System and method for determining a mode of travel

A processing system for determining a mode of travel, the processing system comprising:

• a processor;
• one or more sensors coupled to the processor;
• and
• a memory coupled to the processor for storing a set of travel mode data, the travel mode data comprising a plurality of travel modes comprising a walking travel mode and a driving travel mode, one or more criteria for at least one of the plurality of travel modes, and a set of configuration settings associated with the at least one of the plurality of travel modes for providing location-based services using the processing system;
• the processor being configured to:
• receive sensor input from the one or more sensors;
• compare the sensor input to the one or more criteria;
• select a likely mode of travel based on the comparison of the sensor input to the criteria;
• configure the processing system using the set of configuration settings associated with the selected likely mode of travel,
• wherein the set of configuration settings comprises navigation prompt settings for automatically enabling vibration prompts when the selected likely travel mode is the walking travel mode, and for automatically enabling audio prompts when the selected travel mode is the driving travel mode, and
• wherein the sensor input comprises a geographic position of the processing system as determined by a geographic positioning element;
• identify a type of route upon which the processing system is traveling by comparing the geographic position with a set of map data,
• wherein selecting the likely travel mode is based on comparing the identified type of route with the criteria for the at least one of the plurality of travel modes.

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium containing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method comprising:

• receiving sensor input from one or more sensors;
• comparing, using a processor, the sensor input to a set of travel mode data, the travel mode data comprising a plurality of travel modes comprising a walking or bicycling travel mode and a driving travel mode, one or more criteria for at least one of the plurality of travel modes, and a set of configuration settings associated with the at least one of the plurality of travel modes for providing location-based services using the client device;
• selecting a likely travel mode from the set of travel mode data by matching the sensor input with the criteria from each travel mode and identifying a travel mode that best matches the criteria with the sensor input;
• and
• configuring a client device using the set of configuration settings associated with the selected likely travel mode,
• wherein the set of configuration settings comprises map detail settings for automatically providing additional map details when the selected likely travel mode is the walking or bicycling travel mode, relative to when the selected likely travel mode is the driving travel mode, and
• wherein the sensor input comprises a geographic position of the client device as determined by a geographic positioning element;
• identifying a type of route upon which the client device is traveling by comparing the geographic position with a set of map data,
• wherein selecting the likely travel mode is based on comparing the identified type of route with the criteria for the at least one of the plurality of travel modes.