Patent ID: 8549044

Claim:
A computer implemented method for providing location-based services using a mobile device, the method comprising: generating a first anchor by: sensing a first location-identifying physical characteristic proximate to a mobile device present at a first location and generating a representation of the first location-identifying physical characteristic; determining a descriptive identification of the first location; and combining the descriptive identification and the representation of the first location-identifying physical characteristic, wherein global positioning system information including geographic coordinate pair is not used in generation of the first anchor; transmitting the first anchor, comprising the representation of the first location-identifying physical characteristic, to a computer remote from the first location; requesting from the remote computer a chronotope retrieved from a database of previously generated anchors, the received chronotope indicating a logical distance between the first anchor and a second anchor, comprising a representation of a second location-identifying physical characteristic, wherein the second anchor is associated with a second location distinct and remote from the first location, wherein the database does not comprise an association between the first anchor and a geographic coordinate pair; and conveying to a user of the mobile device information including the logical distance between the first and second anchors indicated by the received chronotope.