Integrated geospatial activity reporting

• US 9,906,906 B1
• Filed: 08/21/2017
• Issued: 02/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cars.com LLC (Cars.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cars.com LLC (Cars.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Pecard, Jennifer Lou Chae, Bloomfield, Guy Jeffrey, Cohen, Benjamin Mitchell, Jankampet, Ramesh
• Primary Examiner(s): Hua, Quan M
• Application Number:
  US15/681,813
• Time in Patent Office: 190 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/13 Receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/14 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences

Abstract

Systems and methods for distinguishing between user mobile device location data indicating user locations within an area of interest or merely near an area of interest are disclosed. User geospatial location data is obtained at user mobile devices (e.g., smartphones) upon the triggering event of a user action (e.g., visiting a web site or using an application on the user mobile device). The location data is stored and compared against polygonal map data accurately and precisely defining a map area of the area of interest. A map view may be generated by generating markers having different styles for user location data within or near the area of interest, which markers may then be overlaid on a map including a polygon representation of the area of interest. Such map view may be augmented by additional data and presented as a report including location and additional data for a plurality of users.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for generating customized responses based upon user location information, comprising:

receiving, at a user mobile device, a request from a user for information associated with one or more vehicles or vehicle dealers;

obtaining, by a geolocation unit of the user mobile device, a geospatial location identifier of the user mobile device identifying a geospatial location of the user mobile device at a time associated with the request;

transmitting, from the user mobile device to a server via a communication network, the geospatial location identifier and an indication of the request;

receiving, at the server via the communication network, the geospatial location identifier and the indication of the request from the user;

accessing, by one or more processors of the server, map data associated with a vehicle dealer lot in proximity to the identified geospatial location of the user mobile device, the map data including a set of data defining a lot area of the vehicle dealer lot as one or more polygons within a map area;

determining, by one or more processors of the server, that the user mobile device is located on the vehicle dealer lot by comparing the geospatial location identifier with the lot area;

determining, by one or more processors of the server, a user interest associated with the vehicle dealer lot based upon the geospatial location of the user mobile device on the vehicle dealer lot and the received indication of the request;

determining, by one or more processors of the server, a response based upon the determined user interest; and

causing, by one or more processors of the server, the determined response to be implemented.

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

determining the response includes determining to generate a report including information associated with the determined user interest and at least one of (i) one or more additional user interactions with the user mobile device or (ii) one or more additional geospatial location identifiers associated with the user mobile device; and

causing the determined response to be implemented includes (i) generating the report and (ii) transmitting the generated report to a computing device for presentation to a reviewer.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein generating the report includes generating a map indicating the geospatial location of the user mobile device on the vehicle dealer lot.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

determining the response includes determining additional information to provide to the user in response to the received indication of the request; and

causing the determined response to be implemented includes transmitting the additional information to the user mobile device for presentation to the user.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein determining the additional information to provide to the user includes determining additional information regarding a vehicle.

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

obtaining, by the geolocation unit of the user mobile device, a plurality of additional geospatial location identifiers from the user mobile device identifying a plurality of additional geospatial locations of the user mobile device;

transmitting, from the user mobile device to the server via the communication network, the plurality of additional geospatial location identifiers; and

determining, by one or more processors of the server, a length of time spent by the user at the geospatial location on the vehicle dealer lot based upon the plurality of additional geospatial location identifiers,

wherein determining the user interest further includes determining the user interest based upon the determined length of time spent by the user at the geospatial location on the vehicle dealer lot.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the request from the user for the information associated with the one or more vehicles or vehicle dealers includes an interaction of the user with a vehicle information application on the user mobile device.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the geospatial location identifier includes determining the geospatial location identifier as a Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinate using a GPS unit of the user mobile device.

9. A computer system for generating customized responses based upon user location information, comprising:

one or more processors;

a communication module adapted to communicate data via a network;

a program memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computer system to;

receive an indication of a request from a user for information associated with one or more vehicles or vehicle dealers from a user mobile device via the communication module;

obtain a geospatial location identifier of the user mobile device identifying a geospatial location of the user mobile device at a time associated with the request via the communication module, wherein the geospatial location identifier is generated by the user mobile device;

access map data associated with a vehicle dealer lot in proximity to the identified geospatial location of the user mobile device, the map data including a set of data defining a lot area of the vehicle dealer lot as one or more polygons within a map area;

determine that the user mobile device is located on the vehicle dealer lot by comparing the geospatial location identifier with the lot area;

determine a user interest associated with the vehicle dealer lot based upon the geospatial location of the user mobile device on the vehicle dealer lot and the received indication of the request from the user;

determine a response based upon the determined user interest; and

cause the determined response to be implemented.

