WO2018157289A1 - Method and device for integrating map data - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and device for integrating map data, and computer program instructions. The method comprises: receiving a map data request (S610); determining at least one map data point according to the map data request (S620); obtaining corresponding map data from at least one map database corresponding to the at least one map data point separately (S630); and sending a map data response comprising integrated map data, wherein the integrated map data is determined on the basis of the obtained map data (S640).

Description

Method and apparatus for integrating map data

Copyright statement

The disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. This copyright is the property of the copyright holder. The copyright owner has no objection to the reproduction of the patent document or patent disclosure contained in the official records and files of the Patent and Trademark Office.

Technical field

The present disclosure relates to the field of data management, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for integrating map data.

Background technique

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also commonly referred to as "unmanned aerial vehicles", "unmanned flight systems (UAS)" or several other names, are aircraft that have no human pilots on them. The flight of the drone can be controlled in a variety of ways: for example by a human operator (sometimes referred to as a "flying hand") for remote control, or by a drone in a semi-autonomous or fully autonomous manner.

As an emerging type of aircraft, its flight safety supervision has become a focus of attention. For example, in accordance with the provisions of air traffic control by ICAO and national air traffic control and the regulation of drones, drones must fly in the prescribed airspace. For flight safety reasons, the flight limit feature is enabled by default, including altitude and distance limits and special area flight restrictions to help users use the drone more safely and legally. However, due to the different map data used by different regions or countries, it is necessary to view the flight restriction information of different regions on different maps.

Summary of the invention

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a method for integrating map data is presented. The method includes: receiving a map data request; determining at least one map data point according to the map data request; acquiring corresponding map data from at least one map database respectively corresponding to the at least one map data point; and transmitting the integrated map A map data response, such as data, wherein the integrated map data is determined based on the acquired map data.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus for integrating map data is presented. The device includes: a request receiving module, configured to receive a map data request; a data point determining module, configured to determine at least one map data point according to the map data request; and a map data obtaining module, configured to The at least one map database corresponding to the data points respectively acquires corresponding map data; and the response sending module is configured to send a map data response including the integrated map data, wherein the integrated map data is determined based on the acquired map data. of.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus for integrating map data is provided. The apparatus includes: a processor; a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to: receive a map data request; determine at least one map data point based on the map data request; Acquiring at least one map database corresponding to the at least one map data point to acquire corresponding map data; and transmitting a map data response including integrated map data, wherein the integrated map data is determined based on the acquired map data .

Through data integration, the integrated data is obtained according to the request point of the map data, and the different map data corresponding to different regions are integrated, so that the user can view the flight restriction information of different regions on the same map.

DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure and its advantages, reference will now be made to the following description

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an exemplary flight limited area according to the related art.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example geofence according to the related art.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example flight limited area for a single country according to the related art.

4 is an example data flow showing various methods between methods for integrating map data in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

5 is an example display showing integrated example map data in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

6 is a flowchart showing an example method for integrating map data in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

7 is a functional block diagram showing an example device for integrating map data in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a hardware schematic diagram showing an example device for integrating map data in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In addition, the drawings are not necessarily to scale,

detailed description

Other aspects, advantages and salient features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the <

In the present disclosure, the terms "include" and "including" and their derivatives are meant to be inclusive and not limiting; the term "or" is inclusive, meaning and/or.

In the present specification, the following various embodiments for describing the principles of the present disclosure are merely illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure. The following description with reference to the drawings is intended to be a The description below includes numerous specific details to assist the understanding, but these details should be considered as merely exemplary. Accordingly, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness. Further, the same reference numerals are used throughout the drawings for the same or similar functions and operations.

As mentioned above, the safety supervision of drones is a very important issue. However, in order to establish flight-restriction rules for drones, there may be two or more restrictions-based flight and release systems based on different rules, depending on the different policies of different countries. For example, European and American countries and non-European and American countries may use different map data. But the data for both must be viewed separately. As another example, two different countries/international organizations may issue different flight restrictions for the same disputed area.

Fig. 1 shows an example restricted flight area (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "limited flight area") disposed around an airport (including an airport) according to the related art. However, those skilled in the art should understand that the setting range of the flight limited zone is not limited to the periphery of the airport, but may be at any suitable location, including but not limited to, for example, densely populated areas, urban centers, political/military areas, power generation. The station, or any sensitive or important political, military, civil facility, or any other temporary and/or permanently restricted flight area. Further, the shape, size, activation/deactivation time, and the like of the fly-limited area are not limited to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. For example, a flight zone can take effect from Monday to Friday, but it does not limit the flight of the drone on weekends. As another example, the shape of the fly-limited zone can be a cylinder, a cone, a cube, a cuboid, a step, or any other three-dimensional shape. For example, the size of the flight zone It may be a range of a radius of 1 km, 2 km, 5 km, or 10 km centered on the center of the flight limited area. In addition, the flight limited zone may also be a dynamic geographic zone having different sizes and shapes, for example, depending on time.

