U.S. patent application number 14/177136 was filed with the patent office on 2014-10-23 for location-based workflows and services.
This patent application is currently assigned to Kofax, Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is Kofax, Inc.. Invention is credited to Jan W. Amtrup, Steven Kilby, Anthony Macciola, Bruce Orcutt.
Application Number | 20140316841 14/177136 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51729706 |
Filed Date | 2014-10-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140316841 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kilby; Steven ; et
al. |
October 23, 2014 |
LOCATION-BASED WORKFLOWS AND SERVICES
Abstract
A method for leveraging location-based information to influence
business workflows includes initiating a workflow, performing at
least one operation within the workflow using a processor of a
mobile device; receiving location information pertaining to the
workflow; and influencing at least a portion of the workflow based
on the location information. The workflow is configured to
facilitate a business process. In some embodiments, the method
includes determining location information corresponding to the
mobile device, prompting a user to capture and image of a document,
associating the location information with the captured image as
location metadata, and storing the location metadata and captured
image to a memory of the mobile device. Exemplary systems and
computer program products are also described.
Inventors: |
Kilby; Steven; (Rancho Santa
Margarita, CA) ; Macciola; Anthony; (Chino Hills,
CA) ; Amtrup; Jan W.; (Chevy Chase, MD) ;
Orcutt; Bruce; (Newport Beach, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Kofax, Inc. |
Irvine |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Kofax, Inc.
Irvine
CA
|
Family ID: |
51729706 |
Appl. No.: |
14/177136 |
Filed: |
February 10, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61815210 |
Apr 23, 2013 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/7.26 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 16/51 20190101;
G06Q 20/10 20130101; G06K 2209/27 20130101; G06F 8/38 20130101;
H04W 4/02 20130101; G06Q 40/025 20130101; G06F 8/70 20130101; G06Q
10/06316 20130101; G06Q 40/08 20130101; G06Q 50/205 20130101; G06K
9/00442 20130101; G06F 16/93 20190101; G06Q 10/0833 20130101; G06F
3/04842 20130101; G06K 9/00664 20130101; G06K 9/628 20130101; G06F
16/5866 20190101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/7.26 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 10/06 20060101
G06Q010/06; H04W 4/02 20060101 H04W004/02 |
Claims
1. A method, comprising initiating a workflow; performing at least
one operation within the workflow using a processor of a mobile
device; receiving location information pertaining to the workflow;
and influencing at least a portion of the workflow based on the
location information, wherein the workflow is configured to
facilitate a business process.
2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising: detecting
a location trigger condition; and determining the location
information in response to detecting the location trigger
condition.
3. The method as recited in claim 2, further comprising: prompting
a user to capture an image in response to detecting the location
trigger condition; capturing the image via the mobile device;
associating the location information with the captured image; and
storing the location information and the captured image to a memory
of the mobile device.
4. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising requesting
the location information.
5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the location
information is based at least in part on one or more of: user
input, previously determined location information, crowdsourced
location information, and location data received from one or more
of a cellular tower, a GPS satellite, a compass, an accelerometer,
a gyroscope, a router, a modem, and a radio-frequency
identification device.
6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the location
information comprises one or more of discrete location information
and continuous location information.
7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the location
information comprises one or more of: geographic location
information, a network location information, a street address, a
set of addresses, proximity information and telemetry
information.
8. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising
instantiating, based at least in part on the location information,
at least one of: the workflow, a new operation in the workflow and
a second workflow.
9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the influencing
comprises interfering with at least one operation in the workflow
based on the location information.
10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the influenced
portion of the workflow comprises a claim processing operation.
11. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein the influencing
comprises selecting a standard form from among a plurality of
candidate forms based at least in part on the location
information.
12. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein the standard form
corresponds to the location information.
13. The method as recited in claim 11, further comprising
populating at least one field of the selected form based at least
in part on the location information.
14. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the influenced
portion of the workflow comprises a financial transaction
operation, and wherein the influencing comprises: determining an
intended recipient of a payment from among a plurality of candidate
recipients based at least in part on the location information; and
designating the intended recipient as the recipient of a payment
corresponding to the financial transaction.
15. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the influenced
portion of the workflow comprises a financial transaction
operation, and wherein the influencing comprises presenting an
offer to engage in a financial transaction, the offer being based
at least in part on the location information and one or more of:
historical location information; a financial risk profile; a
financial investment profile; a financial asset profile; and a
financial obligation profile.
16. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the influenced
portion of the workflow comprises a financial transaction request,
and wherein the influencing comprises routing the financial
transaction request based on the location information.
17. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the influenced
portion of the workflow comprises a data management operation, and
wherein the influencing comprises at least one of: initiating a
processing job based at least in part on the location information;
terminating the processing job based at least in part on the
location information; modifying one or more processing parameters
for the processing, the modifying being based at least in part on
the location information; and transmitting data to the mobile
device based at least in part on the location information.
18. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein modifying the one or
more processing parameters comprises at least one of; altering a
priority of the processing job; designating one or more processing
resources to perform the processing job; modifying a number of the
one or more processing resources dedicated to performing the
processing job; and modifying an identity of the one or more
processing resources dedicated to performing the processing
job.
19. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the influenced
portion of the workflow comprises an opportunistic scheduling
operation, and wherein the influencing comprises: determining at
least a portion of a workflow requires participation from one or
more entities among a plurality of eligible entities; and
identifying one or more preferred entities among the plurality of
eligible entities based at least in part on the location
information.
20. The method as recited in claim 19, further comprising:
determining a mutually convenient meeting time for the preferred
entities; determining a mutually convenient meeting location for
the preferred entities based at least in part on the location
information; and generating a meeting request for the preferred
entities, the meeting request corresponding to the mutually
convenient meeting time and the mutually convenient meeting
location.
21. The method as recited in claim 19, further comprising:
determining at least some of the preferred entities are
unavailable; and identifying at least one alternate entity from
among the plurality of eligible entities based at least in part on
the location information.
22. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the influenced
portion of the workflow comprises a supervisory operation, and
wherein the influencing comprises: determining at least a portion
of a workflow requires authorization from an authorizing entity;
and identifying a preferred authorizing entity from among a
plurality of eligible authorizing entities based at least in part
on the location information.
23. The method as recited in claim 22, further comprising:
determining the preferred authorized entity is unavailable to
authorize the portion of the workflow within a predetermined
duration; and identifying an alternate authorizing entity from
among a plurality of eligible authorizing entities based at least
in part on the location information.
24. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the influenced
portion of the workflow comprises a data extraction operation, and
wherein the influencing comprises building an extraction model
based at least in part on the location information.
25. The method as recited in claim 24, further comprising
extracting content from a document relating to the workflow based
at least in part on the extraction model.
26. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the influenced
portion of the workflow comprises a classification operation, and
wherein the influencing comprises determining a document belongs to
a particular document class among a plurality of document classes
based at least in part on the location information.
27. The method as recited in claim 26, wherein the determining
comprises applying a weight to a class based at least in part on
the location information, the weight being indicative that the
document belongs to the particular document class.
28. A system, comprising: a processor; and logic in and/or
executable by the processor, the logic being configured to cause
the processor to: initiate a workflow; perform at least one
operation within the workflow using a processor of a mobile device;
receive location information pertaining to the workflow; and
influence at least a portion of the workflow based on the location
information, wherein the workflow is configured to facilitate a
business process.
29. A computer program product, comprising a computer readable
storage medium having embodied thereon computer readable program
instructions configured to cause a processor to: initiate a
workflow; perform at least one operation within the workflow using
a processor of a mobile device; receive location information
pertaining to the workflow; and influence at least a portion of the
workflow based on the location information, wherein the workflow is
configured to facilitate a business process.
30. A method, comprising: initiating a workflow; performing at
least one operation within the workflow using a processor of a
mobile device, the workflow comprising: detecting a location
trigger condition; and at least partially in response to detecting
the location trigger condition: determining location information
corresponding to the mobile device; prompting a user to capture an
image of a document; capturing the image via the mobile device;
associating the location information with the captured image as
location metadata; and storing the location metadata and the
captured image to a memory of the mobile device; and facilitating a
business process relating to the workflow, the facilitating being
based on the location metadata.
Description
PRIORITY CLAIM
[0001] This application claims priority to Provisional U.S. Patent
Application No. 61/815,210, filed May 30, 2013, which is herein
incorporated by reference in its entirety.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0002] This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 13/740,123, filed Jan. 11, 2013; U.S. Pat. No. 6,370,277,
granted Apr. 9, 2002 (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/206,753,
filed Dec. 7, 1998); Ser. No. 13/802,226, filed Mar. 13, 2013 and
Provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 61/780,747, filed Mar. 13,
2013, each of which is also herein incorporated by reference in its
entirety.
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0003] The present invention relates to software development, and
more particularly to software development platforms for generating
and/or modifying applications for use on a mobile device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] Mobile technology is rapidly developing, fueling even more
rapid development of software capable of exploiting the new and
expanded functionality offered by mobile devices. As a result,
entire new development communities have arisen to contribute to the
expanding pool of software tools available to mobile device users.
Large producers of mobile hardware and software have even released
software development platforms to the general public and/or
provided access to application distribution services to select
developers, e.g. via a registration process. To users' great
benefit, a wide array of mobile applications designed to perform
myriad activities using mobile devices are now readily available
for quick download, installation and implementation via mobile
communication networks.
[0005] The currently available mobile software applications and
development platforms provide diverse and powerful functionality to
both end-users and developers capable of leveraging the various
capabilities of existing mobile devices. However, there is
currently no tool available for dynamically developing and
employing smart mobile applications capable of adapting to user
behavior and/or requirements.
[0006] One field that has emerged with the ascendance of mobile
technology is the so-called "location-based services" industry.
These services typically leverage a conventional location
determination technique (such as cellular location techniques (e.g.
techniques estimating location based on identifying a cellular
tower to which the device is connected/with which the device is in
communication) or a global positioning system (GPS) to identify a
user's location and in response to determining the user is present
at a particular location, providing location-specific information
to the user.
[0007] The typical example of location-based services is the use of
location information to present customized advertising to a user
based on the user's location. For example, a conventional
location-based advertising service displays advertisements to a
user based on the user's location being proximate to one or more
places of commerce, as indicated by the GPS or cellular tower-based
location techniques. Based on the user's location being proximate
to the retail entity's address, the user's smartphone displays
advertising information for the retailer (e.g. via a prompt such as
a "push" notification, an email, etc. or by invoking a web page in
a browser or application interface).
[0008] However, location information has been utilized in a limited
fashion, merely utilizing the GPS and/or cellular tower-based
location information as a stimulus to evoke a responsive
advertisement, for example displaying the aforementioned prompt in
response to determining a user's proximity to a particular
location. These applications are simplistic in scope, and neither
appreciate nor leverage location information to investigate,
influence, and/or define the evolution of a business process,
particularly as embodied by dynamic workflows.
[0009] In addition, conventional location based services have
failed to leverage the interconnected nature of mobile devices to
determine location information using techniques other than the
conventional GPS and/or cellular tower-based approaches.
