Method and apparatus for delivering personalized and location sensitive information to a user device

• US 20030068974A1
• Filed: 04/03/2001
• Published: 04/10/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sarnoff Corporation (SRI International, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Sarnoff Corporation (SRI International, Inc.)
• Inventors: Camisa, Raymond, Riganati, John, Kanamaluru, Sridhar, Turski, Zygmond
• Application Number:
  US09/825,198
• Publication Number:
  US 20030068974A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/3.06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries

Abstract

A method and system for delivering personalized, location-sensitive information to a user device comprising an information network interface for collecting, filtering and storing information and a broadcast network for delivering, as broadcast information, some or all of the collected information to a user device. The user device filters the broadcast information in accordance with a user'"'"'s personal preferences and a user'"'"'s location.

Claims

1. A method of distributing information to a user comprising:

storing collected information in an information database;

transmitting some of the collected information as broadcast information over a broadcast network to a user device;

receiving the broadcast information in a user device; and

filtering, within the user device, said broadcast information to generate user-specific information.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

transmitting some of the collected information in accordance with a predetermined criteria to generate a subset of the collected information.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprises:

collecting the collected information from an information network that comprises one or more networks selected from a group consisting of a voice network, a video network, and a data network.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said transmission step comprises:

inserting said broadcast information into a digital television signal; and

broadcasting said digital television signal.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said filtering step comprises:

determining a location of the user; and

filtering said broadcast information based on said location.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said location of the user is determined by a global positioning system (GPS).

7. The method of claim 5 wherein said location of the user is determined by a network of terrestrially based wireless stations.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein said filtering step comprises:

determining an information preference of the user; and

generating said user-specific information based on said information preference.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said information preference is pre-defined by the user.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein said information preference is determined heuristically.

11. The method of claim 5 further comprising:

determining a viewing direction of the user device; and

wherein said user-specific information corresponds to the viewing direction and location of the user device.

12. A system for distributing information to a user comprising:

a database for storing information collected from an information network as collected information;

a broadcast network for transmitting at least some of the collected information as broadcast information; and

a user device for receiving the broadcast information, having a user filter for filtering the broadcast information and generating user-specific information.

13. The system of claim 12 further comprising:

an information provider filter for generating a subset of the collected information in accordance with a predetermined or heuristically learned criteria for transmission as the broadcast information.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein said information network comprises one or more networks selected from a group consisting of a voice network, a video network, and a data network.

15. The system of claim 12 wherein said broadcast network is a broadcast digital television network.

16. The system of claim 12 wherein said user filter comprises:

a personal preference filter for filtering said broadcast information in accordance with a user'"'"'s personal preferences; and

a user location filter for filtering said broadcast information in accordance with a user'"'"'s location.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein said user'"'"'s personal preferences comprises predetermined user preferences.

18. The system of claim 16 wherein said user'"'"'s personal preferences comprises heuristically determined user preferences.

19. The system of claim 16 wherein said user'"'"'s location is determined by a global positioning system (GPS).

20. The system of claim 16 wherein said user'"'"'s location is determined by a network of terrestrially based wireless stations.