Route Notification when Integrating Instant Messaging Systems and Sensors

• US 20070254669A1
• Filed: 04/30/2006
• Published: 11/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Katz, Neil, Moore, Victor, Nowak, Justyna
• Granted Patent: US 7,580,710 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/445
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A method of providing route notification to sensors within an Instant Messaging (IM) network can include estimating one or more travel routes of a user having a mobile device that is IM enabled, identifying one or more sensors proximate to the travel route(s), and notifying the sensor(s) of the approaching user via the IM network.

Claims

1. A method of providing route notification to sensors within an Instant Messaging (IM) network comprising:

estimating at least one travel route of a user having a mobile device that is IM enabled;

identifying at least one sensor proximate to the travel route; and

notifying the at least one sensor of the approaching user via the IM network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein notifying the sensor comprises notifying the sensor of an identity of the user, such that the sensor obtains information pertaining to the user.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising refreshing sensor information for the sensor responsive to the notification.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein estimating at least one travel route further comprises computing a probability indicating a likelihood of being traveled by the user for each of the at least one travel routes.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein estimating a travel route further comprises selecting at least one travel route having at least a minimum probability of being traveled by the user.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying at least one sensor further comprises selecting at least one sensor that is located within a predetermined distance from a point along the travel route.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein identifying sensors further comprises selecting only sensors that the user is permitted to access.

8. A system for providing route notification to sensors within an Instant Messaging (IM) network comprising:

a location service that determines locations of a user having an IM enabled mobile device;

a path probability and policy service that estimates at least one travel route for the user and identifies at least one sensor proximate to the at least one travel route; and

a messaging service that informs the at least one identified sensor that the user is approaching via the IM network.

9. The system of claim 8, further comprising a map service having a collection of maps comprising at least one of a geographic map or a map of a structure, wherein the path probability and policy service uses the collection of maps in estimating the at least one travel route for the user.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the path probability and policy service computes a probability for each of the at least one travel routes, wherein each probability indicates a likelihood that the user will travel that travel route.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the path probability and policy service selects only estimated travel routes having a probability above a predetermined threshold.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the path probability and policy service further selects only sensors that the user is permitted to access.

13. The system of claim 8, further comprising an IM bot associated with the identified sensor, wherein responsive to being informed of the approaching user, the IM bot instructs the sensor, via the IM network, to refresh sensor information in anticipation of the approaching user.

14. A machine readable storage having stored thereon a computer program having a plurality of code sections comprising:

code for estimating at least one travel route of a user having a mobile device that is IM enabled;

code for identifying at least one sensor proximate to the travel route; and

code for notifying the at least one sensor of the approaching user via the IM network.

15. The machine readable storage of claim 14, wherein the code for notifying the at least one sensor comprises code for notifying the sensor of an identity of the user, such that the sensor obtains information pertaining to the user.

16. The machine readable storage of claim 14, further comprising code for refreshing sensor information for the sensor responsive to the notification.

17. The machine readable storage of claim 14, wherein the code for estimating at least one travel route further comprises code for computing a probability indicating a likelihood of being traveled by the user for each of the at least one travel routes.

18. The machine readable storage of claim 14, wherein the code for estimating a travel route further comprises code for selecting at least one travel route having at least a minimum probability of being traveled by the user.

19. The machine readable storage of claim 14, wherein the code for identifying at least one sensor further comprises code for selecting at least one sensor that is located within a predetermined distance from a point along the travel route.

20. The machine readable storage of claim 19, wherein the code for identifying sensors further comprises code for selecting only sensors that the user is permitted to access.