Methods and apparatus for generating user profile based on periodic location fixes

• US 10,163,113 B2
• Filed: 05/21/2009
• Issued: 12/25/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Mehta, Chand, Lewis, Robert C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sorkowitz, Daniel M
• Application Number:
  US12/470,476
• Publication Number:
  US 20100004997A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,505 Days
• Field of Search: 705 1466
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data

Abstract

Implementations relate to systems and methods for generating a user profile based on periodic location fixes. A cellular telephone or other mobile device captures location information via GPS or other capability. A location history can be generated from accumulated location fixes. The location history is then analyzed to detect the user'"'"'s travel and dwell patterns. That information can be combined with business classification (e.g., SIC, etc.) or Point of Interest (POI) databases to identify a user'"'"'s likely home, work, or other locations based on dwell-times, time of day, and other parameters. The user'"'"'s age and gender can potentially be inferred based on types of locations visited, such as school locations. The user profile can be correlated with market segmentation databases to generate a marketing rating, such as a Nielsen or Claritas rating. Advertising, media, or other content can then be tailored to the user'"'"'s individual location and demographic profiles.

Claims

1. A method of generating a user profile based on location fixes, comprising:

receiving, at a communications device, a set of location fixes representing one or more locations of a mobile device;

combining, by the communications device, the set of location fixes to generate a user location history for a user of the mobile device;

identifying, by the communications device, a set of visited locations in the user location history;

sorting, by the communications device, the set of visited locations by at least dwell-time of the mobile device at each of the set of visited locations to identify a set of significant locations to the user of the mobile device; and

generating, by the communications device, a user profile for the user of the mobile device based at least on the set of significant locations.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of location fixes comprises at least one of a set Global Positioning System (GPS) location fixes, a set of Assisted Global Positioning System (A-GPS) fixes, a set of Galileo system fixes, or a set of tower triangulation fixes.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device comprises at least one of a cellular telephone, a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, a network-enabled personal digital assistant device, or a network-enabled media player device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of location fixes comprises a set of at least longitude and latitude readings.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of location fixes is generated at predetermined fixed intervals.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of location fixes is generated at dynamically adjusted intervals as a function of incremental changes in user location.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying the set of visited locations comprises computing a dwell-time based on a change in user location that is less than a threshold for identifying a stationary status.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the sorting the set of visited locations comprises identifying at least two visited locations having a greatest dwell-time over a predetermined observation period.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the identifying at least a top two visited locations comprises identifying at least one of a home location or a work location.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the identifying at least one of the home location or the work location comprises comparing the at least top two visited locations to a geographic database.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising comparing the user location history to a market segmentation database to generate a user segmentation profile.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the user segmentation profile comprises at least one of a user age range, a user marketing rating, or a projected user gender.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising outputting the user segmentation profile to at least one of a marketing delivery platform or a media delivery platform.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising transmitting at least one of marketing content or media content to the mobile device based on the user segmentation profile.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising controlling a frequency of location fix processing to control a rate of power consumption by the mobile device.

58. The method of claim 1, wherein the communications device corresponds to the mobile device or a server that is remote from the mobile device.

16. A system for generating a user profile based on location fixes, comprising:

a wireless interface to a mobile device; and

a server, communicating with the wireless interface, the server configured to;

receive a set of location fixes representing one or more locations of the mobile device,

combine the set of location fixes to generate a user location history for a user of the mobile device,

identify a set of visited locations in the user location history,

sort the set of visited locations by at least dwell-time of the mobile device at each of the set of visited locations to identify a set of significant locations to the user of the mobile device, and

generate a user profile for the user of the mobile device based at least on the set of significant locations.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the mobile device comprises at least one of a cellular telephone, a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, a network-enabled personal digital assistant device, or a network-enabled media player device.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the server being configured to sort the set of visited locations comprises the server being configured to identify at least one of a home location and a work location based on at least a top two visited locations having a greatest dwell-time over a predetermined observation period.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the server is further configured to compare the user location history to a market segmentation database to generate a user segmentation profile, wherein the user segmentation profile comprises at least one of a user age range, a user marketing rating, or a projected user gender.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein a frequency of location fix processing is controlled to control a rate of power consumption by the mobile device.

