KR20070080699A - Navigation system and method for supporting position measurement using rfid tag information - Google Patents

Abstract

A navigation system and method are provided to improve a position searching performance of the navigation system by receiving position information from RFID tags, when a signal reception property is poor. A navigation system(200) includes a GPS(Global Positioning System) receiver(210), a tag reader(220), and a navigator(230). The GPS receiver generates a first current position information based on a GPS signal by using satellite signals. The tag reader generates a second current position information based on the information, which is read from an RFID(Radio Frequency IDentification) tag by an RFID reader. The RFID tag is arranged on a road. The navigator receives the first current position information from the GPS receiver or the second current position information from the tag reader, generates navigation information related to the current position, and displays the navigation information.

Description

NAVIGATION SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SUPPORTING POSITION MEASUREMENT USING RFID TAG INFORMATION}

1 is a diagram illustrating a conventional method of generating navigation information.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a navigation system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sign that provides an RFID signal by mounting an RFID tag according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for describing information recorded by the RFID tag of FIG. 3.

5 is a diagram illustrating another example of a sign that provides an RFID signal by mounting an RFID tag according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for describing information recorded by the RFID tag of FIG. 5.

7 is a diagram for explaining an example in which a navigation system is used according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a view for explaining a navigation method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for describing an interaction between a navigation system and a location based service server of FIG. 1.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

200: navigation system 210: GPS receiver

220: Tag reader 230: Navigator

240: database

The present invention relates to a navigation system and method, and more particularly, to a navigation system and method for generating navigation information by reading an RFID tag of a road when location information cannot be generated using a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver. It is about.

In modern society, a navigation system with a built-in GPS receiver is widely used in automobiles to find a destination or identify a destination. However, the conventional navigation system has a problem in that it does not provide a normal service in an area where it cannot receive signals from satellites or in bad weather.

Conventional navigation systems typically use a Global Positioning System (GPS). Traditional methods using GPS may be impossible to locate due to the disconnection of GPS signals in shadowed areas, eg, forests, high trees, tunnels, indoor areas where GPS signals cannot be received. There is a possibility of error accumulation problems.

1 is a diagram illustrating a conventional method of generating navigation information.

As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional navigation system performs satellite signal reception 110 by using a GPS receiver installed in the navigation system to provide satellite signals provided by the satellite. The conventional navigation system generates 120 location information using only the satellite signal received by the GPS receiver, generates 130 navigation information by mapping the generated location information to map data, and displays the information through an output device. do. Such a navigation system provides a user with location-based services such as providing destination guide information or distance information to a destination using the location information.

As described above, the conventional navigation system generates navigation information using location information generated based on the satellite signal, and thus, it is difficult to provide a service when the GPS signal passes through a region where GPS signal reception is poor. Therefore, the user must bear the inconvenience that the service of the navigation information is interrupted each time the GPS signal reception area is not available, or has to go around the GPS signal reception area if necessary. In addition, the disconnection of the GPS signal is a direct cause of the cumulative error problem, the user is lost in the road according to the wrong information provided by the navigation or exposed to the risk of an accident.

In addition to generating location information from the GPS signal, the GPS receiver can be used to assist the GPS receiver to provide the current location information and navigation information even in areas where GPS signals cannot be received, and to correct the accumulated error navigation information. New skills are required.

The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, the object of the present invention is to provide a location-based service to the user even in a situation where the sensitivity of the GPS signal, such as the shadow area, the road, etc. The present invention provides a navigation system for generating navigation information by grasping location information from an installed RFID tag or correcting navigation information in which errors are accumulated.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a navigation method in which a navigation system provides a user with navigation information by using a GPS receiver or reading an RFID tag of a road.

In order to achieve the above object and solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the navigation system according to the present invention is a GPS receiver for generating GPS-based first current position information using a satellite signal, a road using an RFID reader A tag reader for generating second current location information based on information read from the RFID tag on the device, and receiving the first current location information from the GPS receiver or receiving the second current location information from the tag reader. And a navigator for generating and displaying navigation information related to the current location.

In addition, the navigation method according to an embodiment of the present invention using the GPS receiver to generate the GPS-based first current location information from the satellite signal, to generate and display the navigation information based on the first current location information Determining whether the signal strength of the first current location information is less than or equal to a predetermined value; when the signal strength of the first current location information is less than or equal to a predetermined value, information read from an RFID tag on a road using an RFID reader; Generating second current location information based on the information; and generating and displaying navigation information based on the second current location information.

