Method for providing interactive site map

• US 8,712,688 B2
• Filed: 12/10/2009
• Issued: 04/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AirBNB Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Forte, Michael J., Gonzalez, Zamir G., Li, Jenny S., Murphy, Thomas E. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Badii, Behrang
• Assistant Examiner(s): GREENE, DANIEL LAWSON
• Application Number:
  US12/634,897
• Publication Number:
  US 20110144902A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,601 Days
• Field of Search: 701/201, 701/434, 701/516, 235/375, 707/E17.044, 707/792
• US Class Current: 701/516
• 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: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries

Abstract

A system for providing navigation information to a user in a region, the system including: a plurality of navigation stations disposed throughout the region and coupled to a communications network, each station having a wireless interface configured to communicate interactively with a mobile device carried by the user; wherein the system is configured to receive a destination at a selected navigation station using the wireless interface, to provide directions from the selected navigation station to the destination using the mobile device, and to track movement of the user throughout the region using interaction between the mobile device and a navigation station in range of the mobile device or interaction between the user and one of the navigation stations selected by the user.

Claims

1. A system for providing navigation information to a user in a region, the system comprising:

a plurality of kiosk navigation stations disposed throughout the region and coupled to a communications network, each kiosk navigation station comprising a wireless interface configured to communicate interactively with a mobile device carried by the user and a physical input device configured to receive an interaction with the user;

wherein the system is configured to receive a destination at a selected kiosk navigation station using the wireless interface, to provide directions from the selected kiosk navigation station to the destination using the mobile device, and to track movement of the user throughout the region using interaction between the mobile device and a kiosk navigation station in range of the mobile device or interaction between the user and one of the kiosk navigation stations selected by the user using the physical input device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile device is configured to interactively communicate with the system using short range electromagnetic frequencies.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the system is further configured to provide secured interactive communication using encryption.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is further configured to detect if the user is not following the directions, to notify the user upon detection using the mobile device, and to provide updated directions by way of the mobile device based upon the user'"'"'s current location.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is further configured to receive a waypoint from the user and the directions comprise a route that includes the waypoint.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is further configured to provide metadata to the mobile device, the metadata comprising at least one of an advertisement, an interactive feature, weather, emergency information and updated information.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is further configured to wirelessly upload a software application from a kiosk navigation station in the plurality of kiosk navigation stations to the mobile device, the software application providing interaction capability between the mobile device and the kiosk navigation station that uploaded the software application.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the software application comprises digitized map data of the region.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the software application comprises a route-calculation algorithm configured to calculate the directions on the mobile device.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the software application further provides for communication with a server networked with the plurality of kiosk navigation stations.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the region is an airport and the destination is an airport terminal and gate, and the uploaded software application is configured to determine the terminal and gate upon the user inputting flight information into the mobile device.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein each kiosk navigation station comprises a scanner configured to read a readable-device that identifies the user to detect if the user is following the directions.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein detection of the readable-device provides the interaction between the user and one of the kiosk navigation stations selected by the user.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein at least one of the kiosk navigation stations is configured to provide the readable-device.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one kiosk navigation station comprises a display configured to interact with the user.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the system is further configured to display an interactive map of the region.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the at least one kiosk navigation station comprises at least one of a physical keyboard, a virtual keyboard, and voice recognition technology configured to receive input from the user and a printer configured to provide the directions to the user.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is further configured to receive input identifying the user as having a wheelchair and to provide wheelchair accessible directions.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the directions comprise an image or text of at least a portion of a route.

20. The system of claim 1, further comprising a central database coupled to the network, the central database comprising at least one of amenities data, service data, digitized map data, restriction data, physical challenge data, animation library, image library, sound library, and translation data.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the system is further configured to download at least a portion of data stored in the central data base to at least one of the kiosk navigation stations to allow the at least one kiosk navigation station to calculate the directions.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is further configured to estimate a location of the user using a magnitude of a signal received by at least one kiosk navigation station from the mobile device.

23. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is further configured to display the directions on the mobile device and to receive indication of acceptance of the directions by the user.

24. The system of claim 1, wherein the system is further configured to (a) receive arrival input from the user upon the user arriving at the destination and (b) remove the user directions from memory and cease tracking the user upon receiving the arrival input.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein each navigation kiosk comprises a printer and the system is configured to print the directions at the printer of the selected kiosk navigation station upon command from the mobile device.

26. A method for providing navigation information to a user in a region, the method comprising:

receiving a destination from the user with a kiosk navigation station in a navigation system comprising a plurality of kiosk navigation stations disposed throughout the region and coupled to a communications network, each kiosk navigation station comprising a wireless interface configured to communicate interactively with a mobile device carried by the user and a physical input device configured to receive an interaction with the user;

providing directions from the kiosk navigation station to the destination using the mobile device; and

tracking movement of the user throughout the region using interaction between the mobile device and a kiosk navigation station in range of the mobile device or interaction between the user and one of the kiosk navigation stations selected by the user using the physical input device.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising receiving a waypoint from the user and providing directions comprising a route that includes the waypoint.

28. The method of claim 26, further comprising notifying the user by way of the mobile device if the user is not following the directions.

29. The method of claim 26, further comprising estimating a location of the user using a magnitude of signal received by at least one navigation station from the mobile device.

30. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions for providing navigation information to a user in a region by implementing a method comprising:

receiving a destination from the user with a kiosk navigation station in a navigation system comprising a plurality of kiosk navigation stations disposed throughout the region and coupled to a communications network, each kiosk navigation station comprising a wireless interface configured to communicate interactively with a mobile device carried by the user and a physical input device configured to receive an interaction with the user;

providing directions from the kiosk navigation station to the destination using the mobile device; and

tracking movement of the user throughout the region using interaction between the mobile device and a kiosk navigation station in range of the mobile device or interaction between the user and one of the kiosk navigation stations selected by the user using the physical input device.