[0010] Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide techniques,
systems and computer program products capable of leveraging
location data ubiquitously available to modern mobile devices in a
manner that comprehensively addresses the complexity of various
nuances of initiating, supervising, reviewing and/or executing
operations and/or complete business workflows.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0011] In one embodiment, a method includes initiating a workflow;
performing at least one operation within the workflow using a
processor of a mobile device, receiving location information
pertaining to the workflow; and influencing at least a portion of
the workflow based on the location information. The workflow is
configured to facilitate a business process.
[0012] In another embodiment, a method includes initiating a
workflow; and performing at least one operation within the workflow
using a processor of a mobile device. The workflow operations
include: detecting a location trigger condition; and at least
partially in response to detecting the location trigger condition:
determining location information corresponding to the mobile
device; prompting a user to capture an image of a document;
capturing the image via the mobile device; associating the location
information with the captured image as location metadata; and
storing the location metadata and the captured image to a memory of
the mobile device. The method further includes facilitating a
business process relating to the workflow based on the location
metadata.
[0013] In yet another embodiment, a computer program product
includes a computer readable storage medium having embodied thereon
computer readable program instructions configured to cause a
processor to: initiate a workflow; perform at least one operation
within the workflow using a processor of a mobile device; receive
location information pertaining to the workflow; and influence at
least a portion of the workflow based on the location information.
The workflow is configured to facilitate a business process.
[0014] In still yet another general embodiment, a system includes a
processor and logic in and/or executable by the processor. The
logic is configured to cause the processor to: initiate a workflow;
perform at least one operation within the workflow using a
processor of a mobile device; receive location information
pertaining to the workflow; and influence at least a portion of the
workflow based on the location information. The workflow is
configured to facilitate a business process.
[0015] Other aspects and embodiments of the present invention will
become apparent from the following detailed description, which,
when taken in conjunction with the drawings, illustrate by way of
example the principles of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 depicts a simplified schematic of a network
architecture, according to one embodiment.
[0017] FIG. 2 shows a representative hardware environment
associated with a user device, according to one embodiment.
[0018] FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method, according to one
embodiment.
[0019] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method, according to one
embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] The following description is made for the purpose of
illustrating the general principles of the present invention and is
not meant to limit the inventive concepts claimed herein. Further,
particular features described herein can be used in combination
with other described features in each of the various possible
combinations and permutations.
[0021] Unless otherwise specifically defined herein, all terms are
to be given their broadest possible interpretation including
meanings implied from the specification as well as meanings
understood by those skilled in the art and/or as defined in
dictionaries, treatises, etc.
[0022] It must also be noted that, as used in the specification and
the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an" and "the" include
plural referents unless otherwise specified.
[0023] General Workflow Concepts
[0024] The present descriptions set forth novel and useful
techniques and technologies configured to leverage the emerging
advances in mobile, image capture, image analysis, and
location-based services and technologies. These disclosures present
exemplary and novel implementations from the perspective of users
of mobile devices conducting various business processes. The
business processes are wholly or partially embodied as workflows,
executable and/or capable of being interfaced with via a mobile
device. The workflows also uniquely leverage image
capture/processing and location-based aspects of mobile technology
to enhance the user experience with respect to generating,
managing, and performing the workflow(s).
[0025] A user experience for mobile smart application development
includes workflows, as well as any constituent operations forming
the workflows (e.g. activities and rules), and associated systems,
tools, or techniques relating to creation, performance, and/or
management of the workflows. Preferably, the user experience,
workflows (e.g. activities and/or rules), etc. are embodied as a
mobile application, and may be based in whole or in part on
techniques, technology, and/or concepts disclosed in related
Provisional U.S. Application No. 61/815,210, filed May 30,
2013.
[0026] For example, in one embodiment mobile applications
configured to initiate, facilitate, or conduct portions of and/or
complete workflows in the context of the present application may be
considered to encompass the following general scenario.
[0027] A user defines a workflow as a set of activities and rules.
The workflow executes by moving from one activity to another in a
fixed order or a by a dynamic order as determined by stimuli. Rules
are applied at fixed points within the sequence or in response to
stimuli. The user also designs UIs independently, with assistance
from the development platform, or UIs are rendered automatically by
development platform tools to associate with activities that
require human interaction.
[0028] The workflow, via activities, rules and UI definitions,
defines a mobile user experience which provides both the mobile UI
and also the application behavior. The process definition can
describe the application behavior because the mobile development
platform exposes a federated view of native mobile services and
server services. The process executes and transparently
orchestrates the execution of native code directly on the device
and remote code that resides on a server.
[0029] In one embodiment, a user launches a mobile application. The
application initiates the process, takes the first activity and
renders the defined UI. The user interacts with the UI and
completes the activity or provides stimuli, such as "clicking" a UI
button. At this point a rule may be executed or the next activity
may be taken/performed. In either case local native services may be
accessed, such as the device location being retrieved from the OS
or a server service, such as a database lookup, may be used. This
provision of native and/or remote services is transparent to the
user.
[0030] The mobile application may be downloaded in whole or in part
and/or run in real-time on the mobile device. For example, the
application may be maintained in an online repository. An instance
of the mobile application may be transferred to the mobile device
automatically, in response to a user request, in response to a new
release of the mobile application becoming available in the online
repository, etc. In a preferred embodiment, transferring new
instances of the mobile application to mobile devices and
instantiating those new instances is a process that occurs
transparently to the user and without requiring any interaction or
instruction from end-users operating the mobile application on
mobile devices.
[0031] Of course, other equivalent forms of the presently described
workflows and implementations thereof on mobile devices are also to
be understood as falling generally within the scope of the present
descriptions according to the understanding that would be achieved
by one having ordinary skill in the art based on reviewing the
instant application.
[0032] Mobile Image Capture and Processing
[0033] As discussed herein, "image processing" (and particularly
image processing using a mobile device) should be understood to
optionally include any of the techniques and/or technology
disclosed in related U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/740,123
filed Jan. 11, 2013.
[0034] These techniques include but are not limited to capturing
image data using a mobile device, image processing algorithms
configured to improve image quality, and particular with respect to
images of documents. For example, "image processing" in various
embodiments may include one or more of page detection,
rectangularization, skew correction, color conversion (e.g. from
24-bit RGB color to 8-bit grayscale, 1-bit bitonal, or other color
depth representation as understood by those having ordinary skill
in the art), resolution estimation, illumination correction, blur
detection, etc. as disclosed in related U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 13/740,123, and/or as would be understood by one having
ordinary skill in the art upon reading the present
descriptions.
[0035] While the present descriptions are offered primarily with
reference to exemplary embodiments utilizing image data captured
and/or in the form of still images, e.g. digital photographs, the
skilled artisan reading the present descriptions will also
understand that these principles apply equally to the use of
digital video data. Of particular interest are techniques and/or
technologies configured to capture and/or process video data using
a mobile device. Further information describing the capture and
processing of video data as a source of information may be reviewed
in the disclosures presented in related Provisional U.S. Patent
Application No. 61/819,463, filed May 3, 2013, which is herein
incorporated by reference.
[0036] In addition, and according to various embodiments, the
presently disclosed methods, systems and/or computer program
products may utilize and/or include any of the classification
and/or data extraction functionalities disclosed in related U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 13/802,226, filed Mar. 13, 2013 and
Provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 61/780,747, filed Mar. 13,
2013.
[0037] With the foregoing relation to associated inventive concepts
in the field of mobile technology, mobile image processing, and
workflow management, exemplary inventive principles of the
presently disclosed workflows utilizing location-based services,
location information, etc. may be understood to include the
following general embodiments.
[0038] General Embodiments of Location-Based Workflows
[0039] In one general embodiment, a method includes initiating a
workflow; performing at least one operation within the workflow
using a processor of a mobile device; receiving location
information pertaining to the workflow; and influencing at least a
portion of the workflow based on the location information.
[0040] In another general embodiment, a computer program product
includes a computer readable storage medium having embodied thereon
computer readable program instructions configured to cause a
processor to: initiate a workflow; perform at least one operation
within the workflow using a processor of a mobile device; receive
location information pertaining to the workflow; and influence at
least a portion of the workflow based on the location information,
wherein the workflow is configured to facilitate a business
process.
[0041] In yet another general embodiment, a system includes a
processor and logic in and/or executable by the processor. The
logic is configured to cause the processor to: initiate a workflow;
perform at least one operation within the workflow using a
processor of a mobile device; receive location information
pertaining to the workflow; and influence at least a portion of the
workflow based on the location information, wherein the workflow is
configured to facilitate a business process.
[0042] In still yet another general embodiment, a method includes
initiating a workflow; and performing at least one operation within
the workflow using a processor of a mobile device. The workflow
operations include: detecting a location trigger condition; and at
least partially in response to detecting the location trigger
condition: determining location information corresponding to the
mobile device; prompting a user to capture an image of a document;
capturing the image via the mobile device; associating the location
information with the captured image as location metadata; and
storing the location metadata and the captured image to a memory of
the mobile device. The method further includes facilitating a
business process relating to the workflow, the facilitating being
based on the location metadata.
[0043] In various approaches, the presently disclosed systems,
methods and/or computer program products may be advantageously
applied to one or more of the use methodologies and/or scenarios
disclosed in the aforementioned related patent applications, among
others that would be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in
the art upon reading these descriptions.
[0044] It will further be appreciated that embodiments presented
herein may be provided in the form of a service deployed on behalf
of a customer to offer service on demand.
[0045] The description herein is presented to enable any person
skilled in the art to make and use the invention and is provided in
the context of particular applications of the invention and their
requirements. Various modifications to the disclosed embodiments
will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the
general principles defined herein may be applied to other
embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and
scope of the present invention. Thus, the present invention is not
intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be
accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and
features disclosed herein.
[0046] Computer Implementation and Network Communications
[0047] In particular, various embodiments of the invention
discussed herein are implemented using the Internet as a means of
communicating among a plurality of computer systems. One skilled in
the art will recognize that the present invention is not limited to
the use of the Internet as a communication medium and that
alternative methods of the invention may accommodate the use of a
private intranet, a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network
(WAN) or other means of communication. In addition, various
combinations of wired, wireless (e.g., radio frequency) and optical
communication links may be utilized.
[0048] The program environment in which one embodiment of the
invention may be executed illustratively incorporates one or more
general-purpose computers or special-purpose devices such hand-held
computers. Details of such devices (e.g., processor, memory, data
storage, input and output devices) are well known and are omitted
for the sake of clarity.
[0049] It should also be understood that the techniques of the
present invention might be implemented using a variety of
technologies. For example, the methods described herein may be
implemented in software running on a computer system, or
implemented in hardware utilizing one or more processors and logic
(hardware and/or software) for performing operations of the method,
application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic
devices such as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), and/or
various combinations thereof. In one illustrative approach, methods
described herein may be implemented by a series of
computer-executable instructions residing on a storage medium such
as a physical (e.g., non-transitory) computer-readable medium. In
addition, although specific embodiments of the invention may employ
object-oriented software programming concepts, the invention is not
so limited and is easily adapted to employ other forms of directing
the operation of a computer.
[0050] The invention can also be provided in the form of a computer
program product comprising a computer readable storage or signal
medium having computer code thereon, which may be executed by a
computing device (e.g., a processor) and/or system. A computer
readable storage medium can include any medium capable of storing
computer code thereon for use by a computing device or system,
including optical media such as read only and writeable CD and DVD,
magnetic memory or medium (e.g., hard disk drive, tape),
semiconductor memory (e.g., FLASH memory and other portable memory
cards, etc.), firmware encoded in a chip, etc.
