possibility to immediately request repeating the given, but then the repetition is conscious and in control of the user. For this, and other type of user requests during the travelling session, the mobile computing device may be configured to receive a simple user indication by, for example, sensing tapping a software button on the display, or pushing of a push-button on the cord of the headphone. Many mobile computing devices include acceleration sensors that can be correspondingly arranged to sense specific kinds of taps on the body of the device. As automatic generation of correct directional instructions a posteriori is not possible, the audio error message may be configured to instruct the travelling user how to act to be returned back to the path as soon as possible. The user may be, for example, prompted to take the mobile computer device into hand and use the route plan in the map view to return back to the route.

Figure 9 illustrates further alternatives for use of trigger conditions that improve operability of the system. In this example, the primary trigger condition establishes a trigger region

900 by again defining that the related audio data item is output if the distance to the geographic point Ps is within a defined range. As earlier, when the coordinate of the detected position of the mobile computing device enters or is within the trigger region 900, the primary trigger condition is fulfilled, and fulfilment of a secondary trigger condition is 35 checked.

Relevance of a directional instruction to the travelling user can be confirmed by a secondary trigger condition that checks whether the travelling user approaches the geographic point Ps from such a direction that the directional instruction in the audio data item of the primary trigger condition is applicable. The secondary trigger condition may be 5 considered to establish into the trigger region 900 an entry region sector 902 through which the travelling user should approach the geographic point Ps.

Many of the geographic positioning modules available today provide an application programming interface, through which software modules may query data that indicates 10 instantaneous bearing of the positioned entity. For example, absolute bearing indicates the angle away from North of a distant point as observed at the current point. Accordingly, the software module may be configured to make, at defined intervals, a query for absolute bearing of the next the geographic point on the route. Advantageously, but not necessarily, the computing unit is configured to query that absolute bearing with its query of the position 15 data. The interval of the queries may be static, or varied dynamically. For example, the interval may be adjusted to be longer when the distance to the next geographic point on the route is big, and become shorter when the distance to the next geographic point decreases.

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In the example shown in Figure 9, the travelling user is at point Q, and at that point the absolute bearing in respect the geographic point Ps should be 90 degrees. The primary trigger condition may define the trigger region 900 as earlier, i.e. the primary trigger condition is fulfilled if distance to Ps is less than a predefined amount of meters. However, the secondary trigger condition tcs2 may define that an audio data item as1 linked to the geographic data item of Ps is output only if the travelling user travels into the trigger region 900 from the entry region sector 902. Otherwise an error audio data item as2 is output. Exemplary definitions are illustrated in Table 5.

Geographic point	Coordinate set of the geographic point	Audio data item	Primary trigger condition	Secondary trigger condition
Ps	ps=(xs, ys, zs)	asl: Turn right	tcsl: Distance to ps less than m meters (TRUE)	tcs2: Absolute bearing 90 ±5 degrees (TRUE)
Ps	ps=(xs, ys, zs)	as2: Error situation, pls check map	tcsl: Distance to ps less than m meters (TRUE)	tcs2: Absolute bearing 90 ±5 degrees (FALSE)

Table 5. Use of secondary trigger condition for detection of error situation

Use of the entry region sector 902 ensures that a directional instruction included in the audio data item is not given if the user approaches the geographic point from a wrong direction. If the primary trigger condition tcs1 and the secondary trigger condition tcs2 are fulfilled, a first audio data item as1 linked to the geographic data item of Ps will be output.

If the primary trigger condition tcs1 is fulfilled and the second secondary trigger condition tcs2 is not fulfilled, a second audio data item as2 linked to the geographic data item of Ps will be output. The second audio data item as2 may include an audio error message, and 10 it becomes thus rendered in situations when the travelling user enters the trigger region of

Ps, but approaches the trigger region from a wrong direction.

