Geographically specific information systems and methods

Abstract

A method, computer program product, and computing system for receiving a request for information related to a geographically proximate entity on a consumer electronic device included in a vehicle. A location of the vehicle is determined; and a geographically proximate entity is identified based at least in part on the location of the vehicle.

Description

[0001] Cross-references

[0002] The subject application claims priority to U.S. Utility Patent Application Serial No. 15 / 863,528, filed on January 5, 2018, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to information systems and, more particularly, to geospecific information systems for use with consumer electronic devices. Background Art

[0004] Today's consumer electronic devices are often controllable via voice commands. For example, these devices may include speech-to-text technology that can convert a user's voice commands into text-based commands. Thus, a user may issue a voice command that may be processed by the consumer electronic device to generate a text-based command that may be mapped to available functions of the consumer electronic device.

[0005] Unfortunately, voice interfaces in these consumer electronic devices are often less than satisfactory. For example, where a user of a consumer electronic device wants information about an entity (e.g., a building, business, or object) that they are passing by in a vehicle, the device may be unable to provide the requested information unless the user specifies the exact name or exact address of the entity (in which case the user typically does not know the exact name or exact address of the entity). Summary of the invention

[0006] In one implementation, a computer-implemented method is executed on a computing device and includes receiving a request for information related to a geographically proximate entity on a consumer electronic device included in a vehicle. Determining a location of the vehicle; and identifying a geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle.

[0007] One or more of the following features may be included. Determining a direction of interest of an occupant of a vehicle with respect to a geographically proximate entity. Identifying a geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle may include identifying the geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle and a direction of interest. Imagery related to the geographically proximate entity may be obtained. Identifying a geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle may include identifying the geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle and imagery related to the geographically proximate entity. Identifying a geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle may include requesting additional information related to the geographically proximate entity from an occupant of the vehicle. Identifying a geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle may include obtaining information related to the geographically proximate entity from a data source.

[0008] In another implementation, a computer program product resides on a computer readable medium and has a plurality of instructions stored thereon. When executed by a processor, the instructions cause the processor to perform operations including receiving a request for information related to a geographically proximate entity on a consumer electronic device included in a vehicle; determining a location of the vehicle; and identifying a geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle.

[0009] One or more of the following features may be included. Determining a direction of interest of an occupant of a vehicle with respect to a geographically proximate entity. Identifying a geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle may include identifying the geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle and a direction of interest. An image related to the geographically proximate entity may be obtained. Identifying a geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle may include identifying the geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle and an image close to the geographically proximate entity. Identifying a geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle may include requesting additional information related to the geographically proximate entity from an occupant of the vehicle. Identifying a geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle may include obtaining information related to the geographically proximate entity from a data source.

[0010] In another implementation, a computing system includes a processor and a memory configured to perform operations including receiving a request for information related to a geographically proximate entity on a consumer electronic device included in a vehicle, determining a location of the vehicle, and identifying the geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle.

[0011] One or more of the following features may be included. Determining a direction of interest of an occupant of a vehicle with respect to a geographically proximate entity. Identifying a geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle may include identifying the geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle and a direction of interest. An image related to the geographically proximate entity may be obtained. Identifying a geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle may include identifying the geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle and an image close to the geographically proximate entity. Identifying a geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle may include requesting additional information related to the geographically proximate entity from an occupant of the vehicle. Identifying a geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle may include obtaining information related to the geographically proximate entity from a data source.

[0012] One or more implementations are described in detail in the following drawings and description. Other features and advantages will become apparent from the description, drawings, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a consumer electronic device performing system information processing according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0014] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle in which a consumer electronic device may be located;

[0015] Figure 2A yes Figure 2 A schematic diagram of an image as seen by an occupant of a vehicle; and

[0016] Figure 3 According to the embodiment of the present disclosure Figure 1 Flowchart of system information processing.

[0017] Like reference numbers in the various drawings represent like elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] System Overview

[0019] exist Figure 1 , a system information process 10 is shown. The system information process 10 may reside on, and may be executed by, a consumer electronic device 12. Examples of consumer electronic devices 12 may include, but are not limited to, vehicle infotainment systems, such as vehicle navigation systems, vehicle music systems, vehicle video systems, vehicle phone systems, and vehicle climate control systems, among others.

