U.S. patent application number 14/803701 was filed with the patent office on 2017-01-26 for presenting content within a venue using client devices associated with users attending the venue.
The applicant listed for this patent is VenueNext, Inc.. Invention is credited to Ronak Bhatt, Edan Rosenberg.
Application Number | 20170026666 14/803701 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 57706112 |
Filed Date | 2017-01-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170026666 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bhatt; Ronak ; et
al. |
January 26, 2017 |
PRESENTING CONTENT WITHIN A VENUE USING CLIENT DEVICES ASSOCIATED
WITH USERS ATTENDING THE VENUE
Abstract
A venue management system receives location information from
various client devices within a venue. The venue management system
identifies content for presentation within the venue and maps
portions of the identified content to different client devices
based on the location information received from the client devices.
For example, different pixels of an image are mapped to different
client devices based on location information from the client
devices. The venue management system then sends portions of the
content to client devices mapped to the corresponding portions, and
the client devices present their mapped portion of the identified
content using display devices on the client devices.
Inventors: |
Bhatt; Ronak; (Cupertino,
CA) ; Rosenberg; Edan; (Princeton Jct., NJ) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
VenueNext, Inc. |
Santa Clara |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
57706112 |
Appl. No.: |
14/803701 |
Filed: |
July 20, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 21/25841 20130101;
H04N 21/41415 20130101; H04N 21/4126 20130101; H04N 21/2143
20130101; H04N 21/40 20130101; H04N 21/41 20130101; H04N 21/42202
20130101; H04N 21/422 20130101; H04N 21/41407 20130101; H04N 21/214
20130101; H04N 21/414 20130101; H04N 21/6582 20130101; H04N 21/6543
20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04N 21/214 20060101
H04N021/214 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: receiving location information from a
plurality of client devices within a venue; identifying content for
presentation at the venue; mapping portions of the identified
content to client devices of the plurality of client device based
at least in part on location information received from the
plurality of client devices by: mapping a portion of the identified
content to one or more client devices from which location
information within an area of the venue was received, and mapping
an additional portion of the identified content to one or more
additional client devices from which location information within
another area of the venue was received; sending the portion of the
identified content to the one or more client devices; sending the
additional portion of the identified content to the one or more
additional client devices determining a number of the client
devices from which location information within the area of the
venue was received; determining a number of the additional client
devices from which location information within the other area of
the venue was received; sending an instruction to the client
devices from which location information within the area was
received to modify a brightness of one or more of the client
devices from which location information within the area was
received based at least in part on the number of the client devices
from which location information within the area of the venue was
received; and sending an instruction to the additional client
devices from which location information within the other area was
received to modify a brightness of one or more of the additional
client devices from which location information within the other
area was received based at least in part on the number of the
additional client devices from which location information within
the other area of the venue was received.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving location information
from a client device comprises receiving a location determined by a
location sensor included in the client device.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving location information
from a client device within the venue comprises identifying a
location within the venue associated with a user associated with
the client device.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the location within the venue
associated with the user associated with the client device
comprises a seat within the venue assigned to the user.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified content comprises
an image.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein mapping the portion of the
identified content to one or more client devices from which
location information within the area of the venue was received
comprises: mapping a pixel of the image to a client device from
which location information within the area of the venue was
received.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein mapping the additional portion of
the identified content to one or more additional client devices
from which location information within another area of the venue
was received comprises: mapping an additional pixel of the image to
an additional client device from which location information within
the other area of the venue was received.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the content is identified based
at least in part on one or more actions occurring in an event
occurring within the venue.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the portion of the
identified content to the one or more client devices comprises:
sending the portion of the identified content to the one or more
client devices along with information describing directions or
orientations of the one or more client devices when presenting the
portion of the identified content.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the portion of the
identified content to the one or more client devices comprises:
sending the portion of the identified content to the one or more
client devices along with information describing one or more
brightnesses of display devices of the one or more client devices
when presenting the portion of the identified content.
11. (canceled)
12. A method comprising: receiving location information from a
plurality of client devices within a venue; identifying content for
presentation at the venue; mapping portions of the identified
content to different client devices of the plurality of client
device based at least in part on location information received from
the plurality of client devices; sending portions of the identified
content to the client devices, a portion of the identified content
sent to a client device to which the portion of the identified
content was mapped; determining a number of the plurality of client
devices from which location information within an area of the venue
was received; determining a number of the plurality of client
devices from which location information within an additional area
of the venue was received; sending an instruction to the client
devices of the plurality of client devices from which location
information within the area was received to modify a brightness of
one or more of the client devices of the plurality of client
devices from which location information within the area was
received based at least in part on the number of the client devices
of the plurality of client devices from which location information
within the area of the venue was received; and sending an
instruction to the client devices of the plurality of client
devices from which location information within the additional area
was received to modify a brightness of one or more of the
additional client devices of the plurality of client devices from
which location information within the additional area was received
based at least in part on the number of the client devices of the
plurality of client devices from which location information within
the additional area of the venue was received.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving location information
from a client device comprises receiving a location determined by a
location sensor included in the client device.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving location information
from a client device within the venue comprises identifying a
location within the venue associated with a user associated with
the client device.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the location within the venue
associated with the user associated with the client device
comprises a seat within the venue assigned to the user.
16. The method of claim 12, wherein the identified content
comprises an image.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein mapping portions of the
identified content to different client devices of the plurality of
client device based at least in part on location information
received from the plurality of client devices comprises: mapping a
pixel of the image to a client device from which location
information identifying a specific location was received.
18. The method of claim 12, wherein the content is identified based
at least in part on one or more actions occurring in an event
occurring within the venue.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] This invention relates generally to user interaction with a
venue, and more specifically to displaying images using multiple
client devices in a venue.
[0002] Venues, such as stadiums, convention centers, or
amphitheaters, frequently host events attended by large numbers of
users. Oftentimes, attendees to events hosted in a venue bring
banners to show their passion and communicate their support to the
participants of such events. For example, attendees bring banners
saying "Go USA" to cheer the USA national team in a soccer match.
However, these banners are small and the probability of
participants in the event seeing these banners is low.
Additionally, banners brought by attendees are usually printed or
hand drawn to a piece of paper or fabric and unable to be changed
once printed.
[0003] While many venues include display devices for presenting
information to individuals attending a venue, the size of these
display devices is limited and content presented by the display
devices is controlled by administrators of the venue rather than
individuals attending the venue. For example, a stadium has one or
more screens showing a score of a game as well as a live recording
of the game. Accordingly, the display devices included in a venue
have limited effectiveness in allowing individuals attending the
venue to express their sentiments towards participants in an event
occurring at the venue.
SUMMARY
[0004] A venue is a geographic location, such as a geographic
location associated with one or more structures. Examples of a
venue include a stadium, a convention center, an arena, a theater,
an amphitheater, or any other suitable structure or location where
people may gather for an event. In various embodiments, users
obtain a ticket to enter the venue and various events are performed
at the venue.
