U.S. patent application number 16/711965 was filed with the patent office on 2020-04-16 for apparatus and method for recommending place.
This patent application is currently assigned to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.. The applicant listed for this patent is Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Won-chang JANG, Sang-wook KANG, Jung-hyun OH.
Application Number | 20200118191 16/711965 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52344343 |
Filed Date | 2020-04-16 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200118191 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
KANG; Sang-wook ; et
al. |
April 16, 2020 |
APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR RECOMMENDING PLACE
Abstract
A method of receiving a recommendation of Point of Interest
(POI) information from a place recommending apparatus is provided.
The method includes sending a POI information recommendation
request to the place recommending apparatus using sensor data and
receiving a recommendation response to the POI information
recommendation request from the place recommending apparatus based
on user-desired environment information.
Inventors: |
KANG; Sang-wook; (Suwon-si,
KR) ; OH; Jung-hyun; (Suwon-si, KR) ; JANG;
Won-chang; (Suwon-si, KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. |
Suwon-si |
|
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
Samsung Electronics Co.,
Ltd.
Suwon-si
KR
|
Family ID: |
52344343 |
Appl. No.: |
16/711965 |
Filed: |
December 12, 2019 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
14336360 |
Jul 21, 2014 |
10546338 |
|
|
16711965 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0631
20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/06 20060101
G06Q030/06 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 22, 2013 |
KR |
10-2013-0086274 |
Claims
1. A method of receiving, by a first device, a recommendation of
Point of Interest (POI) information from a place recommending
apparatus, the method comprising: obtaining, by at least one
processor, an information of user-desired ambient environment;
transmitting, by the at least one processor, to the place
recommending apparatus, the POI information recommendation request
including the information of user-desired ambient environment;
receiving, by the at least one processor, from the place
recommending apparatus, the recommendation of the POI in response
to the transmitted POI information recommendation request based on
the information of user-desired ambient environment associated with
a location from a plurality of places that is collected by the
place recommending apparatus; and providing, by the at least one
processor, the recommendation for the user to recognize environment
information related to the POI without visiting the POI.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining of the information of
user-desired ambient environment further comprises: analyzing user
data stored in the first device; and extracting the information of
user-desired ambient environment based on the analyzing result of
the user data.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the user data comprises
information used by an application running on the first device.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the application comprises at
least one of a schedule application, a memo application, a Short
Messaging Service (SMS) application, a mail application, or a SNS
application.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining of the information of
user-desired ambient environment further comprises: obtaining of
the information of user-desired ambient environment based on the
user's input; and wherein the user's input comprises at least one
of a voice or a text.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein when the user's input is text,
obtaining of the information of user-desired ambient environment
further comprises: analyzing context of the text including at least
one of a environment description phrase and place description
phrase; extracting the environment description phrases from the
text; and obtaining of the information of user-desired ambient
environment based on the environment description phrase.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining of the information of
user-desired ambient environment further comprises: obtaining of
user sensor profile which is stored in the first device; and
wherein the user sensor profile is generated in advance through one
or more times of sensor recognition.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein obtaining of the user sensor
profile further comprises: analyzing sensor information
corresponding to each of the plurality of places; obtaining of
common characteristic information based on the analyzing result of
sensor information; and generating the user sensor profile based on
the common characteristic information.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein: the transmitting of the POI
information recommendation request to the place recommending
apparatus comprises transmitting the POI information recommendation
request to the place recommending apparatus that collects
environment information related to a place in which sensor data is
generated, by using the sensor data generated by at least one of a
plurality of devices, and the receiving of the recommendation
response from the place recommending apparatus based on the
information of user-desired ambient environment comprises receiving
the recommendation response, which includes a place found based on
the information of user-desired ambient environment, from the place
recommending apparatus.
10. The method of claim 9, further comprising: obtaining of sensor
information regarding vicinities of the first device from one or
more sensors, wherein the first device is one of the plurality of
devices; and transmitting the sensor information and place
information regarding the first device to the place recommending
apparatus.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the information of user-desired
ambient environment comprises at least one of noise, brightness, a
temperature, and an air condition.
12. A first device for receiving a recommendation of Point of
Interest (POI) information from a place recommending apparatus, the
first device comprising: communicator; and at least one processor
coupled with the communicator and one or more sensors and
configured to: obtain an information of user-desired ambient
environment; transmit to the place recommending apparatus, the POI
information recommendation request including the information of
user-desired ambient environment; receive, from the place
recommending apparatus, the recommendation of the POI in response
to the transmitted POI information recommendation request based on
the information of user-desired ambient environment associated with
a location from a plurality of places that is collected by the
place recommending apparatus; and provide the recommendation for
the user to recognize environment information related to the POI
without visiting the POI.
13. The first device of claim 12, wherein the at least one
processor is further configured to: analyze user data stored in the
first device; and extract the information of user-desired ambient
environment based on the analyzing result of the user data.
14. The first device of claim 13, wherein the user data comprises
information used by an application running on the first device.