21. A system for generating a user profile based on location fixes, comprising:

means for providing a wireless interface to a mobile device; and

means for serving data to the mobile device and for communicating with the means for providing the wireless interface, the means for serving data to the mobile device comprising;

means for receiving a set of location fixes representing one or more locations of the mobile device,

means for combining the set of location fixes to generate a user location history for a user of the mobile device,

means for identifying a set of visited locations in the user location history,

means for sorting the set of visited locations by at least dwell-time of the mobile device at each of the set of visited locations to identify a set of significant locations to the user of the mobile device, and

means for generating a user profile for the user of the mobile device based at least on the set of significant locations.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the mobile device comprises at least one of a cellular telephone, a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, a network-enabled personal digital assistant device, or a network-enabled media player device.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein the means for sorting the set of visited locations comprises means for identifying at least one of a home location or a work location based on at least a top two visited locations having a greatest dwell-time over a predetermined observation period.

24. The system of claim 21, wherein the means for serving data further comprises means for comparing the user location history to a market segmentation database to generate a user segmentation profile, wherein the user segmentation profile comprises at least one of a user age range, a user marketing rating, or a projected user gender.

25. The system of claim 21, wherein a frequency of location fix processing is controlled to control a rate of power consumption by the mobile device.

26. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising:

at least one instruction for causing a computer to receive a set of location fixes representing one or more locations of a mobile device;

at least one instruction for causing the computer to combine the set of location fixes to generate a user location history for a user of the mobile device;

at least one instruction for causing the computer to identify a set of visited locations in the user location history;

at least one instruction for causing the computer to sort the set of visited locations by at least dwell-time of the mobile device at each of the set of visited locations to identify a set of significant locations to the user of the mobile device; and

at least one instruction for causing the computer to generate a user profile for the user of the mobile device based at least on the set of significant locations.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the mobile device comprises at least one of a cellular telephone, a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, a network-enabled personal digital assistant device, or a network-enabled media player device.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 26, wherein the at least one instruction for causing the computer to sort the set of visited locations comprises at least one instruction for causing the computer to identify at least one of a home location or a work location based on at least a top two visited locations having a greatest dwell-time over a predetermined observation period.

29. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 28, further comprising at least one instruction for causing the computer to compare the user location history to a market segmentation database to generate a user segmentation profile, wherein the user segmentation profile comprises at least one of a user age range, a user marketing rating, or a projected user gender.

30. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises at least one instruction for causing the computer to control a frequency of location fix processing to control a rate of power consumption by the mobile device.

31. A method of generating a user profile based on location fixes, comprising:

capturing, at a mobile device, a set of location fixes representing one or more locations of the mobile device; and

communicating, by the mobile device, the set of location fixes to a processor, the processor being configured to;

receive the set of location fixes from the mobile device,

combine the set of location fixes to generate a user location history for a user of the mobile device,

identify a set of visited locations in the user location history,

sort the set of visited locations by at least dwell-time of the mobile device at each of the set of visited locations to identify a set of significant locations to the user of the mobile device, and

generate a user profile for the user of the mobile device based at least on the set of significant locations.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the processor is located in the mobile device, and the mobile device comprises at least one of a cellular telephone, a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, a network-enabled personal digital assistant device, or a network-enabled media player device.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein the processor being configured to sort the set of visited locations comprises the processor being configured to identify at least one of a home location or a work location based on at least a top two visited locations having a greatest dwell-time over a predetermined observation period.

34. The method of claim 31, wherein the processor is further configured to compare the user location history to a market segmentation database to generate a user segmentation profile, wherein the user segmentation profile comprises at least one of a user age range, a user marketing rating, or a projected user gender.

35. The method of claim 31, wherein a frequency of location fix processing is controlled to control a rate of power consumption by the mobile device.

36. A mobile device, comprising:

a wireless interface to a server; and

a processor, communicating with the wireless interface, the processor configured to;

receive a set of location fixes representing one or more locations of the mobile device,

combine the set of location fixes to generate a user location history for a user of the mobile device,

identify a set of visited locations in the user location history,

sort the set of visited locations by at least dwell-time of the mobile device at each of the set of visited locations to identify a set of significant locations to the user of the mobile device, and

generate a user profile for the user of the mobile device based at least on the set of significant locations.

37. The mobile device of claim 36, wherein the processor is a component of the mobile device, and the mobile device comprises at least one of a cellular telephone, a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, a network-enabled personal digital assistant device, or a network-enabled media player device.

38. The mobile device of claim 36, wherein the processor being configured to sort the set of visited locations comprises the processor being configured to identify at least one of a home location or a work location based on at least a top two visited locations having a greatest dwell-time over a predetermined observation period.

39. The mobile device of claim 36, wherein the processor is further configured to compare the user location history to a market segmentation database to generate a user segmentation profile, wherein the user segmentation profile comprises at least one of a user age range, a user marketing rating, or a projected user gender.

