Context server for associating information based on context

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9251252-B2
Application number	US-201314087503-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 22, 2013
Priority date	Nov 6, 2006
Publication date	Feb 2, 2016
Grant date	Feb 2, 2016

Abstract

A system, method, and computer readable medium are provided for associating information (including information and services) based upon context. In one example, an apparatus includes interface logic for receiving, during a session (e.g., during a media object capture, upload session, data transfer session, or the like), context information from a user device, and user-generated information associated with the context information. The context information may relate to time, date, location, ambient conditions, biometric (e.g., relating to the user of the device), device/user identification, or combinations thereof. The apparatus further including association logic for associating service information, different from the context information, with the user-generated information based on the context information. The associated service information may include empirical information such as a map of a particular location, the map including points of interest.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising: receiving by a computer processor, from at least one user device: a media object captured by one of the at least one user device, the media object comprising image data; context information, the context information comprising capture context information of the media object and current context information of a plurality of users; user-generated subjective characterization information associated with the context information; automatically selecting, by the computer processor, a type of service from a plurality of service types based on the current context information of the user associated with the user device wherein the type of service is customized based on the current context information of at least a subset of the plurality of users other than the user associated with the user device; and associating, by the computer processor, service information, different from the context information, with the context information and the subjective characterization information associated with the context information, the service information comprising at least a type of service to be provided to the user associated with the user device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one user device comprises multiple user devices and the context information is received from the multiple user devices.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the context information comprises biometric information associated with the user.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising directing the associated service information to at least one user based on the association of service information with the user-generated subjective characterization information.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the at least one user comprises a second user other than a first user who created the user-generated subjective characterization information.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the at least one user device comprises multiple user devices and the service information is based on a plurality of inputs from the multiple user devices.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the inputs comprise context information.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the inputs comprise user-generated subjective characterization information.

9. The method of claim 4 , wherein the service information relates to a scavenger hunt, the method further comprising providing a user device with a media object and requesting that the user find a location associated with the media object.

10. The method of claim 4 , wherein the service information relates to a travel log, the travel log comprising a map overlaid with at least one media object associated with the user.

11. The method of claim 4 , wherein the service information comprises a travel guide.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising providing the user device with a suggestion in response to user input and the context information.

13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising providing the user device with a tour.

14. The method of claim 4 , further comprising initiating a transfer of a context-based message to the user device in response to the context information.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein initiating the transfer is in response to a location of the user.

16. The method of claim 4 , wherein the service information relates to an advertisement, the advertisement based on the context information.

17. The method of claim 4 , wherein the service information relates to a sponsored search, the method further comprising initiating a transfer to a user device of an advertisement based on the context information and a user search query received from the at least one user device.

18. The method of claim 4 , further comprising generating an away message based on the context information.

19. A computer-readable non-transitory storage medium encoded with computer program instructions that when executed by a server computer perform a process, the process comprising: receiving from at least one user device: a media object captured by one of the at least one user device, the media object comprising image data; context information, the context information comprising capture context information of the media object and current context information of a plurality of users; user-generated subjective characterization information associated with the context information; automatically selecting, a type of service from a plurality of service types based on the current context information of the user associated with the user device wherein the type of service is customized based on the current context information of at least a subset of the plurality of users other than the user associated with the user device; and associating service information, different from the context information, with the context information and the subjective characterization information associated with the context information, the service information comprising at least a type of service to be provided to the user associated with the user device.

20. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 19 , wherein the at least one user device comprises multiple user devices and the context information is received from the multiple user devices.

21. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 19 , wherein the context information comprises biometric information associated with the user.

22. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 21 , the process further comprising directing the associated service information to at least one user based on the association of service information with the user-generated subjective characterization information or the context.

23. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 19 , wherein the at least one user comprises a second user other than a first user who created the user-generated subjective characterization information.

24. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 19 , wherein the at least one user device comprises multiple user devices and the service information is based on a plurality of inputs from the multiple user devices.

25. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 19 , wherein the service information relates to a scavenger hunt.

26. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 25 , wherein the service information relates to a scavenger hunt, the process further comprising providing a user device with a media object and requesting that the user find a location associated with the media object.

27. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 25 , wherein the service information relates to a travel log, the travel log comprising a map overlaid with at least one media object associated with the user.

28. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 25 , wherein the service information comprises a travel guide.

29. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 28 , the process further comprising providing a user device with a suggestion in response to user input and the context information.

30. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 28 , the process further comprising providing a user device with a tour.

31. The computer-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 25 , the process further comprising init

Assignees

• Yahoo Inc

Inventors

• Naaman Mor
• Davis Marc Eliot

Classifications

• G06F17/3087

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06F17/30705 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06F16/9537 Primary

  Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries · CPC title

• G06F16/35 Primary

  Clustering; Classification · CPC title