Hereinafter, a navigation system and a method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Near field communication using an RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) method is a communication technology for collecting information recorded on an RFID tag attached to an object through an RFID reader, and has superior characteristics compared to a communication method using a barcode or a smart card. Thus, various applications are possible. In the near field communication of the RFID method, the RFID tag returns power supplied from the RFID reader and information recorded in the RFID tag to the RFID reader, and a method using a magnetic field and a method using radio waves are mainly used. In addition, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the RFID tag in the present invention may be used both active and passive.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a navigation system 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the navigation system 200 according to the present invention includes a GPS receiver 210, a tag reader 220, a navigator 230, and a memory 240.

The navigation system 200 can provide navigation information, which is one of location-based services, to a user of the navigation system 200 even in an environment in which it is difficult to receive satellite signals using the tag reader 220.

The navigation system 200 first receives GPS signals from three or more GPS satellites through the GPS receiver 210 and calculates current location information from the received GPS signals. Accordingly, the navigator 230 generates the navigation information by mapping the calculated current location information to the map data recorded in the memory, and outputs the navigation information through the display means and the speaker means.

If the navigation system 200 enters an area where GPS signals cannot be received (shading area) that cannot receive satellite signals, that is, the strength of the GPS signal collected by the navigator 230 from the GPS receiver 210 is predetermined. When it is determined that the value is less than or equal to, the RFID reader is used to receive an RFID signal from an RFID tag mounted on a display panel of a road, and the like, and the present position information is calculated by reading the received RFID signal. For this purpose, the RFID tag of the road records position information of a place where the RFID tag is located in advance. In addition, the RFID tag may further record traffic information such as maximum speed limit and driving direction information of the road.

Accordingly, the navigator 230 generates the navigation information by mapping the calculated current position information to the map data recorded in the memory 240 and outputs it to the display means and the speaker means. As a result, the user may always use the location-based service through the navigation system 200 according to the present invention regardless of whether the GPS signal is received even in a region where GPS signals cannot be received due to factors such as location or weather.

The current location information generated by the tag reader 220 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a schedule code for notifying a current location and a schedule code for notifying a progress direction. That is, as described above, the RFID tag records traffic information such as the current location information, the heading direction information, and the maximum speed limit with a predetermined code, and provides the code to the tag reader 220. In addition, the tag reader 220 that collects the code maintains a predetermined application capable of decoding the code, or transmits it to a predetermined server to decrypt the code, and generates the current position information using the decoded code. do.

The RFID tag read by the tag reader 220 may be installed in a street sign, a road, a roadside street, a traffic light, or a building that a vehicle or a person walks.

In addition, the tag reader 220 may use a dedicated RFID reader as a means for detecting the RFID signal from the RFID tag. For example, the RFID reader may be installed in the mobile communication terminal, and in this case, the RFID signal may be read using the RFID reader of the mobile communication terminal. At this time, the RFID signal installed on a sign such as a road according to the movement of the vehicle may be detected continuously or at a predetermined cycle.

The mobile communication terminal described herein includes a computer terminal, a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) terminal, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP), and MEGACO (Media GAteway COntrol). ), PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), Cellular Phone, Personal Communication Service (PCS) Phone, Hand-Held PC, CDMA-2000 (1X, 3X) Phone, Wideband CDMA Phone, Dual Band / Dual Band / Dual Mode phone, Global Standard for Mobile (GSM) phone, Mobile Broadband System (MBS) phone, and Satellite / Terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) phone. Can be interpreted.

The navigator 230 generates navigation information related to the current location based on the current location information generated from the GPS receiver 210 or the tag reader 220. In the navigation system 200, when the GPS receiver 210 does not receive a satellite signal, the navigation system 200 may perform an operation of reading the RFID signal to generate current location information, and the GPS receiver 210. ) And the tag reader 220 may simultaneously generate current location information to provide more precise navigation information.

In order to generate the navigation information, the navigator 230 may use a memory 240 that is internally or externally mounted in the navigation system 200. That is, the navigator 230 extracts corresponding map information from the memory 240 according to the current location information generated from the GPS receiver 210 or the tag reader 220, and at least the extracted map information and the Information indicating a current location in map information may be generated and displayed as navigation information associated with the current location.

