APPLICATION RELEVANCE DETERMINATION BASED ON SOCIAL CONTEXT

• US 20130014040A1
• Filed: 07/07/2011
• Published: 01/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Jagannathan, Padmapriya, Iwasaki, Jill S., Aggarwal, Pooja, King, Bennett M., Ruuspakka, Roger M., Shah, Devarshi P.
• Granted Patent: US 9,781,540 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/765
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/00 Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications user-to-user messaging H04L51/00; network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72406 by software upgrading or downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72448 with means for adapting the functionality of the device according to specific conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72451 according to schedules, e.g. using calendar applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72472 wherein the items are sorted according to specific criteria, e.g. frequency of use
• 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 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring

Abstract

Systems, methods, devices, and computer program products are described for using context-aware recommendation techniques to facilitate content discovery on a mobile device platform. In particular, the context-aware recommendation techniques evaluate both a current device context and a social context to generate application relevance scores for each of a number of applications downloaded to a mobile device. Application representations on a graphical user interface (GUI) of the mobile device are rearranged, resized, and/or otherwise affected according to their respective application relevance scores. In certain configurations, one or more applications are pinned, thereby altering (e.g., reducing or eliminating) how changes in their respective application relevance scores affect display of their respective application representations on the GUI of the mobile device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining a current device context value of at least one of a plurality of device context parameters generated according to a dynamic characteristic of a mobile device of a user;

determining a current social context value of at least one of a plurality of social context parameters generated according to dynamic information relating to a social contact of the user maintained as part of a social application accessible by the mobile device;

for each of a plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device, calculating an application relevance score as a function of the current device context value and the current social context value; and

dynamically updating display of a plurality of application representations on a graphical user interface (GUI) of the mobile device, such that the application representations are arranged according at least to the application relevance scores, each application representation corresponding to one of the plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein calculating the application relevance score as a function of the current device context value and the current social context value comprises calculating a weighted combination of at least the current device context value and the current social context value for each of the plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the current device context value comprises receiving substantially real-time data from a sensor integrated with the mobile device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one device context parameter relates to at least one of:

current geographical location of the mobile device;

current network usage;

current application usage;

or

current time.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one device context parameter relates to at least one of:

current geographical location of the mobile device in relation to a past geographical location of the mobile device;

or

current application usage in relation to past application usage.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the current social context value comprises receiving substantially real-time data at the mobile device from a social networking application over a communications network.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one social context parameter relates to at least one of:

an entry in a calendar application associated with the user;

or

contact history.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one social context parameter relates to at least one of:

an entry in a calendar application associated with a social contact;

an update received via a social networking application;

application usage information contextualized according to geographic location of a social contact;

application usage information contextualized according to application usage of a social contact;

or

current geographical location of the mobile device in relation to geographical location of a social contact.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein dynamically updating display of the plurality of application representations on the GUI of the mobile device comprises reordering at least some of the application representations.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein dynamically updating display of the plurality of application representations on the GUI of the mobile device comprises resizing at least some of the application representations.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the GUI comprises a primary screen and at least one secondary screen; and

dynamically updating display of the plurality of application representations on the GUI comprises;

determining a subset of the plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device that have highest application relevance scores; and

arranging the application representations according at least to the application relevance scores by displaying the application representations corresponding to the subset of applications on the primary screen of the GUI.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying at least one of the plurality of applications as a pinned application,

wherein the display of the plurality of application representations on the GUI is dynamically updated, such that the application representations are arranged according at least to the application relevance scores without affecting arrangement of the application representation corresponding to the pinned application.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one application representation is an icon representing the corresponding application.

