By: GMA News
Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com
Category: Microsoft Patent
Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/244035/scitech/technology/microsoft-patent-may-help-pedestrians-avoid-crime-prone-areas?ref=subsection_item
Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com
Category: Microsoft Patent
Smartphones and mobile devices with software from Microsoft may
soon help pedestrians avoid ghettoes and potentially crime-prone areas.
Microsoft has been granted a patent that allows its mapping
software to get up-to-date information about a neighborhood, including
crime statistics.
"The system ... can produce a direction set that is specifically
tailored to pedestrian travel. A gather component 102 can obtain
information related to pedestrian travel. Example information related to
pedestrian travel include maps (e.g., extracted from a database), user
history, weather information, crime statistics, demographic information,
etc.," it said in its patent with the US Patent and Trademark Office.
Such a feature is likely to be integrated in Microsoft's Windows Phone gadgets.
Under the patent, the system will have a search component that
locates at least one information source, retains pedestrian history from
and addresses of at least one information source that has a history of
providing reliable information.
The gather component will obtain information related to pedestrian
travel including information on security, weather and terrain.
An analysis component determines an importance of the information
to a user, estimates how likely the information is to change, and
chooses if the user should reach a destination through a pedestrian
route and/or through a conventional route.
The system also hints that ads can be inserted into the presentation of routes.
"Various features can integrate with route presentment, such as
integrating an advertisement targeted to a pedestrian with a direction
set," it said.
Inventors of the patent, which was filed as early as December
2007, included Ivan Tashev, Jeffrey Couckuyt, Neil Black, John Krumm,
Ruston Panabaker, and Michael Lewis Seltzer.
A separate article on tech site CNET, however, said it is not immediately clear what kind of crime statistics the system may choose to use.
"It's one thing to avoid areas where there might have occurred
physical assaults and gunfire. It's another to avoid, say, places where
burglaries are popular, as one suspects quite a few allegedly nice areas
are subject to burglars' desires," it said.
Also, it questioned if the system integrating ads can take pedestrians to areas with specific ads.
"Is this suggesting that Windows Phones will give pedestrians a
route that will take them past specific ads? What a curious and slightly
mind-altering thought.
One wonders whether those who use the system might also be offered an 'avoid ads' option," it said.Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/244035/scitech/technology/microsoft-patent-may-help-pedestrians-avoid-crime-prone-areas?ref=subsection_item
