Navigation system and method for determining a route based on sun position and weather

摘要

A method for a computing device to determine a route entails determining a sun position relative to the route, determining weather conditions along the route, and determining whether to provide alternate routing based on both the sun position and the weather conditions. In one implementation, time-specific and weather-specific digital photographs of points of interest along the route are downloaded for display on the device when the device is located at or near the points of interest.

主权项

1. A method for a computing device to determine a route, the method comprising:
determining a sun position relative to the route based on a current position of the computing device, a current date, and a time of day to determine whether visibility would be impaired by a rising or setting sun substantially aligned with at least a portion of the route; determining weather conditions along the route; determining cloud conditions, based on weather conditions, including whether clouds would mitigate a visibility-impairing effect of the rising or setting sun substantially aligned with the at least a portion of the route; determining using a processor whether to provide alternate routing based on both the sun position and the cloud conditions; and displaying, on the computing device, a weather-specific digital photograph of a point of interest along the route, the photograph being determined based on the determined weather conditions along the route.