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Definitions

the present inventionrelates to agent based systems and more particularly to a mobile computing environment that accesses the Internet to obtain information for a user.
PDAPersonal Digital Assistant
a PDAallowed a user to access computer related information, yet fitted in the palm of the hand. Utilizing a PDA the user could organize personal affairs, write notes, calculate equations, and record contact numbers an address book.
PDAswere usually capable of interfacing with a desktop computer, typically through a wire connection. The connection allowed the PDA to download information and upload information, with the desktop computer. Later developments gave the PDA wireless capabilities. The wireless capabilities allowed the PDA to interact with other computers that were not physically connected to the PDA.
Wireless PDAscould communicate with computers that were connected to the World Wide Web, and soon led to PDAs capable of Web browsing.
One of the first companies to develop Web browsing capabilities for PDAswas Intercom.
Intercom's Falcon Mobile Serverallowed PDAs with Web functions to directly connect to a host computer. Just by installing the software onto the host server, PDA terminals were able to access information through the World Wide Web.
the Nokia 9000includes a small keyboard, a specialized Web browser from microbrowser vendor Unwired Planet, Inc., and a small VGA monitor. Nokia worked with Ericsson Inc, Motorola Inc. and Unwired Planet to establish the Wireless Application Protocal (WAP), a standardized browser technology and server format. WAP gave manufacturers a standard way to put data capability into wireless phones, and allowed carriers to do more over-the-air management. For example, if a carrier wanted a field trial of a new data service, the carrier could implement the service on a server, deliver it to a phone through the microbrowser and adjust the service if they found the service unsatisfactory.
WAPWireless Application Protocal
Prior Art Figure 1 Ais a diagram of prior art mobile computing solutions based on web portal networks.
the user 10In the Prior Art, the user 10 must deal separately with each participant of the network.
the user 10utilizes an Internet service provider (ISP) 12 to gain access to a web portal 14.
the web portal 14accesses third party services 16 which provide information directly to the user 10.
the user 10In addition to dealing with the Internet Service Provider 12, the user 10 must purchase the wireless device from the device manufactures or retailers 18. In most cases the user 10 would also have to purchase the browser from the browser provider 20. Generally, the user would have to pay the wireless communication cost, leading to the user needing to deal with the phone company 22. And finally, any web purchases would lead to the user 10 needing to deal with the credit card company 24.
a coordinated and packaged servicewould be an ideal mobile computing solution.
a coordinated and packaged service which made use of agentswould be highly desired.
Agent based technologyhas become increasingly important for use with applications designed to interact with a user for performing various computer based tasks in foreground and background modes.
Agent softwarecomprises computer programs that are set on behalf of users to perform routine, tedious and time-consuming tasks.
an agentTo be useful to an individual user, an agent must be personalized to the individual user's goals, habits and preferences. Thus, there exists a substantial requirement for the agent to efficiently and effectively acquire user-specific knowledge from the user and utilize it to perform tasks on behalf of the user.
An agentis a person authorized by another person, typically referred to as a principal, to act on behalf of the principal.
the principalempowers the agent to perform any of the tasks that the principal is unwilling or unable to perform.
an insurance agentmay handle all of the insurance requirements for a principal, or a talent agent may act on behalf of a performer to arrange concert dates.
a new domain for employing agentshas arrived.
Significant advances in the realm of expert systemsenable computer programs to act on behalf of computer users to perform routine, tedious and other time-consuming tasks. These computer programs are referred to as "software agents.”
a systemthat facilitates web-based information retrieval and display system.
a wireless phone or similar hand-held wireless device with Internet Protocol capabilityis combined with other peripherals to provide a portable portal into the
the wireless deviceprompts a user to input information of interest to the user. This information is transmitted a query to a service routine (running on a Web server). The service routine then queries the Web to find price, shipping and availability information from various Web suppliers. This information is formatted and displayed on the hand-held device's screen. The user may then use the hand-held device to place an order interactively.
Prior Art Figure 1Ais a diagram of Prior Art mobile computing solutions based on web portal networks
FIG. 1is a block diagram of a representative hardware environment in accordance with a preferred embodiment
FIG. 2is a flowchart of the system in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 3is a flowchart of a parsing unit of the system in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 4is a flowchart for pattern matching in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figures 5is a flowchart for a search unit in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 6is a flowchart for overall system processing in accordance with a preferred embodiment
FIG. 7is a flowchart of topic processing in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 8is a flowchart of meeting record processing in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 9is a block diagram of process flow of a pocket bargain finder in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 10A and 10Bare a block diagram and flowchart depicting the logic associated with creating a customized content web page in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 11is a flowchart depicting the detailed logic associated with retrieving uscr-ccntric content in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 12is a data model of a user profile in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 13is a persona data model in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 14is an intention data model in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 15is a flowchart of the processing for generating an agent's current statistics in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 16is a flowchart of the logic that determines the personalized product rating for a user in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 17is a flowchart of the logic for accessing the centrally stored profile in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 18is a flowchart of the interaction logic between a user and the integrator for a particular supplier in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 19is a flowchart of the agent processing for generating a verbal summary in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 20illustrates a display login in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 21illustrates a managing daily logistics display in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 22illustrates a user main display in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 23illustrates an agent interaction display in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 24is a block diagram of an active knowledge management system in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 25is a block diagram of a back end server in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 26is a flow chart illustrating how the hardware and software of one embodiment of the present invention operates
Figure 27Aillustrates a display of the browser mode in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 27Bis an illustration of a Mobile Portal platform in accordance with a preferred embodiment.
a preferred embodiment of a system in accordance with the present inventionis preferably practiced in the context of a personal computer such as an IBM compatible personal computer, Apple Macintosh computer or UNIX based workstation.
a representative hardware environmentis depicted in Figure 1, which illustrates a typical hardware configuration of a workstation in accordance with a preferred embodiment having a central processing unit 110, such as a microprocessor, and a number of other units interconnected via a system bus 112.
the workstation shown in Figure 1includes a Random Access Memory (RAM) 114, Read Only Memory (ROM) 116, an I/O adapter 118 for connecting peripheral devices such as disk storage units 120 to the bus 112, a user interface adapter 122 for connecting a keyboard 124, a mouse 126, a speaker 128, a microphone 132, and/or other user interface devices such as a touch screen (not shown) to the bus 112, communication adapter 134 for connecting the workstation to a communication network (e.g., a data processing network) and a display adapter 136 for connecting the bus 112 to a display device 138.
a communication networke.g., a data processing network
display adapter 136for connecting the bus 112 to a display device 138.
the workstationtypically has resident thereon an operating system such as the Microsoft Windows NT or Windows/95 Operating System (OS), the IBM OS/2 operating system, the MAC OS, or UNIX operating system.
OSMicrosoft Windows NT or Windows/95 Operating System
IBM OS/2 operating systemthe IBM OS/2 operating system
MAC OSthe MAC OS
UNIX operating systemthe operating system
OOPobject oriented programming
a preferred embodimentis written using JAVA, C, and the C++ language and utilizes object oriented programming methodology.
Object oriented programming (OOP)has become increasingly used to develop complex applications.
OOPmoves toward the mainstream of software design and development, various software solutions require adaptation to make use of the benefits of OOP.
OOPis a process of developing computer software using objects, including the steps of analyzing the problem, designing the system, and constructing the program.
An objectis a software package that contains both data and a collection of related structures and procedures. Since it contains both data and a collection of structures and procedures, it can be visualized as a self-sufficient component that does not require other additional structures, procedures or data to perform its specific task.
OOPtherefore, views a computer program as a collection of largely autonomous components, called objects, each of which is responsible for a specific task. This concept of packaging data, structures, and procedures together in one component or module is called encapsulation.
OOP componentsare reusable software modules which present an interface that conforms to an object model and which are accessed at run-time through a component integration architecture.
a component integration architectureis a set of architecture mechanisms which allow software modules in different process spaces to utilize each others capabilities or functions. This is generally done by assuming a common component object model on which to build the architecture.
An objectis a single instance of the class of objects, which is often just called a class.
a class of objectscan be viewed as a blueprint, from which many objects can be formed.
OOPallows the programmer to create an object that is a part of another object.
the object representing a piston engineis said to have a composition-relationship with the object representing a piston.
a piston enginecomprises a piston, valves and many other components; the fact that a piston is an element of a piston engine can be logically and semantically represented in OOP by two objects.
OOPalso allows creation of an object that "depends from” another object. If there are two objects, one representing a piston engine and the other representing a piston engine wherein the piston is made of ceramic, then the relationship between the two objects is not that of composition.
a ceramic piston enginedoes not make up a piston engine. Rather it is merely one kind of piston engine that has one more limitation than the piston engine; its piston is made of ceramic.
the object representing the ceramic piston engineis called a derived object, and it inherits all of the aspects of the object representing the piston engine and adds further limitation or detail to it.
the object representing the ceramic piston engine"depends from" the object representing the piston engine. The relationship between these objects is called inheritance.
the object or class representing the ceramic piston engineinherits all of the aspects of the objects representing the piston engine, it inherits the thermal characteristics of a standard piston defined in the piston engine class.
the ceramic piston engine objectoverrides these ceramic specific thermal characteristics, which are typically different from those associated with a metal piston. It skips over the original and uses new functions related to ceramic pistons.
piston engineshave different characteristics, but may have the same underlying functions associated with it (e.g., how many pistons in the engine, ignition sequences, lubrication, etc.).
functionse.g., how many pistons in the engine, ignition sequences, lubrication, etc.
a programmerwould call the same functions with the same names, but each type of piston engine may have different/overriding implementations of functions behind the same name. This ability to hide different implementations of a function behind the same name is called polymorphism and it greatly simplifies communication among objects.
an objectcan represent just about anything in the real world.
our logical perception of the realityis the only limit on determining the kinds of things that can become objects in object- oriented software.
Some typical categoriesare as follows: • Objects can represent physical objects, such as automobiles in a traffic- flow simulation, electrical components in a circuit-design program, countries in an economics model, or aircraft in an air-traffic-control system.
Objectscan represent elements of the computer-user environment such as windows, menus or graphics objects.
An objectcan represent an inventory, such as a personnel file or a table of the latitudes and longitudes of cities.
An objectcan represent user-defined data types such as time, angles, and complex numbers, or points on the plane.
OOPallows the software developer to design and implement a computer program that is a model of some aspects of reality, whether that reality is a physical entity, a process, a system, or a composition of matter. Since the object can represent anything, the software developer can create an object which can be used as a component in a larger software project in the future.
OOPenables software developers to build objects out of other, previously built, objects. This process closely resembles complex machinery being built out of assemblies and sub- assemblies. OOP technology, therefore, makes software engineering more like hardware engineering in that software is built from existing components, which are available to the developer as objects. All this adds up to an improved quality of the software as well as an increased speed of its development.
C++is an OOP language that offers a fast, machine-executable code.
C++is suitable for both commercial-application and systems-programming projects.
C++appears to be the most popular choice among many OOP programmers, but there is a host of other OOP languages, such as Smalltalk, common lisp object system (CLOS), and Eiffel. Additionally, OOP capabilities are being added to more traditional popular computer programming languages such as Pascal.
Class librariesare very flexible. As programs grow more complex, more programmers are forced to adopt basic solutions to basic problems over and over again.
a relatively new extension of the class library conceptis to have a framework of class libraries. This framework is more complex and consists of significant collections of collaborating classes that capture both the small scale patterns and major mechanisms that implement the common requirements and design in a specific application domain. They were first developed to free application programmers from the chores involved in displaying menus, windows, dialog boxes, and other standard user interface elements for personal computers.
