WO2019041298A1

WO2019041298A1 - Navigation system and navigation method

Info

Publication number: WO2019041298A1
Application number: PCT/CN2017/100145
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jiahui YI
Original assignee: Volkswagen (China) Investment Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2017-09-01
Filing date: 2017-09-01
Publication date: 2019-03-07
Also published as: CN111512121A

Abstract

A navigation method comprises predicting in real time the probably or most probably driving road within a certain range ahead of a current location according to the current location; acquiring road condition information on the probably or most probably driving road; acquiring road condition information on surrounding roads connected with the probably driving road; and displaying the probably or most probably driving road and the surrounding roads, and also displaying the road conditions on the probably or most probably driving road and on the surrounding roads. Also disclosed are a navigation system for performing the navigation method, an electronic device and a computer readable storage medium stored with a computer program for performing the navigation method.

Description

Navigation system and navigation method

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a navigation system and a navigation method.

BACKGROUND ART

A navigation system has been widely applied for example, in driving of vehicles. Typically, a user needs to pre-input an initial position and a final position in the navigation system. In this instance, the navigation system can automatically seek out an optimal route for the user and guide the user in real time to reach the destination along this route. Further, in this instance, when detecting a traffic jam in the optimal route, the navigation system can also automatically seek out a route for the user to avoid congestion.

However, in the case where the user fails to pre-input an initial position and a final position to plan routes in advance, the navigation system is usually unable to inform the user of the road conditions ahead in time and give the user an effective selection. In this case, the user usually needs to rely on a regional traffic situation indicating board set up on a road to be informed of the surrounding road conditions, but such board is usually only arranged in specific hot spots.

In the prior art, it has been also known a navigation system that can perform navigation in the case where the user fails to plan routes in advance. However, the existing navigation system needs to judge whether the current route matches the customary route pre-stored in the system. If they match, the navigation system will acquire the road condition information on the customary route, and output alternative routes to the user in the case of congestion or the like on the customary route to avoid the customary route which is in poor road condition. However, such navigation system is unable to provide navigation information when the user does not drive on the pre-stored customary route.

Another navigation device can determine the most probably adopted route of a user according to the user’s driving custom, and provide messages about the region to be encountered on the most probably adopted route of the user. However, such navigation device and navigation method can only provide messages on the predicted and most probably adopted route, and is also unable to clearly provide in specific conditions the information about the surrounding road conditions to enable the user to conveniently and flexibly select a route.

CONTENTS OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a navigation system that is more intelligent and more flexible compared with the existing navigation system, particularly, a navigation system that can provide users with a clear view of surrounding road conditions ahead to enable the users to flexibly select routes in real time with no need for the user to set a destination or a route in advance.

For this purpose, in a first aspect of the present disclosure, a navigation method is provided, which comprises predicting in real time the probably or most probably driving road within a certain range ahead of a current location according to the current location； acquiring road condition information on the probably or most probably driving road； acquiring road condition information on surrounding roads connected with the probably or most probably driving road； and displaying the probably or most probably driving road and said surrounding roads, and also displaying road conditions on the probably or most probably driving road and said surrounding roads.

Preferably, the probably or most probably driving road and said surrounding roads as well as said road conditions are displayed on a road condition map popping-up according to the acquired road condition information on the probably driving road.

The aforesaid navigation method can pop up a road condition map according to the acquired road condition information on the probably or most probably driving road to display the probably or most probably driving road, surrounding roads and road conditions on these roads. Thus, even in the case that the driver does not plan a driving road in advance, the driver can receive a warning about poor road conditions on his probably or most probably driving road, and can receive a clear view of road conditions on roads surrounding the probably or most probably driving road thereby to be able to conveniently and flexibly select other roads in real time. In addition, displaying the surrounding roads by means of popping-up a road condition map, enables the driver to learn more information compared with the means of voice broadcast or the like.

Preferably, in the step of predicting in real time the probably or most probably driving road within a certain range ahead of a current location according to the current location, the probably or most probably driving road may be predicted based on user’s customary driving road and/or user’s driving-preference data according to the current location and current moving direction. Preferably, the road condition information may comprise road congestion condition and/or road opening condition. Preferably, the road condition map may be popped up in the case of a road congestion and/or a road closure on the probably or most probably driving road.

In this way, in the case of poor road conditions ahead, the driver can be given a clear view of road condition information on the surrounding roads no matter whether the driver drives on a customary road or a strange road.