[0005] To display content, such as images or videos, to individuals
attending an event at a venue, individuals participating in the
event at the venue, or individuals viewing a recording of the event
at the venue, a venue management system associated with the venue
communicates portions of the content to client devices of the
individuals attending the event. Hence, different portions of the
content are presented by display devices of client devices
associated with different individuals attending the event. The
venue management system associated with the venue maintains
information associated with users attending the venue, including
location information within the venue associated with users
attending the venue. For instance, the venue management system
receives location information received from a client device of a
user attending the event and identifies a location within the venue
corresponding to the received location information or receives an
identifier of a seat assigned to the user associated with a client
device.
[0006] The venue management system identifies content, such as an
image, and maps portions of the content to various client devices
within the venue based on the locations of the client devices
within the venue. For example, the venue management system maps
portions of an image to different client devices within the venue
based at least in part on the locations of the client devices
within the venue. As an example, a portion of the image is mapped
to a subset of client devices having locations within a particular
area of the venue, while an additional portion of the image is
mapped to an additional subset of client devices having locations
within an additional area of the venue. The venue management system
communicates the portions of the content to the client devices
mapped to the different portions of the content. For example, a
portion of the image is a pixel of a specific color, so the venue
management system sends a message with the specific color to client
devices mapped to the portion of the image. When a client device
executing an application associated with the venue management
system receives the message and the user interacts with the client
device, a display device of the client device presents the content
identified by the message. Hence, in the preceding example, the
display device of a client device executing the application
associated with the venue management system presents the specific
color.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a venue, in accordance with an
embodiment of the invention.
[0008] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system environment including
a venue management system, in accordance with an embodiment.
[0009] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a venue management system, in
accordance with an embodiment.
[0010] FIG. 4 is a view of a venue presenting content via client
devices of users within the venue, in accordance with an
embodiment.
[0011] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method for displaying content
within a venue using client devices of users within the venue, in
accordance with an embodiment.
[0012] FIG. 6A is an example of content to be presented within a
venue by client devices within the venue, in accordance with an
embodiment.
[0013] FIG. 6B is an example mapping between the image of FIG. 6A
and client devices of users within a venue, in accordance with an
embodiment.
[0014] FIG. 6C is a diagram of client devices within the venue
displaying the image of FIG. 6A, in accordance with an
embodiment.
[0015] The figures depict various embodiments for purposes of
illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize
from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the
structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without
departing from the principles of described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Venue Overview
[0016] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of a venue 100.
In the example of FIG. 1, the venue includes multiple regions 110A,
110B, 110C (also referred to individually and collectively using
reference number 110). Additionally, one or more vendors 120A,
120B, 120C (also referred to individually and collectively using
reference number 120) are included in the venue 100, and one or
more parking lots 130A, 130B, 130C (also referred to individually
and collectively using reference number 130) are associated with
the venue 100. However, in other embodiments, different and/or
additional components may be associated with or included in the
venue 100.
[0017] The venue 100 is a geographic location, such as a geographic
location associated with one or more structures. Examples of a
venue 100 include a stadium, a convention center, an arena, a
theater, an amphitheater, or other suitable structure. One or more
regions 110 are included in the venue 100, with each region 110
corresponding to an area within the venue 100. For example,
different regions 110 correspond to different sections of a
stadium, different aisles of a stadium or arena, different rooms in
a convention center, or any other suitable area within the venue
100. In some embodiments, an area within the venue 100 is
associated with multiple regions 110 having different levels of
precision. For example, a specific seat in a venue 100 is
associated with a region 110 identifying a section including the
seat, another region 110 identifying an aisle within the section
including the seat, and an additional region identifying the
specific seat. While FIG. 1 shows an example venue 100 including
three regions 110A, 110B, 110C, in other embodiments, a venue 110
may include any number of regions 110.
[0018] One or more vendors 120 are included in the venue 110, with
each vendor providing products or services to users within the
venue 110. Examples of vendors 120 include restaurants, food
service providers, beverage providers, merchandise retailers, or
other suitable entities providing products or services. Different
vendors 120 may be associated with different regions 110 of the
venue. For example, a vendor 120A is associated with a region 110A,
while a different vendor 120B is associated with a different region
110B. A vendor 110 may be associated with multiple regions 110; for
example, a vendor 110C is associated with a region 110B as well as
with an additional region 110C. In some embodiments, a vendor 120
is associated with a region 110 based on a distance between the
vendor 120 and the region 110. For example, the vendor 120 is
associated with a region 110 having a minimum distance from a
location associated with the vendor 120. If a location associated
with a vendor 120 is within a region 110, the vendor 120 is
associated with the region 110 including the vendor's associated
location.
[0019] Additionally, one or more parking lots 130A, 130B, 130C are
associated with the venue 110 and identify physical locations for
parking vehicles. Each parking lot includes one or more spaces,
each space for parking a vehicle. A price is associated with each
parking lot 130 specifying an amount of compensation a user
provides to an entity associated with the venue 110 for a space in
the parking lot 130 to be allocated for parking a vehicle
associated with the user. Different parking lots 130 may have
different distances from the venue 110, and prices associated with
different parking lots 130 may be inversely proportional to a
distance between a parking lot 130 and the venue 110. Each parking
lot 130 is also associated with a capacity specifying a maximum
number of vehicles that may be parked in a parking lot 130. The
capacity may be total number of spaces in the parking lot 130 or
may be a maximum number of vehicles. Information may be maintained
by one or more devices included in a parking lot 130 specifying a
number of spaces in the parking lot 130 in which vehicles are
parked, specifying a number of vehicles within a geographic area
associated with the parking lot 130, or any other suitable
information. For example, a device included in the parking lot 130
increments a counter when a vehicle enters the geographic area
associated with the parking lot 130 or when a vehicle is parked in
a space of the parking lot 130.
System Architecture
[0020] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system environment 200 for a
venue management system 250. The system environment 200 shown by
FIG. 1 includes various client devices 210, a network 220, a third
party system 230, one or more vendor systems 240, and a venue
management system 250. In alternative configurations, different
and/or additional components may be included in the system
environment 200. The embodiments described herein may be adapted to
online systems other than venue management systems.
[0021] A client device 210 is one or more computing devices capable
of receiving user input as well as transmitting and/or receiving
data via the network 220. In one embodiment, the client device 210
is a conventional computer system, such as a desktop computer or a
laptop computer. Alternatively, the client device 210 may be a
device having computer functionality, such as a personal digital
assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, a smartphone or another
suitable device. A client device 210 is configured to communicate
with other devices via the network 220. In one embodiment, the
client device 210 executes an application allowing a user of the
client device 210 to interact with the venue management system 250.