[0020] The instruction set and subroutines of the system information processing 10 can be executed by one or more processors (not shown) and one or more memory architectures (not shown) included in the consumer electronic device 12, wherein these instruction sets and subroutines can be stored on a storage device 14 coupled to the consumer electronic device 12. Examples of the storage device 14 can include, but are not limited to: a hard disk drive; a RAID device; a random access memory (RAM); a read-only memory (ROM); and all forms of flash memory storage devices. The consumer electronic device 12 can execute an operating system, wherein examples of the operating system can include, but are not limited to, Microsoft Windows tm 、Android tm 、iOS tm , Linux tm Or a custom operating system.

[0021] When configured as a vehicle infotainment system, the consumer electronics device 12 may be configured to perform a variety of different functions that may be of interest / useful to a user (e.g., user 16). Examples of such functions may include, but are not limited to: radio functions (e.g., enabling the playback of terrestrial and satellite radio stations); audio functions (e.g., enabling the playback of audio, which may be disk-based or stored locally on the storage device 14); video functions (e.g., enabling the playback of video, which may be disk-based or stored locally on the storage device 14); phone functions (e.g., enabling the placement and receipt of phone calls); navigation functions (e.g., enabling the performance of navigation / guidance functions); and communication functions (e.g., enabling the sending and receiving of emails / text messages / instant messages).

[0022] When configured as a vehicle infotainment system, the consumer electronics device 12 may include a plurality of buttons (e.g., physical buttons or electronic buttons) that enable the above functions to be selected. For example, the above radio function may be selected via a “radio” button 18; the above audio function may be selected via an “audio” button 20; the above video function may be selected via a “video” button 22; the above phone function may be selected via a “phone” button 24; the above navigation function may be selected via a “navigation” button 26; and the above communication function may be selected via a “communication” button 28.

[0023] When configured as a vehicle infotainment system, the consumer electronic device 12 may be configured to interface with one or more external systems (e.g., external system 30). Examples of external system 30 may include, but are not limited to: cellular phones; smart phones; tablet computing devices; portable computing devices; and handheld entertainment devices (e.g., such as gaming devices, etc.). When engaged with the consumer electronic device 12, the external system 30 may be releasably coupled to the consumer electronic device 12 via a hardwired connection (e.g., a USB cable 32). Optionally, the external system 30 may be wirelessly coupled to the consumer electronic device 12 via a wireless communication channel 34 established between the external system 30 and an antenna 36 of the consumer electronic device 12. Examples of the wireless communication channel 34 may include, but are not limited to, a Bluetooth communication channel. As is known in the art, Bluetooth is a telecommunications industry specification that allows, for example, mobile phones, computers, and personal digital assistants to interconnect using a short-range wireless connection.

[0024] Consumer electronics device 12 and / or external system 30 may be configured to wirelessly couple to / access an external network (eg, network 38). Examples of network 38 may include, but are not limited to, the Internet, a cellular network, a WiFi network, and / or a cloud-based computing platform.

[0025] As discussed above, the consumer electronics device 12 may be configured to perform a variety of different functions that may be of interest to / useful to a user (e.g., user 16). Some of these functions may reside locally on (provided by) the consumer electronics device 12. Additionally / optionally, some of these functions may reside remotely on (provided by) the external system 30. Examples of such remotely resident functions may include telephone functions (e.g., enabling the use of the external system 30 to make and receive calls via the consumer electronics device 12) and communication functions (enabling the user 16 to send / receive emails, send / receive text messages, and / or send / receive instant messages via the consumer electronics device 12 using the external system 30). The consumer electronics device 12 may also include a display screen 40 and one or more knobs / dials 42, 44 for enabling the use of these functions.

[0026] The consumer electronics device 12 may include a microphone assembly 46 and a speech-to-text conversion system 48 (such as those available from Nuance Communications, Inc. of Burlington, Massachusetts). Accordingly, the consumer electronics device 12 may be configured to accept verbal commands (e.g., verbal commands 50) spoken and provided (in this example) by the user 16. As will be discussed in more detail below, these verbal commands (e.g., verbal commands 50) may be configured to allow the user 16 to access and control the above-described functions in a hands-free manner.

