Integration of location logs, GPS signals, and spatial resources for identifying user activities, goals, and context

• US 7,925,995 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2005
• Issued: 04/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Horvitz, Eric J., Krumm, John C., Hariharan, Ramaswamy
• Primary Examiner(s): Hutton; Doug
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dasgupta; Soumya
• Application Number:
  US11/172,474
• Publication Number:
  US 20070006098A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,112 Days
• Field of Search: 715/855, 715/857, 715/862, 715/864, 715/851
• US Class Current: 715/855
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2457 with adaptation to user needs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals

Abstract

Described are methods that utilize a geographic location technology (e.g., GPS) to determine user location data, and existing network-based websites (e.g., Internet websites) for searching and accessing data related to the location data such that the user context can be developed and stored. A location component is provided that determines location data of a wireless communications device of a user. A context component is provided that accesses context data based on the location data to define a context in which the device is located. Activities, goals, and overall context of a user can be inferred through statistical fusion of multiple sources of evidence. The context data is presented to the user via the wireless device such that the user can make decisions as to where to go, for example. User preferences can be accessed and applied to filter context data according to what the user desires to see and access.

Claims

1. A system of determining user goals associated with a user context, comprising:

means for computing location coordinates of a user using a GPS-enabled wireless device;

means for generating a field of view to query in a direction pointed to by the wireless device, the field of view is generated based on user input;

means for searching a network of websites using the location coordinates as search terms;

means for predicting a future activity of the user based on context data comprising at least one environmental parameter relating to surroundings of the user;

means for retrieving a list of links to websites that associate the location coordinates with at least one of a street or an address, wherein the list of links is further filtered based at least on the directions and the dimensions of the field of view and the predicted user activity;

means for querying the websites on the list of links using at least one of the street or the address to find a first list of nearby businesses;

means for filtering the first list of nearby businesses, the filtering creating a second list of businesses based on the predicted future activity of the user and user preferences; and

means for displaying the second list of associated businesses to the user.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the location component utilizes a geographic location technology that employs at least one of global positioning system (GPS), WiFi triangulation, cell phone triangulation, signal strength, and digital television signals to determine the location data.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the location data is latitude/longitude data that is used as search data to return a website that associates the location data with at least one of a street and an address.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the location data is latitude/longitude data that is used as search data to return a website that associates the location data with a business proximately located to the location data.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the context component utilizws a Bayesian network that processes temporally at least one environmental data, the location data, velocity data, communications shadow data, and a time since a prior activity was confirmed or inferred as occurring.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the location component and the context component facilitate mapping at least one of streets, addresses, and businesses that the user has visited.

16. The system of claim 1, further comprising a power management component that manages device power according to at least one of the context data, the location data, and inferred parameters.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the first list of businesses includes a business located inside or behind a structure situated in the direction.

18. The system of claim 1, further comprising a machine learning and reasoning component that employs a probabilistic and/or statistical-based analysis to prognose or infer a situation or an action that the user desires to be automatically performed.

2. A method of operating a GPS-enabled wireless device, the method comprising:

computing location coordinates of a user using the GPS-enabled wireless device;

predicting a future activity of the user based on user context at the location coordinates;

determining a direction in which the wireless device is pointed by the user;

receiving user input determining dimensions of a field of view to query;

generating the field of view including the direction;

searching websites disposed on a network using a search query to identify businesses within the field of view related to the predicted future activity, the search query being based at least on the location coordinates and coordinates for the field of view;

retrieving a list of links to websites of businesses that satisfy the search query;

querying the websites on the list of links to find information associated with the businesses an associated business;

inferring business information obtained from the querying of the websites that is of interest to the user based upon historical data associated with the user and user preferences; and

presenting the inferred business information to the user.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising an act of querying a shadow log to determine if the wireless device has or is about to enter a communications shadow.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising an act of determining a user identity of the user and storing business information of the business in association with the user identity as at least a portion of the historical data.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising an act of applying user preferences to filter an amount of information of the inferred business information.

6. The method of claim 2,wherein determining a direction includes:

computing a direction of travel.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein presenting the inferred business information includes automatically annotating a map based on the location coordinates and at least one member of a group comprising:

a street, an address, and a business name, any of which is proximally associated with the location coordinates.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein the context data comprises a time since an activity of the same type as the predicted future activity was carried out.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein the context data comprises at least one environmental parameter relating to surroundings of the user, the at least one environmental parameter comprising at least one of ambient lighting, time of day, day of year and season.

10. A system that facilitates the identification of user goals, comprising the following computer executable components stored in computer memory and executable by a processor:

a processor; and

a computer readable storage medium storing computer executable instructions, the computer executable instructions, when executed by the processor, implement components comprising;

a location component that determines location data of a wireless communications device of a user, wherein the location data comprises location co-ordinates, the location component searches a network of websites and resolves the location co-ordinates into a nearest street address;

a context component that;

accesses context data, the context data including location data, includes a directional component that, based on user input, generates a query cone defining dimensions of space to query in a direction pointed by the wireless communications device, obtains a fist list of businesses that are situated in the direction of the query cone based at least on the location data, the direction, and the dimensions of the query cone, predicts a future activity of the user based on the context data, and filters the fist list of businesses, the filtering creating a second list of businesses based at least on the predicted future activity of the user; and

a display component that displays at least a portion of the filtered second list of businesses on the wireless communications device, wherein

the context data comprises at least one environmental parameter relating to surroundings of the user; and

the system further comprises at least one sensor to determine the at least one environmental parameter.

19. The system of claim 10, wherein the at least one environmental parameter comprises at least one of temperature, barometric pressure and humidity.