Trigger conditions may be combined also to check that the travelling user has correctly followed the instruction of the output audio data item, and provide an alarm if this is not 15 the case. An exemplary definition for this purpose is illustrated in Table 6. Here the tertiary trigger condition is used to establish an exit region sector 904 and thereby define the required direction to be followed when the travelling user leaves the triggering region 900. The tertiary trigger condition may be checked after the primary trigger condition (and, whenever applied, the secondary trigger condition) has been fulfilled, and the audio data 20 item associated with the geographic data item of Ps has been output. In the example of

Figure 9 this means that the check is made after the travelling user has entered the trigger region 900 of Ps and received the instructions of any of the audio data items associated to the geographic data item of Ps. Accordingly, the travelling user may have received the instruction included in audio data item as1, or received the instruction in the error audio 25 data item as2, and rectified his or her progress back to the route with the map view.

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Geographic point	Coordinate set of the geographic point	Primary trigger condition	Tertiary trigger condition	Audio data item linked to tertiary trigger condition
Ps	ps=(xs, ys, zs)	tcsl: Distance to ps less than m meters (TRUE)	tcs3: Absolute bearing at exit 180 ±5 degrees (TRUE)	(none)
Ps	ps=(xs, ys, zs)	tcsl: Distance to ps less than m meters (TRUE)	tcs3: Absolute bearing at exit 180 ±5 degrees (FALSE)	as2: Error situation, pls check map

Table 6. Use of tertiary trigger conditions for detection of error situations

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The tertiary trigger condition tcs3 is fulfilled when the travelling user progresses away from Ps correctly and exits the triggering region 900 through any of the points in the arc 906. Correspondingly, the tertiary trigger condition tcs3 is not fulfilled when the travelling user takes a wrong turn and exits the triggering region 900 through any of the points not in the 5 arc 906. As shown in Table 6, a tertiary trigger condition may be linked to an error audio data item, in this example the error audio item is output when the tertiary trigger condition is not fulfilled. As discussed earlier, the error audio data item may be generic for the system, as shown in table 5. Alternatively, the error audio data item may be generated by the planning user and thus include specific instructions for each geographic point, or at 10 least to some selected geographic points.

For a person skilled in the art it is clear that the above use cases show simple examples of the ways to combine trigger conditions for improved operability, and describe the conditions with illustrative sentences. Similar functions and further functions may be 15 implemented by further variations, without deviating from the scope of protection. In practical implementations, the definitions may be formulated with rules and functions of the applied coding schemes.

It is noted that the planning user may include into the audio data items also other type of 20 information. For example, an athlete or a trainer of an athlete may apply the solution to plan a training session that progresses along a predefined route and includes intervals of different level of intensity. The athlete may progress along the route and focus to the training and the individually and currently tailored instructions without continuously glimpsing to a screen on his wrist or handheld device. The disclosed solution can thus be 25 used to transform a generic mobile computing device into a physiological exercise monitoring device that significantly intensifies effect of the training. Some of the audio data items may include also entertaining audio material, like pep talk, applauses, fanfares, and the like. The solution enables triggering their output at an appropriate time, for example to provide pep talk when running up a steep hill, or to applauses when an end point of the 30 route is reached.

As discussed earlier, when in travelling mode, the mobile computing device may be configured to receive a simple user indication. Such simple user indication refers herein to a user interface action that can be implemented without holding the mobile computing 35 device in hand. The simple user indication may thus be given, for example, by the travelling user tapping the device, or by pushing a push-button on the cord of the headphone. The simple user indication may also be used by the travelling user to record positions for new instructions if the route is to be re-used. For example, a travelling user on the run may use the simple user indication to record a position of a fallen tree, or a large puddle on the path, and use the recorded position to add a new geographic data item and a linked audio 5 data item (“watch out for the fallen tree/large puddle”) to be associated to the route.

For a person skilled in the art, it is clear that datasets, rules and rulesets may be combined from these examples in various ways within the scope of the claims.

