Mobile device for access to agricultural services by non-literate and semi-literate users

• US 8,909,210 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2008
• Issued: 12/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bindu Rama Rao
• Original Assignee: Bindu Rama Rao
• Inventors: Rao, Bindu Rama
• Primary Examiner(s): Sarwar, Babar
• Application Number:
  US12/221,876
• Publication Number:
  US 20100035597A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,316 Days
• Field of Search: 455/412.1, 455/414.1, 455/419, 455/550.1, 455/552.1, 705/37, 705/26, 705/1, 705/2, 705/10, 709/246, 709217-219, 709/201, 709/203, 707/104.1
• US Class Current: 455/419
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4878 Advertisement messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/493 Interactive information services, e.g. directory enquiries ; Arrangements therefor, e.g. interactive voice response [IVR] systems or voice portals

Abstract

A mobile device capable of supporting applications for semi-literate farmers and agricultural industry workers. Such applications are designed to be user-friendly, primarily employ audio form to provide data and information, and promote audio based interactions. In particular, the mobile device comprises a client application that avoids/minimizes the use of keyboard, supports audio-message based interactions and data communications, supports language selection, provides intuitive icons to aid comprehension and user selection, and keeps user interaction simple. The client application comprises a labor contract module that facilitates interaction by a user (who is typically a farmer or agricultural worker) using audio messages to find and hire contract labor. The client application also comprises a social group interaction module that facilitates interaction with mobile social networks, such as groups of farmers in a region of the world, or a group of farmers growing a specific type of crop.

Claims

1. A mobile device communicatively coupled to a server, the mobile device comprising:

at least one non-volatile memory having stored therein one or both of firmware and software;

at least one processor operably coupled to the non-volatile memory, wherein the at least one processor, during operation, at least;

manages a profile of a user of the mobile device, the profile of the user comprising information identifying at least one type of crop grown by the user, at least one geographical region in which the user farms, and at least one preferred language of the user;

receives, automatic membership to social groups based on the profile of the user comprising the crops grown by the user and the geographical region;

provides the user opportunities to explicitly subscribe to social groups;

displays a list of the social groups, wherein the list of the social groups comprises the social groups selected for the user based on at least one of the profile of the user and the explicit subscription of the user;

receives, from the user, input identifying a social group selected from the list of the social groups and in response retrieves and presents to the user, postings from the server by members of the selected social group;

enables the user responses to the presented postings and communicates them to the server;

presents a labor contracting screen that enables the user to post, to the selected social group, a wanted posting soliciting labor rates and offers to work as contract labor;

wherein the list of the social groups comprises addressing the needs and issues of farmers and agricultural workers, the social groups for contract labor, the social groups for growers of a specific crop type and the social groups for commodity market information.

2. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein each of the user responses to the postings comprises at least one of the following:

an audio response recorded by the user on the mobile device;

a textual response entered by the user using a keyboard on the mobile device; and

a video response recorded by the user using a camera associated with the mobile device.

3. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the wanted posting comprises at least one of the following:

an audio message recorded by the user on the mobile device;

a textual message entered by the user using a keyboard on the mobile device; and

a video message recorded by the user using a camera associated with the mobile device.

4. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor, during operation, further at least:

displays a contract offer received from an interested responder in response to the wanted posting soliciting offers;

solicits user selection of one of a plurality of interest levels in the displayed contract offer; and

communicates the selected user interest level to the interested responder.

5. The mobile device of claim 4, wherein the plurality of user interest levels comprise representations that the user is interested in the responder, that the user is not interested in the responder, and that the responder is hired by the user.

6. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor, during operation, further at least:

provides market information comprising at least one of a current market price for a crop type, an audio bulletin of market information, an exporters list, and a local dealer list.

7. The mobile device of claim 1, wherein each social group comprises one of farmers of a particular type of crop, farmers in a particular geographical farming region, contract laborers in a particular geographical region;

or exporters of a particular type of crop.