[0027] Also refer to Figure 2 And as discussed above, examples of consumer electronic devices 12 may include vehicle infotainment systems, which may be included in vehicle 100. Various sensors may be included in vehicle 100 (or on vehicle 100), where these sensors may be coupled to (or interfaced with) consumer electronic devices 12. For example, these sensors may include one or more cameras that may be configured to obtain images approaching vehicle 100. For example:

[0028] The vehicle 100 may include a forward-facing camera 102 that may be interfaced with the consumer electronic device 12, wherein the forward-facing camera 102 may be configured to capture images of the front side of the vehicle 100. Examples of forward-facing cameras 102 may include, but are not limited to, still image cameras, video cameras, visible light cameras, infrared cameras, and thermal imaging cameras.

[0029] The vehicle 100 may include a rear-facing camera 104 that may be interfaced with the consumer electronic device 12, wherein the rear-facing camera 104 may be configured to capture images of the rear side of the vehicle 100. Examples of rear-facing cameras 104 may include, but are not limited to, still image cameras, video cameras, visible light cameras, infrared cameras, and thermal imaging cameras.

[0030] The vehicle 100 may include a right-facing camera 106 that may be interfaced with the consumer electronics device 12, wherein the right-facing camera 106 may be configured to capture images of the right side of the vehicle 100. Examples of the right-facing camera 106 may include, but are not limited to, still image cameras, video cameras, visible light cameras, infrared cameras, and thermal imaging cameras.

[0031] The vehicle 100 may include a left-facing camera 108 that may be interfaced with the consumer electronics device 12, wherein the left-facing camera 108 may be configured to capture images of the left side of the vehicle 100. Examples of left-facing cameras 108 may include, but are not limited to, still image cameras, video cameras, visible light cameras, infrared cameras, and thermal imaging cameras.

[0032] In addition, the vehicle 100 may include an occupant sensor 110, which may be configured to sense various aspects of an occupant (e.g., occupant 112, 114) of the vehicle 100. For example, the occupant sensor 110 may be configured to sense the direction in which the eyes of the occupant (e.g., occupant 112, 114) of the vehicle 100 are looking. Additionally / optionally, the occupant sensor 110 may be configured to sense the direction in which the head of the occupant (e.g., occupant 112, 114) of the vehicle 100 is looking. Furthermore, the occupant sensor 110 may be configured to, for example, sense one or more gestures (e.g., indicating motions) made by the occupant (e.g., occupant 112, 114) of the vehicle 100.

[0033] As described above and as will be discussed in more detail below, one or more of the forward-pointing camera 102 , the rearward-pointing camera 104 , the right-pointing camera 106 , the left-pointing camera 108 , and the occupant sensor 110 may be coupled to (or interfaced with) the consumer electronics device 12 , wherein data provided by the forward-pointing camera 102 , the rearward-pointing camera 104 , the right-pointing camera 106 , the left-pointing camera 108 , and / or the occupant sensor 110 may be utilized by the system information processing 10 .

[0034] As discussed above, the consumer electronic device 12 may include a microphone assembly 46 and a speech-to-text conversion system 48 so that voice-based commands can be provided to the consumer electronic device 12, wherein these spoken commands (e.g., spoken commands 50) can allow the user 16 to access and control the above-described functions (e.g., radio functions; audio functions; video functions; telephone functions; navigation functions; and communication functions) in a hands-free manner.

[0035] System information processing

[0036] The system information processing 10 may be configured to process speech within the vehicle 100. While the following discussion relates to the system information processing 10 continuously monitoring conversations within the vehicle 100 for certain utterances by occupants within the vehicle 100 (e.g., occupants 112, 114), this is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to limit the present invention, as other configurations are possible and considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the system information processing 10 may be configured to be manually activated by an occupant within the vehicle 100 (e.g., occupants 112, 114) by, for example, pressing a button (such as a button mounted on a steering wheel, etc.; not shown). Optionally, the system information processing 10 may be configured to be in a standby / sleep mode until, for example, an occupant within the vehicle 100 (e.g., occupants 112, 114) (to communicate with Alexa) is activated. tm or Apple's Siri tmIn a similar way) until the "wake-up" word / command is issued.

