Abstract:
Systems and methods are disclosed for providing pertinent multimedia content to mobile subscribers based on dynamically created profiles. Users are provided information relevant to their interests based on dynamic profiles developed as a result of prior patterns of use, interest and behavior. Such profile generation is automated without need for active user participation in selecting what would be desirable information.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to mobile networks. More particularly, the present invention relates to techniques for providing pertinent multimedia content to mobile subscribers based on dynamically created profiles. 
     2. Background of the Invention 
     Mobile users are increasingly using their mobile devices for more than just conversations. The advent of wireless data plans means that subscribers now have access to resources that were previously available only through the Internet. These resources are vast, and include, but are not limited to, email, web sites, images, audio, video, news, live feeds and transmissions, maps, etc. This plethora of services revolves around sophisticated, interactive applications provided by server subsystems that enable users to have access to one or more applications quickly and simultaneously, as well as toggle between such multiple applications at will with minimal effort. With increasing bandwidth available to mobile subscribers at lower costs, as well as recent improvements in server technology and communication utilizing the packet-based IP Multimedia System and Session Initiation Protocol, the fusion between mobile devices and IP-enabled computers is well under way. 
     Unlike the Internet, however, mobile operators are not always the masters of their domain when it comes to monitoring the habits of their users so as to provide them with better quality and more relevant content. Companies operating on the Internet currently have access to a vast amount of information about their customers and about the people who visit their web sites. These companies record every transaction their customers make on the company&#39;s website, as well as using cookies to monitor the user&#39;s interaction with their web sites, thereby giving the company insight into the user&#39;s interests. The company may then in turn use the information it has derived to offer customized products and services to the user or to target advertising at the user. 
     Similarly, mobile network operators also collect information about users of the network. Every time a client uses an application or service, such as text messaging, a billable event is generated and recorded. The network operators can use the information generated to offer tailored products and services to users. New technology is also capable of profiling subscriber&#39;s habits in real time so that the user himself may benefit directly from the information about his daily life. However, such a system is not currently in place because the benefits of such profiling are not fully realized. Currently, mobile subscribers have to seek out content that pertains to their tastes, and there is limited guidance offered to these subscribers as to the availability of multimedia resources on their networks. Also, targeting single users is generally inefficient and no mechanism in the art exists to be able to bring together mobile subscribers having similar tastes and provide them with targeted content. What is needed is an efficient system to exploit the availability of subscriber habits and related information, and provide content to the user that is pertinent to their tastes. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention addresses the issues surrounding targeted content delivery by delivering relevant multimedia content to mobile subscribers based on dynamically generated user profiles. Systems and methods are provided to use the information from these user profiles to correlate common elements and “push” relevant multimedia and related data that pertains to the taste of the subscriber. The user profiles are created in a Dynamic Event Server Subsystem (DESS) which includes an Intelligent Information Collecting Repository (IICR) that stores and analyzes a mobile subscriber&#39;s usage, browsing, and download habits in the form of a dynamically generated profile. This dynamically generated profile is matched with other subscriber&#39;s profiles, and common elements are put together to create community profiles, thereby increasing the efficiency and reducing the footprint of profile databases. Related information is pushed to these subscribers, who are presented with multiple options to further explore this information by downloading or purchasing additional content, or subscribing to more information resources. The present invention makes extensive use of the existing IP Multimedia System (IMS) and SIP signaling to improve communication and interaction between server elements as well as between end users and the mobile network. 
     In one exemplary embodiment, the present invention is a series of Dynamic Event Servers (DES) along with an IICR that correlates information in a subscriber&#39;s dynamically generated profile as well as a subscriber&#39;s location, and provides the subscriber with a series of radio presets that can be sent to any digital or analog radio tuner (AM, FM, XM, Sirius, IP Radio, etc.). In a related embodiment, the subscriber&#39;s device may pull artist/title and other related information about a song from the wireless-equipped radio tuner and use this data to purchase said song, share it with other subscribers having similar interests, or exercise other options that are dependent on the media content, such as purchasing concert tickets or joining existing fan clubs. 
     In another exemplary embodiment, the subscriber&#39;s dynamically generated profile contains relevant data about the subscribers Instant Messaging habits, including peak usage times and most active contacts. The IICR then suggests to the subscriber an automated procedure to set up group chats with the subscriber&#39;s most active contacts on a regular basis, based on the data in the subscriber&#39;s profile. 