[0051] A computer readable signal medium is one that does not fit
within the aforementioned class of computer readable storage media.
For example, illustrative computer readable signal media
communicate or otherwise transfer transitory signals within a
system, between systems e.g., via a physical or virtual network,
etc.
[0052] FIG. 1 illustrates an architecture 100, in accordance with
one embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of remote networks
102 are provided including a first remote network 104 and a second
remote network 106. A gateway 101 may be coupled between the remote
networks 102 and a proximate network 108. In the context of the
present architecture 100, the networks 104, 106 may each take any
form including, but not limited to a LAN, a WAN such as the
Internet, public switched telephone network (PSTN), internal
telephone network, etc.
[0053] In use, the gateway 101 serves as an entrance point from the
remote networks 102 to the proximate network 108. As such, the
gateway 101 may function as a router, which is capable of directing
a given packet of data that arrives at the gateway 101, and a
switch, which furnishes the actual path in and out of the gateway
101 for a given packet.
[0054] Further included is at least one data server 114 coupled to
the proximate network 108, and which is accessible from the remote
networks 102 via the gateway 101. It should be noted that the data
server(s) 114 may include any type of computing device/groupware.
Coupled to each data server 114 is a plurality of user devices 116.
Such user devices 116 may include a desktop computer, lap-top
computer, hand-held computer, printer or any other type of logic.
It should be noted that a user device 111 may also be directly
coupled to any of the networks, in one embodiment.
[0055] A peripheral 120 or series of peripherals 120, e.g.,
facsimile machines, printers, networked and/or local storage units
or systems, etc., may be coupled to one or more of the networks
104, 106, 108. It should be noted that databases and/or additional
components may be utilized with, or integrated into, any type of
network element coupled to the networks 104, 106, 108. In the
context of the present description, a network element may refer to
any component of a network.
[0056] According to some approaches, methods and systems described
herein may be implemented with and/or on virtual systems and/or
systems which emulate one or more other systems, such as a UNIX
system which emulates a MAC OS environment, a UNIX system which
virtually hosts a MICROSOFT WINDOWS environment, a MICROSOFT
WINDOWS system which emulates a MAC OS environment, etc. This
virtualization and/or emulation may be enhanced through the use of
VMWARE software, in some embodiments.
[0057] In more approaches, one or more networks 104, 106, 108, may
represent a cluster of systems commonly referred to as a "cloud."
In cloud computing, shared resources, such as processing power,
peripherals, software, data processing and/or storage, servers,
etc., are provided to any system in the cloud, preferably in an
on-demand relationship, thereby allowing access and distribution of
services across many computing systems. Cloud computing typically
involves an Internet or other high speed connection (e.g., 4G LTE,
fiber optic, etc.) between the systems operating in the cloud, but
other techniques of connecting the systems may also be used.
[0058] FIG. 2 shows a representative hardware environment
associated with a user device 116 and/or server 114 of FIG. 1, in
accordance with one embodiment. Such figure illustrates a typical
hardware configuration of a workstation having a central processing
unit 210, such as a microprocessor, and a number of other units
interconnected via a system bus 212.
[0059] The workstation shown in FIG. 2 includes a Random Access
Memory (RAM) 214, Read Only Memory (ROM) 216, an I/O adapter 218
for connecting peripheral devices such as disk storage units 220 to
the bus 212, a user interface adapter 222 for connecting a keyboard
224, a mouse 226, a speaker 228, a microphone 232, and/or other
user interface devices such as a touch screen and a digital camera
(not shown) to the bus 212, communication adapter 234 for
connecting the workstation to a communication network 235 (e.g., a
data processing network) and a display adapter 236 for connecting
the bus 212 to a display device 238.
[0060] The workstation may have resident thereon an operating
system such as the Microsoft Windows.RTM. Operating System (OS), a
MAC OS, a UNIX OS, etc. It will be appreciated that a preferred
embodiment may also be implemented on platforms and operating
systems other than those mentioned. A preferred embodiment may be
written using JAVA, XML, C, and/or C++ language, or other
programming languages, along with an object oriented programming
methodology. Object oriented programming (OOP), which has become
increasingly used to develop complex applications, may be used.
[0061] Location Information
[0062] As utilized herein, the term "location information" should
be understood to encompass any known form, format, or expression of
physical location of a person or object. Location information, in
at least some embodiments, should also be understood to encompass
data from which a physical location may be determined, either in
whole or in part based on the data alone or in combination with
additional data including but not limited to additional location
information data and/or metadata associated with location
information data.
[0063] In one embodiment, location information includes one or more
of discrete location information and continuous location
information.
[0064] Discrete location information may include any type of
location information that relates a precise physical location (e.g.
an address, a set of GPS coordinates, etc.) to a precise time (e.g.
a time of day in hours, minutes, and optionally seconds, such as
"2:40 PM" "14:40", "2:40:32 PM," or any other definite time point
(as opposed, for example, to a span of time ranging from several
minutes to several hours). Conversely, continuous location
information should be understood to include real-time or near
real-time tracking data (e.g. telemetry data) from which location
information over a duration of time may be described. Continuous
location information may, in some approaches, comprise a plurality
of discrete location information data.
[0065] For example, in preferred implementations, discrete location
information may include a "snapshot" of a person's location at a
given time. The snapshot preferably follows or is associated with a
request to capture or gather location information or other
information in response to taking a particular action within or
relating to a workflow.
[0066] Similarly, continuous location information preferably
comprises a series of measurements relating to a user's physical
location over a period of time. Continuous location information may
preferably be represented by a vector of motion or a plurality of
vectors describing movement throughout a physical environment from
a "start" point to an "end" point over a particular duration of
time.
[0067] Of course, it should be understood that the present
descriptions are inclusive of any type of "location information"
that would be comprehended by a skilled artisan reading this
disclosure. The exemplary forms of "location information" provided
herein are offered for illustrative purposes only and should not be
considered limiting on the scope of inventive concepts now
disclosed.
[0068] Moreover, the instant descriptions are made primarily with
reference to location information as a discrete point in physical
space, such as a physical address or measurement of physical
distance with respect to a reference point having a known location
(e.g. physical proximity to a particular cell tower or network hub,
a router, another mobile device, etc. as would be understood by one
having ordinary skill in the art upon reading the present
descriptions). However, it should be understood that "location
information" includes any information suitable to convey a physical
location with sufficient specificity to conduct one or more
workflow(s) and/or corresponding operations, in a multitude of
approaches.
[0069] Accordingly, in various embodiments location information may
be expressed with varying levels of specificity. For example,
precise location information may be provided in the form of GPS
coordinates, and the GPS coordinates may be specified within a
desired level of precision, such as within one ten-thousandth of a
degree, or .+-.0.0001 degrees latitude/longitude, etc. Additionally
and/or alternatively, precise location information may include part
or all of an address (e.g. a street address, a room or suite number
within a particular street address, etc.).
[0070] In alternative embodiments, precise location information may
also identify a specific device to which a primary user's mobile
device (or primary mobile device) is connected, e.g. a router,
wireless "hotspot" (which may include other mobile devices), etc.;
a specific cellular tower; or any other suitable expression of
location that would be understood by one having ordinary skill in
the art upon reading the present descriptions.
[0071] Similarly, and in contrast to the "precise" location
information defined above, relatively "imprecise" location
information may be utilized in additional and/or alternative
approaches. For example, "less precise" location information may
include high-level address information such as identifying a state
or territory where a user is located, identifying a city, town or
other municipality within which the user is located, a zip code; a
plurality or set of candidate addresses (e.g. a particular block of
a city street, an intersection of two nearby streets); etc. as
would be understood by one having ordinary skill in the art upon
reading the present descriptions). "Less precise" location
information may additionally and/or alternatively include
identification of an Internet or network service provider (ISP),
preferably in combination with one or more forms of high-level
address information such as described above.
[0072] In more approaches, a workflow that relies upon a user's
presence in a particular state may only require relatively less
precise location information than the specific street address, GPS
coordinates, cell tower or network to which the user's device is
connected. To maximize the efficiency of data processing and
communication while minimizing the workflow's use and consumption
of device resources, a location-based service implemented as a
workflow may accordingly seek or utilize only a requisite level of
specificity location information, even where more specific
information than necessarily required is available.
[0073] For example, in one embodiment a user's location may be
determined with sufficient specificity based on knowledge of less
precise location information, such as a state, county, township,
zip code, etc. as would be understood by one having ordinary skill
in the art upon reading the present descriptions.
[0074] Location information may also include data collected from
one or more components of the mobile device. The collected data may
include the location information, or information from which a
location may be determined. For example, in one embodiment the data
are collected from a GPS antenna of the mobile device, and comprise
location information in the form of GPS coordinates.
[0075] Accordingly, in the context of the presently disclosed
inventive concepts, location information may be obtained and/or
determined using any suitable technique that would be appreciated
by one having ordinary skill in the art upon reading the present
descriptions. Several exemplary techniques and approaches to
acquiring and managing location information are described below,
and should be understood as merely providing illustrative
approaches that do not limit the scope of the present
disclosures.
[0076] Acquiring and Determining Location Information
[0077] Those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate upon
reading the present descriptions that location information as
described above may be leveraged to facilitate, enable, and/or
conduct a wide variety of operations relating to business
workflows. As detailed further below, location information may be
acquired, determined, and/or managed according to a diverse number
of possible approaches.
[0078] As understood herein, location information should be
understood to encompass any expression of physical location,
whether "acquired" in a state and/or format directly useful to an
associated workflow or underlying business process or "determined"
using source data not in a state/format directly useful to the
workflow or business process. While location information may be
acquired or determined, it should be understood that the presently
disclosed inventive concepts apply equally to all sources of
location information, as well as techniques practiced using any
type of location information.
[0079] Location information may be determined and/or acquired using
any suitable or known technique, service, technology, or
combination thereof that would be understood by one having ordinary
skill in the art of location services.
[0080] Similarly, in the course of a workflow as described herein
manipulating/managing location information may include determining
a location corresponding to the provided location information. For
example, while location information may be provided in one form,
this form may not be acceptable or intelligible to the workflow or
user, and so the location information may be converted to the
acceptable format. The determination is preferably based on either
the acquired location information or a combination of acquired
location information and additional data such vector of motion data
as described above.
[0081] In one illustrative embodiment a user's mobile device
includes functional components and/or instructions configured to
determine a location of the mobile device. The location
determination may be accomplished using any known mechanism,
technique, or combination thereof as would be understood by one
having ordinary skill in the art. Exemplary location determination
approaches include global system for mobile communication (GSM)
based approaches (for example cellular tower-based location
techniques), global positioning system (GPS) based approaches,
two-dimensional triangulation (also known as "control plane
location" e.g. emergency 911 or "E-911" radio signal delay-based
location techniques), and/or network-based approaches, in various
embodiments.
[0082] As noted above, location determination may include one or
more network-based location approaches, which should be understood
to generally include techniques that associate a physical location
with a network identification. For example, in one embodiment a
network-based location approach includes associating a physical
address where a network router is present with one or more unique
identifiers for client and/or host devices connected to the network
(e.g. IP address, MAC address, etc. as would be understood by one
having ordinary skill in the art upon reading the present
descriptions). The approach utilizes the network identification in
a manner sufficient to report a device location, e.g. the physical
address where a router is installed/operating.