For example, the client device 210 executes a browser application
to enable interaction with the venue management system 250 or with
one or more third party system 230 via the network 220. In another
embodiment, a client device 210 interacts with the venue management
system 250 through an application programming interface (API)
running on a native operating system of the client device 210, such
as IOS.RTM. or ANDROID.TM..
[0022] A display device 212 included in a client device 210
presents content items to a user of the client device 210. Examples
of the display device 212 include a liquid crystal display (LCD),
an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, an active matrix
liquid crystal display (AMLCD), or any other suitable device.
Different client devices 210 may have display devices 212 with
different characteristics. For example, different client devices
212 have display devices 212 with different display areas,
different resolutions, or differences in other characteristics.
[0023] One or more input devices 214 included in a client device
210 receive input from the user. Different input devices 214 may be
included in the client device 210. For example, the client device
210 includes a touch-sensitive display for receiving input data,
commands, or information from a user. Using a touch-sensitive
display allows the client device 210 to combine the display device
212 and an input device 214, simplifying user interaction with
presented content items. In other embodiments, the client device
210 may include a keyboard, a trackpad, a mouse, or any other
device capable of receiving input from a user. Additionally, the
client device may include multiple input devices 214 in some
embodiments. Inputs received via the input device 214 may be
processed by an application associated with the venue management
system 250 and executing on the client device 210 to allow a client
device user to exchange information with the venue management
system 250.
[0024] Additionally, a client device 210 may include one or more
position sensors 216, which determine a physical location
associated with the client device 210. For example, a position
sensor 216 is a global positioning system (GPS) sensor that
determines a location associated with the client device 210 based
on information obtained from GPS satellites communicating with the
GPS sensor, such as coordinates specifying a latitude and longitude
of the location associated with the client device 210. As another
example, a position sensor 216 determines a location associated
with the client device 210 based on intensities of signals received
from one or more access points (e.g., wireless access points) by
the client device 110. In the preceding example, the position
sensor 216 determines a location associated with the client device
210 based on signal intensity between the client device 210 and one
or more wireless access points and service set identifiers (SSIDs)
or media access control (MAC) addresses of the wireless access
points. However, the client device 210 may include any suitable
type of position sensor 216. In various embodiments, the client
device 210 may include multiple position sensors 216.
[0025] The network 220 may comprise any combination of local area
and/or wide area networks, using both wired and/or wireless
communication systems. In one embodiment, the network 220 uses
standard communications technologies and/or protocols. For example,
the network 220 includes communication links using technologies
such as Ethernet, 802.11, worldwide interoperability for microwave
access (WiMAX), 3G, 4G, code division multiple access (CDMA),
digital subscriber line (DSL), etc. Examples of networking
protocols used for communicating via the network 220 include
multiprotocol label switching (MPLS), transmission control
protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), hypertext transport protocol
(HTTP), simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP), and file transfer
protocol (FTP). Data exchanged over the network 220 may be
represented using any suitable format, such as hypertext markup
language (HTML) or extensible markup language (XML). In some
embodiments, all or some of the communication links of the network
220 may be encrypted using any suitable technique or
techniques.
[0026] One or more third party systems 130 may be coupled to the
network 220 for communicating with one or more client devices 110
or with the venue management system 250. In one embodiment, a third
party system 230 is an application provider communicating
information describing applications for execution by a client
device 210 or communicating data to client devices 110 for use by
an application executing on the client device 210. In other
embodiments, a third party system 230 provides content or other
information for presentation via a client device 210. For example,
a third party system 230 provides content related to an event
occurring at the venue 110 to a client device 210 for presentation
to a user; as an example, the third party system 230 provides video
or audio data of a portion of an event occurring at the venue to a
client device 210, allowing a user associated with the client
device 210 to view the portion of the event from an alternative
vantage point than the user's vantage point or to hear commentary
about the portion of the event. As another example, a third party
system 230 is a social networking system maintaining connections
between various users and providing content for presentation to
users based at least in part on the maintained connections. A third
party system 230 may also communicate information to the venue
management system 250, which subsequently communicates the
information, or a portion of the information, to one or more client
devices 110 via the network 220.
[0027] Additionally, one or more vendor systems 240 are coupled to
the venue management system 250 via the network 220 or through
direct connections between the vendor systems 240 and the vendor
management system 150. A vendor system 240 is associated with a
vendor 120 and receives orders for products or services from the
venue management system 250 and provides the products or services
identified by the orders. Further, a vendor system 240 provides the
venue management system 250 with information describing fulfillment
of orders by a vendor 120 associated with the vendor system 240.
For example, the vendor system 240 provides information to the
venue management system 250 specifying an estimated time to fulfill
subsequently received or pending orders for products or services,
an average time in which previously received orders were fulfilled,
a number of unfulfilled orders received by the vendor system 240,
or other suitable information. Information provided from the vendor
system 240 to the vendor management system 150 accounts for orders
received via the vendor management system 150 as well as orders
received by the vendor 120 associated with the vendor system 240
from users visiting a location associated with the vendor 120.
[0028] Additionally, a vendor system 240 may provide information to
the venue management system 250 describing products or services
sold by a vendor 120 associated with the vendor system 240. For
example, the vendor system 240 identifies a number of different
products or services 140 sold by the vendor 120 or identifies an
amount of revenue received by the vendor 120 in exchange for
different products or services. Information describing sold
products or services may be communicated from the vendor system 240
to the venue management system 250 as the products or services are
sold or may be communicated from the vendor system to the venue
management system 250 at periodic intervals. Additionally, the
venue management system 250 may request information describing
sales of products or services to a vendor system 240, which
provides the requested information to the venue management system
250 in response to receiving the request.
[0029] The venue management system 250, which is further described
below in conjunction with FIG. 3, receives content from one or more
third party systems 230 or from one or more client devices 210, or
generates content and provides content to users via an application
associated with the venue management system 250 and executing on
client devices 210. Additionally, the venue management system 250
maintains information associated with one or more parking lots 130
associated with a venue 100, such as a number of spaces in a
parking lot 130 currently occupied, a price associated with a the
parking lot 130, or a number of spaces in the parking lot 130 that
have been purchased, as well as directions for navigating to a
location associated with the parking lot 130. The venue management
system 250 may communicate certain information associated with a
parking lot 130 to one or more users, such as the price associated
with the parking lot 130 or directions to the location associated
with the parking lot 130. Associations between one or more vendors
120 and regions 110 of the venue 100 are also included in the venue
management system 250, which also receives orders for products or
services from one or more users and communicates the orders to one
or more vendors 120 for fulfillment.
[0030] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an architecture of a venue
management system 250. The venue management system 250 shown in
FIG. 3 includes a user profile store 305, a content store 310, an
action log 315, a location store 320, a parking management module
325, a vendor management module 330, a content selection module
335, and a web server 340. In other embodiments, the venue
management system 250 may include additional, fewer, or different
components for various applications. Conventional components such
as network interfaces, security functions, load balancers, failover
servers, management and network operations consoles, and the like
are not shown so as to not obscure the details of the system
architecture.