Frameworksalso represent a change in the way programmers think about the interaction between the code they write and code written by others.
the programmercalled libraries provided by the operating system to perform certain tasks, but basically the program executed down the page from start to finish, and the programmer was solely responsible for the flow of control. This was appropriate for printing out paychecks, calculating a mathematical table, or solving other problems with a program that executed in just one way.
the development of graphical user interfacesbegan to turn this procedural programming arrangement inside out. These interfaces allow the user, rather than program logic, to drive the program and decide when certain actions should be performed.
event loop programsrequire programmers to write a lot of code that should not need to be written separately for every application.
the concept of an application frameworkcarries the event loop concept further. Instead of dealing with all the nuts and bolts of constructing basic menus, windows, and dialog boxes and then making these things all work together, programmers using application frameworks start with working application code and basic user interface elements in place. Subsequently, they build from there by replacing some of the generic capabilities of the framework with the specific capabilities of the intended application.
Application frameworksreduce the total amount of code that a programmer has to write from scratch.
the frameworkis really a generic application that displays windows, supports copy and paste, and so on, the programmer can also relinquish control to a greater degree than event loop programs permit.
the framework codetakes care of almost all event handling and flow of control, and the programmer's code is called only when the framework needs it (e.g., to create or manipulate a proprietary data structure).
a programmer writing a framework programnot only relinquishes control to the user (as is also true for event loop programs), but also relinquishes the detailed flow of control within the program to the framework. This approach allows the creation of more complex systems that work together in interesting ways, as opposed to isolated programs, having custom code, being created over and over again for similar problems.
a frameworkbasically is a collection of cooperating classes that make up a reusable design solution for a given problem domain. It typically includes objects that provide default behavior (e.g., for menus and windows), and programmers use it by inheriting some of that default behavior and overriding other behavior so that the framework calls application code at the appropriate times.
default behaviore.g., for menus and windows
Behavior versus protocolClass libraries are essentially collections of behaviors that you can call when you want those individual behaviors in your program.
a frameworkprovides not only behavior but also the protocol or set of rules that govern the ways in which behaviors can be combined, including rules for what a programmer is supposed to provide versus what the framework provides.
a frameworkembodies the way a family of related programs or pieces of software work. It represents a generic design solution that can be adapted to a variety of specific problems in a given domain. For example, a single framework can embody the way a user interface works, even though two different user interfaces created with the same framework might solve quite different interface problems. Thus, through the development of frameworks for solutions to various problems and programming tasks, significant reductions in the design and development effort for software can be achieved.
a preferred embodiment of the inventionutilizes HyperText Markup Language (HTML) to implement documents on the Internet together with a general-purpose secure communication protocol for a transport medium between the client and the Newco.
HTMLHyperText Markup Language
HTTP or other protocolscould be readily substituted for HTML without undue experimentation.
Information on these productsis available in T. Berners-Lee, D. Connoly, "RFC 1866: Hypertext Markup Language - 2.0” (Nov. 1995); and R. Fielding, H, Frystyk, T. Berners-Lee, J. Gettys and J.C. Mogul, "Hypertext Transfer Protocol - HTTP/1.1: HTTP Working Group Internet Draft” (May 2, 1996).
HTMLis a simple data format used to create hypertext documents that are portable from one platform to another. HTML documents are SGML documents with generic semantics that are appropriate for representing information from a wide range of domains. HTML has been in use by the World-Wide Web global information initiative since 1990. HTML is an application of ISO Standard 8879:1986 Information Processing Text and Office Systems; Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML).
HTMLhas been the dominant technology used in development of Web-based solutions.
HTMLhas proven to be inadequate in the following areas:
UIUser Interface
Custom "widgets”e.g., real-time stock tickers, animated icons, etc.
client-side performanceis improved.
Javasupports the notion of client-side validation, offloading appropriate processing onto the client for improved performance.
Dynamic, real-time Web pagescan be created. Using the above-mentioned custom UI components, dynamic Web pages can also be created.
Sun's Java languagehas emerged as an industry-recognized language for "programming the Internet.”
Sundefines Java as: "a simple, object-oriented, distributed, interpreted, robust, secure, architecture-neutral, portable, high-performance, multithreaded, dynamic, buzzword- compliant, general-purpose programming language.
Javasupports programming for the Internet in the form of platform-independent Java applets.”
Java appletsare small, specialized applications that comply with Sun's Java Application Programming Interface (API) allowing developers to add "interactive content” to Web documents (e.g., simple animations, page adornments, basic games, etc.). Applets execute within a Java-compatible browser (e.g.,
ActiveXincludes tools for developing animation, 3-D virtual reality, video and other multimedia content.
the toolsuse Internet standards, work on multiple platforms, and are being supported by over 100 companies.
the group's building blocksare called ActiveX Controls, small, fast components that enable developers to embed parts of software in hypertext markup language (HTML) pages.
ActiveX Controlswork with a variety of programming languages including Microsoft Visual C++, Borland Delphi, Microsoft Visual Basic programming system and, in the future, Microsoft's development tool for Java, code named "Jakarta.”
ActiveX Technologiesalso includes ActiveX Server Framework, allowing developers to create server applications.
BackgroundFinderis implemented as an agent responsible for preparing an individual for an upcoming meeting by helping him her retrieve relevant information about the meeting from various sources.
BFreceives input text in character form indicative of the target meeting.
the input textis generated in accordance with a preferred embodiment by a calendar program that includes the time of the meeting. As the time of the meeting approaches, the calendar program is queried to obtain the text of the target event and that information is utilized as input to the agent. Then, the agent parses the input meeting text to extract its various components such as title, body, participants, location, time etc.
the systemalso performs pattern matching to identify particular meeting fields in a meeting text. This information is utilized to query various sources of information on the web and obtain relevant stories about the current meeting to send back to the calendaring system. For example, if an individual has a meeting with Netscape and Microsoft to talk about their disputes, and would obtain this initial information from the calendaring system. It will then parse out the text to realize that the companies in the meeting are "Netscape” and "Microsoft" and the topic is "disputes.” Then, the system queries the web for relevant information concerning the topic.
the systemupdates the calendaring system and eventually the user with the best information it can gather to prepare the user for the target meeting.
the informationis stored in a file that is obtained via selection from a link imbedded in the calendar system.
a computer program in accordance with a preferred embodimentis organized in five distinct modules: BF.Main, BF.Parse, Background Finder.Error, BF.PatternMatching and BF. Search. There is also a frmMain which provides a user interface used only for debugging purposes.
the executable programs in accordance with a preferred embodimentnever execute with the user interface and should only return to the calendaring system through Microsoft's Winsock control.
a preferred embodiment of the systemexecutes in two different modes which can be specified under the command line sent to it by the calendaring system. When the system runs in simple mode, it executes a keyword query to submit to external search engines. When executed in complex mode, the system performs pattern matching before it forms a query to be sent to a search engine.
the user-defined structure, tMeetingRecordis used to store all the pertinent information concerning a single meeting.
This infoincludes userlD, an original description of the meeting, the extracted list of keywords from the title and body of meeting etc. It is important to note that only one meeting record is created per instance of the system in accordance with a preferred embodiment. This is because each time the system is spawned to service an upcoming meeting, it is assigned a task to retrieve information for only one meeting. Therefore, the meeting record created corresponds to the current meeting examined. ParseMeetingText populates this meeting record and it is then passed around to provide information about the meeting to other functions. If GoPattemMatch can bind any values to a particular meeting field, the corresponding entries in the meeting record is also updated.
the structure of tMeetingRecord with each field described in parenthesesis provided below in accordance with a preferred embodiment.
the record tAPatternRecordis an array containing all the components / elements of a pattern.
the type tAPatternElementis an array of strings which represent an element in a pattern. Because there may be many "substitutes" for each element, we need an array of strings to keep track of what all the substitutes are.
the structures of tAPatternElement and tAPatternRecordare presented below in accordance with a preferred embodiment.
constantsare defined in each declaration section of the program which may need to be updated periodically as part of the process of maintaining the system in accordance with a preferred embodiment.
the constantsare accessible to allow dynamic configuration of the system to occur as updates for maintaining the code.
Figure 2depicts the overall process flow in accordance with a preferred embodiment. Processing commences at the top of the chart at function block 200 which launches when the program starts. Once the application is started, the command line is parsed to remove the appropriate meeting text to initiate the target of the background find operation in accordance with a preferred embodiment as shown in function block 210. A global stop list is generated after the target is determined as shown in function block 220. Then, all the patterns that are utilized for matching operations are generated as illustrated in function block 230.
function block 200invokes GoBF 240 which is responsible for logical processing associated with wrapping the correct search query information for the particular target search engine.
function block 240flows to function block 250 and it then calls GoPattemMatch as shown in function block 260.
GoPattemMatchwe swap to the diagram titled "Process Flow for BF's Pattern Matching Unit.”
FIG. 1One key thing to notice is that functions depicted at the same level of the chart are called by in sequential order from left to right (or top to bottom) by their common parent function. For example, Main 200 calls ProcessCommandLine 210, then CreateStopListist 220, then CreatePattems 230, then GoBackgroundFinder 240.
Figures 3 to 6detail the logic for the entire program, the parsing unit, the pattern matching unit and the search unit respectively.
Figure 6details the logic determinative of data flow of key information through BackgroundFinder, and shows the functions that are responsible for creating or processing such information.
the Alta Vista search engineutilizes the identifies and returns general information about topics related to the current meeting as shown in function block 270 of Figure 2.
the systemin accordance with a preferred embodiment takes all the keywords from the title portion of the original meeting text and constructs an advanced query to send to Alta Vista.
the keywordsare logically combined together in the query.
the resultsare also ranked based on the same set of keywords.
a date restriction or publisher criteriacould be facilitated on the articles we want to retrieve.
a set of top ranking storiesare returned to the calendaring system in accordance with a preferred embodiment.
the NewsPage search systemis responsible for giving us the latest news topics related to a target meeting.
the systemtakes all of the keywords from the title portion of the original meeting text and constructs a query to send to the NewsPage search engine.
the keywordsare logically combined together in the query. Only articles published recently are retrieved.
the Newspage search systemprovides a date restriction criteria that is sellable by a user according to the user's preference.
the top ranking storiesare returned to the calendaring system.
FIG. 3is a user profile data model in accordance with a preferred embodiment.
Processingcommences at function block 300 which is responsible for invoking the program from the main module. Then, at function block 310, a wrapper function is invoked to prepare for the keyword extraction processing in function block 320. After the keywords are extracted, then processing flows to function block 330 to determine if the delimiters are properly positioned. Then, at function block 340, the number of words in a particular string is calculated and the delimiters for the particular field are and a particular field from the meeting text is retrieved at function block 350. Then, at function block 380, the delimiters of the string are again checked to assure they are placed appropriately.
function block 360the extraction of each word from the title and body of the message is performed a word at a time utilizing the logic in function block 362 which finds the next closest word delimiter in the input phrase, function block 364 which strips unnecessary materials from a word and function block 366 which determines if a word is on the stop list and returns an error if the word is on the stop list.
a simple search method in accordance with a preferred embodimentonly uses the keywords from a meeting title to form queries to send to Alta Vista and NewsPage. This ignores an alternative source of information for the query, the body of the meeting notice. We cannot include the keywords from the meeting body to form our queries because this often results in queries which are too long and so complex that we often obtain no meaningful results.
pattern matching systemcan address each of the corresponding issues above in accordance with a preferred embodiment. 1. By doing pattern matching, we match up only parts of the meeting text that we want and extract those parts.
