PROVIDING VICARIOUS TOURISM SESSIONS

• US 20150172607A1
• Filed: 12/26/2013
• Published: 06/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Manber, Udi
• Application Number:
  US14/141,194
• Publication Number:
  US 20150172607A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/185 from a mobile camera, e.g. for remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for providing vicarious tourism sessions. In one aspect, a method includes receiving a request from a user of a user device to participate in a vicarious tourism session; selecting candidate docents, wherein a docent is a user who has registered to participate in vicarious tourism sessions that are relevant to a particular geographic location; providing data identifying the candidate docents for presentation to the user device; receiving a user input selecting a candidate docent; and initiating a vicarious tourism session between the selected docent and the user, wherein initiating the vicarious tourism session comprising providing a video feed of video captured from a session accessory worn by the selected docent to the user device for presentation to the user.

Claims

1. A method performed by one or more computers, the method comprising:

receiving a request from a user of a user device to participate in a vicarious tourism session;

selecting candidate docents, wherein a docent is a user who has registered to participate in vicarious tourism sessions that are relevant to a particular geographic location;

providing data identifying the candidate docents for presentation to the user device;

receiving a user input selecting a candidate docent; and

initiating a vicarious tourism session between the selected docent and the user, wherein initiating the vicarious tourism session comprising providing a video feed of video captured from a session accessory worn by the selected docent to the user device for presentation to the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the request specifies one or more tourism parameters, and wherein selecting candidate docents comprises selecting as candidate docents available docents who have registered to provide vicarious tourism sessions matching the tourism parameters specified in the request.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein selecting candidate docents further comprises:

identifying available docents.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

ranking the candidate docents based on a respective cost to the user to participate in a vicarious tourism session with each candidate docent or on user reviews of previous tourism sessions with each candidate docent.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein providing data identifying the candidate docents comprises:

providing a map interface for presentation to the user, wherein the map interface identifies locations where candidate docents are available to participate in interactive tourism sessions.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

overlaying relevant information over the video feed for presentation to the user, wherein the relevant information is relevant to the geographic location of the selected docent.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an input from the user;

determining that the input is an instruction for the selected docent; and

translating the input into one of a standardized set of commands that is understandable by the selected docent.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the standardized set of commands includes one or more of an audio signal, a touch signal, or a visual signal.

20. The computer storage medium of claim 1, the operations further comprising:

receiving an input from the user;

determining that the input is an instruction for the selected docent; and

translating the input into one of a standardized set of commands that is understandable by the selected docent.

9. A system comprising one or more computers and one or more storage devices storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

receiving a request from a user of a user device to participate in a vicarious tourism session;

selecting candidate docents, wherein a docent is a user who has registered to participate in vicarious tourism sessions that are relevant to a particular geographic location;

providing data identifying the candidate docents for presentation to the user device;

receiving a user input selecting a candidate docent; and

initiating a vicarious tourism session between the selected docent and the user, wherein initiating the vicarious tourism session comprising providing a video feed of video captured from a session accessory worn by the selected docent to the user device for presentation to the user.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the request specifies one or more tourism parameters, and wherein selecting candidate docents comprises selecting as candidate docents available docents who have registered to provide vicarious tourism sessions matching the tourism parameters specified in the request.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein selecting candidate docents further comprises:

identifying available docents.

12. The system of claim 9, the operations further comprising:

ranking the candidate docents based on a respective cost to the user to participate in a vicarious tourism session with each candidate docent or on user reviews of previous tourism sessions with each candidate docent.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein providing data identifying the candidate docents comprises:

providing a map interface for presentation to the user, wherein the map interface identifies locations where candidate docents are available to participate in interactive tourism sessions.

14. The system of claim 9, the operations further comprising:

overlaying relevant information over the video feed for presentation to the user, wherein the relevant information is relevant to the geographic location of the selected docent.

15. The system of claim 9, the operations further comprising:

receiving an input from the user;

determining that the input is an instruction for the selected docent; and

translating the input into one of a standardized set of commands that is understandable by the selected docent.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the standardized set of commands includes one or more of an audio signal, a touch signal, or a visual signal.

19. The computer storage medium of claim 9, wherein providing data identifying the candidate docents comprises:

providing a map interface for presentation to the user, wherein the map interface identifies locations where candidate docents are available to participate in interactive tourism sessions.

17. A computer storage medium encoded with instructions that, when executed by one or more computers, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising:

receiving a request from a user of a user device to participate in a vicarious tourism session;

selecting candidate docents, wherein a docent is a user who has registered to participate in vicarious tourism sessions that are relevant to a particular geographic location;

providing data identifying the candidate docents for presentation to the user device;

receiving a user input selecting a candidate docent; and

initiating a vicarious tourism session between the selected docent and the user, wherein initiating the vicarious tourism session comprising providing a video feed of video captured from a session accessory worn by the selected docent to the user device for presentation to the user.

18. The computer storage medium of claim 17, wherein the request specifies one or more tourism parameters, and wherein selecting candidate docents comprises selecting as candidate docents available docents who have registered to provide vicarious tourism sessions matching the tourism parameters specified in the request.