14. A method comprising:

determining a current device context value of at least one of a plurality of device context parameters generated according to a dynamic characteristic of a mobile device of a user;

determining a current social context value of at least one of a plurality of social context parameters generated according to dynamic information relating to a social contact of the user maintained as part of a social application accessible by the mobile device;

calculating an application relevance score as a function of the current device context value and the current social context value for a designated application of a plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device;

automatically executing the designated application on the mobile device when the application relevance score is calculated to be above a predetermined threshold value; and

automatically stopping the designated application on the mobile device when the application relevance score is calculated to be below a predetermined threshold value.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein determining the current device context value comprises receiving substantially real-time data from a sensor integrated with the mobile device.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the at least one social context parameter relates to at least one of:

an entry in a calendar application associated with the user;

an entry in a calendar application associated with a social contact;

contact history;

an update received via a social networking application;

application usage information contextualized according to geographic location of a social contact;

application usage information contextualized according to application usage of a social contact;

or

current geographical location of the mobile device in relation to geographical location of a social contact.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein:

application relevance scores are calculated for all of the plurality of applications; and

the designated application is automatically executed on the mobile device when the application relevance score for the designated application is calculated to be above the application relevance scores for the other of the plurality of applications.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein:

a subset of the plurality of applications is designated as automatically executable applications;

the subset comprises the designated application; and

applications not part of the subset cannot be automatically executed according to their respective application relevance scores.

19. A system comprising:

a device context determination engine configured to determine a current device context value of at least one of a plurality of device context parameters generated according to a dynamic characteristic of a mobile device of a user;

a social context determination engine configured to determine a current social context value of at least one of a plurality of social context parameters generated according to dynamic information relating to a social contact of the user maintained as part of a social application accessible by the mobile device;

a data store configured to store a plurality of application representations, each corresponding to one of a plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device;

a scoring engine, communicatively coupled with the device context determination engine and the social context determination engine, and configured, for each of the plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device, to calculate an application relevance score as a function of the current device context value and the current social context value; and

a display engine, communicatively coupled with the data store, the scoring engine, and a display integrated with the mobile device, and configured to dynamically update the display to show at least some of the plurality of application representations on a graphical user interface (GUI) of the mobile device, such that the application representations are arranged according at least to the application relevance scores.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the device context determination engine is configured to determine the current device context value by receiving substantially real-time data from a sensor integrated with the mobile device.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the social context determination engine is configured to determine the current social context value by receiving substantially real-time data at the mobile device from a social networking application over a communications network.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein:

the GUI comprises a primary screen and at least one secondary screen; and

the display engine is configured to dynamically update display of the plurality of application representations on the GUI by;

determining a subset of the plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device that have highest application relevance scores; and

arranging the application representations according at least to the application relevance scores by displaying the application representations corresponding to the subset of applications on the primary screen of the GUI.

23. The system of claim 19, wherein the display engine is configured to dynamically update display of the plurality of application representations on the GUI, such that the application representations are arranged according at least to the application relevance scores without affecting arrangement of at least one application representation corresponding to an application identified as a pinned application.

24. A system comprising:

a device context determination engine configured to determine a current device context value of at least one of a plurality of device context parameters generated according to a dynamic characteristic of a mobile device of a user;

a social context determination engine configured to determine a current social context value of at least one of a plurality of social context parameters generated according to dynamic information relating to a social contact of the user maintained as part of a social application accessible by the mobile device;

a data store configured to store a plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device;

a scoring engine, communicatively coupled with the device context determination engine and the social context determination engine, and configured to calculate an application relevance score as a function of the current device context value and the current social context value for a designated application of the plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device; and

an execution engine, communicatively coupled with the data store and the scoring engine, and configured to automatically execute the designated application on the mobile device when the application relevance score is calculated to be above a predetermined threshold value and to automatically stop the designated application on the mobile device when the application relevance score is calculated to be below a predetermined threshold value.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the device context determination engine is configured to determine the current device context value by receiving substantially real-time data from a sensor integrated with the mobile device.

26. The system of claim 24, wherein:

the scoring engine is configured to calculate application relevance scores for all of the plurality of applications; and

the execution engine is configured to automatically execute the designated application on the mobile device when the application relevance score for the designated application is calculated to be above the application relevance scores for the other of the plurality of applications.

