DESCRIPTION
FIELD
In the field of providing location based services, methods and systems for tracking the location of a communication device and providing location based service to the communication device are disclosed.
ACRONYMS
AGPS - Assisted Global Positioning System
AOA - Angle of Arrival
CDMA - Code Division Multiple Access
GNSS - Global Navigation Satellite System
GPS - Global Positioning System
GSM - Global System for Mobile Communications
LAN - Local Area Networl<
LB I - Location Based Information
LBS - Location Based Service
LFE - Location Finding Equipment
PSTN - Public Switched Telephone Network
TDOA - Time Difference of Arrival
VAI - Value Added Information
WAN - Wide Area Network
WLAN - Wireless Local Area Network
WWAN - Wireless Wide Area Network
DEFINITIONS
Communication Network: Communication network is a network of communication devices and stations having wired or wireless interconnection for establishing communication. Communication includes, but is not limited to, transmitting and receiving signals. Communication further includes, but is not limited to, transferring information and data such as voice, audio, video, graphics and the like. Communication network includes, but is not limited to, internet, intranet, extranet, Wide Area Network (WAN), wireless WAN (WWAN), Local Area Network (LAN), wireless LAN (WLAN), transducer links such as those using Modulator-

Demodulators (modems), telecommunication network, personal area network and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). Telecommunication network includes, but is not limited to, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and Code Division Multiple Access network (CDMA). Personal area network includes, but is not limited to, Bluetooth and Infrared, and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).
Communication Device: Communication device is an electronic device that is capable of at least transmitting and receiving signals in order to facilitate communication with other communication devices by establishing connection through at least a communication network. Communication devices include, but are not limited to, cordless phones, mobile phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants, laptops, digital cameras, camcorder, portable media players, portable game consoles, personal navigation devices and electronic watches. Different communication devices may use different communication networks to transmit and receive signals.
Mode of Communication: Mode of communication refers to the type of network used in establishing a communication with a device. Examples of mode of communication includes, but are not limited to, Bluetooth protocol. Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Telnet Remote Protocol (Telnet), Secure Shell Remote Protocol (SSH), Post Office Protocol 3 (P0P3), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), Internet Protocol (IP) and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD).
Landmark: Landmark is an electronic device that is capable of broadcasting information about itself that is identifiable to a communication device. Landmarks include, but are not limited to, telecommunication network towers, Bluetooth kiosks, Infrared ports, desktop computers, mobile phones, wireless routers and communication base stations.
Bluetooth Kiosk: Certain landmarks may have Bluetooth kiosks for interacting with the consumers and sharing information about the landmark over Bluetooth signals. For example, a shopping mall may have a Bluetooth kiosk for sharing information about the facilities present in the shopping mall with the customers.

Location Information: Location information is information about the geographical location of an entity. The information about the geographical location of an entity includes, but is not limited to, latitude and longitude coordinates, place names, area names, region names and position relative to at least an artifact, a landmark, a communication device and an event, corresponding to the entity.
Value Added Information (VAI): VAI is information about an entity other than the location information of the entity. Examples of VAI include, but are not limited to, menu of a restaurant, sale offer at a shop and timings of a grocery store.
Location Based Information (LBI): LSI comprises location information and value added Information about an entity wherein the entity Is selected based on the location of a communication device.
User: A user is a person using a communication device to communicate with another person having a communication device over the communication network.
Response Information: Response information Is information sent by a communication device in response to information received. The response information Includes, but is not limited to, location based information, feedback, answer and reply to the location based information sent to the user of the first communication device.
Behavior Information: Behavior information is information about the behavior of a user of a communication device. Example of behavior information includes, but is not limited to, Information about the user of the first communication device being fond of Italian food.
Location Based Service (LBS): LBS comprise providing location based information, location tracking, response information, location information and information about behavior information.
First Information: First information refers to any information sent by a communication device to a LBS provisioning system. Example of first information includes, but is not limited to, identification information, mode of communication, communication pattern, text, audio and video message, and the excerpts of communication between the communication device and at least one of the landmarks and communication devices. For example, a user of a communication device may send to the LBS provisioning system the name of landmark physically visible to him/her.

