JP6575973B2 - A context-sensitive framework that provides data from related applications - Google Patents

Description

  There are many software applications available today for users of mobile computing devices. For example, some electronic markets include over a million different applications. Many of these applications are available at a lower cost compared to free or traditional desktop software applications. A user can obtain an application by connecting to the electronic market wirelessly, browsing for an available application, and downloading the selected application.

  However, it may be difficult for a user to try to find an application out of 1 million available applications. For example, there can be hundreds of available applications that provide the same or similar functionality, which can make it difficult for a user to determine the specific application to download. Users may see customer ratings as an aid in deciding what applications to get. The user may also download and try out the application. For example, some users download hundreds of applications to their mobile computing device. However, installing an application on a mobile computing device does not always remind the user that the application is usable. In addition, after installing the application, the user may also have to find and launch the application on his device when he wants to use the application.

  With respect to these and other considerations, the disclosure made herein is presented.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting an exemplary operating environment in which an application associated with a current context provides data to a user. FIG. 6 is a screen diagram illustrating an example graphical user interface (“GUI”) that displays application data received from different applications. FIG. 2 is a system diagram illustrating an application that uses a contextual service for communication. It is a systematic diagram which shows identifying and using the application for performing a function according to a user's present context. FIG. 4 is a screen diagram illustrating an example GUI displaying an analysis related to the use of one or more applications within a context sensitive framework. FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a routine that illustrates aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein for selecting an application and organizing data received from the selected application using a context associated with a user. FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a routine that describes aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein for registering an application with a contextual service. FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a routine that describes aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein for providing access to applications that are not currently available on a computing device associated with a user. FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a routine that describes aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein for providing access to applications that are not available on a computing device associated with a user. FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a routine that describes aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein for applications to communicate with each other using contextual services. FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a routine that describes aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein for selecting application data to provide to a computing device associated with a user. 1 is a system and network diagram illustrating one exemplary operating environment for an embodiment including a service provider network disclosed herein. FIG. One configuration for a data center that implements aspects of a service provider network, including some or all of the concepts and techniques disclosed in this specification for applications relevant to the current context to provide data to users FIG. 1 is a computer architecture diagram illustrating one exemplary computer hardware architecture that implements a computing device that may be utilized to implement aspects of the various examples presented herein. FIG.

  The following detailed description identifies a technique that uses a context-sensitive framework to identify and provide data received from related applications, such as end-user programs or operating system software, for the current context. set to target. For example, the data may be provided for display to the user and / or for some other usage purpose in another application or computing device (eg, performing a function using the current context). Through the implementation of the technology disclosed herein, the user does not need to manually find and launch the application; instead, the associated application data responds to receipt of context data that identifies the user's current context. And get offered. As used herein, the term “context” can refer to a background, environment, framework, setting or situation around a particular event or situation. Generally speaking, the term “application” may refer to data that a processor reads to perform any combination of program instructions or some task or operation. In some embodiments, the application may be part of system software (eg, an operating system) or application software (eg, an end user program). The context data may include location data, movement data, activity data, user data, time data, and the like. Some of the context data may be determined from sensors associated with the computing device. For example, computing device sensors determine computing device speed, computing device location, weather conditions, lighting conditions, sounds near the user, facial expression of the user (or someone else), etc. Can be used to. The context data may include data related to the current activity. For example, the current activity is related to a user performing a search on a computing device, a user driving a car, a user accessing a particular website, a user entering a restaurant, etc. obtain.

  Contextual services use context data to identify the application associated with the context. As used herein, the term “related” may refer to an application that provides data and / or functionality applicable to the current context. An application may be determined to be associated with a particular context using registration data. In some configurations, an application and / or computing device registers with a contextual service and receives a notification or wakes up in response to the contextual service receiving specified context data. . In some configurations, an application or computing device may receive context data without registration. As an example of the use of context data, a fitness application may be launched when the context data indicates that the user is walking or jogging. A Global Positioning System (“GPS”) application is used when context data indicates that the user is moving (eg, driving) or where the user may utilize GPS (eg, a golf course). It may be activated when you are in Similarly, the rental car application may be launched when the context data indicates that the user is at the airport, making a flight reservation, or performing a search for a rental car. In other examples, the computing device may be activated and / or configured to perform some action in response to receiving the context data. For example, the thermostat may be configured to change the temperature setting in response to receiving context data indicating that the user is on the way home. As another non-exhaustive example, the contextual data can include any information about: location (eg, GPS, Bluetooth®, Bluetooth LE, RF, or any other applicable location) Sensor location), time, date, what application the user is using, what function the user is using on a particular application, physical environment (eg temperature, altitude, Humidity, vital pressure, etc.), device orientation, proximity of other devices with relevant data (eg beacon or friends with appropriate equipment), proximity to other users, vital data (eg pulse, heart rate variability) Blood oxygenation, body temperature, blood sugar, sleep, what the user is looking at).

  In response to the launch, the launched application determines the data to provide related to the context. In other words, the application uses the context data associated with the user to determine and provide personalized application data for the current context. Thus, there is no need to decide which application the user uses, and the context sensitive framework uses the user's current context to decide which application to use. In this way, the user does not need to find and start an application. In some embodiments, the context-sensitive framework receives application data from more than one application, aggregates application data, and provides application data for use. For example, the selected application data may be presented on the user interface. For example, a context sensitive framework may provide a common user interface for data provided by different applications. In this way, data from different applications is presented to the user in a consistent manner. In addition, this common user interface may be provided as part of the operating system. This allows the operating system interface to change as context data changes.

  Contextual services may also make decisions about which of the data provided by different applications. For example, a contextual service may deduplicate duplicate (eg, the same or similar) data provided by different applications. Contextual services may also exclude data based on the user's current context.

  The user or computing device context may also be updated. For example, a computing device may periodically connect to a contextual service to further provide context data or to update the context data for the contextual service. As the user or computing device context changes, the applications previously determined to be relevant may change. For example, an application that was associated with a contest may not be relevant in the updated context. Thus, the contextual service may update applications that are determined to be relevant in response to changes in context.

  In other embodiments, the context sensitive framework may present the user with a selection of different applications associated with the current context. For example, the context sensitive framework may present to the user an application registered to launch in response to the current context. After receiving an application selection from a user (eg, via a common UI), the context-sensitive framework may launch an application for that user. In some embodiments, the contextual service may also use temporal data when selecting an application associated with the context. For example, when it is determined that the user has recently eaten, the contextual service may not use the restaurant application for a certain period of time.

  In other embodiments, when no application is installed on the computing device being utilized by the user, the context-sensitive framework may cause the application to be installed on the computing device or, for example, a service -Applications may be executed remotely in a provider network. In some embodiments, the decision to install an application on the user's computing device may be based on whether the user frequently uses the application. In some examples, the application may be downloaded to the computing device, installed on the computing device, and then automatically deleted after some time. For example, an application installed on a computing device may be automatically deleted after the context changes and / or the intended event that downloaded the application ends.

  As briefly described, the context sensitive framework provides bi-directional communication between the application and the context sensitive framework. According to some configurations, a context sensitive framework allows two or more applications to communicate with each other. For example, an application may define a custom event using a contextual service application programming interface (“API”) that other applications may register for receipt. An application may use custom events to send data to other interested applications. For example, a travel application may define a custom event that provides travel details to the user. This information may be used to update the context data received by the application so that the data provided by the application is applicable by the current context.

  In some embodiments, the mobile computing device is configured to monitor a user's context and provide context data to a contextual service. In some cases, context data is provided to a contextual service when a network connection is established between the mobile computing device and a remote computing device that is part of the contextual service. Periodically or in response to changes in context or some other trigger, context data for the user is provided to the contextual service. A contextual service may be implemented on a computing device and / or may be implemented in a service provided by a computer or a remote computer. In some embodiments, the contextual service is provided by a network-based service (eg, a service provider network).

  A software developer has a software developer toolkit (“SDK”) that can include an API that specifies the ability to connect the application to a contextual service or other tools that the software developer can use to develop the application. Use it to develop applications. For example, a contextual service API may be used by an application to register to be activated or notified in response to one or more contexts. An application may also utilize an API to define one or more custom events, send a message to another application, request to receive context data from a computing device, and so on. The SDK and / or API may also be used to change the operation of the operating system and / or some other application. For example, a portion of the operating system may utilize an API to communicate with another portion of the operating system in response to receiving specific context data or application data.

  Analytics regarding the use of applications by contextual services may also be provided to authorized users, such as application software developers. For example, the analytics may be displayed in a graphical user interface (“GUI”), usage data (eg, average usage), profit data (eg, purchases, usage costs), utilized within an application But may include information such as functions such as, but not limited to. Users can look at analytics to determine how applications are being used within the context-sensitive framework.

  According to some configurations, the contextual service may collect and store data that may be used to improve the recommendations and / or data provided by the contextual service. Data that may be collected and stored may include context data received from different users and / or computing devices, application data received from various applications, and usage data associated with users of the contextual service. For example, usage data may indicate what application the user has selected, what application the user is using, and how the user is using the application's functionality for different contexts. , May be included. In some embodiments, the contextual service may use machine learning mechanisms to improve the recommendations provided by the contextual service. For example, as the contextual service receives more data and over time, the data provided by the contextual service is based on actual usage data associated with the received contextual service user. You can change. The machine learning mechanism may be refined in response to receiving additional data. Additional details regarding the various components and processes described above for selecting and utilizing an application based on context are presented below with respect to FIGS.