27. The system of claim 24, wherein:

at least some of the plurality of applications are configured to be designated as automatically executable applications;

the designated application is designated as an automatically executable application; and

applications not designated as automatically executable applications cannot be automatically executed according to their respective application relevance scores.

28. A processor comprising:

a device context determination controller configured to determine a current device context value of at least one of a plurality of device context parameters generated according to a dynamic characteristic of a mobile device of a user;

a social context determination controller configured to determine a current social context value of at least one of a plurality of social context parameters generated according to dynamic information relating to a social contact of the user maintained as part of a social application accessible by the mobile device;

a scoring controller, communicatively coupled with the device context determination controller and the social context determination controller, and configured, for each of a plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device, to calculate an application relevance score as a function of the current device context value and the current social context value; and

a display controller, communicatively coupled with the scoring controller and a display integrated with the mobile device, and configured to dynamically update the display to show at least some of a plurality of application representations on a graphical user interface (GUI) of the mobile device, such that the application representations are arranged according at least to the application relevance scores, each application representation corresponding to one of the plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device.

29. The processor of claim 28, wherein the device context determination controller is configured to determine the current device context value by receiving substantially real-time data from a sensor integrated with the mobile device.

30. The processor of claim 28, wherein the social context determination controller is configured to determine the current social context value by receiving substantially real-time data at the mobile device from a social networking application over a communications network.

31. The processor of claim 28, wherein:

the GUI comprises a primary screen and at least one secondary screen; and

the display controller is configured to dynamically update display of the plurality of application representations on the GUI by;

determining a subset of the plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device that have highest application relevance scores; and

arranging the application representations according at least to the application relevance scores by displaying the application representations corresponding to the subset of applications on the primary screen of the GUI.

32. The processor of claim 28, wherein the display controller is configured to dynamically update display of the plurality of application representations on the GUI, such that the application representations are arranged according at least to the application relevance scores without affecting arrangement of at least one application representation corresponding to an application identified as a pinned application.

33. A processor comprising:

a device context determination controller configured to determine a current device context value of at least one of a plurality of device context parameters generated according to a dynamic characteristic of a mobile device of a user;

a social context determination controller configured to determine a current social context value of at least one of a plurality of social context parameters generated according to dynamic information relating to a social contact of the user maintained as part of a social application accessible by the mobile device;

a scoring controller, communicatively coupled with the device context determination engine and the social context determination engine, and configured to calculate an application relevance score as a function of the current device context value and the current social context value for a designated application of a plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device; and

an execution controller, communicatively coupled with the scoring engine, and configured to automatically execute the designated application on the mobile device when the application relevance score is calculated to be above a predetermined threshold value and to automatically stop the designated application on the mobile device when the application relevance score is calculated to be below a predetermined threshold value.

34. The processor of claim 33, wherein the device context determination controller is configured to determine the current device context value by receiving substantially real-time data from a sensor integrated with the mobile device.

35. A computer program product residing on a non-transitory processor-readable medium and comprising processor-readable instructions, which, when executed, cause a processor to perform steps comprising:

determining a current device context value of at least one of a plurality of device context parameters generated according to a dynamic characteristic of a mobile device of a user;

determining a current social context value of at least one of a plurality of social context parameters generated according to dynamic information relating to a social contact of the user maintained as part of a social application accessible by the mobile device;

for each of a plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device, calculating an application relevance score as a function of the current device context value and the current social context value; and

dynamically updating display of a plurality of application representations on a graphical user interface (GUI) of the mobile device, such that the application representations are arranged according at least to the application relevance scores, each application representation corresponding to one of the plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device.

36. The computer program product of claim 35, wherein calculating the application relevance score as a function of the current device context value and the current social context value comprises calculating a weighted combination of at least the current device context value and the current social context value for each of the plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device.

37. The computer program product of claim 35, wherein determining the current device context value comprises receiving substantially real-time data from a sensor integrated with the mobile device.

38. The computer program product of claim 35, wherein determining the current social context value comprises receiving substantially real-time data at the mobile device from a social networking application over a communications network.

