| Patent application number | Description | Published |
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| 20090037813 | SPACE-CONSTRAINED MARKING MENUS FOR MOBILE DEVICES - One embodiment of the present invention provides a user interface. The user interface includes a touch-screen display and a set of marking menus comprising at least one radial menu which can be displayed on the touch-screen display. A radial menu allows a user to select a menu item by performing a stroke on the touch-screen display in a direction corresponding to a slice of the radial menu associated with the menu item. All the slices of a radial sub-menu are substantially at an angle of approximately 90° or less with respect to a previous stroke leading from a pervious radial menu, thereby allowing a series of consecutive strokes to end near the origin of the first stroke. | 02-05-2009 |
| 20090076997 | RECOMMENDER SYSTEM WITH AD-HOC, DYNAMIC MODEL COMPOSITION - One embodiment of the present invention provides recommender system for generating a recommendation of an item by combining a set of utility models adaptively to facilitate a decision-making process. The system includes a utility model database containing the set of utility models and a query module for receiving at least one query about the item from a querying entity. The system also includes a rule engine to specify a subset of utility models to be applied to the item and to specify a weight function of the specified utility models. Further included in the system is a set generator coupled to the utility model database, the query module, and the rule engine. The set generator computes a set of ratings by applying each of the utility model in the subset to the item and generates an overall rating for the item based on the weight function. The system further a communication module to return the overall rating. | 03-19-2009 |
| 20090077000 | METHOD AND SYSTEM TO PREDICT AND RECOMMEND FUTURE GOAL-ORIENTED ACTIVITY - One embodiment of the present invention provides a method for recommending activities to a user. During operation, the system determines an activity-type distribution based on the user's personal profile and/or population prior information, thereby facilitating prediction of future activities for the user. The system further searches for and receives one or more activities based on the activity-type distribution. The system then scores each received activity and recommends a number of activities to be performed by the user in the future and a number of corresponding venues, based on the activity-type distribution and the weight distribution. | 03-19-2009 |
| 20090077027 | USING A CONTENT DATABASE TO INFER CONTEXT INFORMATION FOR ACTIVITIES FROM MESSAGES - Some embodiments of the present invention provide a system that infers activity-related context information from a message. Upon receiving the message, the system looks for activity-related keywords in the message, wherein the activity-related keywords are from a content database. If one or more activity-related keywords are found in the message, the system infers message-related context information from the one or more activity-related keywords. Next, the system uses the message-related context information to facilitate recommending an activity to a user. | 03-19-2009 |
| 20090077057 | MIXED-MODEL RECOMMENDER FOR LEISURE ACTIVITIES - One embodiment of the present invention provides a method for recommending leisure activities to a user. During operation, the system receives at least one query for leisure activities. The system then determines a collaborative filtering score of a candidate activity based on a collaborative filtering model, a soft query score for the candidate activity based on a soft query model, a content preference score for the candidate activity based on a content preference model and the user's past behavior, and a distance score for the candidate activity based on a distance model. Next, the system generates a composite score for the candidate activity by calculating a weighted average of the collaborative filtering score, the soft query score, the content preference score, and the distance score. The system further returns a recommendation list containing the activities with the highest composite scores. | 03-19-2009 |
| 20090077501 | Method and apparatus for selecting an object within a user interface by performing a gesture - One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that facilitates invoking a command. During operation, the system suggests with a graphic element a gesture to use to invoke a command. The system then receives the gesture from a user at a device. Note that the gesture is received via an input mechanism, and also note that the gesture is a predetermined manipulation of the input mechanism. The system then determines a graphic element within the user interface that is associated with the gesture. Finally, upon determining the object associated with the gesture, the system invokes the command associated with the graphic element. | 03-19-2009 |
| 20090128505 | Link target accuracy in touch-screen mobile devices by layout adjustment - One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for improving link target accuracy for a mobile browser with a touch-screen display. The system receives a page with a plurality of selectable text objects and adjusts the page layout. The method further includes placing a number of targets within the web page. Each target is associated with one selectable text object, and the selectable text object can only be activated by the target. The targets are sufficiently separated from each other, thus allowing a user to hold the touch-screen display and select the selectable text object by tapping on the target with substantial accuracy. Another embodiment of the present invention allows a user to select a selectable text object by performing a gesture. | 05-21-2009 |
| 20090157352 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR USING MOBILE CODE FOR DISTRIBUTED DATA FUSION IN NETWORKED SENSING SYSTEMS - A sensing system includes a set of sensors and a data-fusing mechanism coupled to at least one of these sensors. In the set of sensors, at least one sensor is configured to store one or more measurement models for one or more phenomenon states. Furthermore, at least one sensor in the set of sensors is configured to sample a measurement value and generate a likelihood function based on the sampled measurement and the measurement models. The data-fusing mechanism coupled to a respective sensor in the set of sensors is configured to collect one or more likelihood functions generated by the one or more sensors and use the collected likelihood functions to compute an aggregate probability of a phenomenon state. | 06-18-2009 |
