Location-Based Widget Activation via Intermediary Service
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for a system and method to quickly and easily make location-based applications available to relevant users on mobile devices, as existing solutions lack efficiency in providing relevant applications based on the device's current or anticipated location.
Innovation Solution
A mobile device system that obtains a list of applications associated with its current or anticipated location from a centralized or distributed application service, allowing for manual or automatic selection and activation of desired applications, with optional deactivation based on predefined criteria.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If applications are manually selected and activated by users, then user control and customization are improved, but time consumption and operational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs automatic application selection and activation based on location data without requiring manual user intervention. The mobile device automatically receives location information, queries the application service for relevant applications, and activates them based on predefined criteria, thereby reducing time consumption while maintaining user control through initial setup preferences.
Solution Approach 2:
User preferences and activation criteria are configured in advance during system setup. The system pre-establishes which applications should be activated under specific location conditions, so that when the device reaches those locations, the appropriate applications are automatically activated without requiring real-time user decisions, thus reducing operational time.
2Productivity
If location-based application delivery is automated, then service efficiency and relevance are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
A centralized application service acts as an intermediary between the mobile device and the application ecosystem. This service receives location queries from mobile devices, maintains a database of location-associated applications, and automatically manages application activation. By offloading the complex logic to this intermediary service, the mobile device itself remains relatively simple while achieving high service efficiency.
3Loss of energy
If applications are continuously monitored for deactivation criteria, then resource optimization is improved, but processing overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous monitoring, the system periodically checks deactivation criteria at defined intervals or when specific triggering events occur (such as location changes). This periodic approach reduces processing overhead and energy consumption compared to continuous monitoring, while still ensuring that applications are deactivated when appropriate conditions are met.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods relating to location-based applications, such as widgets, are disclosed. In general, in one embodiment, location-based application service obtains a current location of a mobile device and determines whether the current location of the mobile device is associated with one of a plurality of non-adjacent geographic locations associated with an establishment. An application identifier associated with the plurality of non-adjacent geographic locations associated with the establishment is provided based on the determination, where the application identifier at least one of identifies an application for the mobile device to activate and references a remote source for the mobile device to obtain the application.