15. The first device of claim 12, wherein the at least one
processor is further configured to: obtain of the information of
user-desired ambient environment based on the user's input; and
wherein the user's input comprises at least one of a voice or a
text.
16. The first device of claim 15, wherein when the user's input is
text, the at least one processor is further configured to: analyze
context of the text including at least one of a environment
description phrase and place description phrase; extract the
environment description phrases from the text; and obtain of the
information of user-desired ambient environment based on the
environment description phrase.
17. The first device of claim 12, wherein the at least one
processor is further configured to: obtain of user sensor profile
which is stored in the first device; and wherein the user sensor
profile is generated in advance through one or more times of sensor
recognition.
18. The first device of claim 12, wherein the at least one
processor is further configured to: transmit the POI information
recommendation request to the place recommending apparatus that
collects environment information related to a place in which sensor
data is generated, by using the sensor data generated by at least
one of a plurality of devices, and receive the recommendation
response, which includes a place found based on the information of
user-desired ambient environment, from the place recommending
apparatus.
19. A place recommending apparatus comprising: a communicator; and
at least one processor coupled with the communicator and configured
to: receive a POI information recommendation request including
information of user-desired ambient environment; analyze the
received information of user-desired ambient environment based on a
database for environment information; generate a recommendation of
a place among the plurality of places in response to the
transmitted POI information recommendation request; and transmit
the recommendation response for the user to recognize environment
information related to the POI without visiting the POI.
20. At least one non-transitory computer readable medium storing
computer readable instructions which, when executed by a processor
of a device, causes the processor to control the device to perform
operations comprising: obtaining, by at least one processor, an
information of user-desired ambient environment; transmitting, by
the at least one processor, to the place recommending apparatus,
the POI information recommendation request including the
information of user-desired ambient environment; receiving, by the
at least one processor, from the place recommending apparatus, the
recommendation of the POI in response to the transmitted POI
information recommendation request based on the information of
user-desired ambient environment associated with a location from a
plurality of places that is collected by the place recommending
apparatus; and providing, by the at least one processor, the
recommendation for the user to recognize environment information
related to the POI without visiting the POI.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation application of U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 14/336,360 filed on Jul. 21, 2014 which
claims the priority benefit of Korean Patent Application No.
10-2013-0086274, filed on Jul. 22, 2013, in the Korean Intellectual
Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in
its entirety by reference.
BACKGROUND
1. Field
[0002] Embodiments relate to a method and apparatus for
recommending a place to a user, and more particularly, to a method
and apparatus for collecting environment information regarding
vicinities of a particular place by using a sensor and recommending
a place to a plurality of terminals by using the collected
environment information.
2. Description of the Related Art
[0003] A user may obtain environment information related to a place
by visiting that place in person or using reviews or pictures
provided by others. However, the user may not find out a place
having a user-desired environment in real time merely with the
reviews or pictures provided by others.
[0004] Moreover, the usability of sensors is ever-increasing in
association with smart phones and Information Technology (IT). At
present, the Internet of things starts in which information made by
uniquely identifiable things is shared via the Internet, and a "Bic
Data" environment also becomes active, such that the usability of
the sensors increases more than ever.
SUMMARY
[0005] One or more embodiments include a method and apparatus for
collecting environment information regarding vicinities of a
particular place by using a sensor of a device and recommending a
place to a user by using the collected environment information.
[0006] In an aspect of one or more embodiments, there is provided a
method of receiving a recommendation of Point of Interest (POI)
information from a place recommending apparatus which includes
sending a POI information recommendation request to the place
recommending apparatus using sensor data and receiving a
recommendation response to the POI information recommendation
request from the place recommending apparatus based on user-desired
environment information.
[0007] In an aspect of one or more embodiments, there is provided a
method of recommending a place to a device which includes
collecting sensor data generated by at least one of a plurality of
devices comprising the device, establishing a database for
environment information related to a place in which the sensor data
is generated, by using the collected sensor data, receiving a Point
of Interest (POI) information recommendation request including
user-desired environment information from the device, and sending a
recommendation response to the POI information recommendation
request including a place found based on the user-desired
environment information to the device.
[0008] In an aspect of one or more embodiments, there is provided a
device for receiving a recommendation of Point of Interest (POI)
information from a place recommending apparatus which includes a
place recommendation requesting unit sending a POI information
recommendation request to the place recommending apparatus using
sensor data and a recommended place receiving unit receiving a
recommendation response to the POI information recommendation
request from the place recommending apparatus based on user-desired
environment information.
[0009] In an aspect of one or more embodiments, there is provided a
place recommending apparatus for recommending a place to a device
which includes a sensor information collecting unit collecting
sensor data generated by at least one of a plurality of devices
including the device, a database generating unit establishing a
database for environment information related to a place in which
the sensor data is generated, by using the collected sensor data,
and a place recommending unit receiving a Point of Interest (POI)
information recommendation request including user-desired
environment information from the device and sending a
recommendation response to the POI information recommendation
request, which includes a place found based on the user-desired
environment information, to the device.
