APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING POINT OF INTEREST IN CONTENTS SHARING SYSTEM

• US 20130090133A1
• Filed: 10/09/2012
• Published: 04/11/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: O'REILLY, Jim, D' JESUS BENCCI, German Jose
• Granted Patent: US 9,565,534 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/15 Information service where the information is dependent on the location of the subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

A mobile device for use in a contents sharing system is provided. The mobile device includes a communications interface configured to communicate with a location processor and to transmit activity information, relating to usage of the mobile device, and location information, relating to a location of the mobile device, to the location processor. The location information is used for identifying at least one Point Of Interest (POI).

Claims

1. A mobile device for use in a contents sharing system, the mobile device comprising:

a communications interface configured to communicate with a location processor and to transmit, to the location processor, activity information relating to usage of the mobile device and location information relating to a location of the mobile device,

wherein the location information is used for identifying at least one Point Of Interest (POI).

2. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the activity information comprises at least one of:

time information relating to the time the mobile device was at the location associated with the location information;

angle information that identifies an angle of orientation of the mobile device;

image information captured by an image capture device of the mobile device;

an indication that a user has made a user input indicating that the user considers something of interest;

an indication that there has been a behavioral or physiological change of the user;

an indication that there has been an environmental change at a location of the mobile device;

an indication that there are a plurality of users in a surrounding area;

an indication that the mobile device has deviated from a normal usage pattern; and

an indication that a predefined condition has been satisfied.

3. The mobile device of claim 1, further comprising at least one of:

an image capture device;

a sensor configured to detect a behavioral or physiological change of the user; and

a sensor configured to detect an environmental change at a location of the mobile device.

4. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the mobile device is configured to store multiple sets of activity information and location information associated with different times to determine a normal usage pattern of the mobile device in a location, and, to use newly obtained activity information and location information to determine whether usage of the mobile device deviates from the normal usage pattern, and

wherein the activity information is transmitted to the location processor when the mobile device has deviated from the normal usage pattern.

5. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the activity information is transmitted as one of a result of a user action and a result of a determination by the mobile device.

6. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the mobile device is configured to determine whether the activity information relates to a usage of the mobile device that satisfies a predefined condition, and

wherein the activity information is transmitted to the location processor when the usage of the mobile device satisfies the predefined condition.

7. The mobile device of claim 6, wherein the predefined condition comprises at least one of:

a usage level of one of more functions of the mobile device;

a use of at least one function of the mobile device; and

information relating to the movement of the mobile device.

8. The mobile device of claim 7, wherein the at least one function of the mobile device comprises any one or a combination of:

use of an image capture device of the mobile device;

use of a telephone call function of the mobile device;

use of a text messaging function of the mobile device;

use of a Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) messaging of the device; and

accessing a predefined interne service by the mobile device.

9. The mobile device of claim 7, further comprising at least one of:

a sensor configured to detect a behavioral or physiological parameter of the user; and

a sensor configured to detect an environmental parameter at the location of the mobile device.

10. The mobile device of claim 7, wherein the predefined condition is satisfied based on at least one of:

a behavioral or physiological parameter of the user at that location;

an environmental parameter at the location of the mobile device; and

whether there is a plurality of mobile devices in a surrounding area.

11. A server for use in a contents sharing system, the server comprising:

a communications interface configured to communicate with at least one mobile device, wherein the communications interface is configured to receive at least one set of activity information relating to usage of the at least one mobile device and location information relating to a location of the at least one mobile device; and

a location processor configured to determine a location of at least one Point Of Interest (POI) based on the activity information and location information from the at least one mobile device.

12. The server of claim 11, wherein the activity information comprises at least one of:

time information relating to the time the mobile device was at the location associated with the location information;

angle information that identifies an angle of orientation of the mobile device;

image information captured by an image capture device of the mobile device;

an indication that a user has made a user input indicating that the user considers something of interest;

an indication that there has been a behavioral or physiological change of the user;

an indication that there has been an environmental change at a location of the mobile device;

an indication that there are a plurality of users in a surrounding area;

an indication that the mobile device has deviated from a normal usage pattern; and

an indication that a predefined condition has been satisfied.

13. The server of claim 11, wherein the at least one set of activity information and location information comprises one of:

a plurality of different sets of activity information and location information at different times from a mobile device; and

a plurality of different sets of activity information and location information from a plurality of mobile devices.

14. The server of claim 11, wherein the location processor is configured to store multiple sets of activity information and location information from the at least one mobile device, and to compare the stored activity information and location information with newly received activity information and location information from the mobile device in order to determine the location of the at least one POI.

15. The server of claim 14, wherein the location processor is configured to determine a normal usage pattern of the at least one mobile device in the location based on the stored multiple sets of activity information and location information, to use the newly received activity information and location information to determine whether the usage of the mobile device deviates from the normal usage pattern, and to determine the location of the at least one POI based on a deviation from the normal usage pattern.

16. The server of claim 15, wherein the normal usage pattern of the mobile device relates to at least one of:

an expected movement path of the mobile device in the location;

an expected call volume;

an expected text messaging activity; and

an expected data usage.

17. The server of claim 12, wherein the location processor is configured to use the image information and angle information to determine a context space for each set of activity information and location information, each context space representing a 3 Dimensional (3D) volume associated with the image information, to determine whether there is an overlap of any of the plurality of the context spaces, and to determine the location of the at least one POI based on a location of overlap.