Pattern matchingis based on a set of templates that we specify, allowing us to identify people names, company names and other items from a meeting text. 4. In summary, with pattern matching, we no longer suffer from information overload. Of course, the big problem is how well our pattern matching works. If we rely exclusively on artificial intelligence processing, we do not have a 100% hit rate. We are able to identify about 20% of all company names presented to us.
a pattern in the context of a preferred embodimentis a template specifying the structure of a phrase we are looking for in a meeting text.
the patterns supported by a preferred embodimentare selected because they are templates of phrases which have a high probability of appearing in someone's meeting text. For example, when entering a meeting in a calendar, many would write something such as "Meet with Bob Dutton from Stanford University next Tuesday.” A common pattern would then be something like the word "with” followed by a person's name (in this example it is Bob Dutton) followed by the word "from” and ending with an organization's name (in this case, it is Stanford University).
a patternis a template specifying the structure of a phrase we want to bind the meeting text to. It contains sub units.
⁇ Elementa pattern can contain many sub-units. These subunits are called elements. For example, in the pattern "with $PEOPLE$ from $COMPANY$”, “with” "$PEOPLE$” "from” "$COMPANY$” are all elements.
Placeholdera placeholder is a special kind of clement in which wc want to bind a value to.Using the above example, "$PEOPLE$" is a placeholder.
an indicatoris another kind of element which we want to find in a meeting text but no value needs to bind to it. There may be often more than one indicator we are looking for in a certain pattern. That is why an indicator is not an "atomic" type.
substitutesare a set of indicators which are all synonyms of each other. Finding any one of them in the input is good.
Each placeholderhas the following meaning:
⁇ $LOCATION$binds a string of capitalized words (e.g., Meet Susan at ⁇ Palo Alto Square>)
⁇ $TIME$binds a string containing the format #:## (e.g., Dinner at ⁇ 6:30 pm>)
⁇ $TOPIC_UPPER$binds a string of capitalized words for our topic (e.g., ⁇ Stanford Engineering Recruiting> Meeting to talk about new hires).
BFhas the capability to support these patterns but we decided that matching these patterns is not essential at this point.
FIG. 4is a detailed flowchart of pattern matching in accordance with a preferred embodiment. Processing commences at function block 400 where the main program invokes the pattern matching application and passes control to function block 410 to commence the pattern match processing. Then, at function block 420, the wrapper function loops through to process each pattern which includes determining if a part of the text string can be bound to a pattern as shown in function block 430. Then, at function block 440, various placeholders are bound to values if they exist, and in function block 441, a list of names separated by punctuation are bound, and at function block 442 a full name is processed by finding two capitalized words as a full name and grabbing the next letter after a space after a word to determine if it is capitalized.
function block 443time is parsed out of the string in an appropriate manner and the next word after a blank space in function block 444.
function block 445the continuous phrases of capitalized words such as company, topic or location are bound and in function block 446, the next word after the blank is obtained for further processing in accordance with a preferred embodiment.
function block 450is utilized to locate an indicator which is the head of a pattern, the next word after the blank is obtained as shown in function block 452 and the word is checked to determine if the word is an indicator as shown in function block 454.
the stringis parsed to locate an indicator which is not at the end of the pattern and the next word after unnecessary white space such as that following a line feed or a carriage return is processed as shown in function block 462 and the word is analyzed to determine if it is an indicator as shown in function block 464.
the temporary recordis reset to the null set to prepare it for processing the next string and at function block 480, the meeting record is updated and at function block 482 a check is performed to determine if an entry is already made to the meeting record before parsing the meeting record again.
FIG. 5is a flowchart of the detailed processing for preparing a query and obtaining information from the Internet in accordance with a preferred embodiment.
Processingcommences at function block 500 and immediately flows to function block 510 to process the wrapper functionality to prepare for an Internet search utilizing a web search engine. If the search is to utilize the Alta Vista search engine, then at function block 530, the system takes information from the meeting record and forms a query in function blocks 540 to 560 for submittal to the search engine. If the search is to utilize the NewsPage search engine, then at function block 520, the system takes information from the meeting record and forms a query in function blocks 521 to 528.
Alta Vista Search EngineThe strength of the Alta Vista search engine is that it provides enhanced flexibility. Using its advance query method, one can construct all sorts of Boolean queries and rank the search however you want. However, one of the biggest drawbacks with Alta Vista is that it is not very good at handling a large query and is likely to give back irrelevant results. If we can identify the topic and the company within a meeting text, we can form a pretty short but comprehensive query which will hopefully yield better results. We also want to focus on the topics found. It may not be of much merit to the user to find out info about a company especially if the user already knows the company well and has had numerous meetings with them. It's the topics they want to research on.
the strength of the News Page search engineis that it does a great job searching for the most recent news if you are able to give it a valid company name. Therefore when we submit a query to the news page web site, we send whatever company name we can identify and only if we cannot find one do we use the topics found to form a query. If neither one is found, then no search is performed.
the algorithmn utilized to form the query to submit to Alta Vistais illustrated in Figure 7.
the algorithmn that we will use to form the query to submit to News Pageis illustrated in Figure 8.
a patterncan begin with either one of the two types of elements and can be however long, involving however any number/type of elements. This procedure dynamically creates a new pattern record for each pattern in the table and it also dynamically creates new tAPatternElements for each element within a pattern.
This proceduredynamically creates a new pattern record for each pattern in the table and it also dynamically creates new tAPatternElements for each element within a pattern.
SPEOPLES of SCOMPANYSis similar to the pattern SPEOPLES from SCOMPANYS. "from” is a substitute for "of . Our structure should be able to express such a need for substitution.
GoBF Public MainThis is a wrapper procedurer (BF.Main) Sub that calls both the parsing Procedure Type Called By Description Name the word, so we will need a method of looping through the body and rejecting words without killing the whole function i guess keep Clean Word and check a return value ok, now I have a word so I need to send it down the parse chain. This chain goes
FIG. 6is a flowchart of the actual code utilized to prepare and submit searches to the Alta Vista and Newspage search engines in accordance with a preferred embodiment. Processing commences at function block 610 where a command line is utilized to update a calendar entry with specific calendar information. The message is next posted in accordance with function block 620 and a meeting record is created to store the current meeting information in accordance with function block 630. Then, in function block 640 the query is submitted to the Alta Vista search engine and in function block 650, the query is submitted to the Newspage search engine. When a message is returned from the search engine, it is stored in a results data structure as shown in function block 660 and the information is processed and stored in summary form in a file for use in preparation for the meeting as detailed in function block 670.
Figure 7provides more detail on creating the query in accordance with a preferred embodiment. Processing commences at function block 710 where the meeting record is parsed to obtain potential companies, people, topics, location and a time. Then, in function block 720, at least one topic is identified and in function block 720, at least one company name is identified and finally in function block 740, a decision is made on what material to transmit to the file for ultimate consumption by the user.
Figure 8is a variation on the query theme presented in Figure 7.
a meeting recordis parsed in function block 800, a company is identified in function block 820, a topic is identified in function block 830 and finally in function block 840 the topic and or the company is utilized in formulating the query.
Alternative embodiments for adding various specific features for specific user requirementsare discussed below.
BindName, BindTime, BindCompanyLocTopicwhich are responsible for associating a value with a placeholder can be enhanced.
the enhancementis realized by increasing the set of criteria for binding a certain meeting field in order to increase the number of binding values. For example, BindTime currently accepts and binds all values in the form of ##:## or #:##.
BindTimeTo increase the times we can bind, we may want BindTime to also accept the numbers 1 to 12 followed by the more aesthetic time terminology "o'clock.” Vocabulary based recognition algorithms and assigning an accuracy rate to each guess BF makes allowing only guesses which meet a certain threshold to be valid.
a system in accordance with a preferred embodimentsuggests a plurality of fine restaurants whenever it detects the words lunch/dinner/breakfast.
Figure 9is a flow diagram that depicts the hardware and logical flow of control for a device and a software system designed to allow Web-based comparison shopping in conventional, physical, non- Web retail environments.
Internet Protocol capabilityis combined with a miniature barcode reader 910 (installed cither inside the phone or on a short cable) and used to scan the Universal Product Code (UPC) bar mySite!
UPCUniversal Product Code
MySite!is a high-impact, Internet-based application in accordance with a preferred embodiment that is focused on the theme of delivering services and providing a personalized experience for each customer via a personal web site in a buyer-centric world.
the servicesare intuitively organized around satisfying customer intentions - fundamental life needs or objectives that require extensive planning decisions, and coordination across several dimensions, such as financial planning, healthcare, personal and professional development, family life, and other concerns.
Each memberowns and maintains his own profile, enabling him to create and browse content in the system targeted specifically at him.
intelligent agentsare utilized to conduct research, execute transactions and provide advice.
Customer intentionsinclude Managing Daily Logistics (e.g., email, calendar, contacts, to-do list, bill payment, shopping, and travel planning); and Moving to a New Community (e.g., finding a place to live, moving household possessions, getting travel and shipping insurance coverage, notifying business and personal contacts, learning about the new community).
mySite!provides a central location where a user can access relevant products and services and accomplish daily tasks with ultimate ease and convenience.
Intention value networksallow a user to enter through a personalized site and, and with the assistance of a learning, intelligent agent, seamlessly interact with network participants.
An intention value networkin accordance with a preferred embodiment provides superior value. It provides twenty four hour a day, seven days a week access to customized information, advice and products. The information is personalized so that each member views content that is highly customized to assure relevance to the required target user.
Egocentric InterfaceAn Egocentric Interface is a user interface crafted to satisfy a particular user's needs, preferences and current context. It utilizes the user's personal information that is stored in a central profile database to customize the interface. The user can set security permissions on and preferences for
the content integrated into the Egocentric Interfaceis customized with related information about the user.
the Egocentric Interfacewill include the relationship between that content and the user in a way that demonstrates how the content relates to the user. For instance, when displaying information about an upcoming ski trip the user has signed up for, the interface will include information about events from the user's personal calendar and contact list, such as other people who will be in the area during the ski trip. This serves to put the new piece of information into a context familiar to the individual user.
Figure 10Adescribes the Intention Value Network Architecture implementation for the World
the customercan access the Intention Value Network with any Internet web browser 1010, such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer, running on a personal computer connected to the Internet or a Personal Digital Assistant with wireless capability. See Figure 17 for a more detailed description of the multiple methods for accessing an Intention Value Network.
the customeraccesses the Intention Value Network through the unique name or IP address associated with the Integrator's Web Server 1020.
the Integratorcreates the Intention Value Network using a combination of resources, such as the Intention Database 1030, the Content Database 1040, the Supplier Profile Database 1050, and the Customer Profile Database 1060.
the Intention Database 1030stores all of the information about the structure of the intention and the types of products and services needed to fulfill the intention. Information in this database includes intention steps, areas of interest, layout templates and personalization templates.
the Content Database 1040stores all of the information related to the intention, such as advice, referral information, personalized content, satisfaction ratings, product ratings and progress reports.
the Supplier Profile Database 1050contains information about the product and service providers integrated into the intention. The information contained in this database provides a link between the intention framework and the suppliers. It includes product lists, features and descriptions, and addresses of the suppliers' product web sites.
the Customer Profile Database 1060contains personal information about the customers, such as name, address, social security number and
the Supplier's Web Server 1070provides access to all of the supplier's databases necessary to provide information and transactional support to the customer.
the Product Information Database 1080stores all product-related information, such as features, availability and pricing.
the Product Order Database 1090stores all customer orders.
the interface to this databasemay be through an Enterprise Resource Planning application offered by SAP, Baan, Oracle or others, or it may be accessible directly through the Supplier's Web Server or application server.
the Customer Information Database 1091stores all of the customer information that the supplier needs to complete a transaction or maintain customer records.