| 20090193099 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY INCORPORATING HYPOTHETICAL CONTEXT INFORMATION INTO RECOMMENDATION QUERIES - A system facilitates automatically determining the hypothetical context information or the distribution of hypothetical contexts. During operation, the system receives a request from a user for one or more recommendations. The system also receives a current context substantially associated with the request. The system then determines a hypothetical context for the request, wherein the hypothetical context may be determined by considering several sources of information, including but not limited to the current context, past contexts, and relationships between the current context and past contexts. Next, the system determines one or more recommendations for the user based on the hypothetical context. Finally, the system returns the one or more recommendations to the user. | 07-30-2009 |
| 20090222342 | IDENTIFYING INDETERMINACY FOR ACTIVITY-BASED ADVERTISING - One embodiment of the present invention provides an activity-based advertisement system that identifies customer indeterminacy. During operation, the system receives a number of trajectories of a customer, and identifies an indeterminacy point based on the trajectory patterns. The system then determines one or more receptive opportunities for presenting advertisements based on the indeterminacy point. The system further presents one or more advertisements to the customer during a period corresponding to the receptive opportunity. | 09-03-2009 |
| 20090222343 | INCENTIVE MECHANISM FOR DEVELOPING ACTIVITY-BASED TRIGGERS OF ADVERTISEMENT PRESENTATION - One embodiment of the present invention provides an activity-based advertisement system. During operation, the system identifies at an advertising service provider a set of features that characterize a customer's activity. The system then receives at least one trigger from the trigger author, wherein the trigger is based on the features and specifies conditions for an advertising opportunity. The system then identifies an advertising opportunity for a customer when the conditions specified by the trigger are met. The system further presents one or more advertisements to the customer during the opportunity period. | 09-03-2009 |
| 20090222344 | RECEPTIVE OPPORTUNITY PRESENTATION OF ACTIVITY-BASED ADVERTISING - One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that facilitates presentation of activity-based advertising based on receptive opportunities. During operation, the system identifies a number of topics. The system then receives a number of advertisements from advertisers, wherein a respective advertisement is associated with a topic. For a respective topic, the system determines a number of candidate advertisements associated with that topic to be pending presentations. The system further analyzes an activity in which a customer is engaged. Next, the system identifies a receptive opportunity to present one or more advertisements to the customer based on the activity analysis. The system then determines among the pending presentations one or more advertisements to present to the customer during the identified receptive opportunity. Subsequently, the system presents the determined advertisements to the customer during the opportunity period. | 09-03-2009 |
| 20090222346 | ADVERTISING PAYMENT BASED ON CONFIRMED ACTIVITY PREDICTION - One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for facilitating presentation of activity-based advertising. During operation, the system receives a set of contextual data of a customer and makes a prediction of the customer's future activity. The system then receives a number of advertisements from the advertisers. Based on the prediction, the system chooses a received advertisement to present to the customer. The system further determines the customer's subsequent activity and confirms the prediction of the customer's activity. The system then receives payments from the advertisers whose advertisement is presented based on whether the prediction is confirmed. | 09-03-2009 |
| 20100309503 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PRINTING DOCUMENTS FROM A PORTABLE DEVICE - One embodiment provides a system for printing a document from a portable device. During operation, the system obtains the document to be printed. Next, the system obtains a document optical code that identifies the document. Subsequently, the system displays the document optical code on the portable device in such a way that the document optical code can be scanned and recognized by a scanner associated with the printer. Next, the system allows the printer to retrieve and print the document based at least on the document optical code. | 12-09-2010 |
| 20100309504 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PRINTING DOCUMENTS FROM A PORTABLE DEVICE - One embodiment provides a system for facilitating document printing from a portable device. During operation, the system receives a document at a server. Next, the system generates a document optical code corresponding to the document. Subsequently, the system communicates the document optical code to the portable device, thereby allowing the portable device to display the document optical code to a scanning mechanism associated with a printer, Next, the system receives a request, indicating the optical code, from the printer. Subsequently, the system retrieves the document in response to the request, and sends the document to the printer. | 12-09-2010 |
| 20100309505 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PRINTING DOCUMENTS FROM A PORTABLE DEVICE - One embodiment provides a system for facilitating document printing from a portable device. During operation, the system receives at an email server an email which includes an attached document. Next, the system generates at the email server a document optical code associated with the document, wherein the document optical code can be scanned and recognized by a scanning mechanism associated with a printer. Subsequently, the system attaches the optical code as an additional attachment to the email, thereby allowing a portable device to print the attached document by displaying the optical code to the scanning mechanism associated with the printer. | 12-09-2010 |