User Input: User input is first information about a first communication device sent by a user of the first communication device.
Information Stored in Database: Information stored in database comprises location information and location based information of communication devices, landmarks, artifacts and events in an area, categorization of communication devices and, behavior information of users of communication devices. Examples of events comprise a rock concert and a football match. The behavior information is categorized in the database based on types of artifacts and location of artifacts. Examples of types of artifacts comprise restaurant, shopping centre, guitar class and bar. The types of artifacts may be sub-categorized. Example of sub categories, include but are not limited to, Chinese restaurant, Italian restaurant and fast food restaurant.
[Para 1 ] Target communication device: Target communication device is a communication device that is targeted for providing behavior Information of another communication device. The target communication device may belong to at least a user and an artifact. The target communication device may be a communication device whose location is being tracked.
BACKGROUND
In recent years, mobile phones have become a very common means of communication. Mobility offered by the mobile phones is one of the main reasons for their increasing popularity. Mobility, however, has given rise to other requirements from users of mobile phones. Some of these requirements are location based, and thus require tracking location of mobile phone. Such other requirements include, for example, navigation service and Location Based Service (LBS). An example of LBS may be providing Location Based Information (LBI).
LBl may include information sent to a user on the basis of location. For example, LBi for a particular area may include the details about the restaurants in that particular area. Users of mobile phones and other mobile devices may benefit from receiving LBI. Further, since a user might be on the move while receiving such information, it may be beneficial if the information is sent to the user in a timely manner.
Service providers provide navigation service and LBS to users of mobile phones. Such services may require tracking of the location of the user of mobile

phone by the service provider. Information is then provided to the user of the mobile phone based on the tracked location.
Methods used for tracking location of mobile phones may include Global Positioning System (GPS), Assisted-GPS (AGPS), Angle of Arrival (ADA), Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA), triangulation techniques, etc. US patents6,321,092; WIPO application 2000/004730; US patent 7,433,682; US application 2008/0227463; US patent 7,433,682; and US application 2008/0214162 describe methods for tracking location and/or providing LBS to user's phone, and are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
Various limitations may prevent users from receiving LBS, in spite of access to a mobile phone or other mobile device. Limitations may involve the features present in the mobile phone as v\/ell as in the telecom infrastructure. For example, a user's phone might be located in a remote location or a building where GPS signals are not accessible. It is also possible that mobile phone is not in the vicinity of enough towers so as to enable location tracking through means such as triangulation. Furthermore there is also a possibility that a user's phone does not support GPS
It may be beneficial to provide LBS to a user while working within the limitations of the telecom infrastructure and user's phone. This may increase the consumer base of the service provider and also serve the needs of additional mobile phone users.
Furthermore, existing LBS providers may use information stored in database(s). These databases may be modified and updated from time to time by the service provider or even by the users of mobile phones in some cases. Therefore, information that has been sent to a user of mobile phone is not always current. Thus, users of mobile phones may benefit from an LBS system that provides the latest updated information.
SUMMARY
Various embodiments include methods and systems for providing location based services to a communication device in a communication network. According to various embodiments, the system comprises a LBS provisioning system, where the LBS provisioning system comprises a receiving module, a location information

processing module, a location based information processing module, a provisioning module and a database.
According to some embodiments, first information is received by the receiving module from a first communication device. Thereafter, and the first location information of the first communication device is determined based on the first information and location information stored in a database.
In another embodiment, based on the first location information, location based information is determined and sent to the first communication device. Further, the location based information of the first communication device is sent to a second communication device when the first communication device and the second communication devices are related. A response information may be further exchanged between the first and the second communication device.
According to some embodiments, location of a second communication device is tracked, and based on the tracked location history, a behavior information of a user of the second communication device is is provided to a target communication device. The target communication device is identified based on the behavior based category information. Further, response information is exchanged between the first communication device and the target communication device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting an exemplary operating environment, according to some embodiments;
FIG. 2 is a flow chart representing a method of tracking location of a communication device and updating a behavior information according to some embodiments;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram depicting a system for providing LBS to a communication device according to some embodiments;
FIG. 4 is a flow chart representing a method of providing location based service to a communication device according to some embodiments; and
FIG. 5 is a flow chart representing a method of providing behavior information and exchanging response information between two or more communication devices according to some embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments described herein. However, it will be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art, that various embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. Various aspects and features of example embodiments are described in detail hereinafter.
Various embodiments include methods and systems for providing location based service to a communication device in a communication network.
Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting an exemplary operating environment, according to some embodiments.
The environment comprises communication network 100 and LBS provisioning system 102. The environment of the invention further comprises communication devices CD-I 106, CD-2 108, ... and CD-N 110, landmarks Landmark-1 112, Landmark-2 114, ... and Landmark-N 1.16, and artifacts Artifact-1 118, Artifact-2 120, ... and Artifact 122 in an area.
In some embodiments, the area may be a geographical region representing a town, city, village, state, province, etc. according to political map of a country. According to some other embodiments, the area may be a geographical region around a communication device. According to some embodiments, the area may be a geographical region representing a cellular telecom circle map of a country.
Communication network 104 is capable of receiving and sending information to each of the communication device(s), landmark(s) and artifacts. Each of the communication device(s) and. landmark(s) is connected to LBS provisioning system 102 via communication network 104.
CD-1 106, CD-2 108, ... CD-N 110 may include electronic devices capable of at least transmitting and receiving signals in order to facilitate communication with other communication device(s), landmark(s) and artifact(s) by establishing connection through at least a communication network. In various embodiments, the communication devices, CD-1 106, CD-2 108, ... CD-N 110, are electronic devices that are capable of receiving and transmitting radio signals, e.g., signals of frequency ranging from 3 Hz to 300 GHz. In various embodiments, the communication devices may transmit other electromagnetic signals or other signals, e.g., acoustic signals.

