Targeted advertising in brick-and-mortar establishments

US8725567B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Microsoft Corporation · US

Inventors

• Xuedong Huang · Bellevue, US
• William H. Gates, III · Bellevue, US
• Eric J. Horvitz · Kirkland, US
• Joshua T. Goodman · Redmond, US
• Bradly A. Brunell · Bellevue, US
• Susan T. Dumais · Kirkland, US
• Gary W. Flake · Bellevue, US
• Trenholme J. Griffin · Bainbridge Island, US
• Oliver Hurst-Hiller · New York, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jun 29, 2006
• Grant date: May 13, 2014
• Expiry date: Apr 23, 2031

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06Q30/0271
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Architecture for presenting advertisements in realtime in retail establishments. A sensor component includes sensors for collecting information about a customer or group of customers as they move through the store. The sensors can include capability for image processing, audio processing, light sensing, velocity sensing, direction sensing, proximity sensing, face recognition, pose recognition, transaction recognition, and biometric sensing, for example. A customer component analyzes the information and generates a profile about the customer. Advertisements are selected for presentation that target the customers as they walk in proximity of a presentation system of the store. An advertisement component facilitates dynamic presentation of a targeted advertisement to the individual as a function of the profile. The customer component can infer information during analysis using machine learning and reasoning.