WO2018156011A1

WO2018156011A1 - System and method for providing customised content items

Info

Publication number: WO2018156011A1
Application number: PCT/MY2017/050018
Authority: WO
Inventors: Masuri ANUWAH @ ANWAR; Harlina SUPARJO; Ahmad Nizar Harun; Abdul Wahab Abdullah; Karambir Kaur JASBIR SINGH
Original assignee: Mimos Berhad
Priority date: 2017-02-24
Filing date: 2017-04-19
Publication date: 2018-08-30
Also published as: MY188718A

Abstract

System and Method for Providing Customised Content Items The invention provides a system for providing customised content items to a user who makes a search request on a computing device. The system comprises a plurality of local content searching sub-systems interacting with each other over a global semantic engine (11). The local content searching sub-systems are each configured to analyse the search request according to user location and preferences, in order to obtain one or more matched content items for display to the user. If no matched content item is obtained, a global semantic engine (11) is used to further analyse the search request, so that the local content searching sub-system is provided with another plurality of content items from a nearest content searching sub-system for display to the user. A method is also provided herein to perform the same.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING CUSTOMISED

CONTENT ITEMS

Field of Invention

The invention relates to content delivery on a computing device. In more particular, the invention pertains to a method and system for providing customised content items based on user preferences and location. Background of the Invention

Generally, users interact with content providers and advertisers through a website over a network, such as internet, to obtain a list of personal contents or media requested by the individual user. In the prior art embodiments, the users are required to register and provide personal information, including user profile information, user preferences and past user surfing information, that helps the content providers and advertisers to tailor or customise the personal contents or media to each user.

For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 7,657,594 B2 describes a system for determining directed media for a user. The system comprises a media selection optimiser for determining a directed media component based on a user profile associated with a network access device via a device identifier. The media selection optimiser may also use access point information, historic information and access point location-centric information in its determination of the directed media component. The directed media component may then be forwarded to a media server which provides the corresponding directed media to the user. The directed media may comprise advertisement, coupons, video, music or any other media which is customisable to the user.

U.S. Pub. No. 2008/0139112 Al describes an intelligent personalised content delivery system. The system generally comprises a wireless mobile device, a mobile network infrastructure, an intelligent personalised content delivery server and content database. The mobile device transmits the user content request to mobile network infrastructure over the wireless link to the server. Once the requested content is identified, the server obtains the requested content from the content database and then generates a response for the wireless mobile device, in which the response conveys at least a portion of the requested content or a link to download the content. The personalised content delivery server comprises an intelligent subsystem which is configured to process the mobile user content request automatically, learn the mobile user content preferences and build a recommendation database for the mobile user, where the recommendation database is used to recommend personalised content and send targeted advertisements. Although the prior art provides numerous systems for delivering personalised contents based on user preferences, the prior systems are however configured to interact with a single content searching server. If the server is unable to locate contents as requested by the user, it will return irrelevant contents and this is unacceptable to the user. Accordingly, there remains a need for an improved method and system for providing customised content items.

Summary of the Invention One of the objects of the invention is to provide a method and system for providing customised content items based on user preferences, location, and other content- sorting criteria.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method and system enabling a local content searching sub-system to interact with a global semantic engine for communicating with other nearest local content searching sub-systems to provide a more efficient searching process as well as to return with more relevant search results.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a method and system for directing customised content items to the user automatically.

At least one of the preceding objects is met, in whole or in part, by the invention, in which one of the embodiments of the invention describes a system for providing customised content items to a user on a computing device comprising a plurality of content searching sub-systems each comprising at least a device tracker configured to obtain user location information corresponding to the computing device; and at least a local semantic engine that is selected based on the user location and configured to extract at least a search term from a search request made by the user at a remote platform of the computing device and match the extracted search term to a plurality of content items that are stored in a content database and corresponding to a geographical area including the user location, to obtain one or more matched content items to be displayed to the user; and a global semantic engine interacting with each of the plurality of content searching sub-systems and configured to receive the search request transmitted from the local semantic engine, if the local semantic engine fails to identify any matches; wherein the global semantic engine is configured to tag the transmitted search request according to the user location, locate a nearest content searching sub-system for retrieving another plurality of content items from the content database to obtain one or more matched content items to be provided to the local semantic engine for display to the user.