Further, the communication devices, CD-1 106, CD-2 108, ... CD-N 110, may be electronic devices that are capable of operating a software application. Examples of the software applications include, but are not limited to, Trackut on Mobile, Linux, OS/2, Macintosh and Windows. The software applications may be written in J2ME, Symbian, C, C++ and the like.
Landmark-1 112, Landmark-2 114, ... and Landmark-N 116 may include electronic devices capable of broadcasting information about themselves that is identifiable to communication devices. Examples of landmarks include, but are not limited to, telecommunication network towers, Bluetooth kiosks. Infrared ports, desktop computers, mobile phones, wireless routers and communication base stations. A typical landmark could be a Bluetooth kiosk in a shopping Mall. Such a landmark may communicate with communication devices of users in the shopping mall and may broadcast certain information about the utilities present in the shopping mall. In various embodiments, landmarks Landmark-1 112, Landmark-2 114, ... and Landmark-N 116 are electronic devices that are capable of receiving and transmitting radio signals of frequency belonging to radio frequency spectrum. In various embodiments, Landmark-1 112, Landmark-2 114 ... and Landmark-N 116 may transmit other electromagnetic signals, or other signals.
Artifact is an entity whose location information is stored in the database. According to some embodiments of the invention, artifacts are prominent locations and places whose location information is pre-stored in the database. Examples of artifacts include, but not limited to, Bengaluru International Airport, The Bull Temple Bangalore, Palika Bazaar Delhi and Silk Board Bangalore. According to some embodiments of the invention, Artifacts Artifact-1 118, Artifact-2 120, ... and Artifact 122 may host landmarks and therefore may include electronic devices capable of broadcasting information about themselves that is identifiable to communication devices and capable of receiving radio signals. Examples of artifacts include, but are not limited to, telecommunication network towers, Bluetooth kiosks. Infrared ports, desktop computers, mobile phones, wireless routers and communication base stations. Artifacts could be, but not limited to, communication devices owned by a restaurant which is capable of providing menu, discount and offers available with the restaurant to the LBS provisioning system.
The communication devices, CD-I 106, CD-2 108, ... CD-N 110, the landmarks, Landmark-1 112, Landmark-2 114, ... and Landmark-N 116, and the

