Predictive travel notifications

• US 9,618,346 B2
• Filed: 07/15/2014
• Issued: 04/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Wenneman, Michael Christopher, Gigliotti, Samuel S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Antonucci, Anne M
• Application Number:
  US14/332,293
• Publication Number:
  US 20140330505A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,001 Days
• Field of Search: 701118
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3484 Personalized, e.g. from learned user behaviour or user-defined profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3617 using user history, behaviour, conditions or preferences, e.g. predicted or inferred from previous use or current movement
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3691 Retrieval, searching and output of information related to real-time traffic, weather, or environmental conditions arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions G08G1/09
• 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 1/0129 for creating historical data or processing based on historical data
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0141 for traffic information dissemination
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096816 where the complete route is transmitted to the vehicle at once
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096827 where the route is computed onboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096838 where the user preferences are taken into account or the user selects one route out of a plurality
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096888 where input information is obtained using learning systems, e.g. history databases

Abstract

Various embodiments can predict a user'"'"'s intended driving route in order to provide the user with traffic warnings for traffic conditions along the same. A user'"'"'s driving route, in at least one embodiment, is predicted by collecting travel data, such as information associated with the date, time, location, and direction for trips made within a network of roads over time. Instead of keeping the travel data anonymous, the travel data is associate or linked to the user'"'"'s account or stored in a user profile in order to build a history of travel patterns for the user over time. The travel patterns can then be used to predict when a user is going to travel or make a trip and, upon identifying a context indicative of a travel pattern, traffic information for a route associated with the pattern is obtained and provided to the user'"'"'s computing device.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

under the control of one or more computer systems configured with executable instructions,

determining a travel pattern of a computing device based at least in part on movement data associated with the computing device along at least one route to a destination, the at least one route corresponds to a time of day or a day of a week;

determining at least one of a current time of day or a current day of a week;

determining, from the travel pattern, a predicted route to the destination based at least in part on the at least one of the current time of day or the current day of the week;

analyzing current traffic data to determine traffic conditions for the predicted route to the destination; and

providing, by the computing device, alerts regarding the traffic conditions before beginning the predicted route to the destination.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the computing device, a request to receive directions for an alternate route to a destination associated with the predicted route;

determining, using map data from a map application on the computing device, the directions for the alternate route; and

providing the directions for the alternate route to the user by the computing device.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the destination includes a first destination and a second destination, each destination associated with a corresponding time of day or a day of a week, the computer-implemented method further comprising:

prompting a selection of one of the first destination or the second destination.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the travel pattern corresponds to historical movement of the computing device along the at least one route to the destination.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing at least one of traffic flow information for the predicted route or a travel delay time for the predicted route.

6. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

under the control of one or more computer systems configured with executable instructions,

determining a travel pattern of a computing device based at least in part on movement data associated with the computing device along at least one route to a destination corresponding to a schedule that includes at least one of a time of day or a day of a week;

determining, by the computing device, a condition indicative of travel to the destination based at least in part on the schedule and at least one of a current time of day or a current day of a week;

obtaining, by the computing device, current traffic data for a predicted route to the destination in response to the condition indicative of travel to the destination;

determining, by the computing device, traffic conditions on the predicted route to the destination from the current traffic data; and

providing, by the computing device, one or more alerts to a user regarding the traffic conditions before beginning the predicted route to the destination.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising:

analyzing, by the computing device, at least one of a calendar application, a reminder application, or a task list application to identify an event associated with the destination.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising:

collecting, by the computing device, the movement data corresponding to the at least one route to the destination at one or more of a time of day or a day of a week;

determining the schedule according to the movement data corresponding to the at least one route to the destination at the one or more of the time of day or the day of the week, and

wherein determining the condition indicative of travel to the destination further includes matching at least one of the current time of day or the current day of the week with the one or more of the time of day or the day of the week of the schedule.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising:

collecting the movement data when the computing device moves in a vehicle on the at least one route to the destination at a substantially consistent time of day for a corresponding day of the week.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising:

prompting, by the computing device, selection from a list of potential destinations associated with the predicted route to the destination.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising:

receiving, by the computing device, a request for directions for an alternate route to the destination based at least in part on the traffic conditions;

determining, using map data from a map application on the computing device, the directions for the alternate route; and

sending the directions for the alternate route to the computing device.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising:

providing information associated with at least one business located within a predetermined distance of the predicted route to the destination.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the information associated with the at least one business includes at least one of directions to the at least one business, a coupon, or product promotion associated with the at least one business.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising:

providing at least one alert regarding traffic flow information for the predicted route or a travel delay time.

15. A computing device, comprising:

a processor;

a display screen; and

memory including instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the computing device to;

determine a travel pattern based at least in part on movement data associated with the computing device along at least one route to a destination corresponding to a schedule that includes at least one of a time of day or a day of a week;

determine a predicted route to the destination from the travel pattern based at least in part on the schedule and at least one of a current time of day or a current day of a week;

determine, from current traffic data obtained for the predicted route, traffic conditions on the predicted route to the destination; and

display an alert on the display screen regarding the traffic conditions before beginning the predicted route to the destination.

16. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the computing device to:

receive a request for directions for an alternate route to another destination;

determine, using map data from a map application on the computing device, the directions for the alternate route; and

display the directions for the alternate route on the display screen of the computing device.

17. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the destination includes a first destination and a second destination, each destination associated with one or more of a respective time of day or a respective day of a week, and wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor to display the alert, further cause the computing device to:

prompt a selection of one of the first destination or the second destination.

18. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the travel pattern corresponds to historical movement of the computing device along the at least one route to the destination.

19. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the alert includes at least one of traffic flow information for the predicted route or a travel delay time.

20. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the computing device to:

prompt a selection from a list of potential destinations associated with the route based at least in part on at one or more of the current time of day or the current day of the week.