Microsoft Patents Way to Avoid Walking into Sketchy Areas
Microsoft has obtained a patent for producing walking directions based on several varying factors depending on the time of day, weather and even crime rates.
Microsoft has just been awarded a patent (via GeekWire) for "pedestrian route production" that accounts for various factors, such as time of day, weather or, most importantly, crime rates, and can automatically adjust the recommended route to account for these variables.
"As a pedestrian travels, various difficulties can be encountered, such as traveling through an unsafe neighborhood or being in an open area that is subject to harsh temperatures," reads the patent abstract. "A route can be developed for a person taking into account factors that specifically affect a pedestrian. Moreover, the route can alter as a situation of a user changes; for instance, if a user wants to add a stop along a route."
Microsoft goes on to say that, while there are solid route production solutions in place for vehicles and these offer the ability to specify certain travel constraints (such as 'avoid highways'), the differences between pedestrian routes and automobile routes are quite different. For example, a pedestrian can commonly traverse terrain that is more rugged then many vehicles. However, a pedestrian is also susceptible to environmental elements, such as extreme cold.
"A large amount of focus in route generation has focused upon vehicle route generation and little attention has been paid to pedestrian route production," Microsoft says. "However, there has been a long felt need for route generation towards individuals that do not commonly travel by vehicle."
Microsoft's solution would include "a gather component [that] obtains information related to intended pedestrian travel and a generation component [that] produces a route based upon at least part of the obtained information." The company goes on to say that the pedestrian route is produced based on security information, weather information, terrain information, or a combination of the above, and later says the technology could even mean a pedestrian arriving faster than a vehicle because of a more direct route.
"Due to detailed route planning, a direction set can be created that allows a user to take more diverse paths that can compensate for a general lack of speed," the company said.
- Microsoft,
- Patent ,
- Walking-directions ,
- crime ,
- MSFT ,
- bad-weather
- AMD Radeon HD 7970 Quad CrossFireX Stomps 3DMark Records
- IP Company Goes After Power Management in Smartphones
- HP's Got a Crazy-slim Laptop Called the Spectre
- Prank Forces Siri to Swear at a 12-year-old Boy
- Apple Designer Jonathan Ive is Now a Knight Commander
- Harrod's Selling Super Expensive Porsche Design BlackBerry
- Elpida Memory Likely to Seek a Second Bailout
- Intel Prepping 40 New Xeons for the First Half of 2012
- Report: Acer and Lenovo to Launch Windows 8 Slates in 2012
- HP Reveals New Gaming Rig and its First 27-Inch AIO PC
- Raspberry Pi Lands eBay Bidding Up To $2,700 USD
- Rumor: Intel Discontinuing Over 25 Desktop CPUs
- Microsoft Sues Retailer for Making 94,000 Fake Windows CDs
- MSI Releasing Cedar Trail-Based Netbook, the Wind U180
- Microsoft Flight Will Offer Free-To-Play Model
- Enter to Win the Nvidia Tegra 2-powered Sony Tablet S
- OCZ's Deneva 2 mSATA SSD Approved for Intel Ultrabooks
- Linux 3.2 Now Available
People have been doing this for years, how is this patentable?
This would be funny. Your phone starts blinking with a huge RUN on the screen. lol
In the same way that people have been giving directions for years, but GPS technologies are patented.
Planning your walk to avoid the ghetto now entails paying Micro$oft a license.
Can there at least be a new designation: Obvious Concept Patent?
Wow, sounds like an advanced gather component... it can tell which neighborhoods are owned by the bloods and crips, and to stay of 3rd street after 9pm, the hookers there can be violent -- according to police reports.
Yeah, I don't see this working :|
This is hardly patent trolling at all. Compared to patenting a gesture, patenting software that automatically creates pedestrian routes by combining local data sources almost looks commendable. Especially considering that automobile route planning using software is already patented.
