Method and apparatus for improving a user experience or device performance using an enriched user profile

• US 10,091,322 B2
• Filed: 09/03/2012
• Issued: 10/02/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: O'Donoghue, Hugh, Whale, Peter Charles, Healy, Colm, Pegum, Andrew, Corrigan, Sean, Beith, Scott, Hough, Jason, Sheehan, Anthony M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Summers, Kiersten V
• Application Number:
  US13/602,250
• Publication Number:
  US 20130238540A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,220 Days
• Field of Search: 705 1466, 705 1464
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4451 User profiles; Roaming
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/02 Knowledge representation; Symbolic representation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0254 based on statistics
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/71 Hardware identity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A method, an apparatus, and a computer program product for communication are provided in which a communications device is operable to provide an improved user experience or to improve the performance and/or operation of the communications device through use of an enriched user profile. In one aspect, the communications device may predict an event occurrence by interpreting an enriched user profile including an attribute and an enhanced informational element. The communications device may modify a functionality of a component of the device based on the predicted event occurrence. In one aspect, component modification may include presenting the contextually relevant informational element on a user interface.

Claims

1. A method of communications, comprising:

determining, at a communications device, an attribute associated with a user of the communications device, wherein the attribute includes at least one user specific informational element that comprises user specific data associated with the user of the communications device, and wherein the at least one user specific informational element is related to a recent context associated with the communications device;

transmitting, to a profile server, a profile synopsis in which the at least one user specific informational element has been abstracted to remove at least a portion of the user specific data that indicates an identity of the user of the communications device, wherein the profile server is configured to add the profile synopsis to an aggregate data model derived from a plurality of profile synopses that include user profile data from a plurality of communications devices;

receiving, at the communications device, an enhanced informational element from the profile server in response to the transmitted profile synopsis, wherein the enhanced informational element comprises content in the aggregate data model determined to be lacking in the transmitted profile synopsis;

generating, on the communications device, an enriched user profile that augments the determined attribute associated with the user of the communications device with at least a portion of the content in the enhanced informational element received from the profile server;

identifying, at the communications device, one or more patterns among historical data associated with the enriched user profile that are similar to the recent context associated with the communications device, wherein the historical data is based at least in part on the at least one user specific informational element related to the recent context associated with the communications device and the content in the enhanced informational element;

determining, at the communications device, a probable future event occurrence based on the one or more identified patterns among the historical data associated with the enriched user profile, wherein the probable future event occurrence comprises a probable future state of one or more available resources associated with the communications device; and

causing a component of the communications device to at least one of increase or decrease current usage of the one or more available resources based at least in part on the probable future state of the one or more available resources, wherein;

the one or more available resources comprise available bandwidth;

the probable future event occurrence comprises availability of a second radio bearer at a future time, wherein the second radio bearer is different than a current radio bearer such that the probable future state of the one or more available resources comprises a probable change in the available bandwidth; and

the component of the communications device is caused to at least one of delay a download of a content item until the future time, pre-fetch the content item prior to the future time, or any combination thereof based on the probable change in the available bandwidth.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the probable future event occurrence comprises:

querying an organizational matrix that organizes the historical data associated with the enriched user profile in a three-dimensional data organizational space, wherein the recent context associated with the communications device comprises one or more informational elements used to query the organizational matrix; and

determining the one or more patterns among the historical data associated with the enriched user profile that are similar to the recent context associated with the communications device based on a repetitious structure in the queried organizational matrix.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the three-dimensional data organizational space has at least three axes organized in at least three dimensions such that the organizational matrix is represented as a cube, and wherein the one or more informational elements used to query the organizational matrix define a plane intersecting the cube.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the component is at least one of an application associated with the communications device, a sensor associated with the communications device, a hardware component associated with the communications device, or any combination thereof; and

the at least one user specific informational element is at least one of a user interest, place information, location information, communications device sensor derived data, communications device hardware derived data, a user characteristic, user demographics information, a browser history, application usage history, a call history, a communications device background activity, traffic utilization data, a communications device charge level, a communications device charge state, user input, or any combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one user specific informational element comprises at least one of a contextual sub-element, a non-contextual sub-element, or any combination thereof.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the contextual sub-element is at least one of a location associated with the user, a time of day, a day of the week, an activity associated with the user, a level of user interaction with the communications device, the user'"'"'s recent interaction with the communications device, the one or more available resources associated with the communications device, a sensor output associated with the communications device, a battery life value associated with the communications device, news relevant to the user, an item scheduled in a calendar application, weather information, traffic information, a proximity value of the communications device to another device, a proximity value of the communications device to another user, server derived content, or any combination thereof.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the non-contextual sub-element is at least one of the user'"'"'s gender, the user'"'"'s age, another device associated with the user, the user'"'"'s media interest, the user'"'"'s financial information, the user'"'"'s game interest, an association with a second user, the user'"'"'s profession, or any combination thereof.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the probable future event occurrence further comprises:

detecting the recent context associated with the communications device based on a recent modification to the attribute within a threshold time period;

determining a first pattern associated with the recent modification to the attribute;

searching the enriched user profile based on the first pattern to find the one or more patterns among the historical data associated with the enriched user profile that are similar to the recent context associated with the communications device;

determining a sequence of events stored among the historical data associated with the one or more patterns that are similar to the recent context associated with the communications device; and

using one or more of the determined sequence of events stored among the historical data associated with the one or more patterns that are similar to the recent context as the probable future event occurrence.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first pattern comprises a temporal sequence of recent events that comprise at least two user specific informational elements.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the first pattern associated with the recent modification to the attribute includes contextual sub-element information available contemporaneously with the recent modification, and wherein the one or more of the determined sequence of events used as the probable future event occurrence comprises the contextual sub-element information available contemporaneously with the recent modification to the attribute.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the component of the communications device is caused to modify timing associated with activation of at least one of a sleep mode, screen dimming, a screen shutoff, or any combination thereof.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the component of the communications device comprises an application operating in a background mode.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a contextually relevant informational element associated with the component based on the historical data associated with the enriched user profile.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising providing the determined contextually relevant informational element to the component as a suggested entry.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the providing further comprises providing the suggested entry in a format allowing the component to present the suggested entry as at least one of a list, a grid, a queue, a stack, a carousel, an overlay, or any combination thereof.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising providing the determined contextually relevant informational element to the component prior to an input by the user.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the providing further comprises providing the contextually relevant informational element in a format allowing the component to present the contextually relevant informational element as at least one of a list, a grid, a queue, a stack, a carousel, an overlay, or any combination thereof.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the component is at least one of an internet searching application, a mapping application, a calendar application, a tasks application, a notes application, a contacts application, or any combination thereof.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising presenting the contextually relevant informational element on a user interface.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the presenting further comprises presenting the contextually relevant informational element in a dynamic suggestive manner.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein presenting in the dynamic suggestive manner further comprises:

determining a relevance to the user of the contextually relevant informational element; and

presenting the contextually relevant informational element based on the determined relevance to the user.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the presenting the contextually relevant informational element based on the determined relevance to the user comprises at least one of:

using a different font;

using a different font size;

using a different font color;

using a different graphical icon;

using another form of user interface indication including at least one of flashing text, graphics, or any combination thereof;

using of a vibration motor for tactile feedback;

positioning the contextually relevant informational element in a comparatively more prominent location of the user interface;

or

any combination thereof.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein presenting in the dynamic suggestive manner further comprises positioning the contextually relevant informational element on the user interface in a first portion of the user interface, and wherein the first portion of the user interface is different than a second portion of the user interface used to display a non-contextually relevant informational element.

24. The method of claim 13, wherein the contextually relevant informational element is at least one of a location associated with the user, a time of day, a day of the week, an activity associated with the user, a level of user interaction with the communications device, the user'"'"'s recent interaction with the communications device, the one or more available resources associated with the communications device, a sensor output associated with the communications device, a battery life value associated with the communications device, news relevant to the user, an item scheduled in a calendar application, weather information, traffic information, a proximity value of the communications device to another device, a proximity value of the communications device to another user, server derived content, or any combination thereof.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the probable future event occurrence further comprises determining a probable future time associated with the probable future event occurrence, and wherein the component of the communications device is caused to at least one of increase or decrease the current usage of the one or more available resources at least one of prior to, during, or after the probable future time.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

determining a probable future location associated with the probable future event occurrence; and

displaying, via a mapping application, one or more points of interest relevant to the recent context associated with the communications device at one or more of the probable future location or the probable future time.

27. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a probable future time associated with the probable future event occurrence; and

displaying, via a calendar application, the probable future event occurrence as a tentative at the probable future time.