Preferably, in the step of acquiring road condition information on the probably or most probably driving road, road condition information on a road section between the first junction ahead of the current location and the n^th junction ahead of the current location may be acquired on the probably or most probably driving road, where n may be equal to 2, 3, 4 or 5.

Preferably, in the step of acquiring road condition information on the probably or most probably driving road, road condition information on a road section between the current location and a location to be reached from the current location after a predetermined period of driving at a current speed may be acquired on the probably or most probably driving road. Preferably, the predetermined period may be 10 minutes.

Preferably, in the step of acquiring road condition information on the probably or most probably driving road, road condition information on a road section between the current location and a predetermined location may be acquired on the probably or most probably driving road, wherein the predetermined location may be one of a location at the n^th junction ahead of the current location and a location to be reached from the current location after a predetermined period of driving at a current speed, that is closer to the current location, where n may be equal to 2, 3, 4 or 5. Preferably, the predetermined period may be 10 minutes.

Preferably, the junction may be a road exit and/or a road fork.

By proper setting of trigger conditions, the navigation method in the present disclosure can warn the driver of poor road condition on his probably or most probably driving road at the right moment and enable the driver to properly select the surrounding roads.

Preferably, the road condition map may be shown in the way of road network vector map, which may comprise road name, road driving direction, road class and road length information, and in which a road may be indicated by a line segment, the road driving direction may be indicated by an arrow, the road class may be indicated by width of the line segment, the road length information may be indicated by length of the line segment, and different road conditions may be indicated by different colors or marks.

Preferably, the road condition map may comprise roads in the same road class as the probably or most probably driving road and roads which are one road class lower than the probably or most probably driving road.

Preferably, the scale of the road condition map is adjustable according to the length of a congested road section ahead so as to cover the whole section of congested road on the probably or most probably driving road.

Preferably, when the current location is on highway or expressway, the road condition map may cover one major congested road section on the probably or most probably driving road and the surrounding roads which are one road class lower than the probably or most probably driving road.

Preferably, when the current location is not on highway and not on expressway, the road condition map may cover one major congested road section on the probably or most probably driving road, as well as surrounding roads in the same road class as the probably or most probably driving road and surrounding roads which are one road class lower than the probably or most probably driving road.

By selection of the road condition map shown in the way of road network vector map, the user can get a clear view of information on the surrounding roads with a large amount of information. Further, by proper selection of roads to be presented, readability is increased while the amount of useful information is maximized.

Preferably, the popped-up road condition map may be canceled when a vehicle passes the first junction.

Preferably, display duration of the road condition map may also be set according to a current speed and/or a current road class.

Preferably, the navigation method further comprises: judging whether the user fails to plan a route in advance prior to the step of predicting in real time the probably or most probably driving road within a certain range ahead of a current location according to the current location, and if it is judged that the user fails to plan a route in advance, then performing the step of predicting in real time the probably or most probably driving road within a certain range ahead of a current location according to the current location.

In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a navigation system is provided, which comprises a location signal receiver for acquiring location data of a vehicle； a communication module configured to acquire road condition data in real time from outside； a memory configured to store the location data and the road condition data； a processor configured to perform the above mentioned navigation method； and a display device configured to display the probably driving road and said surrounding roads as well as said road conditions.

In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a computer readable storage medium on which a computer program is stored is provided, wherein the computer program is executed by a processor to implement the navigation method as described above.

In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, an electronic device comprising a memory, a processor and a computer program stored on the memory and operable on the processor is provided, wherein the computer program is executed by the processor to implement the navigation method as described above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numbers refer to like parts, wherein

Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a navigation system of the present disclosure；

Fig. 2 shows a flow chart of a navigation method of the present disclosure；

Fig. 3 shows a flow chart of a preferred embodiment for predicting in real time the probably or most probably driving road within a certain range ahead of a current location according to the current location；

Fig. 4 shows a flow chart of a preferred embodiment for acquiring road condition information on the probably or most probably driving road；

Fig. 5 shows a preferred implementation of a road condition map.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples of the present disclosure and may be implemented in a variety of ways. The specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not intended for limitation, but are merely used to teach a person skilled in the art to diversely use the present disclosure in a substantively random and proper detailed structure. The same reference number may refer to similar or identical elements throughout the description of the drawings.