[0037] Thus, for this example, assume that system information processing 10 is configured to continuously monitor conversations within vehicle 100 for certain utterances by occupants of vehicle 100 (e.g., occupants 112, 114) that may indicate that the occupants of vehicle 100 (e.g., occupants 112, 114) want information related to a geographically proximate entity (e.g., something they are driving past or seeing on the road). For example, assume that vehicle 100 is traveling north on Las Vegas Boulevard in Las Vegas, Nevada, and occupant 114 looks out from the right side of vehicle 100 and sees a miniaturized version of the Eiffel Tower (e.g., Figure 2A ), where occupant 114 says "What's that Eiffel Tower?"

[0038] This "utterance" (e.g., verbal command 50) may be interpreted by the system information processing 10 as indicating that the occupant 114 wants information related to the geographically proximate entity. Specifically, the system information processing 10 may include a plurality of defined words / phrases (e.g., words / phrases 52 defined within the storage device 14) that, when detected by the system information processing 10, constitute an utterance indicating that the occupant wants information related to the entity. Examples of such utterances may include, but are not limited to, "What is that," "Tell me...", "Look at that...", "Wow...", and "Do you see...", wherein speech (e.g., verbal command 50) including one or more of these utterances may be interpreted by the system information processing 10 as a request for information related to the geographically proximate entity.

[0039] Therefore, and also with reference to Figure 3, the system information processing 10 may receive 200 this request (e.g., verbal command 50) for information related to a geographically proximate entity (e.g., what is that Eiffel Tower) on a consumer electronic device 12 included in the vehicle 100. Upon receiving 200 this request for information (e.g., verbal command 50), the system information processing 10 may determine 202 the location of the vehicle 100. As discussed above, the consumer electronic device 12 may provide various functions including navigation functions. Thus, the consumer electronic device 12 may include GPS (i.e., Global Positioning System) technology, which may process multiple positioning signals from multiple satellites so that the location of the vehicle 100 may be determined 202 via triangulation. Optionally, such GPS technology may also be included in the external system 30. Still optionally, the location of the vehicle 100 may be determined 202 using technology other than GPS technology. For example, the location of the vehicle 100 may be determined 202 using cellular tower triangulation technology. Additionally, if the position of vehicle 100 is determined over a defined time period, the direction and speed of vehicle 100 may be determined by and / or available to system information processing 10 (since the change in position with respect to time defines a velocity vector).

[0040] Thus, upon receiving 200 a request for information (e.g., a verbal command 50), the system information processing 10 may first determine 202 that the vehicle 100 is located on Las Vegas Boulevard (and traveling north), and may then identify 204 a geographically proximate entity (e.g., a miniaturized version of the Eiffel Tower) based at least in part on the location of the vehicle 100.

[0041] When a geographically proximate entity (e.g., a miniaturized version of the Eiffel Tower) is identified 204 based at least in part on the location of the vehicle 100, the system information processing 10 may obtain 206 information related to the geographically proximate entity (e.g., the miniaturized version of the Eiffel Tower) from a data source. For example, the system information processing 10 may access one or more external data sources (e.g., data sources 54 included within the consumer electronics device 12 and / or data sources 56 accessible via the network 38) to obtain 206 such information.

[0042] Thus, when identifying 204 a geographically proximate entity (e.g., a miniaturized version of the Eiffel Tower) based at least in part on the location of the vehicle 100, the system information processing 10 may access the data source 54 and / or the data source 56 to search for and obtain 206 information related to the entity at the location determined 202 for the vehicle 100. Additionally, when identifying 204 a geographically proximate entity (e.g., a miniaturized version of the Eiffel Tower), specific information included within the request (e.g., “Eiffel” and “Tower”) may be considered. Thus, assuming that the data source 54 and / or the data source 56 have the appropriate information and the desired level of detail, when the system information processing 10 performs a search (e.g., on the data source 54 and / or the data source 56) that defines the word “Eiffel,” the word “Tower,” and the location of the vehicle 100, the geographically proximate entity may be identified 204 as the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino.

[0043] While the above example involves an initial query that may be considered somewhat vague, it should be understood that this is for illustrative purposes only and that other (more detailed) queries may be made initially. Thus, other examples of such an initial query may include, but are not limited to: "Is that tower to my right?" What is "The brown building What is ?”, “The brown Eiffel Tower on my right What is ?” and “The restaurant in the Eiffel Tower to my right When is it open? ? ".

