Service information and configuration user interface

• US 10,425,490 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2016
• Issued: 09/24/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Yamashita, Yuhki, Hilhorst, Didier Patrick, Jow, Bryant, Ng, Peter, Tolkin, Brian, Pan, Bin
• Primary Examiner(s): Singh, Rupangini
• Application Number:
  US15/395,406
• Publication Number:
  US 20180091604A1
• Time in Patent Office: 998 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/047 Optimisation of routes or paths, e.g. travelling salesman problem
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/201 Price look-up processing, e.g. updating
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal

Abstract

A network computer system can receive data indicating a first service location from a computing device of a requesting user via an executing service application and determine data indicating a second service location. Based the first and second service locations, the network computer system can compute an upfront cost for each of a plurality of service options for completing an on-demand service for the requesting user. The network computer system can transmit data associated with the upfront cost for each of the plurality of service options to the computing device to enable a plurality of selectable graphic features to be displayed as part of a user interface on the computing device. Each of the graphic features can indicate the upfront cost for the corresponding service option.

Claims

1. A network computer system implementing a transport service, comprising:

a network communication interface to communicate, over one or more networks, with (i) a service application executing on computing devices of users of the transport service, and (ii) a transport provider application executing on computing devices of drivers of the transport service;

a database storing a user profile for each of the users, the user profile comprising historical data corresponding to historical usage of the transport service by the user;

one or more processors; and

one or more memory resources storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the network computer system to;

receive, over the one or more networks, location data from the service application executing on a computing device of a requesting user of the transport service, the location data indicating a current location of the requesting user;

determine multiple destination locations for the requesting user based on the historical data in the user profile of the requesting user and the current location of the requesting user;

transmit, over the one or more networks, an instruction to the service application executing on the computing device of the requesting user, the instruction causing the service application to concurrently display a destination accelerator feature on a user interface of the service application for each of the multiple destination locations;

in response to receiving, over the one or more networks, data indicating a user input selecting a destination accelerator feature representing a specified one of the multiple destination locations;

based on location data received, over the one or more networks, from the transport service application executing on a computing device of a representative driver, determine, for a specified one of a plurality of transport options, a rendezvous point at which the requesting user can rendezvous with the representative driver based on an estimated time of arrival of the representative driver to the rendezvous point and an estimated travel time of the requesting user to the rendezvous point, the rendezvous point requiring the requesting user to travel a certain distance from the current location;

determine, for each transport option of the plurality of transport options, a guaranteed upfront cost for transporting the requesting user to the specified destination location, the guaranteed upfront cost for the transport option being based on (i) a set of cost data associated with the transport option, (ii) the current location of the requesting user, and (iii) the specified destination location, wherein the executed instructions cause the network computer system to further determine the rendezvous point to minimize the guaranteed upfront cost for the specified transport option; and

transmit an update instruction, over the one or more networks, to the service application executing on the computing device of the requesting user, the update instruction causing the service application to display a ride service selection interface, the ride service selection interface concurrently displaying a plurality of graphic features, each graphic feature of the plurality of graphic features indicating (i) a corresponding transport option, from the plurality of transport options, for transporting the requesting user to the specified destination location, and (ii) the guaranteed upfront cost for the corresponding transport option;

based on a user selection of a graphic feature, of the plurality of graphic features, representing the specified transport option, receive, over the one or more networks, a transport request for the specified transport option from the service application executing on the computing device of the requesting user;

receive, over the one or more networks, driver location data from the transport provider application executing on computing devices of one or more available drivers for the specified transport option, the driver location data indicating a current location of each of the one or more available drivers;

select a driver from the one or more available drivers based, at least in part, on an estimated time of arrival of the selected driver to the rendezvous point; and

transmit a service invitation, over the one or more networks, to the transport provider application executing on the computing device of the selected driver, the service invitation enabling the selected driver to rendezvous with the requesting user at the rendezvous point to transport the requesting user to the specified destination location.

2. The network computer system of claim 1, wherein the executed instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

identify a plurality of candidate drivers within proximity of the current location of the requesting user, the plurality of candidate drivers being available to service each of the plurality of transport options; and

determine an estimated time of completion for a representative driver for each respective transport option of the plurality of transport options.