The term “navigation system” in the present disclosure refers to any electronic device with the functions of providing road instruction, guidance, planning and/or display for the user. Said navigation system can not only be applied to various personal terminals of fixed type including, but not limited to, an in-vehicle navigation device, a vehicle-mounted multimedia device and the like, but can also be applied to various personal terminals of mobile type including, but not limited to, smart phones, notebook computers, portable navigation devices, tablet PCs (PADs) , portable multimedia players and the like.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail in combination with the drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a navigation system of the present disclosure. As can be seen from Fig. 1, the navigation system comprises a location signal receiver 10, a memory 20, a processor 30, a communication module 40 and a display device 50.

The location signal receiver 10 is used to receive information on location coordinates of a user from the navigation satellite. The location signal receiver may be a GPS signal receiver, a Chinese Beidou navigation satellite signal receiver, a European Galilean navigation satellite signal receiver, a Russian GLONASS navigation satellite signal receiver, and/or any other location signal receivers that can determine the current location coordinates. The information on location coordinates of the user can be processed to render vehicle location data 202, driving custom data 201 and the like to be described in detail below.

The memory 20 is used to store data and/or programs. The terms “memory” , “computer readable storage medium” or similar terms in the present disclosure refers to any device for storing information stored in a format of being readable, for example, by a processor, a computer, or a digital processing device. For instance, the memory may include a read only memory (ROM) , a random access memory (RAM) , a disk storage medium, an optical storage medium, a flash memory device, or any other volatile or nonvolatile storage device. The memory 20 may be provided on a personal terminal and may also be provided on a server side such as a “cloud” , or the memory 20 may be provided on both a personal terminal and a server side such as a “cloud” .

The memory 20 may store a series of data. The data includes, but is not limited to, driving custom data 201, vehicle location data 202, electronic map data 203, and road condition data 204.

The vehicle location data 202 may be acquired by the location signal receiver 10 and may include three-dimensional coordinates of the current vehicle location, the current vehicle driving direction, the current vehicle speed, and three-dimensional coordinates of the vehicle location over a past period of time.

The driving custom data 201 may be obtained by processing the vehicle location data 202 stored in the memory 20. The driving custom data 201 may also be obtained by manual input by the user. The driving custom data 201 may include data of a user’s customary driving road. Preferably, the user’s customary driving road may be a road where the user drove more frequently than a threshold in the same or similar period of time on different dates, or may be a road where the user drove more frequently than a threshold over a period of time. Preferably, the user’s customary driving road may also be a customary driving road manually input by the user and stored in the memory 20, for example, a driving road of the user from company to home or from home to company, etc. The driving custom data 201 may also include user’s driving-preference data. The user’s driving preference may be information that is obtained by processing the vehicle location data 202 stored in the memory 20 and stored in the memory 20. Preferably, the user’s driving preference may also be information that is manually input by the user and stored in the memory 20. The user’s driving preference, for example, is highway for priority, no-charge for priority and shortest distance for priority, etc.

The electronic map data 203 can be stored in a memory of a personal terminal of the navigation system and/or can be stored in a memory of a server of the navigation system. The electronic map data 203 includes at least information related to road location and orientation, road name, road class, road entrance and exit, and junction of each road, and the like.

The road condition data 204 may include road congestion levels, other abnormal conditions of the road, etc. Said other abnormal conditions of the road may include road closure, for example, the road is in the state of construction, water accumulation or access forbidden. The road congestion levels can be divided into smoothness, congestion and heavy congestion. When the road congestion level is congestion or heavy congestion, or the road is in said other abnormal conditions, the navigation system defines the road condition of said road as poor road condition.

The road condition data 204 may be acquired from outside by the communication module 40. The communication module 40 is preferably a wireless communication module, which can connect the personal terminal of the navigation system to the outside by wireless Internet technologies including but not limited to Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G, 4G or 5G or the like, so that the road condition data 204 of each road in the electronic map can be acquired from the outside in real time.

The memory 20 may also store a road condition pop-up program 205 for execution by the processor 30. It is to be understood that any method and program described in this disclosure may be translated into or expressed as a programming language or a computer program. The “Programming language” and “Computer Program” are any language used to assign instructions to a computer and include (but are not limited to) these languages and their derivatives: Assembly Language, Basic, Batch File, BCPL, C, C +, C++, Delphi, Fortran, Java, JavaScript, machine code, Operating System Command Language, Pascal, Perl, PL1, scripting language, Visual Basic, its own specified program meta-language, as well as the first-generation, second-generation, third-generation, fourth-generation and fifth-generation computer language. Also included are databases and other data patterns, as well as any other meta-languages.