As shown in FIG. 1, an example airport restricted flight area may be divided into a number of different levels of sub-areas including, but not limited to, a no-fly zone, a restricted zone, and/or a warning zone. Generally speaking, in the no-fly zone, the drone is prohibited from flying; the flying height of the drone is restricted in the high-limit zone; and in the warning zone, the drone that is flying or flying is alerted. In addition, the no-fly zone can be divided into a strictly no-fly zone and a banned no-fly zone. The no-fly zone can be lifted and the ban can be obtained by submitting an application and satisfying certain conditions.

For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the no-fly zone may include (1) a cylinder center centered on the center of the airport, a radius R1 (eg, covering the size of the airport), and (2) a center of the airport center. The portion of the torus-like portion of the height-limiting region is removed from the radius R1 to the radius R2; and/or (3) other necessary regions (such as the region above the warning zone). When the drone is in the no-fly zone, if it has not yet taken off, it is forbidden to take off; if for some reason it has taken off, the drone can be required to drop or automatically land on the control of the flying hand, and its height is only Can decline can not rise (or continue to slowly decline). The setting of the no-fly zone can effectively prevent the drone from entering the channel of the take-off and landing aircraft of the airport, thus ensuring the safety of the aircraft at the airport.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the height limit zone may include a torus having a radius R1 to a radius R2 centered on the center of the airport, and an upper edge height from a radius R1 (for example, a height of 20 meters) to a radius R2 ( For example, the height is increased by 500 meters), thereby forming a torus having an inner low outer height. In the height limit zone, the flying height of the drone shall not be higher than its limit height, for example, no more than 20 meters at radius R1 and no more than 500 meters at radius R2. If the drone exceeds this altitude, it will automatically fall below the limit height to avoid collision with the aircraft in the channel. In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the distance between the inner and outer rings of the torus of the restricted zone is about 1800 meters. In addition, the specific data of R1 and / or R2 above can be specifically set according to the specific requirements of the airport or other aspects. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the specific numerical values described above are merely examples, and any other suitable arrangement may be employed.

In addition, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a warning zone may also be provided, which may be a portion other than the no-fly zone and the height-limiting zone in FIG. When the drone is in the warning zone, especially when flying towards the no-fly zone, the drone and/or its control terminal can prompt the flight hand to indicate the existence of the no-fly zone, and can stop further at the edge of the no-fly zone. Action (for example, hovering on the edge of the no-fly zone or landing on your own, etc.).

Furthermore, in addition to the fly-limited zones of the above type, there are other forms of flight restriction. For example, a general scheme called geo-fence can be used to limit the flight of drones. Geofence It is a virtual perimeter for real-world geographic regions, which is not limited to drone applications, but can be applied to various geographic-based scenarios such as store marketing, traffic control, flight control, and the like. FIG. 2 illustrates an example geofence in accordance with the related art. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, two virtual fences for the drone are set by setting the geographical coordinates of the corresponding flight-restricted zone, thereby realizing the flight control of the drone in the two flight-limited zones.

For example, when the drone finds that it is within the geofence by comparing its own coordinates of the GPS or other positioning component carried by itself with the geofence, it can automatically reduce the height as in the embodiment of FIG. Fly out of the geofence in the opposite direction or in the opposite direction to avoid entering the restricted area.

The above description of the setting and implementation of the fly-limited zone is illustrated in conjunction with FIGS. 1 and 2. However, since each country/international organization usually has limited flight rights to its own airspace, there is usually a separate database of restricted zones for each country/international organization. For example, as shown in Figure 3, when the user chooses to view the restricted flight zone in Poland (Polska), only the restricted zone on the Polish territory can be seen. The restricted areas on the territory of neighboring countries, such as Germany (Niemcy) and Belarus (Bialorus), are invisible. In this case, when the user remotely controls the drone at, for example, the border between the two countries, they will have to switch back and forth between different databases or use different maps to view accurate information on the restricted areas of different countries. In addition, when, for example, data from two different databases for substantially the same flight limited area is inconsistent in whole or in part, the user is confusing and may cause the user to manipulate the drone in violation of relevant laws, regulations, and the like.

In order to at least partially solve or alleviate the above problem, the embodiment of the present disclosure can dynamically display two or more flight limited area databases, and display all the flight limited area data for the user to view on the same map, thereby reducing user switching. The cost and the difference between multiple sets of data and conflicts. In addition, it has broken through the restrictions that require selected countries to look at the restricted flight zone. You can view the restricted zones around the world by dragging the map to any location. In addition, it also solves the delay problem caused by excessive data volume when the limited flight data is displayed.

