Method and apparatus for delivering publicly displayed information to mobile devices based on location history

A method implemented using one or more computer systems coupled to a packet-based network, the one or more computer systems including or having access to a data store storing therein map data of a geographical area, the method comprising:

• acquiring location data corresponding to a plurality of location signals of a mobile device communicating with the packet-based network via one or more software applications on the mobile device, the plurality of location signals indicating mobile device locations in a geographical area with corresponding time stamps at different points in time during a time period;
• storing the location data in a location data store;
• determining one or more travel routes in the geographical area based on mapping of the plurality location signals into the geographical area;
• estimating a speed at which a user of the mobile device travels on each of the one or more travel routes based on the map data;
• searching in a billboard database for billboards located along the one or more travel routes, the billboard database storing therein billboard data associated with a plurality of billboards in the geographical area, respective billboard data associated with each respective billboard including data indicating a respective location of the respective billboard, a respective size of the respective billboard, and a respective type of the respective billboard;
• selecting one or more billboards from the billboards located along the one or more travel routes based at least on the speed at which the user of the mobile device travels on each of the one or more travel routes and billboard data associated with the one or more billboards;
• associating the one or more billboards with the mobile device in an association database;
• receiving an information request associated with the mobile device from the packet-based network;
• determining whether the mobile device is associated with the one or more billboards in the association database;
• and
• selecting an information document for delivering to the mobile device from a document database, the information document corresponding to one of the one or more billboards and including information displayed by the one of the one or more billboards.

A method implemented by a first computer system to enable visualizing an association database using a graphical user interface (GUI) on a second computer system coupled to the first computer system via packet-based network, comprising:

• acquiring location data corresponding to a plurality of location signals of a mobile device communicating with the packet-based network via one or more software applications on the mobile device, the plurality of location signals indicating mobile device locations in the geographical region with corresponding time stamps at different points in time during a time period;
• storing the location data in a location data store;
• determining one or more travel routes in the geographical region based on mapping of the plurality location signals into the geographical region;
• searching in a billboard database for one or more billboards located along the one or more travel routes, the billboard database storing therein billboard data associated with a plurality of billboards in the geographical area, respective billboard data associated with each respective billboard including data indicating a respective location of the respective billboard;
• associating the one or more billboards with the mobile device in an association database;
• receiving from the second computer system a selection of a geographical area;
• transmitting a list of one or more mobile users each having one or more associated billboards in the geographical area based on the association database;
• receiving from the second computer system a selection of a particular mobile user;
• transmitting to the second computer system a list of matched billboards associated with the particular mobile user and the matched billboards' respective locations;
• receiving from the second computer system a selection of a particular billboard among the list of matched billboards;
• and
• transmitting information about the particular billboard to the second computer system to enable the GUI to zoom in on a location of the billboard on a map of the geographical area, to mark the billboard on the map, and to display the information of the billboard in a display window, the information about the particular billboard including data indicating:
• a location of the particular billboard;
• a size of the particular billboard;
• and
• a type of the particular billboard.