WO2015136459A1 - Using directional data in communication between portable devices and between portable devices and location based services - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of using directional data in enabling and establishing connection between Portable Devices and between Portable Devices and Location Based Services and Location Based Advertisers, comprising: pointing a Portable Device in the Direction Of Interest;identifying location and pointing direction of said Portable Device; and selecting at least one Recipient from a central data base containing managed data related to Users of the said method, by utilizing directional and location data as represented in said data base.

Description

USING DIRECTIONAL DATA IN COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PORTABLE DEVICES AND BETWEEN PORTABLE DEVICES AND LOCATION BASED

SERVICES

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates in general to a way portable devices (PD) may establish a communication session with each other and/or with location based services, including but not limited to content provided by tourist oriented applications and location based advertisement campaigns. This invention may be implemented in one or several applications.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims priority from and is related to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial Number 61/951 ,595, filed 12 March 2014, this U.S.

Provisional Patent Application incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Nowadays, numerous location based services (LBS) are well known and widely spread. Specifically, tourist oriented LBS and local based advertisement (LBA) are developing fast. They are based on displaying content related to nearby location (as the latter is determined by portable devices' equipment).

It is often the case that if/when you are in any way interested in a person you come across, e.g. on the street or elsewhere, you cannot, for a variety of reasons, communicate with this person directly. In this case the invention would allow for communication between you and the desired person via Portable Device. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a method of using directional data in enabling and establishing connection between Portable Devices comprising: pointing a Portable Device in the Direction Of Interest; identifying location and pointing direction of said Portable Device; and selecting at least one Recipient from a central data base containing managed data related to Users of the said method, by utilizing directional and location data as represented in said data base.

The method may be used by a plurality of applications to establish communication between Portable Devices.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a method of using directional data in establishing information exchange between Portable Device, Location Based Services and Location Based Advertisers, comprising:_pointing a Portable Device in the Direction of an object of interest; identifying location and pointing direction of said Portable Device; and selecting at least one Recipient from a central data base containing managed data related to Users of the said method, by utilizing directional and location data as represented in said data base.

The method may be used by a plurality of applications to establish data exchange between a Portable Device and at least one Local Based Service or Local Based Advertiser.

The communication between a Portable Device and Recipient may utilize a voice call (telephone conversation) between Portable Device and Recipient, performed by any existing communication means, including but not limited to classic mobile phone cellular network, VoIP applications.

The communication between a Portable Device and Recipient may utilize video call as performed by any available communication means, including but not limited to classic mobile phone cellular network, Video-Over-IP applications.

The communication between a Portable Device and Recipient may utilize request and receipt of Content in any form, including but not limited to textual, visual and audio content.

The communication between a Portable Device and Recipient may utilize request and receipt of Content in any form, including but not limited to textual, visual, audio content, as well as interactive content. The communication between a Portable Device and Recipient may utilize providing and supplying User Content in any form, including but not limited to textual, visual, audio content, as well as interactive content.

The communication between a Portable Device and Recipient may utilize sending any kind of notification to Recipient including but not limited to notifications similar to well known "Like"/"lnvite"/"Friend request" notifications as in Facebook, such notification may or may not allow for Recipient's response.

The communication between a Portable Device and Recipient may utilize any combination/sequence of the types of communication as described above.

The communication between a Portable Device and Recipient may utilize any combination/sequence of the types of communication as described above performed simultaneously in relation to more than one recipient.

The method may further comprise implementing Safety Measures.

The method may further comprise implementing Power Saving Measures.

The relevant part of the data base may be pre-fetched and stored in the Portable

Device before use by an Application.

The Location Based Service may incorporate tourist oriented information

display/reproduction in textual, visual, and/or audio form.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For better understanding of the invention and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, purely by way of example, to the accompanying drawings.

With specific reference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the preferred embodiments of the present invention only, and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the invention in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice. In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a schematic block diagram of the components required for carrying out the present invention; Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing the process according to the present invention; AND Fig. 3 is a schematic representation of the general form of "best fit" data base entry.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosure. However, it will be

understood by those skilled in the art that the teachings of the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components and notions have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the teachings of the present disclosure.

