Method, system, and computer program product for creating smart services

• US 8,099,084 B2
• Filed: 12/31/2006
• Issued: 01/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Scenera Mobile Technologies LLC (Scenera Research LLC)
• Original Assignee: Ektimisi Semiotics Holdings, LLC
• Inventors: Singh, Munindar P., Singh, Mona
• Primary Examiner(s): SAMS, MATTHEW C
• Application Number:
  US11/618,856
• Publication Number:
  US 20080162160A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,843 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 4554141-4144, 455418-420, 455/413, 706/12
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data

Abstract

A method, system, and computer program product are described for creating smart services. According to an exemplary embodiment, a method for creating smart services includes defining a service based on a situation of a service subscriber and an event for interacting with the subscriber on behalf of the service. Access is provided to subscriber context information based on private subscriber information. The subscriber context information is used in determining a current situation of the subscriber. The method allows the service to use the subscriber context information to generate a response to the event on behalf of the subscriber without the service having direct access to the private subscriber information.

Claims

1. A method for creating smart services, comprising:

providing a smart services middleware platform;

defining a plurality of services, wherein each service is based on a situation of a service subscriber and an event for interacting with the subscriber on behalf of each service;

providing a plurality of service agents on the smart services middleware platform, wherein each of the plurality of services is associated with a respective service agent;

providing access to subscriber context information based on private subscriber information, the subscriber context information used in determining a current situation of the subscriber; and

allowing, via each of the plurality of service agents, each service to use the subscriber context information to generate a response to the event on behalf of the subscriber without each service having direct access to the private subscriber information,

wherein at least one of the preceding actions is performed on at least one electronic hardware component.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the subscriber context information based on private subscriber information includes at least one of a location, a presence, an identity, an availability, a mobility, an activity, a status, a communicability, an interactability, and a sociability associated with the subscriber.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the subscriber context information is based on public context information including at least one of a time, a day, a month, a year, ambient conditions, geographic information, climatic information, contact directory information, traffic information, and news information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein allowing the service to use the subscriber context information comprises:

providing a user model configured to define at least one of the subscriber context information available to determine the current subscriber situation and a probability related to an availability of the subscriber for responding to the event in terms of attributes of the situation and the event defining the service.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein allowing the service to use the subscriber context information comprises:

providing a user agent for interacting with the user model and the service on behalf of the subscriber, allowing the service to use at least one of the subscriber context information and the probability related to the availability of the subscriber to generate a response to the event on behalf of the subscriber.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising maintaining a user directory for storing subscriber information used in delivering the service to the subscriber, the subscriber information including at least one of service subscription information identifying a subscription to the service for the subscriber, context availability information identifying the subscriber context and private subscriber information available in delivering the service, and context authorization information identifying the subscriber context and private subscriber information the subscriber has authorized the service to use in delivering the service.

7. The method of claim 1, comprising allowing the service to access service-specific resources used in delivering the service to the subscriber, wherein the service-specific resources are made only indirectly available to the subscriber via the response to the service event.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising allowing for the event to be defined in terms of an event type and an associated event attribute.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the event type includes at least one of a call, a reminder, a message, and an alert.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the event attribute comprises at least one of a number of event retries, a recency of a related past event, and an attribute of a person related to the event including at least one of a relationship between the subscriber and the person, a history between the subscriber and the person, and credentials of the person.

11. The method of claim 8, comprising allowing the event type and its associated event attribute to be combined with another event type and associated event attribute to define a composite event, wherein the composite event can be used for interacting with the subscriber on behalf of a service.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the composite event can represent a pattern across a plurality of events related to the service for interacting with at least one of the subscriber and another user on behalf of a service.

