Patent Application
20150199653
The described embodiments relate generally to software applications. More particularly, the present embodiments describe a technique for providing a location-adaptive electronic calendar system.
Recent years have shown a proliferation in the use of software applications for managing personal schedules. This proliferation is occurring for a variety of reasons, which include both the widespread adoption of electronic devices and the ever-increasing complexity of schedules maintained by the average individual. Typical software applications used by an individual to manage his or her schedule—such as Apple's® native “Calendar” application—provide a set of features that help streamline the process for scheduling and managing meetings. These features can include, for example, the ability to schedule meetings through dictation of natural language (e.g., via Apple's® Siri®), and the ability to issue to one or more individuals an electronic invitation to attend a meeting. In turn, the Calendar application can provide useful information to the individual, including a snapshot view of a daily schedule and reminders for upcoming meetings.
Notably, while the foregoing feature set provides many benefits to the individual, considerable analysis on the individual's part continues to be required when scheduling and managing his or her meetings. For example, the individual is required to estimate and implement buffer times between meetings to account for various downtimes, e.g., travel time between two different meeting locations. As a result, meetings are often scheduled at times that cannot be met by the participants, which decreases overall efficiency and productivity. Moreover, when a particular time period (e.g., a day or a week) involves several meetings at different locations, the individual is imposed with the task of scheduling out where and when the meetings should occur. This is not only a complex task for the individual to carry out, but can also lead to producing a schedule that, in many cases, can otherwise be substantially optimized.
Representative embodiments set forth herein disclose various techniques for providing a location adaptive electronic calendar system.
One embodiment sets forth a method for implementing a location adaptive electronic calendar. The method includes the step of receiving information that defines particular aspects of a proposed meeting, where the information specifies an organizer and at least one invitee to attend the proposed meeting, and a duration and a location for the proposed meeting. The method further includes the step of identifying first current location information associated with the organizer and second current location information associated with the at least one invitee, and calculating a suggested meeting time for the proposed meeting based at least on the first current location information and the second current location information.
Another embodiment of the invention sets forth a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions that, when carried out by a processor included in a computing device, cause the computing device to carry out various steps. The steps can include receiving, from a user, a selection of a first location for a first meeting, and identifying at least one of a second meeting that precedes the first meeting and a third meeting that succeeds the first meeting, where each of the second meeting and the third meeting is associated with a second location and a third location, respectively. The steps can further include determining, based on the first location, and the at least one of the second location and the third location, a suggested time for the first meeting, and presenting the suggested time to the user.
Yet another embodiment of the invention sets forth a system for implementing a location adaptive electronic calendar. The system can include a processor and a memory, where the memory is configured to store instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the system to receive information that defines particular aspects of a proposed meeting. The information can specify at least one invitee to attend the proposed meeting, and a location for the proposed meeting. The processor further causes the system to display a user interface that indicates available meeting times associated with the at least one invitee, where the available meeting times are based at least on the location for the proposed meeting.
Other aspects and advantages of the embodiments described herein will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the described embodiments.
The included drawings are for illustrative purposes and serve only to provide examples of possible structures and arrangements for the disclosed inventive apparatuses and methods for providing wireless computing devices. These drawings in no way limit any changes in form and detail that may be made to the embodiments by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments. The embodiments will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate like structural elements.
Representative applications of apparatuses and methods according to the presently described embodiments are provided in this section. These examples are being provided solely to add context and aid in the understanding of the described embodiments. It will thus be apparent to one skilled in the art that the presently described embodiments can be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well known process steps have not been described in detail in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the presently described embodiments. Other applications are possible, such that the following examples should not be taken as limiting.
As described above, the embodiments described herein set forth a technique for providing a location adaptive electronic calendar system. In particular, the location adaptive electronic calendar system is configured to dynamically analyze and track location information associated with users who utilize the location adaptive electronic calendar system. In turn, the location information associated with the users is compared against both proposed and scheduled meetings in order to provide various useful features and information to the user, which are described below in greater detail.
According to one embodiment, the location adaptive electronic calendar system provides a user interface configured to display, for a particular time period of a schedule (e.g., a daily schedule) of a user, both a calendar view of the schedule as well as a map view of the schedule. The map view can include, for each meeting that is within the particular time period and specifies a location, an indicator that includes information about the meeting (e.g., a time for the meeting and a subject of the meeting). The map view can further include travel route information that links each of the meetings together chronologically and indicates optimal routes that can reduce overall travel time required for the user to attend the meetings. The travel route information can be periodically and dynamically updated by the location adaptive electronic calendar system and can be based on a wide range of data that includes, but is not limited to, map data for different travel method types (e.g., walking, cycling, public transportation, driving, etc.), existing and/or historical road traffic conditions, existing and/or historical weather conditions, and the like.
The calendar view can further provide a feature that suggests an optimal time for a new meeting based on a location on the map specified by the user (e.g., via a touch-based input, a mouse click, etc.). In turn, the location adaptive electronic calendar system calculates, based on times and locations of surrounding meetings of the user, an optimal start time and duration for the new meeting. The optimal start time and duration are presented to the user (e.g., via an indication positioned relative to the selected location within the calendar view), whereupon he or she can modify and/or confirm the new meeting. Moreover, the location adaptive electronic calendar system can notify the user about meeting slots that can potentially be switched, especially when switching the meeting slots results in an overall optimization of the user's schedule. For example, the location adaptive electronic calendar system can be aware of a user's home area and identify that switching the last two meetings of a particular day will reduce the day's overall commute time and position the user closer to his or her home area after the final meeting is completed.