FIG 10Bis a flowchart providing the logic utilized to create a web page within the Egocentric Interface.
the environmentassumes a web server and a web browser connected through a TCP/IP network, such as over the public Internet or a private Intranet.
Possible web serverscould include Microsoft Internet Information Server, Netscape Enterprise Server or Apache.
Possible web browsersinclude Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator.
the clienti.e. web browser
the web servergets the layout and content preferences 1002 for that particular user, with the request to the database keyed off of a unique user id stored in the client (i.e. web browser) and the User profile database 1003.
the web serverretrieves the content 1004 for the page that has been requested from the content database 1005.
the relevant user-centric contentsuch as calendar, email, contact list, and task list items are then retrieved 1006.
the query to the databaseutilizes the user content preferences stored as part of the user profile in the User profile database 1003 to filter the content that is returned.
the content that is returnedis then formatted into a web page 1007 according to the layout preferences defined in the user profile.
the web pageis then returned to the client and displayed to the user 1008.
Figure 11describes the process of retrieving user-centric content to add to a web page. This process describes 1006 in Figure 10B in a more detailed fashion. It assumes that the server already has obtained the user profile and the existing content that is going to be integrated into this page. The server parses 1110 the filtered content, looking for instances of events, contact
the servertries to find any user-centric content 1120 stored in various databases. This involves matching the tagged items in the temporary storage space with calendar items 1130 in the Calendar Database 1140; email items 1115 in the Email Database 1114; contact items 1117 in the Contact Database 1168; task list items 1119 in the Task List Database
the systemallows the user to create a number of different personas that aggregate profile information into sets that are useful in different contexts.
a usermay create one persona when making purchases for his home. This persona may contain his home address and may indicate that this user is looking to find a good bargain when shopping. The same user may create a second persona that can be used when he is in a work context. This persona may store the user's work address and may indicate that the user prefers certain vendors or works for a certain company that has a discount program in place. When shopping for work-related items, the user may use this persona.
a personamay also contain rales and restrictions. For instance, the work persona may restrict the user to making airline reservations with only one travel agent and utilizing booking rales set up by his employer.
Figure 12describes the relationship between a user, his multiple personas and his multiple profiles.
the User Levelis the User Profile 1200. This profile describes the user and his account information. There is one unique record in the database for each user who has an account. Attached to each user are multiple Personas 1220, 1230 & 1240. These Personas are used to group multiple profiles into useful contexts. For instance, consider a user who lives in San Francisco and works in Palo Alto, but has a mountain cabin in Lake Tahoe. He has three different contexts in which he might be accessing his site. One context is work-related. The other two are home-life related, but in different locations.
the usercan create a Persona for Work 1220, a Persona for Home 1230, and a Persona for his cabin home 1240.
Each Personareferences a different General Profile 1250, 1260 and 1270 which contains the address for that location.
General Profilesthere are three General Profiles.
Each Personaalso references one of two
the usermaintains a Work Travel Profile 1280 that contains all of the business rules related to booking tickets and making reservations.
This Profilemay specify, for instance,
the Work Personareferences this Work Travel Profile.
the usermay also maintain a Home Travel Profile 1290 that specifies that he prefers to travel in coach and wants to find non- refundable fairs, since they are generally cheaper. Both the Persona for Home and the Persona for the cabin home point to the Home Travel Profile.
FIG. 13describes the data model that supports the Persona concept.
the user table 1310contains a record for each user who has an account in the system. This table contains a usemame and a password 1320 as well as a unique identifier.
Each usercan have multiple Personas 1330, which act as containers for more specialized structures called Profiles 1340.
Profilescontain the detailed personal information in Profile Field 1350 records. Attached to each Profile are sets of Profile Restriction 1360 records. These each contain a Name 1370 and a Rule 1380, which define the restriction.
the Ruleis in the form of a pattern like (if x then y), which allows the Rule to be restricted to certain uses.
An example Profile Restrictionwould be the rale that dictates that the user cannot book a flight on a certain airline contained in the list. This Profile
Each Profile Fieldalso contains a set of Permissions 1390 that are contained in that record. These permissions dictate who has what access rights to that particular Profile Field's information.
An Intention-Centric Interfaceis a user interface designed to help the user manage personal Intentions. At any given point, the interface content is customized to show only content that relates to that particular Intention.
the Intention-Centric Interfaceallows the user to manage the process of satisfying that particular Intention. This involves a series of discrete steps and a set of content areas the user can access. At any point, the user can also switch the interface to manage
Figure 14provides a detailed description of the data model needed to support an Intcntion- Centric Interface. Each User Persona 1410 (see Figure 13 for a more detailed description of the
Custom Rulesare patterns describing how the system will customize the Intention for each individual user using the individual user's profile information.
An agentkeeps track of key statistics for each user. These statistics are used in a manner similar to the Tamagochi virtual reality pet toy to encourage certain behaviors from the user.
the statistics that are recordedare frequency of login, frequency of rating of content such as news articles, and activity of agents, measured by the number of tasks which it performs in a certain period. This information is used by the system to emotionally appeal to the user to encourage certain behaviors.
Figure 15describes the process for generating the page that displays the agent's current statistics.
the serverretrieves the users' statistics 1520 from the users' profile database 1530. The server then performs the mathematical calculations necessary to create a normalized set of statistics 1540. The server then retrieves the formulas 1550 from the content database 1560 that will be used to calculate the user-centric statistics. Graphs are then generated 1570 using the generic formulas and that user's
the systemprovide Consumer Report-like service that is customized for each user based on a user profile.
the systemrecords and provides ratings from users about product quality and desirability on a number of dimensions.
the difference between this system and traditional product quality measurement servicesis that the ratings that come back to the users are personalized. This service works by finding the people who have the closest match to the user's profile and have previously rated the product being asked for. Using this algorithm will help to ensure that the product reports sent back to the user only contain statistics from people who are similar to that user.
Figure 16describes the algorithm for determining the personalized product ratings for a user.
the algorithmretrieves the profiles
the systemretrieves the default thresholds 1640 for the profile matching algorithm from the content database 1650. It then maps all of the short list of users along several dimensions specified in the profile matching algorithm 1660. The top n (specified previously as a threshold variable) nearest neighbors are then determined and a test is performed to decide if they are within distance y (also specified previously as a threshold variable) of the user's profile in the set 1670 using the results from the profile matching algorithm. If they are not within the threshold, then the threshold variables are relaxed 1680, and the test is run again. This processing is repeated until the test returns true. The product ratings from the smaller set of n nearest neighbors are then used to determine a number of product statistics 1690 along several dimensions. Those statistics are inserted into a product report template 1695 and returned to the user 1697 as a product report.
This systemprovides one central storage place for a person's profile.
This storage placeis a server available through the public Internet, accessible by any device that is connected to the
a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) with Internet accesscan synchronize the person's calendar, email, contact list, task list and notes on the PDA with the version stored in the Internet site. This enables the person to only have to maintain one version of this data in order to have it available whenever it is needed and in whatever formats it is needed.
PDAPersonal Digital Assistant
FIG. 17presents the detailed logic associated with the many different methods for accessing this centrally stored profile.
the profile database 1710is the central storage place for the users' profile information.
the profile gateway server 1720receives all requests for profile information, whether from the user himself or merchants trying to provide a service to the user.
the profile gateway serveris responsible for ensuring that information is only given out when the profile owner specifically grants permission.
Any device that can access the public Internet 1730 over TCP/IP (a standard network communications protocol)is able to request information from the profile database via intelligent HTTP requests. Consumers will be able to gain access to services from devices such as their televisions 1740, mobile phones, Smart Cards, gas meters, water meters, kitchen appliances, security systems, desktop computers, laptops, pocket organizers, PDAs, and their vehicles, among others.
merchants 1750will be able to access those profiles (given permission from the consumer who owns each profile), and will be able to offer customized, personalized services to consumers because of this.
One possible use of the ubiquitous profileis for a hotel chain.
a consumercan carry a Smart Card that holds a digital certificate uniquely identifying him.
This Smart Card's digital certificatehas been issued by the system and it recorded his profile information into the profile database.
the consumerbrings this card into a hotel chain and checks in.
the hotel employeeswipes the Smart Card and the consumer enters his Pin number, unlocking the digital certificate.
the certificateis sent to the profile gateway server (using a secure transmission protocol) and is authenticated.
the hotelis then given access to a certain part of the consumer's profile that he has previously specified.
the hotelcan then retrieve all of the consumer's billing information as well as preferences for hotel room, etc.
the hotelcan also access the consumer's movie and dining preferences and offer customized menus for both of them.
the hotelcan offer to send an email to the consumer's spouse letting him/her know the person checked into the hotel and is safe. All transaction information can be uploaded to the consumer's profile after the hotel checks
the overall integrator systemcoordinates the delivery of products and services for a user.
the integratormanages a network of approved suppliers providing products and services, both physical and virtual, to a user based on the user's preferences as reflected in the user's profile.
the integratormanages the relationship between suppliers and consumers and coordinates the suppliers' fulfillment of consumers' intentions. It does this by providing the consumer with information about products and suppliers and offering objective advice, among other things.
Figure 18discloses the detailed interaction between a consumer and the integrator involving one supplier.
the useraccesses a Web Browser 1810 and requests product and pricing information from the integrator.
the requestis sent from the user's browser to the integrator's Web/ Application Server 1820.
the user's preferences and personal informationis obtained from an integrator's customer profile database 1830 and returned to the Web/Application server.
the requested product informationis extracted from the supplier's product database 1840 and customized for the particular customer.
the Web/ Application serverupdates the supplier's customer information database 1850 with the inquiry information about the customer.
the product and pricing informationis then formatted into a Web Page 1860 and returned to the customer's Web Browser.
a suite of software agents running on the application and web serversare programmed to take care of repetitive or mundane tasks for the user.
the agentswork according to rales set up by the user and are only allowed to perform tasks explicitly defined by the user.
the agentscan take care of paying bills for the user, filtering content and emails, and providing a summary view of tasks and agent activity.
the user interface for the agentcan be modified to suit the particular user.
Figure 19discloses the logic in accordance with a prefe ⁇ ed embodiment processing by an agent to generate a verbal summary for the user.
the userrequests the summary page 1900, the
the 63 servergets the user's agent preferences 1920, such as agent type, rales and summary level from the user profile database 1930.
the servergets the content 1940, such as emails, to do list items, news, and bills, from the content database 1950.
the agentparses all of this content, using the rales stored in the profile database, and summarizes the content 1960.
the contentis formatted into a web page 1970 according to a template.
the text for the agent's speechis generated 1980, using the content from the content database 1990 and speech templates stored in the database. This speech text is inserted into the web page 1995 and the page is returned to the user 1997.
the above scenariorequires the web site to maintain a guarantee of privacy of information according to a published policy.
