Context-Aware Location Services Using Bayesian Fusion
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional location-based services require custom databases for storing and serving location-specific data, leading to high deployment costs and limitations in providing context-aware information to mobile users, especially in environments where GPS signals are unreliable, such as indoors or in urban canyons.
Innovation Solution
An architecture that utilizes geographic location technology, like GPS, in conjunction with network-based websites to determine user location and access context data, employing Bayesian networks and machine learning to infer user context and manage power consumption, while leveraging existing Internet resources to provide location-aware services without the need for custom databases.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional location-based services use custom databases to store and serve location-specific data, then location-aware services can be provided, but deployment costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by using a single centralized web server to serve multiple location-based services (reminders, electronic graffiti, tour guides) instead of requiring separate custom databases for each service. The web server provides universal access to location-specific data through standard web protocols, eliminating the need for service-specific database implementations and reducing overall deployment costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a web server as an intermediary between the mobile device and location-specific data. Instead of directly accessing custom databases on the mobile device, the system uses the web server as a mediator that hosts location data and serves it through standard web protocols, simplifying the architecture and reducing deployment complexity.
2Measurement precision
If GPS subsystem operates continuously to provide location data, then location accuracy is maintained, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic action by having the mobile device probe for GPS satellite signals at regular intervals rather than continuously. The device transitions to a reduced-power mode between probes, maintaining location accuracy when needed while significantly reducing power consumption during periods when location updates are not critical.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies dynamics by making the GPS subsystem operational state variable - switching between full-power continuous operation and reduced-power periodic probing based on service requirements and signal conditions. This dynamic adjustment allows the system to optimize the balance between location accuracy and power consumption in real-time.
3Measurement precision
If GPS satellite signals are used for location determination, then outdoor location accuracy is achieved, but indoor location capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the web server as an intermediary that provides location data through multiple access methods. For indoor environments where GPS signals are blocked, the system can use alternative location determination methods (such as Wi-Fi positioning, cellular tower triangulation, or inertial navigation) that query the same web server infrastructure, thus maintaining versatility across indoor and outdoor environments while preserving the accuracy of GPS-based outdoor locationing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the location determination system universal by designing the web server to support multiple location determination methodologies. The same infrastructure serves both GPS-based outdoor positioning and alternative indoor positioning methods, allowing the system to adapt to different environments without requiring separate specialized systems.
Data Source
AI summary
Described are methods that utilize a geographic location technology (e.g., GPS) to determine user location data, and existing network-based websites (e.g., Internet websites) for searching and accessing data related to the location data such that the user context can be developed and stored. A location component is provided that determines location data of a wireless communications device of a user. A context component is provided that accesses context data based on the location data to define a context in which the device is located. Activities, goals, and overall context of a user can be inferred through statistical fusion of multiple sources of evidence. The context data is presented to the user via the wireless device such that the user can make decisions as to where to go, for example. User preferences can be accessed and applied to filter context data according to what the user desires to see and access.