[0083] Location determination may additionally and/or alternatively
include soliciting and/or utilizing human-reported location
information. Human-reported location information may be obtained
from any source of human input or reporting such as described
above.
[0084] In one embodiment, location information may be acquired
automatically, or semi-automatically, from one or more data sources
and/or mobile device components, e.g. in response to detecting a
trigger condition being satisfied. For example, automated or
semi-automated location information acquisition may include,
preferably in the course of conducting a workflow, querying one or
more components of the mobile device for location information.
Additionally and/or alternatively location information may be
obtained from additional data source(s), such as from an image of a
document, from a remote database, from another mobile device in
communication with the mobile device being located, etc. as would
be understood by one having ordinary skill in the art upon reading
the present descriptions.
[0085] If conducted in the course of a workflow, the acquisition
may optionally occur in response to and/or in connection with
performing a capture operation wherein image data are captured
using the mobile device. The workflow may additionally and/or
alternatively query a memory of the mobile device to retrieve
previously determined/obtained location information stored therein,
in more approaches.
[0086] In more embodiments, location information may be obtained
from or in connection with user input. Generally, human-reported
location information is to be understood as including any form of
location information generated a human.
[0087] For example, in one embodiment human reporting of location
information may correspond to a user inputting location information
to the mobile device or another device, which may or may not itself
be considered a "mobile" device. The location information may be
input presently, e.g. in response to a displayed prompt, or may
have been previously input and stored for future use, e.g. as
metadata in association with a captured image.
[0088] Location information may be input by the user in any
suitable manner, including by providing tactile, auditory or visual
input such as a "typed" address, a spoken name of an institution or
place of business, or image data depicting a physical location,
respectively. Image data depicting a physical location preferably
include one or more landmarks capable of serving as a reference
point in determining location.
[0089] For example, in one approach a user is visiting a museum
(e.g. an art gallery, a history museum, a scientific museum, zoo,
aquarium, etc.), historical site (e.g. national sites such as the
White House, Capitol Building, a battlefield, harbor, monument,
etc.) library, or any other site characterized by an organized
locational structure preferably having one or more unique landmarks
distributed throughout wishes to receive directions from the user's
current location to a location of interest, e.g. a room where an
exhibit of interest is currently displayed. The user, preferably
via a workflow, captures an image of a unique landmark proximate to
the user's current physical location, and submits the image to the
workflow to determine a current position in the Of course, the user
may, in alternative approaches, utilize any other technique as
described herein for obtaining/determining location
information.
[0090] In another similar scenario, a plurality of users are
participating in an art exhibition/auction hosted at a local
gallery or museum. To facilitate receiving bids, the auctioneers
provide a workflow allowing prospective purchasers to place bids on
available pieces, and review competing bids in near or real-time.
The workflow also facilitates prospective purchasers capability to
inspect and review the items offered at auction, for example by
providing a user directions from one exhibit to another within the
auction site.
[0091] The user provides input indicative of the user's current
location to the workflow. The user input may take any suitable
form, in various approaches. For example, the user may capture an
image of an exhibit proximate to the user's current physical
location, select the exhibit name or an image of the exhibit from a
set of predetermined exhibits in a list, indicate a room number or
name in which the exhibit is displayed, or otherwise provide an of
the user's current physical location. The user also provides a
similar type of input indicative of the user's desired
destination.
[0092] Based on the user input, the workflow determines a suitable
route from the user's current physical location to the desired
destination, and displays navigation instructions to the user. For
example, where the user captures an image of the exhibit, the
workflow may process the image and determine location information
corresponding to the imaged exhibit. The location information may
be determined in any suitable form or using any suitable technique,
and in preferred embodiments the location information is determined
by performing a lookup operation leveraging the captured and
processed image data as part or all of a query from which to
determine corresponding location information.
[0093] In various embodiments, the location determination may
comprise comparing the captured and processed image to one or more
reference images, each reference image corresponding to a unique
location, e.g. one of the displayed exhibits. Based in whole or in
part on the comparison, the workflow may identify the exhibit
depicted in the captured/processed image, and based on the
identified exhibit may determine corresponding location
information, e.g. using a relational database linking exhibit image
data to corresponding location information. Using the location
information, the user may be provided directions from the current
location to any desired destination capable of being determined
using the user's mobile device, and preferably to any of the
exhibits or other unique locations represented in the
aforementioned database. It should be understood that the present
example is not limited to determining location information from
relational databases based on image comparison, but rather may
utilize the comparison to determine location information from any
number of data sources as described herein.
[0094] Continuing with the auction example, the user may also be
prompted for a bid. Bid prompts may be provided via an interface
from which the user may place a competing bid, withdraw a bid, or
place a temporary "hold" on the bidding process, e.g. by initiating
a countdown timer having a duration sufficient to allow one or more
bidders to travel to and/or inspect the piece in question.
[0095] In various embodiments, the user may provide input partially
or solely in response to the mobile device providing an indication
to the user that location information is required.
[0096] For example, a user conducting a workflow via a mobile
device may be presented with a prompt requesting user-defined
location information. The prompt is optionally presented in
response to the user triggering a predetermined condition, such as
by taking a predetermined action in connection with the workflow.
Exemplary predetermined conditions and/or corresponding user
actions suitable as a trigger may include capturing an image,
attempting or initiating a financial transaction, moving toward or
away from a predetermined location, etc. as would be understood by
one having ordinary skill in the art upon reading the present
descriptions.
[0097] In response to the displayed prompt, preferably the user
provides input comprising the location information. The user input
may take any suitable form that would be appreciated by one having
ordinary skill in the art upon reading the instant disclosures. For
example, in various embodiments user input may include a string of
alphanumeric characters and/or symbols, such as may be "typed" on a
display of the mobile device.
[0098] In more embodiments user input may include a selection of
one or more from among a plurality of predetermined locations. For
example, a user may select a predetermined location from a
drop-down list having entries corresponding to one or more
locations previously input by the user.
[0099] The entries may additionally and/or alternatively include
location information previously determined using the mobile device.
For example, location information may have been previously
determined in connection with the workflow instance currently
engaged by the user; in connection with a previous operation or
aspect of the present workflow; in connection with a previous
instance of the workflow; in connection with another workflow, or
even in connection with one or more unrelated process(es) conducted
using the mobile device.
[0100] Additionally and/or alternatively, a user may be prompted to
select from among a plurality of user-preferred sources of location
information (e.g. Wi-Fi, GPS, GMS, etc.).
[0101] In several instances, a background process may detect
requests for location information, e.g. requests submitted to the
device from other applications or processes. The requests may be in
any suitable form, for example as system calls to native mobile
device components or capabilities (e.g. modules in a software
library). The location information request may additionally and/or
alternatively be detected via detecting invocation of one or more
components of the mobile device utilized to acquire and/or
determine location information (e.g. a GPS antenna, Wi-Fi antenna,
Bluetooth antenna, processor, memory, etc.).
[0102] For example, location information may be received,
determined, and/or compiled based at least in part on data and/or
input received from one or more of: a user other than a primary
owner/user of the mobile device (e.g. a friend or family member of
the primary owner/user, a colleague of the primary owner/user); a
second mobile device (which may optionally be in communication with
the primary owner/user's mobile device); from a remote data source
(e.g. a data storage center, repository, database, etc.); from a
third party service or application (which includes any service or
application that allows a user to designate the user's past,
current, or future location, e.g. a GPS navigation application, a
"Maps" application, a social networking application, etc.) or any
other source of human reported location information that would be
recognized by one having ordinary skill in the art upon reading the
present descriptions.
[0103] Human location reporting may be accomplished, in various
embodiments, via a "check-in" or other similar feature such as is
currently common to many known social networking platforms or
services, such as FACEBOOK, GOOGLE PLUS, YELP, etc. The "check-in"
feature allows users to designate a physical location at which that
individual may be located at a particular time, within a particular
time window, and/or for a particular duration of time, etc. as
would be understood by one having ordinary skill in the art upon
reading the present descriptions.
[0104] Similarly, any number of peripheral devices and/or services
may be leveraged to report location information as required or
advantageous to the underlying operations and/or associated
workflows. As understood herein, peripheral devices and/or services
may include any device, component, or service that may be utilized
to obtain and/or determine location information and which is not
provided as an integrated part of the primary mobile device.
[0105] For example, in various embodiments peripheral devices may
include a plurality of systems, such as a network of one or more
cellular towers; one or more satellites (especially with respect to
GPS location information); network-connected devices other than the
mobile device, e.g. one or more Wi-Fi routers, modems, hubs, client
devices such as desktop workstations, laptops, additional mobile
devices; and one or more radio-frequency identification (RFID)
devices, such as passive/active RFID tags and/or readers; etc. as
would be understood by one having ordinary skill in the art upon
reading the present descriptions.
[0106] Where input is received from another user, the input may be
received either with or without regard to the identity of the user
providing the input. In one approach, input received from another
user may be associated with the information identifying the user
providing the input, for example associated with user account
information corresponding to the user providing the input. By
associating identifying information, such as a user account, with a
corresponding source of input, it is possible to leverage
crowdsourcing approaches to determining location information,
including determining a precise location without input from the
user and/or device for which the location information is being
determined.
[0107] In one implementation of this "crowdsourcing" approach, a
plurality of individuals are each in possession of a mobile device.
Each mobile device has associated therewith unique user account
information for the individual user in possession of the mobile
device. The individuals may be engaged in a cooperative activity,
workflow, operation, etc. that relies on location of one or more of
the individuals in the course of the activity (workflow, etc.).
[0108] While the activity relies primarily on each individual to
input location information, the activity also includes secondary
protocols to obtain requisite location information, for example by
prompting one or more additional individuals (which may or may not
be engaged in the cooperative activity) to supply missing location
information concerning one of the individuals engaged in the
cooperative activity.
[0109] An exemplary implementation of crowdsourcing location
information would be in emergency response, where first responders
may assist in locating a missing individual. For example, a
responder to a flood event falls into a crevice and fails to check
in during a regular reporting event. The remaining responders
notice this person's absence and are able to narrow a search area
for the missing responder by reporting "last-known" location
information. The "last-known" location information may be requested
from the remaining responders, e.g. via a prompt issued across an
entire emergency response network in response to detecting the
missing responder's failure to check-in at the predetermined
reporting event time and/or location. Similar operative principles
apply to scenarios not involving an emergency, but rather any
cooperative activity such as a construction project, promotional
marketing or sales campaign (e.g. door-to-door sales), etc. as
would be understood by one having ordinary skill in the art upon
reading the present descriptions.
[0110] Location Information Management
[0111] Location information may also be managed. For example
location information may be manipulated, e.g. by converting the
location information from one format to another, associating the
location information with other data, and/or storing the location
information to a memory, preferably a memory of the mobile
device.
[0112] Similarly, upon acquisition or determination, location
information may be utilized in the course of a workflow. Location
information may be used in any suitable manner, and these uses may
encompass management of the data, e.g. format conversion.