[0031] Each user of the venue management system 250 is associated
with a user profile, which is stored in the user profile store 305.
A user profile includes declarative information about the user
provided by the user and may also include information inferred by
the venue management system 250 from actions associated with the
user or from other information. In one embodiment, a user profile
includes multiple data fields, each describing one or more
attributes of the corresponding user. Examples of information
stored in a user profile include demographic information, contact
information, preferences, and location information. For example, a
user profile identifies a region 110 of the venue 100 associated
with a user, such as a region 110 including a seat associated with
a ticket to attend the venue 100 associated with the user. A user
profile may also store other information provided by the user, for
example, image data or video data. Additionally, a user profile in
the user profile store 205 may also maintain references to actions
by the corresponding user performed on content presented by the
venue management system 250 or interactions between the
corresponding user captured by one or more vendor systems 240 and
communicated to the venue management system 250. For example, a
user profile identifies prior orders for products or services the
venue management system 250 received from a user and communicated
to one or more vendor systems 150.
[0032] In some embodiments, a user profile includes a status
associated with the user. The venue management system 250 may
provide different functionality to a user based on the user's
status. For example, the venue management system 250 communicates
certain types of messages to client devices 210 associated with
users having a specific type of status and does not communicate the
certain types of messages to client devices 210 associated with
users that do not have the specific type of status. As another
example, the venue management system 250 presents less
advertisement content to users having specific statuses. The status
may be based on a frequency with which the user is associated with
tickets to attend the venue 100 or an amount of money the venue
management system 250 has received from the user (e.g., based on an
amount the user has spent on tickets to attend the venue 100).
Additionally, a user may provide an amount of compensation to the
venue management system 250 for a specific status to be associated
with the user. For example, the user provides the venue management
system 250 with an amount of compensation per year or per month for
the venue management system 250 to associate a specific status with
the user.
[0033] The content store 310 stores objects that each represents
various types of content received from one or more third party
systems 230 or generated by the venue management system 250.
Examples of content represented by an object include video data
associated with an event occurring at the venue 100, image data
associated with an event occurring at the venue 100, audio data
associated with an event occurring at the venue 100, text data
associated with an event occurring at the venue 100, information
associated with the venue 100 or with the location of the venue
100, or other suitable. Additionally, content may be received from
applications associated with a third party system 230 and executing
on client devices 210 associated with users of the venue management
system 230. In one embodiment, objects in the content store 210
represent single pieces of content, or content "items."
[0034] The action log 315 stores information describing actions
performed by venue management system users internal to or external
to the venue management system 250. For example, actions performed
by a user on a third party system 230 that communicates information
to the venue management system 250 are stored in the action log 315
along with information describing actions performed by the user
through the venue management system 250. Examples of actions
include: ordering a product or service from a vendor 120 included
in the venue 100, checking-into the venue, accessing content
provided by the venue management system 250 or provided by a third
party system 230 that communicates with the venue management system
250, providing a review of a product, service, or vendor 120 to the
venue management system 250 or to a third party system 230 that
communicates with the vendor management system 250, providing a
comment associated with the venue 100 or with an event occurring at
the venue 100 to the venue management system 250 or to a third
party system 230 that communicates with the venue management system
250. However, any suitable action may be stored in the action log
315 and associated with a user profile in the user profile store
305. Information in the action log 315 may identify the user
performing an action, a type of the action, a description of the
action, a time associated with the action, or any other suitable
information. In some embodiments, data from the action log 315 is
used to infer interests or preferences of a user, augmenting
interests included in the user's user profile and allowing a more
complete understanding of user preferences.
[0035] The action log 315 may also store user actions taken on a
third party system 230, such as an external website, and
communicated to the venue management system 250. For example, an
e-commerce website may recognize a user of the venue management
system 250 through a plug-in enabling the e-commerce website to
identify the venue management system user. Because users of the
venue management system 250 are uniquely identifiable, third party
systems 230 may communicate information about a user's actions
outside of the venue management system 250 to the venue management
system 250 for association with the user. Hence, the action log 315
may record information about actions users perform on a third party
system 230, such as purchases made, comments on content, or other
information a user authorizes a third party system 230 to
communicate to the vendor management system 250.
[0036] The location store 320 includes physical locations
associated with various regions 110 of the venue 100. In various
embodiments, the location store 320 includes a region identifier
associated with each region 110 and information identifying a
geographic area associated with the region identifier. Any suitable
information may identify the geographic area associated with a
region identifier. Example information identifying a geographic
area of a region 110 include: physical coordinates specifying
boundaries of a region 110 and an identifier of a portion of the
venue 100 including the region 110. Additionally, the location
store 320 includes data associating vendors 120 with one or more
regions 110 of the venue 100. A vendor identifier uniquely
associated with a vendor 120 is associated with a region
identifier, with the association stored in the location store 320.
Multiple vendors 120 may be associated with a region 110 of the
venue 100.
[0037] In some embodiments, the location store 320 also associates
location information with users of the venue management system 250.
A client device 210 communicates location information to the venue
management system 250, which may store the location information in
the location store 320 or in the user profile store 305 in
association with the user. Based on the received information, the
venue management system 250 may determine a region 110 of the venue
including the location information and associate the region
identifier of the determined region with a user profile
corresponding to the user. If the venue management system 250
receives modified location information from the client device 210,
the venue management system 205 may modify the determined region
110 if a different region includes the modified location
information. Alternatively, one or more sensors included in the
venue 100 identify a client device 210 and determine a location
associated with the client device 210. Based on the determined
location, the venue management system 250 identifies a region 110
including the client device 110 and stores a region identifier of
the region 110 in association with a user identifier of a user
associated with the client device 210. In various embodiments,
information identifying a location associated with the client
device 210 (e.g., latitude and longitude) is also stored in the
location store 320 in association with an identifier associated
with the user associated with the client device 210. Additionally,
the venue management system 250 may assign a location to a user and
store the assigned location in association with the user in the
location store 320. For example, when a user purchases a ticket to
enter the venue 100, the ticket is associated with a location
assigned to the user, and the location store 320 includes
information associating the location assigned to the user from the
ticket with an identifier associated with the user.
[0038] The parking management module 325 includes information
identifying parking lots 130 associated with the venue and
describing various parking lots 130. Each parking lot 130 is
associated with a lot identifier that uniquely identifies a parking
lot 130. Characteristics of a parking lot 130 are stored in the
parking management module 325 in association with a lot identifier
corresponding to the parking lot 130. Characteristics of a parking
lot 130 include a capacity for the parking lot 130 that specifies a
maximum number of vehicles capable of being parked in the parking
lot 130 and a price associated with the parking lot 130 for
allocating a space in the parking lot 130 to a vehicle. Additional
characteristics of a parking lot 130 include one or more locations
associated with the parking lot 130 (e.g., entrances) and
directions to the location associated with the parking lot 130.