In addition, although the scheme of integrating map data is mainly described herein as a "limited flight zone" as an example, the embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, but may be applied to any other scenario in which map data needs to be integrated, for example, for each city. The respective road traffic control, the nature reserves for each country and so on. More generally, the method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can be applied as long as it is necessary to integrate map data from different map databases.

Hereinafter, the applicant will describe in detail an example scheme for integrating map data according to an embodiment of the present disclosure with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

4 illustrates an example data flow between various nodes of a method for integrating map data in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the nodes involved may include: a drone and/or its control terminal 110, a map data server 120, a first database 130-1, and/or a second database 130-2.

First, please note that although in the embodiment shown in Figure 4, the drone/control terminal 110 is shown as the same frame, this does not mean that they must be the same physical entity. In fact, whether it is a drone or a control terminal, the functions implemented by the drone/control terminal 110 of FIG. 4 can be implemented individually or in combination. For example, in some embodiments, when the drone is flying autonomously, it can separately request the required flight zone information from the map data server 120. For another example, in other embodiments, when the UAV is remotely controlled by the user, the control terminal 110 may request the map data server 120 for the required flight limited area information, and may be remotely controlled by the user according to the limited flight area information. The drone, or the flight limited area information can be sent by the control terminal 110 to the drone so that the drone can obtain the information indirectly. In other words, since data communication can be performed between the drone and the control terminal and some or all of the functions are shared, and thus the two are not distinguished in detail in the embodiment shown in FIG.

Moreover, although the drone and/or control terminal 110 and the map data server 120 are shown as separate two nodes in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, they may actually exist in the same hardware device. For example, in some embodiments, when the drone/control terminal 110 needs to obtain local flight limited area information, it may obtain relevant data from the remote map data server 120 via the network, or may also access the local map data server 120. The request is initiated (eg, as another application, process, service, etc. on the drone/control terminal 110). For example, data flows within the same physical entity may be implemented by, for example, inter-process communication (RPC), sockets, public files, and the like.

Further, although the entity that initiates the map data request in FIG. 4 is the drone/control terminal 110, the embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In fact, it can be any other device that initiates the request. For example, when the user is at home in the pre-study fly zone limit, it can use a laptop computer, mobile phone, desktop, etc., for example, by a web browser ^{(Microsoft Internet Explorer TM, Microsoft EDGE} TM, Mozilla Firefox TM, Apple Safari TM, Opera ^TM, etc.) to access the web service providing map data (e.g., FIG. 2, FIG. 3 or FIG. 5), to attempt to use without limiting the UAV flying viewing zone information.

The data flow of the example method shown in FIG. 4 may begin in step S401. In step S401, the drone/control terminal 110 that needs to acquire the flight limited area information may send a map data request to the map data server 120 (local or remote or both) that provides the service to request the relevant flight limit. District information.

In addition, the map data request may also include a request for general map data other than the limited flight area information. The universal map data may be general map data provided by a third party (eg, Google, Baidu, etc.). The universal map data can provide one or more general map information, such as city name, road, local map data point latitude and longitude, satellite photos, and the like. For example, generic map data can serve as a background for a flight-defining zone, helping users understand the relative location of the flight zone relative to other geographic zones. For example, generic map data can help users understand that a restricted area is near an airport, a military area, and so on.

In addition, since some areas (for example, mainland China) may not be able to use some general maps (for example, Google Maps), general map selection processing can be performed when requesting map data. For example, it may be determined according to the IP address of the requesting party. If the IP address is, for example, in mainland China, the map source of the general map data may be switched to the Baidu map. If the IP address is in another area, the map source of the general map data can be switched to Google Maps and the like. This ensures that map data is visible to users all over the world. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

In other embodiments, the map data request may also not include a request for generic map data. For example, when the drone/control terminal 110 already has general map data (although it may not be the most recent general map data), it may only request map data associated with the flight limited area to the map data server 120.

When the map data server 120 receives the map data request, it may determine, for example, the center point of the requested map data in step S402. For example, the map data request may include data indicating at least one of the following at least one of the requested maps: latitude and longitude of a center point of the map to be displayed, one or more vertices of the map to be displayed (eg, upper left vertex, lower left vertex, The latitude and longitude of the upper right vertex, lower right vertex, etc., and/or the scale of the map to be displayed. Through some of these items or a combination thereof, the latitude and longitude of the center point of the requested map data can be determined, and the country/organization or the like corresponding to the center point can be further determined.

Further, when the local map data server 120 receives the map data request, it may also determine one or more vertices of the requested map data in step S403. For example, the map data request may include data indicating at least one of the following at least one of the requested maps: latitude and longitude of a center point of the map to be displayed, one or more vertices of the map to be displayed (eg, upper left vertex, lower left vertex, The latitude and longitude of the upper right vertex, lower right vertex, etc., and/or the scale of the map to be displayed. Through some of these items or a combination thereof, the latitude and longitude of one or more vertices of the requested map data may be determined, and the country/organization or the like corresponding to the one or more vertices may be further determined.

