Methods and Systems for Map Matching

A method of matching a current position of a device to an electronic map indicative of a network of navigable elements, the electronic map comprising a plurality of segments representative of the navigable elements, the method comprising:

• obtaining positional data indicative of the movement of the device, the positional data comprising a plurality of position data samples indicative of the position of the device at different times;
• obtaining electronic map data in respect of at least a portion of the area covered by the electronic map;
• maintaining a pool of candidate paths with respect to the electronic map, each candidate path being a possible path in a first driving direction through the electronic map to which the current position of the device may be matched, each candidate path comprising one or more segments of the electronic map, wherein said maintaining further comprises, upon detecting that reverse driving is being performed, creating a new set of candidate paths to replace those in the pool, wherein each of the new candidate paths is a possible path in a second, opposite driving direction through the electronic map to which the current position of the device may be matched, each candidate path comprising one or more segments of the electronic map;
• identifying a candidate path from the pool which provides the best match to the positional data, based on a plurality of said position data samples;
• using the identified candidate path in obtaining an estimated current position of the device with respect to a segment of the electronic map for output as the map matched current position;
• and
• generating data indicative of the map matched current position.

A map matching engine that matches a current position of a device to an electronic map indicative of a network of navigable elements, the electronic map comprising a plurality of segments representative of the navigable elements, the map matching engine configured to:

• obtain positional data indicative of the movement of the device, the positional data comprising a plurality of position data samples indicative of the position of the device at different times;
• obtain electronic map data in respect of at least a portion of the area covered by the electronic map;
• maintain a pool of candidate paths with respect to the electronic map, each candidate path being a possible path in a first driving direction through the electronic map to which the current position of the device may be matched, each candidate path comprising one or more segments of the electronic map, wherein said maintaining further comprises, upon detecting that a U-turn manoeuvre has been performed by the device, creating an additional set of candidate paths for inclusion in the pool, wherein each candidate path is a possible path in a second, opposite driving direction through the electronic map to which the current position of the device may be matched, each candidate path comprising one or more segments of the electronic map;
• identify a candidate path from the pool which provides the best match to the positional data, based on a plurality of said position data samples;
• use the identified candidate path in obtaining an estimated current position of the device with respect to a segment of the electronic map for output as the map matched current position;
• and
• generate data indicative of the map matched current position.

A map matching engine that matches a current position of a device to an electronic map indicative of a network of navigable elements, the electronic map comprising a plurality of segments representative of the navigable elements, the map matching engine configured to:

• obtain positional data indicative of the movement of the device, the positional data comprising a plurality of position data samples indicative of the position of the device at different times;
• obtain electronic map data in respect of at least a portion of the area covered by the electronic map;
• maintaining a pool of candidate paths with respect to the electronic map, each candidate path being a possible path in a first driving direction through the electronic map to which the current position of the device may be matched, each candidate path comprising one or more segments of the electronic map, wherein said maintaining further comprises, upon detecting that reverse driving is being performed, creating a new set of candidate paths to replace those in the pool, wherein each of the new candidate paths is a possible path in a second, opposite driving direction through the electronic map to which the current position of the device may be matched, each candidate path comprising one or more segments of the electronic map;
• identify a candidate path from the pool which provides the best match to the positional data, based on a plurality of said position data samples;
• use the identified candidate path in obtaining an estimated current position of the device with respect to a segment of the electronic map for output as the map matched current position;
• and
• generate data indicative of the map matched current position.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a map matching engine, cause the map matching engine to perform a method for matching a current position of a device to an electronic map indicative of a network of navigable elements, the electronic map comprising a plurality of segments representative of the navigable elements, the method comprising:

• obtaining positional data indicative of the movement of the device, the positional data comprising a plurality of position data samples indicative of the position of the device at different times;
• obtaining electronic map data in respect of at least a portion of the area covered by the electronic map;
• maintaining a pool of candidate paths with respect to the electronic map, each candidate path being a possible path in a first driving direction through the electronic map to which the current position of the device may be matched, each candidate path comprising one or more segments of the electronic map, wherein said maintaining further comprises, upon detecting that a U-turn manoeuvre has been performed by the device, creating an additional set of candidate paths for inclusion in the pool, wherein each candidate path is a possible path in a second, opposite driving direction through the electronic map to which the current position of the device may be matched, each candidate path comprising one or more segments of the electronic map;
• identifying a candidate path from the pool which provides the best match to the positional data, based on a plurality of said position data samples;
• using the identified candidate path in obtaining an estimated current position of the device with respect to a segment of the electronic map for output as the map matched current position;
• and
• generating data indicative of the map matched current position.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a map matching engine, cause the map matching engine to perform a method for matching a current position of a device to an electronic map indicative of a network of navigable elements, the electronic map comprising a plurality of segments representative of the navigable elements, the method comprising:

• obtaining positional data indicative of the movement of the device, the positional data comprising a plurality of position data samples indicative of the position of the device at different times;
• obtaining electronic map data in respect of at least a portion of the area covered by the electronic map;
• maintaining a pool of candidate paths with respect to the electronic map, each candidate path being a possible path in a first driving direction through the electronic map to which the current position of the device may be matched, each candidate path comprising one or more segments of the electronic map, wherein said maintaining further comprises, upon detecting that reverse driving is being performed, creating a new set of candidate paths to replace those in the pool, wherein each of the new candidate paths is a possible path in a second, opposite driving direction through the electronic map to which the current position of the device may be matched, each candidate path comprising one or more segments of the electronic map;
• identifying a candidate path from the pool which provides the best match to the positional data, based on a plurality of said position data samples;
• using the identified candidate path in obtaining an estimated current position of the device with respect to a segment of the electronic map for output as the map matched current position;
• and
• generating data indicative of the map matched current position.