Context server for associating information based on context

• US 8,594,702 B2
• Filed: 11/06/2006
• Issued: 11/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Naaman, Mor, Davis, Marc E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Appiah, Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): YI, ALEXANDER J.
• Application Number:
  US11/593,869
• Publication Number:
  US 20080126961A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,577 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.2, 455/456.3, 455/456.1, 455/414.1, 455/425, 455/518, 715/764, 726/2, 707/E17.141, 705/14.61, 705/14.49, 701/211
• US Class Current: 455/456.2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/35 Clustering; Classification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries

Abstract

A system, method, and computer readable medium are provided for associating information (including information and services) based upon context. In one example, an apparatus includes interface logic for receiving, during a session (e.g., during a media object capture, upload session, data transfer session, or the like), context information from a user device, and user-generated information associated with the context information. The context information may relate to time, date, location, ambient conditions, biometric (e.g., relating to the user of the device), device/user identification, or combinations thereof. The apparatus further including association logic for associating service information, different from the context information, with the user-generated information based on the context information. The associated service information may include empirical information such as a map of a particular location, the map including points of interest.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a server computer comprising a processor and memory, the memory storing and the processor executing logic, the logic comprising;

interface logic for;

receiving a media object captured by at least one user device, the media object comprising image data;

receiving context information, the context information comprising capture context information of the media object and current context information of a plurality of users, and receiving user-generated subjective characterization information associated with the context information; and

association logic for associating service information, different from the context information, with the context information and the subjective characterization information of a user of the device and of the plurality of users;

the service information comprising at least a type of service to be provided to the user associated with the user device, the type of service is automatically selected from a plurality of service types and is customized based on the current context information of at least a subset of the plurality of users other than the user associated with the user device.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the associated service information comprises empirical information.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one user device comprises multiple user devices and the context information is received from the multiple user devices.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the context information comprises biometric information associated with the user.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, the memory further storing and the processor further executing service logic for providing the associated service information to at least one user based on the association of service information with the user-generated subjective characterization information or the context.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the at least one user comprises a second user other than a first user who created the user-generated subjective characterization information.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, the memory further storing and the processor further executing permissions logic for enabling the first user to grant the second user access to the service information.

8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the at least one user device comprises multiple user devices and the service information is based on a plurality of inputs from the multiple user devices.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the association logic is operable to associate the service information with user-generated subjective characterization information and context information from the multiple user devices.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the inputs comprise context information.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the inputs comprise user-generated subjective characterization information.

12. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the service information relates to a scavenger hunt.

13. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the service information relates to a scavenger hunt, the memory further storing and the processor further executing logic for providing a user device with a media object and requesting that the user find a location associated with the media object.

14. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the service information relates to a travel log, the travel log comprising a map overlaid with at least one media object associated with the user.

15. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the service information comprises a travel guide.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, the memory further storing and the processor further executing logic for providing a user device with a suggestion in response to user input and the context information.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, the memory further storing and the processor further executing logic for providing a user device with a tour.

18. The apparatus of claim 5, the memory further storing and the processor further executing logic for initiating a transfer of a context-based message to a user device in response to the context information.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the logic for initiating the transfer is operable to transfer the context-based message in response to a location of the user.

20. The apparatus of claim 5, the service information relating to an advertisement, the advertisement based on the context information.

21. The apparatus of claim 5, the service information relating to a sponsored search, the memory further storing and the processor further executing logic for initiating transfer to a user device of an advertisement based on the context information and a user search query received from the at least one user device.

22. The apparatus of claim 5, the memory further storing and the processor further executing logic for generating an away message based on the context information.

23. The apparatus of claim 5, the memory further storing and the processor further executing logic for providing information to a user based on user profile information.

24. The apparatus of claim 5, the memory further storing and the processor further executing logic for providing to the user device at least one user-created subjective characterization based on the context information.

68. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the service is selected from the plurality of service types based at least on one of a group consisting of the media object, the context information and the user-generated subjective characterization information.

25. A method comprising:

receiving by at least one server computer from at least one user device;

a media object captured by one of the at least one user device, the media object comprising image data;

context information, the context information comprising capture context information of the media object and current context information of a plurality of users;

user-generated subjective characterization information associated with the context information; and

associating, by the at least one server computer, service information, different from the context information, with the context information and the subjective characterization information of a user of the device and of the plurality of users;

the service information comprising at least a type of service to be provided to the user associated with the user device, the type of service is selected automatically from a plurality of service types and is customized based on the current context information of at least a subset of the plurality of users other than the user associated with the user device.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the associated service information comprises empirical information.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the at least one user device comprises multiple user devices and the context information is received from the multiple user devices.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein the context information comprises biometric information associated with the user.