Alternatively (shown in phantom arrows in the drawing), when the local map data server 120 receives the map data request, it may also determine one or more other map data points of the requested map data in step S404. For example, the map data request may include data indicating at least one of the following at least one of the requested maps: latitude and longitude of a center point of the map to be displayed, one or more vertices of the map to be displayed (eg, upper left vertex, lower left vertex, The latitude and longitude of the upper right vertex, lower right vertex, etc., and/or the scale of the map to be displayed. The latitude and longitude of one or more other map data points of the requested map data may be determined by some of the items or combinations thereof and the pre-specified rules, and may further determine that the one or more other map data points correspond to Country/organization, etc.

Note, however, that the selection of various map data points (eg, center points, vertices, other map data points) described above is not required, but merely an example. In other words, it is also possible to select no center point, vertex, or the like as the map data point. For example, selecting map center points and vertices is mainly because they are usually one of the focuses of users. For example, in the map data request sent by the drone/control terminal, the included central point latitude and longitude usually represents the location of the user. As another example, each vertex is more likely to be a map data point across regions, countries, and international organizations than the center point, compared to other map data points. So these points may be more representative, but the disclosure is not limited to selecting these points. In addition, although the possibility is very low, there may be cases where the map center point and the database corresponding to each vertex belong to the same database, and the map data belonging to another database may be interposed at other positions of the map. This is partly due to the complexity of political geography, such as the large number of small countries, the cross-cutting areas of the crossfire, and partly due to the large scale of the map, which leads to the coverage of too many areas. In any case, the selection of map data points is not limited to the selection of the map data points described above.

In addition, please note that the order of execution of the above steps S402 to S404 is not necessarily performed sequentially, and may be performed in whole or in part in parallel or in other orders. For example, in some embodiments, step S403 can be performed before, after, or at the same time as step S402. Also for example, in some embodiments, step S404 can be performed before, after, or at the same time as steps S402, S403. For example, in some embodiments, steps S402, S403, and S404 may be interleaved, for example, performing a part of step S402, performing a part of step S404, performing a part of steps S402 and S403 in parallel, and returning to step S404 and the like. . Accordingly, the present disclosure is not limited to the various implementations described above.

After determining the map, data points (including but not limited to: center point, one or more vertices, one or more other map data points) to which the above-mentioned map data points belong, you can map each map data. Send a query request to the map database corresponding to the country, region, and organization to which it belongs. Map data should be. Steps S405 to S408 reflect this process. Although only two databases 130-1 and 130-2 are shown in the example of FIG. 4 (eg, a geo-fence (GEO) database for European and American countries and a flight zone restriction (NFZ) database for non-European countries), The disclosure is not limited to this. Rather, it can be any number of databases, such as 1, 2, 3, and so on.

For example, in some embodiments, the database in which the country is located may be queried according to a corresponding country code, which one of the GEO database and the NFZ database, and a request is sent to the corresponding database to query the corresponding country code. The database displays all or part of the data corresponding to the radius of the map. In addition, when the corresponding data is displayed on the map, it can be displayed only when the map radius is less than 25KM, and when the data is larger than 25KM, the loading data is too slow, and the loading data is too slow, so that the limited flying area can be hidden in order to ensure the experience. In addition, if it is determined for two different map data points that the same map database is to be accessed, then no actual data request can be made for the latter map data point.

Further, although the databases 130-1 and 130-2 are shown as separate nodes from other nodes in FIG. 4, these databases 130-1 and 130-2 may also be local databases in, for example, the map data server 120. The data flow between them can also be a local data stream, such as interprocess communication, sockets, shared memory, shared files, and so on.

After receiving the map data corresponding to the requested map data points (for example, the first map data and the second map data shown in FIG. 4), the map data server 120 may integrate the map data in step S409. . In some embodiments, for portions of the data that are not repeated, they can be merged directly. In some embodiments, for the repeated parts of the data, such as the same or different defined flight zone information from different databases for the same airport, the restricted flight zone information can be used to ensure the user. Do not violate any possible laws and regulations when manipulating drones. In addition, when different defined flight zone information from different databases has its own strict part, each strict part can be combined to form a limited zone information containing all strict restrictions.

Further, the integration of the flight limited area information is not limited to the above. For example, it is also possible to use more limited flight zone information, or any flight zone information that meets other criteria, or manually merged by the user, or simultaneously displayed on the map viewed by the user, or a combination thereof, etc. .