The map information stored in the memory 240 may be updated at predetermined intervals, and accordingly, the navigation information generated by the navigator 230 may be updated and provided to the user. For example, when a new shortcut route is made from Seoul to Cheongpyeong, Gangwon-do, and the user is presented with a route to reach the destination (Cheongpyeong), the navigation system 200 updates the method according to the new map information. Corresponding navigation information can be presented.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the navigation information may be corrected by using the moving direction information or the moving distance information of the vehicle in which the navigation system 200 is installed. For example, a sensor attached to a steering device of a vehicle equipped with the navigation system 200 may calculate a distance and a direction in which the vehicle moves and provide the calculated value to the navigation system 200. In addition, a steering detector for detecting a moving direction or a moving distance of the vehicle is attached to the vehicle, and the navigation information is reflected by reflecting steering information detected by the steering detector using a Bluetooth communication module, an infrared communication module (IrDA), or the like. The navigation information can be generated by correcting the error of a predetermined time. The steering detector is a device for receiving information on the distance and direction of the wheel of the vehicle and the steering detector may be included in the navigation system 200. Accordingly, the tag reader 220 may obtain more accurate location information, and detailed location recognition may be possible.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the current position information recorded in the RFID tag may include a predetermined code indicating whether or not the speed camera, and the navigator 230 is the presence of the speed camera A warning message can be generated according to a schedule code that informs the user. For example, in order to enable the navigation system 200 to output the message "There is a speeding camera in front of 200m ahead" at 200m in front of the speeding prevention camera, a certain code indicating whether a speeding prevention camera is present is an RFID tag. Can be written on.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, since the vehicle always knows the speed of the vehicle, the tag reading unit 220 may provide the navigation system 200 with the measured value of the vehicle speed. When the RFID tag 501 including the same speed limit rule is recognized and transmitted to the navigator 230, it may be checked whether the vehicle currently complies with the speed limit rule.

At this time, according to the speed information of the vehicle, the navigation system 200 may generate another warning message when the speed of the vehicle is greater than or equal to a threshold. That is, the user may set the speed of the vehicle to a predetermined threshold and automatically generate a warning message according to the threshold.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the current position information from the tag reader 220 may include a schedule code for notifying the vehicle speed limit information, the navigator 230 is a vehicle speed limit information The threshold may be designated to notify the user. Therefore, the user can adjust the vehicle speed according to the warning message notified even if the vehicle speed is not currently recognized.

Hereinafter, an example in which the present invention is actually applied will be described.

3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sign that provides an RFID signal by mounting an RFID tag according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 shows an example of a traffic sign 300 showing a destination (blue flat) and a distance (18 km) to the destination. Like the traffic sign 300, the user can recognize the contents of the traffic sign 300 with the naked eye, and even if the user does not find the traffic sign 300, the RFID installed in the traffic sign 300 The navigation system 200 detects a tag 301 to provide location information or various navigation information to a user. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the RFID tag 301 is installed in the traffic sign 300, but may be installed in a road floor or the like where the traffic sign 300 is located.

In this case, as shown in Fig. 4, the RFID tag 301 records identification information 1, current position information, and travel direction information of the RFID signal. In other words, the current location of the road sign is 'Cheonho-dong, Gangdong-gu, Seoul,' and the direction of the road is 'Route 1 from Seoul to Cheongpyeong'. That is, the navigation system 200 according to the present invention may read the RFID signal from the RFID tag 301 and check the current travel direction and the current location information.

5 illustrates an example of a warning sign 500 that displays a speed limit of a vehicle in a specific section. The user may grasp the speed limit-related warning contents through the navigation system 200 or visually. The RFID tag 501 of FIG. 5 is used in identification information having a unique code related to a speed limit because it is located in an area where an RFID reader of the navigation system 200 collects an RFID signal.

When the navigation system 200 is operated by the RFID tag 501, the navigator 230 may continuously compare the speed of the vehicle with the highest speed limit included in the RFID signal until the RFID signal is read by the RFID reader. In addition, when the RFID signal is read, current position code information including travel direction information may be generated. At this time, the navigator 230 may calculate the movement route through the RFID signal from the traffic sign using the map information stored in the memory 240.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for describing information recorded by the RFID tag 501 of FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 6, the RFID tag 501 may include identification information of the RFID signal, speed limit information, and speeding camera information. That is, the navigation system 200 recognizes that the speed limit of the current road is 100 km / h through the speed limit information (100 km / h) recorded in the RFID tag, and takes appropriate action accordingly. In addition, when the speed camera exists in the front, the installation information of the speed camera can be provided to the user at the position of '700m ahead' through the speed camera information.