  It should be understood that the subject matter presented herein may be implemented as an article of manufacture, such as a computer process, a computer controlled device, a computing system, or a computer readable storage medium. Although the subject matter described herein is presented in the general context of program modules executing on one or more computing devices, those skilled in the art will recognize other types of program modules in other implementations. Will admit that it may be performed in combination. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, and other types of structures that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.

  Those skilled in the art will appreciate that aspects of the subject matter described herein are multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, handheld computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) , On or in other computer system configurations beyond what is described herein, including electronic book readers, mobile phone devices, tablet computing devices, special purpose hardware devices, network appliances, etc. It may be implemented in conjunction. As briefly described above, it should also be understood that the embodiments described herein may be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks may be performed by remote computing devices that are linked to a communications network. I will. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

  In the following detailed description, references are made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments. The drawings are not to scale. Throughout some drawings (sometimes referred to herein as “figures”), like numerals represent like elements.

  Referring now to FIG. 1, illustrated is an operating environment 100 in which an application associated with a current context provides data to a user in accordance with various embodiments presented herein. The operating environment 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes computing devices 102A-102B, a contextual service 104, an application service 106, and an application execution service 108.

  According to some configurations, computing devices 102A-102B, referred to as “computing devices 102”, are each a tablet computing device, a smartphone, a personal computer (“PC”), a desktop computer, a laptop computer, It may be configured as a notebook computer, another mobile computing device, a video game system, a set top box, a smart TV, or the like. According to other embodiments, at least some of the functionality of computing device 102 is provided by application service 106, application execution service 108, or service provider network 110 (the service provider network illustrated in FIG. 12). 110).

  Contextual service 104, application service 106, application execution service 108 or service provider network 110 may provide one or more application servers, web servers, data storage systems, network appliances, dedicated to provide different service functions Hardware devices and / or other server computers or computing devices may be included. In these illustrative examples, computing device 102 may include minimal hardware for connecting to a network-based computing platform (not shown) via a network. The computing device 102 may communicate over a network and access various services or computing resources described herein. For example, computing device 102 can access contextual service 104, application service 106 and / or application execution service 108. Further details regarding the operation of the contextual service 104, application service 106, and application execution service 108 are provided below.

  Computing device 102A may be configured to execute operating system 112, application 114, contextual service API 116, and other application programs or components. Applications 114 may include web browser applications, productivity applications (eg, word processors, spreadsheets, and / or presentation applications), travel applications, fitness applications, restaurant applications, social network applications, or any other application. In some embodiments, one or more applications 114 may be configured to utilize a contextual service API 116. According to some configurations, the application may be part of the operating system 112 and / or some other component. Although computing device 102B is not shown in detail in the same manner as computing device 102A, computing device 102B as well as other computing devices may be configured identically or of computing device 102A. It should be understood that there may be more or fewer application programs and / or components than those described for this purpose.

  Application service 106 may be configured to provide support for contextual service 104. For example, as described in more detail below, contextual service 104 utilizes application service 106 to utilize one or more applications 114 for the current context associated with a user (eg, user 120A or 120B). Good to get.

  Input to application 114 may be connected to computing device 102A or otherwise provided via one or more input devices in communication with computing device 102A. Input to application 114 can be used to control the appearance of application 114, such as a navigation menu, for example. The computing device 102A is also one of the visual content provided by one or more applications 114, such as a display 122A, that is internal to or external to the computing device 102A and communicates with the computing device 102A. You may comprise so that it may show to the above display apparatuses.

  Display 122A is an output device configured to present information in a visual format. Specifically, display 122A may present visual content provided by contextual service 104, client context manager 124B, application 114, and the like. Visual content includes GUI elements, text, images, videos, notifications, virtual buttons, virtual keyboards, messaging data, Internet content, device status, time, date, calendar data, preferences, map information, location information, and Any other information that can be presented in a visual form may be included. In some embodiments, display 122A is a liquid crystal display (“LCD”) that utilizes any active or passive matrix technology and any backlight technology (if used). In other embodiments, display 122A may be an organic light emitting diode (“OLED”) display. Other display types are envisioned. Note that the display 122A can include an input device such as a touch screen or a multi-touch touch screen.

  All or a portion of the application 114 may utilize a contextual service API 116 for interacting with the contextual service 104, the application service 106 and / or the application execution service 108. As described above, the application 114 can be any instruction or data that provides one or more functions. Application 114 invokes one or more methods exposed by the contextual service API 116 to access the contextual service 104 and utilize one or more functions provided by the contextual service 104. It may be configured. The application 114 can also be configured to call one or more methods exposed by the contextual service API 116 to access the application service 106 or the application execution service 108. For example, the contextual service API 116 may be used by one or more applications 114 to register to receive notifications and possibly launch in response to the user's current context 120A. The contextual service API 116 may also be used to send data to another application 114, request data related to the current context, and so forth.

  User 120A may interact with contextual service 104 using computing device 102A. In some embodiments, the UI 130A displayed on the display 122A may be used to view and interact with the contextual service 104.

  As described, contextual service 104 includes a context manager 124A that manages one or more sessions. During a session, a computing device, such as computing device 102A, interacts with contextual service 104. Contextual service 104 allows one or more users utilizing various computing devices 102 to interact with contextual service 104, application service 106, application execution service 108, and possibly with each other. Connections to any number of computing devices 102 may be supported so that data can be shared. Accordingly, the described embodiments are illustrative only and should not be construed as limiting in any way.

  In the current embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the context sensitive framework that includes the contextual service 104 identifies the application 114 associated with the current context of the user (eg, user 120A or 120B) and the associated application 114. The application data 118 received from is provided to the user. Briefly as described above, the user does not need to manually find and launch the application 114; instead, the associated application 114 for the user's current context provides application data 118 for the user's current context. Can do.

  To determine the user's current context, the client context manager 124 may utilize one or more sensors 126 of the computing device 102A. Sensor 126 may be configured to determine at least a portion of context data 128A. For example, the sensor 126 may determine position data, movement data (eg, speed or acceleration data), weather data, biological data, time data, lighting data, face recognition, and the like. Some of the context data 128A associated with the user's current context 120A may be determined from the current operation of the computing device 102A. For example, the current operation may relate to a user performing a search, a user launching an application, a user accessing a website, and the like. In some embodiments, the client context manager 124B aggregates various data regarding the current context and sends the context data 128A to the contextual service 104.

  The contextual service 104 uses the received context data 128A to identify one or more applications 114 for the user's current context 120A. As briefly described above, the application 114 is based at least in part on whether the application 114 is registered with the contextual service 104 to launch in response to the current context indicated by the context data 128. It may be determined that it is related to a specific context. For example, contextual service 104 may determine that applications 114A-114F are associated with the context specified by context data 128A. The application 114 determined to be related may or may not be installed on the computing device 102A. In the current embodiment, applications 114A-114C are installed on computing device 102A and applications 114D-114F are remotely located (eg, in application service 106 and / or application execution service 108). ).

  According to some configurations, the application 114 is registered with the contextual service 104 to be launched in response to the textual service 104 receiving the specified context data 128A. For example, the fitness application may be registered with the contextual service 104 such that it is launched when the context data 128A indicates that the user is walking or jogging. Another application 114 may be activated when the context data 128A indicates that the user is moving. Similarly, the rental car application 114 may be launched when the context data 128A indicates that the user 120A is at the airport and is making a flight reservation or performing a car rental search. In other embodiments, contextual service 104 may decide to launch application 114.

  In response to the launch, the launched application, such as applications 114A-114F, determines application data 118A-118F to provide to client context manager 124B or context manager 124A for contextual service 104 and / or context data 128A. In other words, the related application launched by the contextual service 104 and / or the client context manager 124B uses the context data 128A to determine the application data 118A to provide. For example, a sports application 114 determined to be relevant may have different application data 118 (e.g., pre-game) prior to a football game compared to data during a football game (e.g. Data). Instead of contextual service 104 requesting specified application data 118 from application 114, contextual service 104 is configured to launch application 114 and provide context data 128A to application 114. In some embodiments, contextual service 104 may also request specific data from one or more associated applications 114A-114F. As described in more detail below, applications 114A-114F may be executed on computing device 102A and / or within application execution service 108, or on some other computing device.

  As explained, there is no need for the user 120A or 120B to decide which application 114 to use, and the context sensitive framework, including the contextual service 104, determines the user's current context in determining which application to use. Is used. In this way, the user does not need to find and launch the application 114 in particular.

  In some embodiments, the context sensitive framework receives application data 118 from more than one application, aggregates application data 118, and selects selected application data 118 as a user interface 130, such as user interface 130A or 130B. Present in For example, the context sensitive framework may provide a common user interface that may be part of the operating system software and present application data 118A-118F provided by different applications 114A-114F. In this way, data is presented to the user from different applications in a consistent manner.