Directions from one or more locations associated with the parking
lot 130 to the venue 100 may also be maintained by the parking
management module 325.
[0039] Certain characteristics of a parking lot 130 are modified
based on information is received by the venue management system
250. As users purchase spaces in a parking lot 130, the parking
management module 325 maintains a number of purchased spaces
associated with the parking lot 130. Additionally, when a vehicle
enters a parking lot 130, information is communicated from the
parking lot to the venue management system 250, where the parking
management module 325 maintains a number of vehicles currently
occupying the parking lot 130 or a number of currently occupied
spaces in the parking lot 130. In some embodiments, a ticket is
scanned or other information is captured by a device (e.g.,
scanner, card reader, terminal) when a vehicle enters the parking
lot 130; the device communicates an indication that information was
captured to the venue management system 250, causing the parking
management module 325 to increment a number of spaces in the
parking lot 130 currently associated with vehicles or to increment
a number of currently occupied spaces in the parking lot 130. Thus,
the parking management module 325 maintains a number of spaces in a
parking lot 130 that are currently occupied by vehicles and
modifies the number of currently occupied spaces as vehicles are
parked in the parking lot.
[0040] Based on a number of spaces currently associated with
vehicles in various parking lots 130, the parking management module
325 may communicate messages to client devices 210 identifying one
or more of the parking lots 130. In one embodiment, the parking
management module 325 selects a parking lot 130 based on a
difference between a number of previously purchased spaces in the
parking lot 130 and a number of currently occupied spaces in the
parking lot 130. For example, the parking management module 325
selects a parking lot 130 having at least a threshold difference
between a number of previously purchased spaces and a number of
currently occupied spaces, which indicates there are at least the
threshold number of unoccupied spaces in the selected parking lot
130. To increase the number of vehicles in the selected parking lot
130, the parking management module 325, the parking management
module communicates a message to client devices 110 associated with
one or more users identifying the selected parking lot. The message
may indicate a number of unoccupied spaces in the selected parking
lot 130 as well as the price associated with the selected parking
lot 130. In some embodiments, the parking management module 325
modifies the price associated with the selected parking lot 130 to
encourage users to park vehicles in spaces of the selected parking
lot. The parking management module 235 may also modify a price
associated with the selected parking lot 130 to encourage users to
park vehicles in spaces of the selected parking lot 130. For
example, the parking management module 325 decreases a price of the
selected parking lot 130 to increase likelihoods of users
purchasing spaces in the selected parking lot 130.
[0041] The parking management module 325 also receives information
describing traffic conditions within a threshold distance of the
parking lot 130 associated with the user and determines the
directions for communication to the user based at least in part on
the traffic conditions. Information describing the traffic
conditions includes a number of currently occupied spaces in one or
more additional parking lots 130, such as additional parking lots
130 within a threshold distance of the parking lot 130 associated
with the user. Based on the information describing the traffic
conditions, the parking management module 325 may modify the
directions to one or more locations associated with the parking lot
associated with the user. For example, the parking management
module 325 modifies the directions to a location associated with
the parking lot 130 to avoid one or more additional parking lots
130 with at least a threshold number of currently occupied spaces
or to avoid one or more geographic regions having at least a
threshold number or density of vehicles. As traffic conditions
change, the parking management module 325 may further modify the
direction to a location associated with the parking lot 130 and
communicate the further modified directions to the client device
210 associated with the user, allowing a user to bypass congestion
when travelling to the parking lot 130 associated with the
user.
[0042] The vendor management module 330 receives orders for
products or services from client devices 210 associated with users
and communicates the orders to one or more vendor systems 240 of
vendors 120 associated with the venue 100. In various embodiments,
the vendor management module 330 includes vendor profiles each
associated with one or more vendors 120 associated with the venue
100. A vendor profile includes a vendor identifier uniquely
identifying a vendor 120 and additional information associated with
the vendor 120, such as one or more regions 110 of the venue 100
associated with the vendor 120 and information for communicating
with a vendor system 240 associated with the vendor 120. Further
examples of information associated with the vendor 120 and included
in a vendor profile include: contact information, hours of
operation, a listing of products or services provided by the vendor
120, a current inventory or products maintained by the vendor 120,
and a current time for the vendor 120 to fulfill received orders.
However, in other embodiments, additional or different information
may be included in the vendor profile. One or more users authorized
by the venue management system 250 may communicate information to
the vendor management system 330 to modify regions 110 of the venue
associated with one or more vendors 120.
[0043] When the vendor management module 330 receives an order
identifying a product or service and identifying a vendor 120 from
a user, the vendor management system 330 communicates the order to
a vendor system 240 corresponding to the identified vendor 120. The
vendor 120 may subsequently deliver the product or service
identified by the order to the user or may communicate a
notification to the user via the venue management system 250 when
the order is fulfilled. To expedite delivery of products or
services, the vendor management module 330 may associate different
vendors 120 with different regions 110 of the venue 100 to reduce
time for users to receive products or services delivered by vendors
120. The vendor management module 330 may modify regions 110 of the
venue 100 associated with a vendor 120 by modifying identifiers of
regions 110 included in a vendor profile of a vendor 120. In some
embodiments, the vendor management module 330 modifies regions 110
associated with a vendor 120 based on a number or a frequency of
orders received from users associated with different regions 110 as
well as a time to fulfill orders by different vendors 120, products
or services offered by different vendors 120 or a number of orders
received by different vendors 120. When modifying regions 110
associated with a vendor 120 or vendors 120 associated with a
region, the venue management system 330 may account for products or
services provided by various vendors 120 so similar products or
services are provided to users in a region 110 before and after
modification of the vendors 120 associated with the region 110.
[0044] Additionally, the vendor management module 330 receives
information from a vendor system 240 and communicates the
information to one or more client devices 210 for presentation to
users. For example, the vendor system 240 communicates a time to
fulfill an order, an estimated time to fulfill an order, a number
of previously received orders that have yet to be fulfilled, or
other suitable information to the vendor management module 330,
which provides at least a subset of the information to a client
device 210 for presentation to a user. As another example, a vendor
system 240 communicates a message to the venue management module
330 including a user identifier, an order identifier (or a
description of an order), and an indication that an order
corresponding to the order identifier has been fulfilled by a
vendor. The vendor management module 330 identifies a user
corresponding to the user identifier from the user profile store
305 and communicates the message to a client device 210 associated
with the user.