[0010] According to another aspect of one or more embodiments,
there is provided at least one non-transitory computer readable
medium storing computer readable instructions to implement methods
of one or more embodiments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] These and/or other aspects will become apparent and more
readily appreciated from the following description of embodiments,
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system for recommending a
place according to an embodiment;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a process in which a device
sends a Point of Interest (POI) information recommendation request
to an apparatus for recommending a place (or a place recommending
apparatus) and receives a place recommendation from the place
recommending apparatus, according to an embodiment;
[0014] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process in which a place
recommending apparatus receives a POI information recommendation
request from a device and recommends a place to the device,
according to an embodiment;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a diagram describing interpretation of
user-desired environment information as sensor data, according to
an embodiment;
[0016] FIG. 5 is a diagram describing an example in which a place
recommending apparatus establishes an environment information
database regarding places by collecting sensor data, according to
an embodiment;
[0017] FIG. 6 is a diagram describing an example in which sensor
profile information of a user is generated, according to an
embodiment;
[0018] FIG. 7 is a ladder diagram describing a process in which a
device transmits user-desired environment information to a place
recommending apparatus to receive a place recommendation, according
to an embodiment;
[0019] FIG. 8 is a diagram describing an example in which a device
transmits user-desired environment information to a place
recommending apparatus and receives a place recommendation,
according to an embodiment;
[0020] FIG. 9 is a ladder diagram showing an example in which an
advertising device advertises environment information related to a
place to a device by using sensor data, according to an
embodiment;
[0021] FIG. 10 is a diagram describing an example in which an
advertising device advertises environment information related to a
place to a device by using sensor data, according to an embodiment;
and
[0022] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a device and a place
recommending apparatus for recommending a place by using sensor
data according to an embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments,
examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings,
wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements
throughout. In this regard, embodiments may have different forms
and should not be construed as being limited to the descriptions
set forth herein. Accordingly, embodiments are merely described
below, by referring to the figures, to explain aspects of the
present disclosure. Expressions such as "at least one of," when
preceding a list of elements, modify the entire list of elements
and do not modify the individual elements of the list.
[0024] General terms widely used at present as possible by
considering the functions in the present disclosure are selected as
terms used herein, but may be changed according to purposes of
those skilled in the art or customs or the appearance of new
technologies. In a one or more embodiments, terms arbitrarily
selected by an applicant may be used and these terms will be
described in a relevant description part of the present disclosure.
Therefore, the terms used herein may be understood on the basis of
contents throughout this specification, not only upon names of the
terms.
[0025] When a part "comprises" or "includes" an element, unless
otherwise described, the part may further comprise or include other
elements, rather than exclude other elements. Also, the terms, such
as "unit" or "module" should be understood as a unit that processes
at least one function or operation and that may be embodied in a
hardware manner, a software manner, or a combination of the
hardware manner and the software manner.
[0026] Herein, a Point of Interest (POI) refers to a particular
position or place that is useful to a user or in which the user is
interested. Thus, a request for recommendation of POI information
refers to a request for a particular position or place that is
useful to the user or in which the user is interested. Environment
information according to the present disclosure refers to
information regarding an environment, such as noise, brightness,
temperature, or an air condition, in a particular place. The
environment information according to an embodiment may refer to
sensor data such as dB or .degree. C. and may be a character, a
number, or a symbol that is interpretable as the environment
information.
[0027] FIG. 1 is a showing a system for recommending a place (or a
place recommending system) according to an embodiment.
[0028] As shown in FIG. 1, the place recommending system according
to an embodiment may include a device 100 and a place recommending
apparatus 200. However, all the shown components are not essential
components. The place recommending system may be implemented by
more components or less components than the shown components.
[0029] The device 100 according to an embodiment may send a POI
information recommendation request including environment
information to the place recommending apparatus 200, and receive
POI information found based on the environment information from the
place recommending apparatus 200.
[0030] The device 100 according to an embodiment may include one or
more sensors and transmit sensor data obtained from the sensors to
the place recommending apparatus 200.
[0031] The device 100 may include one or more sensors. For example,
the device 100 may include a motion sensor including an
accelerometer, a gravity sensor, a gyroscope, or a rotational
vector sensor, an environmental sensor including a barometer, a
photometer, or a thermometer, and a position sensor including an
orientation sensor or a magnetometer. The device 100 may also
include a Global Positioning System (GPS), a Radio-Frequency
Identification (RFID), Bluetooth, a microphone, a touch screen, a
proximity sensor, an illumination sensor, and a camera.
[0032] In the device 100 according to an embodiment, a Seamless
Sensing Platform (SSP) may operate separately from an Application
Processor (AP). The device 100 according to an embodiment collects
sensing information and recognizes a situation by connecting
sensors to a sensor hub of the SSP without waking up the AP in a
sleep mode. The sensor hub (e.g., a type of Micro Control Unit
(MCU)) of the SSP wakes up the AP in the sleep mode if a
predetermined situation occurs. The SSP and the AP according to an
embodiment may be implemented in the form of hardware (H/W),
software (S/W), or a combination thereof (H/W+S/W).