According to another embodiment, the location adaptive electronic calendar system provides a user interface configured to receive, from a meeting organizer, information for a new meeting, and, in response, to dynamically display available meeting times for at least one invitee specified by the information for the new meeting. More specifically, the available meeting times are determined by the location adaptive electronic calendar system based on various components that include a time, a duration, and a location of the new meeting, previous and/or next meeting time(s), duration(s), and location(s) of the at least one invitee relative to the new meeting, current location information associated with the at least one invitee, and the like. The available meeting times are dynamically updated and displayed in response to changes to the foregoing components. For example, if an originally-specified location of the new meeting is updated to a new location, and the location adaptive electronic calendar system determines that it will take the at least one invitee an additional forty five minutes to travel to the new location, then the available meeting times of the at least one invitee are accordingly narrowed within the user interface.
In addition, the location adaptive electronic calendar system enables each user to specify various preferences that dictate how the location adaptive electronic calendar system manages his or her data. More specifically, each user can specify the level of granularity at which his or her location information is used by the location adaptive electronic calendar system. For example, a user can restrict his or her current location information from being used by the location adaptive electronic calendar system, but allow the location adaptive electronic calendar system to access location information associated with his or meetings in order to utilize a subset of the beneficial features provided by the location adaptive electronic calendar system. In another example, a user can indicate particular meetings that are inflexible in order to prevent the location adaptive electronic calendar system from issuing suggestions that are irrelevant, thereby enhancing the user's overall experience.
Also shown in
As previously noted above, the calendar view can further provide a feature that suggests an optimal time for a new meeting based on a location on the map specified by the user (e.g., via a touch-based input).
Although not illustrated in
At step 304, the server device 120, for each of the one or more invitees, analyzes calendar information and current location information (if available) associated with the invitee to determine whether the invitee can 1) make it to the meeting on time, and 2) make it to any subsequent meeting on time. At step 306, the server device 120 presents to the user a list of the one or more invitees and their determined availability to attend the meeting. An example of this presentation is illustrated in
At step 310, the server device 120 determines whether input is received from the user to update the meeting based on suggestions. More specifically, this input can be received from the user in response to prompting the user if he or she would like the server device 120 to assist the user in establishing a meeting that is more practical for the one or more invitees. If, at step 310, the server device 120 determines that input is received from the user to update the meeting based on suggestions made by the server device 120, then the method 300 proceeds to step 312. Otherwise, the method 300 proceeds to step 314.
At step 312, the server device 120 updates, based on the calendar information and the current location information (if available) associated with each of the one or more invitees, at least one of the time, location, and duration of the meeting to cause an increase the number of invitees who can attend the meeting. This can be carried out according to a variety of techniques, such as sequentially adjusting various parameters of the meeting to increase the number of invitees who are eligible to attend the meeting. This can involve, for example, updating the meeting location to an area that is more convenient for the invitees, updating the meeting time and/or duration, and, in some cases, suggesting the removal of particular invitees—especially those who have full schedules and likely cannot attend the meeting regardless of the adjustments that are made.
At step 314, the server device 120 determines whether input is received from the user to send meeting invitations out to at least one of the one or more invitees. If, at step 314, the server device 120 determines that input is received from the user to send meeting invitations out to at least one of the one or more invitees, then the method 300 proceeds to step 316, where the server device 120 sends an invitation to the at least one invitee to attend the meeting. Otherwise, the server device 120 waits at step 314 for the user to make a decision (e.g., accept, update, or cancel the meeting).
At step 504, the server device 120 determines, based at least on the current location information associated with the at least one invitee, that the at least one invitee is at risk of being unable to make it to the scheduled meeting on time. At step 506, the server device 120 presents, to the at least one invitee, the option to notify other invitees associated with the scheduled meeting that the at least one invitee will be unable to make it to the scheduled meeting on time. At step 508, the server device 120 determines whether the at least one invitee opts to notify the other invitees. If, at step 508, the server device 120 determines that the at least one invitee opts to notify the other invitees, then the method 500 proceeds to step 510, where the server device 120 notifies the other invitees that the at least one invitee is unable to make it to the scheduled meeting on time. Otherwise, the method 500 proceeds back to step 502, and repeats.
The computing device 600 also include a storage device 640, which can comprise a single disk or a plurality of disks (e.g., hard drives), and includes a storage management module that manages one or more partitions within the storage device 640. In some embodiments, storage device 640 can include flash memory, semiconductor (solid state) memory or the like. The computing device 600 can also include a Random Access Memory (RAM) 620 and a Read-Only Memory (ROM) 622. The ROM 622 can store programs, utilities or processes to be executed in a non-volatile manner. The RAM 620 can provide volatile data storage, and stores instructions related to the components of the client devices 102 and the server devices 120 configured to carry out the various techniques described herein.
The various aspects, embodiments, implementations or features of the described embodiments can be used separately or in any combination. Various aspects of the described embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware or a combination of hardware and software. The described embodiments can also be embodied as computer readable code on a computer readable medium for controlling manufacturing operations or as computer readable code on a computer readable medium for controlling a manufacturing line. The computer readable medium is any data storage device that can store data which can thereafter be read by a computer system. Examples of the computer readable medium include read-only memory, random-access memory, CD-ROMs, DVDs, magnetic tape, hard disk drives, solid state drives, and optical data storage devices. The computer readable medium can also be distributed over network-coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.
The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specific nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the described embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the specific details are not required in order to practice the described embodiments. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments are presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the described embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings.