| 20110010093 | METHOD FOR ENCOURAGING LOCATION AND ACTIVITY LABELING - One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for location labeling. During operation, the system collects contextual information recorded by one or more components located on a computing device associated with a user, and determines whether the computing device is stationary based on collected information. Responsive to the computing device being stationary, the system allows the user to provide a location label. | 01-13-2011 |
| 20110022443 | EMPLOYMENT INFERENCE FROM MOBILE DEVICE DATA - One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for inferring a user's activity. During operation, the system collects contextual information recorded by a plurality of components located on a mobile device associated with the user. The system then extracts the user's behavior pattern based on the collected contextual information, and determines whether the user is engaged in an employment-related activity. | 01-27-2011 |
| 20110039522 | VENUE INFERENCE USING DATA SENSED BY MOBILE DEVICES - One embodiment of the present invention provides a system for determining venue information associated with a mobile device user. During operation, the system collects contextual information recorded by one or more sensors located on the mobile device and extracts a behavior pattern of the user as a function of time and/or an environmental indicator based on the collected contextual information. The system then compares the behavior pattern and/or the environmental indicator with known behavior patterns and/or environmental indicators associated with a number of venues stored in a database, and determines a venue associated with the user based at least on the comparison. | 02-17-2011 |
| 20110054834 | DETERMINING USER COMPASS ORIENTATION FROM A PORTABLE DEVICE - Apparatus and methods are provided for determining a person's compass orientation from data generated by one or more sensors embedded within a portable device transported by the person. Such sensors may include an accelerometer, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, a magnetometer (e.g., a compass), a barometer, etc. In some scenarios (e.g., when the person is walking), the person's initial orientation is directly determined and is used to calculate an initial orientation delta describing a difference between the person's initial orientation and an initial orientation of the device. In other scenarios, the person's current orientation is calculated based on an initial orientation of the device and a known or assumed orientation delta. Later in time, the orientation delta can be applied to the device's current orientation to determine the person's current orientation. As events involving the person and/or the device are observed, an orientation delta may be updated. | 03-03-2011 |
| 20110112992 | OPPORTUNISTIC FULFILLMENT OF TASKS BY SUGGESTIONS FROM A PERSONAL DEVICE - A computer tasking system has at least one sensor arranged to provide current location data for a user, an environment module to determine venues local to the user, a data repository having tasking data, and a recommendation module to analyze the current location data, the venues and the tasking data to produce a tasking recommendation for the user. A computer-controlled method of making recommendations of tasks includes receiving situational data from at least one sensor at a computer, accessing a repository of tasking data, determining, based upon the situational data and the tasking data, if an opportunity exists for task fulfillment, and making a recommendation to a user regarding the task fulfillment based upon the opportunity through a user interface. A shared task fulfillment system has a central hub consisting of a device that provides a user interface for entering a request for task fulfillment, the central hub comprising, a repository to store the request, a network interface to allow user devices to access the central hub, a processor to receive communications through the network interface and the user interface to update the repository and communicate with user devices, and a network of users having user devices. | 05-12-2011 |
| 20110125678 | GENERATING AN ACTIVITY INFERENCE MODEL FROM CONTEXTUAL DATA - One embodiment provides a system for generating an inference model that determines an activity type for a user from contextual information. During operation, the system receives a set of contextual information associated with the user, wherein the contextual information includes at least a set of location coordinates. The system then determines an association between the contextual information and an activity type. Next, the system generates an activity inference model based in part on the association, wherein the activity inference model takes an instance of contextual information as an input parameter and outputs a corresponding activity type. The model's parameters are based at least on statistics associated with the user's contextual history but not based on the complete contents of the user's contextual history. | 05-26-2011 |
| 20110137927 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATICALLY INCORPORATING HYPOTHETICAL CONTEXT INFORMATION INTO RECOMMENDATION QUERIES - A system facilitates automatically determining the hypothetical context information or the distribution of hypothetical contexts. During operation, the system receives a request from a user for one or more recommendations. The system also receives a current context substantially associated with the request. The system then determines a hypothetical context for the request, wherein the hypothetical context may be determined by considering several sources of information, including but not limited to the current context, past contexts, and relationships between the current context and past contexts. Next, the system determines one or more recommendations for the user based on the hypothetical context. Finally, the system returns the one or more recommendations to the user. | 06-09-2011 |