artifacts, Artifact-1 118, Artifact-2 120, ... and Artifact 122 may be associated with some location information. Location information for an entity (a communication device, a landmark, or an artifact) may include, without limitation, latitude and longitude coordinates, place names, area names, region names. As an example, a landmark may be 'Forum Mall' (Forum mall may be having a Bluetooth Kiosk for broadcasting information) in Koramanagala, Bangalore, India. Location information for this landmark may include latitude/longitude of forum mall (and the Bluetooth Kiosk located within). Location information may also include place names like 'Koramanagala'.
Location information for an entity may also include relative position of that entity with respect to an artifact, a landmark, a communication device and/or an event. In the above mentioned example, another landmark 'Pizza Hut' may be close to the landmark 'Forum mall'. Thus the location information of 'Forum mall' may include the relative position of the mall with respect to 'Pizza Hut'. Examples of artifacts include a restaurant, a shopping centre, a guitar class, a bar, and an event. Examples of events include a rock concert and a football match. As an example, if a rock concert is scheduled near Forum mall, the location information of forum mall may include the relative position of the forum mall with respect to the rock concert.
LBS provisioning system 102 may update/change the location information of various entities stored in the database based on the first information it receives from communication devices/landmarks. The change in location information of an entity is not necessarily based on change in physical location of that entity. As an example, if a rock concert is scheduled near Forum Mall, the location information of forum mall may be updated with the relative position of the Mall with respect to the concert (the absolute position of the Mall is the same). In another example, if a communication device moves from one place to another, the location information of that communication device may be changed to include the new place name, new place latitude/longitude etc.
LBS provisioning system 102 may receive first information from various communication devices and landmarks. After receiving such information, LBS provisioning system 102 processes the first information to determine the location information and then may change/update the location information of the communication device/landmark from which the first information is received. Additionally, LBS provisioning system 102 may also use the new location information

of the communication device/landmarlc to update/cliange the location information of other communication devices/landmarl^s. For example, a communication device may come in the vicinity of the forum mall and the communication device may send its location information to the LBS provisioning system 102. LBS provisioning system 102 may not only change the location information of the communication device but also update the location information of the Forum mall with the information that this particular communication device is in the vicinity. Thus the location information of all entities is related to each other and a change in the location information of one entity may cause a change in the location information of other entities. First information is discussed in detail in conjunction with FIG. 2.
Location information for all entities is stored in Database. Initially, the database may comprise absolute/relative location information of only some of the entities. However, as more information is received, from communication devices or landmarks, the system builds up a knowledge base with location information of a large number of landmarks and communication devices. Such process will be clearer in discussion of subsequent drawings.
The number of communication devices, landmarks and artifacts shown in FIG. 1 are only representative and their actual numbers and positions may vary in accordance with various embodiments.
FIG. 2 is a flow chart representing a method of tracking location of a communication device and updaiting behavior information according to some embodiments.
At step 200, first information is received by LBS provisioning system 102 from CD-I 106 via communication network 100.
In various embodiments, CD-1 106 may actively relay first information to the LBS provisioning system 102. First information may include communication behavior between CD-I 106 and one or more landmarks and communication devices. For example, CD-I 106 may receive a communication from a landmark, in which the communication contains identifying information of the landmark. CD-I 106 may then re-transmit or relay a portion of the communication onto the LBS provisioning system. In this way, the LBS provisioning system 102 may be provided with information that can be used to determine the location of CD-I 106. As an example, CD-1 106 may be near Forum Mall and may receive signals from a Bluetooth kiosk located in Forum Mall. The communication behavior - mode of

communication (Bluetooth) with this landmarl< and the corresponding signals strength received - may be transferred to LBS provisioning system 102 by CD-1 106. The LBS provision system 102 may use this information to infer the location of CD-1 106 (e.g., it may be inferred that CD-1 is within a certain distance of the landmark Forum Mall). The communication behavior may also include excerpts of communication, communication patterns and mode of communication between CD-I 106, and one or more landmarks and communication devices.
In various embodiments, CD-1 106 may passively or unintentionally provide first information to the LBS provisioning system 102. For example, a user of CD-I 106 may send a text message to a friend saying, "I am at Logan Airport". LBS provisioning system 102 may gain access to the text message and may thereby determine that location of CD-I 106 as Logan Airport. In some embodiments, a user may be required to provide permission beforehand in order that information may be passively derived from the user's communication device.
In some embodiments, the communication device may comprise an onboard device. The onboard device may realize a first information that may be sent to LBS provisioning system 102 by the communication device. For example, a gyroscope device may be the onboard device and variants of gyroscope, for example, gyrostat and gyroscope compasses may be used. The gyroscope device may realize a first information comprising navigation information about CD-I 106. The navigation information is sent to LBS provisioning system 102 by CD-1 106 via communication network 100. For example, CD-I 106, moving in a vehicle, encounters three consecutive speed-breakers on a road. The navigation information of CD-I 106 in this case includes information about change in the orientation, the velocity and the acceleration of the vehicle carrying CD-I 106 due to movement of the vehicle while crossing the speed-breakers.
The first information received is processed at step 202 by LBS provisioning system 102 to determine and update/change the first location information of CD-1 106 and the other location information stored in LBS provisioning system 102. The first location information is related to the geographical location of the first communlcafion device, CD-I 106.
As an example, the first information received by LBS provisioning system 102 could be the signal strength that CD-I 106 received from the Bluetooth Kiosk in Forum Mall. Using this first information and the location information of Forum Mall

