Location and time specific mobile participation platform

• US 8,335,526 B2
• Filed: 12/14/2009
• Issued: 12/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Shankaranarayanan, Nemmara K., Kim, Byoung-Jo
• Primary Examiner(s): Afshar, Kamran
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zewari, Sayed T
• Application Number:
  US12/637,427
• Publication Number:
  US 20110143776A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,100 Days
• Field of Search: 4554561-4566
• US Class Current: 455/456.5
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• 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: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 using location based information parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0229 where the received signal is a wanted signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/10 between location register and external networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A mobile participation platform enables a wireless network operator or third party to solicit response data related to a specific time and location specific event by signaling multiple mobile device users that meet predefined qualifications. The qualifications include presence at the specific location at the specific time, and may include other characteristics, such as prior consent to receive solicitations, and particular device type or data collection functionality. The platform locates mobile devices that may qualify for participation, and generates and transmits a solicitation. Mobile devices receiving the solicitation may activate a participation client to acknowledge the solicitation and to contribute by submitting the requested response data, which may include photos, text, sensor data, audio, video and the like. The qualifications are verified, the response data is validated, and anonymity and privacy are maintained by associating the mobile device and other pertinent non-identifying information with an encrypted identifier.

Claims

1. A system, for soliciting response data related to a transient condition, comprising:

a processor; and

a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

determining the transient condition based on a characteristic selected from a group of characteristics consisting of an environmental characteristic and a mobile device user characteristic, wherein the mobile device user characteristic does not include solely a location requirement;

identifying mobile devices that meet the transient condition;

identifying mobile devices that meet both a less-accurate proximity, qualification and a more-accurate proximity qualification, comprising;

determining approximate presence data associated with each of the mobile devices without contacting the mobile devices;

obtaining more-accurate presence data for only those mobile devices for which the approximate presence data meets the less-accurate proximity qualification; and

identifying mobile devices, of the mobile devices for which the more-accurate presence data was obtained, for which the more-accurate presence data meets the more-accurate proximity qualification; and

generating a solicitation for transmission to at least some of the mobile devices that meet the transient condition and the more-accurate proximity qualification.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to obtain more-accurate presence data for the mobile devices for which the approximate presence data meets the less-accurate proximity qualification, cause the processor to request the more-accurate presence data from those mobile devices for which the approximate presence data meets the less-accurate proximity qualification.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the environmental characteristic includes an ambient quality, existing at a mobile device location, selected from a group of qualities consisting of:

an air temperature, a humidity, a precipitation, a wind speed, a movement in the environment, an electric field, a magnetic field, gravity, a vibration, an air pressure, a presence of one or more pre-identified molecules, and an ambient light.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the user characteristic includes being at a predetermined type of place so that mobile devices located at various geographic locations can meet the user characteristic at the same time.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the user characteristic includes the mobile device being located at any of multiple shopping malls.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the user characteristic includes a predetermined metabolic quality, a predetermined vital sign, and/or a predetermined internal chemistry quality of a user of the mobile device.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the user characteristic includes a characteristic selected from a group of characteristics consisting of:

the mobile device moving at a predetermined speed, the mobile device having a predetermined trajectory, the mobile device being operated at a predetermined activity level, the mobile device being a part of a group of mobile devices together satisfying a predetermined group movement requirement, the mobile device being a part of a group of devices together satisfying a predetermined group usage requirement.

8. A method, for soliciting, from a plurality of mobile devices, response data related to a transient condition, comprising:

determining, by a processor of a network component, the transient condition based on at least one characteristic selected from a group of characteristics consisting of an environmental characteristic and a mobile device user characteristic, wherein the mobile device user characteristic does not include solely a location requirement;

identifying, by the processor, mobile devices that meet the transient condition;

identifying mobile devices that meet both a less-accurate proximity qualification and a more-accurate proximity qualification, including;

determining approximate presence data associated with each of the mobile devices without contacting the mobile devices;

obtaining more-accurate presence data for only those mobile devices for which the approximate presence data meets the less-accurate proximity qualification; and

identifying mobile devices, of the mobile devices for which the more-accurate presence data was obtained, for which the more-accurate presence data meets the more-accurate proximity qualification; and

generating, by the processor, a solicitation for transmission to at least some of the mobile devices that meet the transient condition and the more-accurate proximity qualification.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the environmental characteristic includes at least one ambient quality, existing at a mobile device location, selected from a group of qualities consisting of:

an air temperature, a humidity, a precipitation, a wind speed, a movement in the environment, an electric field, a magnetic field, gravity, a vibration, an air pressure, a presence of one or more pre-identified molecules, and an ambient light.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the environmental characteristic is measured by at least some of the mobile devices.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the user characteristic includes being at a predetermined type of place so that mobile devices located at various geographic locations can meet the user characteristic at the same time.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the user characteristic includes the mobile device being located at any of multiple shopping malls.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the user characteristic includes a predetermined metabolic quality, a predetermined vital sign, and/or a predetermined internal chemistry quality of user of the mobile device.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the user characteristic includes a characteristic selected from a group of characteristics consisting of:

the mobile device moving at a predetermined speed, the mobile device having a predetermined trajectory, the mobile device being operated at a predetermined activity level, the mobile device being a part of a group of mobile device satisfying a predetermined movement requirement, the mobile device being a part of a group of devices satisfying a predetermined usage requirement.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage device comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

determining, by processor of a network component, the transient condition based on at least one characteristic selected from a group of characteristics consisting of an environmental characteristic and a mobile device user characteristic, wherein the mobile device user characteristic does not include solely a location requirement;

identifying, by the processor, mobile devices that meet the transient condition;

identifying mobile devices that meet both a less-accurate proximity qualification and a more-accurate proximity qualification, including;

determining approximate presence data associated with each of the mobile devices without contacting the mobile devices;

obtaining more-accurate presence data for only those mobile devices for which the approximate presence data meets the less-accurate proximity qualification; and

identifying mobile devices, of the mobile devices for which the more-accurate presence data was obtained, for which the more-accurate presence data meets the more-accurate proximity qualification; and

generating, by the processor, a solicitation for transmission to at least some of the mobile devices that meet the transient condition and the more-accurate proximity qualification.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of claim 15, wherein the user characteristic includes at least one characteristic selected from a group of characteristics consisting of:

being at a predetermined type of place so that mobile devices being at various geographic locations can meet the user characteristic at the same time;

a predetermined mobile device user metabolic quality;

a predetermined vital sign of a user of the mobile device;

a predetermined internal chemistry quality of a user of the mobile device;

the mobile device moving at a predetermined speed;

the mobile device having a predetermined trajectory;

the mobile device being operated at a predetermined activity level;

the mobile device being a part of a group of mobile device together satisfying a predetermined group movement requirement; and

the mobile device being a part of a group of devices together satisfying a predetermined group usage requirement.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of claim 15, wherein the environmental characteristic includes at least one ambient quality, existing at a mobile device location, selected from a group of qualities consisting of:

an air temperature, a humidity, a precipitation, a wind speed, a movement in the environment, an electric field, a magnetic field, gravity, a vibration, an air pressure, a presence of one or more pre-identified molecules, and an ambient light.