[0113] Location information manipulation may include converting the
location information from one format to another (e.g. converting
between a street address, GPS coordinates, network
address/connection information, etc.), as well as associating the
location information with additional information, including but not
limited to metadata. Metadata may include any form of data
associated with the location information, and preferably the
metadata comprises information relating to the workflow(s) in which
the location information was requested and/or in which the location
information is utilized. Associating location information with
additional information relating to one or more workflow(s)
advantageously allows facile and efficient retrieval and
utilization of the location information in subsequent iterations of
the workflow and/or in connection with other workflow(s), in
various embodiments.
[0114] In some embodiments, location information may be stored,
e.g. to a local memory of the mobile device, upon being obtained,
determined and/or utilized in the various manners disclosed
presently. Preferably, location information may be stored as
metadata in association with other data, e.g. image data captured
using the mobile device (especially as part of or in connection
with conducting a workflow) and most preferably the metadata and/or
other data are relevant to the workflow, operation(s) thereof,
and/or a business process relating to the workflow, such as a
financial transaction being facilitated via the workflow).
[0115] Location-Based Workflows
[0116] In the context of the present disclosures, location
information may be acquired, determined, managed and/or utilized in
the course of various workflows, as well as constituent activities
and/or rules of workflows. Location information may be used in any
suitable manner, and these uses may encompass management of the
data as described above, e.g. format conversion, in some
approaches.
[0117] In general, the presently described location-based workflows
may comply with the following illustrative processes, although it
should be understood that any of the various aspects discussed
herein may be combined in any suitable manner as would be
appreciated by a skilled artisan as having utility in any number of
applications.
[0118] In one approach, a location-based workflow may substantially
follow a process as outlined in method 300, shown in FIG. 3. The
method 300 may be performed in any suitable environment, including
those depicted in FIGS. 1-2, among others. Moreover, the method 300
may include additional operations besides those depicted in FIG. 3,
or exclude certain operations depicted in FIG. 3, in some
embodiments.
[0119] As shown in FIG. 3, the method 300 includes operation 302,
where a workflow is initiated. A user may initiate the workflow, or
the workflow may be instantiated by another process running on the
system instantiating the workflow, or another system, in various
approaches. Moreover, the workflow may be instantiated on one
device or using one set of compute resources, and migrated or
passed to another device or set of compute resources.
[0120] Moreover, and with continuing reference to FIG. 3, the
method 300 includes operation 304, where at least one operation
within the workflow is performed using a processor of a mobile
device. In this manner, the workflow may be considered at least
partially a mobile workflow, because some or all of the operations
(e.g. activities, rules, etc.) forming the workflow are performed
using a mobile device. Of course, as alluded to above, the
presently disclosed techniques also encompass workflows that are
performed partially using a mobile device, and partially using
other compute resources including but not limited to other mobile
device(s), laptop or desktop computer workstation(s), server(s),
processor(s) or processor bank(s), etc. as would be understood by
one having ordinary skill in the art upon reading the present
descriptions.
[0121] In operation 306, method 300 includes receiving location
information pertaining to the workflow. The location information
may include any type or types of location information disclosed
herein, and may be received from any suitable source of location
information, including both on-device hardware (such as the various
antennae disclosed herein), software, and/or remote sources of
location information (such as remotely located compute resources,
GPS satellite(s), radio frequency transmitters such as cellular
towers, etc. as would be understood by one having ordinary skill in
the art upon reading the present descriptions.
[0122] In more embodiments, method 300 includes operation 308 in
which at least one portion of the workflow, e.g. an activity, a
rule, etc., is influenced based at least in part on the location
information. As understood herein, the influence may take a number
of forms, and generally includes actions that either facilitate
conducting an activity, interfere with conducting an activity,
prevent conducting an activity, suspend or delay conducting an
activity, as well as actions that create, modify, or remove one or
more rule(s) of a workflow.
[0123] In general, according to the presently disclosed systems,
techniques, and computer program products, various workflow
operations, particularly operations relating to one or more of
authorization and access paths to at least one of a workflow, data
relating to the workflow and a user interface (UI) configured to
facilitate the workflow may be determined in whole or part based on
location information corresponding to an individual user requesting
the access or authorization.
[0124] Similarly, in more approaches one or more workflow decisions
can be determined in whole or part based on location information
corresponding to the user reviewing, approving, denying,
authorizing, or otherwise acting upon or in response to the
aforementioned request. In one illustrative scenario, for example,
a user may be granted or denied access to a workflow, data relating
to a workflow, a UI, etc. based on user-submitted authentication
data and location data collected in association with submitting the
authentication data.
[0125] For example, while a user's authentication data (such as
username and password) may be sufficient to authenticate the user
via conventional security protocols, the presently disclosed
concepts may additionally and/or alternatively leverage location
information to act as an additional level of security or
authentication. In one instance, if an individual requesting access
to data provides authentication information corresponding to an
authorized account or authorized user but location data collected
in association with the submitted authentication information
indicates the requesting individual is attempting to access the
secured data from a new, potentially unsecure location or via a
potentially unsecure connection.
[0126] In a related approach, the location information collected in
association with the submitted authentication data may be compared
against one or more predetermined locations corresponding to
authorized access points, such as the individual's work address,
residential address, satellite office or location, etc. as would be
understood by one having ordinary skill in the art upon reading the
present descriptions. Of course, additional variations on the
aforementioned location-based authentication may be performed,
including any equivalent to the techniques described herein such as
would be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art upon
reading these disclosures.
[0127] Several exemplary forms of influence as applied to a
plurality of illustrative scenarios are described below and should
be considered non-limiting on the scope of the instant
disclosures.
[0128] In more embodiments, the presently disclosed techniques may
include performing some or all of a method 400, such as depicted in
FIG. 4. The method 400 may be performed in any suitable
environment, including those depicted in FIGS. 1-2, among others.
Moreover, the method 400 may include additional operations besides
those depicted in FIG. 4, or exclude certain operations depicted in
FIG. 4, in some embodiments.
[0129] In one approach, method 400 includes operation 402 where a
workflow is initiated. The workflow may be initiated in any
suitable manner, such as described above with reference to FIG. 3
and method 300, in multiple embodiments.
[0130] Moreover, and with continuing reference to FIG. 4, the
method 400 includes operation 404, where at least one operation
within the workflow is performed using a processor of a mobile
device. The workflow includes a plurality of constituent
operations, most notably detecting a location trigger condition,
and, either partially or wholly in response to detecting the
location trigger condition, determining location information
corresponding to the mobile device performing the at least one
operation within the workflow.
[0131] Further, and also at least partially in response to
detecting the trigger condition, operation 404 of method 400
includes prompting a user to capture an image of a document
relating to the workflow using the mobile device. The user is
preferably directed to a capture interface such as provided via the
resident operating system (OS) or an application installed on the
mobile device (including potentially an application hosting or
encompassing the workflow, in one embodiment). The user captures
the image of the document using the mobile device, and, in a manner
transparent to the user, location information are simultaneously
gathered and associated with the captured image as location
metadata.
[0132] With continuing reference to operation 404, the captured
image and associated location metadata are stored to a memory of
the mobile device. The stored data may be maintained in a buffer,
or retrieved for subsequent use in the current workflow instance.
Additionally and/or alternatively, the stored data may be retrieved
for use in relation to a subsequent instance of the same workflow,
in another workflow related to the same business process, in a
different workflow, which may or may not itself be relevant to the
to the same business process, etc. as would be understood by one
having ordinary skill in the art upon reading the present
descriptions.
[0133] In operation 406, method 400 includes facilitating the
business process to which the workflow relates, based at least in
part on the location information reflected in the location
metadata.
[0134] As noted above, the location information are preferably
stored and/or associated with the captured image in the form of
location metadata. In one embodiment, location metadata may include
a plurality of key/value-type data describing features of the data
with which the metadata are associated. The metadata may be
embedded in the data with which the metadata are associated, or
stored separately, e.g. in a metadata file or pagefile including a
reference to the data with which the metadata are associated.
[0135] For example, in one approach metadata may include a
"LOCATION" field as a key and location information, such as GPS
coordinates or a street address, as the corresponding value, e.g.
"LOCATION=GPS(194.2334;202.3256)" or "LOC=GPS(194.2334,202.3256)"
as two exemplary forms of GPS coordinate-based location metadata,
"LOC=ZIP.sub.--21702" or "LOC=STATE_MD" for zip code-based and
state-based location metadata, respectively. Of course, any
alternative or equivalent form of expressing location information,
either as metadata or otherwise, are also to be considered within
the scope of the present disclosures.
[0136] The presently disclosed techniques advantageously leverage
the aforementioned location information and/or location
determination techniques to enhance a user's experience creating,
performing administering and/or otherwise engaging in workflows.
Upon reading the instant descriptions, those having ordinary skill
in the art will appreciate the particular applicability and
advantages of employing the generally-described location-based
techniques and/or technologies in workflows, and particularly in
business-oriented workflows.
[0137] Accordingly, the presently disclosed location-based
workflows all relate to a business process, and may rely on one or
more business activities and/or business rules in the course
thereof. A workflow may be considered to "relate" to a business
process whenever that workflow is designed, configured, or enabled
to assist a human user in accomplishing one or more
business-oriented tasks using the workflow.
[0138] Examples of business processes according to various
embodiments as described herein include conducting a financial
transaction such as a purchase, sale, rental, loan, investment, or
any type of financial accounting transaction.
[0139] Exemplary business processes may also include processing a
claim, such as an insurance claim, a benefits claim, an
unemployment claim, a legal claim, or any other type of claim that
would be appreciated by a skilled artisan reading the instant
disclosures.
[0140] Other illustrative business processes include tracking of
goods and/or individuals, e.g. for delivery of the goods or
services, in some approaches.
[0141] In still more approaches, the illustrative business
processes contemplated herein may include processes relating to
image capture and processing, especially the capture and processing
of images depicting business documents. Accordingly, the
business-process related workflows described herein may, in some
embodiments, include using the location information to facilitate
document classification, data extraction, etc.
[0142] Business processes may additionally and/or alternatively
relate to personnel management, e.g. in applications such as
supervisory review/approval of a work product or process, or
opportunistic scheduling, in more embodiments. Similarly, the
business processes described herein encompass data management and
data processing operations, such as timely completion of processing
jobs, accessibility of required data to one or more individuals in
need, etc. as would be understood by one having ordinary skill in
the art upon reading the present descriptions.
[0143] Business-oriented workflows are to be understood as
including, but not being limited to, workflows configured to
direct, enable or facilitate performance of various tasks relating
to business operation, and especially tasks relating to and/or
involving capture and/or use of image data in the course of
conducting the business-oriented workflow(s). Additional examples
of business-oriented workflows include workflows configured to
facilitate or conduct financial transactions, data management,
human resource management, location tracking with relation to
goods, personnel and/or services, etc. as would be understood by
one having ordinary skill in the art upon reading the present
descriptions.
[0144] While the descriptions herein may be offered with respect to
one or more illustrative scenarios, contexts, or use-cases, these
techniques and technologies should be understood to be broadly
applicable to a plethora of workflow types and/or iterations in a
wide variety of contexts relevant to and/or relying upon a diverse
selection of data.