39. The computer program product of claim 35, wherein:

the GUI comprises a primary screen and at least one secondary screen; and

dynamically updating display of the plurality of application representations on the GUI comprises;

determining a subset of the plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device that have highest application relevance scores; and

arranging the application representations according at least to the application relevance scores by displaying the application representations corresponding to the subset of applications on the primary screen of the GUI.

40. The computer program product of claim 35, the processor-readable instructions, when executed, causing the processor to perform steps further comprising:

identifying at least one of the plurality of applications as a pinned application,

wherein the display of the plurality of application representations on the GUI is dynamically updated, such that the application representations are arranged according at least to the application relevance scores without affecting arrangement of the application representation corresponding to the pinned application.

41. A computer program product residing on a non-transitory processor-readable medium and comprising processor-readable instructions, which, when executed, cause a processor to perform steps comprising:

determining a current device context value of at least one of a plurality of device context parameters generated according to a dynamic characteristic of a mobile device of a user;

determining a current social context value of at least one of a plurality of social context parameters generated according to dynamic information relating to a social contact of the user maintained as part of a social application accessible by the mobile device;

calculating an application relevance score as a function of the current device context value and the current social context value for a designated application of a plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device;

automatically executing the designated application on the mobile device when the application relevance score is calculated to be above a predetermined threshold value; and

automatically stopping the designated application on the mobile device when the application relevance score is calculated to be below a predetermined threshold value.

42. The computer program product of claim 41, wherein determining the current device context value comprises receiving substantially real-time data from a sensor integrated with the mobile device.

43. A system comprising:

means for determining a current device context value of at least one of a plurality of device context parameters generated according to a dynamic characteristic of a mobile device of a user;

means for determining a current social context value of at least one of a plurality of social context parameters generated according to dynamic information relating to a social contact of the user maintained as part of a social application accessible by the mobile device;

for each of a plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device, means for calculating an application relevance score as a function of the current device context value and the current social context value; and

means for dynamically updating display of a plurality of application representations on a graphical user interface (GUI) of the mobile device, such that the application representations are arranged according at least to the application relevance scores, each application representation corresponding to one of the plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device.

44. The system of claim 43, wherein the means for calculating the application relevance score as a function of the current device context value and the current social context value comprises means for calculating a weighted combination of at least the current device context value and the current social context value for each of the plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device.

45. The system of claim 43, wherein the means for determining the current device context value comprises means for receiving substantially real-time data from a sensor integrated with the mobile device.

46. The system of claim 43, wherein the means for determining the current social context value comprises means for receiving substantially real-time data at the mobile device from a social networking application over a communications network.

47. The system of claim 43, wherein:

the GUI comprises a primary screen and at least one secondary screen; and

the means for dynamically updating display of the plurality of application representations on the GUI comprises;

means for determining a subset of the plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device that have highest application relevance scores; and

means for arranging the application representations according at least to the application relevance scores by displaying the application representations corresponding to the subset of applications on the primary screen of the GUI.

48. The system of claim 43, further comprising:

means for identifying at least one of the plurality of applications as a pinned application,

wherein the display of the plurality of application representations on the GUI is dynamically updated, such that the application representations are arranged according at least to the application relevance scores without affecting arrangement of the application representation corresponding to the pinned application.

49. A system comprising:

means for determining a current device context value of at least one of a plurality of device context parameters generated according to a dynamic characteristic of a mobile device of a user;

means for determining a current social context value of at least one of a plurality of social context parameters generated according to dynamic information relating to a social contact of the user maintained as part of a social application accessible by the mobile device;

means for calculating an application relevance score as a function of the current device context value and the current social context value for a designated application of a plurality of applications downloaded to the mobile device;

means for automatically executing the designated application on the mobile device when the application relevance score is calculated to be above a predetermined threshold value; and

means for automatically stopping the designated application on the mobile device when the application relevance score is calculated to be below a predetermined threshold value.

50. The system of claim 49, wherein the means for determining the current device context value comprises means for receiving substantially real-time data from a sensor integrated with the mobile device.