Surveying wireless device users by location
View Patent ↗The present invention is a system and method for conducting survey using wireless devices. The system architecture of the present invention comprises a location server and a location system. The location server can receive a survey request from a subscriber, delineate a survey area for the survey, broadcast a query containing the survey to a plurality of wireless devices, process responses received from the wireless devices, and deliver a result of the survey to the subscriber. The location system can generate location information for each of the wireless devices that received the query. The location system may be a network-based unit or a portable unit provisioned at each of the wireless devices. In one of the embodiments, the location system is a GPS receiver that generates the longitude and the latitude of the wireless devices at which it is provisioned.
1. A tangible computer-readable storage medium, for conducting a survey regarding a survey area, comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform acts comprising:
initiating broadcasting of a survey communication to the survey area;
receiving responses from wireless devices located in the survey area;
obtaining location information corresponding to locations of the wireless devices receiving the survey communication; and
determining a number of wireless devices positioned in the survey area based on the location information.
2. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions are configured to cause the processor to determine a number of people positioned in the survey area based on the number of wireless devices determined to be positioned in the survey area.
3. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 2 , wherein the instructions are configured to, in causing the processor to determine the number of people positioned in the survey area, multiply the number of wireless devices determined to be positioned in the survey area by a predetermined ratio.
4. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 2 , wherein the instructions are configured to, in causing the processor to determine the number of people positioned in the survey area, consider the number of people positioned in the area to be equivalent to the number of wireless devices determined to be positioned in the survey area.
5. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein:
the instructions are configured to cause the processor to receive a message, from a user, indicating the survey area; and
the instructions are configured to, in causing the processor to initiate broadcasting of the survey communication to the survey area, cause the processor to initiate the broadcasting in response to receiving the message.
6. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 5 , wherein:
the instructions are configured to cause the processor to delineate the survey area based on content of the message; and
the instructions are configured to, in causing the processor to initiate the broadcasting, cause the processor to select an appropriate transmitter.
7. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 5 , wherein the message indicates the service area by data selected from a group of data consisting of:
data identifying streets corresponding to the survey area;
data identifying a location of the user; and
data identifying a place corresponding to the survey area.
8. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 5 , wherein the instructions are configured to cause the processor to, in response to having received the message, initiate sending, to the user, a report indicating at least one indicia selected from a group of indicia consisting of:
a number of wireless devices determined to be positioned in the survey area; and
a number of people determined to be positioned in the survey area.
9. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein:
the survey communication includes an inquiry for the mobile devices; and
the report includes data relating to responses to the inquiry.
10. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions are configured to, in causing the processor to obtain location information corresponding to locations of the wireless devices, cause the processor to obtain the location information from the responses received from the wireless devices.
11. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein:
the survey communication is a first survey communication; and
the instructions are configured to cause the processor to initiate broadcasting of a second survey communication to the survey area for determining movement information corresponding to wireless devices in the survey area over time.
12. A tangible computer-readable storage medium, for conducting a survey regarding a survey area, comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform acts including:
initiating broadcast of a survey communication to the survey area;
receiving responses, from wireless devices in the survey area, to the survey communication; and
determining a number of wireless devices positioned in the survey area based on the responses received.
13. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 12 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to determine a number of people positioned in the survey area, based on the number of wireless devices determined to be positioned in the survey area, by multiplying the number of wireless devices determined to be positioned in the survey area by a predetermined ratio.
14. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 12 , wherein:
the instructions are further configured to cause the processor to receive a message, from a user, indicating the survey area; and
the instructions, in being configured to cause the processor to broadcast the survey communication, are configured to cause the processor to broadcast the survey communication in response to receiving the message.
15. The tangible computer-readable storage medium of claim 12 , wherein:
the survey communication is a first survey communication; and
the instructions are configured to cause the processor to initiate broadcasting of a second survey communication to the survey area for determining movement information corresponding to wireless devices in the survey area over time.