In the present disclosure, the processor 30 may include computing means of any type, computing circuits or processing devices of any type or processing circuits capable of executing a series of instructions stored in the memory. The processor may comprise a plurality of processing devices and/or a multi-core central processing unit (CPU) , and may comprise processing devices of any type, such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor, a microcontroller, and the like.

The display device 50 is used to display a road condition map obtained via execution of the road condition pop-up program 205 by the processor 30. The display device 50 includes, but is not limited to, a liquid crystal display (LCD) , a thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) , an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, a flexible display, a three dimensional display, a transparent display, etc. The display device 50 may be a touch screen, and thus may also be used as an input device.

The road condition pop-up program 205 according to the present disclosure will be described in detail below. The processor 30 is configured to execute the road condition pop-up program 205 so as to implement the navigation method according to the present disclosure. Fig. 2 shows a flow chart of the road condition pop-up program 205. The steps in Fig. 2 will be described in detail below.

In step S10, the program starts and proceeds to the optional step S20.

In step S20, it will be judged whether the user fails to plan routes in advance.

If the result of the judgment in step S20 is NO, that is, the user has already planned routes in advance, the program proceeds to step S30, where conventional navigation mode is conducted. In the conventional navigation mode, the navigation system provides real-time navigation for the user according to the road planned in advance, and informs the user of alternative routes if necessary.

If the result of the judgment in step S20 is YES, that is, the user does not plan routes in advance, the program proceeds to step S40.

In step S40, the probably or most probably driving road within a certain range ahead of a current location will be predicted in real time according to the current location.

After step S40, that is, after the probably or most probably driving road within a certain range ahead of a current location is predicted in real time according to the current location, the program proceeds to step S50.

In step S50, the road condition information on the probably or most probably driving road will be acquired and the road condition information on surrounding roads connected with the probably or most probably driving road directly or indirectly will also be acquired. Then the program proceeds to step S60.

In step S60, it will be judged whether a poor road condition occurs on the probably or most probably driving road.

If the result of the judgment in step S60 is NO, that is, no poor road condition occurs on the probably or most probably driving road, the program returns to step S40 to continue to predict in real time the probably or most probably driving road within a certain range ahead of a current location according to the current location. If the result of the judgment in step S60 is YES, that is, a poor road condition occurs on the probably or most probably driving road, the program proceeds to step S70.

In step S70, a road condition map is popped up on the display device 50, wherein said road condition map shows the probably or most probably driving road and said surrounding roads, and the road condition map also shows road conditions on the probably or most probably driving road and the surrounding roads.

Apparently, a person skilled in the art will appreciate that the step S60 is optional, i.e., the step S70 can be proceeded without performing the step S60. That is to say, the road condition map can also be displayed on the display device 50 all the time. Also, a person skilled in the art will appreciate that the road condition map can occupy the whole display device 50 (for example, a touch screen as mentioned above) or just take up a part of the display device 50.

After step S70, the program proceeds to step S80.

In step S80, it will be judged whether the pop-up duration of the road condition map has reached a predetermined period.

If the result of the judgment in step S80 is YES, that is, the pop-up duration of the road condition map has reached the predetermined period, the program proceeds to step S90. In step S90, the popped-up road condition map is canceled, and then the program returns to the initial step S10.

If the result of the judgment in step S80 is NO, that is, the pop-up duration of the road condition map has not yet reached the predetermined period, the program returns to step S70 to continue to display the popped-up road condition map.

Preferably, in step S40, the processor 30 predicts in real time the probably or most probably driving road within a certain range ahead of a current location according to the data such as the driving custom data 201, the vehicle location data 202 and the electronic map data 203 stored in the memory 20 as well as information on three-dimensional coordinates and direction of the current vehicle location. Specifically, the processor 30 can determine the probably or most probably driving road according to the user’s customary driving road in the driving custom data 201. For example, when the processor 30 judges that the current driving road of the vehicle matches the user’s customary driving road according to the three-dimensional coordinates of the current vehicle location, the current vehicle driving direction and the three-dimensional coordinates of the vehicle location over a past period of time, the processor 30 determines the user’s customary driving road as the probably or most probably driving road. The processor 30 can also determine the probably or most probably driving road according to the three-dimensional coordinates of the current vehicle location, the current vehicle driving direction and the electronic map data 203 in combination with the user’s driving-preference data in the driving custom data 201. For example, when the user’s driving preference is highway for priority, the processor 30 will predict the road including the highway ahead of the current vehicle driving as the probably or most probably driving road.