Claims

PATENTTIVAATIMUKSET

1. Liikkuva tietojenkäsittelylaite (100), joka on varustettu tietojenkäsittely-yksiköllä (102), maantieteellisellä paikannusyksiköllä (104) ja audiolähtöyksiköllä (112), tietojenkäsittely-yksikkö (102) on järjestetty vastaanottamaan käyttäjänA mobile data processing device (100) provided with a data processing unit (102), a geolocation unit (104) and an audio output unit (112), the data processing unit (102) being arranged to receive a user

5 syöttämistä maantieteellisistä data-alkioista koostuva ensimmäinen datajoukko, jolloin ensimmäisen datajoukon kukin maantieteellinen data-alkio ilmaisee reitin maantieteellisen pisteen paikkaa;A first set of data consisting of geographic data elements input, wherein each geographic data element of the first data set indicates the location of a geographical point of the path;

tietojenkäsittely-yksikkö (102) on järjestetty vastaanottamaan toinen datajoukko, joka sisältää käyttäjän syöttämiä audiodata-alkioita;the data processing unit (102) being arranged to receive a second set of data including user-supplied audio data items;

10 tietojenkäsittely-yksikkö (102) on järjestetty vastaanottamaan yksi tai useampi liipaisusääntö, joista kukin yhdistää toisen datajoukon käyttäjän syöttämistä audiodata-alkioista yhden tai useamman maantieteelliseen data-alkioon ja muodostaa ensisijaisen liipaisuehdon maantieteellisen data-alkion ilmaiseman maantieteellisen pisteen paikan ja liikkuvan tietojenkäsittelylaitteen havaitun paikan 15 suhteen;10 data processing units (102) are arranged to receive one or more trigger rules, each of which combines a second set of data from the user-supplied audio data elements with one or more geographic data elements and provides a primary trigger condition with the geographic point position detected by the geographic data element regarding;

maantieteellinen paikannusyksikkö (104) on järjestetty havaitsemaan liikkuvan tietojenkäsittelylaitteen paikkoja ja toimittamaan paikan n usdataa tietojenkäsittely-yksikköön;a geographical positioning unit (104) arranged to detect the locations of the mobile computing device and supply the location data to the data processing unit;

tietojenkäsittely-yksikkö (102) on järjestetty vertaamaan paikannusdataa 20 liipaisusääntöihin;the data processing unit (102) being arranged to compare the location data 20 with the trigger rules;

tietojenkäsittely-yksikkö (02) on järjestetty lähettämään vastineena liikkuvan tietojenkäsittelylaitteen havaittua paikkaa ja maantieteellisen data-alkion ilmaisemaa maantieteellisen pisteen paikkaa koskevalle ensisijaiselle liipaisuehdolle, joka on täyttynyt, mainittuun maantieteelliseen data-alkioon yhdistetty yksi tai useampi 25 audiodata-alkio audiolähtöyksikön kautta;the data processing unit (02) being configured to transmit in response to a primary trigger condition for the detected location of the mobile data processing device and the geographic point location indicated by the geographic data item, one or more audio data items connected to said geographic data item;

liipaisusääntö sisältää myös lisäliipaisuehdon;the trigger rule also includes an additional trigger condition;

tietojenkäsittely-yksikkö (102) on järjestetty tarkistamaan lisäliipaisuehdon täyttyminen ensisijaisen liipaisuehdon maantieteellistä data-alkiota koskevan audiodata-alkion lähettämisen jälkeen, ja lisäliipaisuehdon täyttyminen on järjestetty 30 riippumaan suunnasta, jossa liikkuva tietojenkäsittelylaite liikkuu maantieteellisen data-alkion ilmaisemasta maantieteellisestä pisteestä (P_s) poispäin, tunnettu siitä, ettäa data processing unit (102) is arranged to check lisäliipaisuehdon met the primary trigger condition geographical after the audio data item of the data item sent, and lisäliipaisuehdon compliance is organized in 30 depend on the direction in which the mobile computing device travels the geographic data item expressed by the geographical point (P _p) away, characterized in that

