Location-Based Social Reconnection via IMS Network
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Individuals connected through social networks often lack awareness of friends or family members' proximity when they are not online or in different locations, making it difficult to reconnect with people nearby.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that utilize IMS networks to allow subscribers to request and receive notifications about people with predefined characteristics within their vicinity, using location tracking and personal information stored in the network, enabling automatic reconnection with friends or social network members.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If people use social networks to connect with friends and family, then social connectivity is improved, but awareness of proximity when offline is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a location-based service system as an intermediary between social network members. This system uses mobile devices, location tracking services, and notification mechanisms to bridge the gap between online social connectivity and offline proximity awareness. When users are offline or away from home, the system automatically detects their location and notifies them when social network members are nearby, thus resolving the information loss about proximity.
2Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If location tracking is implemented to find people nearby, then proximity detection is improved, but privacy and security concerns increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by allowing users to selectively define specific search criteria and geographic areas for location-based queries. Instead of tracking all users globally, each user can specify particular characteristics (such as age, interests, or relationship status) and location parameters, creating a localized and personalized detection scope that minimizes privacy exposure while maintaining effective proximity detection for relevant targets.
3Productivity
If automatic notifications are sent to find people nearby, then reconnection efficiency is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by enabling users to pre-configure their search criteria, preferred locations, and notification preferences before needing to reconnect. The system automatically executes location tracking and notification delivery based on these pre-set parameters, reducing the need for complex real-time manual operations. Users simply define their preferences once, and the system autonomously handles subsequent location monitoring and reconnection notifications.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, computer readable medium and apparatus for finding at least one person are disclosed. For example, the method receives a request from a subscriber to find at least one person having at least one characteristic predefined by the subscriber, receives a location of the subscriber and finds, via a processor, the at least one person having the at least one characteristic predefined by the subscriber near the location of the subscriber.