stored in database, location information of CD-1 106 is identified. For example, if latitude/longitude of forum mall is included in location information of forum mall, then the Bluetooth signal strength may indicate the approximate latitude/longitude of CD-I 106. The location information then comprises this approximate latitude/longitude of CD-I 106. However, if the location information of Forum Mall does not contain latitude/longitude and only contains the name 'Forum Mall', then the location information of CD-I 106 will only comprise the fact the CD-I 106 is in 'Forum Mall' (unless more information from other landmarks/communication devices is obtained as will be illustrated by subsequent examples).
In some embodiments, a first information about CD-I 106 received by LBS provisioning system 102 could be realized by an onboard device. For example, the navigation information may be realized by gyroscope in CD-I 106 and sent to LBS provisioning system 102 as the first information by CD-1 106. The navigation information may comprise a unique pattern which independently or combined with previous location information may provide with location information of CD-I 106. For example, CD-1 106, moving in a vehicle, encounters three consecutive speed-breakers on a road which creates a navigation pattern based on velocity and acceleration of a vehicle that is unique to the city of Bangalore. The information stored in LBS provisioning system 102 may include location information about the navigation pattern that is unique to the city of Bangalore based on the velocity and acceleration of the vehicles. Thus, the location information of CD-I 106 may be obtained using the first information and the location information stored in LBS provisioning system 102.
The information stored in LBS provisioning system 102 may include, without limitation, location information and location based information of communication devices, landmarks, artifacts and events.
Further, at step 202, the location information of CD-I is also used to determine behavior information of CD-I 106. Communication devices are categorized based on the tracked location into different categories. A single communication device may happen to be in multiple categories. Further, the categories in which a communication device belongs represent the behavior information of the user of the communication device. An example of behavior information could be, but not limited to, a user belonging to the category of 'Baseball Lover' where the user of the communication device visits baseball stadium

frequently. A further example of behavior information could be a user belonging to the category of 'Baseball Lover', 'Italian Foodie', where the user who loves baseball also visits Italian food joints regularly.
At step 204, the first location information of CD-1 106 identified at step 202 is stored in LBS provisioning system 102. If the location information for CD-I already exists then the first location information is used to update/change the existing location information.
At step 206, the first location information is related to one or more location information stored in LBS provisioning system 102. In LBS provisioning system database, the location information of one entity is related to the location information of other entities. This implies that upon receiving an indication of a change in the location information of any entity, an attempt is done by the system to update the location information of other entities in light of the change. At step 208, a change in the location information of one or more landmarks, artifacts or communication devices is received by the LBS provisioning system 102 via communication network 100. The change is received in the form of first information. The change could be in location information of CD-I or in the location information of any other entity. The change could be obtained from any communication device or from any landmark.
As an example, another communication device CD-2 108, along with CD-I 106, may be interacting with the Bluetooth Kiosk of Forum Mall. CD-2 108 may be equipped with GPS and thus the location information of CD-2 108 may include the latitude/longitude of CD-2 108. In the above stated example, the location information of Forum Mall may not contain the latitude/longitude information. However, the location information of CD-2 108 (which includes latitude/longitude of CD-2 108) and the fact that CD-2 108 is interacting with Bluetooth Kiosk of Forum mall may also be used to approximately measure the latitude/longitude of Forum Mall. The location information of Forum Mall may be then updated by including the approximate latitude/longitude of forum mall. This updating reflects a change in the location information of a landmark - in this case, the Forum Mall.
At step 210, the location information CD-I 106 is re-determined by LBS provisioning system 102 based on the latest first information and the change in the location information of the one or more landmarks or communication devices at step 208. In the above mentioned example, if there is no change in the first information of CD-I 106 (that CD-I 106 is still interacting with Bluetooth Kiosk of Forum Mall) the