After the map data is integrated, the map data server 120 may return the requested map data to the drone/control terminal 110 in step S410. After receiving the map data, the drone/control terminal 110 can perform corresponding operations according to the map data, for example, reducing altitude, landing, hovering, and the like. In addition, In other embodiments, the user may also be presented with a corresponding map based on the map data, such as an integrated map as shown in FIG. Figure 5 shows the integrated flight zone information at the US and Canada borders. In Fig. 5, the horizontal line from left to right in the middle and the irregular line on the right side are the US-Canada border. The southern side of the border is North Dakota and Minnesota, and the north is Manitoba, Canada. It can be seen that the restricted zone information of the two countries can now be displayed on the same map at the same time.

Further, in the above embodiment, since the time difference between the map intermediate point and the four vertex request data is small, the user's observation is usually not affected. In addition, in order to ensure that the map is updated in real time, the map data request may be sent in accordance with a predetermined period to obtain the latest data for map refresh.

In addition, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, various flight limited areas can be divided into a flight limited zone that affects flight, a warning zone that requires special attention, a general level warning zone, and the like according to the importance level of the flight limited zone. Each time the display can be used to preferentially load the flight-limited zone that affects the flight. After the loading is completed, the warning zone that does not affect the special attention of the flight is loaded, and the general-level warning zone requires the user to actively select and display again, thereby solving the problem of limited flight data. Big load delay problem.

Heretofore, a scheme for integrating map data according to an embodiment of the present disclosure has been described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. By dynamically integrating multiple flight-defending databases, databases for different countries can be integrated and all flight-limited data can be displayed on the same map for users to view, reducing the cost of user switching and the difference between multiple sets of data. The doubts of the conflict. And the breakthrough requires the selected country to see the restrictions of the restricted area. You can view the world's flight-limited areas by dragging the map to any country. Then make the same judgment by increasing the latitude and longitude of the four vertices. To a certain extent, it avoids the problem that only one country data is displayed at the junction between the two countries. Then, according to the importance level of the flight-limited zone, the flight-limited zone that affects the flight is preferentially loaded, which solves the problem of excessive loading delay of the limited flight data.

It can be understood that when the user views the map data, it may be necessary to move the map to observe the map data of different regions, especially the flight restriction information of different regions. The user moves the map to present a new map, the center point and/or four vertices of the new map will be entered as new users, and the map data request will be updated based on the new user input. Further, since the action of the user moving the map is a series of continuous actions, a new user input is continuously generated, and in order to ensure that the map data request is updated after the user moves, setting the user input is received, and the preset time is The map data request is updated based on the latest user input obtained when there is no new user input.

The map data server 120 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 6-7 (or In general, the method of integrating map data of device 700) and the functional configuration of map data server 120 (or more generally, device 700).

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram showing a method 600 of integrating map data performed in a map data server 120 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 6, method 600 can include steps S610, S620, S630, and S640. In accordance with the present disclosure, some of the steps of method 600 may be performed separately or in combination, and may be performed in parallel or sequentially, and are not limited to the specific order of operations illustrated in FIG. In some embodiments, method 600 can be performed by map data server 120 shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram showing an example device 700 (eg, map data server 120) in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. As shown in FIG. 7, the device 700 may include a request receiving module 710, a data point determining module 720, a map data acquiring module 730, and a response sending module 740.

The request receiving module 710 can be configured to receive a map data request. The request receiving module 710 can be a central processing unit of the device 700, a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, etc., which can be coupled with a communication unit and/or memory, such as device 700, to obtain external A map data request sent by the device and/or a map data request sent from other local processes.

The data point determination module 720 can be configured to determine at least one map data point based on the map data request. The data point determination module 720 can also be a central processing unit of the device 700, a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, etc., which can select at least one map based on map data requests and/or various rules. Data points, such as center points, vertices, or any other map data point.

The map data acquisition module 730 can be configured to acquire corresponding map data from at least one map database respectively corresponding to the at least one map data point. The map data acquisition module 730 can also be a central processing unit of the device 700, a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, etc., which can retrieve corresponding map data from a remote database over a network, or can be locally The corresponding map data is retrieved in the database.

The response sending module 740 can be configured to send a map data response including integrated map data, wherein the integrated map data can be determined based on the acquired map data. The response sending module 740 can also be a central processing unit of the device 700, a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, etc., which can return a corresponding map data response to the device that initiated the map data request via the network. The map data response includes information such as integrated map data for use by users/terminals/und drones.

It can be understood that the device 700 can further include a request update module for acquiring user input and updating the map data request according to the user input. Further, the request update module obtains the user input When there is no new user input within the preset duration, the map data request is updated according to the latest user input obtained.

