Locationing Session Control with Periodic User Notification

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Current locationing protocols, such as SUPL, do not provide adequate user notification or control over ongoing locationing sessions, leading to potential privacy concerns and power drain issues, as users are only informed at session initiation and may not be aware of ongoing tracking.

Innovation Solution

Implement a method that notifies users multiple times during a locationing session and allows them to selectively validate or terminate sessions, with options to configure re-notification intervals and session duration, using a user interface that manages active sessions and provides indicators for ongoing locationing activities.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If locationing sessions are established for extended periods to provide continuous location services, then locationing service coverage and reliability are improved, but power consumption increases and user privacy control deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvelocationing service reliabilityVSAvoidpower consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements periodic re-notification to users during locationing sessions at configurable intervals. This allows the system to maintain extended locationing sessions for reliability while periodically seeking user consent, effectively managing power consumption by preventing indefinitely continuous operation without user awareness or validation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

2Device complexity

If users are notified only at session initiation to simplify notification procedures, then system complexity is reduced, but user awareness and privacy control worsen

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenotification system complexityVSAvoiduser awareness of ongoing tracking
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary notification at session initiation and then continues with periodic re-notifications during the session. This preliminary action establishes user awareness at the start, and the subsequent periodic actions maintain that awareness throughout the extended session, preventing users from forgetting about active tracking.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Productivity

If locationing sessions continue without user validation to maintain service continuity, then service availability is improved, but user privacy control and power management deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveservice availabilityVSAvoiduser privacy control
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a feedback mechanism where users are periodically re-notified during locationing sessions and can validate or terminate the session. This feedback loop maintains service availability by allowing sessions to continue with user consent while simultaneously preserving user privacy control through periodic validation opportunities.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP2476241B1Methods and apparatus for session control in a networked locationing system
Publication Date: 2019.07.24 GOOGLE TECHNOLOGY HOLDINGS LLC
  • EP2476241B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2476241B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP2476241B1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

A session control method includes establishing a locationing session (401) between a mobile device (102) and a remotely located server (106) over a network (104), sending information related to the geographical location of the mobile device (102) to the remotely located server (106) after establishing the locationing session (401), and providing two or more notifications (414, 432) via the mobile device (102), at predetermined intervals or in response to an event, that the locationing session is active. The user may then validate or invalidate (430) the active session, thereby providing greater control of such information. Additional configuration options are provided to the user in order to control the nature and distribution of such locationing data.