AD HOC AND OPPORTUNISTIC TRANSPORTATION SERVICES

• US 20090210276A1
• Filed: 02/19/2008
• Published: 08/20/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Black, Neil W., Panabaker, Ruston, Horvitz, Eric J., Krumm, John C., Couckuyt, Jeffrey D., Seltzer, Michael Lewis, Tashev, Ivan J.
• Application Number:
  US12/033,713
• Publication Number:
  US 20090210276A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/8
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/025 Coordination of plural reservations, e.g. plural trip segments, transportation combined with accommodation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0204 Market segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083

Abstract

Individuals can be organized into travel groups in plans constructed in advance or in real-time to save resources and travel in an efficient manner. Multi-segment trips between starting points and destinations can be constructed with several vehicles, including private, public, and commercial transportation assets. Numerous requests for real-time or planned recurrent commutes by a population of users can be considered in a larger analysis that seeks to optimize one or more attributes such as vehicle usage and/or greenhouse emissions. Data concerning multiple related individuals can be gathered and analyzed—based upon the analysis, a determination can be made if it is logical to group individuals together such that they physically travel together. A transportation asset provider and/or individuals can be offered a reward to become part of the travel group and/or to perform specific tasks related to the travel group, such as using a vehicle with a certain fuel type.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

an analysis component that evaluates transit information related to at least two users; and

a management component that automatically organizes at least two users that have transit information evaluated into a travel group, organization occurs as a function of the transit information evaluation.

2. The system of claim 1, the transit information includes schedule information, traffic data, time detail, contextual metadata, a route, or a combination thereof.

3. The system of claim 1, the management component organizes at least two travel groups, organization of the two travel groups occurs to optimize travel for the organized groups.

4. The system of claim 1, the management component that organizes at least two users that have transit information evaluated into a travel group in real time.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a transaction component that performs a fiscal operation in regard to transit information evaluation or automatic travel group organization.

6. The system of claim 1, the performed fiscal operation awards a token to a user for participation in a travel group.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one of the following:

an alteration component that changes a route, use of the changed route enables at least two members of the travel group to achieve a personal objective;

or

a generation component that creates a route for the travel group, use of the route enables at least two members of the travel group to achieve a personal objective.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a membership component that requests at least one user to become part of the travel group.

9. The system of claim 8, further comprising an interaction component that obtains a response to the request, a positive response associates the user with the travel group.

10. The system of claim 1, at least one user organized into the travel group is part of a complex journey, the user is scheduled to be part of at least two travel groups to reach an intended destination.

11. The system of claim 10, a first travel group of the user takes place upon a personal vehicle, a public transportation vehicle, or a commercial transportation vehicle and a subsequent travel group of the user takes place upon a personal vehicle, a public transportation vehicle, or a commercial transportation vehicle that is not used in the first travel group.

12. The system of claim 1, further comprising an automated reasoning component that makes at least one inference or at least on determination in regard to transit information evaluation or automatic travel group organization.

13. The system of claim 1, the management component implements multiple requests for users to be placed upon a travel group together to minimize overall cost to users, minimize distance traveled, minimize greenhouse gas emissions, or a combination thereof in real-time or offline.

14. A method, comprising

organizing at least two individuals into a transit assembly;

and

producing a route automatically that enables at least two individuals in the transit assembly to achieve an individual objective as part of the transit assembly.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising analyzing metadata related to the at least two individuals, organization is based upon a result of the analysis.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising collecting the metadata related to the at least two individuals.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising requesting permission from the at least two individuals, organizing at least two individuals into a transit assembly takes place upon a positive response to the request.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising enriching at least one individual of the transit assembly with a reward for being part of the transit assembly.

19. A system, comprising:

means for gathering data that relates to travel of at least two individuals;

means for analyzing the gathered data;

means for determining if travel of at least two individuals can be coordinated based upon a result of the gathered data analysis;

means for coordinating the travel of at least two individuals based upon a positive response to the determination of if travel of at least two individuals can be coordinated;

means for communicating with the at least two individuals, communication includes ascertaining if the at least two individuals accept the coordination; and

means for implementing the coordination upon an agenda for the at least two individuals.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising means for producing an incentive to at least one individual to the coordination implemented upon the agenda.