Using geographical location to determine element and area information to provide to a computing device

• US 9,208,504 B2
• Filed: 01/15/2014
• Issued: 12/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Chmiel, Matthew S., Hiltz-Laforge, Jason, Pourshahid, Alireza, Watts, Graham A.
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAM, KHANH B
• Application Number:
  US14/156,363
• Publication Number:
  US 20140136287A1
• Time in Patent Office: 692 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data

Abstract

A database has a plurality of elements, where each element is associated with a location and at least one set of different attribute values, wherein each set includes a timestamp when the attribute values in the set were determined. A determination is made of a reference geographical location, an element having a geographical location within a geographical region including the referenced geographical location, a most recent set of the attribute values for the element having a most recent timestamp, a previous set of attribute values for the determined element comprising the set of attribute values having a previous timestamp prior to the most recent timestamp, and whether a condition with respect to at least one of the most recent set of attribute values and the previous set of attribute values of the determined element is satisfied.

Claims

1. A computer program product for providing location based information, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therein that executes to perform operations, the operations comprising:

generating in a database a plurality of elements, where each element is associated with a location and at least one set of attribute values, wherein each set includes a timestamp when the attribute values in the set were determined;

determining a reference geographical location;

determining an element having a geographical location within a geographical region including the referenced geographical location;

determining a most recent set of the attribute values for the element having a most recent timestamp;

determining a previous set of attribute values for the determined element comprising the set of attribute values having a previous timestamp prior to the most recent timestamp;

determining whether a condition, specifying a criteria concerning a difference of at least one of the most recent set of attribute values and the previous set of attribute values of the determined element, is satisfied, wherein the difference is with respect to a same set of attribute values at different times including the most recent timestamp and the previous timestamp; and

rendering information on the condition that is satisfied.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the previous timestamp is closest in time to the most recent timestamp of timestamps in sets of attribute values, wherein the condition is satisfied when at least one attribute value in the determined previous set differs from a corresponding attribute value in the most recent set, wherein rendering the information comprises rendering information on the attribute values in the most recent set and the previous set that differ.

3. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining a location of a portable computing device, wherein the received selected location comprises the determined location of the portable computing device, and wherein the rendered information is rendered at the portable computing device while located in the geographical region.

4. The computer program product of claim 3, wherein at least one user of at least one portable computing device visits the elements in the geographical region, and wherein the sets of attribute values for each element provide attribute values set when the at least one user of the at least one portable computing device visited the geographical region of the elements.

5. The computer program product of claim 3, wherein a visited attribute value in the sets indicates whether a user of the portable computing device visited the location of the element, wherein determining the element comprises determining elements having the visited attribute value indicating that the user of the portable device visited the location of the element.

6. The computer program product of claim 3, wherein the elements represent customers and the attribute values include profile attributes of the customers and products the customers have purchased, wherein determining whether the condition is satisfied comprises determining whether the attributes of the products the customers have purchased satisfy a purchasing condition.

7. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining new elements having a location within the geographical region that do not include a set of attributes having a set of attributes with a timestamp less than a current timestamp; and

rendering information on the new elements and attribute values for the new elements.

8. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

generating in the database a plurality of area information instances, wherein each area information instance is associated with a geographical region and at least one set of area attribute values, wherein each set includes a timestamp of the area attribute values in the set;

determining the area attribute instance having a geographical region that includes the reference geographical location;

determining one area attribute value in a most recent set of the area attribute values having a most recent timestamp relevant to one of the attribute values in the most recent set of the determined element; and

rendering information on the determined area attribute value with the relevant attribute value in the most recent set.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining a previous set of area attribute values for the determined area attribute instance; and

determining whether the determined area attribute value in the most recent set differs from a corresponding area attribute value in the determined previous set, wherein the rendering of the information on the determined area attribute value is performed in response to determining that the determined area attribute value in the most recent set differs from the corresponding area attribute value.

10. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the elements represent customers and the attribute values include profile attributes of the customers and products the customers have purchased and wherein the area attribute values comprise demographic trends in the geographical region of the area attribute instance, wherein determining one area attribute value relevant to one of the attribute values comprises determining at least one of the demographic trends in the area attribute instance relevant to at least one of the profile attributes and products of the customers in the geographical region.