[0044] In the event that the request received 200 by the system information processing 10 does not contain sufficient information to unambiguously identify the geographically proximate entity (e.g., the miniaturized version of the Eiffel Tower) as the Paris Las Vegas hotel and casino; when the geographically proximate entity (e.g., the miniaturized version of the Eiffel Tower) is identified 204 based at least in part on the location of the vehicle 100, the system information processing 10 may request 208 additional information related to the geographically proximate entity (e.g., the miniaturized version of the Eiffel Tower) from an occupant of the vehicle 100 (e.g., occupants 112, 114). For example, the system information processing 10 may use a voice dialog to help the user disambiguate the initial request, such as by showing a list of possible results with a reference image, asking a refinement question, or asking a confirmation question ("Did you mean the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Las Vegas hotel?" while rendering the reference image on the display screen 40).

[0045] Thus, the system information processing 10 may request 208 the additional information by asking the occupant of the vehicle 100 (e.g., occupant 112, 114), “What color is it?” or “What side of the car are you looking out of?” Once the occupant of the vehicle 100 (e.g., occupant 112, 114) provides the system information processing 10 with this information in the form of a verbal response (e.g., verbal command 50), the system information processing 10 may perform another search (e.g., on data source 54 and / or data source 56) defining the word “Eiffel,” the word “Tower,” the location of the vehicle 100, and the supplemental information provided by the occupant of the vehicle 100 (e.g., occupant 112, 114) (e.g., “brown” or “right side”), such that the geographically proximate entity (e.g., a miniaturized version of the Eiffel Tower) may be identified 204 as the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino.

[0046] To further enhance the automated nature and accuracy of the system information processing 10, the system information processing 10 may determine 210 (e.g., via the occupant sensor 110) a direction of interest of an occupant of the vehicle 100 (e.g., occupants 112, 114) with respect to a geographically proximate entity (e.g., a miniaturized version of the Eiffel Tower). As discussed above, the vehicle 100 may include the occupant sensor 110, which may be configured to sense various aspects of the occupant of the vehicle 100 (e.g., occupants 112, 114), such as the direction in which the eyes of the occupant of the vehicle 100 (e.g., occupants 112, 114) are looking; the direction in which the head of the occupant of the vehicle 100 (e.g., occupants 112, 114) is looking; and / or one or more gestures (e.g., indicating motions) made by the occupant of the vehicle 100 (e.g., occupants 112, 114).

[0047] For example, when identifying 204 a geographically proximate entity (e.g., a miniaturized version of the Eiffel Tower) based at least in part on the location of the vehicle 100, the system information processing 10 may identify 212 the geographically proximate entity (e.g., a miniaturized version of the Eiffel Tower) based at least in part on the location of the vehicle 100 and a direction of interest related to the geographically proximate entity (e.g., the miniaturized version of the Eiffel Tower) (e.g., defined by the occupant sensor 110). Thus, the system information processing 10 may perform a search (e.g., on the data source 54 and / or the data source 56) that defines the word “Eiffel,” the word “Tower,” the location of the vehicle 100, and the direction of interest information provided by the occupant sensor 110, such that the geographically proximate entity (e.g., the miniaturized version of the Eiffel Tower) may be identified 204 as the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino.

[0048] To further enhance the automated nature and accuracy of the system information processing 10, the system information processing 10 may obtain 214 images (e.g., captured images 58) related to a geographically close entity (e.g., a miniaturized version of the Eiffel Tower) via, for example, the front camera 102, the rear camera 104, the right camera 106, and the left camera 108, which may be configured to capture images (e.g., captured images 58) around the vehicle 100. For example, the front camera 102, the rear camera 104, the right camera 106, and the left camera 108 may be configured to continuously (or intermittently) capture images (e.g., captured images 58) approaching the vehicle 100, so that the system information processing 10 may utilize the captured images (e.g., captured images 58) to identify the geographically close entity (e.g., a miniaturized version of the Eiffel Tower).