3. The network computer system of claim 2, wherein the update instruction causes the service application to generate the graphic feature for each respective transport option to further include the estimated time of completion of the representative driver for the respective transport option.

4. The network computer system of claim 2, wherein the executed instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

identify a direction of travel for the representative driver of the specified transport option;

wherein the executed instructions further cause the network computer system to determine the rendezvous point based on the direction of travel.

5. The network computer system of claim 1, wherein the executed instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

transmit, over the one or more networks, display data to the service application, causing a configuration feature to be displayed on the computing device of the requesting user; and

in response to a user selection of the configuration feature, transmit, over the one or more networks, configuration data to the service application, causing the service application to display a configuration interface on the user interface, the configuration interface including a set of features enabling the requesting user to configure one or more parameters of a selected one of the plurality of transport options.

6. The network computer system of claim 5, wherein the plurality of transport options comprises a carpooling service, and wherein the one or more parameters comprise a number of required seats for the carpooling service.

7. The network computer system of claim 6, wherein the executed instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

re-compute the guaranteed upfront cost of the carpooling service based on the number of required seats selected by the requesting user on the configuration interface; and

update the graphic feature corresponding to the carpooling service on the user interface to display the re-computed guaranteed upfront cost.

8. The network computer system of claim 5, wherein the one or more parameters comprise at least one of a Wi-Fi access request or audio configurations for the selected transport option.

9. The network computer system of claim 5, wherein the executed instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

on the configuration interface, cause the service application to query the requesting user for a set of tolerance parameters; and

re-compute a guaranteed upfront cost for at least one of the transport options based on the set of tolerance parameters.

10. The network computer system of claim 9, wherein the at least one transport option comprises a carpooling service in which a single driver can transport multiple users, and wherein the set of tolerance parameters includes at least one of a flexible start time, a flexible drop-off time, or a flexible travel time.

11. The network computer system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of transport options comprises a plurality of:

a carpooling service, a standard ride sharing service, a luxury vehicle service, a high capacity vehicle service, a professional driver service, or a self-driving vehicle service.

12. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a network computer system, cause the one or more processors to:

communicate, over one or more networks, with (i) a service application executing on computing devices of users of a transport service, and (ii) a transport provider application executing on computing devices of drivers of the transport service;

store, in a database, a user profile for each of the users, the user profile comprising historical data corresponding to historical usage of the transport service by the user;

receive, over the one or more networks, location data from the service application executing on a computing device of a requesting user of the transport service, the location data indicating a current location of the requesting user;

determine multiple destination locations for the requesting user based on the historical data in the user profile of the requesting user and the current location of the requesting user;

transmit, over the one or more networks, an instruction to the service application executing on the computing device of the requesting user, the instruction causing the service application to concurrently display a destination accelerator feature on a user interface of the service application for each of the multiple destination locations;

in response to receiving, over the one or more networks, data indicating a user input selecting a destination accelerator feature representing a specified one of the multiple destination locations;

based on location data received, over the one or more networks, from the transport service application executing on a computing device of a representative driver, determine, for a specified one of a plurality of transport options, a rendezvous point at which the requesting user can rendezvous with the representative driver based on an estimated time of arrival of the representative driver to the rendezvous point and an estimated travel time of the requesting user to the rendezvous point, the rendezvous point requiring the requesting user to travel a certain distance from the current location;

determine, for each transport option of the plurality of transport options, a guaranteed upfront cost for transporting the requesting user from a rendezvous location to the specified destination location, the guaranteed upfront cost for the transport option being based on (i) a set of cost data associated with the transport option, (ii) the current location of the requesting user, and (iii) the specified destination location, wherein the executed instructions cause the network computer system to further determine the rendezvous point to minimize the guaranteed upfront cost for the specified transport option; and

transmit an update instruction, over the one or more networks, to the service application executing on the computing device of the requesting user, the update instruction causing the service application to display a ride service selection interface, the ride service selection interface concurrently displaying a plurality of graphic features, each graphic feature of the plurality of graphic features indicating (i) a corresponding transport option, from the plurality of transport options, for transporting the requesting user to the destination location, and (ii) the guaranteed upfront cost for the corresponding transport option;