     In another exemplary embodiment, the IICR correlates related information among multiple mobile subscribers to generate content that is pertinent to a subscriber&#39;s tastes. 
     In another exemplary embodiment, the subscriber&#39;s regular viewing of traffic conditions, sports scores, and local weather are all stored in subscriber&#39;s dynamically generated profile. The IICR suggests to the subscriber a combined “packet” of all the regularly accessed information that is delivered at a convenient time without any extra effort on the part of the subscriber. 
     In yet another exemplary embodiment, the present invention is a method for delivering relevant multimedia content to a mobile subscriber based on a combination of information including, but not limited to, the subscriber&#39;s personal preferences, usage habits, and elements shared with other mobile subscribers. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a network system for collecting profile information and delivering pertinent content to subscribers in an IP Multimedia System (IMS) environment, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  shows a Dynamic Event Server Subsystem providing music-related recommendations according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  shows a Dynamic Event Server Subsystem being used to predict and automate a subscriber&#39;s actions according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  shows the functionality of user recommendations to a community profile according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  shows an example of using common elements from multiple profiles to provide related content, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  shows collection of new information relating to recommendations, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides for systems and methods for delivering relevant multimedia content to mobile subscribers based on dynamically generated user profiles over an IP Multimedia System (IMS). Scenario Based Services (SBS) are used to generate profiles of mobile subscribers based on personal interests, as well as dynamically generated content such as usage statistics, wireless web browsing habits, and wireless purchases. The data in these profiles are provided by information in the network, as well as from applications that the subscriber uses, such as media streaming and downloads, web browsing, instant messaging (IM), mapping software, etc. Combined with location and network information, these profiles are then referred to, and content tailored to a subscribers interests is forwarded in real time to the subscriber, who is presented with options to purchase or otherwise acquire this content. The subscriber may also be presented with additional related information based on information compiled in other databases such as other subscribers with common interests, or fan clubs. In addition, the subscriber is given options to share their recommendations and content with other subscribers having similar interests, based on common elements in their dynamically generated profiles. 
     For the purposes of this invention, the term Scenario Based Services (including Scenario Based Music/Content Delivery) is used herein to describe a setup in which a suite of applications is made available for use during differing scenarios and contexts. The intelligent push and pull of applications foster communications across specific communities of interest. The user interface allows for a user defined customizable “desktop” accessing ability for using multiple applications simultaneously. The presentation of such universal information may be based on community or individual preferences. 
     Dynamic Event Server Subsystem (DESS) as used herein is a network system that contains network enabled applications to be offered up dynamically to mobile terminals with dependency on contextual usage. This system creates an efficient way in which to launch these applications, authenticate their use, store data associated with the usage of individual applications and the interaction between associated applications at the macro network level. New “state” information collected at the DESS may be transmitted to the terminal (or micro) level of the network. Multiple levels of communication include interaction between the mobile device/client and the applications server (AS), between multiple application servers, and between multiple servers at which time the subscriber state change is collected and an aggregation server described in this disclosure as the Proxy Registration Authentication Collection (PRAC) server. 
     Since this scenario utilizes features present in an IP Multimedia System (IMS) environment, it is very useful to further define this term. IMS basically describes a system by which mobile operators can offer and charge for discrete services that are usually available on the Internet, alongside current services being offered. This architecture works with any packet-switching network, is IP-based, and therefore has tremendous potential for services like VoIP, push-to-talk, videoconferencing, IM, presence information, etc. An example of a standardized signaling protocol is the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). SIP allows two elements in a network to find each other and open lines of communication easily, and is a significant part of IMS. Ideally every mobile device and network element has a unique SIP address for the purposes of this disclosure. Interactive applications communicate with the user and among themselves using SIP signaling over an IP network, compile data, and submit patterns to the IICR. Compilation can take place either on the handset or at the server end. In addition, a mobile device for the purposes of this disclosure includes any communications device with the ability to send and receive data across IP or any related packet-based networks, as well as devices capable of communicating over PSTN or other legacy networks. 
