Intelligent urban communications portal and methods

• US 9,262,915 B2
• Filed: 05/09/2014
• Issued: 02/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kerbspace Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Kerbspace Incorporated
• Inventors: Clem, William E, Summerfield, Leif
• Primary Examiner(s): Ly, Nghi H
• Application Number:
  US14/274,633
• Publication Number:
  US 20140335897A1
• Time in Patent Office: 648 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.3, 455/456.1, 455/404.2, 455/414.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0112 from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0116 from roadside infrastructure, e.g. beacons
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0133 for classifying traffic situation
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0145 for active traffic flow control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/08 according to detected number or speed of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/144 on portable or mobile units, e.g. personal digital assistant [PDA]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/147 where the parking area is within an open public zone, e.g. city centre
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/148 Management of a network of parking areas
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]

Abstract

A system, device, and methods for monitoring and responding to information needs of users in an urban grid or local map area. The system is a platform to virtualize an urban space, provide map overlayers with local data content, and allow users to access personalized content having relevance based on proximity, location, time, and keyword search criteria such as guest entries, local ties recent user internet activity, time of day, special events related to a user'"'"'s profile, appointments in a user'"'"'s calendar, traffic conditions, destinations along a user'"'"'s footpath having possible significance, schedules and routes for transit, taxi or rental information for visitors, environmental conditions, and the like. In a second embodiment, the system may be expanded to assist guests with parking and traffic management issues.

Claims

1. An urban communications and service-providing system for networking one or more guest mobile devices, each mobile device having a unique address or handle identifiably associated with a guest user, a viewing screen, a memory for storing any keywords or records entered on the mobile device and for storing digital breadcrumbs, each breadcrumb defining data identifiably associated with a radio contact or ping and a timestamp, which comprises:

a network having,

a) an urban communications portal or portals;

b) one or more non-satellite radio beacons in radio proximity to at least one said portal, each said radio beacon broadcasting a beacon ping, wherein said beacon ping is adapted to be identified as a radio contact by said portal and by one or more mobile devices of said network;

c) an administrative server in communication with said portal, said server having at least one accessible database and search engine;

and further, each said portal comprising;

i) a body with housing;

ii) a display screen, wherein said display screen is configured to display a map or map overlayer content;

iii) a pair of low energy radio transceivers, each having a contralaterally disposed antenna adapted to be in communication with one or more mobile devices and said one or more beacons of said network within a defined area around said portal, said defined area having an outer boundary within which said communication is effective;

iv) a processor with memory and program instructions, wherein said processor and instructions are configured to detect one or more mobile devices within range of said pair of low energy radio transceivers and to initiate a query to any detected mobile devices;

and further, wherein said administrative server is configured to;

i) receive said breadcrumbs from one or more mobile devices,

ii) calculate a first position of at least one mobile device from timestamps associated with said breadcrumbs,

iii) search said database or databases accessible to said administrative server for first local content related to said first position, proximity thereto, a keyword relating to said first position, a keyword in a database, a unique address or handle, a timestamp contained in said breadcrumbs, a user profile, any recent search or messaging activity, a mobile device record of the journey, a destination, a quorum map, a location of a radio beacon, any commercial content offering, or based on data entries directed at particular content, and to dynamically generate contextually relevant map content in response thereto; and

,

d) an application enabled to be operated on one or more mobile devices of said network, said application comprising instructions to

i) upload said breadcrumbs to said administrative server in response to a query,

ii) allow and establish a communication link with said urban communications portal and said administrative server,

iii) trigger a display of a map of said first local content on at least one said display screen of said portal if a viewing screen of a mobile device is locked.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said map is a quorum map generated by a quorum mapping function of said administrative server, wherein said quorum map is assembled from pooled data of previously recorded pathways captured from said network as trails of breadcrumbs through said defined area.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein said application comprises a pathfinder subroutine operated by said administrative server, said pathfinder subroutine operating to escort a user of a mobile device from said first position to a destination selected from said first local content, and to populate said map overlayers on a pathway taken by a user with other selected local content, and further wherein said pathfinder subroutine updates said map overlayers for one or more mobile devices according to a direction of motion of each mobile device through said defined area.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein one or more mobile devices are configured to detect a ping from one or more of said radio beacons disposed in said defined area, to create a breadcrumb defining a radio contact and timestamp for each of said radio contacts, and to relay said breadcrumbs as a trail of breadcrumbs to said administrative server.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said administrative server is enabled to collect said trail of breadcrumbs from a plurality of mobile devices transiting said defined area, each trail of breadcrumbs defining a pathway, and to define a quorum map of said pathways, wherein said plurality of radio beacons are assigned map locations by proximity mapping, by triangulation mapping, and are further localized by said quorum mapping function.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein said system is enabled to detect traffic in said defined area and to analyze said traffic so as to refine at least one said map overlayer of said defined area.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein said map location of one said radio beacon triggers a display of local content on said display screen of said portal or on a viewing screen of a mobile device when said pathway is proximate to said map location.

8. The system of claim 2, wherein said map overlayers are generated based on relevancy to a guest user in control of a mobile device, wherein relevancy is computed by parsing any user profile, prior searches, social media posts, emails, messages, or keywords accessible on a mobile device, or by refining said search results.

9. The system of claim 2, wherein said map overlayers are generated based on offers associated with radio beacons in proximity to a mobile device.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein said system is enabled to access a user profile from an address or handle, and to push at least one notification or offer to a mobile device based on said user profile.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein said system is enabled to mirror said at least one notification onto said display screen of said portal when a mobile device is in proximity thereto.