System and method for providing notification of a task

1. A computer readable medium containing programming instructions for providing notification of a task, the program instructions for performing a method comprising:

providing user location information to a communicatively coupled remote server for determining historical presence information based on at least one of a number of times a user is present at a location and an amount of time the user is present at the location;

identifying task information including a task location; and

presenting a notification of a task based on the historical presence information, the task location, and a current location of the user.

2. The computer readable medium of claim 1 further comprising programming instructions for determining a distance between the task location and the current location of the user, the distance including at least one of a length of a street route between the location of the user and the task location, an expected travel time between the location of the user and the task location, and a geospatial distance between the location of the user and the task location.

3. The computer readable medium of claim 1 further comprising programming instructions for:

determining a novelty rating of a region that includes the task location and the location of the user based on the historical presence information; and

determining an attraction factor that increases as a distance between the task location and the location of the user decreases.

4. The computer readable medium of claim 3 wherein the region comprises a plurality of contiguous cells and wherein determining the novelty rating of the region further includes:

calculating a region time comprising at least one of an amount of time the user has spent in any cell in the region, a number of changes in the user's position between at least two cells within the region, a number of times the user has entered or exited the region, a number of times the user has been present in any cell in the region, and a random sampling of the user's position;

calculating a global time comprising at least one of an amount of time the user has spent in any cell, a number of changes in the user's position between at least two cells, a number of times the user has entered or exited any region, and a number of times the user has been present in any cell; and

calculating the novelty rating of the region by dividing the global time by the sum of the global time and the region time.

5. The computer readable medium of claim 3 further comprising programming instructions for:

calculating a task weight comprising a product of the novelty rating of the region and the attraction factor;

generating the notification of the task when the task weight exceeds a threshold value.

6. The computer readable medium of claim 5 further comprising programming instructions for adjusting the threshold value based on the user's response to the notification.

7. A method for providing notification of a task comprising:

providing user location information to a communicatively coupled remote server for determining historical presence information based on at least one of a number of times a user is present at a location and an amount of time the user is present at the location;

identifying task information including a task location; and

presenting a notification of a task based on the historical presence information, the task location, and a current location of the user.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising determining a distance between the task location and the current location of the user, the distance including at least one of a length of a street route between the location of the user and the task location, an expected travel time between the location of the user and the task location, and a geospatial distance between the location of the user and the task location.

9. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

determining a novelty rating of a region that includes the task location and the location of the user based on the historical presence information; and

determining an attraction factor that increases as a distance between the task location and the location of the user decreases.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the region comprises a plurality of contiguous cells and wherein determining the novelty rating of the region further includes:

calculating a region time comprising at least one of an amount of time the user has spent in any cell in the region, a number of changes in the user's position between at least two cells within the region, a number of times the user has entered or exited the region, a number of times the user has been present in any cell in the region, and a random sampling of the user's position;

calculating a global time comprising at least one of an amount of time the user has spent in any cell, a number of changes in the user's position between at least two cells, a number of times the user has entered or exited any region, and a number of times the user has been present in any cell; and

calculating the novelty rating of the region by dividing the global time by the sum of the global time and the region time.

11. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

calculating a task weight comprising a product of the novelty rating of the region and the attraction factor;

generating the notification of the task when the task weight exceeds a threshold value.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising adjusting the threshold value based on the user's response to the notification.

13. An apparatus for providing notification of a task comprising:

a position component configured to determine user location information of a user of a mobile communication device;

a communication component configured to provide the user location information to a communicatively coupled remote server for determining historical presence information based on at least one of a number of times a user is present at a location and an amount of time the user is present at the location; and

a user interface configured to receive identification of task information including a task location and to present a notification of a task based on the historical presence information, the task location, and a current location of the user.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the communication component is configured to provide the user location information to a communicatively coupled remote server including a reminder module configured to determine a distance between the task location and the current location of the user, wherein the distance is at least one of a length of a street route between the current location of the user and the task location, an expected travel time between the current location of the user and the task location, and a geospatial distance between the current location of the user and the task location.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the communication component is configured to provide the user location information to a communicatively coupled remote server including a reminder module configured to calculate a novelty rating of a region that includes the task location and the current location of the user based on the user's historical travel information, wherein the novelty rating is related to the historical presence of the user in the region, wherein the reminder module is configured to determine an attraction factor that increases as a distance between the task location and the current location of the user decreases.