7 is a view for explaining an example in which the navigation system 200 is used according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, a vehicle located at 710 may receive a GPS signal using a navigation system 200 or detect an RFID signal from a traffic sign 730 equipped with an RFID tag to use a location-based service. . However, when the vehicle is located at 720, it is difficult to receive a GPS signal because it is blocked by an obstacle such as a tall building. In addition, when the navigation system 200 is located in a mountainous area, an underground driveway, cloudy weather, or a shaded area such as an elevated road, navigation information may not be provided. Accordingly, when the traffic sign 730 equipped with the RFID tag is disposed at a predetermined distance on a path through which the car passes, and the navigation system 200 detects an RFID signal from the RFID tag, the GPS signal may be recognized even if it does not receive a GPS signal. Location-based services can be provided from one RFID signal.

Therefore, even when navigation information cannot be provided due to the characteristics of GPS, the navigation system 200 according to the present invention can effectively perform route guidance anytime and anywhere using the tag reader 220 which is an auxiliary device for obtaining navigation information. In addition, when the traffic sign 730 equipped with the RFID tag is sufficiently equipped at various places, the navigation information may be provided without using the GPS receiver 210.

In addition, the navigation system 200 may increase the accuracy of the current location information by calculating a plurality of location information from a plurality of RFID signals and generating the navigation information by combining the calculated plurality of location information. In addition, when the location information is provided, the user may be more effectively guided by outputting information such as 'turn left in front of 100m' or 'turn right at the next crossroad' as a voice.

8 is a view for explaining a method of operation of the navigation system 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, when the navigation system 200 is operated in step 801, the navigation system 200 checks whether it is an area capable of receiving a current satellite signal in step 802. That is, the navigation system 200 measures the strength of the satellite signal received from the operation at a predetermined period and checks whether the strength of the satellite signal falls below a predetermined value. If the strength of the satellite signal is greater than or equal to the predetermined value, the navigation system 200 determines that the GPS signal can be received, and generates first current location information based on the received GPS signal in step 803. In addition, the navigation system 200 may determine location information, a maximum speed limit of a road, major facilities nearby, an intersection, an access road, or an interchange (IC) based on the generated first current location information in step 806. Create navigation information and provide it to the user. In this case, the navigation information is information in the form of image information and audio information, and may be output through a speaker or a display device.

If in step 802, the navigation device 200 is located in a shadowed area and cannot receive the GPS signal or the strength of the received GPS signal is weak, the navigation system cannot calculate the current location information. In operation 804, an RFID signal is received from an RFID tag on a road and location information and the like included in the RFID signal are collected. Accordingly, the navigation system 200 generates second current location information from the RFID signal including the collected location information in step 805. The format of the first current location information and the second current location information may be the same, and are named first and second according to a source providing the information.

Next, in step 806, the navigation system 200 generates and displays the navigation information based on the generated second current location information.

In addition, in step 806, the navigation system 200 may not only provide location information but also correct the navigation information by using moving direction information or moving distance information of the vehicle in which the navigation system 200 is installed. In addition, the RFID tag may include a schedule code indicating whether the speed camera is present, and the navigator 230 may generate a warning message according to a schedule code indicating whether the speed camera is present.

In addition, when the position information of the RFID signal is provided to the tag reader 220 of the navigation system 200 by using a mobile communication terminal equipped with an RFID reader, the mobile communication terminal outputs a ringtone, Navigation information may be transmitted to a user by performing a vibration motor operation or a lamp blink operation.

The navigation method according to the present invention has been described so far, and the details mentioned in the embodiments of FIGS. 2 to 7 may be applied to the present embodiment as it is, and thus the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for describing an interaction between the navigation system 200 and the location based service server 930 of FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 9, the navigation system 200 may be connected to a base station 920 and a location based service server 930 through a mobile communication network 910. The navigation system 200 may generate navigation information through the memory 240 in the navigation system 200, but may use a separate location based service server 930 when the capacity is large or needs to be updated at any time. That is, the navigation system 200 transmits the current location information read from the GPS receiver 210 or the tag reader 220 to the base station 920 via the mobile communication network 910 and to the location-based service server 930. Can transmit

The location based service server 930 may provide navigation information (eg, current location, destination, route information, etc.) corresponding to the read current location information. In addition, the location based service server 930 may include a database 940. The database 940 may record the code mentioned in FIG. 4 or 5 and predetermined information corresponding to the code.

In addition, the navigation system 200 is associated with the current location of at least the corresponding map information received from the location-based service server 930 connected to the mobile communication network and information indicating the current location on the map information according to the current location information. It can be generated as navigation information. The map information may include at least one of a route direction, a current location, a destination, a distance to a destination, a speed limit, and traffic sign information.