       FIG. 1  shows an exemplary network system  100  for collecting profile information and delivering pertinent content to subscribers in an IP Multimedia System (IMS) environment. SIP signaling  150  is used to initiate and communicate between Mobile Subscribers (MS)  130 ,  131 , IMS Core  110 , and Dynamic Event Server Subsystem (DESS)  120 , consisting of a Proxy Registration Authentication Collection server (PRAC)  160 , Intelligent Information Collection Repository (IICR)  161  and Dynamic Event Servers (DES)  126 . DES  126  consists of multiple Application Servers (AS) including but not limited to Instant Messaging server, Presence server, Content server (Media Resource Server), and Location server. DES  126  contains network enabled applications to be offered up dynamically to mobile terminals with dependency on contextual usage in a way that launches these applications based on authentication for use, stores data associated with the usage of individual applications and the interaction between associated applications at the macro network level. The information collected is transmitted to IICR  161 . PRAC Server  160  is the interface to the IMS core  110 , and controls subscriber access to the server hosting a particular application. Network authentication and security functions may be performed (as a part of IMS Core  110 ) prior to engaging PRAC server  160 . Subscribers may be authenticated based on their current status of active registration for applications on the DESS  120 . SIP signaling  150  is used to facilitate the communication between the various components of DESS  120 . 
     A plurality of profiling engines generate and store user profiles in real time based on information available in a network as well as information generated by applications on the device. These profiling engines compile user information, in real time, into a plurality of profiles. This information can come from a user&#39;s interaction with the network, with applications on a user&#39;s mobile device, or from any other source, and includes but is not limited to usage patterns, purchases via mobile device, and billing information. Specific examples include web browsing habits, song/video downloads/purchases, user-defined preferences, as well as peak usage dates and times, protocols used, as well as similar information from other mobile subscribers&#39; profiles. The profiling engines compile the information they gather in real time into a personal or community profile, and store the profiles in the IICR. The profiles are then made available to applications and services in the network so that those applications and services can assist the user in the performance of his daily tasks. 
       FIG. 2  shows a Scenario Based Music Delivery system  200 , an exemplary multimedia content delivery system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Subscriber  230  has a stored profile  234  on IICR within DESS  220 , as well as location and network information  235 . As described above, this profile was compiled in real time via profiling engines based on subscriber&#39;s browsing and purchasing habits, as well as pre-programmed preferences. Ideally this profile is generated dynamically in a way that involves no work whatsoever for the subscriber. Subscriber&#39;s location information is transmitted via the Home Location Register (HLR)  240  to DESS  220 . DESS  220  and IICR will correlate the profile and location information with a Media Server within the DES, which contains music resources as well as radio information local to subscriber, and recommendations based on subscriber&#39;s interests. IICR will then send targeted content information  236  to subscriber based on this profile. Based on the location and network information, this content includes radio station presets that may apply to standard AM/FM tuners or satellite radio receivers  280 , such as Sirius or XM. The information could also include radio show schedules that pertain to subscriber&#39;s interests, as derived from subscriber&#39;s profile in DESS  220 . Subscriber  230  may now program the radio tuner  280  to these presets and enjoy the programming that is pertinent to his interests. In fact, if tuner is one of the many BLUETOOTH-enabled radio devices available on the market today, subscriber  230  may communicate this radio preset  275  and scheduling content to tuner wirelessly from his mobile device. 
     In this scenario, wireless-enabled tuner  280  also has the ability to broadcast media information  276  back to subscriber. This information could include artist/title information for a song, or any information related to the current broadcast, such as album, release date, genre, or any other information commonly “tagged” to audio media. Subscriber  230  then has this information at his fingertips, which enables him to perform a variety of actions. Subscriber  230  may tag this information to store in a shopping cart or wish list for future purchase. Then at a later time the subscriber may scroll through the list and select to purchase the song, which will be delivered to the device. Alternatively, subscriber  230  may perform an instant purchase of the song at the push of a button. The song would then be downloaded to subscriber&#39;s memory card and can be listened to at any time. Subscriber could also elect to add the artist to a list of favorites and subsequently receive notification of concerts, live broadcasts, and new CD releases by the artist on his device via text, email, SIP, instant message, etc. 
     A subscriber may also elect to join a fan club or related group that combines people with similar interests and provides recommendations for similar content, all at the touch of a button. Once this occurs, the subscriber&#39;s profile is updated with fan club information. This allows a wide range of media and information to be pushed to the subscriber. For instance, a fan of a certain band would get access to and receive artist biographical info, discography, tour dates/info, message boards, links to digital goods (ringtones, answertones, wallpaper, games), video, news relating to contests and giveaways, special advance access to tickets, artist message board, exclusive band interviews, tour blogs/recording diary, user generated content, and chat/community access. 