Specifically, when the user views the map data, it may be necessary to move the map to observe map data of different regions, especially flight restriction information of different regions. The user moves the map to present a new map, the center point and/or four vertices of the new map will be entered as new users, and the map data request will be updated based on the new user input. Further, since the action of the user moving the map is a series of continuous actions, a new user input is continuously generated, and in order to ensure that the map data request is updated after the user moves, setting the user input is received, and the preset time is The map data request is updated based on the latest user input obtained when there is no new user input.

In addition, the device 700 may also include other functional units not shown in FIG. 7, however, since it does not affect those skilled in the art to understand the embodiments of the present disclosure, it is omitted in FIG. For example, device 700 may also include one or more of the following functional units: power, memory, data bus, antenna, wireless transceiver, and the like.

A method 600 and apparatus 700 for integrating map data performed on device 700 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail below in conjunction with FIGS. 6 and 7.

The method 600 begins in step S610, in which a map data request can be received by the request receiving module 710 of the device 700.

In step S620, at least one map data point may be determined by the data point determination module 720 of the device 700 based on the map data request.

In step S630, the map data acquisition module 730 of the device 700 may acquire corresponding map data from at least one map database respectively corresponding to the at least one map data point.

In step S640, the map data response including the integrated map data may be transmitted by the response transmitting module 740 of the device 700, wherein the integrated map data is determined based on the acquired map data.

In some embodiments, the map data request may include at least one of: longitude and/or latitude of a central location of the map to be displayed; longitude and/or latitude of at least one vertex of the map to be displayed; and a map to be displayed The scale. In some embodiments, step S620 can include at least one of determining a central location as a map data point, determining at least one vertex as a map data point, and determining other locations that meet predetermined criteria as map data points. In some embodiments, the predetermined criteria may include at least: the map data point should be at least one top of the map to be displayed according to the longitude and/or latitude of the central location of the map to be displayed Within the range of the map to be displayed determined by at least one of the longitude and/or latitude of the point, and the scale of the map to be displayed. In some embodiments, the map data can include at least fly-limited area information. In some embodiments, the at least one map database can include at least: a geofence "GEO" database; and a flight zone restriction "NFZ" database. In some embodiments, step S630 can include the following steps for each of the at least one map data point: determining a country in which the corresponding map data point is located; determining a map database to request based on the determined country; The corresponding map data is obtained from the determined map database based at least in part on the extent of the map to be displayed. In some embodiments, after the step of determining the map database to be requested, the method 600 may further include: if the map data has been previously requested for the map database to be requested for the other map data points, the corresponding map data is no longer requested. . In some embodiments, the integrated map data may be integrated by targeting the same restricted flight zone to restrict more restrictive flight zone information as integrated flight zone information. In some embodiments, step S640 may further include: transmitting a map data response including integrated map data and general map data, wherein the universal map data is general map data provided by a third party. In some embodiments, step S640 may further include: transmitting a map data response including part or all of the integrated map data, wherein the partially integrated map data includes at least the no-fly zone information, the special warning zone, and the general warning zone. One. In some embodiments, the no-fly zone information and the special warning zone may be mandatory, and the general warning zone may be optional. In some embodiments, method 600 can also include periodically performing method 600 to ensure that the integrated map data reflects the most recent map data. In some embodiments, each map database in the at least one map database can be a local map database, a remote map database, or a combination of the two. In some embodiments, method 600 can be performed on a mobile terminal or a remote server.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example hardware arrangement 800 of the map data server 120 of FIG. 4 or the device 700 of FIG. 7 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Hardware arrangement 800 includes a processor 806 (eg, a digital signal processor (DSP)). Processor 806 can be a single processing unit or a plurality of processing units for performing different acts of the flows described herein. The arrangement 800 can also include an input unit 802 for receiving signals from other entities, and an output unit 804 for providing signals to other entities. Input unit 802 and output unit 804 can be arranged as a single entity or as separate entities.

Moreover, arrangement 800 can include at least one readable storage medium 808 in the form of a non-volatile or volatile memory, such as an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, and/or a hard drive. The readable storage medium 808 includes computer program instructions 810 that include code/ Computer readable instructions that, when executed by processor 806 in arrangement 800, cause hardware arrangement 800 and/or device 700, including hardware arrangement 800, to perform processes such as those described above in connection with FIG. 4 or FIG. Deformation.

Computer program instructions 810 can be configured as computer program instruction code having a computer program instruction module 810A-810D architecture, for example. Accordingly, in an example embodiment when, for example, hardware arrangement 800 is used in device 700, the code in computer program instructions of arrangement 800 includes a module 810A for receiving a map data request. The code in the computer program instructions further includes a module 810B for determining at least one map data point based on the map data request. The code in the computer program instructions further includes a module 810C for acquiring corresponding map data from at least one map database respectively corresponding to the at least one map data point. The code in the computer program instructions further includes: a module 810D, configured to send a map data response including integrated map data, wherein the integrated map data is determined based on the acquired map data.

