FACILITATING DETERMINATION OF RELIABILITY OF CROWD SOURCED INFORMATION

• US 20150088835A1
• Filed: 09/24/2013
• Published: 03/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Davis, Braxton
• Granted Patent: US 10,346,389 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/690
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3492 employing speed data or traffic data, e.g. real-time or historical traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3691 Retrieval, searching and output of information related to real-time traffic, weather, or environmental conditions arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions G08G1/09
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0709 in a distributed system consisting of a plurality of standalone computer nodes, e.g. clusters, client-server systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/08 Error detection or correction by redundancy in data representation, e.g. by using checking codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2365 Ensuring data consistency and integrity
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking

Abstract

Reliability of data reports can be determined by a device that receives a number of reports from different sources. One method includes: receiving data reports from devices. The data reports are associated with an occurrence of an event. The method also includes determining reliability data representing reliability of the data reports. The reliability can be determined based on one or more different defined characteristics such as the location at which a data report was generated relative to the location of the event, whether the data report was the most recently-received data report and/or the number of data reports reporting that an event is ongoing relative to the number of data reports reporting that the event is no longer ongoing. The method can also include determining whether a data report includes information indicative of a false positive report or a false negative report.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a device comprising a processor, data reports from devices, wherein the data reports are associated with an occurrence of an event; and

determining, by the device, reliability data representing a reliability of the data reports.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the reliability data comprises:

comparing a first number of the data reports associated with a first report that the event is ongoing with a second number of the data reports associated with a second report that the event has ceased;

selecting, as an accurate data report, a first data report of the first number of the data reports based on the first number of the data reports being determined to be greater than the second number of the data reports; and

selecting, as the accurate data report, a second data report of the second number of the data reports based on the second number being determined to be greater than the first number.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the reliability data comprises determining whether a data report of the data reports satisfies a defined condition.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the defined condition being satisfied comprises the data report being determined to be generated within a defined distance of a location of the event.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the devices comprise a device associated with an emergency vehicle, and wherein the defined condition being satisfied comprises the data report being determined to be generated by the emergency vehicle.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the data reports comprise a first data report received at a first time, and wherein the method further comprises:

transmitting, by the device, information requesting a second data report of the data reports; and

receiving, by the device, the second data report in response to the transmitting, wherein the second data report is received at a second time.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the second data report comprises the data report determined to be generated by the emergency vehicle.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the reliability data comprises determining whether the event is ongoing.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the reliability data comprises determining whether the event is no longer ongoing.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting, by the device, a data report of the data reports, as an accurate data report based on the reliability data.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the reliability data comprises determining a likelihood that the event is ongoing using a probabilistic model to determine a probability that the event is ongoing.

12. An apparatus, comprising:

a memory to store executable instructions; and

a processor, coupled to the memory, that facilitates execution of the executable instructions to perform operations comprising;

receiving data reports from devices, wherein the data reports are associated with an occurrence of an event; and

determining a reliability of a data report of the data reports, wherein the determining is based on a defined characteristic of the data reports.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the defined characteristic comprises a defined distance of a location at which the data report was generated relative to a location determined to be associated with the event.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the defined characteristic comprises a defined level of trust associated with a device of the devices from which the data report originated.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the defined characteristic comprises a time of arrival of the data report relative to respective times of arrival of others of the data reports.

16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining whether any of the data reports comprise information indicative of a false positive report; and

determining whether any of the data reports comprise other information indicative of a false negative report.

17. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause a first device comprising a processor to perform operations, comprising:

receiving data reports from devices, wherein the data reports are associated with an occurrence of an event; and

selecting, as accurate, a data report of the data reports, wherein the selecting is based on a defined characteristic of the data report.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the defined characteristic comprises a defined distance of a location of a second device of the devices at a time of collecting data that was the basis of the data report relative to a location of the event.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the defined characteristic comprises a defined level of trust associated with a device of the devices from which the data report originated.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the defined characteristic comprises a time of generation of the data report relative to respective times of generation of others of the data reports.