[0033] The device 100 according to an embodiment may be implemented
in various forms. For example, the device 100 described herein may
be, but not limited to, a desktop computer, a cellular phone, a
smart phone, a laptop computer, a tablet Personal Computer (PC), an
electronic book terminal, a digital broadcasting terminal, a
Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a Portable Multimedia Player
(PMP), a navigation system, an MP3 player, a digital camera, an
Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), a Digital Television (DTV), or
a CE device (for example, a refrigerator or an air conditioner
having a display device).
[0034] The place recommending apparatus 200 according to an
embodiment collects sensor data generated by a plurality of devices
and establishes a database regarding environment information of
various places by using the collected sensor data.
[0035] The place recommending apparatus 200 according to an
embodiment receives a POI information recommendation request
including user-desired environment information from the device 100,
searches for a user's POI based on the received environment
information, and transmits information regarding the found POI to
the device 100.
[0036] The place recommending apparatus 200 may be a server and may
include a plurality of servers having different functions. The
place recommending apparatus 200 may also be a device for
recommending a place to the device 100 and may include a plurality
of devices.
[0037] The place recommending apparatus 200 may be divided into a
device for collecting sensor data generated by a plurality of
devices and establishing a database regarding environment
information of various places and a device for searching for a
place based on the environment information received from the device
100 and transmitting the found place to the device 100. Such
devices may be implemented with different entities and they fall
within the scope of the present disclosure.
[0038] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a process in which the device
100 sends POI information recommendation request to the place
recommending apparatus 200 and receives a place recommendation from
the place recommending apparatus 200, according to an
embodiment.
[0039] In operation S210, the device 100 may send a POI information
recommendation request to the place recommending apparatus 200 by
using sensor data.
[0040] In other words, the device 100 may send a POI information
recommendation request including user-desired environment
information to the place recommending apparatus 200, which collects
environment information related to a place in which sensor data is
generated, by using the sensor data generated by at least one of a
plurality of devices including the device 100. The device 100 may
send a request for a place having a user-desired environment, that
is, a request for POI information, to the place recommending
apparatus 200.
[0041] To request a place having a user-desired environment, the
device 100 may transmit information regarding the user-desired
environment (or user-desired environment information) to the place
recommending apparatus 200. The environment information transmitted
by the device 100 may be a sensor value or may include a word
interpretable with the sensor value. The environment information
transmitted by the device 100 may be a user sensor profile stored
in advance in the device 100. The user sensor profile may be a
sensor profile previously generated in the device 100 through one
or more times of sensor recognition.
[0042] The place recommending apparatus 200 to which the device 100
sends a place recommendation request may store environment
information related to a plurality of places in a database.
[0043] The database for the environment information (or environment
information database) stored in the place recommending apparatus
200 may be established using sensor data collected from at least
one of a plurality of devices including the device 100. Environment
information related to a place may be established using sensor data
collected from one device or sensor data collected from a plurality
of devices.
[0044] The device that transmits sensor information may be the
device 100 that may send a place recommendation request to the
place recommending apparatus 200, or may be a device that merely
transmits the sensor data to the place recommending apparatus
200.
[0045] In operation S220, the device 100 receives a recommendation
response to the POI information recommendation request from the
place recommending apparatus 200, based on the user-desired
environment information.
[0046] In other words, the device 100 may receive the
recommendation response, which includes a place found based on the
user-desired environment information, from the place recommending
apparatus 200. The recommendation response may include environment
information related to the found place.
[0047] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process in which the place
recommending apparatus 200 receives a POI information
recommendation request from the device 100 and recommends a place
to the device 100, according to an embodiment.
[0048] In operation S310, the place recommending apparatus 200
collects sensor data generated by at least one of a plurality of
devices including the device 100. The place recommending apparatus
200 may collect sensor data from the device 100 that requests a
place recommendation, or may collect sensor data from an arbitrary
device.
[0049] In operation S320, by using the sensor data collected from
the device 100, the place recommending apparatus 200 establishes a
database for environment information related to a place where the
sensor data is generated. That is, the place recommending apparatus
200 may generate a database for environment information related to
each place. The place recommending apparatus 200 may store the
collected sensor data or may convert the sensor data into a
character or number and store the character or number.
[0050] In operation S330, the place recommending apparatus 200
receives a POI information recommendation request including
user-desired environment information from the device 100.
[0051] In operation S340, the place recommending apparatus 200
sends a recommendation response to the POI information
recommendation request, which includes a place found based on the
environment information received from the device 100, to the device
100. The recommendation response may include environment
information related to the found place.
[0052] FIG. 4 is a diagram describing interpretation of
user-desired environment information as sensor data, according to
an embodiment.
[0053] Table (A) of FIG. 4 shows that environment description
phrases are converted into sensor data and sensor data is converted
into environment description phrases according to an
embodiment.
[0054] Environment description phrases that describe environments,
such as words "bright", "silent", "cozy", and "sunny", may be
converted into or interpreted as sensor data.