[0049] For example, when identifying 204 a geographically proximate entity (e.g., a miniaturized version of the Eiffel Tower) based at least in part on the location of the vehicle 100, the system information processing 10 may identify 216 the geographically proximate entity (e.g., a miniaturized version of the Eiffel Tower) based at least in part on the location of the vehicle 100 and an image (e.g., captured image 58) related to the geographically proximate entity (e.g., a miniaturized version of the Eiffel Tower). For example, the data source 54 and / or the data source 56 may include (e.g., via metadata) an image database defining a plurality of images and entities included within the images, wherein the captured image 58 may be compared with the images included within the image database such that the geographically proximate entity (e.g., a miniaturized version of the Eiffel Tower) may be identified 204 as the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino.

[0050] When the system information processing 10 obtains 214 images (e.g., captured images 58) related to geographically close entities (e.g., a miniaturized version of the Eiffel Tower) via, for example, the front camera 102, the rear camera 104, the right camera 106, and the left camera 108, which may be configured to capture images (e.g., captured images 58) around the vehicle 100, the captured images 58 may be used to help the user disambiguate or confirm search results. For example, software processing (e.g., within the network 38) may use image processing and OCR techniques to scan for signs in the image (e.g., captured images 58). The system information processing 10 may then use any text included in the image (e.g., captured images 58) to narrow down the search options or increase the confidence level for certain options. For example, if a user asks, "What time does this pharmacy close tonight?", the ability of the system information processing 10 to recognize a sign that reads "Walgreens Pharmacy" may allow the system information processing 10 to isolate a building that is a perfect match for the user's query when there may be many other candidates (businesses or buildings) around the pharmacy. Similar types of image processing can allow the system to match a building or place to a user query (or help disambiguate) by extracting different visual features such as the building / place's color, its relative height, its shape (e.g., pyramid, tower), etc.

[0051] General

[0052] As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the present invention may be embodied as a method, system or computer program product. Thus, the present invention may take the form of an all-hardware embodiment, an all-software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.), or an embodiment combining software aspects and hardware aspects, wherein the software aspects and hardware aspects may be generally referred to herein as "circuits," "modules," or "systems." Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product on a computer-usable storage medium having a computer-usable program code embodied in the medium.

[0053] Any suitable computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be utilized. A computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, device, apparatus, or propagation medium. More specific examples of computer-readable media (a non-exhaustive list) may include the following: an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer floppy disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a transmission medium (such as a transmission medium supporting the Internet or an intranet), or a magnetic storage device. A computer-usable or computer-readable medium may also be paper or other suitable medium on which the program is printed, because the program may be captured electronically via, for example, optical scanning of paper or other media, and then compiled, interpreted, or otherwise processed in an appropriate manner if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory. In the context of this document, a computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be any medium that may contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transmit a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, device, or apparatus. The computer usable medium may include a propagated data signal with the computer usable program code embodied therein, either in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. The computer usable program code may be transmitted using any appropriate medium (including but not limited to the Internet, wired, optical fiber cable, RF, etc.).

[0054] The computer program code for performing the operation of the present invention can be written in an object-oriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++, etc. However, the computer program code for performing the operation of the present invention can also be written in a traditional procedural programming language such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages. The program code can be executed entirely on the user's computer, partially on the user's computer, as an independent software package, partially on the user's computer, partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer or server. In the latter case, the remote computer can be connected to the user's computer via a local area network / wide area network / Internet (e.g., network 14).

[0055] The present invention is described with reference to the flowchart and / or block diagram of the method, device (system) and computer program product according to an embodiment of the present invention. It should be understood that each frame in the flowchart and / or block diagram and the combination of frames in the flowchart and / or block diagram can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to the processor of a general-purpose computer / special-purpose computer / other programmable data processing device, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device create a component for implementing the function / action specified in one or more frames of the flowchart and / or block diagram.

[0056] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory, which may instruct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce a product including an instruction portion for implementing the functions / actions specified in one or more boxes of the flowchart and / or block diagram.

[0057] Computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device to perform a series of operational steps on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions / actions specified in one or more boxes of the flowchart and / or block diagram.

[0058] The flow chart and block diagram in the figure can illustrate the possible architecture, function and operation of the system, method and computer program product according to various embodiments of the present invention.In this regard, each frame in the flow chart or block diagram can represent the module, segment or part of the code, which includes one or more executable instructions for realizing the specified logical function.It should also be noted that in some optional implementations, the function mentioned in the frame may not conform to the order mentioned in the figure.For example, the two frames shown in sequence may actually be executed substantially at the same time, or these frames may sometimes be executed in reverse order according to the functions involved.It should also be noted that the combination of each frame in the block diagram and / or the flow chart and the frame in the block diagram and / or the flow chart can be realized by a hardware-based special-purpose system or a combination of special-purpose hardware and computer instructions that performs a specified function or action.

