Method and apparatus for developing location-based applications utilizing a location-based portal

• US 20070060171A1
• Filed: 09/08/2006
• Published: 03/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Workday Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Loc-Aid Technologies Incorporated (TechnoCom Corporation)
• Inventors: Sudit, Isaias, Morita, Naomi, Longbottom, Jerome
• Application Number:
  US11/517,846
• Publication Number:
  US 20070060171A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.100
• 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 8/245 from a network towards a terminal

Abstract

A system for developing location-based applications comprising: a mobile device. A carrier-positioning infrastructure, communicating with the mobile device for enabling the use of location-based applications by the mobile device. A mobile location-based application provider providing location-based applications to the at least one mobile device. A mobile location-based application server. A location-based application residing at the server. The location-based application requiring location functionality for the location-based application to become functional with the mobile device. A portal, communicating with said location-based application. The portal storing location-based application functionality to be used by the location-based application stored at the location-based application server to enable the mobile device to operate the mobile location-based application.

Claims

1. A system for developing location-based applications comprising:

a mobile device;

a carrier-positioning infrastructure, communicating with the mobile device for determining the position of the mobile device;

a location-based application hosted within the system, said location-based application requiring a location function to enable said mobile device to operate said location-based application; and

a portal, communicating with said location-based application and said mobile device, said portal storing the location-based application function to be used by said location-based application to enable said mobile device to operate said mobile location-based application.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said portal causes a plurality of location-based application functions to be downloaded to said mobile device and enabling only said location-based functions required for operation of said location-based application.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said location-based functions are one of building blocks and applets.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said portal retrieves raw data representing the location of said mobile device and performs a location-based function on said raw data to produce a location-based result, said location-based application operating on said result.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said portal includes a portal server and a portal client, said portal client being downloaded to said mobile device as an omnibus client and at least one of said portal client and said mobile device performing a position determination, and at least one of said portal server and said portal client producing the location-based result as a function of said position determination.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a database associated with said portal, said database storing a location-based application identifier, a location-based application provider identifier, and an end user identifier, said portal communicating with said database to apply the appropriate function to the appropriate application.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein said building blocks are one of locate the mobile device, find a second mobile device, determine whether the mobile device is “

in”

or “

out”

of a boundary, privacy management, and authorization.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein said applets are one of treasure hunt, privacy handler and people finder.

9. The system of claim 1 further comprising a location based application server, the location based application being hosted by the location based application server.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a second mobile device, the location based application being hosted on the second mobile device.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein said location based application is hosted on said mobile device.

13. The portal of claim 11, wherein said portal includes an omnibus client, said omnibus client being downloaded to said mobile device and enables, at the mobile device, the specific location-based function necessary to execute said location-based application.

14. The portal of claim 11, wherein said location-based function is one of building blocks and applets.

15. The portal of claim 11, wherein said portal makes a mobile device position determination by retrieving raw location data representing the location of said mobile device and performs a location function on said raw data to produce a location-based result operated upon by said location-based application.

16. The portal of claim 14, wherein said portal includes a portal server and a portal client, said portal server performing a position determination of said mobile device, said portal client server communicating with said mobile device and one of said portal server and said portal client producing the location-based result as a function of said position determination.

12. A portal for enabling third party location-based applications, the portal communicating with a mobile device and a location-based application, the portal storing a location-based function, said location-based function being provided by said portal to the location-based application in response to an application processing interface from said location-based application to enable said mobile device to execute a location-based application.

17. A method for developing a location-based application for use by a mobile device comprising:

storing a location-based function set at a portal;

providing a location-based application in communication with said portal;

downloading an omnibus client to a mobile device; and

enabling at the mobile device only that location-based function necessary to perform the location-based application.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising the steps of:

the mobile device making a request to the portal to utilize the location-based application, at the mobile device, the portal enabling the location based function at the mobile device as a function of the location based application request.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising the steps of:

the portal making a position determination in response to the request;

the portal producing a location result as a function of the position determination; and

the location-based application utilizing the location result in executing the location-based application for use by the mobile device.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein said portal utilizes said omnibus client to produce the location result.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein said location-based function is one of a location block and applet.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein said portal makes a position determination by interrogating a carrier positioning infrastructure.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein the mobile device interrogates a carrier positioning infrastructure to obtain raw location data with respect to the mobile device, and transmits said raw location data to said portal, the portal making a position determination as a function of the raw location data.

24. The method of claim 17, further comprising the steps of storing skins associated with the location-based application, said portal applying the skins at the mobile device when the mobile device executes the location-based application.

25. The method of claim 17, further comprising the steps of assigning an identification ID to said location based application and storing the identification ID at the portal, the portal mapping access to the location-based application as a function of the identification ID for tracking use and control of the location-based application.