[0055] For example, "bright" may be converted into a brightness of
200 lux or 300 lux, "silent" may be interpreted as a noise level of
30 dB or 40 dB, "cozy" may be converted into a brightness of 100
lux-200 lux, a noise level of 30 dB-40 dB, a temperature of
23.degree. C.-26.degree. C., and a dust concentration of 30
.mu.g/m.sup.3-40 .mu.g/m.sup.3.
[0056] Through mutual conversion between environment description
phrases and sensor data, an environment description phrase that
describes user-desired environment information may be converted
into sensor data and sensor data may be converted into an
environment description phrase that describes an environment of a
place.
[0057] For example, if user-desired environment information 410 is
"a coffee shop in a bright and silent atmosphere", environment
information "bright" and "silent" are environment description
phrases and are converted into sensor data 420. Thus, a place
corresponding to a brightness of 200 lux-300 lux and a noise level
of 30 dB-40 dB or a similar environment may be recommended from
among coffee shops.
[0058] Also, if sensor data of a particular coffee shop includes a
brightness of 100 lux-200 lux, a noise level of 30 dB- to 40 dB, a
temperature of 23.degree. C.-26.degree. C., and an air condition of
30 .mu.g/m.sup.3-40 .mu.g/m.sup.3, environment information of the
coffee shop may include "bright", "silent", and "cozy".
[0059] FIG. 5 is diagram describing an example in which the place
recommending apparatus 200 establishes an environment information
database regarding places by collecting sensor data, according to
an embodiment.
[0060] A device that transmits sensor information to the place
recommending apparatus 200 may include at least one sensors. For
example, the device may include at least one of a motion sensor, an
environment sensor, and a position sensor.
[0061] The device that transmits sensor information to the place
recommending apparatus 200 periodically uses a sensor to obtain
sensor data regarding an environment. The device that transmits
sensor information to the place recommending apparatus 200 may use
a sensor upon occurrence of a predefined event, in a predefined
situation, or in a predefined place, to obtain sensor data
regarding an environment.
[0062] The device that transmits sensor information to the
information recommending apparatus 200 may transmit the environment
information regarding the environment, which is obtained from the
sensor data, to the place recommending apparatus 200. The
environment information transmitted from the device, which
transmits the sensor information to the place recommending
apparatus 200, to the place recommending apparatus 200 is
environment information the device 100 obtains by sensing the
environment, and may be in any form indicating the environment.
[0063] For example, the device may transmit the sensor data to the
place recommending apparatus 200 and may convert the sensor data
into environment description phrases that describe the environment
and transmit the environment description phrases to the place
recommending apparatus 200. The device may also convert the sensor
data into a predefined sensor data level and transmit the
predefined sensor data level to the place recommending apparatus
200. For example, a brightness of 10 lux-200 lux may be converted
into Level 1 and a brightness of 200 lux-300 lux may be converted
into Level 2 and they may be transmitted to the place recommending
apparatus 200.
[0064] The device that transmits the sensor information to the
place recommending apparatus 200 may periodically transmit
environment information regarding an environment to the place
recommending apparatus 200, or may transmit it to the place
recommending apparatus 200 when a request or an approval is
received from the user. The device that transmits the sensor
information to the place recommending apparatus 200 may transmit
environment information to the place recommending apparatus 200
upon occurrence of a predefined event or in a predefined situation.
The device may also transmit the environment information to the
place recommending apparatus 200 in a predefined place.
[0065] The device that transmits the sensor information to the
place recommending apparatus 200 may transmit place or position
information in which the device 100 situated, together with the
environment information regarding the environment, to the place
recommending apparatus 200. For example, position data using a GPS
or information including a business name, a place name, and an
address may be transmitted, but embodiments are not limited
thereto.
[0066] The place recommending apparatus 200 receives environment
information regarding an environment of one or more devices and
position or place information regarding a position or a place in
which the devices are situated, from the devices.
[0067] For example, the place recommending apparatus 200 sends an
environment information request to one or more devices and receives
environment information in response to the environment information
request. The place recommending apparatus 200 may periodically
receive environment information and position or place information
from the devices.
[0068] The place recommending apparatus 200 establishes an
environment information database regarding places based on
environment information and position or place information received
from the devices
[0069] For example, in FIG. 5, sensor information, such as
brightness, noise, and temperature, of a family restaurant A is
received from a device located in the family restaurant A, such
that a database may be established with such environment
information related to the family restaurant A.
[0070] If plural environment information is received for the same
place, the environment information may form a database with
statistic values.
[0071] The place recommending apparatus 200 may form a database for
variations of environment information related to the same place
according to time, day, and date. By using the database, an
environment of a place may be predicted based on time, day, and
date.
[0072] The place recommending apparatus 200 may form a database for
variations of environment information according to a user of the
device that transmits sensor information. In this way, a
user-desired environment may be derived and a user sensor profile
may be generated.
[0073] The place recommending apparatus 200 may form a database for
environment information related to places with sensor data, store
environment description phrases describing environments as the
environment information, and store predefined sensor data levels as
the environment information.