29. The method of claim 25, further comprising directing the associated service information to at least one user based on the association of service information with the user-generated subjective characterization information or the context.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the at least one user comprises a second user other than a first user who created the user-generated subjective characterization information.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein the at least one user device comprises multiple user devices and the service information is based on a plurality of inputs from the multiple user devices.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the inputs comprise context information.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein the inputs comprise user-generated subjective characterization information.

34. The method of claim 29, wherein the service information relates to a scavenger hunt.

35. The method of claim 29, wherein the service information relates to a scavenger hunt, the method further comprising providing a user device with a media object and requesting that the user find a location associated with the media object.

36. The method of claim 29, wherein the service information relates to a travel log, the travel log comprising a map overlaid with at least one media object associated with the user.

37. The method of claim 29, wherein the service information comprises a travel guide.

38. The method of claim 37, further comprising providing a user device with a suggestion in response to user input and the context information.

39. The method of claim 37, further comprising providing a user device with a tour.

40. The method of claim 29, further comprising initiating a transfer of a context-based message to a user device in response to the context information.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein initiating the transfer is in response to a location of the user.

42. The method of claim 29, wherein the service information relates to an advertisement, the advertisement based on the context information.

43. The method of claim 29, wherein the service information relates to a sponsored search, the method further comprising initiating a transfer to a user device of an advertisement based on the context information and a user search query received from the at least one user device.

44. The method of claim 29, further comprising generating an away message based on the context information.

45. The method of claim 29, further comprising providing information to a user based on context information and user profile information.

46. The method of claim 29, further comprising providing to a user device at least one user-created subjective characterization based on the context information.

47. A computer-readable non-transitory storage medium encoded with computer program instructions that when executed by a server computer perform a process, the process comprising:

receiving from at least one user device;

a media object captured by one of the at least one user device, the media object comprising image data;

context information comprising, capture context information of the media object and current context information of a plurality of users, and user-generated subjective characterization information associated with the context information; and

associating service information, different from the context information, with the context information and the subjective characterization information of a user of the device and of the plurality of users;

the service information comprising at least a type of service to be provided to the user, the type of service is automatically selected from a plurality of service types and is customized based on the current context information of at least a subset of the plurality of users other than the user associated with the user device.

48. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 47, wherein the associated service information comprises empirical information.

49. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 47, wherein the at least one user device comprises multiple user devices and the context information is received from the multiple user devices.

50. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 47, wherein the context information comprises biometric information associated with the user.

51. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 50, the process further comprising directing the associated service information to at least one user based on the association of service information with the user-generated subjective characterization information or the context.

52. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 47, wherein the at least one user comprises a second user other than a first user who created the user-generated subjective characterization information.

53. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 47, wherein the at least one user device comprises multiple user devices and the service information is based on a plurality of inputs from the multiple user devices.

54. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 53, wherein the inputs comprise context information.

55. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 53, wherein the inputs comprise user-generated subjective characterization information.

56. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 47, wherein the service information relates to a scavenger hunt.

57. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 56, wherein the service information relates to a scavenger hunt, the process further comprising providing a user device with a media object and requesting that the user find a location associated with the media object.

58. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 56, wherein the service information relates to a travel log, the travel log comprising a map overlaid with at least one media object associated with the user.

59. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 56, wherein the service information comprises a travel guide.

60. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 59, the process further comprising providing a user device with a suggestion in response to user input and the context information.

61. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 59, the process further comprising providing a user device with a tour.

62. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 56, the process further comprising initiating a transfer of a context-based message to a user device in response to the context information.

63. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 62, wherein initiating the transfer is in response to a location of the user.

64. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 56, wherein the service information relates to an advertisement, the advertisement based on the context information.

65. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 56, wherein the service information relates to a sponsored search, the process further comprising initiating transfer to a user device of an advertisement based on the context information and a user search query received from the at least one user device.

66. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 56, the process further comprising providing information to a user based on context information and user profile information.

67. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 56, the process further comprising providing to a user device at least one user-created subjective characterization based on the context information.