Surveying wireless device users by location

• US 20070142060A1
• Filed: 12/12/2006
• Published: 06/21/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Zellner, Samuel, Enzmann, Mark, Moton, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 8,010,126 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.100
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0203 Market surveys; Market polls
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/00 Network planning, e.g. coverage or traffic planning tools; Network deployment, e.g. resource partitioning or cells structures
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

The present invention is a system and method for conducting survey using wireless devices. The system architecture of the present invention comprises a location server and a location system. The location server can receive a survey request from a subscriber, delineate a survey area for the survey, broadcast a query containing the survey to a plurality of wireless devices, process responses received from the wireless devices, and deliver a result of the survey to the subscriber. The location system can generate location information for each of the wireless devices that received the query. The location system may be a network-based unit or a portable unit provisioned at each of the wireless devices. In one of the embodiments, the location system is a GPS receiver that generates the longitude and the latitude of the wireless devices at which it is provisioned.

Claims

1. A system for conducting a survey using wireless devices located within a survey area served by a wireless communication network comprising:

a wireless device characterized by a location, wherein the wireless device is in the survey area and receives a broadcast survey; and

a location system in communication with the wireless device,

wherein the location system generates location information, pinpointing the location of the wireless device when the wireless device receives the survey; and

wherein the wireless device generates a response to the survey when the survey is received, the location information being included in the response.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the wireless device is a wireless telephone.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the wireless device is an interactive pager.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the wireless device is a handheld computer.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the location system is a unit provisioned at the wireless device.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the location system is a GPS receiver.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the location system is a network-based unit.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the location system uses GIS technology.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the location system is a WAP compatible system.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a memory accessible by the location system, wherein the memory storage comprises a database populated with a plurality of nodes, wherein each of the plurality of nodes is defined by position coordinates.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the position coordinates comprise a longitude and a latitude.

12. The system of claim 1, further comprising calculating a number of people located within the survey area.

13. A computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium having control logic stored therein for causing a computing apparatus to conduct a survey using wireless devices located within a survey area, the control logic comprising computer-readable program code for causing the computing apparatus to:

receive a query containing the survey over the survey area at a plurality of wireless devices;

determine at each wireless device whether the wireless device responds to the query; and

generate a response for each of the plurality of wireless devices that responds to the query, the response comprising at least location information generated by a location system, the location information indicating the location of the wireless device.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, further comprising computer-readable program code for causing the computing apparatus to verify the response is received from a wireless device that is located within the survey area.

15. The computer program product of claim 13, further comprising computer-readable program code for causing the computing apparatus to delineate the survey area.

16. The computer program product of claim 13, further comprising computer-readable program code for causing the computing apparatus to delineate the survey area using a node and a radius.

17. The computer program product of claim 13, further comprising computer-readable program code for causing the computing apparatus to determine a number of wireless devices within the survey area based at least in part upon the response.

18. The computer program product of claim 13, further comprising computer-readable program code for causing the computing apparatus to determine a number of people within the survey area based at least in part upon the response.

19. A method for conducting a survey using wireless devices within a survey area comprising:

(a) delineating the survey area;

(b) broadcasting a query to at least one wireless device via at least three antennas, wherein each of the at least three antennas has antenna position coordinates;

(c) receiving device position coordinates for a wireless device in response to receipt of the query at a wireless device, the device position coordinates using the antenna position coordinates of the at least three antennas and relative position of the wireless device to each antenna;

(d) verifying the response is received from a wireless device that is located within the survey area; and

(e) executing an action based on the response.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the response further comprises an input from a person using the wireless device.