approximate latitude/longitude of CD-1 106 is determined using the latest location information of Forum Mall (which includes its latitude/longitude). The location information of CD-1 106 is then updated.
In another example, Joe Smith owns a cell phone (CD-I), and Linda Brown owns a cell phone (CD-2). Joe's cell phone CD-1 detects the Bluetooth signature of Linda's cell phone (CD-2), and transmits the signature to LBS provisioning system 102. LBS provisioning system 102 already has information about the location of Linda's cell phone (CD-2). Therefore, based on the. location of Linda's cell phone and the implied proximity of Joe's cell phone (CD-1), the LBS provisioning system infers the location of Joe's cell phone (CD-I). Then Linda moves to a new location. The LBS provisioning system receives a signal (first information) from Linda's cell phone (CD-2) providing the system with information it can use to determine the new location of Linda's cell phone (CD-2). Then Joe again moves to a location nearer Linda, and his cell phone (CD-I) again picks up the Bluetooth signature of Linda's cell phone (CD-2). Joe's cell phone (CD-I) again transmits the signature to the LBS provisioning system. Now, since the LBS provisioning system has already determined location information for Linda's cell phone (CD-2), the LBS provisioning system can again infer the new location for Joe's cell phone (CD-I) based on its proximity to Linda's cell phone.
At step 212, the first location information of CD-1 106 determined at step 210 is updated. Updating the first location information includes, without limitation, storing the first location information in database 308, associating and relating the first location information to the location information stored in the database. Further, the behavior information of CD-I 106 is also updated.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram depicting a system 102 for providing LBS to a communication device according to some embodiments.
According to some embodiments, the location based service providing system is LBS provisioning system 102. LBS provisioning system 102 comprises receiving module 300, location information processing module 302, location based information processing module 304, provisioning module 306 and database 308. Receiving module 300, location information processing module 302, location based information processing module 304, provisioning module 306 and database 308 are interconnected to exchange information with each other. Receiving module 300 and provisioning module 306 are capable of exchanging information with communication

devices CD-1 106, CD-2 108, ... CD-N 110 , landmarks Landmark-1 112, Landmark-2 114, ... and Landmark-N 116 and artifacts Artifact-1 118, Artifact 120...Artifact-N 122 via the communication network 100.
Receiving module 300 is capable of receiving radio signals, whereby the radio signals may comprise a first information, a location information, a location based information, a behavior information and a response information .Response information is information sent by a communication device in response to information received. The response information includes, but is not limited to, location based information, feedback, answer and reply to the location based information sent to the user of the first communication device. Example of receiving module 300 comprises a receiver, whereby the receiver comprises an antenna for receiving the radio signals, a demodulator for demodulating the radio signals and a signal processor for sending the radio signals to at least location information processing module 302 and location based information processing module 304.
Location information processing module 302 is capable of determining location information of CD-1 106. For example, the module 302 may identify the latitude/longitude of the geographical location of CD-I 106, i.e. 21° 9' N 79° 7' E.
In some embodiments, location information processing module 302 may determine location information of communication device CD-I 106 based on the first information received from communication device CD-I 106. For example, a GPS equipped mobile phone may send its latitude/longitude to LBS provisioning system 102. Using this first information, location information processing module 302 may update the location information of CD-I 106 by including the latitude/longitude.
In some embodiments location information of CD-I 106 may be determined
based on first information received from CD-I 106 and the location information (of
various entities, including CD-I 106) stored in database 308. For example, the first '
information of CD-I 106 may include the interaction of CD-I 106 with the Bluetooth kiosk in Forum Mall and the signal strength received. Also the location information of this Bluetooth kiosk in Forum Mall in the database may include latitude/longitude of Forum Mall. Based on this, the approximate distance of CD-I 106 from Forum Mall may be determined. For example, the location of CD-I may be determined to be 100 meters North from Forum Mall.
In some embodiments, the location information processing module 302 may determine location information of CD-I 106 based on the first information received