[0045] As vendors 120 may deliver products to users in various
regions 110 of the venue 100 to fulfill orders received from
various users, in some embodiments, the vendor management module
330 regulates communication of orders received from client devices
210 associated with users to vendor systems 240 associated with
various vendors 120. When the vendor management module 330 receives
an order for a product or a service from a client device 210
associated with a user, the vendor management module 330 stores the
received order in a queue for a specified time interval before
communicating the order to a vendor system 240 corresponding to a
vendor 120 identified by the order. If the vendor management system
330 receives additional orders from users having one or more
characteristics matching or similar to the order stored in the
queue and identifying the vendor 120 identified by the order while
the order is stored in the queue, the vendor management module 330
generates a group including the additional orders and the order
stored in the queue and communicates the group or orders to a
vendor system 240 associated with the vendor 120 to be fulfilled.
For example, the vendor management system 330 generates a group
including additional orders associated with users having a location
matching a location of a user associated with an order stored in
the queue. As additional examples, the vendor management system 330
generates a group including orders identifying products or services
matching, or similar to, a product or service specified by an order
stored in the queue or generates a group including orders
identifying products or services having times for fulfillment
within a threshold value of a time for fulfillment of the order
stored in the queue. Communicating a group of orders having one or
more matching or similar characteristics to a vendor system 240
allows the vendor 120 associated with vendor system 240 to more
efficiently fulfill orders from users.
[0046] The content selection module 335 selects one or more content
items for communication to a client device 210 for presentation to
a user. Content items eligible for presentation to the user are
retrieved from the content store 310, from a third party system
230, or from another source, by the content selection module 335,
which selects one or more of the content items for presentation to
the user. A content item eligible for presentation to the viewing
user is a content item associated with at least a threshold number
of targeting criteria satisfied by characteristics of the user or
is a content item that is not associated with targeting criteria.
For example, a content item associated with targeting criteria
specifying a threshold distance of the venue 100 is identified as
eligible for presentation to users associated with locations within
a threshold distance of the venue 100. As another example, a
content item associated with targeting criteria specifying
attendance of an event at the venue 100 is identified as eligible
for presentation to users attending the event or who have indicated
they will attend the event. In various embodiments, the content
selection module 335 includes content items eligible for
presentation to the user in one or more selection processes, which
identify a set of content items for presentation to the user. For
example, the content selection module 335 determines a measure of
relevance of various content items to a user based on
characteristics associated with the user by the venue management
system 250 based on actions associated with the user by the venue
management system 250, characteristics of the user maintained by
the venue management system 250, preferences of the user maintained
by the venue management system 250, and characteristics of content
items eligible for presentation to the user. For example, the
content selection module 335 determines measures of relevance to a
user based on characteristics of the content items, characteristics
of the user, and actions associated with the user. Based on the
measures of relevance, the content selection module 335 selects one
or more content items for presentation to the user (e.g., content
items having at least a threshold measure of relevance, content
items having highest measures of relevance relative to other
content items). In some embodiments, the content selection module
335 ranks content items based on their associated measures of
relevance and selects content items having the highest positions in
the ranking or having at least a threshold position in the ranking
for presentation to the user.
[0047] A content item may be associated with bid amounts specifying
an amount of compensation received by the venue management system
250 from a third party system 130 or from a user if one or more
criteria associated with the content item are satisfied. For
example, a bid amount associated with a content item specifies an
amount of compensation received by the venue management system 250
when the content item is presented to a user or when a user
presented with the content item performs a specified type of
interaction with the content item. The content selection module 335
uses the bid amounts associated with various content items when
selecting content for presentation to the user. In various
embodiments, the content selection module 335 determines an
expected value associated with various content items based on their
bid amounts and selects content items associated with a maximum
expected value or associated with at least a threshold expected
value for presentation to the user. An expected value associated
with a content item represents an expected amount of compensation
to the venue management system 250 for presenting a content item.
For example, the expected value associated with a content item is a
product of the content item's bid amount and a likelihood of the
user interacting with the content item. The content selection
module 335 may rank content items associated with bid amounts
separately than content items that are not associated with bid
amounts and select content items for presentation based on the
separate rankings (e.g., content items having at least a threshold
position in a ranking).
[0048] In some embodiment, the content selection module 335 selects
content from the content store 310 and maps portions of the content
to various client devices 210 within the venue 100 and executing an
application associated with the venue management system 250. As
further described below in conjunction with FIGS. 4-6C, the content
selection module 335 maps portions of content, such as an image, to
different client devices 210 based on locations of the client
devices 210 within the venue 100. The content selection module 335
then communicates a message to a client device 210 including a
portion of the content mapped to the client device 210, and the
client device 210 presents the portion of the content mapped to the
client device 210 on a display device of the client device 210 when
an interaction with the application associated with the venue
management system 250 is received. In various embodiments, the
content selection module 335 selects content from the content store
310 based at least in part on an action currently happening in the
venue (e.g., a red card being shown to a player in a soccer match).
Alternatively, the content selection module 335 may receive content
to be mapped to one or more client devices 210 from a third party
system, or from one or more users of the venue management system
250 (e.g., a fan requesting a yellow card for a player of the
opposing team in a soccer match). Content selected by the content
selection module 335 may be an image, a video, or any other
suitable content. For instance, a video of a flag waving may be
selected for presentation by client devices 210 within the venue
110 by the content selection module 335 when the national anthem is
played during a sporting event in the venue 100.
[0049] The web server 340 links venue management system 250 via the
network 220 to one or more client devices 210, as well as to one or
more third party systems 230. Additionally, the web server 340 may
exchange information between the venue management system 250 and
one or more vendor systems 240. The web server 340 serves web
pages, as well as other content, such as JAVA.RTM., FLASH.RTM., XML
and so forth. The web server 340 may receive and route messages
between the venue management system 250 and a client device 210,
for example, instant messages, queued messages (e.g., email), text
messages, short message service (SMS) messages, or messages sent
using any other suitable messaging technique. A user may send a
request to the web server 340 to upload information (e.g., images
or videos) that are stored in the content store 210. Additionally,
the web server 340 may provide application programming interface
(API) functionality to send data directly to native client device
operating systems, such as IOS.RTM., ANDROID.TM., WEBOS.RTM. or
BlackberryOS.
Presenting Content within a Venue Using Client Devices within the
Venue
[0050] FIG. 4 is an example of a venue 100 displaying content 410
using multiple client devices 210 within the venue 100. Each client
device 210 may be associated with a user attending an event in the
venue 100 and executing an application associated with a venue
management system 250. In the example of FIG. 4, the content 410
displays the letters "SF." The content 410 displayed in the venue
100 may be an image selected by the venue management system 250
from content stored by the venue management system 250, retrieved
by the venue management system 250 from a third party system, or
received by the venue management system 250 from one or more users
of the venue management system 250. In some embodiments, the venue
management system 250 selects the content 410 for presentation
based at least in part on an event occurring in the venue 100. For
instance, the content 410 is an image of a flag for presentation
during the singing of the national anthem before a sporting event
in the venue 100.
