Apple wants its Maps app on the iPhone and Apple Watch to do a better job at estimating times between stops on a trip. The company has filed for a patent (number 20200141752) for “routing based on detected stops.”
In the patent filing, Apple notes that modern mobile devices often include navigational hardware and software to aid users when traveling from one location to another. A user can input a destination and the mobile device can present one or more routes from a start location to a destination location. Often route information will include the distance from the start location to the destination location.
Sometimes the route information will include an estimate of the amount of time that it will take to travel from the current location to the destination location based on distance and speed. The user may select which route to take based on the distance or estimated time. However, the estimated time may be inaccurate due to traffic conditions that may not be known and/or included in the time estimate.
Apple wants to change this by including motion sensors in iPhones and Apple Watches that determine when the device is moving or stopped. The devices would “talk” to a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) to update arrival times.
Here’s the summary of the patent filing: “In some implementations, a mobile device can transmit traffic information to a server for analysis. The traffic information can include movement information including detected stops and durations of detected stops. The traffic information can be analyzed to detect traffic patterns that indicate locations of stop signs and/or stop lights.
“The traffic information can be analyzed to determine durations of stops at stop signs and/or stop lights. The durations of stops can be associated with a time of day and/or day of the week. In some implementations, navigational routes can be determined based stop sign and/or stop light information, including the delays attributable to detected stop signs and/or stop lights.”