     The subscriber will also have the option to push new or previously unavailable content to other members of the fan club. Referring back to  FIG. 1 , a SIP session can be established between two or more subscribers belonging to the same fan club, and a data connection  151  can be used to transfer multimedia resources among users. With an IMS implantation, no WAP gateway is required since the devices can operate peer-to-peer. In an IMS environment, one device is the “server” and the other is the “player”. Once an IP session is set up via SIP, the interaction between multiple subscribers on the fan club can be recorded and used to provide a more personalized content, such as user favorites, top  10  playlists, etc., as well as recognition of the top resource contributing subscribers, and information about new members. Additionally, using the concept of the BLUETOOTH-enabled radio, song information or a song itself could be shared with multiple users of a fan club simultaneously, where each subscriber is on an IP enabled device. The option of sharing could be exercised by any mobile subscriber from their own device either via the community webpage or online forum, or directly to certain members of the fan club, depending on the application in use and the content being delivered. This applies to any IP-enabled device, including personal computers, or IP-enabled portable music players such as the Microsoft Zune, etc. 
     The concept of profile-based content delivery can be further utilized to provide additional related content to a subscriber based on his actions. For instance, subscriber  230  may have at some point purchased or viewed a live IP radio/TV broadcast on his mobile device, such as a Canadian Curling Team tournament. This preference would have been updated in the IICR, and subsequently DESS  220  would have sent to subscriber  230  a notification that the Canadian National Curling team was a featured host at a press conference and dinner held at a convention center in subscriber&#39;s  230  hometown. Subscriber  230  would then be given an option to purchase tickets for this event at the touch of a button, or be able to purchase or view a live broadcast of the press conference. Substituting Canadian Curling Team with a rock band, such as Primus, and a press conference with an after-concert party, subscriber  230  would be given an option to purchase backstage passes or could be sent a password to enter the party. In this way, pertinent content that DESS  220  appreciates and seeks is automatically forwarded to the subscriber based on his compiled profile. 
     This concept also works for Instant Messaging (IM). In the exemplary embodiment  300  shown in  FIG. 3 , DES  325  is an IM host. The specific IM network enabled application is hosted at the server and provides basic IM functionality to the subscriber network. As with other network enabled applications, the IM server provides its specific functions related to this application such as logic for the transmission of short messaging. This specific implementation takes advantage of SIP for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE). IICR  326  acts as an information database to collect behavioral usage information such as time of use, interaction between other IM subscribers and volume of usage. For instance, supposing that the subscriber is a foreign exchange student who regularly sets up a multi party IM session at around 10:00 P.M. EST with four of his family members  328  across the globe. A rule has been set up in DES  325  to search for events or other variables  327  with certain frequencies of use, and the subsequent data is collected in IICR  326 . A message  329  is sent to the subscriber providing him the option to preset an IM session with these participants. Subscriber may select “Yes”, at which point the participants are pre-invited via SIP. Therefore, the data collected from a user&#39;s routine are used so that the user does not have to repeat the series of steps each time to create the same use routine. 
     Recalling the concept of pushing multimedia content to members of a fan club,  FIG. 4  shows a system  400  of how content may be shared between users of such fan club. Mobile subscribers  430 ,  431 ,  432  have profiles that have similar elements such that they are members of a community profile or fan club. For instance, subscribers  430 ,  431 ,  432  may all enjoy the music of reggae musician Bob Marley. All subscribers have SIP connectivity with IICR  461 , which contains a community profile for Bob Marley fans. IICR  461  correlates these preferences with Media Server (MS)  426  element of a DES. MS  426  contains multiple media resources related to Bob Marley, including news and biographical information about the artist, concert reviews, song samples and entire songs available for purchase, images, as well as concert schedules, and links to similar artists. As previously described, IICR  461  retrieves relevant content and pushes it to subscribers  430 ,  431 ,  432  based on their individual preferences as well as the profiles of the community. The network elements communicate with each other and with mobile subscribers via SIP, shown by a dotted line  450 , and data is transferred via any data connection shown by a solid line  451 . 