[0051] In some embodiments, the content 410 displayed is selected
by a user of the venue management system 250 operating a client
device 210. For instance, a user communicates content to the venue
management system 250 for presentation by client devices 210 within
the venue 100 if the user believes a penalty should have been
identified in a sporting event occurring within the venue 100. In
some embodiments, the venue management system 250 identifies
content received from at least a threshold number of users for
presentation by client devices 210 within the venue. For example,
content identifying a yellow card or yellow flag is identified for
presentation by client devices 210 within the venue if at least a
threshold number of users communicate the content to the venue
management system 250. In one embodiment, locations within the
venue 100 associated with users who request content for
presentation are used by the venue management system 250 when
selecting content 410 for presentation by client devices 210 within
the venue 100. For example, the venue management system 250 selects
content for presentation in a region 110 of the venue 100 if at
least a threshold number of users associated with locations within
the region 110 identify the content to the venue management system
250.
[0052] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of one embodiment of a method for
displaying content within a venue 100 using client devices 210
within the venue 100. In some embodiment, the method includes
different and/or additional steps than those described in
conjunction with FIG. 5. Additionally, in various embodiments,
steps of the method may be performed in different orders than the
order described in conjunction with FIG. 5.
[0053] The venue management system 250 identifies 510 content for
presentation within the venue 100. In various embodiments, the
content may be selected from content stored by the venue management
system 250, from content maintained by a third party system that
communicates with the venue management system 250, or from content
received by the venue management system 250 from one or more users
(e.g., one or more users within the venue 100). For example,
content identified 510 by the venue management system 250 is the
image 610 illustrated in FIG. 6A, which is a static image showing
the letters "SF."
[0054] In some embodiments, the venue management system 250
accounts for events occurring within the venue 100 when identifying
510 content. For example, the venue management system 250
identifies 510 content associated with or related to one or more
actions occurring during an event within the venue 100. As an
example, content identified 510 by the venue management system 250
is related to an action that occurred during the event within the
venue 110 at a time less than a threshold interval from a time when
the venue management system 250 identified 510 the content. In
another example, the venue management system 250 identifies 510
content in anticipation of one or more actions occurring within the
event in a threshold interval from a current time.
[0055] The venue management system 250 receives 520 location
information for multiple client devices 210 within the venue 100.
In some embodiments, the venue management system 250 retrieves
stored location information associated with client devices 210 or
associated with users associated with the client devices 210 (e.g.,
seats assigned to users based on tickets purchased by the users).
Alternatively, the venue management system 250 receives 520
location information from various client devices 210 within the
venue 100 that identifies locations of the client devices 210. A
location of a client device 210 may be determined by a position
sensor 216 included in the client device 210, as further described
above in conjunction with FIG. 2. In some embodiments, the venue
management system 250 uses a location determined by a position
sensor 216 included in a client device 210 to determine whether a
location of user associated with the client device is within a
threshold distance (e.g., 2 meters) of a location associated with
the user by the venue management system 250 (e.g., a seat assigned
to the user). If the venue management system 250 determines the
location of the user is within the threshold distance of the
location associated with the user by the venue management system
250, the venue management system 250 uses the location associated
with the user by the venue management system 250 (e.g., a seat
assigned to the user) as the location of the user. If the location
determined by the position sensor 216 in the client device 210
associated with the user is greater than the threshold distance
from the location associated with the user by the venue management
system 250, the venue management system 250 uses the location
determined by the position sensor in the client device 210
associated with the user as the location of the user.
[0056] Based at least in part on location information received 520
from various client devices 210, the venue management system 250
maps 530 portions of the identified content to different client
devices 210. Referring to FIG. 6B, an example mapping 530 of image
610 to different client devices 210 is shown. In the example of
FIG. 6B, portions of image 610 are mapped to client devices 210 of
users based on locations associated with the users by the venue
management system 250, such as seat locations of the users. For
instance, the portion of image 610 located in the top left corner
is mapped to a client device 210 of a user assigned to row A, seat
1, while and the portion of image 610 located at the bottom right
corner is mapped to a client device of a user assigned to row L,
seat 18.
[0057] In one embodiment, the venue management system 250 maps 520
each client device 210 to a different portion of the identified
content. In other embodiments, multiple client devices 210 within a
threshold distance of each other are mapped 530 to a common portion
of the identified content. Further, multiple adjacent portions of
the identified content (e.g., multiple adjacent pixels of an image)
may be mapped 530 to a single client device 210.
[0058] The venue management system 250 subsequently sends 540
portions of the identified content to the client devices 210
executing an application associated with the venue management
system 250 and mapped to the various portions of the identified
content. If multiple portions of the identified content are mapped
520 to a client device 210, the venue management module 250 may
send 540 each of the multiple portions of the identified content to
the client device 210 for display. Alternatively, if multiple
adjacent portions of the identified content are mapped 530 to a
client device 210, the venue management module 250 may send 540 the
client device 210 an average of the portions of the identified
content mapped 530 to the client device 210 (e.g., an average value
of pixels in an image mapped 540 to the client device 210).
[0059] To display the identified content, the display devices 212
of the client devices 210 that received portions of the identified
content display the portions of the identified content. For
example, when a user of a client device 210 interacts with an
application executing on the client device 210 and associated with
the venue management system 250, a display device 212 of the client
device 210 presents the portion of the identified content received
by the client device 210 from the venue management system 250.
Hence, display devices 212 of various client devices 210 act as
various pixels of the identified content, if the identified content
is an image.
[0060] Referring to FIG. 6C, an example presentation of content in
a venue 100 using display devices 212 of client devices 210 within
the venue 100. In the example of FIG. 6C, a subset of client
devices 210 receive a specific color from the image 610 (e.g.,
black) from the venue management system 250 and display the
specific color. Additionally, another subset of client devices 210
receive an alternative color from the image 610 (e.g., white) and
display the alternative color, so the combination of content
presented by display devices 212 of client devices 210 in the
subset and in the additional subset present the image 610.
[0061] In some embodiments, the portion of the identified content
displayed by a display device 212 of a client devices 210 changes
over time. For example, a color displayed by a display device 212
of a client device 210 changes over time to allow presentation of a
moving picture or a video. As an example, colors presented by
display devices 212 change over time as a song playing in the venue
100 produces different sounds. In some embodiments, the venue
management system 250 sends 540 multiple portions of the identified
content to a client device 210 along with instructions for the
client device 210 to select a portion of the identified content for
presentation at different times (e.g., times from a current time
associated with presentation of different portions of the
identified content). Alternatively, the venue management system 250
sends 540 different portions of the identified content to the
client device 210 at different times to modify the content
presented by the client device 210 at different times.
