# US 11,308,175 B2 · Method and apparatus for enhancing a geolocation database > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,308,175 B2 - Document ID: US11308175B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/455,255 - Filed: 2019-06-27 - Published: 2020-12-31 - Granted: 2022-04-19 - Earliest claimed: 2019-06-27 - Assignees: Cerence Operating Company - Applicants: Cerence Operating Company - Inventors: Nils Lenke; Mohammad Mehdi Moniri; Reimund Schmald; Daniel Kindermann - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11308175B2 ## CPC - G06F 16/9535: Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation - G06F 16/2379: {Updates performed during online database operations; commit processing} - G06F 16/29: Geographical information databases - G06F 16/9537: Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries - G01C 21/3682: {output of POI information on a road map (G01C21/3614, G01C21/3685 take precedence)} - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S) ## Abstract While current voice assistants can respond to voice requests, creating smarter assistants that leverage location, past requests, and user data to enhance responses to future requests and to provide robust data about locations is desirable. A method for enhancing a geolocation database (“database”) associates a user-initiated triggering event with a location in a database by sensing user position and orientation within the vehicle and a position and orientation of the vehicle. The triggering event is detected by sensors arranged within a vehicle with respect to the user. The method determines a point of interest (“POI”) near the location based on the user-initiated triggering event. The method, responsive to the user-initiated triggering event, updates the database based on information related to the user-initiated triggering event at an entry of the database associated with the POI. The database and voice assistants can leverage the enhanced data about the POI for future requests. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A computer-implemented method for enhancing a geolocation database, the method comprising: associating a user-initiated triggering event, detected by at least one sensor arranged within a transportation vehicle with respect to a user, with a representation of a geographical location in an entry of a geolocation database as a function of a sensed position and orientation of the user within the transportation vehicle and a position and orientation of the transportation vehicle; determining a point of interest, the point of interest being from among multiple representations of points of interest stored in the geolocation database near the location based on the user-initiated triggering event; in response to the user-initiated triggering event, updating the geolocation database based on information related to the user-initiated triggering event at the entry of the geolocation database associated with the point of interest; detecting the user-initiated triggering event by the transportation vehicle by detecting a user visit to the location; and in response to detecting the user-initiated triggering event by detecting the user visit to the location, detecting completion of the user visit and requesting user feedback about the point of interest after the user visit; wherein updating the geolocation database includes adding the user feedback to the entry. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising recommending a point of interest using the updated geolocation database. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: filtering the user-initiated triggering event by determining whether the user-initiated triggering event exceeds a given threshold; wherein associating the user-initiated triggering event with the location in a geolocation database includes associating only the user-initiated triggering events determined to exceed the given threshold. ### Claim 4 A computer-implemented method for enhancing a geolocation database, the method comprising: associating a user-initiated triggering event, detected by at least one sensor arranged within a transportation vehicle with respect to a user, with a representation of a geographical location in an entry of a geolocation database as a function of a sensed position and orientation of the user within the transportation vehicle and a position and orientation of the transportation vehicle; determining a point of interest, the point of interest being from among multiple representations of points of interest stored in the geolocation database near the location based on the user-initiated triggering event; in response to the user-initiated triggering event, updating the geolocation database based on information related to the user-initiated triggering event at the entry of the geolocation database associated with the point of interest; detecting the user-initiated triggering event by the transportation vehicle by detecting a user gaze; correlating a direction of the user gaze with the point of interest near the location; and updating an entry of the geolocation database by adding an indication that the user viewed the point of interest. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The method of claim 4, further comprising associating the user query with the point of interest. ### Claim 6 (depends on 4) The method of claim 4, further comprising recommending a route to the user using the updated location database. ### Claim 7 A computer-implemented method for enhancing a geolocation database, the method comprising: associating a user-initiated triggering event, detected by at least one sensor arranged within a transportation vehicle with respect to a user, with a representation of a geographical location in an entry of a geolocation database as a function of a sensed position and orientation of the user within the transportation vehicle and a position and orientation of the transportation vehicle; determining a point of interest, the point of interest being from among multiple representations of points of interest stored in the geolocation database near the location based on the user-initiated triggering event; in response to the user-initiated triggering event, updating the geolocation database based on information related to the user-initiated triggering event at the entry of the geolocation database associated with the point of interest; associating the user query with the point of interest; detecting the user-initiated triggering event by the transportation vehicle by detecting a user query; associating the user query with the point of interest; a plurality of user-initiated triggering events, detected by a plurality of other transportation vehicles, with respective locations in a geolocation database; and recommending a route to the user, wherein updating the geolocation database includes updating real-time locations of objects associated with the plurality of other transportation vehicles, and wherein recommending the route to the user further includes querying the updated location database in real-time and determining velocities of objects associated with the plurality of other transportation vehicles reported in the geolocation database. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, further comprising: associating an emotional category based on the detected user background speech with the location. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, further comprising filtering the user-initiated triggering event by determining whether the user-initiated triggering event exceeds a given threshold, wherein associating the user-initiated triggering event with the location in a geolocation database includes associating only the user-initiated triggering events determined to exceed the given threshold. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, further comprising, in response to detecting the user-initiated triggering event by detecting the user visit to the location, detecting completion of the user visit and requesting user feedback about the point of interest after the user visit, wherein updating the geolocation database includes adding the user feedback to the entry. ### Claim 11 A system for enhancing a geolocation database, the system comprising: at least one sensor arranged within a transportation vehicle with respect to a user of the transportation vehicle; a processor; and a memory with instructions stored thereon such that, when the instructions are executed by the processor the processor: associates a user-initiated triggering event, detected by the least one sensor, with a representation of a geographical location in an entry of a geolocation database as a function of a sensed position and orientation of the user within the transportation vehicle and a position and orientation of the transportation vehicle; determines a point of interest, the point of interest being from among multiple representations of points of interest stored in the geolocation database near the location based on the user-initiated triggering event; and responsive to the user-initiated triggering event, updates the geolocation database based on information related to the user-initiated triggering event at the entry of the geolocation database associated with the point of interest, wherein the processor is further configured to: detect the user-initiated triggering event by the transportation vehicle by detecting a user visit to the location, wherein the processor is further configured to: respond to detecting the user-initiated triggering event by detecting the user visit to the location, detect completion of the user visit and to request user feedback about the point of interest after the user visit; wherein updating the geolocation database includes adding the user feedback to the entry. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to associate an emotional category based on the detected user background speech with the location. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to recommend a route to the user using the updated location database. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to recommend a route to the user using the updated location database. ### Claim 15 A system for enhancing a geolocation database, the system comprising: at least one sensor arranged within a transportation vehicle with respect to a user of the transportation vehicle; a processor; and a memory with instructions stored thereon such that, when the instructions are executed by the processor the processor: associates a user-initiated triggering event, detected by the least one sensor, with a representation of a geographical location in an entry of a geolocation database as a function of a sensed position and orientation of the user within the transportation vehicle and a position and orientation of the transportation vehicle; determines a point of interest, the point of interest being from among multiple representations of points of interest stored in the geolocation database near the location based on the user-initiated triggering event; and in response to the user-initiated triggering event, updates the geolocation database based on information related to the user-initiated triggering event at the entry of the geolocation database associated with the point of interest, wherein the processor is further configured to: detect the user-initiated triggering event by the transportation vehicle by detecting a user gaze; correlate a direction of the user gaze with the point of interest near the location; and update an entry of the geolocation database by adding an indication that the user viewed the point of interest. ### Claim 16 A system for enhancing a geolocation database, the system comprising: at least one sensor arranged within a transportation vehicle with respect to a user of the transportation vehicle; a processor; and a memory with instructions stored thereon such that, when the instructions are executed by the processor, the processor: associates a user-initiated triggering event, detected by the at least one sensor, with a representation of a geographical location in an entry of a geolocation database as a function of a sensed position and orientation of the user within the transportation vehicle and a position and orientation of the transportation vehicle; determines a point of interest, the point of interest being from multiple representations of points of interest stored in the geolocation database near the location based on the user-initiated triggering event; and, in response to the user-initiated triggering event, updates the geolocation database based on information related to the user-initiated triggering event at the entry of the geolocation database associated with the point of interest, wherein the processor is further configured to recommend a route to the user using the updated location database, wherein the processor is further configured to: associate a plurality of user-initiated triggering events, detected by a plurality of other transportation vehicles, with respective locations in a geolocation database; wherein updating the geolocation database includes updating real-time locations of objects associated with the plurality of other transportation vehicles; wherein recommending the route to the user further includes querying the updated location database in real-time and determining velocities of objects associated with the plurality of other transportation vehicles reported in the geolocation database. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The system of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured to associate the user query with the point of interest. ### Claim 18 (depends on 16) The system of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured to recommend a point of interest using the updated geolocation database. ### Claim 19 (depends on 16) The system of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured to: filter the user-initiated triggering event by determining whether the user-initiated triggering event exceeds a given threshold and wherein associating the user-initiated triggering event with the location in a geolocation database includes associating only the user-initiated triggering events determined to exceed the given threshold. ### Claim 20 (depends on 16) The system of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured to detect the user-initiated triggering event by the transportation vehicle by detecting at least one of a user emotion, a user gaze, a user query, a user visit to the location, and user background speech.