[0059] The terms used herein are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit the present invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the terms "comprises" and / or "comprising" when used in this specification specify the presence of the features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0060] The corresponding structures, materials, actions and equivalents of all parts or steps plus function elements in the following claims are intended to include any structure, material or action for performing a function in combination with other claimed elements specifically claimed. The description of the present invention is presented for the purpose of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the disclosure in the disclosed form. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. The embodiments are selected and described to best explain the principles and practical applications of the present invention and to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to understand the various embodiments of the present invention and the various modifications suitable for the intended specific use.

[0061] Having thus described the disclosure of the present application in detail, and by reference to embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the disclosure as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, executed on a computing device, comprising: receiving, at a consumer electronic device included in a vehicle, a request for information, wherein the information is related to a geographically proximate entity; determining the location of the vehicle; as well as identifying the geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle, Wherein, identifying the geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle comprises: requesting additional information from an occupant of the vehicle, The additional information is information related to the geographically close entity, and The request for the additional information from the occupant is made by at least one of: shows a list of possible results with reference images, Ask detailed questions, and Ask confirmation questions.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising: A direction of interest of an occupant of the vehicle relative to the geographically proximate entity is determined.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein: Identifying the geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle includes: The geographically proximate entity is identified based at least in part on the location of the vehicle and the direction of interest.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising: An image related to the geographically proximate entity is obtained.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein: Identifying the geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle includes: The geographically proximate entity is identified based at least in part on the location of the vehicle and the image.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein: Identifying the geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle includes: Information related to the geographically proximate entity is obtained from a data source.

7. A computer program product residing on a computer readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform operations comprising: receiving, at a consumer electronic device included in a vehicle, a request for information, wherein the information is information related to a geographically proximate entity; determining the location of the vehicle; as well as identifying the geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle, Wherein, identifying the geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle comprises: requesting additional information from an occupant of the vehicle, wherein the additional information is related to the geographically proximate entity, and The request for the additional information from the occupant is made by at least one of: shows a list of possible results with reference images, Ask detailed questions, and Ask confirmation questions.

8. The computer program product of claim 7, further comprising: A direction of interest of an occupant of the vehicle relative to the geographically proximate entity is determined.

9. The computer program product according to claim 8, wherein: Identifying the geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle includes: The geographically proximate entity is identified based at least in part on the location of the vehicle and the direction of interest.

10. The computer program product of claim 7, further comprising: An image related to the geographically proximate entity is obtained.

11. The computer program product according to claim 10, wherein: Identifying the geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle includes: The geographically proximate entity is identified based at least in part on the location of the vehicle and the image.

12. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein: Identifying the geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle includes: Information related to the geographically proximate entity is obtained from a data source.

13. A computing system comprising a processor and a memory configured to perform operations comprising: receiving, at a consumer electronic device included in a vehicle, a request for information, wherein the information is information related to a geographically proximate entity; determining the location of the vehicle; as well as identifying the geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle, Wherein, identifying the geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle comprises: requesting additional information from an occupant of the vehicle, The additional information is information related to the geographically close entity, and The request for the additional information from the occupant is made by at least one of: shows a list of possible results with reference images, Ask detailed questions, and Ask confirmation questions.

14. The computing system of claim 13, further comprising: A direction of interest of an occupant of the vehicle relative to the geographically proximate entity is determined.

15. The computing system of claim 14, wherein: Identifying the geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle includes: The geographically proximate entity is identified based at least in part on the location of the vehicle and the direction of interest.

16. The computing system of claim 13, further comprising: An image related to the geographically proximate entity is obtained.

17. The computing system of claim 16, wherein: Identifying the geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle includes: The geographically proximate entity is identified based at least in part on the location of the vehicle and the image.

18. The computing system of claim 13, wherein: Identifying the geographically proximate entity based at least in part on the location of the vehicle includes: Information related to the geographically proximate entity is obtained from a data source.

19. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions, wherein the computer instructions implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 6 when executed by a processor.

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