Collaborative and situationally aware active billboards

• US 7,515,136 B1
• Filed: 07/31/2008
• Issued: 04/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Activision Publishing Incorporated (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Sicconi, Roberto, Kanevsky, Dimitri, Viswanathan, Mahesh, Ramabhadran, Bhuvana
• Primary Examiner(s): Dinh, Duc Q.
• Application Number:
  US12/183,651
• Time in Patent Office: 250 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/1.1, 345/1.2, 345/1.3, 345/2.1, 345/2.2, 345/2.3
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices

Abstract

A method of collaborative interactions with billboards includes receiving a request, by a billboard network manager, from an advertisement company to display synchronized interactive advertisements and video games on billboards in an area, inviting users in the area to participate in the advertisements and video games through the billboards and mobile devices of the users via a network, checking registration of the users to participate in the collaborative interactions with billboards, and checking a volume of the users in the area for appropriate synchronized advertisements and video games. If the volume of users is appropriate for synchronized advertisements and video games, then the billboard network manager displays the synchronized advertisements and video games, and continues to track the volume of the users in the area. If the volume of users is not appropriate for synchronized advertisements and video games, then the billboard network management reconfigures synchronized billboard content for more appropriate advertisements and video games by one of randomly changing a content, and propagating and extending through synchronized billboards a particular content of some billboard section that brought more interest from the users.

Claims

1. A method of collaborative interactions with billboards, said method comprising:

receiving a request, by a billboard network manager, from an advertisement company to display synchronized interactive advertisements and video games on billboards in an area;

inviting users in the area to participate in the advertisements and video games through the billboards and mobile devices of the users via a network;

checking registration of the users to participate in the collaborative interactions with billboards,

wherein if the users are not registered for participation, then the billboard network manager registers the users;

checking a volume of the users in the area for appropriate synchronized advertisements and video games,

wherein if the volume of users is appropriate for the synchronized advertisements and video games, then the billboard network manager displays the synchronized advertisements and video games, and continues to track the volume of the users in the area,

wherein if the volume of users is not appropriate for the synchronized advertisements and video games, then the billboard network management reconfigures synchronized billboard content for more appropriate advertisements and video games,

wherein said reconfiguration of synchronized billboard content is performed by one of randomly changing a content, and propagating and extending through synchronized billboards a particular content of a billboard section that has high interest for the users,

wherein said interest from the users is defined by reading biometrics of the users, and

wherein said randomly changing the content is performed by choosing a new content from an advertisement and video games database.