Method and system for constructing an internet-based imaging system

Abstract

A system and method is presented that uses software logic (executing in one or more servers) to inter-connect mobile devices and location-deriving signal generating devices to collectively act as an Imaging System that outputs a periodic succession of images containing information about the preferences and purchase and transaction history of consumers. The Imaging System so constructed is called a SoftCamera in a fashion analogous to a conventional light-based camera. Images output by the SoftCamera may be transmitted to third-party providers or used to send information and recommendations to consumers. The SoftCamera thus may be used as a Recommender System in certain embodiments.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for generating successive enhanced versions of a dataset, comprising:
 (i) during a first time interval determined by a system clock, receiving over a wireless communication network from at least one mobile device one or more first signals from which one or more locations of the at least one mobile device within a geographic area is derivable;   (ii) generating a first enhanced dataset by incorporating the one or more locations of the one or more mobile devices into a dataset that includes a representation of the geographic area; and   (iii) repeating steps (i) and (ii) for successive time intervals to generate successive enhanced datasets at a rate determined by the system clock.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the at least one mobile device comprises a plurality of multiple devices. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the dataset comprises a planogram. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the first and successive enhanced datasets define each define an image that is renderable on a display device. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the geographic area includes one or more location-deriving signal generating devices that wirelessly transmit location-deriving signals to the at least one mobile device, the one or more first signals being based on information included in the location-deriving signals. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising incorporating additional data into the first enhanced dataset. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the additional data includes data obtained from one or more additional datasets. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the geographic area includes a retail store and at least one of the additional datasets includes customer relationship management data. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the geographic area includes a retail store and at least one of the additional datasets includes purchase history data. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the geographic area includes a retail store and at least one of the additional datasets includes trend analysis data. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising formulating a promotional offer based on the first and/or successive enhanced datasets and sending the promotional offer to the at least one mobile device. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the at least one mobile device comprises a plurality of mobile devices and further comprising formulating a different promotional offer tailored for each one of the mobile devices based on the first and/or successive enhanced datasets and sending the promotional offers to the respective mobile devices. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1  wherein step (iii) comprises:
 (iv) during a second time interval determined by the system clock, the second time interval being subsequent to the first time interval, receiving over the wireless communication network from the mobile device one or more additional first signals from which one or more updated locations of the mobile device within the geographic area is derivable; 
 (ii) generating a second enhanced dataset by incorporating the one or more updated locations of the mobile device into the dataset that includes the representation of the geographic area. 
 
     
     
         14 . A method of forming an image, comprising:
 receiving over a wireless communication network from a mobile device a second signal indicative of a location of the mobile device within an environment represented by a planogram, the second signal being derived at least in part from a first signal generated by a location-deriving signal generating device located in the environment and detected by the mobile device; and   generating an image that includes the location mobile device overlaid on the planogram.