This systemis the consumer's Trusted Third Party, acting on his behalf in every case, erring on the side of privacy of information, rather than on the side of stimulation of commerce opportunities.
the Trusted Third Partyhas a set of processes in place that guarantee certain complicity with the stated policy.
FIG. 20illustrates a display login in accordance with a prefe ⁇ ed embodiment.
the displayis implemented as a Microsoft Internet Explorer application with an agent 2000 that guides a user through the process of interacting with the system to customize and personalize various system components to gather information and interact with the user's personal requirements.
a userenters a usemame at 2010 and a password at 2020 and selects a button 2040 to initiate the login procedure.
the systemtransforms electronic commerce into a personalized, so called "me" commerce.
Figure 21illustrates a managing daily logistics display in accordance with a prefe ⁇ ed embodiment.
a useris greeted by an animated agent 2100 with a personalized message 2190.
the usercan select from various activities based on requirements, including travel 2110, household chores 2120, finances 2130 and marketplace activities 2140.
Icons 2142 for routine tasks such as e-mail, calendaring and document preparationare also provided to facilitate rapid navigation from one activity to another.
Direct links 2146are also provided to allow transfer of news and other items of interest.
Various profilescan be selected based on where the user is located. For example, work, home or vacation. The profiles can be added 2170 as a user requires a new profile for another location.
Various items 2180 of personal informationare examples of personal information.
a prefe ⁇ ed embodimentdemonstrates the intelligent information delivery theory described above in an attempt to not only reduce information overload, but to deliver high quality information where and when users' require it.
the systemdelivers right information to the right person at the right time and the right place.
Figure 24is a block diagram of an active knowledge management system in accordance with a prefe ⁇ ed embodiment.
the systemconsists of the following parts: back-end 2400 connection to one or more servers, personal mobile wireless clients (Awareness Machine)2430, 2436, public clients (Magic Wall) 2410, 2420, web clients 2446, 2448, e-mail clients 2450, 2460.
permissions 2150are set for items 2180 to assure information is timely and cu ⁇ ent.
Figure 22illustrates a user main display in accordance with a preferred embodiment.
World 2200 and local news 2210is provided based on a user's preference.
the userhas also selected real estate 2230 as an item to provide direct information on the main display.
a different agent 2220is provided based on the user's preference.
Figure 23illustrates an agent interaction in accordance with a prefe ⁇ ed embodiment.
the agent 2310is communicating information 2300 to a user indicating that the user's life insurance needs have changed and pointing the user to the chart that best summarizes the information for the user. Particular tips 2395 are provided to facilitate more detailed information based on cu ⁇ ent user statistics.
a chart 2370 of the user's life insurance needsis also highlighted at the center of the display to assist the user in determining appropriate action.
a button 2380is provided to facilitate changing the policy and a set of buttons 2390 are provided to assist a user in selecting various views of the user's insurance requirements.
An Event Backgrounderis a short description of an upcoming event that is sent to the user just before an event.
the Event Backgrounderis constantly updated with the latest information related to this event. Pertinent information such as itinerary and logistics are included, and other useful information, such as people the user knows who might be in the same location, are also included.
the purpose of the Event Backgrounderis to provide the most up-to-date information about an event, drawing from a number of resources, such as public web sites and the user's calendar and contact lists, to allow the user to react optimally in a given situation.
This softwarelooks for opportunities to tell the user when a friend, family member or acquaintance is or is going to be in the same vicinity as the user.
This softwarescans the user's calendar for upcoming events. It then uses a geographic map to compare those calendar events with the calendar events of people who are listed in his contact list. It then informs the user of any matches, thus telling the user that someone is scheduled to be near him at a particular time.
FIG 25is a block diagram of a back end server in accordance with a prefe ⁇ ed embodiment.
the back-end (2400 of Figure 24)is a computer system that has the following software active: Intelligent Agents Coordinator (Munin) 2580, Information Prioritization Subsystem 2530, a set of continuously and periodically ranning information gathering and processing Intelligent Agents 2500, 2502 and 2504, User Profiles Database 2542 and supporting software, Information Channels Database 2542 and supporting software, communications software 2550, information transformation software 2560, and auxiliary software.
Intelligent Agents CoordinatorUnin
Information Prioritization Subsystem 2530a set of continuously and periodically ranning information gathering and processing Intelligent Agents 2500, 2502 and 2504, User Profiles Database 2542 and supporting software, Information Channels Database 2542 and supporting software, communications software 2550, information transformation software 2560, and auxiliary software.
the Awareness Machineis a combination of hardware device and software application.
the hardwareconsists of handheld personal computer and wireless communications device.
the Awareness Machinereflects a constantly updated state-of-the-owner's-world by continually receiving a wireless trickle of information.
This informationmined and processed by a suite of intelligent agents, consists of mail messages, news that meets each user's preferences, schedule updates, background information on upcoming meetings and events, as well as weather and traffic.
the Intelligent Agent Coordinator 2580 of Figure 25is also the user's "interface" to the system, in that whenever the user interacts with the system, regardless of the GUI or other end-user interface, they are ultimately dealing with (asking questions of or sending commands to) the Intelligent Agent Coordinator.
the Intelligent Agent Coordinatorhas four primary responsibilities: 1) monitoring user activities, 2) handling information requests, 3) maintaining each user's profile, and 4) routing information to and from users and to and from the other respective agents.
the Intelligent Agent Coordinatorreceives an "environmental cue.” These cues not only enable the Intelligent Agent Coordinator to gain an understanding where users' are for information delivery purposes, but also to leam the standard patterns (arrival time, departure time, etc.) of each persons' life. These patterns are constantly being updated and
the Intelligent Agent Coordinatorhandles information requests from other agents in order to personalize information intended for each user and to more accurately reflect each user's interests in the information they are given. These requests will commonly be related to the user's profile. For instance, if an agent was preparing a traffic report for a user it may request the traffic region (search string) of that user from the Intelligent Agent Coordinator. All access to the user's profile data is accessed in this method.
User profilescontain extensive information about the users. This information is a blend of user- specified data and information that the Intelligent Agent Coordinator has learned and extrapolated from each user's information and activities. In order to protect the data contained in the profiles, the Intelligent Agent Coordinator must handle all user information requests. The Intelligent Agent Coordinator is constantly modifying and updating these profiles by watching the user's activities and attempting to leam the patterns of their lives in order to assist in the more routine, mundane tasks. The Intelligent Agent Coordinator also employs other agents to glean meaning from each user's daily activities. These agents mine this data trying to discover indications of cu ⁇ ent interests, long-term interests, as well as time delivery preferences for each type of information. Another important aspect of the Intelligent Agent Coordinator's observations is that it also tries to determine where each user is physically located throughout the day for routing purposes.
the Intelligent Agent Coordinatortries to be sensitive to this fact by attempting to determine, both by observation (unsupervised learning) and
the Intelligent Agent Coordinatorwould be receiving indications of activity from her PC and would know to send any necessary information there.
desktop PCsare generally quite powerful, a full-featured, graphically intense version could be sent.
the Intelligent Agent Coordinatorhas received an indication (via the keycard reader next to the exit) that you have just left the building. Minutes later the Intelligent Agent Coordinator also receives notification that you have received an urgent message.
the Intelligent Agent Coordinatorknowing that you have left the building and having not received any other indications, assumes that you are reachable via your handheld device (for which it also knows the capabilities) and sends the text of the urgent message there, rather than a more graphically-oriented version.
the Active Knowledge Management systemrepresents some of the most advanced thinking in the world of knowledge management and human computer interaction. Some of the primary innovations include the following:
Intelligent Agents Coordinatoropinion, user preferences, and history of user interactions. It takes the load of mundane decisions off the Intelligent Agents part therefore allowing the
the Reporting subsystemis used by other subsystems on the client to report (read: make a matter of record) various data.
the subsystemmakes no assumptions about the type of data it handles - the data could be fault reports (as part of an architectural service) or lead management information (as part of an application data service).
the Reporting subsystemis in this sense part of the infrastructure, it is an underlying set of services available everywhere on the client.
the Reporting subsystemuses the Communications subsystem to store and forward data.
the Reporting subsystemoffers services to every client subsystem. It comprises a mechanism for messaging within the client application and between the client and the server.
the Reporting mechanismuses the Communications subsystem to store and forward data. The Exceptions use this Reporting mechanism for reporting information about e ⁇ ors only.
the Reporting subsystemprovides a set of infrastructural services which allow architectural components to report information.
the subsystemmakes no stipulation about the information reported, although it does contain components that map to certain types of reported information, such as system faults or customer interaction information.
Part of the subsystem interfaceis presented as a set of Exceptions, which allow the automatic reporting of error conditions encountered during processing.
the subsystemaccepts data and forwards it in an appropriate format to the Communications subsystem. It is captures and reports Exceptions generated during processing that are the result of e ⁇ or conditions. It is able to deal with any type of report that needs to be made, from e ⁇ or logging to sales leads. It is flexible enough to record new types of information as required. It is
the Client Reporting Subsystemis responsible for providing a set of Exceptions for use by all parts of the application.
the Subsystemis also responsible for logging fault reports, user interaction reports, application heartbeat reports, message receipts, refe ⁇ als or leads, and Management Information System entries.
the subsystemis not responsible for gathering information from interface interactions or elsewhere; neither is it responsible for deciding what of a set of data needs to be reported.
Reportingdoes not include the printing of reports.
Client ExceptionThis is a set of Exception classes which, using Reporting the Client Reporting Component reporting
Component servicesstores and sends fault information
Client ReportingThis is the mechanism by which information for Component all reports are collected, formatted, and submitted to the Client Communications
the key element of the subsystemis a static class which manages the creation of report objects - a report factory. This class is instantiated by the Communications subsystem (which manages client configuration) and is always available. It is a severe e ⁇ or if it is not. Reports are generated on an ad hoc basis as needed.
the 'throughput' of the Client Reporting subsystem(understood as the number of reports, of every type, that are requested in a given time) will not place significant strain on system resources. Most of the capacity requirements for reports are absorbed by the Communications subsystem, which must arrange for the storage and transmission of those reports.
the subsystemmust be able to deal with whatever throughput is demanded by the architecture, and the design takes into consideration the estimated workload generated by each part of the architecture.
Performance Performanceis not critical for the Client Reporting subsystem. Reported data, with a few exceptions, is stored before transmission, and so a delay before data is sent is anticipated. Certain types of severe or critical faults need to be reported at once, but the low bandwidth required for these transmissions will not present performance problems.
the reporting needs of the architecturefluctuate, although a core set of capabilities (fault reporting, lead management, interaction reporting) always remain requirements.
the subsystemis flexible enough not only to extend or reduce its capabilities, but also to adjust the level of detail and the nature of data it records for each capability. Implementation of the system follows the project Java coding standards.
Exceptions within the Client Exception Reporting componentcall the Client Reporting component to create fault reports.
Client ExceptionThis is a hierarchy of Exception classes Component structured to assist in the handling and passing of Exceptions. These Exceptions will accept information about the Exception event they represent. With this information and whatever else the class knows about it's own event, the component will use the Client Reporting Component to create fault reports.
a static report factorywill accept requests from Component other components in the form of a signalled event. Based on this event, the factory will manufacture a report of a certain type. The report will then be populated with information
Component Asignals the Client Reporting subsystem to indicate that a reportable event has occu ⁇ ed.
the Client Reporting subsystemthen requests information about the event and creates a report.
the Client Reporting subsystemsignals to the Client Communication subsystem that the report is ready to be sent.