The essence of the disclosure is to enable PD users to perform certain actions using specified direction, along with other well-known means like location

identification.

The first key feature of the disclosure is to restrict/clarify the choice of the displayed Content by specifying the direction in which the PD user/ holder is pointing. Displaying location AND direction driven Content answers the user's need more precisely, leading to better user satisfaction.

The other key feature of the disclosure allows for Users to enable interaction with each other through their PDs after the User, having noticed the other PD holder (at least one), points his/her PD in the other PD holder's direction and activates the application where this feature is implemented (app). The result is a communication session (CS) between the PD Users. In order for the communication to succeed the other User's (recipient's) PD must or must not have app installed - depending on a specific app. In order to achieve this goal, a plurality of PD applications (elements of which or the said plurality itself later collectively called The App, depending on context) can be designed. The following description will concentrate on the features and structure of The App.

Pre-requisites for PD to be able to use The App

Fig. 1 is a schematic block diagram of the components required for carrying out the present invention: i. A plurality of PDs 100 of Active Users (AU, see explanation in "Types of Potential Users" section), each PD running a client application 1 10 and equipped with PD location means 120 (Location Identification System - LIS), direction identification means 130of any kind, e.g. magnetometer (this equipment is optional, because the direction may be defined by measuring at least two locations while PD and its user move in the chosen direction), optional internal content storage 140 and full internet connectivity for some of the applications, while the others may operate

autonomously, with Content internalized (pre-fetched to PD) prior to actual usage session (similar to the way a GPS navigator uses optionally pre-installed maps). ii. An application server 160 communicating with the PDs over the internet 150, running a server application 170 and having a database 180.

Pointing

Pointing a PD in a certain direction means providing means for The App to define direction in terms of measure of deviating (e.g. degrees) from certain fixed direction conventionally agreed upon, including but not limited to a standard North direction. The direction is supposed to be determined by a device which is a part of PD (e.g. magnetometer, and/or LIS) and/or by interacting with the tool provided by the environment (e.g. Indoors Positioning System). This could be achieved by a plurality of methods, including but not limited to the following: (i) The app may use a built-in magnetometer to determine PD orientation, in the same manner as a compass would do;

(ii) The app may use a LIS. If a PD User is moving along an approximately straight trajectory, several (at least two) measurements of a LIS provide sufficient data for direction characterization.

Types of potential users

1 . Active User (AU) is a User of The App that initiates a communication session or content download and reproduction/display. Typically, but not necessarily, a human being.

2. Passive User (PU) is a User of The App that reacts on AU initiative. It could be another communication device user (even without The App installed), or a Content Provider registered in a relevant Data Base (see Data Base details below).

3. Active-Only User (AOU) is a User of The App that can be called a Content Pusher. AOU may initiate content upload to PDs in specified direction and distance from its location. Direction and location may be fixed or varying in time. An example is a local Advertiser.

4. Versatile User (VU) is a User that may intermittently play the roles of AU and PU. Typical case is a human, a holder of a PD equipped with The App.

Central data base(s) and database management

The App incorporates a central data base 180. Elements of said data base are data base entries containing data related to The App's registered users. Specifically, a data base entry contains User ID and User's PD related data in some form, User location data (stationary or updated in time) and other relevant content of any kind, optionally including, but not limited to PD phone number, Skype/other VoIP providers' ID, Facebook and/or other social networks identification data, list of communication options currently allowed by the User, reference to User related Content, possibly interactive, Advertising Content or references to such. It may also include User Category and/or relevance to individual applications as part of the plurality defining The App. Note that using interactive content may assume an option for the User to

supply/add/upload Content to Content Provider's data. Database management software should be capable to perform actions as described below (see Typical event and data flow of The App).

3^rd party data and data bases Data base management software may request data entries from 3^rd party data bases, as soon as the format of said entries allows for being used by The App. This explains why Passive Users without The App installed may still be participating in Actions initiated by The App Users. Pre-fetched data

In order to minimize the often costly data exchange between the PD and the Data base during an actual application session, some applications may feature a "prefetched data option", for the cases when relevant data may be downloaded from the central data base in advance.