8. A mobile device communicatively coupled to a mobile social network, the mobile device comprising:

at least one non-volatile memory having stored therein one or both of firmware and software;

at least one processor operably coupled to the non-volatile memory, wherein the at least one processor, during operation, at least;

manages a profile of a user of the mobile device, the profile of the user comprising information identifying at least one product of the user, at least one geographical region in which the user produces the product, and at least one preferred language of the user;

receives, automatic membership to social groups based on the profile of the user and the geographical region;

provides the user opportunities to explicitly subscribe to the social groups;

presents a list of the social groups from a set of the social groups related to the product of the user, wherein the list of the social groups comprises the social groups selected based on at least one of the profile of the user and the explicit subscription of the user;

retrieves postings from the mobile social network for a social group selected by the user from the list of the social groups;

enables new user postings to the selected social group, wherein the new user postings comprise at least one of an audio message, a textual message, a digital photo and a video message;

wherein the list of the social groups comprises addressing the needs and issues of farmers and agricultural workers, the social groups for contract labor, the social groups for growers of a specific crop type and the social groups for commodity market information; and

wherein the profile of the user comprises at least one crop type grown by the user, the at least one geographical region in which the user farms, and the at least one preferred language of the user.

9. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor, during operation, further at least:

enables posting of an audio wanted post to the social group for contract labor inviting responses from individuals willing to provide contract labor;

facilitates review of the responses from the individuals by the user and solicits a feedback from the user;

receives the feedback provided by the user to at least one of the individuals; and

communicates the feedback provided by the user to the at least one of the individuals.

10. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor, during operation, further at least:

accesses the profile of the user;

facilitates periodically retrieving market information about commodities based on the profile of the user; and

presents the retrieved market information to the user.

11. A client application for a mobile device that interacts with a server, the client application comprising:

a profile of a user of the mobile device, the profile comprising information identifying at least one preferred language of the user, at least one crop grown by the user, and at least one geographic region in which the user farms;

the client application receives automatic membership to social groups for the user based on the profile of the user;

the client application facilitating explicit subscription to the social groups;

the client application listing the social groups on the mobile device for the user, based on the user profile and the explicit subscription of the user;

the client application periodically retrieving and presenting market information to the user from the server based on the user profile, in the language preferred by the user, wherein the market information is provided as audio information, video information as well as textual information in the preferred language;

wherein the list of the social groups comprises addressing the needs and issues of farmers and agricultural workers, the social groups for contract labor, the social groups for growers of a specific crop type and the social groups for commodity market information.

12. The client application of claim 11, further comprising:

subscription information to at least one social group for the user of the mobile device, wherein the at least one social group comprises at least one social group selected for the user based on the profile;

the client application retrieving and presenting postings from the at least one social group from the server based on at least one of the profile and the subscription information; and

the client application facilitating posting of a message by the user to the at least one social group, wherein the posting is one of an audio message, a video message, a textual message, or a combination of these.

13. The client application of claim 12, wherein the at least one social group is one of a set of social groups dedicated to farming and agricultural issues, and wherein the subscription information is one of a free subscription, a paid subscription or a trial subscription.

14. The client application of claim 11, further comprising:

the client application facilitating posting of a wanted message to a social group available via the server;

the client application retrieving responses to the wanted message; and

the client application presenting the responses to the user for perusal and selection of at least one of the responses.

15. The client application of claim 11, further comprising:

a labor contract module that enables creating a wanted posting for contract labor, communicating the wanted posting to a social group via the server, receiving responses to the wanted posting from one or more responders, and selecting contract labor based on the responses received.

16. The client application of claim 11, further comprising:

the client application determining vendors in the at least one geographic region in which the user farms capable of selling the crops grown by the user; and

the client application facilitating interactions by the user with the vendors.

17. The client application of claim 16, wherein interactions by the user with the vendors comprise communication of a sell offer by the user to the vendor, communication of a buy offer by the vendor to the user in response to the sell offer, and confirmation of the sell offer by the user to the vendor.