Systems and Method for Predicting the Future Location of an Entity

• US 20120054337A1
• Filed: 09/01/2010
• Published: 03/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: MORITZ, Simon, Björk, Jonas, Moritz, Christina
• Granted Patent: US 8,639,803 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/022 with dynamic range variability
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/026 using orientation information, e.g. compass
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

In one aspect, the invention provides a system that predicts the location of an entity, such as a friend of a user of a mobile device, and displays to the user this prediction information on a display screen of the mobile device. In some embodiments, the information may be displayed to the user in an augmented reality view (e.g., the prediction information may be displayed on top of an image as seen through a camera).

Claims

1. In an environment comprising a mobile device, a location server, and a storage system storing information about an entity, a computer implemented method for predicting the future location of the entity and for determining whether to indicate the predicted future location on a display screen of the mobile device, comprising:

using the location server, determining the current location of the entity;

using the determined current location of the entity and the stored information about the entity to predict where the entity will be located at a future point in time;

defining an area based on;

a specific location, a direction, and an angle;

determining whether the predicted location falls within the defined area; and

displaying, on the display screen of the mobile device, information identifying the predicted location if, and only if, the determining step determines that the predicted location falls within the defined area.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein

the mobile device includes a positioning module;

the method further comprises the step of determining the current location of the mobile device using the positioning module, and

the specific location is the determined current location of the mobile device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the positioning module comprises a positioning system component.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device comprises a direction determining module, and the method further comprises the step of, prior to defining the area, using the direction determining module to determine the direction.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the direction determining module comprises a compass.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of displaying the information identifying the predicted location, comprises displaying said information using an augmented reality application.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the mobile device comprises a camera and the step of displaying said information in an augmented reality mode comprises displaying information indicating the predicted location together with an image captured from the camera.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the augmented reality application is an augmented reality browser.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising enabling the user to specify a maximum distance variable and/or the entity type or entity types for which the user desires to receive location prediction information.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the area is defined by the value of the maximum distance variable, the specific location, the direction and the angle.

11. A mobile device configured to obtain and display information identifying a predicted future location of an entity, comprising:

a positioning module operable to determine the current location of the mobile device;

a direction determining module operable to determine the direction in which the mobile device is pointed;

a transmitter;

a data processor;

a storage system storing computer instructions, wherein the computer instructions are configured to cause the data processor to;

prompt a user of the mobile device input a maximum distance value; and

use the transmitter to transmit a request message to a server application, wherein the request message comprises;

information identifying the current location of the mobile device as determined by the positioning module;

information identifying the direction in which the mobile device is pointed as determined by the direction determining module;

the maximum distance value and information specifying an angle; and

a receiver for receiving from the server application in response to the request message information identifying a predicted location of an entity, wherein

the computer instructions are further configured to cause the data processor to inform the user of the predicted location.

12. The mobile device of claim 11, wherein the positioning module comprises a positioning system component.

13. The mobile device of claim 11, wherein

the mobile device further comprises a camera and a display screen, and

the computer instruction are configured to cause the data processor to inform the user of the predicted location by causing the data processor to display on the display screen an image captured by the camera and to display on top of the image an indicator, wherein the indicator is positioned on top of the image at a location corresponding to the predicted location of the entity.

14. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the computer instruction are further configured to cause the data processor to display information about the entity in response to the user selecting the displayed indicator.

15. The mobile device of claim 11, wherein

the mobile device further comprises a camera, and

the angle corresponds to the field of view of the camera.

16. A server computer for predicting a future location of an entity, comprising:

a data processor;

a storage system storing computer instructions, wherein the computer instructions are configured to cause the data processor to;

use a location server to determine the current location of an entity of a type that matches an entity type selected by a user of a mobile device;

use the determined current location of the entity and stored information about the entity to predict where the entity will be located at a future point in time;

define an area based on;

a specific location, a direction, and an angle;

determine whether the predicted location falls within the defined area; and

transmit to a mobile device information identifying the predicted location if, and only if, the predicted location falls within the defined area.

17. The server computer of claim 16, further comprising a network interface for receiving a request message transmitted from the mobile device, wherein

the computer instructions are configured to cause the data processor to obtain from a social networking system information identifying a set of entities associated with the user of the mobile device in response to request message.

18. The server computer of claim 17, wherein the computer instructions are configured to cause the data processor to

use the location server to attempt to determine the current location of each of the entities;

and

for each entity for which the data processor is able to determine the entity'"'"'s current location, use the determined current location of the entity and stored information about the entity to predict where the entity will be located at a future point in time.

19. A computer program for obtaining and displaying information identifying a predicted future location of an entity, comprising computer readable code means which when run an a mobile device, causes the mobile device to:

prompt a user of the mobile device to input a maximum distance value;

transmit a request message to a server computer, wherein the request message comprises information identifying the current location of the mobile device, information identifying a direction, a maximum distance value and information specifying an angle, and further wherein the mobile device receives from the server computer in response to the request message information identifying a predicted location of an entity, and

inform the user of the predicted location.

20. A storage system, comprising a computer program according to claim 19.

21. A computer program for determining a predicted future location of an entity, comprising computer readable code means which when run on a server computer, causes the server computer to:

predict where the entity will be located at a future point in time;

define an area using information identifying the current location of a mobile device, information identifying a direction, a maximum distance value and information specifying an angle;

determine whether the predicted location of the entity falls with the defined area; and

transmit to the mobile device information identifying the predicted location of the entity in response to determining that the predicted location of the entity falls within the defined area.

22. A storage system, comprising a computer program according to claim 21.