Figure 3 shows preferred sub-steps for implementing the above-described step S40 in which “the probably or most probably driving road within a certain range ahead of a current location is predicted in real time according to the current location” , but it should be understood that any means capable of determining the probably or most probably driving road of the vehicle may be adopted to implement said step S40. The steps in Fig. 3 will be described in detail below.

In step S401, the sub-program starts, and then proceeds to step 402.

In step S402, it is judged whether the current traveling road of the vehicle matches the user’s customary driving road stored in the memory 20.

If the result of the judgment in step S402 is YES, that is, the current traveling road of the vehicle matches the user’s customary driving road stored in the memory 20, the program proceeds to step S403. In step S403, the matched user’s customary driving road is predicted to be the probably or most probably driving road.

If the result of the judgment in step S402 is NO, that is, the current traveling road of the vehicle does not match the user’s customary driving road stored in the memory 20, the program proceeds to step S404. In step S404, the probably or most probably driving road is predicted based on the user’s driving preference.

Preferably, in step S50, road condition information on the probably or most probably driving road and road condition information on surrounding roads connected with the probably or most probably driving road directly or indirectly are acquired from outside by the communication module 40. Then, in step S60, the processor 30 can judge whether a poor road condition occurs on the probably or most probably driving road based on the road condition information acquired. As defined above, poor road conditions may refer to road congestion, heavy congestion or other abnormal conditions such as construction, water accumulation, access forbidden, etc.

Preferably, in step S50, road condition information on a road section between the first junction ahead of the current location and the n^th junction ahead of the current location is acquired on the probably or most probably driving road, where n is equal to 2, 3, 4 or 5. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that n may be any natural number greater than one.

Preferably, in step S50, road condition information on a road section between the current location and a location to be reached from the current location after a predetermined period of driving at a current speed is acquired on the probably or most probably driving road, wherein the predetermined period is preferably 10 minutes. However, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the predetermined period may be any suitable period, such as 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, 15 minutes, or 20 minutes, etc.

Preferably, in step S50, road condition information on a road section between the current location and a predetermined location is acquired on the probably or most probably driving road, wherein the predetermined location is one of a location at the n^th junction ahead of the current location and a location to be reached from the current location after a predetermined period of driving at a current speed, that is closer to the current location, where n is equal to 2, 3, 4 or 5. However, it can be appreciated by those skilled in the art that n may be any natural number greater than one. The predetermined period is preferably 10 minutes. However, it can be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the predetermined period may be any suitable period, such as 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 7 minutes, 15 minutes, or 20 minutes, etc.

Preferably, the junction may be a road exit and/or a road fork. For example, for access-control roads such as highways, expressways and loops, the road condition is a road exit； and for non-access control roads such as normal roads, the junction is a road fork.

Fig. 4 shows a flow chart of preferred sub-steps for implementing step S50 in which “road condition information on the probably or most probably driving road is acquired” .

In step S501, the sub-program starts, and then proceeds to step S502.

In step S502, a location (location 1) at the first junction ahead of the current location, a location (location 2) at the third junction ahead of the current location, and a location (location 3) to be reached from the current location after 10 minutes of driving at the current speed on the probably or most probably driving road are acquired. Then the sub-program proceeds to step S503.

In step S503, it is judged whether the distance from location 1 to location 2 is shorter than the distance from location 1 to location 3.

If the result of the judgment in step S503 is YES, that is, location 2 is closer to location 1 than location 3, the sub-program proceeds to step S504. In step S504, road condition information on a road section between location 1 and location 2 is acquired on the probably or most probably driving road.

If the result of the judgment in step S503 is NO, that is, location 3 is closer to location 1 than location 2, the sub-program proceeds to step S505. In step S505, road condition information on a road section between location 1 and location 3 is acquired on the probably or most probably driving road.