  Contextual service 104 may also determine which of application data 118 received from different applications 114A-114F is provided to the user. For example, the contextual service 104 may delete duplicate data (or similar data) from the application data 118A-118F. Contextual service 104 and / or client context manager 124B may also exclude data based on the user's current context.

  In other examples, contextual service 104 may determine which other computing devices 102 and / or other applications receive application data 118. For example, the contextual service 104 may send the application data 118 to other computing devices in the user's home in response to the user being at home or returning home and deciding to arrive within a certain amount of time. Good to offer to. As another example, the contextual service 104 may respond to the user's determination that he is about to ride the application data 118, for example to other computing devices in the car to start the car. Good to offer. This device may also include roadmap or directions software as well as traffic related information along with the user's appropriate destination.

  The context data 128 associated with the user 120A may also be updated with the contextual service 104. For example, the computing device 102A may connect with the contextual service 104 to further provide context data 128A or provide updated context data 128A to the contextual service 104. When the context data 128A associated with the user's current context is changed (e.g., when the user's location changes), the applications 114A-114F that were previously determined to be associated are no longer relevant. It may not be judged. For example, an application that was associated with a contest may not be associated with the updated context. Thus, the contextual service 104 may update related applications in response to changes in context.

  In other embodiments, the context sensitive framework may present the user with a selection of different applications associated with the current context. For example, the contextual service 104 may present the user 120B with a selection of registered applications 114 to launch in response to the current context. For example, after receiving the application selection from the user via the UI 130B, the context service 104 may activate the selected application 114G. In some configurations, the selected application 114G may be launched within the application execution service 108. In other configurations, the selected application 114G may be launched on the computing device 102B.

  When the selected application 114G is not installed on the computing device 102B that the user is utilizing, the contextual service 104 may cause the application 114G to be installed on the computing device 102B. In some embodiments, the determination of whether to install application 114G on computing device 102B may be made based on an estimate of how often user 120B may use application 114G. For example, the selected application 114G may be used only once (eg, an application for a specific event). In one example, the client context manager 124C may connect to the electronic market 132, download the application 114G to the computing device 102B, and cause the application 114G to be installed on the computing device 102B. After the application 114G is installed, the client context manager 124C may automatically delete the application 114G from the computing device 102B at some point after launching the application 114G in some cases. For example, the application 114G may be deleted after the event application 114G is completed (eg, hours later, days later, etc.). For example, if the user is going to a football game, the application 114G may be automatically downloaded and then deleted when the user leaves the football game.

  When the application execution service 108 executes the selected application 114G (or some other remote computing device), the context manager 124A of the contextual service 104 uses the application data 118G generated by the application 114G as a client context manager. It may be provided to 124C. Application data 118G may be application data 118G associated with context data 128B, or some or all other data generated by application 114G.

  As briefly described above, the context sensitive framework provides two-way communication between the application 114 and the contextual service 104. According to some configurations, a context sensitive framework allows two or more applications 114 to communicate with each other. Further details of two or more applications 114 communicating using a context sensitive framework are provided below with respect to FIG.

  In some embodiments, the client context manager 124B or 124C is configured to monitor the user's context and provide context data 128A or 128B to the contextual service 104. In some cases, context data 128 is provided to the contextual service 104 when a network connection is established between the computing device 102 and the remote computing device 104 that is part of the contextual service.

  In some embodiments, the software developer may include an application programming interface (“API”) such as a contextual service API 116 that specifies the ability to connect the application 114 to the contextual service 104. ("SDK") or other tools that a software developer may use to develop the application may be used to develop the application 114. For example, the contextual service API 116 may be used by an application to register to be activated or notified in response to one or more contexts. An application 114 may also define one or more custom events that are used to communicate data to another application 114 and / or contextual service 104 utilizing the contextual service API 116.

  As described briefly above, the contextual service 104 may collect data and store it in, for example, the data store 134A. The data may be used to improve recommendations such as data identification 136 and / or application data 118A-118F provided by the contextual service. Data by which the contextual service 104 that can be collected and stored is associated with context data 128 received from different users and / or computing devices, application data 118 received from various applications, and users of the contextual service Usage data may be included. For example, usage data may indicate what application the user has selected, what application the user is using, and how the user is using the application's functionality for different contexts, May be included.

  In some configurations, the contextual service 104 may use machine learning mechanisms to improve the recommendations provided by the contextual service. The term “machine learning” may refer to one or more programs that learn from received data. For example, the machine learning mechanism may create and modify a model, otherwise it may make predictions or decisions using a model created from input examples. In the current embodiment, the machine learning mechanism may be used to improve the identification application 114, which is the data 104 provided by the contextual service. The model may be educated using supervised learning and / or unsupervised learning. For example, as time passes for the contextual service to receive more data, the data provided by the contextual service may be based on actual usage data associated with the received user of the contextual service. It can change. The machine learning mechanism utilized by the contextual service 104 may be refined in response to receiving additional data.

  Analytics regarding the use of application 114 by one or more users utilizing the context sensitive framework may also be provided to software providers or other authorized users. For example, the analytic may be displayed on the GUI, and may include information such as usage data (eg, average usage rate), profit data (eg, purchase, usage cost), functions utilized within the application, etc. It is not restricted to these. Software providers may look at analytics to determine how applications are being used within a context-sensitive framework. FIG. 5 shows an exemplary GUI 500 used to provide analytics.

  In some embodiments, application service 106 provides electronic market 132. Through the electronic market 132, a user can purchase content such as an application 114, an application add-on, an item in the application, music, an electronic book, a movie, and the like. It should be understood that various implementations of operating environment 100 include multiple networks, contextual service 104, application service 106, application execution service 108, application 114, and contextual service API 116. Accordingly, the described operating environment 100 should be understood as exemplary and should not be construed as limiting in any way.

  FIG. 2 is a screen diagram illustrating an exemplary GUI 200 displaying application data 118 received from different applications 114. The GUI 200 can be part of a computing device end-user program or operating system, or a combination thereof. As described, the GUI 200 shows data from different applications regarding the user's current context, eg, user 120A or 120B. A computing device 102A that communicates with the contextual service 104 may display the GUI 200. For purposes of illustration and not limitation, assume that the GUI 200 is being used by a user who is currently watching a SEATTLE SEAHAWKS football game. For example, the context data 128 may indicate that the user is in a stadium where Seattle Seahowks plays.

  As described above, one or more applications 114 may provide application data 118 to contextual service 104 in response to activation. In response to receiving contextual data 128 associated with a user in a football game, contextual service 104 performs a Seaawks application 114H, a stadium application 114I, a general sports application 114J, a weather application for contextual data 128. 114K and food application 114L were identified. The user selects or deselects the application 114 to be used by selecting a user interface element in the application selection UI element 206. As described above, the user may not choose to receive data from all of the applications that have been determined to be associated with the context data 128. In this example, as indicated by the dashed line surrounding the food application 114L, the user has decided not to include the use of the food application 114L. In some embodiments, the selection received from the user may be provided to the contextual service 104 and used to update the model utilized by the machine learning mechanism. In this way, applications identified as being associated with a particular context may change over time in response to a selection made by a user of the contextual service.

  In the current embodiment, GUI 200 shows application data 118H-118K from a portion of applications 114H-114L that have been identified as being associated with the current context. The GUI 200 indicates application data in the selected application data UI element 202. The GUI 200 also shows user interface elements associated with the selected application 114-114 L of the user interface element portion 204. The user interface element unit 204 shows user interface elements for the Seaawks application UI 204A, the stadium application UI 204B, the general sports application UI 204C, and the weather application UI 204D. As described above, the application UIs 204A to 204D include options 1 to N, respectively. In some embodiments, user interface elements 204 for different applications 114H-114K may be combined or otherwise displayed in different ways.

  As described above, the application data 118 displayed in the GUI 200 may be selected at least in part by an application that provides the application data 118 to the contextual service 104. In other words, instead of requesting specific information from an application, contextual service 104 receives application data 118 from an application that the application has determined to be associated with context data 128. For example, the Seaawks application 114H may include pre-game matches, game scores and statistics before the match is started, and post-match analysis and post-match reviews. As the context data 128 changes (eg, time changes during a match), each of the applications 114H-114K may update the application data 118H-118K provided to the contextual service 104. As described above, the contextual service 104 may use a machine learning mechanism in determining what application data to provide.

  In some embodiments, the user may launch individual applications within the GUI 200. For example, the user may select an option (not shown) within the UI element shown for a particular application. In other embodiments, the user may also be able to customize the GUI 200. For example, in response to selecting a customized UI element (not shown), the user is then prompted to select different information that they want to include in the GUI 200 display. For example, the user may select application data 118 that he wants to display from a list (or some other UI element or input method), as well as how the data will be displayed.

  FIG. 3 is a system diagram 300 illustrating an application 114 that uses the contextual service 104 for communication. The system diagram 300 includes a contextual service 104 that communicates with the application execution service 108. Contextual service 104 may include a context manager 124A, a data store 134A, and a reporting component 302. Application execution service 108 may include one or more computing devices that execute applications 114A-114N. In other examples, all or a portion of applications 114A-114N may be executed on computing device 102A or on some other computing device.