20166040 prh 15-01-2019 lisäliipaisuehto sisältää maantieteellisiä tietoja ja ajoitusparametrin, jolloin maantieteelliset tiedot määrittävät tarkistuspistealueen (802), jonka kautta liikkuvan tietojenkäsittelylaitteen on määrä kulkea ajoitusparametrin määrittämän ajanjakson kuluessa ensisijaisen liipaisuehdon täyttymisen jälkeen; ja20166040 prh 15-01-2019 The additional trigger condition includes geographic information and a timing parameter, wherein the geographic data defines a checkpoint area (802) through which the mobile computing device is to travel within a period specified by the timing parameter after the primary trigger condition is met; and

5 tietojenkäsittely-yksikkö (102) on järjestetty lähettämään virheaudioalkion, jos tertiäärinen liipaisuehto ei ole täyttynyt.The 5 data processing unit (102) is arranged to send an error audio item if the tertiary trigger condition is not met.

2. Menetelmä liikkuvaa tietojenkäsittelylaitetta varten, joka on varustettu tietojenkäsittely-yksiköllä (102), maantieteellisellä paikannusyksiköllä (104) ja 10 audiolähtöyksiköllä (112), jolloin menetelmä käsittää sen, että:A method for a mobile data processing device provided with a data processing unit (102), a geographical positioning unit (104) and an audio output unit (112), the method comprising:

vastaanotetaan tietojenkäsittely-yksikköön käyttäjän syöttämistä maantieteellisistä data-alkioista koostuva ensimmäinen datajoukko (DS1 (g_c)), jolloin ensimmäisen datajoukon kukin maantieteellinen data-alkio ilmaisee reitin maantieteellisen pisteen paikkaa;receiving, at the data processing unit, a first data set (DS1 (g _c )) of user-entered geographic data elements, wherein each geographic data element of the first data set indicates the location of a geographic point on the route;

15 vastaanotetaan tietojenkäsittely-yksikköön toinen datajoukko (DS2(a,)), joka sisältää käyttäjän syöttämiä audiodata-alkioita;Receiving, at the data processing unit, a second set of data (DS2 (a,)) containing user input audio data items;

vastaanotetaan tietojenkäsittely-yksikköön yksi tai useampi liipaisusääntö (TR,), joista kukin yhdistää toisen datajoukon käyttäjän syöttämistä audiodataalkioista yhden tai useamman maantieteelliseen data-alkioon ja muodostaa 20 ensisijaisen liipaisuehdon maantieteellisen data-alkion ilmaiseman maantieteellisen pisteen paikan ja liikkuvan tietojenkäsittelylaitteen havaitun paikan suhteen, ja lisäliipaisuehdon;receiving at the data processing unit one or more trigger rules (TR1), each combining a second set of data from the user-supplied audio data fragments with one or more geographic data items and forming the 20 primary trigger conditions for the ;

havaitaan maantieteellisellä paikannusyksiköllä liikkuvan tietojenkäsittelylaitteen paikkoja ja toimitetaan paikannusdataa (post) 25 tietojenkäsittely-yksikköön;detecting locations of the mobile computing device in the geographical positioning unit and transmitting positioning data (post) to the 25 computing units;

verrataan tietojenkäsittely-yksikössä paikannusdataa liipaisusääntöihin (TR(pos));comparing the positioning data with the trigger rules (TR (pos)) in the data processing unit;