[0074] The place recommending apparatus 200 may form a database for
environment information related to places with maps. For example,
environment information related to places may be stored in a map
database to generate an environment information map and may be
updated in real time.
[0075] The place recommending apparatus 200 interprets the
environment information received from the device 100 and provides
additional information regarding the places.
[0076] For example, by analyzing a noise pattern in a place, it may
be determined whether the place is an office, a street, a stadium,
or a car. Based on a noise level, a population density in a place
may also be determined. Thus, a population density and the number
of real-time empty seats in a place may be determined and
transmitted to the device 100.
[0077] For example, by using brightness level and GPS information
in a place, it may be determined whether the place is an indoor
place or an outdoor place, and an average brightness level over
time in the place may be calculated.
[0078] For example, a relative altitude in the same building may be
predicted using pressure data in a place and a position in the
building may be predicted using magnetic field information of the
place. The amount of movement of the user in the place may also be
measured using the amount of motion of the user. The amount of
motion of the user may be analyzed for each place of a specific
category to provide characteristics of the place. An average
temperature of a place may be measured and provided to the device
100.
[0079] In this way, in one or more embodiments, environment
information related to a place may be collected in real time. By
forming a database for such environment information, an environment
of a place may be predicted.
[0080] FIG. 6 is a diagram describing an example in which sensor
profile information of a user (or user sensor profile information)
is generated, according to an embodiment.
[0081] The user sensor profile information is information regarding
an environment the user usually prefers. The user sensor profile
information may be stored as sensor data, environment description
phrases describing environments, or predefined sensor data
levels.
[0082] By using the sensor data obtained in the device 100, the
sensor profile information of the user of the device 100 may be
generated. For example, the device 100 may obtain plural sensor
data in various situations and generate user sensor profile
information based on the obtained sensor data.
[0083] If the device 100 transmits user-desired environment
information for requesting POI information recommendation to the
place recommending apparatus 200, the user sensor profile
information may be generated based on the environment
information.
[0084] The user sensor profile information may be generated,
respectively, for place, time, day, weather, and activity. The user
sensor profile information may be stored in the device 100 or in
the place recommending apparatus 200.
[0085] In FIG. 6, sensor data #1 510 and sensor data #2 520 have
been collected from different places. By analyzing sensor
information collected in respective places, environment information
related to the respective places may be obtained and common
environment characteristics among the places may be generated as
user sensor profile information.
[0086] In an example shown in FIG. 6, sensor data obtained in Place
1 (The Bar) indicates a little-user-motion, indoor, noisy, and dark
environment. Sensor data obtained in Place 2 (A Coffee) also
indicates a little-user-motion, indoor, noisy, and dark
environment. Thus, user sensor profile information may be generated
as a profile indicating an indoor, noisy, and dark environment that
is common between Place 1 and Place 2.
[0087] FIG. 7 a ladder diagram describing a process in which the
device 100 transmits user-desired environment information to the
place recommending apparatus 200 to receive a place recommendation,
according to an embodiment.
[0088] In operation S710, the device 100 sends a POI information
recommendation request including user-desired environment
information to the place recommending apparatus 200. That is, the
device 100 may send a POI information recommendation request
including user-desired environment information to the place
recommending apparatus 200 to receive a recommendation of a place
having a user-desired environment.
[0089] The environment information transmitted to the place
recommending apparatus 200 may be sensor data and may include an
environment description phrase that describes an environment. The
environment information may also be a search keyword for searching
for a place or may be a predefined sensor data level.
[0090] The environment information received in the place
recommending apparatus 200 may be information directly input to the
device 100 from the user or may be previously stored user sensor
profile information.
[0091] The POI information recommendation request may include not
only the environment information, but also information, such as
time, a place, user information, a schedule, or the like, based on
which a place is searched for.
[0092] In operation S720, the place recommending apparatus 200
converts the received environment information into an environment
information unit (environment informer) stored in the place
recommending apparatus 200.
[0093] For example, if the received environment information is
information including environment description phrases and
environment information related to places, which may be found in
the place recommending apparatus 200, is stored in the form of
sensor data, the received environment description phrases may be
converted into corresponding sensor category and sensor data
range.
[0094] For example, if the received environment information is in
the form of sensor data and environment information related to
places, which may be found in the place recommending apparatus 200,
is stored in the form of environment description phrases, the
received sensor data may be converted into corresponding
environment description phrases.
[0095] For example, if the received environment information is in
the form of sensor data and environment information related to
places, which may be found in the place recommending apparatus 200,
is stored in the form of a predefined sensor data level, the
received sensor data may be converted into a corresponding sensor
level.
[0096] In operation S730, the place recommending apparatus 200
searches for a place having a user-desired environment, which is
requested from the device 100.
[0097] The place recommending apparatus 200 may extract a place
from a place database based on time, a place, and environment
information received from the device 100.
[0098] The place database may store sensor data regarding places or
may store environment information related to places as environment
description phrases or sensor data levels.
[0099] The place database may store environment information related
to places, and may include, but not limited to, a trip database, a
communication life information database, a map database, and a
location-based Social Network Service (SNS) database.