The embodiments mentioned in connection with the navigation system 200 herein may be applied to the location based service server 930, and vice versa.

Embodiments of the invention include a computer readable medium containing program instructions for performing various computer-implemented operations. The computer readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc. alone or in combination. The media may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or they may be of the kind well-known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape, optical recording media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, magnetic-optical media such as floppy disks, and ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute the same program instructions are included. The medium may be a transmission medium such as an optical or metal wire, a waveguide, or the like including a carrier wave for transmitting a signal specifying a program command, a data structure, or the like. Examples of program instructions include not only machine code generated by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like.

As described above, the present invention has been described by specific embodiments such as specific components and the like, but the embodiments and the drawings are provided only to help a more general understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For those skilled in the art, various modifications and variations are possible from such description.

Therefore, the spirit of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, and all the things that are equivalent to or equivalent to the claims as well as the following claims will belong to the scope of the present invention. .

As described above, in the navigation system according to the present invention, since the user can generate the current location information by reading an external RFID tag, the navigation information can be easily generated even when the user cannot generate the current location information based on the satellite signal. The service is effective.

In addition, by receiving the RFID signal of the road, by sensing the steering device of the vehicle can correct the error of the position information provided by the vehicle navigation apparatus.

In addition, the user can be equipped with a navigation system in the vehicle to grasp the direction of movement or distance information has an effect that can identify more clear navigation information.

In addition, the user can grasp the location information of the speed prevention camera, there is an effect that can prevent the speed.

In addition, since the user may receive a warning message when the vehicle speed limit is exceeded, the user may expect an effect of preventing an accident in advance.

In addition, when a user uses a mobile communication terminal incorporating a navigation system, the user can conveniently use the navigation service while carrying the navigation system, and can also expect a cost reduction effect.

Claims (14)

A GPS receiver for generating GPS based first current location information using satellite signals; A tag reader configured to generate second current location information based on information read from an RFID tag on a road using an RFID reader; And A navigator for receiving the first current location information from the GPS receiver or the second current location information from the tag reader to generate and display navigation information related to the current location. Navigation system comprising a. The method of claim 1, The second current location information includes a schedule code indicating a current position or a schedule code indicating a direction of travel. Navigation system characterized in that. The method of claim 1, The navigator, Correcting the navigation information by using the moving direction information or the moving distance information of the vehicle in which the navigation system is installed; Navigation system characterized in that. The method of claim 1, The second current position information includes a schedule code indicating whether or not a speeding camera is present. The navigator generates a warning message according to a certain code indicating whether the speed camera is present. Navigation system characterized in that. The method of claim 4, wherein The navigator, Generating another warning message when the speed of the vehicle is greater than or equal to a threshold according to the speed information of the vehicle in which the navigation system is installed; Navigation system characterized in that. The method of claim 5, The second current location information includes a schedule code for notifying vehicle speed limit information. The navigator sets the threshold value according to a predetermined code informing the vehicle speed limit information Navigation system characterized in that. The method of claim 1, The tag reading unit reads the RFID tag using a dedicated RFID reader or an RFID reader of a mobile communication terminal provided with the navigation system. Navigation system characterized in that. The method of claim 1, The navigator extracts corresponding map information from a schedule database according to the first current location information or the second current location information, and includes at least the extracted map information and information indicating a current location on the map information. Generated as associated navigation information Navigation system characterized in that. The method of claim 1, The navigator includes at least corresponding map information received from a location-based service server connected to a mobile communication network and information indicating a current location on the map information according to the first current location information or the second current location information. Generated as associated navigation information Navigation system characterized in that. The method according to claim 8 or 9, The map information includes at least one of a route direction, a current location, a destination, a distance to a destination, a speed limit, and traffic sign information. Navigation system characterized in that. The method of claim 1, The navigator, when the signal strength of the first current location information from the GPS receiver is less than or equal to a predetermined value, generates navigation information based on the second current location information using the tag reader; Navigation system characterized in that. Generating GPS-based first current location information from a satellite signal using a GPS receiver; Generating and displaying navigation information based on the first current location information; Determining whether the signal strength of the first current location information is equal to or less than a predetermined value; If the signal strength of the first current location information is less than or equal to a predetermined value, generating second current location information based on information read from the RFID tag on the road using an RFID reader; And Generating and displaying navigation information based on the second current location information Navigation method comprising a. The method of claim 12, Correcting the navigation information by using the moving direction information or the moving distance information collected from the steering apparatus of the vehicle; Navigation method characterized in that. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for executing the method of claim 12.

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