Component Asignals that an exceptional event has occurred by instantiating an appropriate Exception.
Component Apasses reportable event relevant information to the Exception.
Component Arequests for the Exception to be thrown.
the Client Exception Reporting componentsubmits a report to be sent based on the information available using the Client Reporting component as outlined above.
the Client Exception Reporting componentthrows it's Exception.
the Local Content subsystemprovides all content required by the application. This includes both static and dynamic content. It also provides business services required by the application.
the Local Content subsystemis used by the ISF subsystem to provide content. It uses the Communication subsystem to receive business data.
Objects in the Local Content subsystemare created by the Initialization subsystem of the Application Architecture. Services provided by the Local Content subsystem are also accessed through the Application Architecture, via the Initialization and ISF subsystems.
the example components of the Local Content subsystemreflect different types of business knowledge and processes required by the application.
User Data and Business Datainvolve data collected respectively from the user and the business.
the Calculation componentperforms complex calculations, and the Product component represents the products used by the business.
the Content Providers componentdefines static media content.
the Local Content subsystemprovides static and dynamic content to the application. It also provides all business-specific services required by the application.
the Local Content subsystemprovides static and dynamic media to the application.
the Local Content subsystemalso stores store user entered details, business data, and performs business calculations.
Access to mediais provided through the Content Providers component, which belongs to this subsystem.
the objects of this componentare created automatically by the System Initialiser component from a contents file defined in the Application Personality.
the Business Data componentis created and initialized at the time of System Initialization. It exist for the life of the system.
the User Data componentis available for the entire time a customer is using the system. When a customer session ends, references to all objects in the User Data component are released so that the objects can be garbage collected.
Objects in the Local Content subsystem(with the exception of the Business Data Component) are created and initialized either internally or by the Initialization subsystem. References to these objects are managed by the ISF subsystem. Business Data objects are created, initialized and managed by the Communications subsystem.
the ISFdoes not actually know about the Local Content subsystem.
the Local Content subsystemimplements a set of interfaces defined by the ISF.
the Initialization subsystemuses the scripts defined in the Application Personality to define which objects (implementing those interfaces) need to be used to retrieve content.
the ISFuses the Initialization component to create those objects, then manages them.
User DataStores and retrieves data entered by the user, and initiates calculations on stored data.
CalculationPerforms complex calculations.
ProductProvides access to information associated with particular marketing products.
the Interface Support Framework subsystemis part of the Application Architecture Layer. It provides a rich interactive environment which exploits the full potential of a dynamic, multi-
the ISFis built around a theatrical metaphor where every object is expected to exert dynamic behavior.
Objects within the ISFare initialized by the Application Initialization subsystem within the Application Architecture Layer and utilize the services of the Content Players, Printing and
Objects within the ISF subsystemare initialized by the Application Initialization Subsystem. Reporting and Transaction Interface Services are used to log ISF data for the Technical
the Content Player subsystem within the Technical Architectureis used by the ISF to present media to the user.
the ISF subsystemis built upon a layered architecture which follows the Model- View-Controller pattern.
the Factual componentcontains the object model of the business and definitions of business media content.
the Visual componentdisplays and manipulates media to provide a view of the business model to the user.
the Behavioral componentcontrols all interactions between the Visual and Factual components.
the ISF subsystemprovides the services for the application to present multimedia content in a controlled way. It also provides the capability to react to user input and affect changes to the scene.
the ISF subsystemdisplays each scene of the application, and modifies the content of a scene while it is displayed.
the ISF subsystemenables navigation between scenes, reacts to user interaction, retrieves business content, performs business functions and calculations, and provides common user interface constructs.
Other responsibilities of the ISFinclude initiating print jobs and video conference sessions, reporting on user entry into a scene, duration of a session, user interaction with a role, user navigation, and reporting on errors occurring within the
the ISFmanages user sessions, and responds to system level events such as system start up and shutdown or screen paint requests.
the ISF subsystemprovides the services for the application to present multimedia content. It is architecturally layered into three distinct components which parallel the Model- View-Controller paradigm. This separates the core business objects and their data (the Model), from the visual representation of this information (the View), from the logic to control and react to changes in the Model or the View (the Controller).
the architectureprovides boundaries between the graphical style of the system (Stage, Roles and Scenes), the operational code (Actors, Scene Director and Stage Manager), and the underlying Content Providers (Business Objects). These sections are the Visual, the Behavioral, and the Factual components.
the Factual Layeris not aware of the Visual layer. This allows the visual metaphor to change, without disrupting the underlying business domain model.
the Behavioral levelmediates between the Factual and visual layers and should avoid very complex interactions with either layer. Where possible, anonymous communications via a Publish Subscribe pattern is used to avoid further interdependencies between the layers.
the Stageis identified as the display context. It is able to communicate only with the Locations it controls. It is hidden behind the StageManager, where all visual requests need to be managed.
the ISFis a layered system. All roles in a scene form a series of visual siblings. These roles can, in fact, contain and encapsulate other roles. This allows, through recursion, any number of distinct processing layers. Each child only communicates with its direct parent, su ⁇ endering control of communicating beyond to the parent. This containment relationship is possible in both the Visual and Behavioral layers.
Scene Thumbnailsare maintained. The user may touch on a Scene Thumbnail to return to a previously visited Scene.
Factual componentprovides multimedia content and business function services and calculations
This tabledescribes the various key threads which execute within the ISF.
the application windowwill determine which location is affected by the touched area, and will notify the co ⁇ esponding Role of a touch.
the stagewill also control the visual cue displayed on the window.
the Stage Managerwill replace the cu ⁇ ently active scene with a new scene, based on the information in the Navigation Casting. It is important to control how the change occurs, to preserve the visual illusion of the Kiosk World. This scenario is also invoked when starting, or restarting, the application. In this case, there is no cu ⁇ ent Scene, but the application is told to transition to the first Scene of the application.
the Scene Directorcoordinates the activation of all timings to ensure that any messages to the Stage Manager are grouped together and engaged at an appropriate time. This will ensure that all changes to the Roles visible on the scene will occur at the same time. Actors: Content Casting, Slide Casting Components Involved: Visual, Behavioral
the Scene Directormust onstage all non-sliding Roles and then display the content of the Slide Casting along a straight line until its final destination.
the applicationmay request business information from the Business Domain Model (e.g., return a Repayment Amount).
This interfacealso supports putting values into the business objects (such as store a Loan Term Amount).
Each business objectis provided a generic interface to invoke behaviors. The desired behaviour is specified in the Business Function Casting, and it capable of returning information to the Actor associated with the Business Object. Actors: Business Function Casting
the applicationmust support a time out facility, in the event that the user walks away from the application prior to returning to the Attractor Screen. This will protect the privacy of details entered by users.
Each sessionstores information gathered about the user. At the end of a session, or by user request, it is possible to erase all entered data. This supports privacy. Actors: Session Manager Components Involved: Behavioral
the Visual component of the ISFis responsible for displaying all media (image, audio, video, text) to the Stage. It actually interfaces with the underlying media subsystem in the Client
the client applicationmay request a print out of static information (check list), or dynamic information (product explanation including cu ⁇ ent interest rates and other dynamic components
the Reporting Interface Subsystemcollects information logged by the Application Architecture
the Reporting Interface informationis logged by components within the Application Architecture Layer and sent to the Client Reporting Subsystem in the Technical Architecture Layer.
the Reporting Interface subsystemprovides services to log user-interaction with the kiosk and report on software and hardware faults which occur within the Application Architecture Layer.
the Reporting Interface subsystemis responsible for gathering and logging user interaction with the kiosk by capturing what a user is doing with the system, e.g., which scenes they are visiting, which visual elements they are interacting with.
the Reporting Interface subsystemalso Gathers and logs information related to business products which the customer is interested in, the output of business functions which the customer has invoked and business data which the customer has input.
the Reporting Interface subsystemcaptures information relating to the software and hardware performance of the kiosk. This information can then be used for error handling and fault management analysis.
the Reporting Interface subsystemdoes not include services to gather and log customer related information such as the a customer name and telephone numbers.
SMSSystems Management involves the definition of a combination of automated and manual procedures. Automation is achieved primarily through the use of Systems Management Server (SMS). SMS is a tool within the Microsoft backoffice suite of tools which can centrally manage system software and hardware in a distributed environment.
SMSSystems Management Server
the Systems Management Subsystem architectureconsists of two components, the Systems Management Server (SMS), and Fault Monitoring.
SMSSystems Management Server
Fault MonitoringFault Monitoring
SMSSystems Management Server
SMSis a Microsoft tool that can be used to distribute software / content, take software audits, perform fault diagnosis and take remote control. SMS is supplemented by a component developed for the architecture, namely the File Transfer Utility.
the Kioskis monitored real-time through a Heartbeat message system.
Heartbeat pulsesare sent from the Kiosk at a configurable rate (say one every minute) and are monitored at a console running the Kiosk Monitoring Application. If the status of a Kiosk changes to indicate a fault, monitoring application will initiate the appropriate action. Some errors will be handled through the existing Operations Center. The routing of these errors is covered in the Application Services Subsystem.
SMSis used for medium sized software distribution (both code and content) and for fault diagnosis of the remote kiosks. There are a large number of features that make SMS a flexible and useful support facility. Fault monitoring will provide the means to view the real-time status
each kioskwill be brought to the attention of a operations representative. It will be possible to observe the kiosk status to verify the resolution of the problem.
the SMSis responsible for software distribution, hardware fault management and diagnosis, and client remote re-boots.
the SMSalso provides a user interface to selectively view the status of all kiosks in the network.
the SMSresides on a dedicated server in accordance with a prefe ⁇ ed embodiment and is available at all times.
the elapsed time between a fault occurring on an MMT and subsequently being displayed to operationsis dependent upon the frequency of the heartbeat, the ability for the application server to process the heartbeat and the frequency of refresh on the operations terminal.
An SMS sitecomprises of two components - a Primary Site and Clients.
a primary siteis the top most level in the SMS hierarchy. It contains its own SQL database to store system and inventory information for itself and other secondary sites underneath it. Clients (kiosks) are administered from the primary site. The client sends its hardware/software information to SMS server through the SMS Inventory service.
the serverthen places the status into a Kiosk Status Database that is monitored by operations staff for faults.
the Server Communications subsystemis part of the Server Technical Architecture.
the Server Communications subsystemhandles all communications between clients, the central server, and the mainframe host.
the Asynchronous Messaging componentprovides the asynchronous message based communication between the client and the server, using standard Internet mail protocols, SMTP and POP3.
the Business Process Access Module componentprovides the common point to invoke predefined business functionality such recording interaction information from the MMT.
HTTPis the protocol used to communicate with HTTP servers on the World Wide Web. It is used in the MMT to distribute small updates of application components and content during the client configuration process on start-up.
Access to mainframe database resident datais done by replicating the required database tables to corresponding server resident database tables.
the reverse processis used to centrally store the data accumulated on the server to the mainframe database tables.
