System and Method for Inferring the Intent of a User While Receiving Signals On a Mobile Communication Device From a Broadcasting Device
System and methods are provided to create representations of geographic areas. Such representations enable users to search for items and services of interest and to quickly locate and utilize such items and services. Representations are created using user preferences thus reducing the amount of information presented to a user, i.e., user preferences control the contents of a representation. Control APIs contained within a representation may be used to control devices represented in a representation or to manufacture them using 3-D printing technologies. Methods to learn user preferences via his movements and other actions and impose a user's preferences upon an environment are shown. Some details of the invention are described by applying the invention to problems in retail marketing and figures depicting an implementation illustrate certain aspects of the invention.
1 . A method of inferring user intent in an environment, comprising:
receiving over one or more communication networks one or more environmental data sets (EDSs), at least one of the EDSs including information relating to the environment, at least one of the EDSs being obtained from a triggered device located in the environment and which receives first signals from a Broadcasting Device (BD) associated with the environment, the triggered device including a mobile communication device of a user;
determining a location of the triggered device from second signals received by said triggered device from within the environment; and
selecting data from the one or more of the EDSs, the selected data corresponding to and identifying one or more physical items in the environment that are proximate to a location of the triggered device; and
inferring user intent based at least in part on the selected data.
2 . The method of claim 1 further comprising inferring user movements by extrapolating from a series of locations of the triggered device obtained from the second signals and wherein inferring user intent is further based on the user movements.
3 . The method of claim 2 wherein the extrapolation of triggered device locations yields patterns of user movements.
4 . The method of claim 3 wherein the patterns of user movements are matched with stored patterns of other user movements.
5 . The method of claim 4 wherein matching user movement patterns with stored movement patterns involves use of machine learning techniques.
6 . The method of claim 1 wherein the EDS from which the data is selected is a planogram.
7 . The method of claim 1 wherein the proximity is determined by reference to a planogram of the environment.
8 . The method of claim 1 wherein the inferring of user intent is further based on movements of other users about said location.
9 . The method of claim 1 wherein the inferring of user intent is further based on historical purchase data and historical interest data of the user.
10 . The method of claim 1 wherein the inferring of user intent is further based on historical popularity of said physical item(s) in terms of units of sale from historical sales data.
11 . The method of claim 1 wherein selecting data corresponding to and identifying one or more physical items includes reducing the amount of data so that a remaining data set corresponds to and identifies a subset of the physical items.
12 . The method of claim 11 wherein reducing the amount of data is based on information from a social data feed of the user of the triggered device.
13 . The method of claim 11 wherein reducing the amount of data involves using a dynamic taxonomy feed.
14 . The method of claim 13 wherein using the dynamic taxonomy feed comprises determining correlations between physical items in the environment and items described on web pages.
15 . The method of claim 1 wherein selecting data corresponding to and identifying one or more physical items includes reducing the amount of data so that a remaining data set corresponds to and identifies a subset of the physical items and further comprising adding data to the remaining data set, the added data corresponding to and identifying additional physical items.
16 . The method of claim 15 wherein at least one of the additional physical items is proximate to the location of the triggered device.
17 . The method of claim 15 wherein at least one of the additional physical items is not proximate to the location of the triggered device.
18 . The method of claim 15 wherein said second signals includes the first signals received from the BD.