[0145] Disambiguating Classification
[0146] For example, in one embodiment a business-oriented workflow
is configured to facilitate providing services, such as credit
services, insurance services, etc. A user wishing to apply for a
loan or line of credit may submit an application via the workflow,
which provides a user-friendly and convenient mechanism for
entering requisite information. The exemplary application requires
personal identification information, which a user may optionally
submit via either directly inputting requested information or by
submitting an image of one of a predetermined set of identifying
documents, such as a birth certificate, social security card,
driver's license, passport, etc. as would be understood by one
having ordinary skill in the art upon reading the present
descriptions.
[0147] In one scenario, the user submits an image of a driver's
license to the workflow for the purpose of providing requisite
identification information. The workflow processes the image and
attempts to classify the driver's license for purposes of image
analysis and content identification/extraction. For example, the
workflow may utilize custom image processing settings or an
extraction template corresponding to driver's licenses issued by a
particular authority (and therefore conforming to a uniform layout
and/or formatting paradigm). The workflow, for reasons beyond the
scope of these disclosures, may identify a plurality of potential
classes to which the driver's license in the submitted image may
belong. In order to disambiguate among the plurality of potential
classes, the workflow may request location information
corresponding to one or more of a time when the application was
submitted via the workflow, a time when the workflow was
instantiated, a time when the image was captured, etc. Using the
location information, the workflow may determine that the submitted
driver's license belongs to one among the plurality of potential
classes due to that class corresponding to a same or similar
issuing authority as the issuing authority having jurisdiction over
the location where the image was captured.
[0148] In a simpler expression of this concept, a Maryland resident
initiates a credit application via a workflow. The workflow directs
the user to provide requisite identifying information by submitting
an image of their driver's license. The workflow invokes a capture
interface and directs the user to capture an image of their
driver's license. Transparent to the user, the workflow
simultaneously acquires or determines location information for the
device's current location, and associates the location information
with the acquired image as metadata. The workflow attempts to
classify the imaged driver's license, and determines the license is
equally likely to be a Maryland or a Florida driver's license.
Using the location information metadata, the workflow determines
the driver's license is a Maryland driver's license based on the
location information indicating the image was captured in the state
of Maryland.
[0149] Conversely, location information may be leveraged to
determine a document corresponds to a classification not associated
with a particular location.
[0150] For example, in one embodiment, a delivery person delivers a
package to a destination address. In the course of performing a
workflow configured to verify delivery and provide
proof-of-delivery data, the delivery person captures an image of
the package at the recipient's doorstep. Preferably in the same
image, but potentially in an additional image, the delivery person
captures image data depicting the packing slip, receipt, invoice,
or other documentation serving as a record of the purchase,
delivery, etc., and the captured image is associated with location
information corresponding to the user's location at the time the
image was captured. The delivery person submits the image of the
package and packing slip to the workflow, where the image is
processed and a classification algorithm is applied thereto to
classify the depicted document according to type (e.g. as a
receipt, packing slip, address label, inventory sheet,
chain-of-custody document, etc.). The classification algorithm may
be incapable of definitively classifying the imaged document to
only one of the potential classes, and may utilize the location
information gathered in conjunction with the image data to
disambiguate the document class.
[0151] In one approach, the workflow may determine that the
location information corresponding to the captured image does not
correspond to one or more predetermined locations (e.g. a location
corresponding to a production facility, an inspection facility, a
distribution facility, a retail location, etc.). The classification
may accordingly disqualify otherwise eligible document
classifications based at least in part on the location information
corresponding to the captured image, especially any classification
associated uniquely with the location(s) to which the captured
image data's location information do not correspond. The
classification decision may optionally be based on one or more
business rules (e.g. a standard practice of attaching specific
document types to packages at specific stages in a product cycle,
such as production/distribution/sale/delivery, etc.).
[0152] To be more specific, in one instance a delivery person
captures an image of a delivered package and the attached address
label. OPS coordinates are collected in connection with the image
capture operation, and the image and location information are
submitted to the workflow. The workflow attempts to classify the
address label, but cannot definitively determine between the
document being a packing slip or an address label. Based on the
comparison, the workflow determines the location data collected
when the delivery person captured the image does not correspond to
an address for the carrier's production facility or distribution
facility. The workflow may utilize this mismatch singly or in
unison with other information, such as predefined business rules,
to disambiguate the classification result.
[0153] For example, assume a business rule requires packing slips
be placed inside the corresponding package, prior to a delivery
person receiving the package for delivery. Based on this knowledge,
especially in combination with the mismatch referenced above, the
workflow may conclude that the imaged address label is not a
packing slip because packing slips are sealed and placed interior
to the package before the delivery person receives the package for
delivery. Accordingly, while the classification algorithm may not
be able to affirmatively determine the imaged document is an
address label, the workflow may nonetheless achieve determination
the correct classification via a process of eliminating the least
likely classifications using location information.
[0154] In various approaches described herein, as well as any
functional equivalents thereof that would be recognized and/or
appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art upon reading
the present descriptions, workflows may leverage location
information to provide context-dependent, and particularly
location-context-dependent functionality to one or more operations
of the workflow.
[0155] For example, in some approaches location-context-dependent
functionality may include invoking a workflow based at least in
part on determining location information. For example, a workflow
relating to travel may be invoked upon determining the user has
arrived at a departure location, such as initiating a check-in
process upon determining a user has arrived at a port or an
airport, train, or bus terminal.
[0156] Secure Data Management
[0157] Other location-context-dependent functionality may include
interfering with, suspending, or terminating a workflow, or one or
more operations in a workflow, based at least in part on
determining location information. In one illustrative approach, a
workflow utilizes sensitive data, such as personal identification
information, financial information, medical information, etc. and
the sensitive data are subject to privacy protection or other
security or data management protocols that restrict access to and
use of the sensitive data.
[0158] For example, data access may be granted only in response to
one or more prerequisite conditions being satisfied, such as a user
providing appropriate authentication information (e.g. a username
and password, etc.) and/or requesting access to the sensitive data
from a device connected to a particular network to which
communications regarding the sensitive data are restricted. Put
another way, in this scenario the sensitive data may only be
accessed by a user present at a particular location (e.g. a campus
serving the network to which communications are restricted).
[0159] In order to verify that the request for access to sensitive
data is an authorized request satisfying all the prerequisite
criteria, the workflow may query the user's mobile device for
location information. In some approaches the location information
may also serve as network identification information (e.g. an IP
address, or identity of a router to which the mobile device is
connected). Accordingly, the workflow may determine a user's
location, and whether that location corresponds to an authorized
"access point" with respect to the sensitive data. Based in whole
or in part on whether the location information matches the
corresponding information as expected for an authorized "access
point," the workflow may be granted or denied access to the
sensitive data.
[0160] Additionally and/or alternatively, in other embodiments the
location information may serve as an independent means of verifying
satisfaction of the geographically restrictive prerequisite
criteria. For example, in one embodiment an unauthorized attempt to
access the sensitive data may be performed by a user capable of
bypassing network authentication security measures (e.g. by
falsifying an IP address or other identifying data corresponding to
the network upon which access to the sensitive data is restricted).
In this embodiment, the user attempting to gain unauthorized access
to the sensitive data may be prevented from doing so despite the
user's network authentication information indicating a proper
request for authorized access. More specifically, based on the fact
that location information indicates the user is not located near an
authorized access point (e.g. not on the secured campus), the
request for access may be denied despite being submitted with
appropriate authentication information (e.g. username, password, IP
address, etc.).
[0161] This capability would allow the user to create a dynamic,
adaptive mobile user experience that leverages both the local
device capabilities and remote location services.
[0162] The application may be installed on the mobile device, e.g.,
stored in a nonvolatile memory of the device. In one approach, the
application includes instructions to perform processing of an image
on the mobile device. In another approach, the application includes
instructions to send the image to a remote server such as a network
server. In yet another approach, the application may include
instructions to decide whether to perform some or all processing on
the mobile device and/or send the image to the remote site to
perform some or all of the processing operations.
[0163] Location-Based Entity Identification
[0164] In other approaches, the present concepts may be leveraged
to identify an entity of interest according to location
information.
[0165] For example, a user wishes to know which retailer(s) have a
branch near the user's current location. The user may engage a
workflow, and using location information, identify at least one
entity associated with a corresponding location in proximity to the
physical location indicated by the location information. For
example, a workflow may advantageously identify a commercial entity
based on location information, where commercial entities may
include one or more of a vendor, a customer, a distributor, a
supplier, a carrier, a retailer, etc. as would be understood by one
having ordinary skill in the art upon reading the present
descriptions.
[0166] Higher levels of granularity are advantageous in certain
applications because less specific information may be necessary to
accomplish the desired resolution of location information.
Accordingly, in such embodiments, processing and/or communication
resource usage may be reduced by utilizing relatively less precise
location information rather than precisely determining the physical
location. For example, in one instance location information may be
utilized to identify a geographic region, e.g. a township, city,
state, country, sales territory, distribution territory, service
coverage area, intended route/path, etc. This frees up the
corresponding processing and/or communication resources for other
tasks in or relating to the workflow and/or other unrelated
operations.
[0167] In preferred embodiments, a workflow may access one or more
data sources, each data source comprising location information and
associated entity identification information The data source(s) may
take any suitable form, including but not limited to one or more
databases (including both traditional relational databases such as
MySQL, nontraditional databases such as NoSQL and/or "fuzzy"
databases, etc. The data sources may additionally and/or
alternatively include one or more lookup tables, a structured
document comprising data depicted/formatted according to one of a
plurality of predetermined conventions, such as hypertext markup
language (HTML), extended markup language (XML), comma separated
value (CSV), a document depicting entity identification information
and location information (e.g. a document such as a bill depicting
an entity name and street address), one or more web pages, etc. as
would be understood by one having ordinary skill in the art upon
reading the present descriptions.
[0168] Real-Time Tracking and Telemetry
[0169] The presently disclosed concepts may also leverage location
information to facilitate tracking of data, goods, and/or
individuals participating in or otherwise relevant to conducting a
workflow. Preferably, the tracking occurs in real-time or near
real-time and is based on telemetry data as the preferred form of
location information, although discrete location information and
non-real-time tracking should also be considered within the scope
of these inventive concepts, in various embodiments.
[0170] In one approach, tracking may include validating a physical
location of a user at a predetermined time based at least in part
on the location information. For example, it may be useful in
certain workflows to verify that a certain individual, such as a
sales representative, service technician, delivery person, public
representative, employee, customer, client, etc. is present at a
particular location at a particular time, such as a time and
location scheduled previously for delivery/rendering of services,
goods, etc.
[0171] By leveraging a user's mobile device and tracking location
in real-time over a particular duration (e.g. over the course of an
eight-hour shift, a two-hour service call, a two-week period, etc.)
and/or location (e.g. employer campus, sales territory, service
region, etc.). In this manner, workflows may facilitate business
processes by verifying the presence of various individuals
throughout the course of conducting the workflow.
[0172] For example, to facilitate customer relations and customer
service, an enterprise offering services may leverage a workflow to
schedule an appointment window for a client. The client may provide
information identifying their mobile device, preferably via an
application that allows the client to interface with the workflow,
e.g. via an application downloaded to the client's mobile device
that allows submission of help requests, scheduling of service
appointments, and tendering payment for services rendered (and
optional feedback on service quality). A service provider similarly
utilizes a mobile device having an application installed thereon
and configured to facilitate similar activities from the
perspective of the service provider (e.g. dispatch, technician,
supervisor, etc.).
