Refining location estimates and reverse geocoding based on a user profile
US9953047B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 16, 2015 |
| Grant date | Apr 24, 2018 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 9, 2035 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01C21/3682
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention pertains to enhancement or refinement of estimated locations based upon user-specific information. Upon user authorization, geographical information is extracted from a number of user-related sources, including the web browser history, search history, maps history, address book, e-mail archives and calendar entries. Such information is used to build a spatial index of specific physical locations for a geocoded result set. From this, heat maps identifying particular locations from the user-related sources are created for different periods of time. The heat maps may be used to refine an initial location estimate of the user. This may be done by determining whether one or more positions in a given heat map provide a more accurate position of the user than the initial estimate. If so, a best position is selected. This can be used to provide enhanced driving directions to the user.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.