Scalable Geo-location Event Processing

• US 20100069092A1
• Filed: 09/16/2008
• Published: 03/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Bajpai, Ratan, Wu, Xiaotao, Krishnaswamy, Venkatesh, Buford, John
• Granted Patent: US 8,155,672 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.300
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/022 with dynamic range variability
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

Traditional, server-oriented architectures have focused on providing location-based services by using publish-subscribe, efficient message buses, and filtering mechanisms. However, given an enterprise'"'"'s unique requirements, these techniques have offered mixed results when used in an enterprise context. The present invention enables an efficient way to provide location-based services to an enterprise, as well as to integrate those location-based services into the enterprise'"'"'s communications platform. A platform for supporting converged, location-based communications comprises one or more application servers such as a transactional server, a Session Initiation Protocol server, and so forth. In addition, the platform advantageously comprises an event processor for managing arriving location streams that are generated by targets being monitored. Such targets include the cell phones and WiFi handsets of the enterprise users, but can also include location data from various users arriving from multiple, fixed points such as credit card readers in stores.

Claims

1. A method for providing a location-based service at a data-processing system that comprises at least one event processor, the method comprising:

receiving, at the data-processing system, a request that pertains to an event of interest;

receiving, at the at least one event processor, a plurality of location streams, each location stream corresponding to a different target in a plurality of targets, and each location stream comprising one or more location events that are generated by or on behalf of its corresponding target; and

deriving, at the at least one event processor, the event of interest from among at least one location event that exists within at least one of the location streams, the derivation being based on the request; and

generating a derived event stream that comprises the event of interest.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the request comprises a geographic constraint.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the request comprises a temporal constraint.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein an application server of the data-processing system receives the request and forwards the request to the at least one event processor.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising generating a notification to call a Session Initiation Protocol user agent, based on the generating of the derived event stream.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the user agent represents a target in the plurality of targets.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the location-based service constitutes pushing an advertisement to the target via the user agent.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the location-based service constitutes delivering a service or resource to the target via the user agent.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein the location-based service constitutes transmitting a reminder to the target via the user agent.

10. The method of claim 5 wherein the location-based service constitutes monitoring an asset of the enterprise, wherein a target in the plurality of targets represents the asset.

11. The method of claim 5 wherein the location-based service constitutes tracking the density of one or more targets in the plurality of targets, within a geographic area.

12. A system for providing a location-based service, the system comprising:

a first application server configured to receive a request that pertains to an event of interest; and

an event processor configured to i) receive a plurality of location streams, each location stream corresponding to a different target in a plurality of targets, and each location stream comprising one or more location events that are generated by or on behalf of its corresponding target, ii) derive the event of interest from among at least one location event that exists within at least one of the location streams, the derivation being based on the request, and iii) generate a derived event stream that comprises the event of interest.

13. The system of claim 12 further comprising a second application server configured to call a Session Initiation Protocol user agent, based on the generating of the derived event stream.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the user agent represents a target in the plurality of targets.

15. A method for providing a predetermined location-based service to an enterprise that is served by workers, at least a portion of the workers being served by targets that are mobile devices, each of the targets being capable of generating, or having generated on its behalf, a separate location stream that comprises one or more location events, the method comprising utilizing at least one event processor to correlate two or more of the location streams, the two or more location streams being based on the predetermined location-based service.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the location-based service constitutes pushing an advertisement to at least one of the targets, based on location.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the location-based service constitutes delivering a service or resource to at least one of the targets, based on location.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the location-based service constitutes transmitting a reminder to at least one of the targets, based on location.

19. The method of claim 15 wherein the location-based service constitutes monitoring one or more assets of the enterprise.

20. The method of claim 15 wherein the location-based service constitutes tracking the density of one or more of the targets within a geographic area that is based on location.