[0173] Location information may be acquired, either via requests
for location information submitted to the mobile device by each
user's respective application, or gathered in connection with other
actions taking place on each user's respective mobile device, such
as described above. Using the location information, preferably in
combination with timing information (e.g. as gathered from an
on-device clock or network resource), the location of the service
technician may be tracked in real-time, and the technician's
presence at the client's indicated address within the scheduled
appointment window may be verified. Similarly, the client's
presence may also be verified at the corresponding location and
time. In this manner, it is possible to provide real-time
verification of the location of various individuals, goods, data,
etc. throughout the course of a workflow. This improves the ability
to provide reliable service and resolve disputes arising in the
course of conducting various workflows as presented herein and
would be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art upon
reading the present descriptions.
[0174] In some embodiments, location verification may utilize the
location information in conjunction with an image acquired at the
physical location corresponding to the location information,
thereby providing multiple levels of verification. In a preferred
embodiment, validating a physical location may be utilized to
effectuate one or more business processes such as a
proof-of-delivery, a proof-of-service (e.g. reading a meter for a
utility, service of process, etc.) a proof of presence (e.g.
pursuant to a service appointment, a check-in process relating to a
transportation service provider, employer, law enforcement
authority, etc.); and other equivalent applications as would be
comprehended by a skilled artisan reading these disclosures.
[0175] Financial Transactions
[0176] Location information may also be leveraged in several
approaches to facilitate financial transactions, such as submitting
a payment, purchasing services, etc.
[0177] In one such example, a user is engaged in a workflow to
process a payment, e.g. to a utility company. The user images a
remittance slip and submits the image as part of the payment
processing. Upon receiving the user-submitted image, the workflow
invokes image processing functions to identify important
information from the remittance slip, e.g. a customer name,
customer account number, utility company name, utility company
address, account number, amount due, etc. The workflow may leverage
location information gathered in connection with capturing the
user-submitted image to disambiguate from a plurality of candidate
utility companies, e.g. by selecting a utility company in closest
physical proximity to a location where the user-submitted image was
captured.
[0178] In other embodiments, a financial transaction may be routed
for processing based at least in part on location information. For
example, a financial institution may determine location for routing
of requests, etc. to various servers based on location information,
especially network-based location information such as an IP
address. The financial institution may route the requests in a
manner designed to provide maximum quality and speed of service for
the center processing the request.
[0179] In more approaches, financial transactions may include a
financial institution presenting relevant branding and/or
advertising material. For example, a bank might integrate
location-based services into a financial service workflow to offer
various products or brands based at least in part on location
information. In more approaches, the offer may be based
additionally or alternatively on one or more of: historical
location information (e.g. as may be indicative of a likelihood of
future travel and therefore applicability of offers pertaining to
one or more likely travel destination(s)), financial risk profile,
financial investment profile, financial assets, obligations, or any
other relevant financial data as would be understood by one having
ordinary skill in the art upon reading the present
descriptions.
[0180] For example, in one approach a user's travel history
indicates likelihood of future travel to a foreign country, e.g.
for a user that travels frequently to Europe. A workflow leveraging
such travel history may also, based on profile information,
determine that the user is not a citizen of the travel destination
country, and accordingly determine that particular services may be
of interest to that user. For example, the workflow may display a
notification, prompt, banner, etc. for financial services, such as
traveler's checks or a credit card with travel-related benefits,
etc. as would be appreciated by a skilled artisan cognizant of
these disclosures.
[0181] As will be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the
art upon reading the present descriptions, the aforementioned
techniques may be applied to a variety of financial transactions,
involving a diverse array of document(s) and/or transaction types.
For example, the financial transactions described herein may
involve financial documents and/or transactions relating to
mortgages, insurance information, medical information, law
enforcement and/or emergency service reports, delivery, tracking,
and/or logistics applications. As will be explained in further
detail below, standard forms frequently associated with such
transactions are also contemplated as useful applications for
location based services and workflows as described herein.
[0182] Claim and Form Processing
[0183] The presently disclosed techniques are also advantageous
when applied to processing forms submitted in connection with any
number of business processes, such as medical claims, benefits
claims, insurance claims, loan applications, new account openings,
rental applications, tax filings, or any other equivalent business
process relying on data collection and/or processing via one or
more forms, such as would be understood by one having ordinary
skill in the art upon reading the present descriptions.
[0184] Generally, claim processing and/or form processing may
comprise a data gathering portion of a workflow, and a user may
submit one or more images of a form, or images of one or more other
documents (whether or not fitting a standard "form") such as
identifying documents, financial documents, medical documents, etc.
The workflow preferably processes the image(s) and utilizes data
from the imaged document(s) to populate fields on the form.
[0185] In one approach, a plurality of potentially applicable forms
may exist, and a workflow may include a disambiguation operation
relying at least partially on location information to resolve among
plural potentially applicable forms. For example, although
individuals across a diverse geographical region may engage in
substantially similar and/or common business processes, the common
processes may have associated therewith a wide variety of different
forms, each form potentially being "standard" within the respective
locality but having little similarity in one or more aspects when
compared to corresponding forms in other localities.
[0186] In one specific example, a plurality of forms exist for a
single or highly similar purpose across a plurality of localities.
Each form therefore depicts substantially similar types of
information (e.g. identifying information including name, date of
birth, address, social security number, etc.), but may be highly
divergent from one another with respect to the location and/or
format of this information on each form. For example, a plurality
of driver's license application forms all require the applicant's
name, date of birth, and current address, but express this
information in different formats, and on different portions of the
corresponding form employed in each locality. Accordingly, a
workflow in which data obtained from documents is utilized to
populate the forms (or other similar operations as would be
appreciated by a skilled artisan) will have variable performance,
based largely on whether the workflow identifies the appropriate
form to populate with the obtained data.
[0187] In one embodiment a first form includes dates in a
"MM/DD/YY" format while a second form includes full dates, such as
"January 1, 2012". Moreover, the first form includes name, date of
birth and address fields next to a portrait image of the
applicant's face, all located in an upper-right region of a
portrait-oriented form document. Meanwhile, the second form is in
"landscape" orientation, omits the portrait image, and includes
name, date of birth, and address fields on a lower right portion of
the landscape-oriented document. (In this example, the differences
between the several forms are exaggerated for illustrative
purposes. It should be understood that practical implementations
also include scenarios where forms are substantially identical with
exception of a single or relatively small number (e.g. three to
five) of definitive differences with relation to corresponding
forms utilized in other localities.
[0188] Workflows may determine an appropriate form from among a
plurality of potential forms using location information, in some
approaches. For example, in one embodiment a form processing
workflow includes a user capturing an image of one or more source
documents and the form. The user submits the images, which are
preferably associated with location information corresponding to
the location the document images were imaged. Based in whole or in
part on the location information, the workflow may determine from
among a plurality of potentially appropriate forms with which to
populate the data.
[0189] For example, the workflow may compare the location
information with information depicted on one or more of the source
documents. If a location depicted on a source document matches a
locality corresponding to the location information (such as a
Maryland driver's license and location information comprising GPS
coordinates corresponding to Germantown, Md.), then the workflow
may select a form corresponding to the matching locality from among
the plurality of forms. Additionally and/or alternatively, the
location information alone may be leveraged to select the
appropriate form.
[0190] Location information may also be utilized to populate forms
with data based in whole or in part on location information
associated with the form, location information determined or
provided by a user in connection with the workflow, location
information associated with an image captured and/or analyzed in
connection with a workflow, etc. as would be understood by one
having ordinary skill in the art upon reading the present
descriptions.
[0191] For instance, in one approach a claims processing workflow
may include filling out the location where an automobile accident
occurred based on the location information associated with the
image of the damaged vehicle.
[0192] In additional and/or alternative approaches, a claims
processing workflow includes filling out appropriate fields of a
form that corresponds to a particular location using data gathered
from another document corresponding to the same location or a
similar location. For example, one workflow populates a state
accident report form with information gathered from/in connection
with an image of a driver's license. The selection of data from the
driver's license, as well as the placement of said data on the form
may be based at least in part on determining that the driver's
license was issued by the same state/authority in which the
accident occurred. The determination of similar location is
preferably indicated by similarity of location information
associated with the image of the driver's license and location
information associated with an image or document involved in the
workflow, e.g. an image of the damaged vehicle(s) taken in
connection with the accident.
[0193] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the image of the
damaged vehicle(s) was taken in connection with the accident
occurrence, and has associated therewith metadata comprising GPS
location information. Similarly, the image of the driver's license
has associated therewith metadata comprising location information.
The location metadata may be in any form, and may include imprecise
or "less precise" location information. Indeed, in some approaches
the location metadata may simply be a two-letter state
abbreviation--such as "MD" for the state of Maryland). The workflow
compares the location metadata, and without needing to perform
complex image analysis, data extraction, etc. on an image of a
document captured in connection with the accident, e.g. a driver's
statement taken at the scene of the accident, the workflow may
populate the accident report form with pertinent information
relating to the accident. Data population may involve any
combination of locating appropriate field(s) on the form with which
to populate the data, providing the data to populate the
appropriate field(s) on the form, validating data currently
populating the form, and replacing data currently populating the
form, in multiple variations.
[0194] The workflow determines the propriety of such an automatic
data population operation based on similarity of the location
information associated with each image, and may optionally prompt a
user for confirmation that the automatic data population would be
proper in the context of the presently engaged workflow. Upon
determining the population is proper, the workflow populates the
form with pertinent information previously determined/acquired. The
pertinent information may have been determined and/or acquired, for
example, from the image of the driver(s) license(s), from a central
data source, etc., in various embodiments. Preferably, the
pertinent information was retrieved using the image of the
driver(s) license(s), such as by retrieving information from a
remote data source, e.g. retrieving a record of a database
maintaining driver license data based on an individual's driver
license number and last name. Even more preferably, the pertinent
information were acquired and/or determined singly or in
combination either directly from the image of the driver's license;
or in the course of performing another workflow utilizing the image
of the driver's license.
[0195] Data Processing and Management
[0196] The presently disclosed inventive concepts also have utility
in data management and data processing applications.
[0197] In one embodiment, for example, continuous location
information may be utilized to prioritize one or more tasks
relating to the workflow. These examples also include embodiments
where, a mobile device's location information may be utilized to
facilitate data management. For example, in one approach a user
engages a business process via a workflow that relies on particular
source data. The source data may require some preprocessing before
being suitable for intended use in the workflow, for example the
data may require specific formatting, quality analysis, etc.
[0198] In another illustrative approach, source data comprising an
image of a document are preferably processed using one or more
image processing operations such as disclosed in the related patent
applications referenced above (including particularly U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 13/740,123, filed and/or Ser. No. 13/802,226,
filed Mar. 13, 2013, as well as Provisional U.S. Patent Application
Nos. 61/819,463, filed May 3, 2013 and 61/780,747, filed Mar. 13,
2013. In other embodiments, a workflow requires the source data be
formatted according to one among a plurality of predetermined data
formats.
[0199] Regardless of the particular processing to be performed, in
various embodiments workflows within the scope of the present
disclosures may leverage location information, e.g. gathered via
the user's the mobile device, to suggest and/or automatically
conduct data processing according to the user's business process
activity and/or needs.