  Applications 114A-114N may be configured to send and receive data to / from contextual service 104. Applications 114A-114N may also utilize contextual service 104 and contextual service API 116 to communicate with each other. For example, an application such as application 114A may generate application data 118A in response to receiving context data 128A. In some embodiments, all or a portion of application data 118A is provided by contextual service 104 to one or more other applications, such as application 114B. Application data 118A may be provided directly to application 114B, as indicated by the dashed line, or indirectly to application 114B via context manager 124A.

  As described above, an application 114, such as application 114A, for example, may specify one or more custom events that are utilized by the contextual service 104 using the contextual service API 116. For example, custom events may relate to application data provided by application 114A that other applications may be interested in receiving. For example, the Seaawks application 114H illustrated in FIG. 2 may specify a custom event that provides data about SEATTLE SEAHAWKS that is not normally available to other applications. In order to receive application data 118A associated with a custom event specified by application 114A, application 114B may register to receive notifications regarding one or more custom events specified by application 114. In other embodiments, an application, such as application 114A, may directly send data 304 to another application, such as application 114B, utilizing the functionality provided by contextual service API 116.

  In some embodiments, application 114B that receives data 304 and / or application data 118A directly from application 114A is data that generates application data 118B that is provided to context manager 124A that is part of contextual service 104. May be used. In other configurations, the context manager 124A may update the context data 128A using the received application data 118A. For example, in some cases, application data 118A may include additional context data 128 that may be used to update the context associated with the user of computing device 102A. The context manager 124A may provide updated context data 128C to all or part of the applications 114A-114N. In the current example, context manager 124A provided updated context data 128C to application 114N. The application 114N generates application data 118N using the updated context data 128C.

  The reporting component 302 may be configured to provide analytics. For example, the analytical reporting component 302 included in the contextual service 104 may be configured to provide the GUI 500 illustrated in FIG. 5 that displays analytics for users of one or more applications 114A-114N. The analytics may be displayed on UI 130A associated with computing device 102A that may be utilized by a software provider or other authorized user. The report creation component 302 may be configured to create a report that includes information (eg, configuration information) regarding one or more applications 114A-114N.

  FIG. 4 is a system diagram 400 illustrating identifying and utilizing an application 114 for performing a function depending on a user's current context. System diagram 400 includes contextual service 104, application service 106, and computing device 102B. As described above, in some cases, application 114G identified as being associated with the current context may be downloaded to computing device 102B.

  According to some configurations, contextual service 104 receives context data 128B associated with user 120B, and context manager 124A determines application 114 for the context. The context manager 124A may determine the associated application 114 from the registered applications 402 registered with the contextual service 104. Context manager 124A may also determine related applications 114 from applications 114 that are not registered with contextual service 104. For example, the context manager 124A may determine the related application 114 from applications available from the electronic market 132. In some cases, the context manager 124 uses data available from the electronic market 132, or some other source, to determine the functionality and / or popularity of the application.

  In the current example, context manager 124A identifies an associated application 404 associated with context data 128B. For example, the related application 404 may be the application 114 registered to start in accordance with the context data 128B. In some configurations, the context manager 124A may select one of the related applications 404 to provide to the computing device 102B in response to the context data 128B. In other examples, context manager 124A may present the user with a selection of different applications associated with the current context. For example, the contextual service 104 may provide relevant application data 406 for presentation on the user interface 130B. In the present embodiment, the user 120B selects the application 114G to be used. After receiving the selection of application 114G from user 120B, contextual service 104 may cause computing device 102B to download selected application 114G.

  As described above, the determination of whether to install application 114G on computing device 102B may be made based on an estimate of how often user 120B may use application 114G. For example, the selected application 114G may be used only once (eg, an application for a specific event). In some cases, the client context manager 124C may connect to the electronic market 132, download the application 114G to the computing device 102B, and cause the application 114G to be installed on the computing device 102B. After the application 114G is installed, the client context manager 124C may automatically delete the application 114G from the computing device 102B at some point after launching the application 114G in some cases. For example, the application 114G may be deleted after the event application 114G is completed (eg, hours later, days later, etc.).

  FIG. 5 is a screen diagram illustrating an example GUI 500 displaying an analysis related to the use of one or more applications within the context sensitive framework of FIG. As illustrated in the application unit 504, the GUI 500 shows analytics related to the applications 114H to 114K described in FIG. Data presented in GUI 500 may be determined by a computing device associated with contextual service 104, application service 106, or some other computing device. The GUI 500 may be presented on a computing device, such as computing device 102B, for example.

  For purposes of illustration and not limitation, in order for the GUI 500 to look at analytics regarding the use of one or more applications 114 that are utilized at a particular time or with a particular context Assume that it is used by the developer of contextual service 104. The GUI 500 may display a variety of different analytics and UI elements. In the current embodiment, the GUI 500 shows a configuration UI element 502A, a usage type UI element 502B, an average usage UI element 502C, a profit UI element 502D, and a conversion rate 502E. In the current embodiment, the currently selected application is the stadium application 114I indicated by the thick dashed line displayed around the stadium application UI element.

  The configuration UI element 502A may display setting information regarding the stadium application 114I. The usage type UI element 502B may display data indicating how the application is being used. In the current example, the usage type UI element 502B indicates that the score function of the stadium application 114I has been used for 22% of the time and the statistic function of the stadium application 114I has been used for 58% of the time. In some configurations (not shown), the user may select one or more options that specify data associated with one or more users for display. For example, a single user or group of users may specify to view an analytic on how an application is used in the context of a football game. In other embodiments, it may be specified to view analytics on how the application is being used by users who are not participating in sporting events. The average usage rate UI element 502C may display an average time used in a certain time zone (for example, every day, every week, every month) of the stadium application 114I. In the current embodiment, the average usage UI element 502C is configured to display the weekly average usage time by the customer. In other embodiments, the average utilization UI element 502C may be configured to display how much the application is being used in other contexts. Profit UI element 502D may display the average profit generated during the specified time period. In the current example, the profit UI element 502D indicates the amount of profit generated in a week. The conversion UI element 502E may display an average conversion rate of the application that may be presented to the user for use.

  In some embodiments, all or some of the different UI elements may be selected to obtain additional information or set different options. The user may select one of the UI elements displayed on the application unit 504 and change the currently selected application.

  The user may also be able to customize the GUI 500 by selecting a customization UI element 502F. In response to selecting the customized UI element 502F, the user is then prompted to select different information that they want to include in the GUI 500 display. For example, the user may select an analytic that he wants to display from a list (or some other UI element or input method). In another example, the user may select how the plan analytics are displayed. For example, the user may request that the plan analytics be displayed as raw data in a graphical display (eg, a table, chart, graph) or in some other format. The user may also request that history information be displayed on the GUI 500. For example, the user may request to see a time series display of application usage or some other data.

  Information presented in GUI 500 may also be downloaded for later use. As described, the user may select the download UI element 502G to download information to a local data store, a network data store, or another location. Analytics may be downloaded in one or more formats. For example, the user may download all or part of the customer support information as a text file, spreadsheet file, word profile, or some other file.

  FIGS. 6-11 illustrate aspects of using a context-sensitive framework that identifies related applications for the current context and provides data received from the related applications to a user in accordance with the embodiments disclosed herein. It is a flowchart which shows the routine demonstrated. The logical operations described herein with respect to FIGS. 6-11 and other figures include: (1) a series of computer-implemented operations or program modules executed on a computing system and / or (2) computing It should be understood that it may be implemented as a logic circuit or circuit module of interconnected machines in the system.

  The implementation of the various components described herein depends on the performance and other requirements of the computing system and can be selected. Accordingly, the logical operations described herein can refer variously to operations, structural devices, actions or modules. These operations, structural devices, actions, and modules may be implemented in software, firmware, special purpose digital logic, and any combination thereof. It should also be understood that more or fewer operations may be performed than those illustrated in the drawings or described herein. These operations may be performed in parallel, or may be performed in a different order than that described herein.

  FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a routine 600 that illustrates aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein for selecting an application and organizing data received from the selected application using a context associated with the user. The routine 600 may begin at 602 where context data 128 associated with a user is obtained. As described above, the context data 128 may be obtained by the client context manager 124 operating on the computing device 102 associated with the user. The context data 128 may include, but is not limited to, various context data such as, for example, the current time, the user's current location, weather data, and what actions are being performed on the computing device 102. .

  At 604, the context data 128 is provided to the contextual service. As described above, the context data 128 may be provided to the contextual service 104 by the client context manager 124 operating on the computing device 102 or using some other mechanism. In some embodiments, the context data 128 may be provided to the contextual service 104 and updated periodically or in response to some event or condition. In other embodiments, the context data 128 may be provided to the contextual service 104 when a network connection is established and / or periodically.

  At 606, data identifying a related application to use is received. As described above, the received data may include a data identification 136 that identifies the associated application 114. In other examples, the data may include the application itself, or the data may include application data 118 provided by one or more applications 114.

