Route notification when integrating instant messaging systems and sensors

• US 7,580,710 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2006
• Issued: 08/25/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Nowak, Justyna M., Moore, Victor S., Katz, Neil A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ly; Nghi H
• Application Number:
  US11/380,932
• Publication Number:
  US 20070254669A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,213 Days
• Field of Search: 455/445, 455/466, 455/404.2, 455/456.1, 370/328, 370/338
• US Class Current: 455/445
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A method of providing route notification to sensors within an Instant Messaging (IM) network can include estimating one or more travel route of a user having a mobile device that is IM enabled, wherein the estimated route specifies at least one future location, identifying one or more sensors within a predetermined distance of a point along the travel route(s), notifying the sensor(s) of the approaching user via the IM network, and collecting sensor information for each of the one or more sensor in anticipation of the approaching user.

Claims

1. A method of providing route notification to sensors within an Instant Messaging (IM) network comprising:

estimating at least one travel route of a user having a mobile device that is IM enabled, wherein the estimated route specifies at least one future location;

identifying at least one sensor within a predetermined distance of a point along the travel route;

notifying the at least one sensor of the approaching user via the IM network; and

collecting sensor information for each of the at least one sensor in anticipation of the approaching user.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising outputting to the mobile device, via the IM network, sensor information collected by each of the at least one sensor.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein outputting to the mobile device, via the IM network, sensor information collected by each of the at least one sensor further comprises outputting sensor information selected according to the identity of the user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein estimating at least one travel route further comprises computing a probability indicating a likelihood of being traveled by the user for each of the at least one travel routes.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a query, via the IM network, from the mobile device directed to sensor information collected by at least one of the identified sensors; and

providing a response to the query to the mobile device, via the IM network, by the at least one sensor.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising selectively notifying the user of the availability of a sensor within the IM network according to the distance of the mobile device of the user to the sensor.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying sensors further comprises selecting only sensors that the user is permitted to access.

8. A system for providing route notification to sensors within an Instant Messaging (IM) network comprising:

a location service that determines locations of a user having an IM enabled mobile device;

a path probability and policy service that estimates at least one travel route for the user, wherein the estimated route specifies at least one future location, and identifies at least one sensor within a predetermined distance of a point along each of the at least one travel route;

a messaging service that informs the at least one identified sensor that the user is approaching via the IM network; and

a sensor that collects sensor information in anticipation of the approaching user.

9. The system of claim 8, further comprising a map service having a collection of maps comprising at least one of a geographic map or a map of a structure, wherein the path probability and policy service uses the collection of maps in estimating the at least one travel route for the user.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the path probability and policy service computes a probability for each of the at least one travel routes, wherein each probability indicates a likelihood that the user will travel that travel route.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the path probability and policy service selects only estimated travel routes having a probability above a predetermined threshold.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the path probability and policy service further selects only sensors that the user is permitted to access.

13. The system of claim 8, further comprising an IM bot associated with the identified sensor, wherein responsive to being informed of the approaching user, the IM bot instructs the sensor, via the IM network, to refresh sensor information in anticipation of the approaching user.

14. A machine readable storage having stored thereon a computer program having a plurality of code sections comprising:

code for estimating at least one travel route of a user having a mobile device that is IM enabled, wherein the estimated route specifies at least one future location;

code for identifying at least one sensor within a predetermined distance of a point along the travel route;

code for notifying the at least one sensor of the approaching user via the IM network; and

code for collecting sensor information for each of the at least one sensor in anticipation of the approaching user.

15. The machine readable storage of claim 14, further comprising code for outputting to the mobile device, via the IM network, sensor information collected by each of the at least one sensor.

16. The machine readable storage of claim 15, wherein code for outputting to the mobile device, via the IM network, sensor information collected by each of the at least one sensor further comprises code for outputting sensor information selected according to the identity of the user.

17. The machine readable storage of claim 14, wherein the code for estimating at least one travel route further comprises code for computing a probability indicating a likelihood of being traveled by the user for each of the at least one travel routes.

18. The machine readable storage of claim 14, further comprising:

code for receiving a query, via the IM network, from the mobile device directed to sensor information collected by at least one of the identified sensors; and

code for providing a response to the query to the mobile device, via the IM network, by the at least one sensor.

19. The machine readable storage of claim 14, further comprising code for selectively notifying the user of an availability of a sensor within the IM network according to the distance of the mobile device of the user to the sensor.

20. The machine readable storage of claim 14, wherein the code for identifying sensors further comprises code for selecting only sensors that the user is permitted to access.