The local semantic engine may be further configured to automatically direct at least a content item to the user based on the user preferences, location or the combination thereof.

The local semantic engine may further comprise a predetermined ranking module for sorting the matched content items before being displayed to the user.

The global semantic engine may be further configured to repeat the tagging, locating and further matching steps until one or more matched content items to the transmitted search request is obtained. A further embodiment of the invention is a method for providing customised content items to a user on a computing device comprising the steps of extracting at least a search term from a search request made by the user at a remote platform of the computing device, using a local semantic engine selected based on a user location corresponding to the computing device tracked by a device tracker when the user request is made; matching the extracted search term to a plurality of content items that are stored in a content database and corresponding to a geographical area including the user location, wherein the matching step is performed based on user preferences and user location to obtain one or more matched content items to be displayed to the user; transmitting the search request from the local semantic engine to a global semantic engine, if the local semantic engine fails to identify any matches; tagging the transmitted search request by the global semantic engine according to location information of the local semantic engine; locating a nearest content searching subsystem for retrieving another plurality of content items corresponding to a geographical area that includes the location of the located content searching subsystem from the content database; and further matching the extracted search term to the retrieved another plurality of content items for obtaining one or more matched content items to be provided to the local semantic engine for display to the user.

The method may further comprise automatically directing at least a content item to the user based on the user preferences, location or the combination thereof. The method may also further comprise repeating the tagging, locating and further matching steps until one or more matched content items to the transmitted search request is obtained.

One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the invention is well adapted to carry out the aspects and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments described herein are not intended as limitations on the scope of the invention.

Brief Description of Drawings

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the invention, there is illustrated in the accompanying drawing the preferred embodiments from an inspection of which when considered in connection with the following description, the invention, its construction and operation and many of its advantages would be readily understood and appreciated. Figure 1 is a general architecture of a system for providing customised content items, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a flow chart showing a method for providing customised content items, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

Figure 3 is a flow chart showing steps for further analysing the search request using a global semantic engine, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description of the Invention

Hereinafter, the invention shall be described according to the preferred embodiments of the invention and by referring to the accompanying description and drawings. However, it is to be understood that limiting the description to the preferred embodiments of the invention and to the drawings is merely to facilitate discussion of the invention and it is envisioned that those skilled in the art may devise various modifications without departing from the scope of the appended claim.

Figure 1 is a general architecture of the system for providing customised content items according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. The system may comprise one or a plurality of content searching sub-systems each covering a geographical area. Preferably, the system comprises a plurality of content searching sub-systems communicating with each other over a global semantic engine (11).

The global semantic engine (11) is preferably provided with at least one user database that stores information associated with a user or a group of users. In particular, when the users register with a local semantic engine (21), each user is assigned with a user account and the information associated with each user will be transmitted to the user database and stored therein. The information stored may include personal particulars, preferences, reviews and evaluations, and past user request and searching details. The personal particulars and preferences may be provided by the users at the time of registering with the local semantic engine (21) through a remote platform established at a computing device. On the other hand, the reviews and evaluations as well as the past user request and searching details may be recorded and attributes thereof may be used to further establish the user preference. Further, it should be appreciated that the user database can either be a separate component provided to or an integral part of the local semantic engine (21).

The global semantic engine (11) may also be provided with at least a content database that stores a plurality of content items and information of content providers relating to the content items. The content database may contain a plurality of content items and information of content providers from various geographical areas. Further, the content database may store the content items and information of content providers according to the geographical areas.

It should also be appreciated that the content or user database can either be a separate component provided to the global semantic engine (11) or an integral part thereof.

For each content searching sub-system, it may comprise at least a local semantic engine (21) for interacting with a remote platform established on a computing device, for instance a mobile smart phone, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, etc., to receive a user request or in particular a user search request. The content searching sub-system may also comprise at least one device tracker (22) capable of interacting with the local semantic engine (21) over a network, such as internet, intranet or other network. As such, it should be appreciated that the content searching sub-system may also comprise at least a network access point positioned in the geographical area covered by the content searching sub-system. Presence of the network access point thus allows interaction between the components present within or outside the content searching sub-system, for instance between the local semantic engine (21) and the device tracker (22), or between the local semantic engine (21) and the global semantic engine (11).

