SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AGGREGATING AND DISSEMINATING MOBILE DEVICE TAG DATA

• US 20120316964A1
• Filed: 08/13/2012
• Published: 12/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Smith Micro Software Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Wavemarket Incorporated (Gen Digital Inc.)
• Inventors: Roumeliotis, Tasos, Hotes, Scott, Hodges, Daniel, Grossman, Joel
• Granted Patent: US 8,457,626 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.58
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/185 by embedding added-value information into content, e.g. geo-tagging
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for aggregating and disseminating tag data is provided. The method includes receiving a tag generated at a particular time from a particular mobile device. Data indicative of a particular location of the particular mobile device is received corresponding to the particular time. The tag is associated with the location indicative data of the particular mobile device. Data indicative of a location of one or more other mobile devices is received, and data indicative of the tag is transmitted to the one or more other mobile devices in response to the location indicative data of the one or more other mobile devices corresponding to the location indicative data of the particular mobile device.

Claims

1. A method for contributing tag data and receiving promotional content, the method comprising:

using a first mobile device associated with a first user, generating a first tag as a product identifier, wherein the first tag corresponds to at least one of an optical recording, a machine readable representation, a barcode, a radio frequency identification, and a user-inputted description;

using the first mobile device, performing radio signal scans;

using the first mobile device, generating signal fingerprints based on the radio signal scans, wherein at least one of the signal fingerprints corresponds to a particular time the first tag was generated;

using the first mobile device, associating the first tag with a particular signal fingerprint corresponding to the particular time the first tag was generated;

using the first mobile device, transmitting the signal fingerprints to at least one network accessible system;

using the first mobile device, transmitting to the at least one network accessible system the first tag with an indication of the association of the first tag with the particular signal fingerprint; and

receiving with the first mobile device from the at least one network accessible system product promotional content associated with a second tag provided by at least a second mobile device associated with at least a second user, wherein the second tag corresponds to a current signal fingerprint of the first mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the promotional content comprises at least one of a product specification and an advertisement.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the radio signals comprise at least one of Global Positioning System (“

GPS”

), Amplitude Modulation (“

AM”

), Frequency Modulation (“

FM”

), WiFi, and Bluetooth protocol signals.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the radio signal scan comprises receiving data generated via at least one of GPS;

Assisted-GPS, Observed Time Difference, Time Of Arrival, Time Difference of Arrival, Angle of Arrival, multipath fingerprinting, Timing Advance, Enhanced Forward Link Triangulation, Time Difference of Arrival &

Received Signal Strength, Time Difference of Arrival &

Angle of Arrival, Assisted Forward Link Triangulation &

Assisted GPS, and Enhanced Observed time Difference &

Assisted GPS.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating the first tag as at least one of an optical recording and a photograph of a machine readable representation of data captured via the first mobile device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating the first tag as a description of a product.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating the first tag as a description of a section of a shopping establishment.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving from the network accessible system with the first mobile device a plurality of product promotional content associated with a plurality of tags respectively corresponding to a plurality of signal fingerprints of a plurality of other mobile devices which respectively correspond to particular ones of the signal fingerprints generated by the first mobile device.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving with the first mobile device from the at least one network accessible system product promotional content associated with the first tag in response to a current signal fingerprint of the first mobile device corresponding to the particular signal fingerprint of the first mobile device, wherein the particular signal fingerprint is generated at a prior time.

10. Non-transitory computer-readable media tangibly embodying a program of instructions operable to cause a particular mobile device to perform a process comprising:

generating a tag as a product identifier, wherein the tag corresponds to at least one of an optical recording, a machine readable representation, a barcode, a radio frequency identification, and a user-inputted description;

performing radio signal scans;

generating signal fingerprints based on the radio signal scans, wherein at least one of the signal fingerprints corresponds to a particular time the tag was generated;

associating the tag with a particular signal fingerprint corresponding to the particular time the tag was generated;

transmitting the signal fingerprints to at least one network accessible system;

transmitting to the network accessible system the tag with an indication of the association of the tag with the particular signal fingerprint; and

receiving from the at least one network accessible system product promotional content associated with another tag provided by at least one other mobile device, wherein the other tag corresponds to a current signal fingerprint of the particular mobile device.

11. The computer-readable media of claim 10, wherein the process further comprises transmitting a request to the at least one network accessible system for the product promotional content.

12. The computer-readable media of claim 10, wherein the process further comprises receiving the user input of the tag as at least one of a recording and a photograph of a machine readable representation of data captured via the particular mobile device.

13. The computer-readable media of claim 10, wherein the process further comprises providing an interface for input of a tag by a user and receiving user input of the tag.

14. The computer-readable media of claim 10, wherein the promotional content comprises at least one of a product specification and an advertisement.

15. A mobile device comprising memory tangibly embodying a program of instructions operable to cause the mobile device to perform a process comprising:

generating a tag as a product identifier, wherein the tag corresponds to at least one of an optical recording, a machine readable representation, a barcode, a radio frequency identification, and a user-inputted description;

performing radio signal scans;

generating signal fingerprints based on the radio signal scans, wherein at least one of the signal fingerprints corresponds to a particular time the tag was generated;

associating the tag with a particular signal fingerprint corresponding to the particular time the tag was generated;

transmitting the signal fingerprints to at least one network accessible system;

transmitting to the network accessible system the tag with an indication of the association of the tag with the particular signal fingerprint; and

receiving from the at least one network accessible system product promotional content associated with another tag provided by at least one other device, wherein the other tag corresponds to a current signal fingerprint of the mobile device.

16. A method performed using a mobile device for contributing tag data and receiving promotional content comprising:

generating a tag as a product identifier, wherein the tag corresponds to at least one of an optical recording, a machine readable representation, a barcode, a radio frequency identification, and a user-inputted description;

performing radio signal scans;

generating signal fingerprints based on the radio signal scans, wherein at least one of the signal fingerprints corresponds to a particular time the tag was generated;

associating the tag with a particular signal fingerprint corresponding to the particular time the tag was generated;

transmitting the signal fingerprints to at least one network accessible system;

transmitting to the at least one network accessible system the tag with an indication of the association of the tag with the particular signal fingerprint; and

receiving from the at least one network accessible system product promotional content associated with the tag in response to a current signal fingerprint of the mobile device corresponding to the particular signal fingerprint of the mobile device generated at a prior time.