Proactive delivery of navigation options

• US 9,222,788 B2
• Filed: 06/27/2012
• Issued: 12/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Uber Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Voronel, Gary, Barnett, Donald, Wantland, Timothy, Mokady, Ran, Moradganjeh, Amid
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Tuan C.
• Application Number:
  US13/534,022
• Publication Number:
  US 20140005921A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,280 Days
• Field of Search: 701/423, 701/408, 701/521
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3407 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/36 Input/output arrangements for on-board computers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/024 Guidance services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

Various embodiments pertain to techniques for proactively delivering navigation options to a user via a mobile device. In various embodiments, one or more navigation options can be determined for the user and delivered to the user'"'"'s mobile device at a relevant time. Navigation options can be selected based on the user'"'"'s current location, the user'"'"'s future plans, the time, and other locally relevant information, such as friends nearby or a nearby favorite location of the user. The navigation options can be delivered to the user'"'"'s mobile device at a time that the navigation options are relevant.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for proactively delivering a plurality of navigation options to a user via a computing device including a navigation module configured to perform a process comprising:

receiving information from a geo-location device;

determining a presumed target destination and a current location of the user, the current location of the user is based at least in part on the received information from the geo-location device;

identifying the plurality of navigation options from the current location to the target destination; and

proactively causing the one or more navigation options to be displayed to the user,

wherein the plurality of navigation options pertain to more than one mode of transportation.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining the presumed target destination is based at least in part on location information for an event in the user'"'"'s calendar.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining the presumed target destination is based at least in part on previously stored information about the user.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the previously stored information about the user comprises a navigation history for the user.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining the presumed target destination comprises:

presenting one or more presumed target destinations to the user for selection; and

responsive to receiving a selection of one of the presumed target destinations, determining the selection is the target destination.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, the one or more presumed target destinations comprising a recently input location, a location saved in a favorites list, or a combination thereof.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein identifying the plurality of navigation options comprises utilizing one or more of map and route information, public transit information, taxi information, toll information, traffic information, or a time to compute a route from the current location to the target destination.

8. One or more computer-readable storage media comprising instructions that are executable on a processor to cause a device to implement a navigation module to perform a process comprising:

receiving information from a geo-location device;

determining a presumed target destination and a current location of a user, the current location of the user is based at least in part on the received information from the geo-location device;

identifying a plurality of navigation options from the current location to the target destination, the plurality of navigation options pertaining to more than one mode of transportation;

proactively causing the plurality of navigation options to be displayed to the user; and

updating the plurality of navigation options to be displayed to the user responsive to a change in the target destination of the user, a change in the current location of the user, or a change in time.

9. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 8, wherein identifying the plurality of navigation options comprises receiving, from a web service, the plurality of navigation options suitable for display to the user.

10. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 8, wherein updating the plurality of navigation options comprises removing at least one of the plurality of navigation options from the plurality of navigation options proactively displayed to the user.

11. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 8, wherein proactively causing the plurality of navigation options to be displayed to the user comprises proactively causing the plurality of navigation options to be displayed to the user as a list of navigation options.

12. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 8, wherein proactively causing the plurality of navigation options to be displayed to the user comprises proactively causing the plurality of navigation options to be displayed to the user as an animated map.

13. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 8, the plurality of navigation options comprising a walking route, a driving route, a bus route, a taxi route, or a combination thereof.

14. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 8, wherein proactively causing the plurality of navigation options to be displayed to the user comprises proactively causing the plurality of navigation options to be displayed to the user according to a cost associated with each of the plurality of navigation options.

15. A device comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more computer-readable storage media;

one or more modules embodied on the one or more computer-readable storage media and executable under the influence of the one or more processors, the one or more modules configured to;

receive information from a geo-location device;

determine a current location of the device based at least in part on the received information from a geo-location device;

determine a presumed target destination of a user of the device;

identify a plurality of navigation options from the current location to the target destination, the plurality of navigation options pertaining to more than one mode of transportation; and

cause the plurality of navigation options to be displayed to the user on a display without receiving a request for the plurality of navigation options from the user.

16. The device of claim 15, the one or more modules being further configured to:

store a location that is input by the user in a database.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the one or more modules are configured to determine the presumed target destination by being configured to select the target destination from the database of stored locations.

18. The device of claim 15, the one or more modules being further configured to:

determine that the device is at a new location;

identify subsequent navigation options from the new location to the target destination; and

cause the subsequent navigation options to be displayed to the user on a display without receiving a request for the subsequent navigation options from the user.

19. The device of claim 15, the one or more modules being further configured to:

provide, to the user, an alert associated with one of the plurality of navigation options indicative that the associated navigation option is approaching.

20. The device of claim 15, wherein the one or more modules are configured to identify the plurality of navigation options by being configured to identify the plurality of navigation options near a place of interest to the user.