Generic alerts from the serverare transmitted to the mainframe through an interface to the mainframe's front end processor.
the role of the Server Communications subsystemis to Provide the server with communications facilities between the MMT (or Internet) client and the network server and between the network server and the mainframe systems.
the Server Communication subsystemisolates and provides access to organization specific functionality.
the Server Communication subsystemcomplies with standard Internet protocols, to allow ease of porting to that delivery channel.
the Server Communication subsystemprovides reliable asynchronous communication between the client and the application server, and controlled and reliable access to organization specific functionality.
the Server Communication subsystemprovides a facility to deliver updates to the configuration of the client, such as application components and content, and provides access to the organization's
Exclusions Server Communicationis confined to invoking modules which conform to the ACT messaging architecture. If communication to another platform is required, this must be located within the external systems module using the organizations messaging or access methods.
Transactionsare initiated by components within the Application Architecture Layer and sent to the Client Reporting Subsystem in the Technical Architecture Layer.
the Transaction services identified in this documentare not implemented as separate components in their own right, but are implemented as extensions to existing Application Architecture components.
the Transaction Interface subsystemis responsible for providing an interface to the application for storing of contact information about the end-user. These include, but are not limited to information required to complete a loan, survey-based information on customer demographics, account balance inquiry, and funds transfer.
the customer lead transaction execution applicationfacilitates the Interface Support Framework and enables the services of the Reporting Subsystem of the Technical Architecture to support the gathering and storing of information about the end-user.
the Application Services Sub-systemincludes a set of definitions for building the MMT server application and architecture modules.
the Server Application Services sub-systemincludes the set of services and definitions for accessing application and architecture functionality. This subsystem defines the structure and support services for building and executing applications and modules on the Application Server or Operations workstation platform.
the functionality supportedincludes transaction processing t to/from the MMT: such as customer referral information, customer interaction information, MIS information, fault information, product rates and prices information, application configuration information, message receipt information, and heartbeat status information.
the Server Application Services sub-systemprocesses application business logic on the server independently from the underlying database management system.
the application business logicincludes customer refe ⁇ al information, customer interaction information, MIS information, fault information, product rates and prices information, application configuration information, message receipt information, and heartbeat status information.
Server Applications Services sub-systeminvokes a Business Process (BP) for a given BP message.
BPBusiness Process
the Server Application Services sub-systemincludes Common Servers, Data-Access Module, Business Process, and the Business Process Access Module. Definitions of each component are given in below.
the Application Services Sub-systemincludes a set of definitions for building the MMT server application and architecture modules.
the Server Application Services sub-systemincludes the set of services and definitions for accessing application and architecture functionality. This subsystem defines the structure and support services for building and executing applications and modules on the Application Server or Operations workstation platform.
the functionality supportedincludes transaction processing t to/from the MMT: such as customer refe ⁇ al information, customer interaction information, MIS information, fault information, product rates and prices information, application configuration information, message receipt information, and heartbeat status information.
the Server Application Services sub-systemprocesses application business logic on the server independently from the underlying database management system.
the application business logicincludes customer referral information, customer interaction information, MIS information, fault information, product rates and prices information, application configuration information, message receipt information, and heartbeat status information.
Server Applications Services sub-systeminvokes a Business Process (BP) for a given BP message.
BPBusiness Process
the Server Application Services sub-systemincludes Common Servers, Data-Access Module, Business Process, and the Business Process Access Module. Definitions of each component are given in below. Component Descriptions
Common Servicesinclude decoding codes tables, retrieving configuration information from the registry, message handling, and the support for logging and handling server application e ⁇ ors.
a data access moduleprovides access to data within the application database.
a DAMperforms specific data access such as Insert, Delete, Update, Select, Select All across one or more tables. It is an MFC Extension DLL encapsulating a
a business processis the application or architecture functionality that may be invoked by the Business Process Access Module architecture.
a BPis identified by a message type.
a BPaccepts a request message defined by the BP and may provide a response message for synchronous messages.
Database accessis provided to the BP by DAMS.
a BPis an MFC extension DLL with a defined entry point.
the Business Process Access ModuleThis component is detailed in the communications subsystem.
the Business Process Access Module(BPAM) is the architecture component that provides access to business processes.
the BPAMinvokes a BP for a given message type.
the BPAMaccesses the message address table to lookup BP module details.
This componentis detailed in the communications sub-system.
One embodiment of the present inventionis an a Mobile Portal Platform including a Mobile Portal and an Electronic Valet.
the Electronic Valetis a hand held wireless computer device executing Thin Client Software.
Integrated into the Electronic Valetare various sensors, such as
the Mobile Portalincludes a Mobile Portal Server which is connected to various third party content and service providers through the Internet or a Mobile Portal Extranet.
FIG. 26is a flow chart illustrating how the hardware and software of one embodiment of the present invention operates.
An Electronic Valet 2602receives input data from sensors, GPS, camera, microphones, and other user inputs 2600 integrated with the wireless hand held device.
the Thin Client application executing on Electronic Valet 2602allows the Electronic Valet 2602 to execute many different software applications without the need for a large amount of internal memory and storage capacity.
the Electronic Valet 2602forms a message based on the data received and the user input.
the Electronic Valet 2602then transmits the message via antennae 2604 to the Mobile Portal 2606.
the Mobile Portal 2606parses the message received from the Electronic Valet 2602 and forms a new message based on the message received.
the Mobile Portal 2606determines the appropriate third party service provider 2608 to transmit the new message to, based on the content of the message received from wireless hand held device 2602, and then transmits the new message.
the third party service providerthen performs the appropriate service and transmits the result back to the Mobile Portal 2606.
the Mobile Portalthen forms a message based on the data received from the third party service provider 2608 and transmits the message back to the Electronic Valet 2602.
the Electronic Valet 2602then formats and displays the data received.
Valet 2602utilizes a wireless modem such as a Ricochet SE Wireless Modem from Metricom.
the SE Wirelessis battery powered.
the modemhas continuous battery life of up to 12 hours.
a usermay utilize the Mobile Portal 2606 via the Electronic
Valet 2602.Using appropriate key(s), the user may select a service to use in concert with appropriate data obtained from sensors, GPS, camera, microphones, and other user inputs 2600.
datamay be automatically sent to select services based on the type and value of the data obtained by the Electronic Valet 2602. For example, when an integrated biosensor obtains certain predefined data values, an appropriate emergency care provider would be automatically contacted.
the data obtained from sensors, GPS, camera, microphones, and other user inputs 2600may also be combined before being sent to an appropriate service provider. For example, in the example above, GPS position data may be sent with the bio-sensor data to the emergency care provider. The emergency care provider would then know the patient's biological data and the location of the patient. Appropriate service could then be provided.
the Mobile Portal Platformis a high-impact, server-based application in accordance with a prefe ⁇ ed embodiment that is focused on the theme of delivering services and providing a personalized experience for each customer via a personal site located on a server.
the servicesare intuitively organized around satisfying customer intentions - fundamental life needs or objectives that require extensive planning decisions, and coordination across several dimensions, such as financial planning, healthcare, personal and professional development, family life, and other concerns.
Each memberowns and maintains his own profile, enabling him to create and browse content in the system targeted specifically at him.
intelligent agentsare utilized to conduct research, execute transactions and provide advice. By using advanced profiling and filtering, the intelligent agents leam about the user, improving the services they deliver.
a prefe ⁇ ed embodiment of a systemutilizes a Windows CE PDA equipped with a GPS receiver.
the embodimentis configured for a mall containing a plurality of stores.
the systemutilizes a GPS receiver to determine the user's location.
One advantage of the systemis that it enables the retrieval of data for nearby stores without relying on the presence of any special equipment at the mall itself. Although the accuracy of smaller, inexpensive receivers is limited to approximately 75-100 feet, this has thus far proven to be all that is necessary to identify accurately the immediately surrounding stores.
the systemuses generated data rather than actual store ads and prices.
Well structured online catalogsare used.
Other embodimentsutilize agents that "leam to shop" at a given store using a relatively small amount of knowledge.
retailersbegin to use standard packages to create online catalogs, we can expect the number of differing formats to decrease, resulting in a tractable number of competing formats. As electronic commerce progresses, it is not unreasonable to expect standards to evolve governing how merchandise offerings are represented.
a shopperBefore leaving on a shopping trip, a shopper creates a shopping list of items by selecting from a preexisting set of approximately 85 product categories (e.g. men's casual pants, women's formal shoes, flowers, etc,). They also indicate the shopping venue they intend to visit from a list of malls.
product categoriese.g. men's casual pants, women's formal shoes, flowers, etc,. They also indicate the shopping venue they intend to visit from a list of malls.
Upon arriving at the mallbegins by suggesting the closest store that sells at least one item of a type entered by the user during goal specification.
a system in accordance with a prefe ⁇ ed embodimentprepares a list of the specific items available and their prices.
a map of the malldisplays both the precise location of the store and the shopper's cu ⁇ ent location. The shopper queries the system to suggest a store at any time based on their cu ⁇ ent location.
Figure 27Aillustrates a display in accordance with a prefe ⁇ ed embodiment of the invention.
the displayoperates in a browse mode for use by shoppers as they stroll through the mall.
browse modethe system suggests items of interest for sale in the stores cu ⁇ ently closest to the shopper.
An itemis considered to be of interest if it matches the categories entered in the goals screen. If there are no items of interest, the general type of merchandise sold at that store is displayed, rather than specific items.
a mapdisplays his or her precise cu ⁇ ent location in the mall.
the systemalerts the shopper to the local retailer offering the same product for the lowest price, or announces the best local price. This search is restricted to the local mall, as that is the assumed radius the shopper is willing to travel.
the cu ⁇ ent inventive agentwill support broader aspects of the shopping task, for example, it could operate as bi-directional channels. That is, not only can they provide information to the shopper, but, at the shopper's discretion, they may provide information to retailers as well.
the systemindicates a shopper's goals and preferences to a retailer-based agent, who, in turn, responds with a customized offer that bundles service along with the product. Enabling the customization of offers is crucial to gaining the cooperation of retailers who are reluctant to compete solely on price and of value to customers who base their purchases on criteria other than price.
the cu ⁇ ent inventionfocuses on location-based filtering primarily in the context of the shopping task, the cu ⁇ ent invention provides the basis for "physical task support" agents that provide an information channel to people engaged in various tasks in the physical world.
the present inventionis a significant advance over non location based agents because a users physical location is often very predictive of his or hers cu ⁇ ent task. If we know someone is at a bowling alley or a post office we can reasonably infer their cu ⁇ ent activity. Knowledge of a user's current task largely determines the type of information they are likely to find useful. People are unlikely to concern themselves with postal rates while bowling, or optimal bowling ball weight while buying stamps. In addition, knowledge of the resources and obstacles present at a particular location suggest the range of possible and likely actions of someone at that location. This awareness of a user's possible and likely actions can be used to further constrain the type of information a user is likely to find useful. For example, knowledge of a restaurant's wine list could be used by a recommended system to constrain the wine advice it presents.
the systemrestricts itself to all the stores within the mall - the area within which the shopping task as a whole is likely to be performed. Being alerted that a store hundreds or thousands of miles away sells the same merchandise for a few dollars less than the cheapest local alternative is of little value in cases when shoppers require a first hand examination of the merchandise in question or are not willing to wait for shipping.
Web-based shopping agentshave typically enabled users to identify the cheapest price for fungible products such as books and music CDs. While this capacity to create "perfect markets" for such commodities is of great benefit to consumers, several difficulties exist that will complicate applying these approaches to arbitrary products.
