Scalable, Distributed, Real-Time Map Generation

In this application, many vehicles participate in the collection, processing, and dissemination of data to automatically generate digital road maps. Details about new roads and the modification or closure of existing roads must be incorporated into the databases in a timely fashion. Mapping organizations obtain data about road network changes from various sources, including local authorities and building contractors, but this data tends to be highly inaccurate. To simplify mapmaking process, vehicles could use their computational resources to directly generate accurate map data. We envisage vehicles on the road network forming a wide-scale mobile sensing and computing platform. Toward that goal, we've developed an algorithm for keeping digital maps up-to-date, using ordinary vehicles making normal journeys rather than fleets of dedicated probe vehicles. However, further development is required to address several remaining challenges, including the choice of architecture to support the algorithm