The computer program instructions module may substantially perform various actions in the flow illustrated in FIG. 4 or FIG. 6 to simulate map data server 120 or device 700. In other words, when different computer program instruction modules are executed in the processor 806, they may correspond to the different units in the map data server 120 or device 700 described above.

Although the code means in the embodiment disclosed above in connection with FIG. 8 is implemented as a computer program instruction module that, when executed in processor 806, causes hardware arrangement 800 to perform the actions described above in connection with FIG. 4 or FIG. 6, however In an alternative embodiment, at least one of the code means can be implemented at least in part as a hardware circuit.

The processor may be a single CPU (Central Processing Unit), but may also include two or more processing units. For example, a processor can include a general purpose microprocessor, an instruction set processor, and/or a related chipset and/or a special purpose microprocessor (eg, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)). The processor may also include an onboard memory for caching purposes. Computer program instructions may be hosted by a computer program instruction product coupled to the processor. The computer program instructions product can comprise a computer readable medium having stored thereon computer program instructions. For example, the computer program instructions product can be flash memory, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), EEPROM, and the computer program instructions modules described above can be distributed in the form of memory within the UE to alternative embodiments. Different computer program instruction products.

It should be noted that the functions described herein as being implemented by pure hardware, software and/or firmware may also be implemented by means of dedicated hardware, a combination of general hardware and software, and the like. For example, it is described as being implemented by dedicated hardware (eg, Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), etc.) The functionality can be implemented by a combination of general purpose hardware (eg, central processing unit (CPU), digital signal processor (DSP)) and software, and vice versa.

Although the present disclosure has been shown and described with respect to the specific exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, it will be understood by those skilled in the art Various changes in form and detail are made to the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the above-described embodiments, but should be determined not only by the appended claims but also by the equivalents of the appended claims.

Claims (51)

