DISPLAYING SITUATIONAL INFORMATION BASED ON GEOSPATIAL DATA

• US 20110010674A1
• Filed: 07/13/2009
• Published: 01/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Raytheon Company (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Knize, Nicholas W., Johnson, Larry J., Reta, Roberto
• Granted Patent: US 8,558,847 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/849
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/185 by embedding added-value information into content, e.g. geo-tagging

Abstract

In accordance with a particular embodiment of the invention, a request for a geotag comprising situational information and geographic coordinates may be received from a requestor. The request may include geospatial data, such as position data and viewing angle data, that identifies a location of the requester. The position data may be latitude data, longitude data, and/or elevation data, and the viewing angle data may be azimuth data, compass direction data, and/or orientation data. The geographic coordinates of a candidate geotag may be compared to the location received in the request. If the candidate geotag is near the location received in the request, it may be sent to the requester.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a request for a geotag from a requestor, the geotag comprising situational information and geographic coordinates, the request comprising geospatial data that identifies a location of the requestor, the geospatial data comprising;

position data comprising one or more of latitude data, longitude data, and elevation data; and

viewing angle data comprising one or more of azimuth data, compass direction data, and orientation data;

comparing the geographic coordinates of a candidate geotag to the location received in the request; and

sending the candidate geotag to the requester if the candidate geotag is near the location received in the request.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

overlaying the candidate geotag on a background image comprising the location of the requester, the candidate geotag overlaid according to its geographic coordinates; and

displaying the background image and the candidate geotag on a display.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the background image is generated by a three-dimensional visualization tool.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the candidate geotag is selected from the group of geotags consisting of social network geotags, historical geotags, identification geotags, and annotation geotags.

5. The method of claim 1, the candidate geotag further comprising a rating, the rating indicating the usefulness of the candidate geotag according to one or more users.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the location of the requester is overridden with a user viewing criterion that indicates a location of interest to the requester.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the request further comprises user search criteria, the user search criteria indicating a characteristic of the geotag being requested.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

verifying that the requester is authorized to receive the candidate geotag, and sending the candidate geotag to the requester only if the requester is authorized.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the candidate geotag to the requestor further comprises sending the candidate geotag from a peer of a peer-to-peer network.

10. An apparatus comprising:

logic encoded in a computer readable media, the logic configured to;

receive a request for a geotag from a requestor, the geotag comprising situational information and geographic coordinates, the request comprising geospatial data that identifies a location of the requester, the geospatial data comprising;

position data comprising one or more of latitude data, longitude data, and elevation data; and

viewing angle data comprising one or more of azimuth data, compass direction data, and orientation data;

compare the geographic coordinates of a candidate geotag to the location received in the request; and

send the candidate geotag to the requester if the candidate geotag is near the location received in the request.

11. The logic of claim 10, further configured to:

overlay the candidate geotag on a background image comprising the location of the requestor, the candidate geotag overlaid according to its geographic coordinates; and

display the background image and the candidate geotag on a display.

12. The logic of claim 11, wherein the background image is generated by a three-dimensional visualization tool.

13. The logic of claim 10, wherein the location of the requestor is overridden with a user viewing criterion that indicates a location of interest to the requester.

14. The logic of claim 10, further configured to:

verify that the requestor is authorized to receive the candidate geotag, and send the candidate geotag to the requester only if the requestor is authorized.

15. A device configured to:

send a request for a geotag from a requester, the geotag comprising situational information and geographic coordinates, the request comprising geospatial data that identifies a location of the requester, the geospatial data comprising;

position data comprising one or more of latitude data, longitude data, and elevation data; and

viewing angle data comprising one or more of azimuth data, compass direction data, and orientation data; and

receive the candidate geotag returned in response to the request.

16. The device of claim 15, further configured to:

overlay the candidate geotag on a background image comprising the location of the requestor, the candidate geotag overlaid according to its geographic coordinates; and

display the background image and the candidate geotag on a display.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the background image is generated by a three-dimensional visualization tool.

18. The device of claim 15, further configured to override the location of the requestor with a user viewing criterion that indicates a location of interest to the requestor.

19. The device of claim 15, wherein the request further comprises user search criteria, the user search criteria indicating a characteristic of the geotag to be sent.