[0100] In operation S740, the place recommending apparatus 200
sends a recommendation response including the found place to the
device 100.
[0101] The place recommending apparatus 200 may transmit
environment information related to the found place, together with
information regarding the found place.
[0102] FIG. 8 is a diagram describing an example in which the
device 100 transmits user-desired environment information to the
place recommending apparatus 200 and receives a place
recommendation, according to an embodiment.
[0103] The device 100 transmits user-input environment information
to the place recommending apparatus 200 to receive a place suitable
for the environment information.
[0104] The device 100 may receive the user-desired environment
information from the user in the form of sensor data, a text
including environment description phrases, or a Graphic User
Interface (GUI) control indicating a sensor value.
[0105] Even if the user does not directly input environment
information to receive a place recommendation, the device 100 may
analyze arbitrary user input information and recommend a place. For
example, the device 100 may extract user-desired environment
information from user's schedule, to-do-list, memo, Short Messaging
Service (SMS), mail, or SNS application and recommend a place to
the user.
[0106] If the device 100 receives environment information in the
form of a text including environment description phrases from the
user, the device 100 may extract the environment description
phrases through context analysis with respect to the text. For
example, if the user-input information is "a coffee shop in which
quiet music is played", "quiet" and "music is played" may be
extracted as environment description phrases and "coffee shop" may
be extracted as a place.
[0107] If the user requests a POI information recommendation
without inputting environment information, the device 100 may send
a POI information recommendation request based on a previously
stored user sensor profile to the place recommending apparatus
200.
[0108] The place recommending apparatus 200 may search for a place
having a user-desired environment based on the environment
information or user sensor profile information received from the
device 100 and may send a recommendation response including the
found place to the device 100.
[0109] The place recommending apparatus 200 may transmit
environment information related to the found place, together with
the found place. The place recommending apparatus 200 may interpret
the environment information related to the found place and transmit
additional information regarding the found place to the device
100.
[0110] Referring to FIG. 8, it is assumed that user-desired
environment information is "nosy" and a user-desired place is
"Bar". The device 100 may send a POI information recommendation
request including the environment information to the place
recommending apparatus 200, and the place recommending apparatus
200 may transmit environment information related to the found
place, including noise, brightness, emptiness, temperature, and so
forth, and information regarding the found place, such as a
category, a business name, a distance from the user, a position on
a map, and so forth, to the device 100.
[0111] In this way, in one or more embodiments, the user may
recognize environment information related to a place without
visiting the place and may know the environment information related
to the place in real time. In addition, by analyzing user's
intention and extracting user-desired environment information, a
place having an environment suitable for a user's situation may be
recommended. Moreover, a place may be recommended to the user based
on current environment information related to the place, rather
than past environment information related to the place.
[0112] FIG. 9 is a ladder diagram showing an example in which an
advertising device 300 advertises environment information related
to a place to the device 100 by using sensor data, according to an
embodiment.
[0113] In operation S910, the advertising device 300 is a device
located in a place to be advertised, and obtains sensor data
regarding an environment. The advertising device 300 may be the
device 100 that sends a POI information recommendation request to
the place recommending apparatus 200 or a device that transmits
sensor data to the place recommending apparatus 200 to advertise
the place.
[0114] In operation S920, the advertising device 300 periodically
transmits place information and environment information to the
place recommending apparatus 200.
[0115] In operation S930, the place recommending apparatus 200
searches for a user matched to the environment information received
from the advertising device 300. For example, the place
recommending apparatus 200 may search for a user having sensor
profile information matched to the environment information received
from the advertising device 300. The place recommending apparatus
200 may also search for the device 100 that requests a place having
the environment information received from the advertising device
300.
[0116] In operation S940, the place recommending apparatus 200
transmits the place to be advertised and environment information
related to the place to the user found in operation S930.
[0117] FIG. 10 is a diagram describing an example in which the
advertising device 300 advertises environment information related
to a place to the device 100 by using sensor data, according to an
embodiment.
[0118] In FIG. 10, a place to be advertised is "Starbucks Coffee".
The advertising device 300 located in this place obtains sensor
data regarding an environment by using sensors. The advertising
device 300 sends a place advertisement request including
environment information related to the place to the place
recommending apparatus 200. The advertising device 300 may
periodically obtain sensor data regarding the environment and
periodically send a place advertisement request including
environment information to the place recommending apparatus
200.
[0119] The place recommending apparatus 200 receives a place
advertisement request including environment information related to
a place from the place advertising device 100.
[0120] The place recommending apparatus 200 transmits place
information and environment information to a user who is matched to
the received environment information, that is, who has environment
information related to a place as sensor profile information, or a
user who requests a recommendation of a place matched to
environment information related to a place to be advertised.
[0121] The place recommending apparatus 200 also analyzes
environment information related to a place and transmits additional
information regarding an environment of the place. For example, a
noise level or a noise pattern may be analyzed to transmit in real
time a possibility of existence of an empty seat, and if it is
determined that there is no empty seat, an advertising notification
may be discontinued.