28. The method of claim 1, wherein the recent context associated with the communications device comprises at least one of powering up of the communications device, waking up the communications device from a sleep state, unlocking a lock screen, or any combination thereof.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein causing the component of the communications device to at least one of increase or decrease the current usage of the one or more available resources comprises:

causing the component to cease one or more functionalities based on the probable future event occurrence indicating probable non-use of the component for a duration of time.

30. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

interpreting the historical data associated with the enriched user profile to determine that the component of the communications device will be affected by the probable future event occurrence.

31. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

notifying the component about the probable future event occurrence based on one or more predefined links between the probable future event occurrence and the component.

32. An apparatus for communications, comprising:

means for determining an attribute associated with a user of the apparatus, wherein the attribute includes at least one user specific informational element that comprises user specific data associated with the user of the apparatus, and wherein the at least one user specific informational element is related to a recent context associated with the apparatus;

means for transmitting, to a profile server, a profile synopsis in which the at least one user specific informational element has been abstracted to remove at least a portion of the user specific data that indicates an identity of the user of the apparatus, wherein the profile server is configured to add the profile synopsis to an aggregate data model derived from a plurality of profile synopses that include user profile data from a plurality of communications devices;

means for receiving, at the apparatus, an enhanced informational element from the profile server in response to the transmitted profile synopsis, wherein the enhanced informational element comprises content in the aggregate data model determined to be lacking in the transmitted profile synopsis;

means for generating, at the apparatus, an enriched user profile that augments the attribute associated with the user of the apparatus with at least a portion of the content in the enhanced informational element received from the profile server;

means for determining, at the apparatus, a probable future event occurrence based on one or more patterns among historical data associated with the enriched user profile that are similar to the recent context associated with the apparatus, wherein the historical data is based at least in part on the at least one user specific informational element related to the recent context associated with the apparatus and the content in the enhanced informational element, and wherein the probable future event occurrence comprises a probable future state of one or more available resources associated with the apparatus;

and means for causing a component of the apparatus to at least one of increase or decrease current usage of the one or more available resources based at least in part on the probable future state of the one or more available resources, wherein;

the one or more available resources comprise available bandwidth;

the probable future event occurrence comprises probable availability of a second radio bearer at a future time, wherein the second radio bearer is different than a current radio bearer such that the probable future state of the one or more available resources comprises a probable change in the available bandwidth; and

the component is caused to at least one of delay a download of a content item until the future time, pre-fetch the content item prior to the future time, or any combination thereof based on the probable change in the available bandwidth.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the probable future event occurrence comprises one or more of a sequence of events stored among the historical data associated with the one or more patterns that are similar to the recent context associated with the apparatus.

34. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the historical data associated with the enriched user profile comprises a contextually relevant informational element associated with the component.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the component comprises a user interface configured to present the contextually relevant informational element.

36. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising one or more instructions for causing a communications device to:

determine an attribute associated with a user of the communications device, wherein the attribute includes at least one user specific informational element that comprises user specific data associated with the user of the communications device, and wherein the at least one user specific informational element is related to a recent context associated with the communications device;

transmit, to a profile server, a profile synopsis in which the at least one user specific informational element has been abstracted to remove at least a portion of the user specific data that indicates an identity of the user of the communications device, wherein the profile server is configured to add the profile synopsis to an aggregate data model derived from a plurality of profile synopses that include user profile data from a plurality of communications devices;

receive an enhanced informational element from the profile server in response to the transmitted profile synopsis, wherein the enhanced informational element comprises content in the aggregate data model determined to be lacking in the transmitted profile synopsis;

generate an enriched user profile that augments the determined attribute associated with the user of the communications device with at least a portion of the content in the enhanced informational element received from the profile server;

identify one or more patterns among historical data associated with the enriched user profile that are similar to the recent context associated with the communications device, wherein the historical data is based at least in part on the at least one user specific informational element related to the recent context associated with the communications device and the content in the enhanced informational element;

determine a probable future event occurrence based on the one or more identified patterns among the historical data associated with the enriched user profile, wherein the probable future event occurrence comprises a probable future state of one or more available resources associated with the communications device;

and cause a component of the communications device to at least one of increase or decrease current usage of the one or more available resources based at least in part on the probable future state of the one or more available resources, wherein;

the one or more available resources comprise available bandwidth;

the probable future event occurrence comprises probable availability of a second radio bearer at a future time, wherein the second radio bearer is different than a current radio bearer such that the probable future state of the one or more available resources comprises a probable change in the available bandwidth; and

the component of the communications device is caused to at least one of delay a download of a content item until the future time, pre-fetch the content item prior to the future time, or any combination thereof based on the probable change in the available bandwidth.

37. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 36, further comprising one or more instructions for causing the communications device to:

detect the recent context associated with the communications device based on a recent modification to the attribute within a threshold time period;

determine a first pattern associated with the recent modification to the attribute;

search the enriched user profile based on the first pattern to find the one or more patterns among the historical data associated with the enriched user profile that are similar to the recent context associated with the communications device;

determine a sequence of events stored among the historical data associated with the one or more patterns that are similar to the recent context associated with the communications device; and

use one or more of the determined sequence of events stored among the historical data associated with the one or more patterns that are similar to the recent context as the probable future event occurrence.

38. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 36, further comprising at least one instruction for causing the communications device to determine a contextually relevant informational element associated with the component based on the historical data associated with the enriched user profile.

39. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 38, further comprising at least one instruction for causing the communications device to present the contextually relevant informational element on a user interface.

40. An apparatus for communications, comprising:

a processor configured to determine an attribute associated with a user of the apparatus, wherein the attribute includes at least one user specific informational element that comprises user specific data associated with the user of the apparatus, and wherein the at least one user specific informational element is related to a recent context associated with the apparatus;

a transmitter configured to transmit, to a profile server, a profile synopsis in which the at least one user specific informational element has been abstracted to remove at least a portion of the user specific data that indicates an identity of the user of the communications device, wherein the profile server is configured to add the profile synopsis to an aggregate data model derived from a plurality of profile synopses that include user profile data from a plurality of communications devices;

a receiver coupled to the processor and configured to receive an enhanced informational element from the profile server in response to the transmitted profile synopsis, wherein the enhanced informational element comprises content in the aggregate data model determined to be lacking in the transmitted profile synopsis;

and an enriched user profile module coupled to the processor and configured to generate an enriched user profile that augments an attribute associated with a user of the apparatus with at least a portion of the content in the enhanced informational element received from the profile server, wherein the attribute comprises at least one user specific informational element related to a recent context associated with the apparatus, and wherein the enriched user profile module comprises an informational element prediction module configured to;

identify one or more patterns among historical data associated with the enriched user profile that are similar to the recent context associated with the apparatus, wherein the historical data is based at least in part on the at least one user specific informational element related to the recent context associated with the apparatus and the content in the enhanced informational element;

determine a probable future event occurrence based on the one or more identified patterns among the historical data associated with the enriched user profile, wherein the probable future event occurrence comprises a probable future state of one or more available resources associated with the apparatus;

and cause a component of the apparatus to at least one of increase or decrease current usage of the one or more available resources based at least in part on the probable future state of the one or more available resources, wherein;

the one or more available resources comprise available bandwidth;

the probable future event occurrence comprises availability of a second radio bearer at a future time, wherein the second radio bearer is different than a current radio bearer such that the probable future state of the one or more available resources comprises a probable change in the available bandwidth; and

the component of the apparatus is caused to at least one of delay a download of a content item until the future time, pre-fetch the content item prior to the future time, or any combination thereof based on the probable change in the available bandwidth.

41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the informational element prediction module is further configured to:

query an organizational matrix that organizes the historical data associated with the enriched user profile in a three-dimensional data organizational space, wherein the recent context associated with the apparatus comprises one or more informational elements used to query the organizational matrix; and

determine the one or more patterns among the historical data associated with the enriched user profile that are similar to the recent context associated with the apparatus based on a repetitious structure in the queried organizational matrix.

42. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein:

the component is at least one of an application associated with the apparatus, a sensor associated with the apparatus, a hardware component associated with the apparatus, or any combination thereof; and

the at least one user specific informational element is at least one of a user interest, place information, location information, sensor derived data, hardware derived data, a user characteristic, user demographics information, a browser history, application usage history, a call history, background activity, traffic utilization data, a charge level, a charge state, user input, or any combination thereof.

43. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the at least one user specific informational element comprises at least one of a contextual sub-element, a non-contextual sub-element, or any combination thereof.

44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the contextual sub-element is at least one of a location associated with the user, a time of day, a day of the week, an activity associated with the user, a level of user interaction with the apparatus, the user'"'"'s recent interaction with the apparatus, the one or more available resources associated with the apparatus, a sensor output associated with the apparatus, a battery life value associated with the apparatus, news relevant to the user, an item scheduled in a calendar application, weather information, traffic information, a proximity value of the apparatus to another device, a proximity value of the apparatus to another user, or server derived content, or any combination thereof.

45. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the non-contextual sub-element is at least one of the user'"'"'s gender, the user'"'"'s age, another device associated with the user, the user'"'"'s media interest, the user'"'"'s financial information, the user'"'"'s game interest, an association with a second user, or the user'"'"'s profession, or any combination thereof.

46. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the informational element prediction module is further configured to:

detect the recent context associated with the apparatus based on a recent modification to the attribute within a threshold time period;

determine a first pattern associated with the recent modification to the attribute;

search the enriched user profile based on the first pattern to find the one or more patterns among the historical data associated with the enriched user profile that are similar to the recent context associated with the apparatus;

determine a sequence of events stored among the historical data associated with the one or more patterns that are similar to the recent context associated with the apparatus; and

use one or more of the determined sequence of events stored among the historical data associated with the one or more patterns that are similar to the recent context as the probable future event occurrence.

47. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein the first pattern comprises a temporal sequence of recent events that comprise at least two user specific informational elements.

48. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the informational element prediction module is further configured to modify timing associated with activation of at least one of a sleep mode, screen dimming, a screen shutoff, or any combination thereof.

49. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the component of the apparatus comprises an application operating in a background mode.

50. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the informational element prediction module is further configured to determine a contextually relevant informational element associated with the component based on the historical data associated with the enriched user profile.

51. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the informational element prediction module is further configured to provide the determined contextually relevant informational element to the component as a suggested entry.

52. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the informational element prediction module is further configured to provide the suggested entry in a format allowing the component to present the suggested entry as at least one of a list, a grid, a queue, a stack, a carousel, an overlay, or any combination thereof.

53. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the informational element prediction module is further configured to provide the determined contextually relevant informational element to the component prior to an input by the user.

54. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the informational element prediction module is further configured to provide the contextually relevant informational element in a format allowing the component to present the contextually relevant informational element as at least one of a list, a grid, a queue, a stack, a carousel, an overlay, or any combination thereof.

55. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the component is at least one of an internet searching application, a mapping application, a calendar application, a tasks application, a notes application, a contacts application, or any combination thereof.

56. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the informational element prediction module is further configured to present the contextually relevant informational element on a user interface.

57. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein the informational element prediction module is further configured to present the contextually relevant informational element in a dynamic suggestive manner.

58. The apparatus of claim 57, wherein the informational element prediction module is further configured to:

determine a relevance to the user of the contextually relevant informational element; and

present the contextually relevant informational element based on the determined relevance to the user.

59. The apparatus of claim 58, wherein the informational element prediction module is further configured to perform at least one of:

use a different font;

use a different font size;

use a different font color;

use a different graphical icon;

use another form of user interface indication including at least one of flashing text, graphics, or any combination thereof;

use of a vibration motor for tactile feedback;

position the contextually relevant informational element in a comparatively more prominent location of the user interface;

or

any combination thereof.

60. The apparatus of claim 57, wherein the informational element prediction module is further configured to position the contextually relevant informational element on the user interface in a first portion of the user interface, wherein the first portion of the user interface is different than a second portion of the user interface used to display a non-contextually relevant informational element.

61. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the contextually relevant informational element is at least one of a location associated with the user, a time of day, a day of the week, an activity associated with the user, a level of user interaction with the apparatus, the user'"'"'s recent interaction with the apparatus, the one or more available resources associated with the apparatus, a sensor output associated with the apparatus, a battery life value associated with the apparatus, news relevant to the user, an item scheduled in a calendar application, weather information, traffic information, a proximity value of the apparatus to another device, a proximity value of the apparatus to another user, server derived content, or any combination thereof.

62. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the informational element prediction module is further configured to determine a probable future time associated with the probable future event occurrence, and wherein the component of the apparatus is caused to at least one of increase or decrease the current usage of the one or more available resources at least one of prior to, during, or after the probable future time.

63. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the informational element prediction module is further configured to determine a probable future location associated with the probable future event occurrence, and wherein the component is a mapping application configured to display one or more points of interest relevant to the recent context associated with the apparatus at one or more of the probable future location or the probable future time.

64. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the informational element prediction module is further configured to determine a probable future time associated with the probable future event occurrence, and wherein the component is a calendar application configured to display the probable future event occurrence as a tentative entry at the probable future time.

65. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the recent context associated with the apparatus comprises at least one of powering up of the apparatus, waking up the apparatus from a sleep state, unlocking a lock screen, or any combination thereof.