  At 608, context data 128 is provided to the application 114 identified as relevant. As described above, context data 128 may be provided to all or a portion of applications 114 identified as being relevant. In some embodiments, the context manager 124 operating within the contextual service 104 identifies the most relevant application 114 and provides the application 114 with context data 128 received from the computing device 102.

  At 610, application data 118 is received from application 114. As described above, the received application data 118 may be selected by the application 114 itself. Instead of the context manager 124 requesting a particular type of data from the application 114, the contextual service 104 allows the application 114 to provide application data 118 that is provided based on the context data 128 provided by the computing device 102. You can choose.

  At 612, application data 118 to provide is selected. As described above, application data 118 received from related applications 114 may include duplicate data as well as other data that may not be related to the current context. In some embodiments, the context manager 124 removes duplicate data from the application data 118, prioritizes a portion of the application data 118, and formats the provided application data 118. In some embodiments, application data 118 is formatted to be provided to the user. In other embodiments, application data 118 is formatted to be provided to another application and / or computing device 102.

  At 614, the selected data is provided. As described above, the selected data may be provided in the user interface 130 that provides a common UI regardless of which application is being used for the contextual service 104. In other embodiments, user interface 130 may be a native interface provided by application 114 or application 114 for context data 128. In other embodiments, the selected data is provided in a format that can be used by computing device 102.

  FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a routine 700 that illustrates aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein for registering an application 114 with the contextual service 104. At 702, the application 114 may be configured to utilize the contextual service API 116. As described above, the application 114 may utilize a contextual service API 116 that provides functionality to register with the contextual service 104. For example, application 114 may be registered to launch for various contexts specified by context data 128. Application 114 may also be configured to take advantage of other features of contextual service API 116 such as defining custom events and communicating with other applications 114. As described above, the application 114 may be associated with a computing device such as a thermostat, lighting system, alarm system, car, dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, refrigerator, oven, or some other home automation system. However, it is not limited to these. For example, the lighting device may utilize an API for communicating with the contextual service 104. In some configurations, application 114 may be implemented as a system on chip (“SOC”) and may utilize functionality provided by the API.

  At 704, application 114 is registered with contextual service 104. As described above, different applications 114 may be registered with the contextual service 104 to be launched in response to different contexts that may be associated with the user. Some applications 114 may be registered to be activated in response to one or more different conditions (eg, a specified location at a specified time). As described above, in some configurations, contextual service 104 may provide data to unregistered applications.

  At 706, the contextual service registers the application. As described above, after receiving the registration request, the contextual service 104 registers the application so that the registered application is activated in response to the specified condition.

  FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a routine 800 that describes aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein for providing access to applications that are not currently available on a computing device associated with a user. The routine 800 may begin at 802 where context data 128 is received. As described above, the context data 128 may be received by the context manager 124A operating within the contextual service 104.

  At 804, an application to be used is determined. As described above, the contextual service 104 may be used to determine one or more applications 114 that can be utilized by a user associated with the context data 128. In some configurations, the contextual service 104 presents the UI 130 with the application 114 registered for the context data 128 to the user. The UI 130 then receives a selection of at least one of the applications 114 to use. In other embodiments, UI 130 may not be presented to receive the selection of application 114. For example, contextual service 104 may select one or more applications 114 using context manager 124A. As described above, the context manager 124A may use a machine learning mechanism or some other mechanism to predict whether an application is likely to be utilized by a user. At 806, the application 114 is installed on the computing device 102 when determined. As described above, the application 114 may be installed on the computing device 102 if the selected application is not currently available on the computing device.

  At 808, the application 114 is activated. As described above, the client context manager 124 may launch the application 114 on the computing device 102. In some embodiments, application 114 may be launched on computing device 102 for use by a user. In other embodiments, application 114 may be launched and executed on a remote computing device in a service provider network with application data streamed to the user device.

  At 810, the application 114 may be deleted from the computing device 102 once determined. As described above, the application 114 may be deleted once the contextual service 104 determines that the application 114 is not likely to be used by the user 120 in the future. In some cases, the application is deleted after some time has passed, or in response to some other condition (eg, after a context change).

  FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating a routine 900 that illustrates aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein for providing access to applications that are not available on a computing device associated with a user. The routine 900 may begin at 902 where context data 128 is received. As described above, the context data 128 may be received by the context manager 124A operating within the contextual service 104.

  At 904, an application to be used is determined. As described above, the contextual service 104 may be used to determine one or more applications 114 that may be utilized by a user associated with the context data 128. In some configurations, the contextual service 104 presents the UI 130 with the application 114 registered for the context data 128 to the user. In other embodiments, contextual service 104 uses context data 128 to determine related applications 114 available from electronic market 132. The UI 130 then receives a selection of at least one of the applications 114 to use.

  At 906, application 114 is activated. As described above, the application 114 may be executed within the application execution service 108 or on some other computing device.

  At 908, application data 118 is provided. As described above, the context manager 124 A may provide application data 118 received from the application execution service 108 to the client context manager 124 operating on the computing device 102. Application data 118 may be provided to the user or some other application or, for example, a smart thermostat, lighting system, alarm system, car, dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, refrigerator, oven, some other home It may be used by a computing device 102 such as an automation system.

  FIG. 10 is a flow diagram illustrating a routine 1000 that describes aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein for applications to communicate with each other using contextual services. The routine 1000 may begin at 1002 where application data 118 is received from a first application. As described above, the application 114 may utilize the contextual service API 116 for registering custom events with the contextual service 104. Other applications 114 may be registered to receive notifications associated with the occurrence of custom events defined by the first application.

  At 1004, the received application data 118 may be used to update the context data 128. As described above, the application data 118 received from the first application 114 may provide additional contextual information regarding the current context. In some embodiments, application data 118 received from the first application may not be relevant to the current context. In this case, contextual service 104 does not update context data 128.

  At 1006, application data 118 and / or updated context data received from the first application is provided to one or more other applications 114. As described above, contextual service 104 may provide at least a portion of application data 118 associated with a custom event to registered applications 114 for receiving notifications of the custom event. In some configurations, contextual service 104 provides updated context data 128 to each of the other applications 114 associated with the current context. As also mentioned, application data 118 may be provided to other computing devices and used to control the operation of that device. For example, application data 118 is provided to the thermostat and used by the application 114 utilized by the thermostat to change temperature settings.

  At 1008, updated application data 118 is received from another application. As described above, the application determines what data is provided to the contextual service 104. Accordingly, the updated context data 128 provided by the contextual service 104 may cause the application 114 to provide different application data 118. In some embodiments, updated context data 128 may be used for other computing such as thermostats, lighting systems, alarm systems, cars, dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, ovens, or some other home automation system. May be received from the device.

  FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating a routine 1100 that illustrates aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein for selecting application data to provide to a computing device associated with a user. The routine 1100 may begin at 1102 where application data 118 is received from the application 114. As described above, application data 118 received from different applications is selected and selected by the application 114 that provides the data. This is in contrast to simply requesting specific data from the application.

  At 1104, application data 118 to provide to the user may be selected using customer preferences. As described above, customer preferences may be configured as specified in one or more customer profiles, or may be determined from historical data associated with the user. For example, it may be determined that the user has pre-selected specific application data 118 or another application 114 over other application data 118 or other application 114. Customer preferences may also be determined from explicit settings that may be placed in the customer profile or some other memory.

  At 1106, duplicate data from the selected application data 118 is deleted. As described above, application data 118 received from different applications may include data that is duplicated or similar to each other.

  At 1108, the application data is formatted for display on the user interface. As described above, the context manager may format the data provided in the common user interface 130 so that the user's attention is not diverted through the use of different user interfaces associated with each of the different applications.

  FIG. 12 and the following description are intended to provide a brief general description of a suitable computing environment in which the embodiments described herein may be implemented. Specifically, FIG. 12 is a system and network diagram illustrating an exemplary operating environment that includes a service provider network 110. As described above, the service provider network 110 can provide virtual machine instances and computing resources permanently or as needed.

  Computing resources provided by the service provider network 110 may include various resources such as data processing resources, data storage resources, network resources, data communication resources, and the like. Various types of computing resources may be general purpose or may be available in multiple specific configurations. For example, as described in more detail below, a data processing resource may be used as a virtual machine instance in a number of different configurations. A virtual machine instance may be configured to execute applications including web servers, application servers, media servers, database servers, and other types of applications. Data storage resources may include file storage devices, block storage devices, and the like. Each type of configuration of a virtual machine instance of computing resources includes, for example, a large resource composed of a large number of processors, large memory, and / or large storage capacity, and a smaller number of processors, small memory, and / or Or it can be used in different sizes, such as a small resource with a smaller storage capacity.

  The computing resources provided by the service provider network 110 may be one or more data centers 1204A-1204N (referred to herein as “data centers 1204” alone or collectively as “data centers 1204”. Can be used by one implementation. Data center 1204 is a facility used to store and operate computer systems and related components. The data center 1204 typically includes redundant power supplies, emergency power supplies, communications, cooling and security systems. Data center 1204 may also be in geographically dispersed locations. One exemplary configuration of a data center 1204 that implements some or all of the concepts and techniques disclosed herein is described below with respect to FIG.