Preferably, the device tracker (22) is configured to obtain identification and location information corresponding to the computing device at which the user request is made. In particular, it scans an identifier corresponding to the computing device, for instance a media access control (MAC) address or other unique device identifier, thus enabling the device tracker (22) to identify the computing device and its geographical location. It should be appreciated that the location information corresponding to the computing device is also used as an indication of the user location or a geographical area where the user is currently located. Subsequently, the identification and location information of the computing device will be transmitted from the device tracker (22) to the local semantic engine (21).

Although it is not illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it should be appreciated that the content searching sub-systems can each be provided with a plurality of local semantic engines (21) and a plurality of device trackers (22), in which each device tracker (22) may be configured to interact with one or more local semantic engines (21). A specific local semantic engine (21) is selected based on the user location when a user search request is made at a remote platform on the computer device. For example, a local semantic engine (21) nearest to the user may be identified. When the local semantic engine (21) is first identified or located by the computing device of the user, it may prompt the user to register therewith, in which the user information can be retrieved and stored in a user database associated with the local semantic engine (21).

As set forth in the preceding description, the content searching sub-system may be configured such that the local semantic engine (21) communicates with the computing device and device tracker (22). The local semantic engine (21) also communicates with the user database and the content database respectively. In one embodiment, the local semantic engine (21) may be configured to receive a user search request made at a remote platform, for instance a user application installed on the computing device. It should be appreciated that the term "user" is referred to as a registered user, and the user is thus required to log into the user account before a search request can be made through the user application. As such, the local semantic engine (21) is able to identify the user upon receipt of the search request and then retrieve relevant user information or in particular user preferences from the user database. It is also of particular interest that the local semantic engine (21) interacts with the device tracker (22) for retrieving identification and location information corresponding to the computing device that is used to make the search request.

Accordingly, the local semantic engine (21) analyses the search request based on the user preferences and location information of the computing device. In more particular, the local semantic engine (21) is configured to extract at least a search term from the search request and match the search term to a plurality of content items stored in the content database. As the content items are stored in the content database according to the geographical area, only those from the same geographical area where the user is present will be retrieved by the local semantic engine (21) for the matching operation. Further, it should be appreciated that the term "match" may include circumstances where the search term is identical, similar or synonymous to any word in the plurality of content items. If the local semantic engine (21) is able to identify at least a match, a list of matched content items may be formed and then sorted according to the user preferences and location information. If the user preferences indicate that the user prefers content items of Type A, the matched content items of Type A may be placed at top of the list, followed by those of other types. The matched content items may be further sorted based on the location information. If the content items of Type A correspond to a content provider located nearer to the user, they may be placed first in the list, and then followed by those corresponding to other content providers that are positioned further from the user. Optionally, the local semantic engine (21) further comprises a predetermined ranking module for sorting the matched content items before being displayed to the user. The predetermined ranking module may include various criteria for sorting the matched content items, for instance, the items are sorted according to popularity or most visited by the user. The predetermined ranking module may also include criteria as set out in the user preferences, reviews and evaluations, as well as the past user request and searching details, corresponding to the content items. After sorting the list of the matched content items according to the user preferences and location information, the local semantic engine (21) is configured to transmit the sorted list of content items to the remote platform which displays the sorted list to the user.

However, if the local semantic engine (21) fails to identify any matches to the content items in the content database, data pertaining to the search request can be transferred to a global semantic engine (11), where the global semantic engine (11) is configured to further analyse the request according to the user preferences and location information. The global semantic engine (11) may process the user search request by tagging it to a geographical location which corresponds to the location information retrieved by using the device tracker (22). Based on the tagged geographical location, the global semantic engine (11) locates and determines a nearest content searching sub-system and interacts with the content database for retrieving another plurality of content items and content providers from it, in which the retrieved content items and content providers are corresponding to the nearest content searching sub-system. The global semantic engine (11) may then perform the matching operations to generate a sorted list of matched content items. Nevertheless, if the global semantic engine (11) is unable to identify any matches, it may determine another nearest content searching sub-system to retrieve still another plurality of content items and content providers for the matching operation. The locating, retrieving and matching operations may be performed repeatedly by the global semantic engine (11) until it is able to provide the local semantic engine (21) with a list of matched content items sorted according to the user preferences and location information.

