System and method for gesture-based point of interest search

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for storing computer program instructions for retrieving information associated with a point of interest (POI), the program instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform steps including:

• accessing, using the processor, location data, from one or more location sensors, identifying a current location of a vehicle;
• analyzing, using the processor, the location data to find a micromapped region;
• generating, using the processor, a retrieval region in front of the vehicle, wherein a shape of the retrieval region is generated based on a speed of the vehicle;
• retrieving, from a POI data server, a micromap corresponding to the micromapped region within the retrieval region, the micromap including information associated with one or more points of interest inside the micromapped region;
• receiving, by the processor, from a camera system, a data signal representing an identifying gesture performed by a user inside the vehicle, the identifying gesture oriented in a direction and identifying an object exterior to the vehicle;
• performing, using the processor, gesture recognition on the data signal to determine a direction vector representing the direction of the identifying gesture;
• analyzing, using the processor, the direction vector and the location data to generate a target region corresponding to the object identified by the identifying gesture, wherein a corner of the target region corresponds to the current location of the vehicle, and wherein the target region aligns with the direction vector;
• retrieving, using the processor, information associated with one or more points of interest located in the target region;
• and
• providing, using a display, the retrieved information to the user, the retrieved information including information associated with the object identified by the identifying gesture.

A vehicle-based computing system for retrieving information associated with a point of interest (POI), the system comprising:

• a processor that executes a POI information retrieval module;
• a location module that is included as a module of the POI information retrieval module and is configured to access location data, from one or more location sensors, identifying a current location of a vehicle;
• a micromap management module that is included as a module of the POI information retrieval module and is configured to:
• analyze the location data to find a micromapped region;
• generate a retrieval region in front of the vehicle, wherein a shape of the retrieval region is based on a speed of the vehicle;
• retrieve, from a POI data server, a micromap corresponding to the micromapped region within the retrieval region, the micromap including information associated with one or more points of interest inside the micromapped region;
• a gesture recognition module that is included as a module of the POI information retrieval module and is configured to:
• receive, from a camera system, a data signal representing an identifying gesture performed by a user inside the vehicle, the identifying gesture oriented in a direction and identifying an object exterior to the vehicle;
• and
• perform gesture recognition on the data signal to determine a direction vector representing the direction of the identifying gesture;
• an input analysis module that is included as a module of the POI information retrieval module and is configured to analyze the direction vector and the location data to generate a target region corresponding to the object identified by the identifying gesture, wherein the input analysis module is further configured to determine whether the target region overlaps with the micromapped region;
• a search module that is included as a module of the POI information retrieval module and is configured to retrieve information associated with one or more points of interest located in the target region, wherein the search module comprises a micromap search module configured to access the micromap to retrieve the information associated with the one or more points of interest located within the target region, wherein a corner of the target region corresponds to the current location of the vehicle, and wherein the target region aligns with the direction vector;
• and
• a data output module that is included as a module of the POI information retrieval module and is configured to provide, using a display, the retrieved information to the user, the retrieved information including information associated with the object identified by the identifying gesture,
• wherein the location module, the micromap management module, the gesture recognition module, the input analysis module, the search module, and the data output module are implemented by the processor.