A method for integrating map data, including: Receiving a map data request; Determining at least one map data point according to the map data request; Acquiring corresponding map data from at least one map database respectively corresponding to the at least one map data point; A map data response including integrated map data is determined, wherein the integrated map data is determined based on the acquired map data. The method of claim 1 wherein the map data request comprises at least one of the following: The longitude and/or latitude of the center position of the map to be displayed; The longitude and/or latitude of at least one vertex of the map to be displayed; The scale of the map to display. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of determining the at least one map data point based on the map data request comprises at least one of the following: Determining the central location as the map data point; Determining the at least one vertex as the map data point; Other locations that meet predetermined criteria are determined as the map data points. The method of claim 3 wherein said predetermined criteria comprises at least: The map data point should be at least one of longitude and/or latitude according to a central position of the map to be displayed, longitude and/or latitude of at least one vertex of the map to be displayed, and a scale of a map to be displayed. Determine the range of maps to display. The method of claim 1 wherein said map data includes at least flight restriction information. The method of claim 5 wherein said integrated map data is integrated in the following manner: For the same flight zone, the information of the restricted flight zone is restricted as the flight restriction information after integration. The method of claim 1 wherein said at least one map database comprises at least: Geofencing "GEO" database; and The flight area limits the "NFZ" database. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of obtaining corresponding map data from at least one map database respectively corresponding to said at least one map data point comprises for each of said at least one map data point The following steps: Determine the country where the corresponding map data point is located; Determining the map database to be requested based on the identified country; The corresponding map data is obtained from the determined map database based at least in part on the extent of the map to be displayed. The method of claim 8 wherein after the step of determining a map database to request, the method further comprises: If map data has previously been requested for the map database to be requested for other map data points, the corresponding map data is no longer requested. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of transmitting a map data response including integrated map data further comprises: A map data response including integrated map data and universal map data is transmitted, wherein the universal map data is general map data provided by a third party. The method of claim 5 wherein the step of transmitting a map data response including integrated map data further comprises: A map data response including some or all of the integrated map data is included, wherein the partially integrated map data includes at least one of a no-fly zone information, a special warning zone, and a general warning zone. The method of claim 11 wherein said no-fly zone information and said special warning zone are mandatory and said general warning zone is optional. The method of claim 1 further comprising: periodically performing the method to ensure that the integrated map data reflects the most recent map data. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the at least one map database is a local map database, a remote map database, or a combination of the two. The method of claim 1 wherein the method is performed on a mobile terminal or a remote server. The method of claim 1 further comprising: Obtaining user input and updating the map data request based on the user input. The method of claim 16, wherein the map data request is updated based on the acquired latest user input when the user input is obtained and there is no new user input within the preset duration. A device for integrating map data, including: a request receiving module, configured to receive a map data request; a data point determining module, configured to determine at least one map data point according to the map data request; a map data obtaining module, configured to acquire corresponding map data from at least one map database respectively corresponding to the at least one map data point; The response sending module is configured to send a map data response including integrated map data, wherein the integrated map data is determined based on the acquired map data. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the map data request comprises at least one of the following: The longitude and/or latitude of the center position of the map to be displayed; The longitude and/or latitude of at least one vertex of the map to be displayed; The scale of the map to display. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the data point determination module is further for at least one of the following: Determining the central location as the map data point; Determining the at least one vertex as the map data point; Other locations that meet predetermined criteria are determined as the map data points. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein said predetermined criteria comprises at least: The map data point should be at least one of longitude and/or latitude according to a central position of the map to be displayed, longitude and/or latitude of at least one vertex of the map to be displayed, and a scale of a map to be displayed. Determine the range of maps to display. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the map data includes at least flight restriction information. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein said integrated map data is integrated in the following manner: For the same flight zone, the information of the restricted flight zone is restricted as the flight restriction information after integration. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the at least one map database comprises at least: Geofencing "GEO" database; and The flight area limits the "NFZ" database. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein for each of the at least one map data points, the map data acquisition module is further configured to: Determine the country where the corresponding map data point is located; Determining the map database to be requested based on the identified country; The corresponding map data is obtained from the determined map database based at least in part on the extent of the map to be displayed. The device of claim 25, wherein the map data acquisition module is further configured to: If map data has previously been requested for the map database to be requested for other map data points, the corresponding map data is no longer requested. The device according to claim 18, wherein the response sending module is further configured to: A map data response including integrated map data and universal map data is transmitted, wherein the universal map data is general map data provided by a third party. The device according to claim 22, wherein the response sending module is further configured to: A map data response including some or all of the integrated map data is included, wherein the partially integrated map data includes at least one of a no-fly zone information, a special warning zone, and a general warning zone. The apparatus according to claim 28, wherein said no-fly zone information and said special warning zone are mandatory, and said general warning zone is optional. The device of claim 18, wherein the modules of the device operate periodically to ensure that the integrated map data reflects the most recent map data. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein each of the at least one map database is a local map database, a remote map database, or a combination of the two. The device of claim 18, wherein the device is a mobile terminal or a remote server. The device of claim 18, further comprising: An update module is requested for obtaining user input and updating the map data request based on the user input. The device according to claim 33, wherein the request update module updates the map data request according to the acquired latest user input when the user input is acquired and there is no new user input within the preset time period. A device for integrating map data, including: Processor a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to: Receiving a map data request; Determining at least one map data point according to the map data request; Acquiring corresponding map data from at least one map database respectively corresponding to the at least one map data point; A map data response including integrated map data is determined, wherein the integrated map data is determined based on the acquired map data. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the map data request comprises at least one of the following: The longitude and/or latitude of the center position of the map to be displayed; The longitude and/or latitude of at least one vertex of the map to be displayed; The scale of the map to display. The device of claim 36, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to perform at least one of the following: Determining the central location as the map data point; Determining the at least one vertex as the map data point; Other locations that meet predetermined criteria are determined as the map data points. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein said predetermined criteria comprises at least: The map data point should be at least one of longitude and/or latitude according to a central position of the map to be displayed, longitude and/or latitude of at least one vertex of the map to be displayed, and a scale of a map to be displayed. Determine the range of maps to display. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the map data includes at least flight restriction information. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the integrated map data is integrated in the following manner: For the same flight zone, the information of the restricted flight zone is restricted as the flight restriction information after integration. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the at least one map database comprises at least: Geofencing "GEO" database; and The flight area limits the "NFZ" database. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein for each of the at least one map data point, the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to: Determine the country where the corresponding map data point is located; Determining the map database to be requested based on the identified country; The corresponding map data is obtained from the determined map database based at least in part on the extent of the map to be displayed. The device of claim 42 wherein said instructions, when executed by said processor, further cause said processor to: If map data has previously been requested for the map database to be requested for other map data points, the corresponding map data is no longer requested. The device of claim 35, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to: A map data response including integrated map data and universal map data is transmitted, wherein the universal map data is general map data provided by a third party. The device of claim 39, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to: A map data response including some or all of the integrated map data is included, wherein the partially integrated map data includes at least one of a no-fly zone information, a special warning zone, and a general warning zone. The apparatus according to claim 45, wherein said no-fly zone information and said special warning zone are mandatory, and said general warning zone is optional. The device of claim 35, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to periodically operate to ensure that the integrated map data reflects the most recent map data. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein each of the at least one map database is a local map database, a remote map database, or a combination of the two. The device of claim 35, wherein the device is a mobile terminal or a remote server. The device of claim 35, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to: obtain user input and update a map data request in accordance with the user input. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to: upon acquisition of user input, and no new user input for a preset period of time, Get the latest user input to update the map data request.

Images