System and methods for establishing a real-time location-based service network
A network and method to establish a real-time location based service for client mobile device users. Asynchronous data connections are established between client mobile devices and a data server over wireless networks. Synchronous data connections are established between the client devices and a map server over wireless networks. The data server receives geographic location information from the client devices, indicating a geographic location of each client device, and relays the geographic location information to the client devices in real time via the asynchronous data connections. The map server provides map data to the client devices as requested from the client devices via the synchronous data connections. The geographic location information may be overlaid onto the map data and displayed on any of the client mobile devices to indicate the various locations of the various client devices in real time.
1. A real-time location based service network for mobile device users, said network comprising:
a plurality of mobile devices;
a data server configured to asynchronously relay at least geographic location information, status information, and text information between said plurality of mobile devices in real time, and wherein each of said plurality of mobile devices is configured to be in asynchronous data communication with said data server over a wireless network to accomplish said relaying; and
a map server configured to synchronously provide a map service to each of said plurality of mobile devices, and wherein each of said plurality of mobile devices is configured to be in synchronous data communication with said map server over a wireless network to accomplish said providing.
2. The network of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of GPS receivers, wherein any one of said GPS receivers corresponds to a single mobile device of said plurality of mobile devices.
3. The network of claim 2 wherein each of said plurality of mobile devices includes a thin client software configured to read a data stream including geographic location information from said corresponding GPS receiver and transmit said geographic location information to said data server in real time via said asynchronous data communication.
4. The network of claim 1 wherein each of said plurality of mobile devices includes a thick client software configured to generate a map request and transmit said map request to said map server via said synchronous data communication and receive map data from said map server via said synchronous data communication in response to said map request.
5. The network of claim 4 wherein said thick client software is further configured to render a map in response to receiving said map data, accurately overlay indicia corresponding to said geographic location information onto said rendered map, and display said rendered map with said overlaid indicia on a display of said mobile devices.
6. The network of claim 1 wherein said plurality of mobile devices include at least one of cell phone type devices, personal digital assistant (PDA) type devices, portable media player type devices, laptop computer type devices, and wireless handheld type devices.