Vehicle installed mobile device and server for GPS services based adhoc task assignments

• US 9,483,883 B2
• Filed: 09/16/2014
• Issued: 11/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bindu Rama Rao, Madhavi Jayanthi
• Original Assignee: Bindu Rama Rao, Madhavi Jayanthi
• Inventors: Jayanthi, Madhavi, Rao, Bindu Rama
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G
• Assistant Examiner(s): LOUIE, WAE LENNY
• Application Number:
  US14/488,184
• Publication Number:
  US 20150179000A1
• Time in Patent Office: 777 Days
• Field of Search: 701/209, 701/207, 701/208, 455/456.2, 455/456.3, 340/988, 340/996
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/343 Calculating itineraries, i.e. routes leading from a starting point to a series of categorical destinations using a global route restraint, round trips, touristic trips travelling salesman problem G06Q10/04; optimisation of routes G06Q10/047
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/48 for in-vehicle communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring

Abstract

Mobile device for communicating a current location and a current destination, to a coordination server, receiving a set of tasks (statically assigned or dynamically assigned) for the user (for example, from the server or from another user or adhoc tasks specified by a customer), displaying the set of tasks to the user, receiving a completion response (successful or unsuccessful) from the user, and proceeding to the next waypoint along a route/trip plan. A coordination server facilitates communication of a list of tasks dynamically and opportunistically assigned to a user to be performed at a specified location.

Claims

1. A mobile device for telematics and user interaction, the mobile device comprising:

a global positioning system (GPS) receiver circuitry;

the mobile device configured to be mounted inside a vehicle or fixed on the dashboard of the vehicle, the mobile device configured to interact over a telecommunications network or Internet with a coordination server;

a client software comprising a navigation component that interacts with the GPS receiver circuitry, the navigation component capable of providing directions to a destination to a user of the mobile device;

the client software configured to receive and forward to the coordination server diagnostics and system failure information from a plurality of electronic control units associated with the vehicle;

the client software sending a notification to the coordination server along with a current location and a current destination;

the client software dynamically accepting and presenting a task list comprising a plurality of tasks sent from the coordination server in response to receipt of the notification, wherein the task list is opportunistically provided by the coordination server based on a current pool of dynamically assembled tasks, the current location and the current destination.

2. The client software of the mobile device of claim 1 further comprising:

the client software selectively receiving notification from other mobile devices regarding their corresponding proximity to the destination, on their corresponding approach to the destination, and on their corresponding arrival at the destination; and

the client software sending notifications to the other mobile devices informing them of its own proximity to the destination or to each other, on the mobile device approaching the destination, and upon arrival of the mobile device at the destination.

3. The mobile device of claim 1 wherein the client software of the mobile device presents to the user a route comprising a plurality of destinations, wherein at the approach to each of the plurality of destinations, the client software presents to the user a corresponding task list comprising tasks to be completed at that destination or soon thereafter.

4. The mobile device of claim 1 wherein the client software is configured to communicate various messages to the other mobile devices at various destinations along a multi-destination route assigned to and adopted by all of them, wherein the various messages comprises notifications, GPS coordinates, distances, approaching information and arrival information, and navigational information such as trip plans, routes and landmarks.

5. The mobile device of claim 1 wherein the destination is a waypoint along a current route, and;

wherein when the mobile device, based on user input, indicates that the destination has been skipped;

wherein the mobile device subsequently receives, from the server instructions to defer executing the plurality of tasks previously provided, if any.

6. The mobile device of claim 1 wherein the client software, when instructed by the user to present current tasks, opens a list of tasks currently assigned to the user, and also prompts the user to provide a status information to the tasks in the list of tasks, wherein the list of tasks comprises tasks assigned to him as well as tasks that are added by the user.

7. The mobile device of claim 1 wherein the client software of the mobile device receives, from the coordination server or from another mobile device, dynamically assigned tasks that the client software then incorporates into a tasks list maintained by the client software, wherein the dynamically assigned tasks comprise tasks previously assigned to another user that were subsequently reassigned to the user by the coordination server or the another mobile device.

8. The mobile device of claim 1 wherein details of the tasks to be conducted by the user of the mobile device after reaching the destination are received and stored by the mobile device, wherein the details are those previously provided by a second user from a second mobile device.

9. A server communicatively coupled to a first mobile device associated with or installed in a vehicle, the server capable of tracking location, movements, status and behavior of the vehicle, the server comprising:

at least one processor for communicating with the first mobile device over a telecommunications network or Internet, the at least one processor operable to, at least;

receive a notification from a client software in the first mobile device, the notification indicating a current location and a current destination;

responsive to receiving the notification, dynamically and opportunistically identify a task list and communicate the task list to the first mobile device, wherein the task list comprises a plurality of tasks to be performed by a user of the first mobile device;

wherein the at least one processor accesses a general pool of currently available tasks filtered by the current location and the current destination, and a user-specific pool of tasks, to identify the task list for the user, and wherein, upon determination of task completion, the status for the corresponding entries in the general pool of tasks and the user-specific pool of tasks are updated.

