Mobile record information entry and geotagging

• US 8,265,871 B1
• Filed: 09/29/2011
• Issued: 09/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Starns, Alexander Thomas, Williams, Matthew Lawrence
• Primary Examiner(s): Chen, Shelley
• Application Number:
  US13/249,102
• Time in Patent Office: 348 Days
• Field of Search: 701/208
• US Class Current: 701/451
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries

Abstract

Mobile record information entry and geotagging methods and systems are disclosed. A method for managing an accurate collection of geographical information system (GIS) data over the World Wide Web from a plurality of mobile computing devices operated by different users at various locations in a geographical area is disclosed. A browser may allow a user of a mobile computing device to enter record information associated with businesses based on observations made at different locations and may add geographical tags to the record information to obtain geotagged record information. The geographical tags may include geospatial location information that specifies the current geographical location of a mobile computing device at the time of user entry. GIS data may be updated based on the geotagged record information received from the browser.

Claims

1. A method for managing a collection of geographical information system (GIS) data over a network, comprising:

receiving a universal resource locator passed from a browser of a mobile computing device, wherein the universal resource locator includes geospatial location information that specifies a current geographical location of the mobile computing device;

parsing the universal resource locator to obtain the geospatial location information;

identifying a list of businesses within a region at the geographical location;

sending the identified list of businesses to the browser;

receiving geotagged record information from the browser, wherein the geotagged record information includes record information associated with the listed businesses and entered by a user of the browser based on observations made by the user at different locations corresponding to the respective listed businesses and includes geographical tags having geospatial location information that specifies the current geographical location of the mobile computing device at the time of user record information entry;

updating data of a database based on the received geotagged record information; and

automatically assigning a confidence score indicative of a relatively high confidence for the data updated based on the received geotagged record information.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the updated data and the assigned confidence score in a storage device coupled to the administrator computing device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the updated data and assigned confidence score in a storage device that can be accessed by a remote web service.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the record information includes data parameters, the data parameters including business name, business address, business operating characteristics data, neighborhood features, and amenities data, and wherein updating comprises storing the data parameters in one or more records along with the geospatial location information.

5. A system for managing a collection of geographical information system (GIS) data over a network, comprising:

an administrator computing device having an GIS information manager; and

a GIS database coupled to the administrator computing device,

wherein the GIS information manager;

receives a universal resource locator passed from a browser of a mobile computing device, wherein the universal resource locator includes geospatial location information that specifies the current geographical location of the mobile computing device,

parses the universal resource locator to obtain the geospatial location information,

identifies a list of businesses within a region that includes the geographical location of the obtained geospatial location information,

outputs the identified list of businesses to the browser,

receives the geotagged record information from the browser, wherein the geotagged record information includes record information associated with the listed businesses and entered by a user of the browser based on observations made by the user at different locations corresponding to the respective listed businesses and includes geographical tags having geospatial location information that specifies the current geographical location of the mobile computing device at the time of user record information entry

outputs updates to data stored in the GIS database based on the received geotagged record information, and

automatically assigns confidence scores indicative of a relatively high confidence for the updates to the data, wherein the confidence scores are based on the received geotagged record information.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the GIS database includes a storage device and the GIS database further stores the updated data and assigned confidence scores in records in the storage device.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the GIS database is configured to be accessed by a remote web service.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein the record information includes data parameters, the data parameters including business name, business address, business operating characteristics data, neighborhood features, and amenities data, and the updated data stored in storage device includes the data parameters stored in one or more records along with the geospatial location information.

9. A method comprising:

receiving a list of businesses within a region of a geographical location of a mobile computing device, wherein the list of businesses is determined from a universal resource locator passed from a browser of the mobile computing device, and wherein the universal resource locator includes geospatial location information that specifies a current geographical location of the mobile computing device;

enabling a user through the browser at the mobile computing device to enter record information associated with the listed businesses based on observations made by the user at different locations corresponding to the respective listed businesses;

automatically geotagging the record information entered by the user to obtain geotagged record information having geographical tags including geospatial location information that specifies the current geographical location of the mobile computing device at the time of user record information entry; and

sending the geotagged record information from the browser to a remote administrator computing device for storage in a GIS database, wherein a confidence score indicative of a relatively high confidence is assigned to the geotagged record information based on the geographical tags.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

obtaining geospatial location information from a location determination unit in the mobile computing device based upon one or more of GPS, Wifi, or cell tower location information associated with the mobile computing device;

assembling the universal resource locator that includes the geospatial location information; and

passing the universal resource locator from the browser of the mobile computing device to the administrator computing device, whereby the administrator computing device processes the universal resource locator and returns the list of businesses to the browser for verification by the user.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the obtaining, the assembling and the passing are performed prior to user data entry.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the obtaining, the assembling and the passing are performed in response to a selection by a user at a user interface element in the browser at about the time of data entry before the automatically geotagging.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

displaying a first display view having a map including an icon representing the current geographical location of the mobile computing device and street address information associated with the current geographical location of the mobile computing device, a first user interface element that enables the user to initiate data verification, and a second user interface element that enables the user to initiate retrieval of a current location for the mobile computing device.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the enabling of record information entry comprises displaying one or more display views, each display view allowing text entry and having a user interface element that enables the user to initiate retrieval current location for the mobile computing device.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the enabling of record information entry enables entry of record information including data parameters, the data parameters including business name, business address, business operating characteristics data, neighborhood features, and amenities data, and wherein the updating comprises storing the data parameters in records along with corresponding geospatial location information.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

displaying a display view having a map including an indication of an assignment area of the user.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

displaying a display view having a listing of records assigned to the user for verification.

18. An apparatus, comprising:

a GIS data verifier, implemented on a mobile computing device having a browser and a location determination unit;

wherein the mobile computing receives a list of businesses within a region of a geographical location of the mobile computing device, wherein the list of businesses is determined from a universal resource locator passed from the browser of the mobile computing device, and wherein the universal resource locator includes geospatial location information that specifies a current geographical location of the mobile computing device;

wherein the GIS data verifier

enables a user through the browser at the mobile computing device to enter record information associated with the listed businesses based on observations made by the user at different locations corresponding to the respective listed businesses, and

automatically geotags the record information entered by the user to obtain geotagged record information having geographical tags including geospatial location information obtained by the location determination unit that specifies the current geographical location of the mobile computing device at the time of user record information entry; and

wherein a communication unit sends the geotagged record information from the browser to a remote administrator computing device for storage in a GIS database, wherein a confidence score indicative of a relatively high confidence is assigned to the sent geotagged record information.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein

the geospatial location information is based upon one or more of satellite, network or cell tower location information associated with the mobile computing device from the location determination unit, and

wherein the GIS data verifier

assembles the universal resource locator that includes the determined geospatial location information and

passes the universal resource locator from the browser of the mobile computing device to the remote administrator computing device.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the GIS data verifier displays through the browser on a display screen of the mobile computing device a first display view having a map including an icon representing the current geographical location of the user and street address information associated with the current geographical location of the mobile computing device, a first user interface element that enables the user to initiate data verification, and a second user interface element that enables the user to initiate retrieval of current location for the mobile computing device.

21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the GIS data verifier initiates a display of one or more display views that enable record information entry, each display view allowing text entry and having a user interface element that enables the user to initiate retrieval of current location for the mobile computing device.