10. The computer system of claim 9, wherein:

the executable instructions that cause the computer system to determine the response further cause the computer system to determine to generate a report including information associated with the determined user interest and at least one of (i) one or more additional user interactions with the user mobile device or (ii) one or more additional geospatial location identifiers associated with the user mobile device; and

the executable instructions that cause the computer system to cause the determined response to be implemented further cause the computer system to (i) generate the report and (ii) transmit the generated report to a computing device via the communication module for presentation to a reviewer.

11. The computer system of claim 10, wherein the executable instructions that cause the computer system to generate the report further cause the computer system to generate a map indicating the geospatial location of the user mobile device on the vehicle dealer lot.

12. The computer system of claim 9, wherein:

the executable instructions that cause the computer system to determine the response further cause the computer system to determine additional information to provide to the user in response to the received indication of the request; and

the executable instructions that cause the computer system to cause the determined response to be implemented further cause the computer system to transmit the additional information to the user mobile device via the communication module for presentation to the user.

13. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the executable instructions that cause the computer system to determine the additional information to provide to the user further cause the computer system to determine additional information regarding a vehicle.

14. The computer system of claim 9, wherein the executable instructions further cause the computer system to:

obtain a plurality of additional geospatial location identifiers from the user mobile device identifying a plurality of additional geospatial locations of the user mobile device via the communication module, wherein the plurality of additional geospatial location identifiers are generated by the user mobile device; and

determine a length of time spent by the user at the geospatial location on the vehicle dealer lot based upon the plurality of additional geospatial location identifiers,

wherein determining the user interest further includes determining the user interest based upon the determined length of time spent by the user at the geospatial location on the vehicle dealer lot.

15. A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for generating customized responses based upon user location information that, when executed by one or more processors of a computer system, cause the computer system to:

receive an indication of a request from a user for information associated with one or more vehicles or vehicle dealers from a user mobile device;

obtain a geospatial location identifier of the user mobile device identifying a geospatial location of the user mobile device at a time associated with the request, wherein the geospatial location identifier is generated by the user mobile device;

access map data associated with a vehicle dealer lot in proximity to the identified geospatial location of the user mobile device, the map data including a set of data defining a lot area of the vehicle dealer lot as one or more polygons within a map area;

determine that the user mobile device is located on the vehicle dealer lot by comparing the geospatial location identifier with the lot area;

determine a user interest associated with the vehicle dealer lot based upon the geospatial location of the user mobile device on the vehicle dealer lot and the received indication of the request from the user;

determine a response based upon the determined user interest; and

cause the determined response to be implemented.

16. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein:

the executable instructions that cause the computer system to determine the response further cause the computer system to determine to generate a report including information associated with the determined user interest and at least one of (i) one or more additional user interactions with the user mobile device or (ii) one or more additional geospatial location identifiers associated with the user mobile device; and

the executable instructions that cause the computer system to cause the determined response to be implemented further cause the computer system to (i) generate the report and (ii) transmit the generated report to a computing device for presentation to a reviewer.

17. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the executable instructions that cause the computer system to generate the report further cause the computer system to generate a map indicating the geospatial location of the user mobile device on the vehicle dealer lot.

18. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein:

the executable instructions that cause the computer system to determine the response further cause the computer system to determine additional information to provide to the user in response to the received indication of the request; and

the executable instructions that cause the computer system to cause the determined response to be implemented further cause the computer system to transmit the additional information to the user mobile device for presentation to the user.

19. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the executable instructions that cause the computer system to determine the additional information to provide to the user further cause the computer system to determine additional information regarding a vehicle.

20. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the executable instructions further cause the computer system to:

obtain a plurality of additional geospatial location identifiers from the user mobile device identifying a plurality of additional geospatial locations of the user mobile device, wherein the plurality of additional geospatial location identifiers are generated by the user mobile device; and

determine a length of time spent by the user at the geospatial location on the vehicle dealer lot based upon the plurality of additional geospatial location identifiers, wherein determining the user interest further includes determining the user interest based upon the determined length of time spent by the user at the geospatial location on the vehicle dealer lot.