Mobile computing devices, architecture and user interfaces based on dynamic direction information

• US 8,700,302 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2009
• Issued: 04/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Khosravy, Moe, Novik, Lev, Rubin, Darryl E.
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HIEP VAN
• Application Number:
  US12/536,889
• Publication Number:
  US 20090315995A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,713 Days
• Field of Search: 705/2, 701/207
• US Class Current: 701/207
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3679 Retrieval, searching and output of POI information, e.g. hotels, restaurants, shops, filling stations, parking facilities G01C21/3611 takes precedence
• 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 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

Mobile endpoints are provided that enable direction based pointing services including a positional component for receiving positional information as a function of a location of the portable electronic device, a directional component that outputs direction information as a function of an orientation of the portable electronic device and a location based engine that processes the positional information and the direction information to determine a subset of points of interest relative to the portable electronic device as a function of at least the positional information and the direction information. Devices can include compass(es), e.g., magnetic or gyroscopic, to determine a direction and GPS systems for determining location. A component for determining acceleration can also optionally be included.

Claims

1. A method for interacting with a portable electronic device, comprising:

pointing the portable electronic device in a pointing direction substantially towards at least one point of interest;

accessing at least one image associated with the pointing direction by the portable electronic device;

determining a set of one or more candidate points of interest as a function of the pointing direction;

determining how many candidate points of interest are in the determined set of one or more candidate points of interest;

displaying the set of one or more candidate points of interest on the at least one image, wherein the at least one image is displayed with a view, selected from a plurality of different possible views, including at least a 2D view and a 3D view, based on the determination as to how many candidate points of interest are in the set of one or more candidate points of interest; and

displaying dynamic information associated with the set of one or more candidate points of interest on the portable electronic device and which is overlaid on the at least one image captured by the portable electronic device, in real time, and in such a manner as to be spatially correlated to corresponding actual points of interest displayed in the at least one image in real time.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying static and dynamically updateable information associated with at least one of the set of candidate points of interest.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting information representing location of the portable electronic device and information representing the pointing direction to a network service; and

wherein the determining includes receiving the set of candidate points from the network service as a function of at least one of information representing a location or information representing the pointing direction.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying the pointing direction via an interface portion of the portable electronic device for indicating directional information representing the pointing direction.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining the pointing direction including receiving output from a magnetic compass that outputs direction information and deriving the pointing direction from the direction information.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining the pointing direction including receiving output from a gyroscopic compass that outputs direction information and deriving the pointing direction from the direction information.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the set of candidate points of interest includes requesting the set of candidate points of interest as a function of at least the pointing direction and the requesting includes employing at least one Representational State Transfer (REST)-based application programming interface (API).

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamic information is an advertisement associated with the point of interest.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamic information is an object for providing user feedback regarding the point of interest.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further includes filtering the set of the one or more candidate points of interest to a predetermined number of points of interest, the filtering being based at least in part on input received with a slider control from the user at the portable electronic device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further includes filtering the dynamic information based on a determined number of times that the portable electronic device has been to a current location.

12. A portable electronic device, comprising:

a processor; and

system memory having stored executable instructions for implementing a method that includes;

detecting the portable electronic device is pointed in a pointing direction substantially towards at least one point of interest;

accessing at least one image associated with the pointing direction by the portable electronic device;

determining a set of one or more candidate points of interest as a function of the pointing direction;

determining how many candidate points of interest are in the determined set of one or more candidate points of interest;

displaying the set of one or more candidate points of interest on the at least one image, wherein the at least one image is displayed with a view, selected from a plurality of different possible views, including at least a 2D view and a 3D view, based on the determination as to how many candidate points of interest are in the set of one or more candidate points of interest; and

displaying dynamic information associated with the set of one or more candidate points of interest on the portable electronic device and which is overlaid on the at least one image captured by the portable electronic device, in real time, and in such a manner as to be spatially correlated to corresponding actual points of interest displayed in the at least one image in real time.

13. A computer storage device having stored instructions which, when executed, implement a method that includes:

detecting the portable electronic device is pointed in a pointing direction substantially towards at least one point of interest;

accessing at least one image associated with the pointing direction by the portable electronic device;

determining a set of one or more candidate points of interest as a function of the pointing direction;

determining how many candidate points of interest are in the determined set of one or more candidate points of interest;

displaying the set of one or more candidate points of interest on the at least one image, wherein the at least one image is displayed with a view, selected from a plurality of different possible views, including at least a 2D view and a 3D view, based on the determination as to how many candidate points of interest are in the set of one or more candidate points of interest; and

displaying dynamic information associated with the set of one or more candidate points of interest on the portable electronic device and which is overlaid on the at least one image captured by the portable electronic device, in real time, and in such a manner as to be spatially correlated to corresponding actual points of interest displayed in the at least one image in real time.