In another embodiment, the local semantic engine (21) may be configured to direct at least a content item automatically to the user, for example, in the form or a push data or push notification. In certain embodiments of the invention, after a user logs in through the remote platform on a computing device, the local semantic engine (21) is notified of such login and configured to filter the content items stored in the content database according to the user preferences and location information. If it is indicated in the user preferences that the user prefers content items of Type A, the content items of Type A are directed to the user. The content items of Type A are subsequently sorted based on the location information. For example, if one of the content items of Type A relates to a content provider located in the same area as that of the user, it may be arranged first, followed by those relating to other content providers that are located further from the user. The content items may also be sorted according to other criteria, such as popularity. After sorting the content items according to the user preferences and location information as well as other sorting criteria, they are transmitted from the local semantic engine (21) to the remote platform which displays the sorted list to the user.

Figure 2 illustrates a method for providing customised content items according to a further embodiment of the invention. Preferably, a user is required to log in through a remote platform, such as a user application installed on a computing device, before the user makes a search request, as shown at Step 100. After a search request is made by the user, it will be sent to a local semantic engine (21).

As the user has logged in through the remote platform, the local semantic engine (21) may then identify the user upon receipt of the search request and retrieve relevant user information that includes user preferences from a user database. The local semantic engine (21) may also interact with a device tracker (22) for retrieving identification and location information corresponding to the computing device used by the user to make the search request, as shown at Step 200. The local semantic engine (21) may then analyse the search request according to both the user preferences and the location information of the computing device, as shown at Step 300.

In particular, at Step 400, the local semantic engine (21) extracts at least a search term from the search request and matches the extracted search term to a plurality of content items in the content database. More particularly, the local semantic engine (21) first retrieves a plurality of content items from the content database based on the location of the computing device, before the matching step. Thus, the plurality of content items retrieved will correspond to the geographical location of the user and will be used in the matching step. If the local semantic engine (21) identifies at least a match, a list of matched content items is generated and then sorted based on the user preferences and location information, as shown at Step 600. If the user preferences indicate that the user prefers content items of Type A, the matched content items of Type A will be placed at top of the list, followed by those of other types. The matched content items can be further sorted based on the location information. If one of the content items of Type A relates to a content provider located nearer to the user, they will be placed first in the list, and then followed by those corresponding to other content providers which are further from the user. After sorting the list of the matched content items based on the user preferences and location information, the local semantic engine (21) transmits the sorted list of content items to the remote platform, as shown at Step 700, such that the remote platform will display the sorted list to the user, as shown at Step 800. In certain embodiments, the method further comprises a step of sorting the matched content items based on other sorting criteria, such as popularity, by using a predetermined ranking module, before they are displayed to the user. The further sorting step of the matched content items can be performed by the local semantic engine (21).

However, if the local semantic engine (21) fails to identify any matches to the content items in the content database, it is preferred that the local semantic engine (21) retrieves content items and other relevant data from a global semantic engine (11), as shown at Step 500. More preferably, Step 500 is performed by further analysing the search request using the global semantic engine (11), as further illustrated in Figure 3.

In particular, at Step 502, data pertaining to the search request are transmitted to a global semantic engine (11) for further processing. At Step 504, the global semantic engine (11) may process the data of the search request by tagging it to a geographical location and determines a nearest content searching sub-system based on the tagged location. By interacting with the content database, the global semantic engine (11) retrieves another plurality of content items and content providers, which allows the global semantic engine (11) to match the extracted search terms contained in the search request thereto for generating a list of matched content items and then sorting the generated list according to the user preferences and location information. At Step 506, the sorted list will be transmitted from the global semantic engine (11) to the local semantic engine (21) which transfers the same to the remote platform for displaying to the user. Nevertheless, if the global semantic engine (11) is unable to identify any matches, it will determine another nearest content searching sub-system for retrieving still another plurality of content items and content providers from the content database for the matching steps depicted in the foregoing. The global semantic engine (11) may repeat the steps for identifying the next nearest content searching sub-system and retrieving the plurality of content items and content providers, till it is able to provide the local semantic engine (21) with a list of matched content items sorted according to the user preferences and location information.

