MECHANISMS AND ARCHITECTURE FOR MOBILE OPPORTUNISTIC COMMERCE

• US 20090327148A1
• Filed: 06/27/2008
• Published: 12/31/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Meek, Christopher A., Horvitz, Eric, Kamar, Semiha Ece
• Application Number:
  US12/147,927
• Publication Number:
  US 20090327148A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/80
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation

Abstract

The claimed matter provides systems and/or methods that enable sellers and buyers to take mutual advantage of the relationship of the location of seller outlets to routes that mobile buyers take to other destinations. The system can include devices that identify sellers capable of fulfilling a buyer'"'"'s product or service requirements, generate value functions for the seller based on bidding functions acquired from the seller and related to the product or service requirements of the buyer, compare the value functions associated with multiple sellers to identify a successful seller, and notify the buyer of the location of the successful seller by modifying a route to a pre-established destination to include directions to the successful seller.

Claims

1. A system implemented on a machine that effectuates and facilitates mobile opportunistic commerce, comprising:

a component that receives at least one of a buyer'"'"'s primary destination or a buyer'"'"'s purchasing preferences via an interface, the component performs a geo-spatial search to identify a feasible seller in close proximity to a prescribed route to the buyer'"'"'s primary destination, the component notifies the feasible seller to submit a bidding function that satisfies the buyer'"'"'s purchasing preferences and constructs a value function for the feasible seller based at least in part on the bidding function that satisfies the buyer'"'"'s purchasing preferences, a proximity of the feasible seller to the prescribed route, or a time cost associated with deviating from the prescribed route, the component determines a winning seller through application of auction rules or utilization of the value function, notifies the buyer of the winning seller, and updates the prescribed route to the buyers primary destination to include directions to the winning seller.

2. The system of claim 1, the feasible seller submits the bidding function without notice of a buyer'"'"'s identity or the buyer'"'"'s purchasing preferences.

3. The system of claim 1, the feasible seller'"'"'s bidding function concealed from the buyer.

4. The system of claim 1, the component implements a fee structure to discourage a buyer from exploring a bidding price of the feasible seller.

5. The system of claim 1, the component implements a second-price sealed bid auction where a final payment price between the buyer and the winning seller is determined as a summation of a second lowest bid provided by a seller and a personal cost associated with the buyer.

6. The system of claim 1, the component utilizes feedback from the buyer to rate the winning seller, the feedback utilized to determine future winning sellers.

7. The system of claim 1, the component predicts a current state of the buyer based at least in part on a probabilistic model, the current state of the buyer utilized by the component to ascertain whether to solicit feedback from the buyer regarding a pending commitment associated with a transaction that satisfies the buyer'"'"'s purchasing preferences.

8. A machine implemented method that effectuates mobile opportunistic commerce, comprising:

obtaining a buyer'"'"'s destination or buyer'"'"'s product or service requirements;

identifying a seller capable of fulfilling the buyer'"'"'s product or service requirements;

soliciting bids from the seller;

generating a value function for the seller based at least in part on the bid;

determining a successful seller based on a comparison of the value function with value functions associated with one or more unsuccessful sellers;

notifying the buyer of the successful seller and providing to the buyer an analysis of the value function associated with the successful seller; and

updating a route to the buyer'"'"'s destination based at least in part on a location of the successful seller.

9. The method of claim 8, the identifying further comprises utilizing a geo-spatial search to locate a seller proximate to the route to the buyer'"'"'s destination.

10. The method of claim 9, the proximity of the seller to the route to the buyer'"'"'s destination limited by a buyer'"'"'s time-cost function.

11. The method of claim 8, the bids from the seller associated with products or services that satisfy in part the buyer'"'"'s product or service requirements.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising generating and utilizing a product or service ontology, the product or service ontology employed to identify corresponding products or services that satisfy the buyer'"'"'s product or service requirements.

13. The method of claim 8, the determining further comprising utilizing a buyer'"'"'s time-cost function to ascertain a maximum permissible deviation from the route.

14. The method of claim 8, the bids solicited from the seller without the seller knowing the buyer'"'"'s destination or buyer'"'"'s product or service requirements.

15. The method of claim 8, the determining further comprising implementing a second-price sealed bid auction where a final payment price between the buyer and the successful seller is deduced as a second lowest bid obtained from a plurality of member sellers.

16. The method of claim 8, further comprising automatically establishing a strike price between the buyer and successful seller based at least in part on a probabilistically determined buyer state.

17. A system that effectuates mobile opportunistic commerce, comprising:

means for identifying a seller capable of fulfilling a buyer'"'"'s product or service requirements;

means for generating a value function for the seller based at least in part on received bids from the seller;

means for comparing the value function for a first seller with a value function associated with one or more second seller, based at least in part on the comparison determining a successful seller;

means for notifying the buyer of the successful seller; and

means for modifying a route to a buyer'"'"'s destination based a location of the successful seller.

18. The system of claim 17, the value function includes an inconvenience cost associated with the buyer.

19. The system of claim 17, further comprises means for interrogating the buyer'"'"'s calendar and utilizing entries included in the buyer'"'"'s calendar to constrict a list of future opportunities to engage in a transaction to satisfy the buyer'"'"'s product or service requirements.

20. The system of claim 17, further comprises means for ascertaining a buyer'"'"'s current state, the buyer'"'"'s current state utilized by the means for identifying the seller to commit the buyer to a transaction between the successful seller and the buyer at a mutually agreeable strike price.