Geo-targeted data collection or other action

• US 8,533,215 B2
• Filed: 05/30/2011
• Issued: 09/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Szabo, Jason Leslie, Frankel, Charles
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Wilson
• Application Number:
  US13/118,505
• Publication Number:
  US 20120310967A1
• Time in Patent Office: 834 Days
• Field of Search: 707723-736, 707759-769, 340988-994, 340/995.1, 34099511- 19, 340/995.2, 34099521- 23
• US Class Current: 707/766
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries

Abstract

Information may be associated with geographic locations, and requests for this information may be used to determine future actions. In one example, a search engine returns results that refer to places having physical geographic locations. If imagery of the geographic locations is available, the imagery may be shown to the person who requests the information. If imagery is not available, this unavailability may be treated as a failure. If a number of failures occurs in a geographic area, then resources (e.g., a car with a camera) may be deployed to collect imagery of that area. In another example, knowledge about a geographic concentration of requests might be used to disambiguate a request relating to a larger area (e.g., requests relating to “Minneapolis” might be focused on the area near the I-35 bridge, if data show that many requests in Minneapolis are for the area around that bridge).

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable storage memories that store executable instructions to provide information, the instructions, when executed by a computer, causing the computer to perform acts comprising:

receiving a request for first information;

responding to said request by providing said first information, an item of said first information being associated with a geographic location;

determining whether second information associated with said geographic location is available in a database, said second information being distinct from said first information;

based on whether said second information is available in said database, either providing said second information with said first information or recording a fact that said second information is unavailable;

said database containing images, said database not containing an image of said geographic location, said acts further comprising;

identifying a region in which to collect imagery based on predicted effectiveness of preventing failures to provide imagery in response to future requests.

2. The one or more computer-readable storage memories of claim 1, wherein said second information comprises an image of said geographic location.

3. The one or more computer-readable storage memories of claim 2, said acts further comprising:

dispatching a vehicle to collect said image.

4. The one or more computer-readable storage memories of claim 3, said vehicle being a land vehicle, said image being a street-side image of said geographic location.

5. The one or more computer-readable storage memories of claim 1, said acts further comprising:

dispatching a vehicle to collect imagery of said region.

6. The one or more computer-readable storage memories of claim 1, said region being identified, and said effectiveness determined, based on geographic density of past failures to provide imagery in response to past requests.

7. The one or more computer-readable storage memories of claim 1, said region being identified, and said effectiveness determined, based on frequency of failures of to provide imagery in response to past requests.

8. The one or more computer-readable storage memories of claim 1, said region being identified, and said effectiveness determined, based on an upward trend of requests in said region.

9. A method of performing an action based on geographic locations associated with requests for first information, the method comprising:

using a processor to perform acts comprising;

receiving requests for said first information;

determining geographic locations associated with items of said first information;

recording said geographic locations in a history;

identifying a region that contains one or more of said geographic locations; and

taking an action with respect to said region, wherein said action comprises either collecting second information in said region or directing a future search result to a specific location in said region, said action being to direct a future search result to a specific location in said region, said requests comprising a query that identifies said region but that does not identify said specific location in said region, said acts further comprising;

providing, to a user who issued said query, said specific location as a result based on how many past requests for said specific location have been received.

10. The method of claim 9, said second information being imagery, said action being to collect second information by photographing said imagery.

11. The method of claim 10, said acts further comprising:

using a vehicle to collect said imagery.

12. The method of claim 11, said imagery being street-side photos, said acts further comprising:

using a land vehicle to collect said street-side photos.

13. The method of claim 9, said second information being imagery, said action being to collect second information by photographing said imagery, said identifying of said region comprising:

determining that photographing said region is expected to reduce future failures to provide imagery of geographic locations associated with future requested locations.

14. The method of claim 13, expected effectiveness of reduction of future failures being determined based on geographic density of past failures to provide imagery in response to past requests.

15. The method of claim 13, expected effectiveness of reduction of future failures being determined based on frequency of failures of to provide imagery in response to past requests.

16. The method of claim 13, expected effectiveness of reduction of future failures being determined based on an upward trend of requests in said region.

17. A system for providing information, the system comprising:

a memory;

a processor; and

one or more components that are stored in said memory and that execute on said processor, the one or more components comprising;

a search engine that receives a query, that provides a result based on said query, that determines a geographic location associated with said result, that consults a database to determine whether an image associated with said geographic location is available, that provides said image if said image is available, and that creates an unavailability record for said geographic location if said image is not available; and

an unavailability analyzer that identifies a region in which collection of information is expected to be effective at reducing unavailability of images in response to future requests.

18. The system of claim 17, in which said unavailability analyzer determines effectiveness at reducing unavailability of images based on geographic density of past failures to provide imagery in response to past queries and based on frequency of failures of to provide imagery in response to past queries.

19. The system of claim 17, in which said unavailability analyzer determines effectiveness at reducing unavailability of images based on an upward trend of requests in said region.

20. The system of claim 17, further comprising:

a dispatcher that dispatches a vehicle to said region with a list of areas to capture imagery.