A preferred implementation of the road condition map popped-up in step S70 is shown in Fig. 5. As shown in Fig. 5, the popped-up road condition map is in the form of road network vector map. Preferably, the road network vector map includes the probably or most probably driving road, the surrounding roads connected directly and indirectly with the probably or most probably driving road, road name, road condition information, road driving direction, road class, road length of each road and the like. Preferably, said surrounding roads include the roads which are in the same road class as the probably or most probably driving road and also the roads which are one road class lower than the probably or most probably driving road. Preferably, in the road network vector map, a road is indicated by a line segment, the road driving direction is indicated by an arrow, the road class is indicated by width of the line segment, the road length information is indicated by length of the line segment, and different road conditions are indicated by different colors. In figure 5, roads are displayed in the same width since they belong to the same road class. However, for roads which belong to different road classes, they may be indicated by different widths. For example, higher-class roads such as highway or expressway are indicated by larger widths, while lower-class roads are indicated by smaller widths. Preferably, the road condition information may be indicated by colors. For example, a smooth road may be indicated by green color (in figure 5, it refers to roads shown in white) , a road congestion may be indicated by yellow color (in figure 5, it refers to roads shown in grey) , heavy congestion or roads in other abnormal conditions may be indicated by red color (in figure 5, it refers to roads shown in black) . It shall be appreciated that the above-described indication means are merely an example, and those skilled in the art can select any colors, symbols, or marks that can identify different road conditions to indicate road condition information.

Preferably, the scale of the road condition map is adjustable adaptively according to the length of a congested road section ahead so as to cover the entire section of congested road ahead within a certain range on the probably or most probably driving road of vehicle. For example, in the case where the congested road section ahead within a certain range on the probably or most probably driving road of vehicle is relatively long, the scale of the road condition map can be set to be smaller, while in the case where the congested road section ahead within a certain range on the probably or most probably driving road of vehicle is relatively short, the scale of the road condition map can be set to be larger.

Preferably, when the current vehicle location is on an access-control road such as highway or expressway, the popped-up road condition map covers one major congested road section on the probably or most probably driving road and surrounding roads which are one road class lower than the probably or most probably driving road.

Preferably, when the current vehicle location is on a non-access control road such as a normal road, the popped-up road condition map covers one major congested road section on the probably or most probably driving road as well as surrounding roads in the same road class as the probably or most probably driving road and surrounding roads which are one road class lower than that of the most probably driving road.

Preferably, the predetermined period in step S80 is the time when the vehicle passes the first junction.

Preferably, the predetermined period in step S80 may also be set according to the current speed and/or current road class. Preferably, the predetermined period may be set to be relatively short when the current speed and/or current road class is relatively high.

Although the above-described program proceeds to a step S40 in which the probably or most probably driving road within a certain range ahead of the current position is predicted in real time based on the current location in the case where it is judged that the user fails to plan routes in advance, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to this. Instead, the program in the present disclosure can definitely omit step S20 and directly proceed to step S40. Then, in the case where the user plans routes in advance, the processor predicts the road planned in advance as the probably or most probably driving road.

The aforesaid road condition pop-up program is able to pop up a road condition map under certain trigger conditions to show the probably or most probably driving road, the surrounding roads and the road conditions on these roads. Thus, even in the case that the driver does not plan a driving road in advance, the driver can receive a warning about poor road conditions on his probably or most probably driving road, and can receive a clear view of the road conditions on the probably or most probably driving road and the surrounding roads thereby to be able to conveniently and flexibly pick up other roads.

The present disclosure also relates to a computer readable storage medium, on which the aforesaid road condition pop-up program is stored.

The present disclosure also relates to an electronic device, comprising a memory 20, a processor 30 and the aforesaid road condition pop-up program stored on the memory and operable on the processor. It can be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any device including a memory and a processor and capable of executing a program belongs to the electronic device referred to herein, including but not limited to, mobile phones, laptops, desktops, PDAs, portable navigation devices, in-vehicle navigation devices, tablet computers (PAD) , portable multimedia players, smart watches, wearable equipment, etc.

Although only specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described herein, various modified and varied solutions can be envisaged by those skilled in the art. It is therefore to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all the modified and varied solutions that fall within the true spirit of the present disclosure.

