Visual Travel Guide

• US 20090143977A1
• Filed: 12/03/2007
• Published: 06/04/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Lahti, Tommi Juhani, Viljamaa, Timo-Pekka Olavi, Beletski, Oleg, Vaittinen, Sampo Tuomas
• Granted Patent: US 9,612,126 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/201
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/343 Calculating itineraries, i.e. routes leading from a starting point to a series of categorical destinations using a global route restraint, round trips, touristic trips travelling salesman problem G06Q10/04; optimisation of routes G06Q10/047
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/362 received from an external device or application, e.g. PDA, mobile phone or calendar application

Abstract

A novel method, apparatus, and system are disclosed that provide a mobile terminal user with up to date information regarding a point/location of interest. A user may identify a destination, and subsequently select points of interest at the destination from photos, audio or other media displayed to the user. Each media item may be geo-tagged or otherwise associated with a particular point of interest, tourist location, museum, etc. For example, when visiting Washington, D.C., the user may be shown photos of the Washington Monument, Smithsonian Museums, Lincoln Memorial, and the White House. The user may select one or more of the points of interest, and the system then generates an itinerary and/or a walking/driving/biking travel route responsive to the selected media items.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

identifying a geographical destination;

receiving at a computing platform one or more media items related to a candidate point of interest within a proximal distance of the identified geographical destination;

presenting at the computing platform the one or more media items;

receiving at the computing platform a selection of at least one of the one or more media items; and

displaying on a display device of the computing platform a travel route including the point of interest corresponding to the selection of the at least one of the one or more media items.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more media items comprise items taken or created by at least one member of a user community or a commercial content provider.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the selection of the at least one of the one or more media items is based on either a user profile comprising past travels of a corresponding user or collaborative filtering.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the geographical destination is identified based on a current location of the computing platform.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing supplementary information with the one or more media items related to the candidate point of interest within a proximal distance of the identified geographical destination; and

presenting the supplementary information on the computing platform responsive to a user input.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the supplementary information comprises informational text describing the associated candidate point of interest.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the supplementary information comprises user comments about the candidate point of interest.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises sending feedback from the computing platform, wherein said feedback includes a user opinion corresponding to at least one of the one or more media items.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving at the computing platform of the selection of at least one of the one or more media items comprises acceptance or rejection of each of the one or more media items.

10. An apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

a memory configured to store computer readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to;

identify a geographical location;

receive one or more media items related to candidate points of interest within a proximal distance of the identified geographical location;

presenting the one or more media items;

receive a selection of at least one of the one or more media items; and

display a travel route including the points of interest corresponding to the selection of the at least one of the one or more media items.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the one or more media items are taken from a community pool of information submitted by at least one member of a user community or a commercial content provider.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the selection of the at least one of the one or more media items is based on either a user profile comprising past travels of a corresponding user or collaborative filtering.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the geographical location is identified based on a current location of the apparatus.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the computer readable instructions further comprise instructions that when executed by the processor cause the apparatus to:

receive feedback from a corresponding user, wherein said feedback comprises an opinion of the user corresponding to the selected at least one of the one or more media items; and

transmit the feedback to the community pool of information for use by additional users.

15. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the computer readable instructions further comprise at least one instruction that when executed by the processor cause the apparatus to display at least one additional travel route.

16. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the travel route is generated by the apparatus.

17. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the computer readable instructions further comprise at least one instruction that when executed by the processor cause the apparatus to receive the travel route from a server.

18. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the computer readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to receive a selection of at least one of the one or more media items further comprise receiving an input indicating an acceptance or rejection of each of the at least one of the one or more media items.

19. One or more computer readable media storing computer executable instructions that, when executed, perform travel route selection, comprising:

receiving an identification of a destination;

receiving an indication of a date a user wishes to start traveling to the identified destination;

receiving an input indicating how long the user intends to travel;

receiving a plurality of media items each relating to a candidate point of interest associated with the identified destination;

presenting each of the plurality of media items;

receiving a selection of at least one of the media items; and

displaying a travel route including each point of interest corresponding to the selected at least one of the media items.

20. The one or more computer readable media of claim 19, wherein the computer executable instructions that, when executed, display a travel route including each point of interest corresponding to the selected at least one of the media items further include instructions that, when executed, cause the travel route to be updated responsive to a user navigation.

21. The one or more computer readable media of claim 19, wherein the plurality of media items each relating to a candidate point of interest associated with the identified destination are chosen based on a user profile.

22. The one or more computer readable media of claim 21, wherein information contained in the user profile is inferred based on a corresponding user'"'"'s past travels or activities.

23. The one or more computer readable media of claim 19, wherein the computer executable instructions further comprise at least one instruction that, when executed, guides a corresponding user along the travel route using a navigational method for indoor/outdoor positioning.

24. A method comprising:

receiving at a computing platform an identification of a destination;

receiving at the computing platform a plurality of media items each relating to a candidate point of interest associated with the identified destination;

presenting at the computing platform each of the plurality of media items;

receiving at the computing platform a selection of at least one of the media items; and

displaying on a display device of the computing platform a travel route including each point of interest corresponding to the selected at least one of the media items.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising calculating at the computing platform how long a trip will need to be based on the identified destination and the selection of the at least one of the media items.