Hence in said cases the requests to the central data base(s) may be substituted for internal PD requests.

Typical event and data flow of The App

Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing the process according to the present invention.

In step 200 User activates The App and has its location determined by The App. In step 210 User points the PD in the direction of interest (e.g. towards an

object/subject of interest), and has its direction determined.

In step 220 the client App sends the location & direction data & other relevant parameters (optionally including but not limited to application ID, desirable distance range) to at least one central server.

In step 230 the central server calculates at least one best fit entry (recipient) based on request of relevant data from a plurality of at least one central data base. Here, "best fit" recipient means "closest to the User in terms of specified direction and its tolerance, and distance within specified range and its tolerance". A specific form of "best fit" criterion is application/user preferences dependent. The general form of such a criterion is given below. Alternatively, central server may request a list of all data base entries within the specified distance range, and the final decision on at least one "best fit" may be delegated to PD itself, by way of transferring the list of relevant locations. There may also be other alternatives as to dividing the data base request functionality between the central server and the PD. In case of failure to find the fitting data base entry the User is notified accordingly, and the session is over. As soon as the list of entries containing at least one entry is transferred to the PD and displayed, the User may choose any entry, or several entries one by one, or simultaneously several or all entries of the list and perform the action/actions relevant to User's choice (step 240).

User Action

A User Action may consist of any kind of information receipt and /or exchange, as related to User and his/her/its counterpart (Recipient) represented by said data base entries. Below, an incomplete list possible User Actions (UA) is outlined, as a list of examples.

(UA1 ) Voice call (telephone conversation) between User and Recipient, performed by any existing communication means, including but not limited to classic mobile phone cellular network, VoIP applications (e.g. Skype, MagicJack).

(UA2) Video call as performed by means mentioned in UA1.

(UA2) Sending a SMS, MMS message.

(UA3) Requesting and receiving Content in any form, including but not limited to textual, visual and audio content. (UA4) Providing and supplying User Content in any form, including but not limited to textual, visual and audio content.

(UA5) Sending any kind of notification to Recipient including but not limited to ones similar to well known "Like"/"lnvite"/"Friend request" notification as in Facebook, Such a notification may or may not allow for Recipient's response.

(UA6) Any combination/sequence of the above mentioned UAs.

(UA7) Any combination/sequence of the above mentioned UAs performed simultaneously in relation to more than one recipient. Power saving measures

Currently, the active use of LIS in PDs is often considered a heavily power consuming condition. In order to save power, The App may use two operational modes of PD localization: Power Saving Mode (PSM), and Active mode (AM). PSM is associated with "standby" state of The App, i.e. the state when no User Action is requested neither by The App User nor by other Users of The App in near vicinity (as defined in The App setup). In this case, The App may use one of relatively lower power and lower precision localization techniques. As soon as the condition of PSM is no longer obeyed, The App starts using Active mode (AM), utilizing location tracking at maximal rate and precision.

Safety Measures

In order for a UA to be safe for the Recipient and avoid potential communication abuse, measures can be taken in The App for the Recipient identity information (e.g. phone number, Skype ID etc.) to remain unknown to the User, while, User's identity information, on the contrary, may be declared as open to Recipient. Thus, potential User may have more peace of mind to become a real User of The App. Existing technologies can already support this feature (variations of callback techniques).

In order to avoid precise location tracking of the Users, which is considered by some as privacy violation, the location tracking mechanism while in PSM may allow for indicating the User's location with low level of precision, e.g. a few hundred meters. When entering the AM the tracking mechanism starts supplying data with maximum precision,

(iii) In order to allow the Recipient User to avoid unwanted connections,

rejection mechanisms should be used (blocking, blacklisting, complaints and similar).

Becoming a User

Active Users and Versatile Users have to install The App and fill in the data base entry. Other types of users, including but not limited to Location Based Advertisers and Location Based Service providers, may fill in at least one data base entry. The entry may be edited in the future.

Some may become Passive Users of The App incidentally, being represented by at least one entry in a 3^rd party data base used by The App.

