Transportation activated geofence

• US 10,171,940 B1
• Filed: 09/07/2017
• Issued: 01/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Greenberger, Jeremy A., Wen, Liang
• Primary Examiner(s): Beamer, Temica M
• Application Number:
  US15/698,064
• Time in Patent Office: 481 Days
• Field of Search: 4554561, 4554562, 4554563, 4554565, 4554566, 455457
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0027 of actual mobile position, i.e. position determined on mobile
• 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: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/026 using orientation information, e.g. compass
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/006 with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination

Abstract

Systems, methods and tools for a geofence creator to select a specific mode of transportation during the geofence creation process to target a specific subset of customers. The geofence creator may select geofence properties during the creation, including size, location, mode of transportation and a message displayed to active users entering the geofence under the correct mode of transportation. The geofence system use different mechanisms for identifying the mode of transportation being utilized by the user of a client device. The client device may include hardware or software measuring devices or sensors capable of identifying the location of the user, the rate of change in the user'"'"'s location, changes in the user'"'"'s position, the acceleration of the user and/or the velocity of the user. If the correct mode of transportation is identified when the user enters the location of the geofence, the message will be displayed, otherwise no message may display on the user'"'"'s client device.

Claims

1. A method for targeting geofence messages based on a transportation mode of a user comprising the steps of:

creating, by a processor of a computer system, a geofence, wherein the geofence comprises a location, a size, a message, and a mode of transportation parameter;

receiving, by the processor, location data of a client device operated by the user;

further receiving, by the processor, measurements from a measuring device or a sensor quantifying movement of the client device, wherein the measuring device or sensor comprises an accelerometer, a gyroscope sensor, and a geomagnetic field sensor;

detecting, by said processor based on said measurements, a velocity and acceleration rate of said user;

detecting, by said processor via said gyroscope sensor, an angular velocity, a rotational motion, and a change of orientation of said user, wherein said detecting said angular velocity comprises measuring an amount of angular velocity being produced by a motion of said user and sensing an angular velocity produced by movement of the gyroscope sensor, and wherein associated angles are detected by said processor as said angles move and by sensing vibrations produced by external environments surrounding said gyroscope sensor to correct an orientation of an object embedded with said gyroscope sensor;

analyzing, by the processor, said angular velocity, said rotational motion, and said change of orientation of said user, said velocity and acceleration rate, a rate of change in the location data and the measurements from the measuring device or sensor thereby identifying the transportation mode as a function of the location data and measurements, wherein said identifying said transportation mode comprises comparing said angular velocity produced by movement of the gyroscope sensor to known angular velocities associated with walking, biking, driving in an automobile, riding a train, and riding on an airplane;

concluding, by the processor, that a location of the client device is within the location of the geofence and that the transportation mode of the user operating the client device is the same as the mode of transportation parameter defined by the geofence as a function of the measurements and location data; and

displaying, by the processor, the message on the client device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the measuring device or sensor is integrated into the client device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the measuring device or sensor is a hardware device separate from the client device of the user.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

receiving, by the processor, lifestyle information about the user from one or more data sources;

further analyzing the location data and measurements of the measuring device or sensor in view of the lifestyle information to identify the transportation mode of the user.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein one or more data sources providing the lifestyle information are selected from the group consisting of social media, calendar applications, workout data, travel patterns, weather, and time of day.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing at least one support service for at least one of creating, integrating, hosting, maintaining, and deploying computer-readable program code in a computer system, where the computer-readable program code in combination with the computer system is configured to implement the steps of creating, receiving, further receiving, analyzing, identifying and displaying.