[0200] For example, in one approach an automobile insurance agent
is engaged in a workflow configured to facilitate processing an
insurance claim relating to an accident involving a client. The
agent receives notification that the client was involved in an
automobile accident (e.g. via a telephone call, email, or automatic
notification sent to the insurer). The notification may include, or
be accompanied by additional data relating to the event, such as
image data depicting the automobile(s) involved in the accident,
image data depicting a driver's license and/or other identifying
documents for the client, etc.
[0201] In order to facilitate processing the claim (e.g. by
providing a quote), the insurance agent requires (or if not
required, would benefit from) certain information, at least some of
which may be obtained from the image data and/or additional data.
Furthermore, the agent may require access to this information at a
predetermined time, such as upon arrival at the scene of the
accident. Location information may be leveraged in this case to
facilitate the workflow by ensuring all requisite data are
available at the moment the agent requires or is otherwise prepared
to receive such data.
[0202] For example, in one approach a workflow detects satisfaction
of a trigger condition, such as a request for a quote or
notification of an accident occurring, according to the previously
described scenario. In response to detecting the trigger condition,
the workflow may initiate processing of the data relating to the
event, manage a processing priority of a job handling the data
relating to the event, etc. The trigger condition may take any
suitable form, however, and may involve a plurality of conditions.
In a particularly preferred approach according to the insurance
quote example, the trigger condition may comprise a combination of
receiving notification of a client's involvement in an accident, as
well as determining that the agent is en route to the accident
site.
[0203] To determine an agent is en route to an accident site, the
workflow preferably utilizes location information. While any
location information is suitable, the location information is
preferably in the form of telemetry data. The location information
indicate the agent is headed on a trajectory leading toward the
accident location, and will arrive at an estimated time of arrival
(ETA). Based on the agent's ETA, as well as the processing
requirements (e.g. minimum processing resources, time), the
workflow may influence data management and/or processing. For
example, the workflow may initiate a processing job, modify an
existing processing job (e.g. by dedicating more/less or different
resources to performing the job), and/or terminate processing jobs
in a manner suitable to ensure that any requisite data are ready
for the agent's use upon arrival at the accident site.
[0204] Information that may be useful in a given scenario will
depend upon the nature of the scenario. Generally, useful
information should be considered to include but not be limited to
any information that may be acquired from an image and/or a, such
as identifying information, quality information, content
information, location information, etc. In the context of the
automobile accident, useful information includes but is not limited
to: information relating to the identity of the client, such as
name, date of birth, address, etc.; information relating to the
identity of the vehicle, such as VIN, license plate number,
make/model, year, etc. in various approaches.
[0205] In preferred embodiments, automatic notifications may also
be based in whole or in part on location data. For example, in the
context of the present automobile accident scenario, an automatic
notification could be sent to the insurer in response to
determining a user is traveling in an automobile (as may be
indicated according to telemetry data corresponding to travel at a
rate of speed typically accomplished via automobile, and GPS data
corresponding to travel along a major interstate or other known
automotive traffic route), and that the automobile is likely to
have been involved in an accident (e.g. as indicated by a
particular rate of deceleration being greater than a threshold
"safe" deceleration rate, and/or divergence from the known traffic
route upon which the automobile was traveling being greater than a
predetermined distance).
[0206] As will be appreciated by skilled artisans reading these
descriptions, these indicia are equally applicable to other
scenarios, such as emergency response workflows, traffic reporting
workflows, etc. In addition, other indicia applicable to other
scenarios described herein may also be leveraged to provide
automatic notifications in a similar manner, according to myriad
approaches.
[0207] In at least some approaches, the processing priority and/or
execution of jobs may be invoked and/or managed at least partially
in response to initiating a process in the workflow, detecting
motion for a predetermined period of time (e.g. as may be
indicative of an individual embarking on a journey from a first
location to a destination location) arriving within a predetermined
proximity of a physical location, etc. as would be understood by
one having ordinary skill in the art upon reading the present
descriptions.
[0208] Supervisory Approval/Review
[0209] In still other embodiments, the instant location-based
approaches are advantageously applicable to supervision and
approval of various business processes. For example, in one
embodiment an action relating to or part of a workflow might
require approval by an authorizing entity. In the course of the
workflow, when approval from the authorizing entity is required,
the workflow may leverage location information to locate a closest
available authorizing entity, an alternate authorizing entity,
etc.
[0210] This is particularly advantageous in situations where a
primary authorizing entity is unavailable for any variety of
reasons. By providing real-time or near-real-time alternative
authorizing entities, a user may facilitate expeditious processing
of the workflow and underlying data in a manner that may otherwise
have taken significantly more time and/or effort due to the
unavailability of the primary authorizing entity.
[0211] The authorizing entities, in various embodiments, may
include one or more human and/or non-human entities. For example,
human authorizing entities may include individuals occupying a
supervisory role, individuals responsible for inspection or quality
assurance, or simply peers/colleagues in the case of a peer-review
process.
[0212] Non-human authorizing entities, similarly, may include
hardware and/or software configured to perform similar supervisory,
quality assurance and/or inspection tasks (e.g. a data processing
system including one or more computer readable storage media and
processor(s) configured to perform authorization.
[0213] In one embodiment, the system may include software
configured to perform authorization tasks may, in one approach be
configured to ensure data are submitted in a predetermined format
(e.g. for downstream processing). The software may optionally be
configured to convert submitted data from a plurality of formats to
the predetermined format in response to determining submitted data
are not in compliance with the predetermined format.
[0214] The system may, according to additionally and/or alternative
embodiments, include hardware configured to perform authorization
tasks. For example, in one approach such hardware may include one
or more sensors, such as optical sensors, magnetic sensors,
electrical sensors, temperature sensors, or any other type of
sensor or device as would be understood by one having ordinary
skill in the art as being useful to measure one or more physical
properties of an article. Another example of useful hardware
include scanning and/or wireless communication devices, such as
barcode readers, RFID tags and/or readers, cameras, etc.
[0215] The hardware may be utilized, under the control of software
and/or a human operator, to inspect physical properties of goods
(such as weight, size, physical appearance, color, etc.) and/or
information relating to such goods (e.g. in a barcode label, a
memory coupled to the goods, etc.) to ensure compliance with one or
more predetermined quality control criteria.
[0216] In one particular instance, a workflow utilizes hardware and
software to facilitate quality control. The hardware is configured,
under the control of the software, to automatically capture an
image of goods scheduled for shipment. The goods may be of any type
and in any suitable form, including but not limited to physical
articles of manufacture, documents, data, e.g. data stored to a
computer readable storage medium, etc. as would be understood by
one having ordinary skill in the art upon reading the present
descriptions.
[0217] The goods may have identifying information associated
therewith, for example as a document attached to the goods such as
an invoice, shipping manifest, barcode, etc.; as a label affixed to
the goods and encoding the identifying information in a barcode; as
data stored in a computer readable storage medium (e.g. a
non-volatile memory) affixed to the goods or packaging, etc. as
would be understood by one having ordinary skill in the art upon
reading the present descriptions.
[0218] The captured image may be processed. The processing may
optionally include performing image processing to improve the
quality of the image, e.g. for improving subsequent processing
operations using the image data, such as a document classification
operation, a content extraction operation, etc. Upon processing the
captured and/or analyzed image, in at least some embodiments the
workflow may encounter an authorization requirement, in response to
which the workflow may seek eligible authorizing entities and
submit the image and/or analyzed data to one or more available
authorizing entities for authorization to proceed in the workflow.
Authorizing entities may be identified, at least in part, based on
location information relating to one or more of the goods and/or
the supervising entity. For example, authorizing entities may be
identified based on physical proximity to goods, especially in
cases where human inspection of goods is requisite to providing the
authorization.
[0219] Similarly, in additional embodiments a preferred authorizing
entity may not be available to perform the required inspection
and/or authorization of the goods. In such scenarios, the workflow
may seek one or more alternative authorizing entities, and identify
such alternatives to the workflow, and/or to a user. In various
approaches, the alternative authorizing entities may be sought
either in addition to the preferred authorizing entity, or in
response to determining that the preferred authorizing entity is
incapable of performing the required inspection and/or
authorization (e.g. due to physical unavailability, due to
insufficient resources, due to business rules, due to security
criteria, etc.).
[0220] While the foregoing authorization concepts have been
described from the perspective of inspecting goods, it should be
appreciated that the principles disclosed herein are equally
applicable to a host of applications and scenarios beyond tracking
and/or inspection of goods. For example, many forms of data
processing may be similarly facilitated using a general approach
wherein a workflow encounters an authorization requirement, and in
response seeks eligible authorized entities based at least in part
on location information relating to the authorized entity and/or
the data requiring authorization. The central feature conferring
advantage to these applications of location information is to
remove bottlenecks in business processes caused by physical
unavailability of required entities at a given location, and/or to
improve the manner in which data are processed to ensure efficient,
timely handling of jobs in a queue as required to maintain, for
example, a production schedule or otherwise meet regular business
goals (e.g. daily, monthly, quarterly, annual output, data
processing volume, etc.).
[0221] Opportunistic Scheduling
[0222] Similarly, location information may be leveraged across a
plurality of devices to influence and/or conduct fortuitous
context-dependent actions. For example, in one embodiment a
plurality of workflow participants, e.g. volunteers at an event,
employees at a company, etc. utilize mobile devices to conduct one
or more operations of a workflow. The workflow may require or
benefit from several of the participants, and/or other individuals,
being in close physical proximity to one another in certain
circumstances. For example, in one instance a consensus vote may be
required to proceed with a workflow, instructions from a supervisor
may need to be distributed to subordinates, input relating to a
particular data point may be required etc. in order for the
workflow to proceed. In some approaches, particularly where the
workflow requires or benefits from participation from a threshold
number of participants, it may be advantageous for location
information to be shared among the plurality of workflow
participants, in order to opportunistically schedule a mutually
convenient meeting time and/or location for the various required
participants.
[0223] Business Resource Management
[0224] In a similar vein, location information may be useful to
control a facility. For example, in one embodiment it may be
advantageous to conserve power during non-peak hours by reducing or
disabling one or more systems, e.g. lighting, heating/cooling,
security, etc. Based on location information obtained from one or
more users' devices, it may be possible to activate/deactivate
appropriate systems based on satisfaction of certain conditions,
such as a threshold number of individuals being physically present
at the facility, environmental conditions satisfying one or more
threshold criteria (such as a minimum/maximum temperature,
humidity, gas composition, etc.).
[0225] The presently disclosed inventive concepts may also be
embodied as a system. For example, in one such embodiment a system
includes a processor and logic. The logic is in and/or executable
by the processor, and configured to cause the processor to perform
one or more operations in response to invocation and/or execution
thereof.
[0226] The inventive concepts disclosed herein have been presented
by way of example to illustrate the myriad features thereof in a
plurality of illustrative scenarios, embodiments, and/or
implementations. It should be appreciated that the concepts
generally disclosed are to be considered as modular, and may be
implemented in any combination, permutation, or synthesis thereof.
In addition, any modification, alteration, or equivalent of the
presently disclosed features, functions, and concepts that would be
appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in the art upon
reading the instant descriptions should also be considered within
the scope of this disclosure.
[0227] While various embodiments have been described above, it
should be understood that they have been presented by way of
example only, and not limitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of an
embodiment of the present invention should not be limited by any of
the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined
only in accordance with the following claims and their
equivalents.
* * * * *