[0122] In this way, in an embodiment, a place may be advertised in
real time to a plurality of users who desire a place having a
particular environment.
[0123] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the device 100 and the
place recommending apparatus 200 for recommending a place by using
sensor data according to an embodiment.
[0124] The device 100 may include a place recommendation requesting
unit (place recommendation requester) 10, a recommended place
receiving unit (recommended place receiver) 20, a sensor
information transmitting unit (sensor information transmitter) 30,
and a sensing unit (sensor) 40.
[0125] The place recommendation requesting unit 10 sends a POI
information recommendation request to the place recommending
apparatus 200 by using sensor data.
[0126] In other words, by using sensor data generated by at least
one of a plurality of devices including a device, the place
recommendation requesting unit 10 may send a POI information
recommendation request including user-desired environment
information to the place recommending apparatus 200 that collets
environment information related to a place in which the sensor data
is generated.
[0127] The place recommendation requesting unit 10 sends a request
for recommendation of a place having user-desired environment
information to the place recommending apparatus 200.
[0128] The recommended place receiving unit 20 receives a
recommendation response to the POI information recommendation
request to the place recommending apparatus 200, based on the
user-desired environment information.
[0129] In other words, the recommended place receiving unit 20 may
receive the recommendation response, which includes the place found
based on the user-desired environment information, from the place
recommending apparatus 200.
[0130] The recommended place receiving unit 20 may receive the
recommended place found based on the user-desired environment
information from the place recommending apparatus 200.
[0131] The environment information may include at least one of
noise, brightness, temperature, and an air condition, and the
environment information may be user sensor profile information
previously stored in the device 100.
[0132] The sensing unit 40 obtains sensor information from one or
more sensors. The sensor may be a sensor provided in the device 100
and may be an external device connected through wired/wireless
communication. The sensor may be a motion sensor including an
accelerometer, a gravity sensor, a gyroscope, or a rotational
vector sensor, an environmental sensor including a barometer, a
photometer, or a thermometer, or a position sensor including an
orientation sensor or a magnetometer.
[0133] The sensor information transmitting unit 30 transmits the
sensor information obtained by the sensing unit 40 to the place
recommending apparatus 200.
[0134] The place recommending apparatus 200 may include a sensor
information collecting unit (sensor information collector) 50, a
database generating unit (data base generator) 60, a place
recommending unit (place recommender) 70, an advertisement request
receiving unit (advertisement request receiver) 80, and a place
advertising unit place advertiser 90.
[0135] The sensor information collecting unit 50 collects sensor
data generated by at least one of a plurality of devices including
the device 100.
[0136] The sensor information collecting unit 50 collects sensor
data through a plurality of devices.
[0137] The database generating unit 60 establishes a database for
environment information related to a place in which the collected
sensor data is generated, by using the collected sensor data.
[0138] The place recommending unit 70 receives a POI information
recommendation request including user-desired environment
information from the device 100. The place recommending unit 70 may
send a recommendation response including a recommended place found
based on the user-desired environment information to the device
100. The recommendation response may include environment
information related to the recommended place.
[0139] The POI information recommendation request may include user
identification information and the environment information may be
user sensor profile information obtained using the user
identification information.
[0140] The advertisement request receiving unit 80 receives an
advertisement request including place information regarding a place
in which the advertising device 300 is located and information
regarding an environment of the advertising device 300, which is
obtained from the sensor, from the advertising device 300.
[0141] The place advertising unit 90 transmits place information
and environment information to at least one devices having sensor
profile information matched to the environment information.
[0142] Processes, functions, methods, and/or software in
apparatuses described herein may be recorded, stored, or fixed in
one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media
(computer readable recording media) that includes program
instructions (computer readable instructions) to be implemented by
a computer to cause one or more processors to execute or perform
the program instructions. The media may also include, alone or in
combination with the program instructions, data files, data
structures, and the like. The media and program instructions may be
those specially designed and constructed, or they may be of the
kind well-known and available to those having skill in the computer
software arts. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable storage
media include magnetic media, such as hard disks, floppy disks, and
magnetic tape; optical media such as CD ROM disks and DVDs;
magneto-optical media, such as optical disks; and hardware devices
that are specially configured to store and perform program
instructions, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory
(RAM), flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions
include machine code, such as produced by a compiler, and files
containing higher level code that may be executed by the computer
using an interpreter. The program instructions may be executed by
one or more processors. The described hardware devices may be
configured to act as one or more software modules that are
recorded, stored, or fixed in one or more computer-readable storage
media, in order to perform the operations and methods described
above, or vice versa. In addition, a non-transitory
computer-readable storage medium may be distributed among computer
systems connected through a network and computer-readable codes or
program instructions may be stored and executed in a decentralized
manner. In addition, the computer-readable storage media may also
be embodied in at least one application specific integrated circuit
(ASIC) or Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).
[0143] While one or more embodiments have been described with
reference to the figures, it will be understood by those of
ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details
may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of
the disclosure as defined by the following claims.
* * * * *