  Users and customers of service provider network 110 may access computing resources provided by data center 1204 over a suitable data communications network, such as a wide area network (“WAN”) as shown by network 1230. . A wide area network may be used, but a local area network (“LAN”), the Internet, or any other network topology known in the art that connects the data center 1204 to the computing device 102 may be utilized. Should be understood. It should also be understood that combinations of such networks may also be utilized.

  FIG. 13 illustrates one of the concepts and techniques used by the context sensitive framework disclosed herein to identify relevant applications for the current context and provide data received from the relevant applications to the user. FIG. 2 is a computing system diagram illustrating one configuration for a data center 1204 that implements aspects of a service provider network 110, including some or all. The example of the data center 1204 shown in FIG. 13 includes a number of server computers 1302A-1302F that provide computing resources (referred to herein as “server computers 1302” alone or in plural form “server computers 1302”. ”). Server computer 1302 may be a standard tower or rack mount server computer suitably configured to provide the computing resources described herein. According to an embodiment, server computer 1302 is configured to execute a software product as described above.

  In one embodiment, some computing resources 1304 are virtual machine instances. As is well known in the art, a virtual machine instance is a software execution instance of a machine (for example, a computer) that executes a program, such as a physical machine. Each of the server computers 1302 may be configured to execute an instance manager (not shown) that can instantiate computing resources and manage computing resources and instances of computing resources. In the case of virtual machine instances, for example, the instance manager may be a hypervisor or another type of program configured to allow execution of multiple virtual machine instances on a single server computer 1302, for example.

  Although the embodiments disclosed herein are described primarily in the context of virtual machine instances, other types of computing resources are utilized with the concepts and techniques disclosed herein. It should be understood that it can. For example, the techniques disclosed herein may be utilized with hardware resources, data storage resources, data communication resources, network resources, database resources, and other types of computing resources.

  The data center 1204 shown in FIG. 13 is also reserved for running software components, server computers 1302, virtual machine instances, and other resources that manage the operation of the data center 1204 within the service provider network 110. Server computer 1302F. Server computer 1302F may also execute context manager 124A and may include data store 134A. Details regarding the operation of each of these components are provided above. In this regard, although these components are described as being executed within the service provider network 110, computing systems external to the service provider network 110 may also include some or all of these components. It should be understood that it can be used to execute. Other configurations may also be utilized.

  In the example of data center 1204 shown in FIG. 13, server computers 1302A-1302E and server computer 1302F are interconnected using an appropriate local area network (“LAN”) 1305. The LAN 1305 is also connected to the network 1230 described in FIG. The configurations and network topologies illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13 have been greatly simplified, and more computing systems, networks, and network equipment can be used with the various computing systems disclosed herein. It should be understood that it can be used to interconnect systems. Appropriate load balancing devices or software modules are also provided between each of the data centers 1204A-1204N, between each of the server computers 1302A-1302F at each data center 1204, and by the virtual machine instance and service provider network 110. It can be used to distribute the load among other types of computing resources.

  It should be understood that the data center 1204 described in FIG. 13 is exemplary only and other implementations may also be utilized. Further, it should be understood that the functionality provided by these components may be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. Other implementations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

  FIG. 14 illustrates an example computer architecture for a computer 1400 that can execute program components for using a context-sensitive framework for providing application data to a user as described above. The computer architecture shown in FIG. 14 is a conventional server computer, workstation, desktop computer, laptop, tablet, network appliance, personal digital assistant (“PDA”), e-book reader, digital cell phone, or other computing The apparatus is illustrated and may be utilized to execute any of the software components presented herein. For example, the computer architecture shown in FIG. 14 may be utilized to execute software components that perform operations as described above. The computer architecture shown in FIG. 14 may also be used in computing device 102, computing device utilized in contextual service 104, application service 106 or application execution service 108, or any other computing platform described herein. It can also be used to implement a system.

  The computer 1400 includes a base board 1402, or “motherboard”, which is a printed circuit board to which many components or devices can be connected via a system bus or telecommunications path. In one illustrative example, one or more central processing units (“CPU (s)”) 1404 operate in conjunction with the chipset 1406. CPU (s) 1404 may be a standard programmable processor that performs the arithmetic and logical operations necessary for the operation of computer 1400.

  The CPU (s) 1404 performs operations by transitioning from one discrete physical state to the next through the operation of switching elements that produce differences between these states and change these states. A switching element typically provides an output state based on a logical combination of the states of one or more other switching elements, such as logic gates, an electron that maintains one of two binary states, such as flip-flops and electronic circuits. A circuit may be included. These basic switching elements may be combined to create more complex logic circuits including registers, adder-subtracters, arithmetic logic units, floating point units, and the like.

  Chipset 1406 provides an interface between CPU (s) 1404 and the rest of the components and devices on baseboard 1402. Chipset 1406 may provide an interface to RAM 1408 used as the main memory in computer 1400. Chipset 1406 may be, for example, a read only memory (“ROM”) 1410 or non-volatile RAM (“NVRAM”) that stores basic routines that help boot computer 1400 and transfer information between various components and devices. An interface to a computer readable storage medium may be further provided. The ROM 1410 or NVRAM may also store other software components necessary for the operation of the computer 1400 in accordance with the embodiments described herein.

  Computer 1400 may operate in a network environment using logical connections to remote computing devices and computer systems via a network, such as local area network 1420. Chipset 1406 may include functionality for providing network connectivity via a network interface controller (“NIC”) 1412 such as, for example, a Gigabit Ethernet adapter. The NIC 1412 can connect the computer 1400 to other computing devices over the local area network 1420. It should be understood that multiple NICs 1412 exist within computer 1400 and connect the computer to other types of networks and remote computer systems.

  The computer 1400 may be connected to a data store such as the data store 134 that provides non-volatile storage for the computer. The data store 134 may store system programs, application programs, other program modules and data described in more detail herein. Data store 134 may be connected to computer 1400 via storage controller 1414 connected to chipset 1406. The data store 134 may be composed of one or more physical storage units. The storage controller 1414 includes a serial connection SCSI (“SAS”) interface, a serial advanced technology attachment (“SATA”) interface, a fiber channel (“ FC ") interface or other type of interface may interface with the physical storage unit.

  The computer 1400 may store data regarding the data store 134 by converting the physical state of the physical storage unit to reflect the stored information. The specific physical state transformation may depend on various factors in different implementations of the present specification. Examples of such factors include, but are not limited to, the technology used to implement the physical storage unit, whether the data store 134 is characterized as a primary storage device or a secondary storage device, etc. It is not a thing.

  For example, the computer 1400 stores information in the data store 134 by issuing instructions via the storage controller 1414, the magnetic characteristics at a specific location in the magnetic disk drive unit, and a specific information in the optical storage unit. The reflective or refractive properties of the position, or the electrical properties of a particular capacitor, transistor, or other separate component within the solid state storage unit can be altered. Other transformations of physical media can be implemented without departing from the scope and spirit of the specification, and the above-described embodiments are provided only for ease of explanation. The computer 1400 can further read information from the data store 134 by detecting the physical state or characteristics of one or more specific locations within the physical storage unit.

  In addition to the data store 134 described above, the computer 1400 may access other computer readable storage media for storing and retrieving information such as program modules, data structures, or other data. Those of skill in the art should understand that a computer-readable storage medium is any available medium that is provided for non-transitory storage of data and can be accessed by computer 1400.

  By way of example, and not as a limitation, computer-readable storage media can include volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technique. Computer readable storage media include RAM, ROM, erasable programmable ROM (“EPROM”), electrically erasable programmable ROM (“EEPROM”), flash memory or other solid state memory technology, compact disk ROM (“CD -ROM "), digital versatile disc (" DVD "), high resolution DVD (" HD-DVD "), Blu-ray or other optical storage device, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage device or other magnetic storage Including, but not limited to, an apparatus or any other medium that can be used to store desired information in a non-transitory manner.

  Data store 134 may store an operating system 1430 that is used to control the operation of computer 1400. According to one embodiment, the operating system includes a LINUX operating system. According to another embodiment, the operating system includes the WINDOWS® SERVER operating system from Microsoft Corporation. According to further embodiments, the operating system may include a UNIX operating system or an ANDROID operating system. It should be understood that other operating systems may also be utilized. Data store 134 may store data utilized by computer 1400 and other system or application programs, such as context manager 124, application 114 and / or any other software component and components including the data described above. . Data store 134 may also store other programs and data not specifically specified herein.

  In one embodiment, data store 134 or other computer readable storage medium, when loaded into computer 1400, converts the computer from a general purpose computing system to a special purpose computer that can implement the embodiments described herein. Encoded with executable instructions. These computer-executable instructions transform computer 1400 by specifying how CPU (s) 1404 transition between states as described above. According to one embodiment, computer 1400 has access to a computer-readable storage medium that stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed on computer 1400, perform the various routines described above with respect to FIGS. 6-11. Computer 1400 may include a computer readable storage medium that performs any of the other computer-implemented operations described herein.