13. A system for creating smart services, comprising:

a smart services middleware platform including;

a service model component configured to define a plurality of services, wherein each service is based on a situation of a service subscriber and an event for interacting with the subscriber on behalf of each service;

a user agent component, operatively coupled to the service model component, the user agent component configured to provide access to subscriber context information based on private subscriber information and to use the subscriber context information to determine a current situation of the subscriber; and

the smart services middleware platform configured to provide a plurality of service agent components on the smart services middleware platform, wherein each of the plurality of services is associated with a respective a service agent component, operatively coupled to the user agent component, the service agent component configured to allow each service to use the subscriber context information to generate a response to the event on behalf of the subscriber without each service having direct access to the private subscriber information,

wherein at least one of the components includes at least one electronic hardware component.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the service model component includes a situation model component comprising one or more context element components representing subscriber context information based on private subscriber information, the one or more context element components representing at least one of a location, a presence, an identity, an availability, a mobility, an activity, a status, a communicability, an interactability, and a sociability associated with the subscriber.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the situation model component includes one or more additional context element components representing subscriber context information based on public context information, the one or more additional context element components representing at least one of a time, a day, a month, a year, ambient conditions, geographic information, climatic information, contact directory information, traffic information, and news information.

16. The system of claim 13, comprising:

a user model component, operatively coupled to the user agent component, the user model component configured to define at least one of the subscriber context information available to determine the current subscriber situation and a probability related to an availability of the subscriber for responding to the event in terms of attributes of the situation and the event defining the service;

wherein the user agent component is configured to interact with the user model component and the service agent component on behalf of the subscriber, allowing the service agent component to use at least one of the subscriber context information and the probability related to the availability of the subscriber to generate a response to the event on behalf of the subscriber.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the user model component is formalized in a graph-theoretic representation including a Resource Description Format (RDF) representation that is renderable in an Extensible Markup Language (XML) format.

18. The system of claim 13, comprising:

a user directory component, operatively coupled to the user agent component, the user directory component configured to store subscriber information used in delivering the service to the subscriber, the subscriber information including at least one of service subscription information identifying a subscription to the service for the subscriber, context availability information identifying the subscriber context and private subscriber information available in delivering the service, and context authorization information identifying the subscriber context and private subscriber information the subscriber has authorized the service to use in delivering the service.

19. The system of claim 13, wherein the service agent component is configured to access service-specific resources used in delivering the service to the subscriber, wherein the service-specific resources are made only indirectly available to the subscriber via the response to the service event.

20. The system of claim 13, wherein the service model component includes an event model component configured to define the event in terms of one or more event type components and one or more associated event attribute components.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the one or more event type components represent at least one of a call, a reminder, a message, and an alert.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein the one or more associated event attribute components represent at least one of a number event retries, a recency of a related past event, and an attribute of a person related to the event including at least one of a relationship between the subscriber and the person, a history between the subscriber and the person, and credentials of the person.

23. The system of claim 19, wherein the event model component is configured to define a composite event in terms of a combination of a first event type component, and its associated one or more event attribute components, and a second event type component, and its one or more associated event attribute components, wherein the composite event can be used for interacting with the subscriber on behalf of a service.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein the composite event can represent a pattern across a plurality of events related to the service for interacting with at least one of the subscriber and another user on behalf of a service.

25. The system of claim 16, wherein the service model component is formalized in a graph-theoretic representation including a Resource Description Format (RDF) representation that is renderable in an Extensible Markup Language (XML) format.

26. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing a computer program, executable by a machine, for creating smart services, the computer program comprising executable instructions for:

providing a smart services middleware platform;

defining a plurality of services, wherein each service is based on a situation of a service subscriber and an event for interacting with the subscriber on behalf of each service;

providing a plurality of service agents on the smart services middleware platform, wherein each of the plurality of services is associated with a respective service agent;

providing access to subscriber context information based on private subscriber information, the subscriber context information used in determining a current situation of the subscriber; and

allowing, via each of the plurality of service agents, each service to use the subscriber context information to generate a response to the event on behalf of the subscriber without each service having direct access to the private subscriber information.

27. A system for the creating smart services, comprising:

means for providing a smart services middleware platform;

means for defining a plurality of services, wherein each service is based on a situation of a service subscriber and an event for interacting with the subscriber on behalf of each service;

means for providing a plurality of service agents on the smart services middleware platform, wherein each of the plurality of services is associated with a respective service agent;

means for providing access to subscriber context information based on private subscriber information, the subscriber context information used in determining a current situation of the subscriber; and

means for allowing, via each of the plurality of service agents, each service to use the subscriber context information to generate a response to the event on behalf of the subscriber without each service having direct access to the private subscriber information, wherein at least one of the means includes at least one electronic hardware component.