7. A computer system, comprising:

a processing unit;

a memory device coupled to the processing unit;

a measuring device or sensor; and

a computer readable storage device coupled to the processor, wherein the storage device contains program code executable by the processing unit via the memory device to implement a method for targeting a geofence messages based on a transportation mode of a user comprising the steps of;

creating, by the processing unit, a geofence, wherein the geofence comprises a location, a size, a message, and a mode of transportation parameter;

receiving, by the processing unit, location data of a client device;

further receiving, by the processor, measurements from a measuring device or a sensor quantifying movement of the client device, wherein the measuring device or sensor comprises an accelerometer, a gyroscope sensor, and a geomagnetic field sensor;

detecting, by said processor based on said measurements, a velocity and acceleration rate of said user;

detecting, by said processor via said gyroscope sensor, an angular velocity, a rotational motion, and a change of orientation of said user, wherein said detecting said angular velocity comprises measuring an amount of angular velocity being produced by a motion of said user and sensing an angular velocity produced by movement of the gyroscope sensor, and wherein associated angles are detected by said processor as said angles move and by sensing vibrations produced by external environments surrounding said gyroscope sensor to correct an orientation of an object embedded with said gyroscope sensor;

analyzing, by the processor, said angular velocity, said rotational motion, and said change of orientation of said user, said velocity and acceleration rate, a rate of change in the location data, and the measurements from the measuring device or sensor thereby identifying the transportation mode as a function of the location data and measurements, wherein said identifying said transportation mode comprises comparing said angular velocity produced by movement of the gyroscope sensor to known angular velocities associated with walking, biking, driving in an automobile, riding a train, and riding on an airplane;

concluding, by the processor, that a location of the client device is within the location of the geofence and that the transportation mode of the user operating the client device is the same as the mode of transportation parameter defined by the geofence as a function of the measurements and location data; and

displaying, by the processor, the message on the client device.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the measuring device or sensor is integrated into the client device of the user.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the measuring device or sensor is a hardware device separate from the client device of the user.

10. The system of claim 7, further comprising the step of:

receiving, by the processor, lifestyle information about the user from one or more data sources;

further analyzing the location data and measurements of the measuring device or sensor in view of the lifestyle information to identify the transportation mode of the user.

11. A computer program product comprising:

one or more computer readable hardware storage devices having computer readable program code stored therein, said program code containing instructions executable by the one or more central processing units (CPU) to implement a method for targeting geofence messages to a based on a transportation mode of a user comprising the steps of;

creating, by the CPU, a geofence, wherein the geofence comprises a location, a size, a message, and a mode of transportation parameter;

receiving, by the CPU, location data of a client device;

further receiving, by the CPU, measurements from a measuring device or a sensor quantifying movement of the client device, wherein the measuring device or sensor comprises an accelerometer, a gyroscope sensor, and a geomagnetic field sensor;

detecting, by the CPU based on said measurements, a velocity and acceleration rate of said user;

detecting, by the CPU via said gyroscope sensor, an angular velocity, a rotational motion, and a change of orientation of said user, wherein said detecting said angular velocity comprises measuring an amount of angular velocity being produced by a motion of said user and sensing an angular velocity produced by movement of the gyroscope sensor, and wherein associated angles are detected by said processor as said angles move and by sensing vibrations produced by external environments surrounding said gyroscope sensor to correct an orientation of an object embedded with said gyroscope sensor;

analyzing, by the CPU, said angular velocity, said rotational motion, and said change of orientation of said user, said velocity and acceleration rate, a rate of change in the location data, and the measurements from the measuring device or sensor to thereby identifying the transportation mode as a function of the location data and measurements, wherein said identifying said transportation mode comprises comparing said angular velocity produced by movement of the gyroscope sensor to known angular velocities associated with walking, biking, driving in an automobile, riding a train, and riding on an airplane;

concluding, by the CPU, that a location of the client device is within the location of the geofence and that the transportation mode of the user operating the client device is the same as the mode of transportation parameter defined by the geofence as a function of the measurements and location data; and

displaying, by the CPU, the message on the client device.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the measuring device or sensor is integrated into the client device of the user.

13. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the measuring device or sensor is a hardware device separate from the client device of the user.

14. The computer program product of claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

receiving, by the processor, lifestyle information about the user from one or more data sources;

further analyzing the location data and measurements of the measuring device or sensor in view of the lifestyle information to identify the transportation mode of the user.