[0062] To present the portion of the identified content received by
a client device 210, a user associated with the client device 210
interacts with an application executing on the client device 210
and associated with the venue management system 250. The
application may identify a direction or an orientation of the
client device 210 for presenting the portion of the identified
content. For example, the application identifies a vertical
orientation of a display device 212 of the client device 210 and a
direction where the display device 212 faces a location within the
venue 100. In some embodiments, the application executing on client
device 210 uses a gyroscope or a compass included in the client
device 210 to determine whether the client device 210 has the
direction or the orientation for presenting the portion of the
identified content and presents a message to a user associated with
the client device 210 to reorient the client device 210.
[0063] The client devices 210 may send orientation information to
the venue management system 250 describing directions or
orientations of the client devices 210 while presenting portions of
the identified content. For instance, a client device 210
communicates angular information determined by a gyroscope in the
client device 210 and direction information determined by a compass
in the client device 210 to the venue management system 250. Based
on the angular information and direction information, the venue
management system 250 determines whether the client device 210 is
correctly displaying the portion of the identified content. If
venue management system 250 determines the client device 210 is not
correctly displaying the portion of the identified content, the
venue management system 250 may send a message to the client device
210 for the user to correct the orientation of the client device
210. For example, if direction information received from a client
device 210 indicates the client device 210 is pointing north when
the identified content is to be presented to the south, the venue
management system 250 may send a message to client device 210
notifying the user of a direction to present the display device 212
of the client device 210 (e.g., to direct the display device 212 to
the south). In another example, the venue management system 250
determines the client device 210 is horizontally oriented based on
angular information determined by a gyroscope of the client device
210 and provided to the venue management system 250, and sends a
notification to a user of the client device 210 to vertically
orient the client device 210 when presenting the portion of the
identified content.
[0064] In other embodiments, the venue management system 250 sends
540 a request to a client device 210 within the venue 100 including
a portion of the identified content mapped 530 to the client device
210 executing an application associated with the venue management
system 250. If the client device 210 is currently presenting
content from the application associated with the venue management
system 250, the application may automatically present the portion
of the identified content included in the request. Alternatively,
the application prompts the user whether to present the portion of
the identified content included in the request. If the client
device 210 is not currently presenting content from the application
associated with the venue management system 250, the client device
210 presents a notification to the user that content has been
received from the application and prompts the user to present
content from the application via the client device 210.
[0065] The client device 210 may modify one or more display
settings when presenting the portion of the identified content
received from the venue management system 250. For example, an
application executing on the client device 210 and associated with
the venue management system 250 maximizes a brightness of a display
device 212 of the client device 210 when presenting the portion of
the identified content received from the venue management system.
In other embodiments, the venue management system 250 determines a
density of client devices 210 in different regions 110 of the venue
100 and sends instructions to client devices 210 along with the
portions of the identified content mapped 530 to the client devices
210 that, when executed by the client devices 210, adjust
brightness of display devices 212 of each client device 210 based
on the density of client devices 210 in each region 110 of the
venue 100, the sizes of display devices 212 of various client
devices 210, and maximum brightnesses of display devices 212 of
various client devices 210. For example, the venue management
module 250 communicates instructions to client devices 210 so
brightnesses of display devices 212 of client devices 210 in
regions 110 with less than a threshold density of client devices
210 (i.e., regions with a small number of client devices 210
receive portions of the identified content) to a maximum
brightness, and so an average brightness of display devices 212 of
client devices 210 in regions with greater than the threshold
density of client devices 210 matches an average brightness of
display devices 212 in regions with less than the threshold density
of client devices 210. In another example, the venue management
system 250 communicates instructions to a client device 210 that
determines a brightness for the client device 210 based at least in
part on a size of the display device 212 of the client device 210
(e.g., a larger size display device 212 may have a lower brightness
than a smaller size display device 212).
[0066] The venue management system 250 may determine a density of
client devices 210 in a region 110 by communicating a request to
client devices 210 having locations within the region 110. Client
devices 210 presenting portions of the identified content from the
venue management system 250 communicate a confirmation to the venue
management system 250, while client devices 210 not presenting
portions of the identified content provide no response to the venue
management system 250 or provide a declination message to the venue
management system 250. A ratio of the number of confirmations
received by the venue management system 250 to a number of client
devices 210 in the region 110 or to an area of the region 110
determines the density of client devices 210 in the region 110. The
venue management system 250 may periodically determine the density
of client devices 210 in various regions 110 and modify
instructions sent to client devices 210 for presenting content
identified by the venue management system 250 based on the
determined densities of client devices 210.
[0067] In some embodiments, the venue management system 250
provides a reward to users who present portions of content
identified 510 by the venue management system 250. For instance,
the venue management system 250 provides a coupon for use at a
vendor 120 within the venue 100 to a user associated with a client
device 210 that presented a portion of the identified content. The
venue management system 250 may provide a reward to user who
presents a portion of the identified content on their associated
client devices 210 for at least a threshold amount of time or at
least a threshold number of times in various embodiments.
SUMMARY
[0068] The foregoing description of the embodiments of the
invention has been presented for the purpose of illustration; it is
not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the
precise forms disclosed. Persons skilled in the relevant art can
appreciate that many modifications and variations are possible in
light of the above disclosure.
[0069] Some portions of this description describe the embodiments
of the invention in terms of algorithms and symbolic
representations of operations on information. These algorithmic
descriptions and representations are commonly used by those skilled
in the data processing arts to convey the substance of their work
effectively to others skilled in the art. These operations, while
described functionally, computationally, or logically, are
understood to be implemented by computer programs or equivalent
electrical circuits, microcode, or the like. Furthermore, it has
also proven convenient at times, to refer to these arrangements of
operations as modules, without loss of generality. The described
operations and their associated modules may be embodied in
software, firmware, hardware, or any combinations thereof
[0070] Any of the steps, operations, or processes described herein
may be performed or implemented with one or more hardware or
software modules, alone or in combination with other devices. In
one embodiment, a software module is implemented with a computer
program product comprising a computer-readable medium containing
computer program code, which can be executed by a computer
processor for performing any or all of the steps, operations, or
processes described.
[0071] Embodiments of the invention may also relate to an apparatus
for performing the operations herein. This apparatus may be
specially constructed for the required purposes, and/or it may
comprise a general-purpose computing device selectively activated
or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such
a computer program may be stored in a non-transitory, tangible
computer readable storage medium, or any type of media suitable for
storing electronic instructions, which may be coupled to a computer
system bus. Furthermore, any computing systems referred to in the
specification may include a single processor or may be
architectures employing multiple processor designs for increased
computing capability.
[0072] Embodiments of the invention may also relate to a product
that is produced by a computing process described herein. Such a
product may comprise information resulting from a computing
process, where the information is stored on a non-transitory,
tangible computer readable storage medium and may include any
embodiment of a computer program product or other data combination
described herein.
[0073] Finally, the language used in the specification has been
principally selected for readability and instructional purposes,
and it may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the
inventive subject matter. It is therefore intended that the scope
of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but
rather by any claims that issue on an application based hereon.
Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodiments of the invention is
intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the
invention, which is set forth in the following claims.
* * * * *