  The computer 1400 also includes one or more input / output controllers 1416 that receive and process input from a number of input devices, such as a keyboard, mouse, touch pad, touch screen, electronic stylus, or other type of input device. Good. Similarly, input / output controller 1416 may provide output to a display, such as a computer monitor, flat panel display, digital projector, printer, plotter, or other type of output device. The computer 1400 may not include all of the components shown in FIG. 14 and may include other components not explicitly shown in FIG. 14 or an entirely different architecture than that shown in FIG. It will be understood that it is good to use.

  In light of the foregoing, it will be appreciated that techniques have been presented herein that use a context-sensitive framework to identify relevant applications for the current context and provide users with data received from the relevant applications. Should. Further, while the subject matter presented herein has been described in language specific to computer structural features, methodological operations, and computer readable media, the invention as defined in the claims is described herein. It should be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to the specific functions, operations, or media described. Rather, the specific functions, acts, and media are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

  The subject matter described above is provided by way of illustration and should not be construed as limiting. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure. The subject matter described herein is not in accordance with the examples and examples of applications illustrated and described, and without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims. Various modifications and changes may be made to.

  Although the subject matter has been described in a language specific to structural features and / or methodological operations, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific functions or operations described. Should be understood. The above matters can also be understood in view of the following provisions.

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon when executed by the computer,
Context data, wherein the context data associated with use of a user of the computer is obtained;
Sending first data including the context data to a network-based contextual service;
Receiving second data from the network-based contextual service, the second data identifying an application determined by the contextual service associated with the current context;
Launch the application,
Get third data from the application,
Providing at least a portion of the third data within a user interface;
The non-transitory computer readable storage medium.

2. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of clause 1, wherein the instructions further cause a computer to obtain one or more of the applications from an electronic market and install the one or more of the applications on the computer.

3. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of clause 1, wherein activating the application includes executing one or more of the applications in a service provider network.

4). The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of clause 1, wherein the context data includes one or more of the location, time of the computer, or a current operation performed by the computer.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of clause 1, wherein the instructions further cause the computer to update the context data and send the updated context data to the network-based contextual service.

6). A system,
Receiving context data from a computing device;
Identifying an application associated with the context, comprising:
Identifying the associated application is identifying the application based at least in part on the context data;
Sending at least a portion of the context data to the application identified as being associated with the context;
Receiving application data from at least a portion of the application, comprising:
Receiving from at least a portion of the application, based at least in part on the at least the portion of the context data, the application selecting at least in part the application data to provide;
Selecting the at least part of the application data provided to the computing device;
Providing the computing device with the at least part of the application data;
The system comprising one or more computing devices that operate to:

7). Providing the at least the portion of the application data to the computing device includes the at least the portion of the application data for display within a user interface used to display data from a different application. 7. The system of clause 6, comprising formatting.

8). Identifying an application associated with the context is to access registration data and to identify an application registered to be launched in response to the context data using the registration data The system of clause 6 comprising:

9. The one or more computing devices are further operative to remove duplicate data from the application data and organize the application data, the organization of the application data being based at least in part on user preferences. The system according to clause 6.

10. The one or more computing devices are further operative to receive data used by the one or more computing devices to create updated context data from at least one of the applications. The system according to clause 6.

11. The system of clause 6, wherein the one or more computing devices are further operative to provide analytics, the analytics including usage data and profit data.

12 The system of clause 6, wherein providing the at least the portion of the application data comprises causing the computing device to perform a function.

13. 7. The system of clause 6, wherein receiving the application data includes receiving at least a portion of the application data from an application that is part of an operating system.

14 The one or more computing devices are further operative to determine that each of the applications is not installed on the computing device, and the individual one or more of the applications on the computing device. The system according to clause 6 to be installed.

15. The system of clause 6, wherein the one or more computing devices are further operative to execute at least a portion of the application from a service that is separate from the computing device.

16.
Receiving context data from a computing device;
Identifying an application associated with the context, comprising:
Identifying the associated application is identifying the application based at least in part on the context data;
Sending at least a portion of the context data to the application identified as being associated with the context;
Receiving application data from the application, comprising:
Receiving the application data, based at least in part on the at least part of the context data, the application selecting at least in part the application data to provide;
Selecting at least a portion of the application data provided to the computing device;
Providing the computing device with the at least part of the application data;
A computer-implemented method comprising:

17. The computer-implemented method of clause 16, further comprising installing one or more of the applications on the computing device and launching on the computing device.

18. The computer-implemented method of clause 16, further comprising causing one or more of the applications to run from a service separate from the computing device.

19. Identifying an application associated with the context accesses registration data and uses the registration data to identify one or more applications registered to be launched in response to the context data The computer-implemented method of clause 16, comprising:

20. The computer-implemented clause of clause 16, wherein providing the at least the portion of the application data to the computing device for display includes organizing the application data based at least in part on customer preferences. Method.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon when executed by a computer,
Receiving context data,
Receiving the context data associated with use of a user's computing device;
Identifying a first application associated with the context;
Sending the context data to the first application;
Receiving first application data from the first application, comprising:
The first application receives the first application data from the first application that provides the first application data based at least in part on the context data;
Transmitting at least a portion of the first application data and the context data to a second application;
Receiving second application data from the second application,
Receiving from the second application, based at least in part on the first application data and the context data;
The non-transitory computer readable storage medium causing the computer to provide at least a portion of one or more of the first application data and the second application data to the user computing device.

22. The non-temporary clause of clause 21, wherein the instructions further cause the computer to determine that the second application is registered with a contextual service to receive data from the first application. Computer-readable storage medium.

23. The first application and the second application register with a contextual service using an application programming interface (API), and one or more of the first application or the second application sends an event to the context. 24. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of clause 21, registering with a charter service.

24. 24. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of clause 23, wherein the API provides functionality for the first application to communicate with the second application and the second application to communicate with the first application.

25. 22. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of clause 21, wherein the context data identifies a location of the user computing device and a current operation of the user computing device.

26.
Receiving context data;
Identifying a first application associated with the context;
Sending the context data to the first application;
Receiving first application data from the first application, comprising:
Receiving from the first application, wherein the first application data is based at least in part on the context data, and at least a portion of the first application data is directed to a second application;
Providing the at least part of the first application data to the second application,
Providing the at least part of the first application data to the second application, wherein the first application data is used by the second application;
A system that includes one or more computing devices that operate to:

27. 27. The clause 26, wherein the one or more computing devices are further operative to update the context data to create updated context data using the first application data and the context data. system.

28. 28. The system of clause 27, wherein the one or more computing devices are further operative to provide the updated context data to the second application.

29. 29. The system of clause 28, wherein the second application generates second application data based at least in part on the updated context data.

30. In order to receive notification that the context data matches registration data specified by the first application and the second application, the first application and the second application may include the one or more computing devices. The system according to clause 26, which registers with

31. According to clause 26, the first application and the second application communicate using an application programming interface (API), and the API provides a function for the first application to communicate with the second application. The system described.

32. One or more of the first application or the second application describes an event using an application programming interface (API), and in response to detecting the event, the one or more computing devices 27. The system of clause 26, further operable to determine another application that has registered to receive notification of the occurrence of the event.

33. 27. The system of clause 26, wherein the one or more computing devices are further operative to launch one or more of the first application or the second application on a remote computing device.

34. 27. The system of clause 26, wherein the one or more computing devices are further operative to launch in a service provider network for one or more of the first application or the second application.

35.
Receiving context data;
Identifying an application associated with the context, comprising:
The application identifies the application including a first application and a second application;
Sending the context data to the application;
Receiving first application data from the first application, comprising:
Receiving the first application data, wherein the first application data is based at least in part on the context data, and at least a portion of the first application data is directed to a second application;
Providing the at least part of the first application data to the second application;
A computer-implemented method comprising:

36. 36. The computer-implemented method of clause 35, further comprising updating the context data to create updated context data using the first application data provided by the first application.

37. Providing the updated context data to at least a portion of the application, comprising:
Providing the at least part of the application to at least a part of the application that generates application data based at least in part on the updated context data;
The computer-implemented method of clause 36, further comprising:

38. One or more of the first application or the second application describe an event using an application programming interface (API), and receive notification of the event occurrence in response to detecting the event. 36. A computer-implemented method according to clause 35, wherein another application that has been registered to do so is determined.

39. 36. The computer-implemented method of clause 35, wherein the first application and the second application register with a network-based contextual service to receive notification that the context data matches registration data.

40. The first application and the second application communicate using an application programming interface (API), and the API is used by the first application and the second application to communicate with a contextual service. 36. The computer-implemented method according to clause 35.

41. A system,
One or more sensors that operate to provide sensor data including one or more of position data, movement data, operational data, biometric data, or weather data;
One or more computing devices,
Requesting the sensor data from the sensor;
Creating context data based at least in part on the sensor data;
Sending the context data to a network-based contextual service;
Receiving, from the contextual service, an identification of an application determined by the contextual service to be associated with the context;
Activating one or more of the applications;
Obtaining application data from the one or more applications,
Obtaining the application data provided by the one or more applications based at least in part on the context data;
Providing at least a portion of the application data to perform an action;
The one or more computing devices that operate to:
Including the system.

42. 42. The system of clause 41, wherein activating the one or more applications includes causing the one or more applications to execute in a service provider network.