The general form of "best fit" data base entry (Fig. 3)

Let's denote User location and specified direction as Lu, Du respectively, data base entry location as Le.

Obviously, knowing Lu,Le we may calculate the direction De from the User to data entry.

Let's denote the distance between the User location and the data base entry location as Dist, and the difference between Du De as DeltaD. The criterion CR, in general mathematical form, is expressed as a function of application setup, distance and direction deviation: CR = CR(S,Dist,DeltaD),

where S is a plurality of all possible preferences' settings of The App.

Consider 2 examples of such a criterion, expressed in setups SO, S1 . Example 1 : SO means to find nearest Recipient within direction tolerance of 18 degrees. As we see in Fig.3, two potential Recipients are considered, Objectl and Object2.

DeltaDI = De1 -Du = -20 - direction deviation greater than accepted tolerance DeltaD2 = De2-Du = 15 - direction deviation within accepted tolerance

Result: Object2 is chosen as the only one

Example 2: S1 same as SO but the direction tolerance is defined as 25. In this case both Objects' directions (see example 1 ) are within tolerance.

Fig.3 shows that DIST1 > DIST2. Again, Object2 is chosen as Recipient.

Claims

1. A method of using directional data in enabling and establishing connection between Portable Devices comprising:

pointing a Portable Device in the Direction Of Interest; identifying location and pointing direction of said Portable Device; and selecting at least one Recipient from a central data base containing managed data related to Users of the said method,

by utilizing directional and location data as represented in said data base.

2. A method of using directional data in establishing information exchange between Portable Device, Location Based Services and Location Based Advertisers, comprising:

pointing a Portable Device in the Direction of an object of interest; identifying location and pointing direction of said Portable Device; and selecting at least one Recipient from a central data base containing managed data related to Users of the said method,

by utilizing directional and location data as represented in said data base.

3. A plurality of applications for Portable Device utilizing methods according to claim 1 to establish communication between Portable Devices.

4. A plurality of applications for Portable Device utilizing methods according to claim 2 to establish data exchange between a Portable Device and at least one Local Based Service or Local Based Advertiser.

5. Any application according to claim 3 wherein the communication between a Portable Device and Recipient utilizes a voice call (telephone conversation) between Portable Device and Recipient, performed by any existing communication means, including but not limited to classic mobile phone cellular network, VoIP applications.

6. Any application according to claim 3 wherein the communication between a Portable Device and Recipient utilizes video call as performed by any available communication means, including but not limited to classic mobile phone cellular network, Video-Over-IP applications.

7. Any application according to claim 4 wherein the communication between a Portable Device and Recipient utilizes request and receipt of Content in any form, including but not limited to textual, visual and audio content.

8. Any application according to claim 4 wherein the communication between a Portable Device and Recipient utilizes request and receipt of Content in any form, including but not limited to textual, visual, audio content, as well as interactive content.

9. Any application according to claim 4 wherein the communication between a Portable Device and Recipient utilizes providing and supplying User Content in any form, including but not limited to textual, visual, audio content, as well as interactive content.

10. Any application according to claim 3 wherein the communication between a Portable Device and Recipient utilizes sending any kind of notification to Recipient including but not limited to notifications similar to well known "Like"/"lnvite"/"Friend request" notifications as in Facebook, such notification may or may not allow for Recipient's response.

11. Any application according to claim 3 wherein the communication between a Portable Device and Recipient utilizes any combination/sequence of the types of communication as described in claims 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

12. Any application according to claim 3 wherein the communication between a Portable Device and Recipient utilizes any combination/sequence of the types of communication as described in claims 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 performed simultaneously in relation to more than one recipient.

13. Any Applications according to claims 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 , 12 further comprising implementing Safety Measures.

14. Any Applications according to claims 3,4,5,6,7,8,9, 10, 1 1 ,12,13 further

comprising implementing Power Saving Measures.

15. Any Applications according to claims 4, 7, 8 wherein the relevant part of the said data base is being pre-fetched and stored in the Portable Device before use by an Application.

16. Any Applications according to claims 4, 7, 8, 15 wherein the Location Based Service incorporates a tourist oriented information display/reproduction in textual, visual, and/or audio form.