Method and system for continuous, dynamic, adaptive recommendation based on a continuously evolving personal region of interest

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to flexible, user-adapted, continuous searching, on behalf of a particular user, for points of interest relevant to the user's current location within a specifically computed personal region of interest. In a general case, the personal region of interest is computed as a function of the user's level of disposition towards the searched-for points of interest. The level of disposition towards the searched-for points of interest may, in turn, be based on two or more of the user's location, the current date and time, a history of the user's interaction with the POI-searching system, including user-initiated searches and user selections from displayed search results, a user profile developed for, and continuously updated on behalf of, the user, and a current context for the search, as specified by a search query or by other context-specifying means. The personal region of interest generally defines an abstract area, volume, or hypervolume within which method and system embodiments of the present invention search for points of interest.

1 - 14 . (canceled) 
     
     
         15 . A system comprising:
 one or more processors; and   memory storing instructions executable by the one or more processors to cause the system to:
 receive a search request; 
 determine a region of interest for a user based at least in part on one or more of the user's current or projected location, a time, a history of the user's location, and interaction with the system, or a current context for the search request; 
 search a database to determine points of interest within the region that meet a set of constraints; and 
 provide a search result in response to the search request to enable a display device to display one or more of the points of interest. 
   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the region is a three or more dimensional region. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the search result comprises multiple points-of-interest distributed among multiple levels of a manmade structure. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions that cause the system to determine the region of interest cause the system to determine the region of interest based at least in part on a level of disposition associated an item indicated by the search request. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the set of constraints is based at least in part on distance to the user. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the set of constraints comprises a constraint on distance from the user based at least in part on a level of disposition indicated by the search request. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the system to condition inclusion of a point of interest in the search result on a heuristic and a distance from the user. 
     
     
         22 . A computer-implemented method, comprising:
 receiving a search request;   determining a set of points of interest such that inclusion of a point of interest in the set of points of interest is based at least in part on a distance and a heuristic related to the point of interest; and   providing a search result that indicates at least a subset of the set of points of interest in response to the search request.   
     
     
         23 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 22 , wherein the heuristic is a level of disposition. 
     
     
         24 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 22 , further comprising determining a region of interest based at least in part on the heuristic. 
     
     
         25 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 22 , wherein the set of points of interest comprises multiple points of interest distributed among multiple levels of a manmade structure. 
     
     
         26 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 22 , wherein the heuristic related to the point of interest associated with something responsive to the search request and available at the point of interest. 
     
     
         27 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 22 , wherein the distance is a distance from a user. 
     
     
         28 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 27 , wherein the search request is received from the user. 
     
     
         29 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, if executed by one or more processors of a computer system, cause the computer system to:
 receive a search request;   select a set of points of interest that comprises a first point of interest and a second point of interest, the first point of interest having a first heuristic value and a first distance from a reference point, the second point of interest having a second distance from the reference point, the first heuristic value being insufficient for inclusion in the set of points of interest at the second distance from the reference point; and   provide a search result that indicates at least a subset of the set of points of interest in response to the search request.   
     
     
         30 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 29 , wherein the reference point is a location associated with a user. 
     
     
         31 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 29 , wherein the first heuristic value is a level of disposition. 
     
     
         32 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 30 , wherein the second point of interest has a level of disposition that is stronger than the level of disposition of the first point of interest. 
     
     
         33 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 29 , wherein the first point of interest and second point of interest are on different levels of a manmade structure. 
     
     
         34 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 29 , wherein the first heuristic value is associated with something indicated by the search request that is available at the first point of interest.