lähetetään vastineena liikkuvan tietojenkäsittelylaitteen havaittua paikkaa ja maantieteellisen data-alkion ilmaisemaa maantieteellisen pisteen paikkaa koskevalle 30 ensisijaiselle liipaisuehdolle, joka on täyttynyt, audiolähtöyksikön kautta mainittuun maantieteelliseen data-alkioon (S(a,)) yhdistetty yksi tai useampi audiodata-alkio, tunnettu siitä, että tarkistetaan lisäliipaisuehdon täyttyminen ensisijaisen liipaisuehdon maantieteellistä data-alkiota koskevan audiodata-alkion lähettämisen jälkeen, jolloin transmitting, in response to a mobile data processing device, a primary trigger condition for the detected location of the mobile data processing unit and the geographical point location indicated by the geographic data item, which is fulfilled by combining, via an audio output unit, said geographic data item (S (a,)) verifying that the additional trigger condition is met after sending the audio data item for the primary trigger condition geographic data item,

20166040 prh 15-01-2019 lisäliipaisuehdon täyttyminen on järjestetty riippumaan suunnasta, jossa liikkuva tietojenkäsittelylaite liikkuu maantieteellisen data-alkion ilmaisemasta maantieteellisestä pisteestä (P_s) poispäin;20166040 prh 15-01-2019 The fulfillment of the additional trigger condition is arranged to depend on the direction in which the mobile computing device moves away from the geographical point (P _s ) indicated by the geographic data item;

lisäliipaisuehto sisältää maantieteellisiä tietoja ja ajoitusparametrin, jollointhe additional trigger condition contains geographic information and a timing parameter, where

5 maantieteelliset tiedot määrittävät tarkistuspistealueen, jonka kautta liikkuvan tietojenkäsittelylaitteen on määrä kulkea ajoitusparametrin määrittämän ajanjakson kuluessa ensisijaisen liipaisuehdon täyttymisen jälkeen; ja menetelmä sisältää virheaudioalkion lähettämisen, jos tertiäärinen liipaisuehto ei ole täyttynyt.5 geographic data defines a checkpoint area through which the mobile computing device is to travel within a time period defined by the timing parameter after the primary trigger condition is met; and the method includes transmitting an error audio item if the tertiary trigger condition is not met.

10 3. Patenttivaatimuksen 2 mukainen menetelmä, tunnettu siitä, että vastaanotetaan toiseen datajoukkoon (DS2(a,)) vähintään yksi käyttäjän syöttämä audiodata-alkio, joka sisältää tekstidata-alkion, ja lähetetään audiodata-alkio audiolähtöyksikön kautta, joka sisältää puhesyntetisaattorin, joka kykenee muuntamaan tekstidataalkion puheeksi.The method of claim 2, characterized by receiving at least one user-supplied audio data item containing a text data item in the second data set (DS2 (a,)) and transmitting the audio data item via an audio output unit comprising a speech synthesizer capable of convert a text data element to speech.

15 4. Patenttivaatimuksen 2, 3 tai 4 mukainen menetelmä, tunnettu siitä, että vastaanotetaan toiseen datajoukkoon (DS2(a,)) vähintään yksi käyttäjän syöttämä audiodata-alkio, joka sisältää audiodatasignaalin audiotiedostoformaatissa.Method according to claim 2, 3 or 4, characterized in that at least one user-supplied audio data item containing the audio data signal in the audio file format is received in the second data set (DS2 (a,)).

5. Jonkin patenttivaatimuksista 2-5 mukainen menetelmä, tunnettu siitä, että vastaanotetaan tietojenkäsittely-yksikköön liipaisusääntö (TR), joka sisältääMethod according to one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that a trigger rule (TR) is received in the data processing unit, which contains

20 ensisijaisen liipaisuehdon sekä toissijaisen liipaisuehdon, jonka täyttyminen tarkistetaan, jos ensisijainen liipaisuehto on täyttynyt, ja lähetetään ensisijaisen liipaisuehdon maantieteellistä data-alkiota koskeva audiodata-alkio, jota ensisijaista liipaisuehtoa ohjaa toissijaisen liipaisuehdon täyttyminen.20 primary trigger conditions, and a secondary trigger condition that is checked if the primary trigger condition is satisfied, and transmitting an audio data item for the geographic data element of the primary trigger condition, the primary trigger condition being controlled by the fulfillment of the secondary trigger condition.