     Now suppose that subscriber  430  independently comes across a rare sound clip that shows a previously unknown band performing a live cover version of one of Bob Marley&#39;s songs. This media resource exists on MS  426 , but it may just not have been deemed relevant enough by the IICR  461  to be pushed to the fan club members. Subscriber  430  has downloaded this resource  422  and wishes to share this media resource with other fan club members, and may do this in more than one way. Subscriber  430  may update the community profile in IICR  461  with the resource, and request IICR  461  to push this content to other members who will be given the option to download and/or purchase the song. For instance, the subscriber may request that IICR  461  push the file or the option to download the file to subscriber  432 . The IICR  461  then transmits this request  424  to subscriber  432 . However, in an IMS framework using SIP  450 , every device should have a unique SIP address and is therefore able to communicate directly with other devices. Therefore, subscriber  430  may choose to initiate a direct peer to peer (P2P) connection  420  to pass the Bob Marley cover media file to subscriber  431 . This is easily accomplished by using SIP  450  to initiate the P2P session. In this way, subscriber  430  may target one or more members of a fan club and push media (or the option to download/purchase media) directly without having to go through the DESS, thereby saving valuable server resources. 
     Another exemplary scenario  500  of an IICR sending relevant information to subscribers based on profiles is shown in  FIG. 5 . The DES  560  will collect data associated with its own application and the interaction with other applications, and submit the profile changes to the IICR  561 . In this instance, three subscribers  565 ,  566 ,  567  utilize Instant Messaging address books. Each subscriber has address books labeled Friends, Family and Fantasy Football. Sub A  565  has coincident relationships  564  in his Friends address books with Sub B  566  and Sub C  567 . Each subscriber also has a profile stored and updated in the IICR  561 . However, Sub A  565  is unaware of the fact that he shares common relationships  564  with people from Sub B  566  and Sub C  567  Fantasy Football address books. IICR  561  may be programmed to find such relationships and send information back to subscribers regarding this condition. In this case, the following message may be transmitted via e-mail, SIMPLE IM, or SMS to Sub A: “Sub B and Sub C have the following people in their address books that you also have: Person X, Person Y, Person Z. Would you like to add these people to one of your address books with these relationships stored?” Sub A answers affirmatively and a newly defined relationship or community of interest  568  is set up for these people with common interest  569 . This concept can be extended to any common element that multiple users share, thereby creating new community profiles and more efficient and relevant resource handling. 
       FIG. 6  shows another example  600  of relationships and state changes, according to the present invention. Every morning between 5:30 and 6:00 A.M. a subscriber views content on his mobile device for weather, sports highlights and the local traffic reports regarding a specific portion of highway. After a week&#39;s worth (or other period of time) of data collection, the IICR  661  associated with a PRAC  660  within the DESS recognizes a pattern for this behavior, namely at the same time each day a request of this type is made (a time overlay dependency  671 ). A query is sent back to the subscriber asking “Would you like me to set up a daily report for you that you can view first thing in the morning which includes sports highlights, weather report and traffic report for your local area?” The subscriber answers yes and a pre-bundle of service  673  is set up to download at 5:15 every morning. 
     Additionally, another pattern is recognized from the traffic reporting. A second query from the subscriber (on a daily basis) is associated with a specific traffic route. The subscriber is interested in the route with the least amount of time to destination (association of Traffic Report, Traffic Route and time of day repeated every work day—a route overlay dependency  670 ). An alternate route database may also be available from a Location server. The IICR  661  associated with a PRAC  660  sends a query to the subscriber with the following “Would you like me to provide you with alternate routes for your destination if the time exceeds “X” value for your commute with the current route?” The subscriber would like this rule set up and the IICR  661  stores the information. On days when the traffic route exceeds the allotted time limit, alternate routes  672  are given to the subscriber. Once again, these routes can be pre-stored and transmitted prior to the necessary time, invoked only when the “time exceeds” condition  674  is met. 
     The foregoing disclosure of the preferred embodiments of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many variations and modifications of the embodiments described herein will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the above disclosure. The scope of the invention is to be defined only by the claims appended hereto, and by their equivalents. 
     Further, in describing representative embodiments of the present invention, the specification may have presented the method and/or process of the present invention as a particular sequence of steps. However, to the extent that the method or process does not rely on the particular order of steps set forth herein, the method or process should not be limited to the particular sequence of steps described. As one of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate, other sequences of steps may be possible. Therefore, the particular order of the steps set forth in the specification should not be construed as limitations on the claims. In addition, the claims directed to the method and/or process of the present invention should not be limited to the performance of their steps in the order written, and one skilled in the art can readily appreciate that the sequences may be varied and still remain within the spirit and scope of the present invention.