Determination of a route of a mobile device in a mobile network

• US 8,825,407 B2
• Filed: 10/30/2012
• Issued: 09/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation, Vodafone IP Licensing Limited (Vodafone Group PLC)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation, Vodafone IP Licensing Limited The Connection
• Inventors: Brennan, Damian F., Hickman, Nicola Jane Inglis, Pollington, David, Scarr, Kevin
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheung, Mary
• Assistant Examiner(s): MAZZARA, ANNE MARIE
• Application Number:
  US13/663,590
• Publication Number:
  US 20130166209A1
• Time in Patent Office: 672 Days
• Field of Search: 701/119, 701/540
• US Class Current: 701/540
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/012 from other sources than vehicle or roadside beacons, e.g. mobile networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A method and system for determining a traveled route of a mobile device in a mobile network. Analysis of a network usage record identifies activities and associated activity information of the mobile device. A series of consecutive movements of the mobile device along a path of locations is determined from the activity information. Historical sets of routes of the mobile device are accessed. Each route is a set of locations from an origin location to a destination location of the route. At least one common route is ascertained from the set of routes. The locations in each common route include all of the locations on the path. The origin location and destination location of each common route is the origin location and destination location of the path, respectively. A common route of the at least one common route is designated as the traveled route of the mobile device.

Claims

1. A method for determining a traveled route of a mobile device in a mobile network, said method comprising:

analyzing, by a processor of a computer system, a network usage record that identifies a plurality of activities of the mobile device and associated activity information pertaining to each activity, wherein for each activity the associated activity information includes a start cell in which the activity was initiated, an end cell in which the activity was terminated, a start time at which the activity was initiated, and a time duration of the activity, and wherein the start time and duration for each activity defines a time interval that does not overlap the time interval defined for each other activity;

said processor determining, from the activity information of the activities, a series of consecutive movements of the mobile device along a path of locations from an origin location of the path at an earliest activity of the plurality of activities to a destination location of the path at a latest activity of the plurality of activities;

said processor accessing from storage a plurality of historical sets of routes of the mobile device, wherein each route is a set of locations from an origin location to a destination location of the route;

said processor ascertaining from the set of routes at least one common route, wherein the locations in each common route include all of the locations on the path, wherein the origin location of each common route is the origin location of the path, and wherein the destination location of each common route is the destination location of the path; and

said processor designating a common route of the at least one common route as the traveled route of the mobile device with respect to the series of consecutive movements of the mobile device along the path.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said ascertaining ascertains that the locations on the common route comprise at least one intermediate location not on the path.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said ascertaining ascertains that the at least one common route consists of a plurality of routes, and wherein the plurality of routes include routes of varying length.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said designating designates a longest route of the plurality of routes as the common route.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the longest route comprises all other routes of the plurality of routes.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining the series of consecutive movements of the mobile device along the path comprises determining that a longest time interval between consecutive activities of the consecutive movements is less than a specified time interval threshold.

7. The method of claim 1, said method further comprising for one activity of the plurality of activities:

said processor computing a ratio of a sum of a coverage area of the start cell and a coverage area of the end cell to a distance between a centroid of the start cell and a centroid of the end cell such that the distance has a positive value; and

said processor determining a confidence value as a function of the computed ratio.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein an activity of the plurality of activities of the mobile device is selected from the group consisting of a voice call, a video call, a Short Message (SMS), a Service Multimedia Message Service (MMS), and a data access and download.

9. A computer program product, comprising a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code stored therein, said program code containing instructions configured to be executed by a processor of a computer system to implement a method for determining a traveled route of a mobile device in a mobile network, said method comprising:

said processor analyzing a network usage record that identifies a plurality of activities of the mobile device and associated activity information pertaining to each activity, wherein for each activity the associated activity information includes a start cell in which the activity was initiated, an end cell in which the activity was terminated, a start time at which the activity was initiated, and a time duration of the activity, and wherein the start time and duration for each activity defines a time interval that does not overlap the time interval defined for each other activity;

said processor determining, from the activity information of the activities, a series of consecutive movements of the mobile device along a path of locations from an origin location of the path at an earliest activity of the plurality of activities to a destination location of the path at a latest activity of the plurality of activities;

said processor accessing from storage a plurality of historical sets of routes of the mobile device, wherein each route is a set of locations from an origin location to a destination location of the route;

said processor ascertaining from the set of routes at least one common route;

(i) whose locations include all of the locations on the path, (i) whose origin location is the origin location of the path, and (iii) and whose destination location is the destination location of the path; and

said processor designating a common route of the at least one common route as the traveled route of the mobile device with respect to the series of consecutive movements of the mobile device along the path.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein said ascertaining ascertains that the locations on the common route comprise at least one intermediate location not on the path.

11. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein said ascertaining ascertains that the at least one common route consists of a plurality of routes, and wherein the plurality of routes include routes of varying length.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein said designating designates a longest route of the plurality of routes as the common route.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the longest route comprises all other routes of the plurality of routes.

14. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein said determining the series of consecutive movements of the mobile device along the path comprises determining that a longest time interval between consecutive activities of the consecutive movements is less than a specified time interval threshold.

15. A computer system comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and a computer readable storage device coupled to the processor, said storage device containing program code configured to be executed by the processor via the memory to implement a method for determining a traveled route of a mobile device in a mobile network, said method comprising:

said processor analyzing a network usage record that identifies a plurality of activities of the mobile device and associated activity information pertaining to each activity, wherein for each activity the associated activity information includes a start cell in which the activity was initiated, an end cell in which the activity was terminated, a start time at which the activity was initiated, and a time duration of the activity, and wherein the start time and duration for each activity defines a time interval that does not overlap the time interval defined for each other activity;

said processor determining, from the activity information of the activities, a series of consecutive movements of the mobile device along a path of locations from an origin location of the path at an earliest activity of the plurality of activities to a destination location of the path at a latest activity of the plurality of activities;

said processor accessing from storage a plurality of historical sets of routes of the mobile device, wherein each route is a set of locations from an origin location to a destination location of the route;

said processor ascertaining from the set of routes at least one common route;

(i) whose locations include all of the locations on the path, (i) whose origin location is the origin location of the path, and (iii) and whose destination location is the destination location of the path; and

said processor designating a common route of the at least one common route as the traveled route of the mobile device with respect to the series of consecutive movements of the mobile device along the path.

16. The computer system of claim 15, wherein said ascertaining ascertains that the locations on the common route comprise at least one intermediate location not on the path.

17. The computer system of claim 15, wherein said ascertaining ascertains that the at least one common route consists of a plurality of routes, and wherein the plurality of routes include routes of varying length.

18. The computer system of claim 17, wherein said designating designates a longest route of the plurality of routes as the common route.

19. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the longest route comprises all other routes of the plurality of routes.

20. The computer system of claim 15, wherein said determining the series of consecutive movements of the mobile device along the path comprises determining that a longest time interval between consecutive activities of the consecutive movements is less than a specified time interval threshold.