Information gathering and personalization techniques

• US 6,539,400 B1
• Filed: 09/20/2000
• Issued: 03/25/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NCR Corporation
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation
• Inventors: Cheyne, Tanya, Bloomfield, Mark E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mizrahi, Diane D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): SPIEGEL, MICHAEL A
• Application Number:
  US09/666,658
• Time in Patent Office: 916 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/104.1, 446/26, 463/36, 463/37, 463/38, 463/39, 463/40, 463/41, 463/42, 463/43, 463/44, 463/45, 463/46, 463/47
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/0283 for data storage and retrieval
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/002 Specific input/output arrangements not covered by G06F3/01 - G06F3/16 other optical apparatus G02B27/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A portable device comprising a processor, an amount of memory, and one or more environmental sensors is carried about the body, and periodically data is recorded from the sensors. When connected to a personal computer or the like, the records on the portable device can be transferred to the personal computer, analyzed, and used by an intelligent agent application, enabling the application to provide the portable device with the information necessary to alert the user when he/she is in a particular place at a particular time.

Claims

1. A data capture system for collecting user activity data, the system comprising:

a personal data capture device which can be worn or carried about the person of a user during a period of use, the device including a memory and environmental sensor means for supplying environmental data to the memory during the period of use;

a terminal for data communication with the data capture device to upload environmental data stored in the memory of the device during the period of use; and

a data warehouse accessible from the terminal, the data warehouse containing information specific to the user, wherein a personal agent/assistant employing the information in the data warehouse presents a user interface on the terminal, the user interface including a virtual character whose behavior responds to the user'"'"'s data capture behavior in the data capture device and upload behavior to the data warehouse.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the character represents a creature.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the character responds to the frequency of data upload by the user.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the appearance of the character responds to the frequency of data upload, the character being relatively nourished in appearance when data upload is relatively frequent and being relatively under-nourished in appearance when data upload is relatively infrequent.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the appearance of the character responds to the amount of data uploaded to the data warehouse by the user.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the appearance of the character responds to the period of time for which the user has been uploading data to the data warehouse.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the appearance of the character responds to the number of times the user has accessed the data warehouse via the terminal to upload information to the data warehouse.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the character appears to grow and/or mature as more data is uploaded, or as more rime elapses since uploads began, or as upload accesses by the user accumulate.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the appearance of the character is user-selectable.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the appearance of the character can be transferred or applied to a character representing another user'"'"'s personal agent/assistant.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the appearance of the character can be transferred by sending appearance data from one user'"'"'s data capture device to the other user'"'"'s data capture device.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the character asks questions of the user whose answers enable the personal agent/assistant to understand and categorize the data uploaded to the data warehouse.

13. A data capture system capable of serving a plurality of a users and for collecting user activity data, the system comprising:

a personal data capture device which can be worn or carried about the person of a user during a period of use, the device including a memory and environmental sensor means for supplying environmental data to the memory during the period of use;

a terminal for data communication with the data capture device to upload environmental data stored in the memory of the device during the period of use;

a data warehouse accessible from the terminal, the data warehouse containing information specific to the user, wherein a personal agent/assistant employing the information in the data warehouse presents a user interface on the terminal, the user interface including a virtual character whose behavior responds to the user'"'"'s data capture behavior in the data capture device and upload behavior to the data warehouse; and

means for identifying users connecting to their respective data warehouses via respective terminals and means for enabling communication between users thus identified.

14. The system of claim 13, further comprising means responsive to a contact list stored in a user'"'"'s data capture device, terminal or data warehouse to alert or connect the user to another user included in that contact list.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising means for connecting simultaneous users for communication with each other while the users are connected to their respective data warehouses.

16. A method of data capture for collecting user activity data, the method comprising:

wearing or carrying about the person of a user dung a period of use a personal data capture device which includes a memory and an environmental sensor for supplying environmental data to the memory during the period of use;

connecting the data capture device to a terminal for data communication with the data capture device;

transferring to the terminal the environmental data stored in the memory of the device during the period of use;

accessing a data warehouse containing information specific to the user from the terminal; and

presenting a user interface on the terminal by using a personal agent/assistant which employs the information in the data warehouse, wherein the user interface includes a virtual character whose behavior responds to the user'"'"'s data capture behavior in the data capture device and upload behavior to the data warehouse.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the character represents a creature.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the character responds to the frequency of data upload by the user.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the appearance of the character responds to the frequency of data upload, the character being relatively nourished in appearance when data upload is relatively frequent and being relatively under-nourished in appearance when data upload is relatively infrequent.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the appearance of the character responds to the amount of data uploaded to the data warehouse by the user.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the appearance of the character responds to the period of time for which the user has been uploading data to the data warehouse.

22. The method of claim 16, wherein the appearance of the character responds to the number of times the user has accessed the data warehouse via the terminal to upload information to the data warehouse.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the character appears to grow and/or mature as more data is uploaded, or as more time elapses since uploads began, or as upload accesses by the user accumulate.

24. The method of claim 16, wherein the appearance of the character is user-selectable.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the appearance of the character is transferred or applied to a character representing another user'"'"'s personal agent/assistant.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the appearance of the character is transferred by sending appearance data from one user'"'"'s data capture device to the other user'"'"'s data capture device.

27. The method of claim 16, wherein the character asks questions of the user whose answers enable the personal agent/assistant to understand and categorize the darn uploaded to the data warehouse.

28. A method of data capture involving a plurality of a users and for collecting user activity data, the method comprising:

wearing or carrying about the person of a user during a period of use a personal data capture device which includes a memory and an environmental sensor for supplying environmental data to the memory during the period of use;

connecting the data capture device to a terminal for data communication with the data capture device;

transferring to the terminal the environmental data stored in the memory of the device during the period of use;

accessing a data warehouse containing information specific to the user from the terminal;

presenting a user interface on the terminal by using a personal agent/assistant which employs the information in the data warehouse, wherein the user interface includes a virtual character whose behavior responds to the user'"'"'s data capture behavior in the data capture device and upload behavior to the data warehouse; and

identifying users connecting to their respective data warehouses via respective terminals and enabling communication between users thus identified.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

responding to a contact list stored in a user'"'"'s data capture device, terminal or data warehouse to alert or connect the user to another user included in that contact list.

30. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

connecting simultaneous users for communication with each other while the users are connected to their respective data warehouses.