based on a user selection of a graphic feature, from the plurality of graphic features, representing the specified transport option, receive, over the one or more networks, a transport request for the specified transport option from the service application executing on the computing device of the requesting user;

receive, over the one or more networks, driver location data from the transport provider application executing on computing devices of one or more available drivers for the specified transport option, the driver location data indicating a current location of each of the one or more available drivers;

select a driver from the one or more available drivers based, at least in part, on and estimated time of arrival of the selected driver to the rendezvous point; and

transmit a service invitation, over the one or more networks, to the transport provider application executing on the computing device of the selected driver, the service invitation enabling the selected driver to rendezvous with the requesting user at the rendezvous point to transport the requesting user to the specified destination location.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the executed instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

identify a plurality of candidate drivers within proximity of the current location of the requesting user, the plurality of candidate drivers being available to service each of the plurality of transport options; and

determine an estimated time of completion for a representative driver for each respective transport option of the plurality of transport options.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the update instruction causes the service application to generate the graphic feature for each respective transport option to further include the estimated time of completion of the representative driver for the respective transport option.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the executed instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

identify a direction of travel for the representative driver of the specified transport option;

wherein the executed instructions further cause the one or more processors to determine the rendezvous point based on the direction of travel.

16. A computer-implemented method of facilitating transportation, the method being performed by one or more processors of a network computer system and comprising:

communicating, over one or more networks, with (i) a service application executing on computing devices of users of a transport service, and (ii) a transport provider application executing on computing devices of drivers of the transport service;

storing, in a database, a user profile for each of the users, the user profile comprising historical data corresponding to historical usage of the transport service by the user;

receiving, over the one or more networks, location data from the service application executing on a computing device of a requesting user of the transport service, the location data indicating a current location of the requesting user;

determining multiple destination locations for the requesting user based on the historical data in the user profile of the requesting user and the current location of the requesting user;

transmitting, over the one or more networks, an instruction to the service application executing on the computing device of the requesting user, the instruction causing the service application to concurrently display a destination accelerator feature on a user interface of the service application for each of the multiple destination locations;

in response to receiving, over the one or more networks, data indicating a user input selecting a destination accelerator feature representing a specified one of the multiple destination locations;

based on location data received, over the one or more networks, from the transport service application executing on a computing device of a representative driver, determining, for a specified one of a plurality of transport options, a rendezvous point at which the requesting user can rendezvous with the representative driver based on an estimated time of arrival of the representative driver to the rendezvous point and an estimated travel time of the requesting user to the rendezvous point, the rendezvous point requiring the requesting user to travel a certain distance from the current location;

determining, for each transport option of the plurality of transport options, a guaranteed upfront cost for transporting the requesting user to the specified destination location, the guaranteed upfront cost for the transport options being based on (i) a set of cost data associated with the transport option, (ii) the current location of the requesting user, and (iii) the specified destination location wherein the one or more processors further determine the rendezvous point to minimize the guaranteed upfront cost for the specified transport option; and

transmitting an update instruction, over the one or more networks, to the service application executing on the computing device of the requesting user, the update instruction causing the service application to display a ride service selection interface, the ride service selection interface concurrently displaying a plurality of graphic features, each graphic feature of the plurality of graphic features indicating (i) a corresponding transport option, from the plurality of transport options, for transporting the requesting user to the specified destination location, and (ii) the guaranteed upfront cost for the corresponding transport option;

based on a user selection of a graphic feature, from the plurality of graphic features, representing the specified transport option, receiving, over the one or more networks, a transport request for the specified transport option from the service application executing on the computing device of the requesting user;

receiving, over the one or more networks, driver location data from the transport provider application executing on computing devices of one or more available drivers, the driver location data indicating a current location of each of the one or more available drivers;

selecting a driver from the one or more available drivers based, at least in part, on an estimated time of arrival of the selected driver to the rendezvous point; and

transmitting a service invitation, over the one or more networks, to the transport provider application executing on the computing device of the selected driver, the service invitation enabling the selected driver to rendezvous with the requesting user at the rendezvous point to transport the requesting user to the specified destination location.