Apparatus And Method For Providing A Task Reminder Based On User Location

Abstract

Providing a reminder of a task to be performed at a task location includes receiving location information identifying a location of a user via a mobile communication device associated with the user, receiving information that identifies a task, receiving information that identifies a task location, and providing a reminder for the task based on a current location of the user and on a comparison of an estimated probability of the user traveling in a trajectory leading toward or away from the task location.

1 . An apparatus for providing a reminder of a task to be performed at a task location, the apparatus comprising:
 a monitoring module configured to receive location information of a user of a mobile device;   a data store for storing information that includes a task and a task location; and   a reminder module configured to provide a reminder for the task based on a current location of the user and a trajectory of the user in relation to the task location.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the task location is in a region that comprises a plurality of contiguous cells, and wherein the monitoring module is configured to identify in which cell of the plurality of cells the user is located at the predetermined time intervals. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein the user's location information includes historical travel information that includes transition information for each cell of the plurality of cells, wherein the transition information of a cell includes respective numbers of times the user transitions from the cell to other cells. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 3  wherein the reminder module is configured to identify a target cell that is within a predetermined distance of a current position of the user, identify one or more forward cells that are in a trajectory leading from the target cell to the task location in a task cell, and identify one or more backward cells that are in a trajectory from the target cell leading away from the task cell. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 4  wherein the reminder module is configured to determine the reminder position by identifying one or more target cells, wherein a target cell is within a predetermined distance of a current position of the user and a probability of the user traveling from the current position to the target cell exceeds a minimum probability threshold, and analyzing the one or more target cells in descending order of their probability. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 4  wherein the reminder module is further configured to transmit the reminder for the task to the user via the mobile communication device and to prevent a subsequent reminder for the task unless at least one of a predetermined time thereafter has expired, and a distance between the user and the task cell has not reduced to zero, but has exceeded a threshold distance that is greater than the predetermined distance. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 4  wherein the task is associated with a plurality of task locations and the reminder module is configured to identify the reminder position by identifying a target cell that is within a predetermined distance of a current position of the user, identifying one or more forward cells for each of the one or more task cells, wherein for each task cell, the one or more forward cells are in a trajectory leading from the target cell to the task cell, and identifying one or more backward cells for each of the one or more task cells, wherein for each task cell, the one or more backward cells are in a trajectory from the target cell leading away from the task cell. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 7  wherein the reminder module is further configured to identify for a first task cell of the one or more task cells one or more strong backward cells comprising backward cells associated with the first task cell that are not identified as forward cells for other of the one or more task cells, to calculate a forward probability of the user traveling from the target cell in a trajectory leading toward the first task cell by summing a number of times the user has transitioned from the target cell to any of the one or more forward cells associated with the first task cell and dividing the sum by a total number of transitions from the target cell, to calculate a backward probability of the user traveling from the target cell in a trajectory leading away from the first task cell by summing a number of times the user has transitioned from the target cell to any of the one or more strong backward cells and dividing the sum by the total number of transitions from the target cell, and to designate the target cell as a reminder position when the forward probability exceeds the backward probability by a threshold value. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the user specified task information includes a plurality of tasks and wherein the reminder module is configured to prioritize the plurality of tasks based on at least one of task importance and completion time, and to determine a reminder position for a task location associated with a task having a highest priority. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the apparatus is a mobile communication device comprising:
 a communication interface coupled to a network; and 
 a position locator system configured to identify the location of the mobile communication device. 
 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 15  wherein the monitoring module is configured to receive location information from the position locator system to identify the location of the mobile communication device at least one of at a fixed sampling interval and at a sampling interval proportional to at least one of a velocity and an expected velocity of the mobile communication device. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is a server comprising:
 a communication interface for communicating with the mobile communication device associated with the user over a network and configured to receive user specified task information and the location of the mobile communication device.   
     
     
         13 . A method of providing a reminder of a task to be performed at a task location, the method comprising:
 receiving location information identifying a location of a user via a mobile communication device associated with the user;   receiving information that identifies a task;   receiving information that identifies a task location; and   providing a reminder for the task based on a current location of the user and on a trajectory of the user in relation to the task location.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein identifying a reminder position includes:
 identifying a target cell that is within a predetermined distance of a current position of the user; 
 identifying one or more forward cells that are in a trajectory leading from the target cell to the task location in a task cell; and 
 identifying one or more backward cells that are in a trajectory from the target cell leading away from the task cell. 
 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  wherein identifying the reminder position includes calculating a forward probability of the user traveling from the target cell in a trajectory leading toward the task position and calculating a backward probability of the user traveling from the target cell in a trajectory leading away from the task position based on the transition information for the target cell. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  wherein calculating the forward probability includes summing a number of times the user has transitioned from the target cell to any of the one or more forward cells and dividing the sum by a total number of transitions from the target cell, and calculating the backward probability includes summing a number of times the user has transitioned from the target cell to any of the one or more backward cells and dividing the sum by the total number of transitions from the target cell. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15  wherein calculating the forward probability includes counting the number of times the user has traveled from the target cell to any of the one or more forward cells via one or more cells, and calculating the backward probability includes counting the number of times the user has traveled from the target cell to any of the one or more backward cells via one or more cells. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13  wherein receiving information that identifies a task includes receiving a plurality of tasks and wherein the method further comprises prioritizing the plurality of tasks based on at least one of task importance and completion time. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  wherein the method further includes determining a reminder position for respective task locations associated with each of the plurality of tasks in order of decreasing priority. 
     
     
         20 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored program instructions for providing a reminder of a task to be performed at a task location, the stored program instructions for performing a method comprising:
 receiving location information identifying a location of a user via a mobile communication device associated with the user;   receiving information that identifies a task;   receiving information that identifies a task location; and   providing a reminder for the task based on a current location of the user and on a trajectory of the user in relation to the task location.