Short-range communication enabled location service

• US 8,527,348 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2011
• Issued: 09/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Petrov, Tsvetomir Petrov
• Primary Examiner(s): Hamilton, Matthew L
• Application Number:
  US13/250,791
• Publication Number:
  US 20120290396A1
• Time in Patent Office: 704 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14
• US Class Current: 705/14.64
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

In some examples, aspects of the present disclosure may include techniques to identify a physical location of an item with potentially enhanced precision. In one example, a method includes, receiving an item descriptor that describes one or more physical items. The method also includes receiving a data payload from a peripheral device using short-range wireless communication that includes information usable to locate at least one of the one or more physical items. The further includes selecting physical location data based on the item descriptor and the data payload, wherein the physical location data includes a representation of a physical location of the at least one of the one or more physical items; and outputting the physical location data that is usable to locate the at least one of the one or more physical items.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a mobile computing device, an item descriptor that describes one or more physical items;

receiving, by the mobile computing device, from a communication tag using short-range wireless communication, a data payload comprising information usable to locate at least one of the one or more physical items;

comparing, by the mobile computing device, physical position data that indicates a direction that the mobile computing device is currently facing to information indicating a perspective of the communication tag relative to the direction;

selecting, by the mobile computing device, physical location data based on the item descriptor, the data payload received by the mobile computing device from the wireless communication tag, and the comparing of physical position data to information indicating the perspective of the communication tag, wherein the physical location data includes a representation of a physical location of the at least one of the one or more physical items; and

outputting, by the mobile computing device and based at least in part on the selected physical location data, the representation of the physical location of the at least one of the one or more physical items.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting, by the mobile computing device, a second item related to the at least one of the one or more physical items according to at least one relationship criterion;

responsive to selecting the second item, selecting, by the mobile computing device, second physical location data associated with the second item, wherein the second physical location data includes a representation of a second physical location of the second item; and

outputting, by the mobile computing device, the second physical location data of the second item.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining, by the mobile computing device, that the at least one item has a contextual relationship with the second item; and

selecting, by the mobile computing device, the second item based at least on the contextual relationship with the at least one item.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the mobile computing device, that the physical location data is not available based on the item descriptor and the data payload;

selecting, by the mobile computing device, a related item descriptor based on the data payload and the item descriptor; and

outputting, by the mobile computing device, the related item descriptor.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating, by the mobile computing device, an item description comprising information that describes a product or service based on the data payload and the item descriptor; and

responsive to the generating, outputting, by the mobile computing device, an advertisement with the physical location data.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication tag comprises a Near Field Communication tag.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the physical location data based on the item descriptor and the data payload further comprises:

querying, by the mobile computing device, a repository that includes the physical location data based on the item descriptor and the data payload; and

responsive to the query, receiving, by the mobile computing device, the physical location data.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the repository comprises a database stored on the mobile computing device.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving, by the mobile computing device, a group of physical location data from a repository stored on a remote server, wherein the group of physical location data includes the physical location data; and

storing, by the mobile computing device, the group of physical location data in the database.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

selecting, by the mobile computing device, the group of physical location data based on a physical location of the mobile computing device.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the repository comprises a database stored on the remote server.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the item descriptor that describes the one or more physical items further comprises:

receiving, by the mobile computing device, an audio signal that describes one or more physical items;

converting, by the mobile computing device, the audio signal to data that represents the one or more physical items; and

determining, by the mobile computing device, that the item descriptor includes the data that represents the one or more physical items.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the physical item comprises a physical object or physical location.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the physical location data further comprises at least audio data or visual data.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the data payload comprises at least one or more spatial coordinates of the communication tag or physical orientation data of the communication tag, wherein the physical orientation data indicates a physical orientation of the communication tag relative to the mobile computing device.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the data payload comprises a unique identifier of the communication tag.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the mobile computing device, a first physical orientation of the mobile computing device relative to a reference point;

generating, by the mobile computing device, physical orientation data that indicates the first physical orientation of the mobile computing device;

comparing, by the mobile computing device, the physical orientation data to information associated with the physical location data indicating a second physical orientation;

selecting, by the mobile computing device, the physical location data based on the information associated with the physical location data indicating the second physical orientation.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein outputting the physical location data that is usable to locate the at least one of the one or more physical items further comprises outputting the physical location data as a view from a perspective of a user.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors of a mobile computing device to perform operations comprising:

receiving, an item descriptor that describes one or more physical items;

receiving, from a communication tag using short-range wireless communication, a data payload comprising information usable to locate at least one of the one or more physical items;

comparing, physical position data that indicates a direction that the mobile computing device is currently facing to information indicating a perspective of the communication tag relative to the direction;

selecting physical location data based on the item descriptor, the data payload received by the mobile computing device from the wireless communication tag, and the comparing of physical position data to information indicating the perspective of the communication tag, wherein the physical location data includes a representation of a physical location of the at least one of the one or more physical items; and

outputting, based at least in part on the selected physical location data, the representation of the physical location of the at least one of the one or more physical items.

19. A computing device, comprising:

an input device to receive an item descriptor that describes one or more physical items;

a short-range communication device to receive a data payload from a communication tag using short-range wireless communication comprising information usable to locate at least one of the one or more physical items;

one or more processors configured to;

compare physical position data that indicates a direction that mobile computing device is currently facing to information indicating a perspective of the communication tag relative to the direction;

select physical location data based on the item descriptor, the data payload received by the mobile computing device from the wireless communication tag, and the comparing of physical position data to information indicating the perspective of the communication tag, wherein the physical location data includes a representation of a physical location of the at least one of the one or more physical items; and

an output device to output, based at least in part on the selected physical location data, the representation of the physical location of the at least one of the one or more physical items.