Identifying geospatial patterns from device data

• US 8,504,512 B2
• Filed: 12/02/2009
• Issued: 08/06/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Herzog, Shai, Lin, Jyh-Han, Abel, Miller Thomas, Khosravy, Moe, Woodcock, Katrika, Weber, Karon A., Lau, James Kai Yu
• Primary Examiner(s): Chaki, Kakali
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bharadwaj, Kalpana
• Application Number:
  US12/629,679
• Publication Number:
  US 20110131172A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,343 Days
• Field of Search: 706/58
• US Class Current: 706/58
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/048 Fuzzy inferencing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/007 using computer methods

Abstract

Determining geospatial patterns from device data collected from a plurality of computing devices. The devices represent, for example, a plurality of sources providing the device data. The device data describes the computing devices and/or environments thereof. Some embodiments present the determined patterns to users for editing, update maps with the edited patterns, and distribute the maps to the users. The maps are stored to create a searchable map library.

Claims

1. A system for creating temporal maps based on geospatial patterns, said system comprising:

a memory area for storing device data received from one or more of a plurality of mobile computing devices, said device data describing said one or more of the plurality of mobile computing devices or environments thereof; and

a processor programmed to;

infer at least one temporal geospatial pattern from the received device data;

present the inferred temporal geospatial pattern to at least one user of the one or more of the plurality of mobile computing devices;

receive a response from said at least one user;

generate a temporal map based at least on the inferred temporal geospatial pattern;

select one or more of the plurality of mobile computing devices; and

provide, based on the response received from said at least one user, the generated temporal map to the selected mobile computing devices.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further programmed to generate a confidence factor associated with the inferred temporal geospatial pattern, wherein the selected mobile computing devices accept or reject the provided map based at least on the generated confidence factor.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the confidence factor includes a weight value based on one or more of the following:

a quantity of the mobile computing devices associated with the inferred temporal geospatial pattern, and a location of the one or more of the plurality of mobile computing devices.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the device data describes one or more of the following:

location, elevation, heading, speed, acceleration, direction, weather, messages, user interaction, image data, voice data, text data, and files.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the temporal geospatial pattern includes one or more of the following:

a navigation path, a point of interest, one or more time periods, a weight value, a dwell time at a location, and a social event.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further programmed to store the generated temporal map in a library of archived temporal maps.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

means for creating the temporal map based on the inferred temporal geospatial pattern; and

means for identifying the inferred temporal geospatial pattern.

8. A method comprising:

accessing, by a processor, device data received from a first plurality of computing devices, said device data describing the first plurality of computing devices or environments thereof;

identifying at least one geospatial pattern from the accessed device data, the identified at least one geospatial pattern being presented to at least one user of the first plurality of computing devices;

defining map data based on a response from said at least one user, at least on using the identified at least one geospatial pattern; and

transmitting the defined map data to a second plurality of computing devices, wherein the second plurality of computing devices determines whether to incorporate the defined map data into at least one map for presentation to users of the second plurality of computing devices,

wherein the first plurality of computing devices and the second plurality of computing devices are peers.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein accessing the device data comprises accessing the device data received within a pre-defined time period.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

identifying users associated with the first plurality of computing devices; and

obtaining user data associated with the identified users, wherein identifying the at least one geospatial pattern comprises correlating the accessed device data with the obtained user data.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein obtaining the user data comprises obtaining one or more of the following:

calendar data, message data, task data, social networking data, location data, and a purchase history.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the defined map data indicates a hazard at a location, and further comprising selecting the second plurality of computing devices based on the location.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

identifying another geospatial pattern relating to said at least one geospatial pattern; and

notifying the first plurality of computing devices of the other geospatial pattern.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein defining the map data comprises defining recommendations based on the identified geospatial pattern.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein the second plurality of computing devices includes one or more of the first plurality of computing devices.

16. A computer device comprising:

an interface component that when executed by at least one processor causes the at least one processor to receive device data from one or more of a plurality of computing devices, said device data describing said one or more of the plurality of computing devices or environments thereof;

a synthesis component that when executed by at least one processor causes the at least one processor to identify at least one geospatial pattern from the device data received by the interface component;

a feedback component that when executed by at least one processor causes the at least one processor to present the geospatial pattern identified by the synthesis component to at least one user of the plurality of computing devices, wherein the interface component receives a response from said at least one user; and

a group component that when executed by at least one processor causes the at least one processor to propagate, based on the response received by the interface component, the geospatial pattern identified by the synthesis component to one or more of the plurality of computing devices.

17. The computer device of claim 16, further comprising a map component that when executed by at least one processor causes the at least one processor to generate a map based on the geospatial pattern identified by the synthesis component.

18. The computer device of claim 16, wherein the feedback component further identifies the at least one user of the plurality of computing devices based on a location of the at least one user.

19. The computer device of claim 16, wherein the interface component receives from the at least one user of the plurality of computing devices the H:

Sef-an edit to the presented geospatial pattern.

20. The computer device of claim 16, wherein the received device data comprises a photograph, wherein the identified geospatial pattern represents a traffic hazard, and wherein the generated map includes the photograph.