Although a patent shouldn't be the method of competition with an obvious idea like this. What they should really do is make better software and databases than everyone else in order to beat out the competition.
Sounds to be it is an 'just in case we will ever use it' patent.
I live in southern Florida; love to ride my bicycle for errands. I practically never encounter 'walkers' except those going from the super market to the car. American's just don't walk (NYC does not count).
This is hardly patent trolling at all. Compared to patenting a gesture, patenting software that automatically creates pedestrian routes by combining local data sources almost looks commendable. Especially considering that automobile route planning using software is already patented.Although a patent shouldn't be the method of competition with an obvious idea like this. What they should really do is make better software and databases than everyone else in order to beat out the competition.
Why? So some company who don't even try to make or research the software makes a patent for it to sue companies when it's finally made?
... Yeah, I don't see this working :|
Crime information has been available in Microsoft Map Point for at least a decade.
This would be especially useful for tourists.
How long until the criminals start using this to find "untapped" resources?
I think they did this to see how much of a rediculous patent they could get away with, just to poke fun at the patent system. They figured, if apple can patent random crap, we can too.
I guess people getting that reliant on technology that they can't tell when they're walking into the bad part of town. Common sense was just patented
Can there at least be a new designation: Obvious Concept Patent?
There already is an exclusion on getting a patent on an "obvious" invention. The definition of "obvious," though, seems to be something patent examiners (at least in the US) do not understand. I expect that patents that are disallowed under the "obvious" rule have to be fought in court after the patent is granted.
"Avoid Black Neighborhoods"
Yeah I tick that box on my GPS.
people still walk?
What are the odds that Microsoft will have a snappy answer to walking into Mordor? Sadly, unlike Google, not much.
This is hardly patent trolling at all. Compared to patenting a gesture, patenting software that automatically creates pedestrian routes by combining local data sources almost looks commendable. Especially considering that automobile route planning using software is already patented.Although a patent shouldn't be the method of competition with an obvious idea like this. What they should really do is make better software and databases than everyone else in order to beat out the competition.
I disagree. A specific algorithm is worthy of a patent, not the general concept the algorithm is supposed to be used for.
If I develop a new type of car engine I can patent that specific type of car engine, but I shouldn't be able to patent the concept of a car engine.
This kind of patent trolling is outlawed in most countries, as it should be, unfortunately the United States is not one of those countries.
people still walk?
"Avoid Black Neighborhoods"Yeah I tick that box on my GPS.
+1 to both of you. I am actually suprised someone didn't think of this earlier though. You would think Google would have thought of something like this for their Android phone users in New York City. Good idea Microsoft, now just don't mess up the implementation.
I'm against this, how else are we going to thin the heard?
Funny, I wonder how many cities/towns will threaten to sue Microsoft for claiming they are too dangerous to walk in. This reminds me of Air Canada telling its employees not to stay in downtown Winnipeg because it was too dangerous... And what happens when you live in one of these zones, will it tell you to just circle the block???
If there is a 3 year old baby standing on the corner of the street.. that is probably the direction to avoid.
apple will sue, because none can get directions to apple store.
How did patents ever get so screwed up that you can patent something that you haven't made, and haven't even delivered a blueprint for how to make? If you can't create the thing in question just from the patent alone, then that patent shouldn't exist.
Many large cities are already way ahead of Microsoft, if you come across a road named "Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd" and your a Honky you know to stay away.
The 1st city that will get this: Cupertino
Is this the cause of MSFT's stock to soar?
I was walking around the Bronx with my friend a few weeks ago. I'm white, he's black. He looks at me and says...don't ever walk around here at night without a brother with you. We both got a good laugh out of that.
How did patents ever get so screwed up that you can patent something that you haven't made, and haven't even delivered a blueprint for how to make? If you can't create the thing in question just from the patent alone, then that patent shouldn't exist.
+1
Does that mean I now have to pay royalties to use common sense when I walk from point A to point B?
"You're better off staying home."