BACKGROUND

Digital map information/data is now available that provides a rich set of information/data regarding the location of buildings, topographies, vegetation, structures, roadways, etc. For example, digital map information/data provides a detailed picture of road geometries and/or road attributes. In some instances, it may be desirable to determine a distance-based score (and/or other types of scores) based on the road geometry provided by digital map information/data. For example, it may be desired to determine a noise score by summing the noise contribution of roads within the vicinity of a house or building. However, noise from a particular section of road dissipates as the inverse of the square of the distance from that particular section of road. Thus, each particular section of road provides a different level of noise contribution to the total noise score at the house or building. Therefore, determining a noise score by summing up the noise contribution of roads within the vicinity of a house is not straight forward and is computationally expensive.

Accordingly, there is a technical need in the art for improved technical methods, apparatuses, systems, computer program products, and/or the like for determining a distance-based score (and/or other types of scores), such as a noise score, and/or an approximation thereof, for example, that are computationally efficient.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Example embodiments provide methods, apparatuses, systems, and computer program products for determining an approximation of a distance-based score (and/or other types of scores) that is determined based on geometry elements of a geographic database storing map information/data in a computationally efficient manner. In an example embodiment, an impact surface about an observation point is defined and the value of the impact surface at a point along a roadway or other source of interest (e.g., described as a geographic element in, for example, a geographic database) is used as a weight for determining the impact of that point along the roadway or other source of interest on a distance-based score corresponding to the observation point. For example, in an example embodiment, a noise impact surface is defined about an observation point (e.g., a house) and the noise impact surface is used to determine weights corresponding to points along a road segment to determine the impact of the points along the road segment to a noise score for the observation point.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a method for improving the computational efficiency of a distance-based score approximation is provided. In an example embodiment, the method comprises responsive to receiving a score request, identifying, by a computing entity, an observation point based on a location indicated in the score request. The method further comprises querying, by the computing entity, a geographic database for map information corresponding to geometry elements located within a predetermined maximum distance of the observation point. The geometry elements within the predetermined maximum distance of the observation point comprise one or more geometry elements. The method further comprises defining, by the computing entity, a plurality of sections of each of the one or more geometry elements. Each section is associated with one of a plurality of groups of sections based on map information corresponding to a geometry element corresponding to the section. The method further comprises, for each of the plurality of sections, determining, by the computing entity, an impact curtain area. The method further comprises for each group of sections, aggregating, by the computing entity, the impact curtain area for each section associated with the group to define a contribution for the group. The method further comprises aggregating, by the computing entity, the contribution for each group of sections to determine the distance-based score; and providing, by the computing entity, the distance-based score for display via a display of a user computing entity.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus is provided. In an example embodiment, the apparatus comprises at least one processor and at least one memory storing computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to at least responsive to receiving a score request, identify an observation point based on a location indicated in the score request; query a geographic database for map information corresponding to geometry elements located within a predetermined maximum distance of the observation point; define a plurality of sections of each of the one or more geometry elements; for each of the plurality of sections, define an impact curtain area; for each group of sections, aggregate the impact curtain area for each section associated with the group to define a contribution for the group; aggregate the contribution for each group of sections to determine the distance-based score; and provide the distance-based score for display via a display of a user computing entity. Each section is associated with one of a plurality of groups of sections based on map information corresponding to a geometry element corresponding to the section.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a computer program product is provided. In an example embodiment, the computer program product comprises at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored therein. The computer-readable program code portions comprising executable portions configured, when executed by a processor of an apparatus, to cause the apparatus to responsive to receiving a score request, identify an observation point based on a location indicated in the score request; query a geographic database for map information corresponding to geometry elements located within a predetermined maximum distance of the observation point; define a plurality of sections of each of the one or more geometry elements; for each of the plurality of sections, define an impact curtain area; for each group of sections, aggregate the impact curtain area for each section associated with the group to define a contribution for the group; aggregate the contribution for each group of sections to determine the distance-based score; and provide the distance-based score for display via a display of a user computing entity. Each section is associated with one of a plurality of groups of sections based on map information corresponding to a geometry element corresponding to the section.