10. The server of claim 9 wherein the server receives an indication from the user that the user has decided to skip the destination and intends to navigate to an alternate or next destination, and, in response, the server reassigns any tasks associated with the destination and the user to other users, or reassigns them to the user of the first mobile device to be completed on the user'"'"'s next trip via the destination.

11. The server of claim 9 wherein the server assigns a route with multiple destinations to the user of the first mobile device and communicates the route to the client software of the first mobile device for review by the user, with each of the multiple destinations associated with a corresponding destination-specific task list;

and

wherein the server subsequently dynamically changes the route by adding additional destinations or by removing some of the multiple destinations, and correspondingly adding new task lists for the added additional destinations or deleting one or more destination-specific task lists for those of the multiple destinations that are removed, as necessary.

12. The server of claim 11 wherein the server coordinates execution of a plurality of tasks across multiple users using corresponding ones of a plurality of mobile devices that are each in communication with the server, wherein the multiple users travel on the same route or different routes.

13. The server of claim 9 wherein the server interacts with a plurality of users, each user using one of a plurality of mobile devices that are communicatively coupled to the server;

the server assigns the same route comprising multiple destinations to the plurality of mobile devices, coordinates completion of a customized set of tasks at each of the multiple destinations by the plurality of users, receives notifications of task completions from the plurality of mobile devices that congregate at the multiple destinations, and verifies the presence of the plurality of mobile devices at the multiple destinations.

14. The server of claim 13 further comprising:

the at least one processor operable to, further at least;

communicate with a plurality of mobile devices;

dynamically receive customer specific tasks for specific customers, wherein the customer specific tasks each have a specific location associated with it; and

opportunistically assign each of the customer specific tasks to any mobile device whose current location is determined by the server to be in proximity to the specific location associated with the customer specific tasks.

15. The server of claim 9 further comprising:

a tasks database that is used to store and manage tasks for a plurality of users, wherein the tasks are associated with one or more waypoints on a route;

the server tracks the one or more waypoints and the status of tasks assigned for completion at each of the one or more waypoints by corresponding ones of the plurality of users; and

the server reassigns incomplete ones of the tasks assigned for completion at each of the one or more waypoints, for subsequent completion by at least one of the plurality of users.

16. The server of claim 9 wherein the server receives and stores an uploaded trip plan uploaded by the user of the first mobile device, wherein the trip plan comprises a plurality of routes, each route comprising one or more waypoints and one or more associated audio information, video information, pictures, textual descriptions,

the server assigns a plurality of tasks lists for completion by the user during the trip at various waypoints on the plurality of routes;

the server receives responses to each of the plurality of tasks from each of the assigned plurality of task lists, wherein the responses comprises one of a done indicator, a skip indicator and a defer indicator; and

the server monitors the responses and reassigns some of the plurality of tasks if necessary.

18. The method of communicating according to claim 16 wherein the notification comprises current location and the current destination for the first mobile device.

17. A method of operation of a server that assigns tasks to a user and tracks their completion, wherein the server is communicatively coupled to a first mobile device that comprises GPS navigation circuitry, the method comprising:

receiving by the server a notification sent to the server by the first mobile device after reaching one of the plurality of waypoints;

determining, by the server dynamically and opportunistically in response to receipt of the notification, a task list for completion by the user of the first mobile device at that one of a plurality of waypoints to be visited by a user of the first mobile device;

communicating, by the server, the task list to the first mobile device, wherein receipt of the task list by the first mobile device causes prompting of the user of the first mobile device to provide a response to the task list; and

processing, by the server a user response received from the first mobile device, indicating status of each task of the task list and reassigning those that are not yet completed;

wherein the task list comprises a plurality of tasks to be performed by a user;

wherein the server accesses a general pool of currently available tasks filtered by the current location and the current destination of the first mobile device; and

wherein, upon determination of task completion, the status for the corresponding entries in the general pool of tasks are updated.

19. The method of communicating according to claim 17, wherein determining comprises searching a task database for available tasks that can be assigned to a first user currently associated with the first mobile device while the first user is located at the current location travelling towards the current destination, or while the first user is approaching a new location, wherein the available tasks comprise dynamically provided tasks specified by customers, each of the dynamically provided tasks comprising a target location specification.

20. The method of communicating according to claim 17 further comprising:

authenticating the user of the first mobile device, by the server based at least on user inputs provided by the first mobile device; and

communicating by the server to the first mobile device to present to the user, a first plurality of dynamically and opportunistically identified tasks that are relevant to a first customer at the current location, and a second plurality of tasks that are associated with a second customer at a next location along a route, wherein each of the tasks in the first plurality of tasks and the second plurality of tasks comprise at least one of a textual description, an audio description and a video description.