Claims

A navigation method, comprising

predicting in real time the probably driving road within a certain range ahead of a current location according to the current location；

acquiring road condition information on the probably driving road；

acquiring road condition information on surrounding roads connected with the probably driving road； and

displaying the probably driving road and said surrounding roads, and also displaying road conditions on the probably driving road and on said surrounding roads.
The navigation method according to claim 1, wherein the probably driving road is a most probably driving road predicted in real time within a certain range ahead of a current location according to the current location.
The navigation method according to claim 1, wherein the probably driving road and said surrounding roads as well as said road conditions are displayed on a road condition map popping-up according to the acquired road condition information on the probably driving road.
The navigation method according to claim 2, wherein the probably driving road and said surrounding roads as well as said road conditions are displayed on a road condition map popping-up according to the acquired road condition information on the probably driving road.
The navigation method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein in the step of predicting in real time the probably driving road within a certain range ahead of a current location according to the current location, the probably driving road is predicted based on user’s customary driving road and/or user’s driving-preference data according to the current location and current moving direction.
The navigation method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the road condition information on the probably driving road comprises road congestion condition and/or road opening condition.
The navigation method according to claim 6, wherein the road condition map is popped-up in the case of a road congestion and/or a road closure on the probably driving road.
The navigation method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein in the step of acquiring road condition information on the probably driving road, road condition information on a road section between the first junction ahead of the current location and the n^th junction ahead of the current location is acquired on the probably driving road, where n is equal to 2, 3, 4 or 5.
The navigation method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein in the step of acquiring road condition information on the probably driving road, road condition information on a road section between the current location and a location to be reached from the current location after a predetermined period of driving at a current speed is acquired on the probably driving road.
The navigation method according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined period is 10 minutes.
The navigation method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein in the step of acquiring road condition information on the probably driving road, road condition information on a road section between the current location and a predetermined location is acquired on the probably driving road, the predetermined location being one of a location at the n^th junction ahead of the current location and a location to be reached from the current location after a predetermined period of driving at a current speed, that is closer to the current location, where n is equal to 2, 3, 4 or 5.
The navigation method according to claim 11, wherein the predetermined period is 10 minutes.
The navigation method according to claim 8 or 11 or 12, wherein the junction is a road exit and/or a road fork.
The navigation method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the road condition map is shown in the form of road network vector map, which comprises road name, road driving direction, road class and road length information, and in which a road is indicated by a line segment, the road driving direction is indicated by an arrow, the road class is indicated by width of the line segment, the road length information is indicated by length of the line segment, and different road conditions are indicated by different colors or marks.
The navigation method according to claim 3 or 4 or 14, wherein the road condition map comprises roads in the same road class as the probably driving road and roads which are one road class lower than the probably driving road.
The navigation method according to claim 3 or 4 or 14, wherein the scale of the road condition map is adjustable according to the length of a congested road section ahead so as to cover the whole section of congested road on the probably driving road.
The navigation method according to claim 3 or 4 or 14, wherein when the current location is on highway or expressway, the road condition map covers one major congested road section on the probably driving road and surrounding roads which are one road class lower than the probably driving road.
The navigation method according to claim 3 or 4 or 14, wherein when the current location is not on highway and expressway, the road condition map covers one major congested road section on the probably driving road, as well as surrounding roads in the same road class as the probably driving road and surrounding roads which are one road class lower than the probably driving road.
The navigation method according to claim 3 or 4 or 8, wherein the popped-up road condition map is canceled when a vehicle passes the first junction.
The navigation method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein display duration of the road condition map is set according to a current speed and/or a current road class.
The navigation method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the navigation method further comprises: judging whether the user fails to plan routes in advance prior to the step of predicting in real time the probably driving road within a certain range ahead of a current location according to the current location, and if it is judged that the user fails to plan routes in advance, then performing the step of predicting in real time the probably driving road within a certain range ahead of a current location according to the current location.
A navigation system, comprising:

a location signal receiver for acquiring location data of a vehicle；

a communication module configured to acquire in real time road condition data from the outside；

a memory configured to store the location data and the road condition data；

a processor configured to perform the navigation method according to any one of claims 1-21； and

a display device configured to be able to display the probably driving road and said surrounding roads as well as said road conditions.
A computer readable storage medium on which a computer program is stored, characterized in that the computer program is executed by the processor to implement the navigation method according to any one of claims 1-21.
An electronic device, comprising a memory, a processor and a computer program stored on the memory and operable on the processor, characterized in that the computer program is executed by the processor to implement the navigation method according to any one of claims 1-21.