43. Performing the action includes presenting the at least part of the application data on a display or changing operation of a computing device using the at least part of the application data. 42. The system of clause 41, comprising one or more of:

44. The one or more computing devices further include:
Updating the context data to create updated context data in response to changes in the sensor data;
Sending the updated context data to the contextual service;
42. The system of clause 41, wherein the system operates to:

45. 42. The system of clause 41, wherein the application communicates with the contextual service using an application programming interface (API).

46. A system,
One or more first computing devices that operate to provide a contextual service comprising:
The one or more first computing devices are:
Receiving context data,
Identifying an application associated with the context based at least in part on the context data;
Sending the context data to the application identified as being associated with the context;
Receiving application data from the application, the application selecting application data to provide based at least in part on the context data; receiving the application data;
Selecting at least part of the application data to be provided;
Providing the at least part of the application data to perform an action;
The system including the one or more first computing devices that operate to:

47. 49. The system of clause 46, wherein the operation includes displaying the at least the portion of the application data in a user interface.

48. 49. The system of clause 46, wherein the operation includes modifying an operation of one or more second computing devices based at least in part on the at least the portion of the application data.

49. 49. The system of clause 46, further comprising one or more second computing devices that are operative to execute one or more of the applications in response to a request by the contextual service.

50. 49. The system of clause 46, wherein the one or more first computing devices are further operative to cause one or more of the applications to be installed on a remote computing device.

51. 51. The system of clause 50, wherein the one or more first computing devices are further operative to launch the one or more of the applications on the remote computing device.

52. In clause 50, the one or more first computing devices are further operative to receive the application data provided by the one or more of the applications launched on the remote computing device. The system described.

53. 49. The system of clause 46, wherein the one or more computing devices are further operative to provide analytics including usage data and profit data.

54. 49. The system of clause 46, wherein the application communicates with the contextual service using an application programming interface (API).

55. 55. A system according to clause 54, wherein the applications use the API to communicate with each other.

56.
Receiving contextual data with a contextual service;
Identifying an application associated with the context, comprising:
The identification of the application is identifying the application based at least in part on the context data;
Launching the application associated with the context;
Sending the context data to the application;
Receiving application data from the application, the application selecting the application data to provide based at least in part on the context data; receiving the application data;
Selecting at least part of the application data to be provided;
Providing the at least part of the application data;
A computer-implemented method comprising:

57. 57. The computer-implemented method of clause 56, wherein launching the application includes causing one or more computing devices to execute the application.

58. 57. The computer-implemented method of clause 56, wherein launching the application includes causing one or more computing devices that are part of a service provider network to execute one or more of the applications.

59. 58. The computer-implemented method of clause 56, further comprising causing one or more of the applications to be installed on a remote computing device.

60. 57. The computer-implemented method of clause 56, wherein the application communicates with the contextual service using an application programming interface (API).

61. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon when executed by a computer,
To get context data,
Obtaining the context data representing the use of a user of the computer;
Sending the context data to a network-based contextual service;
Receiving identification data from the network-based contextual service, comprising:
Receiving the identification data, wherein the identification data identifies an associated application for the context, the associated application being identified based at least in part on data received by the associated application;
Identifying an application from the associated application;
Launching the application in response to the identification;
The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that causes the computer to

62. 64. The non-description of clause 61, wherein starting the application includes downloading the application to the computer, installing the application on the computer, and starting the application on the computer. A temporary computer readable storage medium.

63. 63. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of clause 62, wherein the instructions further cause a computer to delete the application from the computer in response to a change in the context.

64. 62. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to clause 61, wherein the context data associated with the context identifies a location of the computer and a current operation of the computer.

65. 62. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of clause 61, wherein launching the application includes launching the application in a service provider network separate from the computer.

66. A system,
One or more first computing devices comprising:
Receiving context data associated with a second computing device;
Identifying one or more applications associated with the context, comprising:
Identifying at least one of the one or more applications, wherein identifying at least one of the one or more applications is based at least in part on application data received from the one or more applications;
Transmitting identification data to the second computing device, comprising:
The identification data indicates the one or more applications associated with the context, and the identification data is used by the second computing device to launch at least one of the one or more applications. Transmitting the identification data to the second computing device;
The system including the one or more first computing devices that operate to:

67. The system of clause 66, wherein the invoking the at least one of the one or more applications includes installing the one or more applications on the second computing device.

68. 68. The system of clause 67, further comprising deleting the one or more applications from the second computing device in response to a change in the context.

69. The system of clause 66, wherein the context data indicates one or more of a location of the second computing device or a current operation associated with the second computing device.

70. 70. The system of clause 66, wherein launching the one or more applications includes executing the one or more applications in a network service for use by the second computing device.

71. Identifying the one or more applications associated with the context identifies the one or more applications registered with a contextual service to receive notifications corresponding to the context data; Or the system of clause 66, comprising one or more of receiving a selection of the application.

72. Identifying the one or more applications associated with the context filters the one or more applications based at least in part on a user preference of a user associated with the second computing device. The system of clause 66, comprising:

73. The one or more first computing devices are further operative to receive a selection of one of the applications and launch the selected application on a remote service associated with a contextual service. The system of clause 66.

74. 69. The clause 66, wherein the at least one of the one or more applications is installed on the second computing device in response to the at least one predicted future use of the one or more applications. System.

75.
Receiving context data associated with the context from the computing device;
Identifying an application associated with the context,
Identifying the application is based at least in part on application data associated with the application; and
Transmitting identification data to the computing device, comprising:
Sending the identification data to the computing device, the identification data indicating the application associated with the context and used by the computing device to launch the application;
A computer-implemented method comprising:

76. 76. The computer-implemented method of clause 75, further comprising installing the application on the computing device based at least in part on a predicted future use of the application.

77. 76. The computer-implemented method of clause 75, further comprising changing an application in response to receiving a change in the context.

78. 76. The computer-implemented method of clause 75, further comprising launching the application in a network service.

79. 76. The clause 75, wherein identifying the application associated with the context includes determining that the application is registered with a contextual service to receive notifications corresponding to the context data. Computer mounting method.

80. According to clause 75, identifying the application associated with the context includes causing a graphical user interface to be displayed on the computing device and receiving a selection of the application via the graphical user interface. The computer-implemented method described.

Claims (15)

A computer-implemented method comprising:
Receiving context data from a computing device;
Identifying an application associated with a context based at least in part on the context data;
Sending at least a portion of the context data to the application identified as being associated with the context;
Receiving application data from the application, wherein the application selects the application data to provide based at least in part on the at least a portion of the context data;
Selecting at least a portion of the application data provided to the computing device;
Providing the at least part of the application data to the computing device;
A computer-implemented method comprising: At least a portion of the application data, based at least in part on determining that directed to a first application, further comprising providing the at least the portion of the application data to the first application,
The computer-implemented method of claim 1. The first application and the second application is to communicate using an application programming interface (API),
The API provides a function for the first application to communicate with the second application.
The computer-implemented method according to claim 2. Further comprising installing and launching one or more of the applications on the computing device;
The computer-implemented method of claim 1. Further comprising executing one or more of the applications from a service separate from the computing device;
The computer-implemented method of claim 1. One or more non-transitory computer readable storage media having instructions stored thereon, wherein when the instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system includes:
Receiving context data from a computing device;
Identifying an application associated with a context based at least in part on the context data;
Sending at least a portion of the context data to the application identified as being associated with the context;
Receiving application data from the application, wherein the application selects the application data to provide based at least in part on the at least a portion of the context data;
Selecting at least a portion of the application data provided to the computing device;
Providing the at least part of the application data to the computing device;
To perform actions including
One or more non-transitory computer readable storage media. Providing the at least part of the application data to the first application based at least in part on determining that the at least part of the application data is intended for a first application. In addition,
One or more non-transitory computer readable storage media according to claim 6. The first application and the second application communicate using an application programming interface (API),
The API provides a function for the first application to communicate with the second application.
8. One or more non-transitory computer readable storage media according to claim 7. The operation further comprises installing and launching one or more of the applications on the computing device;
One or more non-transitory computer readable storage media according to claim 6. The operation further includes causing one or more of the applications to be executed from a service separate from the computing device;
One or more non-transitory computer readable storage media according to claim 6. One or more processors;
One or more memories in which instructions are stored;
A computer system comprising:
When the instructions are executed by the one or more processors, the computer system
Receiving context data from a computing device;
Identifying an application associated with a context based at least in part on the context data;
Sending at least a portion of the context data to the application identified as being associated with the context;
Receiving application data from the application, wherein the application selects the application data to provide based at least in part on the at least a portion of the context data;
Selecting at least a portion of the application data provided to the computing device;
Providing the at least part of the application data to the computing device;
To perform actions including
Computer system. Providing the at least part of the application data to the first application based at least in part on determining that the at least part of the application data is intended for a first application. In addition,
The computer system according to claim 11. The first application and the second application communicate using an application programming interface (API),
The API provides a function for the first application to communicate with the second application.
The computer system according to claim 12. The operation further comprises installing and launching one or more of the applications on the computing device;
The computer system according to claim 11. The operation further includes causing one or more of the applications to be executed from a service separate from the computing device;
The computer system according to claim 11.