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6. Patenttivaatimuksen 5 mukainen menetelmä, tunnettu siitä, että tarkistetaan tietojenkäsittely-yksikössä ensisijainen liipaisuehto, jonka täyttyminen on suunniteltu riippumaan liikkuvan tietojenkäsittelylaitteen havaitun paikan ja maantieteellisen data-alkion ilmaiseman maantieteellisen pisteen (P_n) paikan välisestä etäisyydestä;The method of claim 5, characterized by checking the primary trigger condition in the data processing unit, the fulfillment of which is designed to depend on the distance between the detected location of the mobile data processing device and the location of the geographical point (P _n ) detected by the geographical data item;

30 tarkistetaan tietojenkäsittely-yksikössä toissijainen liipaisuehto, jonka täyttyminen on suunniteltu riippumaan suunnasta, josta liikkuva tietojenkäsittelylaite lähestyy maantieteellisen data-alkion ilmaisemaa maantieteellistä pistettä (P_n); ja lähetetään virheaudioalkio, jos ensisijainen liipaisuehto on täyttynyt ennalta määrätyssä havaitussa paikassa mutta toissijainen liipaisuehto ei ole täyttynyt.Checking, in the data processing unit, a secondary trigger condition, the fulfillment of which is designed to depend on the direction from which the mobile data processing device approaches the geographical point (P _n ) indicated by the geographic data item; and transmitting an error audio item if the primary trigger condition is met at a predetermined detected location but the secondary trigger condition is not met.

7. Patenttivaatimuksen 6 mukainen menetelmä, tunnettu siitä, että toissijainen liipaisuehto on suunniteltu määrittämään tulosektorialue, jonka kautta liikkuvanMethod according to claim 6, characterized in that the secondary trigger condition is designed to define the input sector area through which the mobile

5 tietojenkäsittelylaitteen on määrä lähestyä maantieteellisen data-alkion ilmaisemaa maantieteellistä pistettä (P_n).5 the data processing device is to approach the geographical point (P _n ) expressed by the geographic data item.

8. Patenttivaatimuksen 6 mukainen menetelmä, tunnettu siitä, että lisäliipaisuehto on tertiäärinen liipaisuehto, ja menetelmässä tarkistetaan tertiäärisen liipaisuehdon täyttyminen virheaudioalkion lähettämisen jälkeen, kun ensisijainen liipaisuehto onThe method of claim 6, characterized in that the additional trigger condition is a tertiary trigger condition, and the method verifies that the tertiary trigger condition is satisfied after transmitting the error audio item when the primary trigger condition is

10 täyttynyt mutta toissijainen liipaisuehto ei ole täyttynyt ennalta määrätyssä havaitussa paikassa.10, but the secondary trigger condition is not met at the predetermined detected location.

9. Jonkin patenttivaatimuksista 2-8 mukainen menetelmä, tunnettu siitä, että liikkuva tietojenkäsittelylaite on jäjrestetty vastaanottamaan yksinkertainen käyttäjän ilmoitus, ja menetelmä sisältää sen, että toistetaan audiodata-alkion lähettäminen taiMethod according to one of Claims 2 to 8, characterized in that the mobile data processing device is configured to receive a simple user notification, and the method comprises repeating the transmission of an audio data item or

15 tallennetaan nykyinen paikka vastineena yksinkertaiselle käyttäjän ilmoitukselle.15 stores the current location in response to a simple user notification.

10. Tietokoneohjelmatuote, jota voidaan lukea tietokoneella ja joka koodaa käskyjä jonkin patenttivaatimuksista 2-9 mukaisen menetelmän suorittamiseksi liikkuvassa tietojenkäsittelylaitteessa.A computer program product which can be read by a computer and encodes instructions for performing a method according to any one of claims 2 to 9 on a mobile data processing device.