In another further embodiment, the method may also comprise a step of automatically directing at least a content item to the user. For instance, after the user has logged in, the local semantic engine (21) is notified of such login and it will be prompted to filter the content items stored in the content database according to the user preferences and location information. If it is indicated in the user preferences that the user prefers content items of Type A, the content items of Type A will be directed to the user. The content items of Type A may also be sorted according to the location information. For example, if one of the content items of Type A relates to a content provider located nearer to the user, it may be arranged first and then followed by those relating to other content providers that are located further from the user. The sorted content items are then transmitted from the local semantic engine (21) to the remote platform which displays the sorted list to the user.

Although the system and method are depicted in the foregoing to provide customised content items, it should however be appreciated that the system and method can also be used to provide a customised list of services by replacing the content database with a service database, wherein the service database is configured to store a plurality of services and information of service providers relating to the services. As set forth in the foregoing description, the service database or the information of service providers are location- or area-based.

The disclosure includes as contained in the appended claims, as well as that of the foregoing description. Although this invention has been described in its preferred form with a degree of particularity, it is understood that the disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangements of parts may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A system for providing customised content items to a user on a computing device comprising:

a plurality of content searching sub-systems each comprising:

at least a device tracker (22) configured to obtain user location corresponding to the computing device; and

at least a local semantic engine (21) that is selected based on the user location, configured to extract at least a search term from a search request made by the user at a remote platform of the computing device, and match the extracted search term to a plurality of content items that are stored in a content database and corresponding to a geographical area including the user location, to obtain one or more matched content items to be displayed to the user; and

a global semantic engine (11) interacting with each of the plurality of content searching sub-systems and configured to receive the search request transmitted from the local semantic engine (21), if the local semantic engine (21) fails to identify any matches;

wherein the global semantic engine (11) is configured to tag the transmitted search request according to the user location, locate a nearest content searching sub- system for retrieving another plurality of content items from the content database, and further match the extracted search term to the another plurality of content items to obtain one or more matched content items to be provided to the local semantic engine (21) for display to the user.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the local semantic engine (21) is further configured to automatically direct at least a content item to the user based on the user preferences, location or the combination thereof.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein the global semantic engine (11) is further configured to repeat the tagging, locating and further matching steps until one or more matched content items to the transmitted search request is obtained.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein the local semantic engine (21) further comprises a predetermined ranking module for sorting the matched content items before being displayed to the user.

5. A method for providing customised content items to a user on a computing device comprising the steps of:

extracting at least a search term from a search request made by the user at a remote platform of the computing device, using a local semantic engine (21) selected based on a user location corresponding to the computing device traced by a device tracker (22) when the user request is made;

matching the extracted search term to a plurality of content items that are stored in a content database and corresponding to a geographical area including the user location, wherein the matching step is performed based on user preferences and user location to obtain one or more matched content items to be displayed to the user; transmitting the search request from the local semantic engine (21) to a global semantic engine (11), if the local semantic engine (21) fails to identify any matches; tagging the transmitted search request by the global semantic engine (11) according to location information of the local semantic engine (21);

locating a nearest content searching sub-system for retrieving another plurality of content items corresponding to a geographical area that includes the location of the located content searching sub-system from the content database; and

further matching the extracted search term to the retrieved another plurality of content items for obtaining one or more matched content items to be provided to the local semantic engine (21) for display to the user.

6. A method according to claim 5 further comprising automatically directing at least a content item to the user based on the user preferences, location or the combination thereof.

7. A method according to claim 5 further comprising repeating the tagging, locating and further matching steps until one or more matched content items to the transmitted search request is obtained.

8. A method according to claim 5 further comprising a step of sorting the matched content items using a predetermined ranking module, before being displayed to the user.