Commoditiesare particularly well suited to shopping agents because it is easy to make comparisons between competing offers. Because commodities are fungible, one of the very few dimensions upon which they differ is price. Price therefore becomes the primary, if not sole, criterion upon which purchasing decisions are made.
a second, related difficultylies in communicating our desires to an agent.
Shopping agentsare great if the user knows the precise commodity he or she wants. Then they can simply enter the product by name. Unfortunately, if they don't have a specific item in mind when they shop, then the problem of conveying what is wanted to an agent becomes more difficult. For example, how does the user tell an agent what kind of lamp they want for their living room?
Interfaces that allow shoppers to include descriptive features like price ranges, color, options, brands, etc,can help address the above problem, but they are not enough. Much of the time
a key difference between purely web-based agents and the current "physical task support agents"is that web- based agents are completely responsible for conveying all information that will be considered by the user.
"physical task support" agents in accordance with a prefe ⁇ ed embodimentcan augment the approaches of web-based agents by referring to aspects of a user's environment. For example, it is not te ⁇ ibly important to convey richly the feeling of a particular sweater if the sweater is in a store thirty feet away. It need only refer the shopper to the sweater.
the present inventionprovides an ituitive, novel agent that supports physical shopping by exploiting the promise of this developing channel that support all phases of the shopping task and solves the foregoing problems including:
the present inventionallows the user to refine their preferences.
the present inventive agentssupports the construction and maintenance of such lists and facilitates the comparison of candidates within the list according to various criteria.
the present shopping agentis not restricted to providing the shopper with information. It is possible to negotiate prices and service options with retailers.
the present inventionfacilitates the transaction itself and can be used as a channel through which product service can be delivered.
FIG. 27Bis an illustration of the Mobile Portal platform 2710 including a Mobile Portal 2712 and an Electronic Valet 2713.
the Electronic Valet 2713includes a supporting hardware device
the Mobile Portalconsist of an encryption and decryption element 2720, a Mobile Portal Server 2722, intelligent agents 2724, a Customer intelligence element 2726, and a Customer database 2728.
Thin Clientis a generic term used to describe a group of rapidly emerging technologies that provide a reduction in total cost of ownership through a combination of reduced hardware costs, reduced maintenance and support costs, reduced LAN/WAN bandwidth requirements, reduced down time, improved performance and enhanced security.
the term "Thin” in Thin Clientrefers to the (very small) size of the client operating system.
traditional PC operating systemsDOS, Windows 95, etc.
Thin Client solutionsare deployed today in mission critical environments and they are providing reliable and responsive access to a myriad of applications.
the Mobile Portal Thin Client 2714is a Thin Client wherein the majority of the processing is done on the Mobile Portal Server 2722 and related third party content and service providers 2730.
the userutilizes the Mobile Portal Thin Client application 2714 to select services and review information provided by the Mobile Portal Platform 2710.
the Mobile Portal Thin Client application 2714is made more device independent by the use of a Thin Client Operating System 2718.
the Thin Client Operating System 2718acts as a messenger between the Mobile Portal Thin Client application 2714 and the supporting hardware 2716.
the Thin Client Operating System 2718allows the Mobile Portal Thin Client 2714 to make function calls to the Thin Client Operating System 2718 for low level hardware operations, such as display calls and user input queries.
a separate Thin Client Operating system 2718can be developed for each hardware device 2716 used as the supporting hardware for the Electronic Valet 2713. This allows the Mobile Portal Thin Client application 2714 to ran on different supporting hardware 2716 without the need for significant low level design modification.
the Mobile Portal 2712receives data from the Electronic Valet 2713 via a packet-switched wireless network 2732. Information received through the packet-switched wireless network is then decoded by the encryption and decryption element 2720 of the Mobile Portal 2712. Once the data has been decoded the Mobile Portal server 2722 utilizes intelligent agents 2724, customer intelligence 2726, and customer data 2728 to obtain the requested data from third party content and service providers 2730.
the Mobile Portal Server 2722utilizes intelligent software agents to respond to customer needs.
the software agents 2722utilize customer data 2728 to determine to personalize their task to the individual user's goals, habits and preferences.
the customer data 2728is in turn routinely updated by the customer and by the customer's actions. Each time a user uses the Mobile Portal 2712 a log is kept of the user's queries and other uses of the Mobile Portal Platform 2710. In this way, the software agents 2724 are able to utilize the user's past habits to personalize their task.
the Mobile Portal Server 2722utilizes customer intelligence 2726 to respond to user needs.
the usermay utilize data-mining and pattern recognition to find the information he desires.
the customer data 2728is updated to reflect the users data- mining and pattern recognition uses.
Third party content and service providers 2730are utilized by the Mobile Portal 2712 to provide the services and information requested by the users.
the third party content and service providersmay be accessed through the Internet or through a Mobile Portal Extranet.
the intelligent agent software 2712search through the third party providers to determine the one most suitable for the user, taking into consideration the customer's profile contained in the customer data 2728. In this way, the user may be less specific in their queries than they would have to be without a user profile.
a usercan request a jacket utilizing the Mobile Portal Platform 2710.
the intelligent agentswould then utilize the customer data 2728 to determine more specifically what the customer actually desired.
the customer data 2728may information that this particular user likes denim jackets as opposed to leather jackets.
the intelligent agents 2724would then search for denim jackets.
Some typical services providedinclude geographic location information, audio and visual editing, personal news & entertainment, personal shopping, personal health & safety, personal organizer, personal finance, and personal communication.
Geographic location servicesare typically based on information received from the integrated
GPS datais combined with specific user request data to provide location specific information to the user. For example, the user may be located in San Francisco and wish obtain information on fine dining in the city. The user would request fine dining information utilizing the Electronic Valet 2713. Location data obtained from the integrated GPS receiver would be automatically combined with the user request for fine dining, and the combined message would then be transmitted to the Mobile Portal 2712. Based on the data received, the Mobile Portal would select the appropriate service and transmit the request, in this case fine dining in San Francisco. The Mobile Portal would then transmit the response received back to the Electronic Valet 2713. The user is then presented with the requested information, formatted and displayed on the display device of the Electronic Valet 2713.
Audio and visual editing servicesare typically based on the data received from the integrated camera and microphone.
the usertypically captures images utilizing the integrated digital camera. However, the user may also obtain digital images from other sources, such as scanners, e-mail, and web pages. In addition, the user typically captures sound files utilizing the integrated microphone. However, audio files may also be obtained from other sources, such as e-mail, web pages, and CDs.
the image and/or audio datais combined with specific user request data to provide image and audio editing capabilities to the user. For example, the user may capture an image with the integrated digital camera, and then request to edit the image using a specific photo editor. The image captured by the integrated digital camera is then combined with the user's request for photo editing, and the combined message is then transmitted to the Mobile
the Mobile Portal 2712Based on the data received, the Mobile Portal 2712 selects the appropriate service and transmits the request, in this case image editing. The Mobile Portal then transmits the response received back to the Electronic Valet 2713. The user is then presented with the requested information, formatted and displayed on the display device of the Electronic Valet 2713. In this case, the user would receive a user interface for image editing. The user would then use the image editing user interface to edit the image. Changes to the image are treated as request which the Mobile Portal 2712 passes on to the image editing application, ranning locally or on a separate server.
One embodiment of the present inventionis an Electronic Valet including integrated bio-sensors, such as pressure transducers, respiratory sensors, Volumetric Sensors, and Defibrillators.
bio-sensorssuch as pressure transducers, respiratory sensors, Volumetric Sensors, and Defibrillators.
Integrated Pressure Transducers to measure blood pressurecan be of two types, invasive and noninvasive. Invasive integrated pressure transducers require the user to imbed part of the unit into the blood stream, while noninvasive integrated pressure transducers do not need access to the blood stream. Pressure transducers measure the blood pressure of the patient and report it to a receiving unit, in this case the Electronic Valet. The Electronic Valet is then able to analyze and rout the data received from the pressure transducer utilizing the Mobile Portal Thin Client and Mortal Portal Server.
Respiratory sensorssuch as strain gages and volumetric sensors may also be integrated into the Electronic Valet. Strain gages worn around the chest region change impedance as the gage expands and contracts according to the expansion and contraction of the chest during breathing. Volumetric sensors sense the amount of air pressure passing through the sensor, such as when a patient breathes into the volumetric sensor. Both strain gages and volumetric sensors arc able to wirelessly transmit their corresponding data to the Electronic Valet unit, thus giving the user greater freedom in their activities. As with data received from pressure transducers, data received from strain gages and volumetric sensors may be analyzed and routed utilizing the Mobile Portal Platform.
Defibrillators integrated into the Electronic Valetmay be utilized to sense heart functions. Defibrillators attach to the patient utilizing a saline based gel and track heartbeats through R, T, and P waves. As with strain gages and volumetric sensors, defibrillators can wirelessly transmit data to the Electronic Valet, which then analyzes and routs the data utilizing the Mobile Portal Platform.
bio-sensorscan be integrated individually or in combination with other sensors, such as environ-sensors, other bio-sensors, or a GPS receiver, depending on the need of the particular user.
sensorssuch as environ-sensors, other bio-sensors, or a GPS receiver.
an elderly user with a history of heart problemscould have an Electronic Valet including an integrated Defibrillator and GPS receiver.
the Mobile Portal PlatformUtilizing the Mobile Portal Platform, the user could stay up-to-date on news and information about his condition, including various food and drags that could be harmful.
the Electronic Valetis capable of sensing problems that may occur because of the heart condition, regardless of the location of the user. While walking in the park, the user may feel chest pains, the Electronic Valet would sense that the pains are being caused by difficulties arising because of the user's heart condition. This is accomplished utilizing the integrated defibrillator and the Electronic Valet's analysis capabilities. In this case, the data received from the integrated defibrillator will exceed predetermined safety thresholds, thus alerting the
the Electronic Valetthat an emergency has occu ⁇ ed. Utilizing the Mobile Portal Platform, the Electronic Valet would then notify the appropriate emergency response unit, forward that heart data to the users physician, and notify the user's family.
the Electronic Valetforwards location coordinates, received from the integrated GPS receiver, to the emergency response unit allowing them to locate and rescue the user.
the Mobile Portal Platformis able to coordinate the users after-care program, including tracking his diet and nutrition, as well as his exercise routine and medication.

Application Number	Priority Date	Filing Date	Title
US263927		1994-06-21
US26392799A	1999-03-05	1999-03-05
PCT/IB2000/000362WO2000054177A2 (en)	1999-03-05	2000-03-03	Method and apparatus for creating an information summary

Country	Link
EP (1)	EP1163607A2 (de)
JP (1)	JP2002539531A (de)
AU (1)	AU3316100A (de)
CA (1)	CA2365750A1 (de)
HK (1)	HK1040120A1 (de)
TW (1)	TW488133B (de)
WO (1)	WO2000054177A2 (de)

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Publication number	Publication date
HK1040120A1 (zh)	2002-07-12
CA2365750A1 (en)	2000-09-14
WO2000054177A2 (en)	2000-09-14
AU3316100A (en)	2000-09-28
TW488133B (en)	2002-05-21
JP2002539531A (ja)	2002-11-19
WO2000054177A3 (en)	2001-01-25

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2002-05-02	RIN1	Information on inventor provided before grant (corrected)	Inventor name:FANO, ANDREW, E. Inventor name:MEYERS, JAMES, L. Inventor name:SWAMINATHAN, KISHORE, SUNDARAM Inventor name:GERSHMAN, ANATOLE, VITALY
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