18. The sever of claim 17, wherein the location processor is configured to use the context spaces to determine at least one region that is not covered by any one of the context spaces, and to transmit a request for providing image information relating to the at least one region not covered to at least one mobile device.

19. The server of claim 11, wherein the location processor is configured to transmit information relating to the at least one POI to the at least one mobile device.

20. The server of claim 11, wherein the location processor is configured to tag the activity information with an indication that it is associated with the determined POI.

21. A method for using a mobile device in a contents sharing system, the method comprising:

transmitting activity information relating to usage of the mobile device and location information relating to a location of the mobile device, that are used for identifying at least one Point Of Interest (POI), to a location processor.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the activity information comprises at least one of:

time information relating to the time the mobile device was at the location associated with the location information;

angle information that identifies an angle of orientation of the mobile device;

image information captured by an image capture device of the mobile device;

an indication that a user has made a user input indicating that the user considers something of interest;

an indication that there has been a behavioral or physiological change of the user;

an indication that there has been an environmental change at a location of the mobile device;

an indication that there are a plurality of users in a surrounding area;

an indication that the mobile device has deviated from a normal usage pattern; and

an indication that a predefined condition has been satisfied.

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising at least one of:

capturing an image;

detecting a behavioral or physiological change of the user; and

detecting an environmental change at a location of the mobile device.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

storing multiple sets of activity information and location information associated with different times to determine a normal usage pattern of the mobile device in a location; and

using newly obtained activity information and location information to determine whether usage of the mobile device deviates from the normal usage pattern,

wherein the activity information is transmitted to the location processor when the mobile device has deviated from the normal usage pattern.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein the activity information is transmitted as one of a result of a user action and a result of a determination by the mobile device.

26. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

determining whether the activity information relates to a usage of the mobile device that satisfies a predefined condition,

wherein the activity information is transmitted to the location processor when the usage of the mobile device satisfies the predefined condition.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the predefined condition comprises at least one of:

a usage level of one of more functions of the mobile device;

a use of at least one function of the mobile device; and

information relating to the movement of the mobile device.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the at least one function comprises any one or a combination of:

use of an image capture device of the mobile device;

use of a telephone call function of the mobile device;

use of a text messaging function of the mobile device;

use of a Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) messaging of the device; and

accessing a predefined interne service by the mobile device.

29. The method of claim 27, further comprising at least one of:

detecting a behavioral or physiological parameter of the user; and

detecting an environmental parameter at the location of the mobile device.

30. The method of claim 27, wherein the predefined condition is satisfied based on at least one of:

a level of a behavioral or physiological parameter of the user at that location;

a level of an environmental parameter at the location of the mobile device; and

whether there is a plurality of mobile devices in a surrounding area.

31. A method for using a server in a contents sharing system, the method comprising:

receiving at least one set of activity information relating to usage of at least one mobile device and location information relating to a location of the at least one mobile device; and

determining a location of at least one Point Of Interest (POI) based on the activity information and location information from the at least one mobile device.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the activity information comprises at least one of:

time information relating to the time the mobile device was at the location associated with the location information;

angle information that identifies an angle of orientation of the mobile device;

image information captured by an image capture device of the mobile device;

an indication that a user has made a user input indicating that the user considers something of interest;

an indication that there has been a behavioral or physiological change of the user;

an indication that there has been an environmental change at a location of the mobile device;

an indication that there are a plurality of users in a surrounding area;

an indication that the mobile device has deviated from a normal usage pattern; and

an indication that a predefined condition has been satisfied.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein the at least one set of activity information and location information comprises one of:

a plurality of different sets of activity information and location information at different times from a mobile device; and

a plurality of different sets of activity information and location information from a plurality of mobile devices.

34. The method of claim 31, wherein the determining of the location of the at least one POI comprises:

storing multiple sets of activity information and location information from the at least one mobile device; and

comparing the stored activity information and location information with newly received activity information and location information from the mobile device in order to determine the location of the at least one POI.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the determining of the location of the at least one POI comprises:

determining a normal usage pattern of the at least one mobile device in the location based on the stored multiple sets of activity information and location information;

using the newly received activity information and location information to determine whether the usage of the mobile device deviates from the normal usage pattern; and

determining the location of the at least one POI based on a deviation from the normal usage pattern.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the normal usage pattern of the mobile device relates to at least one of:

an expected movement path of the mobile device in the location;

an expected call volume;

an expected text messaging activity; and

an expected data usage.

37. The method of claim 32, wherein the determining of the location of the at least one POI comprises:

using the image information and angle information to determine a context space for each set of activity information and location information, each context space representing a 3 Dimensional (3D) volume associated with the image information;

determining whether there is an overlap of any of the context spaces; and

determining the location of the at least one POI based on a location of overlap.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the determining of the location of the at least one POI comprises:

using the context spaces to determine at least one region that is not covered by one of the context spaces; and

transmitting a request for providing image information relating to the at least one region not covered to at least one mobile device.

39. The method of claim 31, further comprising:

transmitting information relating to the at least one POI to the at least one mobile device.

40. The method of claim 31, further comprising:

tagging the activity information with an indication that it is associated with the determined POI.