COMPUTER-BASED INFERENCE OF INCONVENIENT TRAVELER EXPERIENCES FOR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

• US 20150170162A1
• Filed: 12/12/2013
• Published: 06/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bouillet, Eric, Calabrese, Francesco, Pinelli, Fabio, Berlingerio, Michele, Botea, Adi lonel
• Application Number:
  US14/105,016
• Publication Number:
  US 20150170162A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083

Abstract

A method for inferring inconvenient travel experiences may include analyzing, with a processing device, a record of a displacement of a traveler, detecting a traveler displacement pattern indicative of a potential inconvenience, verifying a transport network status corresponding to the potential inconvenience, and validating an inferred inconvenience based on the potential inconvenience and the transport network status.

Claims

1. A method for inferring inconvenient travel experiences, comprising:

analyzing, with a processing device, a record of a displacement of a traveler;

detecting a traveler displacement pattern indicative of a potential inconvenience;

verifying a transport network status corresponding to the potential inconvenience; and

validating an inferred inconvenience based on the potential inconvenience and the transport network status.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

tracing a sequence of locations of the traveler during a time period; and

storing the sequence, wherein the displacement is derived from the sequence.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein verifying the transport network status further comprises querying a database associated with the transport network regarding the transport network status corresponding to the potential inconvenience.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

aggregating a plurality of inferred inconveniences corresponding to the transport network; and

extracting a performance indication based on the aggregate inferred inconveniences.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing status information associated with a plurality of transport networks.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the traveler displacement pattern is indicative of a failed attempt to hire a vehicle, a failed attempt to park a vehicle, or a missed transport connection.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the traveler displacement pattern is indicative of an excessive waiting time associated with a transport connection, hiring a vehicle, or parking a vehicle.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising estimating a satisfaction level of the traveler based at least in part on the inferred inconvenience.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

evaluating a plurality of alternative journey plans; and

determining a preference for a journey plan based on a probability of an inconvenient experience.

10. A system for inferring inconvenient travel experiences, comprising:

an inconvenient experience identifier configured to analyze a record of a displacement of a traveler and detect a traveler displacement pattern indicative of a potential inconvenience; and

an inconvenient experience validator configured to verify a transport network status corresponding to the potential inconvenience and validate an inferred inconvenience based on the potential inconvenience and the transport network status.

11. The system of claim 10, further comprising a location history store configured to store a sequence of locations of the traveler during a time period, wherein the displacement is derived from the sequence.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the inconvenient experience validator is further configured to query a database associated with the transport network regarding the transport network status corresponding to the potential inconvenience.

13. The system of claim 10, further comprising a performance indication extractor configured to aggregate a plurality of inferred inconveniences corresponding to the transport network and extract a performance indication based on the aggregate inferred inconveniences.

14. The system of claim 10, further comprising a transport network status store configured to store status information associated with a plurality of transport networks.

15. The system of claim 10, further comprising a traveler satisfaction estimator configured to estimate a satisfaction level of the traveler based at least in part on the inferred inconvenience.

16. The system of claim 10, further comprising an alternative journey plan evaluator configured to evaluate a plurality of alternative journey plans and determine a preference for a journey plan based on a probability of an inconvenient experience.

17. A computer program product for inferring inconvenient travel experiences, the computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium having program code embodied therewith, the program code executable by a computer to implement;

analyzing a record of a displacement of a traveler;

detecting a traveler displacement pattern indicative of a potential inconvenience;

verifying a transport network status corresponding to the potential inconvenience; and

validating an inferred inconvenience based on the potential inconvenience and the transport network status.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, the program code being further executable by a computer to implement:

aggregating a plurality of inferred inconveniences corresponding to the transport network; and

extracting a performance indication based on the aggregate inferred inconveniences.

19. The computer program product of claim 17, the program code being further executable by a computer to implement estimating a satisfaction level of the traveler based at least in part on the inferred inconvenience

20. The computer program product of claim 17, the program code being further executable by a computer to implement optimizing a transport network based on a probability of an inconvenient experience.