Automated Concierge System Location Translation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing location-based services (LBS) applications struggle to provide efficient and personalized concierge services to mobile device users, particularly in determining nearby merchants and providing accurate directions, while ensuring privacy and compatibility with various network formats.
Innovation Solution
An automated concierge method that utilizes network location-based services (LBS) applications to receive location-based service requests from mobile devices, translate coordinate locations into appropriate input formats for web applications, and provide relevant information such as directions and merchant details, using GPS, network triangulation, and web bot technologies to access multiple websites for precise results.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If GPS or network triangulation is used to determine device location, then location precision is improved, but privacy concerns worsen due to disclosure of precise coordinate location and telephone number
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a Yellow Pages service as an intermediary that receives location data from the mobile device, processes it to identify nearby businesses, and returns results without disclosing the user's precise location or telephone number to third parties. This mediator approach resolves the contradiction by enabling location-based services while maintaining privacy through data minimization and controlled information flow.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple network applications are queried for location-based services, then service versatility is improved, but system complexity worsens due to handling different network formats and translating coordinate locations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal interface layer that handles multiple network formats and coordinate translation requirements through a single standardized process. The Yellow Pages service acts as a universal gateway that accepts various location input formats from different network applications and translates them into a common internal representation, enabling service versatility without proportionally increasing system complexity at the application level.
3Productivity
If automated concierge services are implemented using web bot technologies, then productivity is improved through efficient information retrieval, but measurement precision may worsen due to reliance on translated location formats that may not perfectly match all website requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates feedback mechanisms where the Yellow Pages service monitors the accuracy of location format translations and adjusts its translation algorithms based on results from web bot queries and user interactions. This feedback loop enables the system to maintain high productivity through automated information retrieval while continuously improving measurement precision by learning from actual query outcomes and correcting translation inaccuracies.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for providing automated concierge services to end users communicates with users over network devices, such as telephones and wireless devices, and utilizes third party network location-based service (LBS) applications, such as Internet/Web locators, to obtain location information based on user requests. On receipt of a request from a mobile device, the location of the mobile device is identified. A network application related to the requested service is identified and the user location is translated into an input parameter compatible with the network application which is provided to the network applications. A response to the input parameter is received and processed in order to generate an answer to the user's request. Finally, the application sends the answer to the user.