11. A system in communication with a database, comprising:

a processor;

a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therein that is executed by the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising;

generating in the database a plurality of elements, where each element is associated with a location and at least one set of attribute values, wherein each set includes a timestamp when the attribute values in the set were determined;

determining a reference geographical location;

determining an element having a geographical location within a geographical region including the referenced geographical location;

determining a most recent set of the attribute values for the element having a most recent timestamp;

determining a previous set of attribute values for the determined element comprising the set of attribute values having a previous timestamp prior to the most recent timestamp;

determining whether a condition, specifying a criteria concerning a difference of at least one of the most recent set of attribute values and the previous set of attribute values of the determined element, is satisfied, wherein the difference is with respect to a same set of attribute values at different times including the most recent timestamp and the previous timestamp; and

rendering information on the condition is satisfied.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the previous timestamp is closest in time to the most recent timestamp of timestamps in sets of attribute values, wherein determining whether the condition is satisfied when at least one attribute value in the determined previous set differs from a corresponding attribute value in the most recent set, wherein rendering the information comprises rendering information on the attribute values in the most recent set and the previous set that differ.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining a location of a portable computing device, wherein the received selected location comprises the determined location of the portable computing device, and wherein the rendered information is rendered at the portable computing device while located in the geographical region.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise:

generating in the database a plurality of area information instances, wherein each area information instance is associated with a geographical region and at least one set of area attribute values, wherein each set includes a timestamp of the area attribute values in the set;

determining the area attribute instance having a geographical region that includes the reference geographical location;

determining one area attribute value in a most recent set of the area attribute values having a most recent timestamp relevant to one of the attribute values in the most recent set of the determined element; and

rendering information on the determined area attribute value with the relevant attribute value in the most recent set.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the elements represent customers and the attribute values include profile attributes of the customers and products the customers have purchased and wherein the area attribute values comprise demographic trends in the geographical region of the area attribute instance, wherein determining one area attribute value relevant to one of the attribute values comprises determining at least one of the demographic trends in the area attribute instance relevant to at least one of the profile attributes and products of the customers in the geographical region.

16. A method, comprising:

generating in a database in a computer readable storage medium a plurality of elements, where each element is associated with a location and at least one set of attribute values, wherein each set includes a timestamp when the attribute values in the set were determined;

determining a reference geographical location;

determining an element having a geographical location within a geographical region including the referenced geographical location;

determining a most recent set of the attribute values for the element having a most recent timestamp;

determining a previous set of attribute values for the determined element comprising the set of attribute values having a previous timestamp prior to the most recent timestamp;

determining whether a condition, specifying a criteria concerning a difference of at least one of the most recent set of attribute values and the previous set of attribute values of the determined element, is satisfied, wherein the difference is with respect to a same set of attribute values at different times including the most recent timestamp and the previous timestamp; and

rendering information on the condition is satisfied.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the previous timestamp is closest in time to the most recent timestamp of timestamps in sets of attribute values, wherein the condition is satisfied when at least one attribute value in the determined previous set differs from a corresponding attribute value in the most recent set, wherein rendering the information comprises rendering information on the attribute values in the most recent set and the previous set that differ.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

determining a location of a portable computing device, wherein the received selected location comprises the determined location of the portable computing device, and wherein the rendered information is rendered at the portable computing device while located in the geographical region.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

generating in the database a plurality of area information instances, wherein each area information instance is associated with a geographical region and at least one set of area attribute values, wherein each set includes a timestamp of the area attribute values in the set;

determining the area attribute instance having a geographical region that includes the reference geographical location;

determining one area attribute value in a most recent set of the area attribute values having a most recent timestamp relevant to one of the attribute values in the most recent set of the determined element; and

rendering information on the determined area attribute value with the relevant attribute value in the most recent set.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the elements represent customers and the attribute values include profile attributes of the customers and products the customers have purchased and wherein the area attribute values comprise demographic trends in the geographical region of the area attribute instance, wherein determining one area attribute value relevant to one of the attribute values comprises determining at least one of the demographic trends in the area attribute instance relevant to at least one of the profile attributes and products of the customers in the geographical region.