40. The mobile device of claim 36, wherein the processor is further configured to control a frequency of location fix processing to control a rate of power consumption by the mobile device.

41. The mobile device of claim 40, wherein the the processor being configured to control the frequency of location fix processing comprises the processor being configured to reduce the frequency of location fix processing when a stationary status of the mobile device has been detected for a predetermined threshold of time.

42. The mobile device of claim 36, wherein the processor is further configured to adapt reception of the set of location fixes to a sequential mode based on a predetermined set of time slots associated with the set of visited locations.

43. A mobile device, comprising:

means for providing a wireless interface to a server; and

means for processing data, communicating with the means for providing the wireless interface, the means for processing data comprising;

means for receiving a set of location fixes from the mobile device representing one or more locations of a mobile device,

means for combining the set of location fixes to generate a user location history for a user of the mobile device,

means for identifying a set of visited locations in the user location history,

means for sorting the set of visited locations by at least dwell-time of the mobile device at each of the set of visited locations to identify a set of significant locations to the user of the mobile device; and

means for generating a user profile for the user of the mobile device based at least on the set of significant locations.

44. The mobile device of claim 43, wherein the mobile device comprises the means for processing data, and the mobile device comprises at least one of a cellular telephone, a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, a network-enabled personal digital assistant device, or a network-enabled media player device.

45. The mobile device of claim 43, wherein the means for sorting the set of visited locations comprises means for identifying at least one of a home location or a work location based on at least a top two visited locations having a greatest dwell-time over a predetermined observation period.

46. The mobile device of claim 43, wherein the means for processing data further comprises means for comparing the user location history to a market segmentation database to generate a user segmentation profile, wherein the user segmentation profile comprises at least one of a user age range, a user marketing rating, or a projected user gender.

47. The mobile device of claim 43, wherein the means for processing further comprises means for controlling a frequency of location fix processing to control a rate of power consumption by the mobile device.

48. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising:

at least one instruction for causing a computer to receive a set of location fixes representing one or more positions of the mobile device;

at least one instruction for causing the computer to combine the set of location fixes to generate a user location history for a user of the mobile device;

at least one instruction for causing the computer to identify a set of visited locations in the user location history;

at least one instruction for causing the computer to sort the set of visited locations by at least dwell-time of the mobile device at each of the set of visited locations to identify a set of significant locations to the user of the mobile device; and

at least one instruction for causing the computer to generate a user profile for the user of the mobile device based at least on the set of significant locations.

49. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 48, wherein the mobile device comprises at least one of a cellular telephone, a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, a network-enabled personal digital assistant device, or a network-enabled media player device.

50. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 48, wherein the at least one instruction for causing the computer to sort the set of visited locations comprises at least one instruction for causing the computer to identify at least one of a home location or a work location based on at least a top two visited locations having a greatest dwell-time over a predetermined observation period.

51. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 48, further comprising at least one instruction for causing the computer to compare the user location history to a market segmentation database to generate a user segmentation profile, wherein the user segmentation profile comprises at least one of a user age range, a user marketing rating, or a projected user gender.

52. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 51, wherein the user segmentation profile comprises the at least one of the user age range, and the at least one instruction for causing the computer to compare the user location history to the market segmentation database to generate the user segmentation profile comprises at least one instruction for causing the computer to compare the user location history to a geographic database containing a set of age-associated locations to generate the user age range.

53. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 51, wherein the user segmentation profile comprises at least the projected user gender, and the at least one instruction for causing the computer to compare the user location history to the market segmentation database to generate the user segmentation profile comprises at least one instruction for causing the computer to compare the user location history to a geographic database containing a set of gender-associated locations to generate the projected user gender.

54. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 48, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises at least one instruction for causing the computer to control a frequency of location fix processing to control a rate of power consumption by the mobile device.

55. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 54, wherein the at least one instruction for causing the computer to control the frequency of location fix processing comprises at least one instruction for causing the computer to reduce the frequency of location fix processing when a stationary status of the mobile device has been detected for a predetermined threshold of time.

56. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 48, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium further comprises at least one instruction for causing the computer to adapt reception of the set of location fixes to a sequential mode based on a predetermined set of time slots associated with the set of visited locations.

57. A user segmentation profile stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, the user segmentation profile being generated by a method comprising:

receiving a set of user location fixes representing one or more locations of a mobile device;

combining the set of user location fixes to generate a user location history for a user of the mobile device;

identifying a set of visited locations in the user location history;

sorting the set of visited locations by at least dwell-time of the mobile device at each of the set of visited locations to identify a set of significant locations to the user of the mobile device; and

generating a user profile for the user of the mobile device based at least on the set of significant locations.