from another communication device CD-2 108 and the location information stored in database 308.
An exemplary database table used by the location information processing module 302 for determining the location information of CD-1 106 and others is given below:
Table 1:
Commu- First Information
Location nicatlon
_ . First Information \ Information
^®v'ce Communication Pattern
Type
User Input: 'I can see
Infinity Tower' McDonald's,
Media Forum Mall,
CD.1 '""""''"'''■ Access signal: 10dB '<°'^™"aal
Bluetooth Kiosk /^„„t,«i a
106 ^°"*'°' '
/t^n/s.n\- Bangalore
Landmark 2 114: Transmitti
Fluorescent Light L1 ng ID:
,«...-.■ Mobile Mobile Signal
Landmark 3: Mobile
Switching Country Code 20dB Tower;
Center (MCC): 91
Landmark 4: Identificati Induction: 1
Electricity Pole on (Id): XI mH
CD. 2 Landmark 5: Z^ Coordinates
108 Temperature ^ 12.934576.
Landmark 6: Wi-Fi Authentication Type: 77.611266
Tower '^'^^ = ^PA; Secondar
. Channel: 11 ^
I -/ I -T lAi- c- Authentication Type:
Landmark 7: Wi-Fi
ld:X3 :WPA; Primary;
Tower
Channel: 6 Signal:Id
CD - 3 Landmark 8: RFID ^^^^"^"^^ Signal: 20dB Landmark Q,
\ |:0.1 MHz I I [Landmark 9,

\ Landmark 9: XRay I I \ I
Scanner
Landmark 10: GPS ^^^'^^'^^^ '-^"Q'*"^^^
I |12°58'13" |77°33'37"E | \
In the above example, the first information comprises user input, where the user is physically able to see a prominent location 'Infinity Tower', and information about landmarks, Landmark-1 112 and Landmark-2 114, detected by CD-I 106. CD-1 106 detects Landmark-1 112, a Bluetooth kiosk, with a signal strength of 10 dB and MAC 10:10:10:12, and Landmark-2 114, a Fluorescent Light LI, with transmitting ID 124321. Based on the first information and the location information of 'Infinity Tower', Landmark-1 112 and Landmark-2 114 stored in database 308, location information processing module 302 determines location of CD-I 106 as McDonald's, Forum Mall, Koramangala, Bangalore. To determine the location of CD-1 106, location Information processing module 302 applies, for example, fuzzy logic on the first information and the location information stored in database 308.
Location information processing module 302 is further capable of categorizing and identifying a target communication device based on the categorization. An example of categorization for communication devices which belong to artifacts may include, but not limited to, food joints, shopping malls, club houses, movie theaters etc. A further example of categorization for communication devices belonging to users may include, but not limited to foodie, shopping lovers, movie fan etc. The ability of location information processing module 302 to categorize a communication device will be described in detail in conjunction with FIG 5. A target communication device may include a communication device belonging to a user and/or it may include an artifact. The location information processing module 302 may comprise one or more computer processing units, one or more microprocessors and one or more graphics processing units. For example a location information processing module 302 may comprise an Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor E5200.
As described herein, location information processing module 302 may be capable of categorizing communication devices based on a categorization scheme. The categorization scheme may be used to categorize communication devices, landmarks or artifacts according to how they are used, and/or according to the user to which they belong. User inputs into the communications devices may be

interpreted by module 302 and used to place the communications devices into such categories. The communication devices may belong to one or more artifacts. An exemplary use of the categorization scheme would place mobile phone (e.g., CD-1 106) belonging to an Italian restaurant (e.g., to Artifact-1 120), under a category of Italian restaurants based on an input from CD-I 106, where the input is a request for information about people who like Italian food. Another exemplary use of the categorization scheme would place a laptop (e.g., CD-N), under a category of salsa dance based on input from a user of the laptop, where the user input is a search query for a partner for learning salsa dancing. In the above two examples, communication devices CD-1 106 and CD-N 110 seeking information, respectively, on Italian restaurants and salsa dance, would be target communication devices. The target communication devices in the above examples would be provided with relevant information based on the the respective categories into which the devices were placed using the categorization scheme.
According to the categorization scheme, a communication device is placed into one or more categories based on the location of the communication device.
Location based information processing module 304 is capable of selectively retrieving location information, behavior information of CD-I 106 and retrieving location based information from database 308. Behavior information may include, for example, information that the user of a PDA is fond of Italian food. The location based information processing module 304 may comprise a computer processing unit, a microprocessor and a graphics processing unit. Example of selective retrieval of location based information for CD-I 106 may include, but not limited to, retrieving names of the food joints within 200 m radius of CD-I 106. Location based information processing module 304 may be, but not limited to, an Intel® Core™ 17-940 processor.
Location based information processing module 304 is further capable of identifying a target communication device for sending location information, LBI and behavior information. An example of the target communication device is the mobile phone belonging to the Italian restaurant to which the behavior information of the user of the PDA is sent. An example of LBI includes, but is not limited to, information about movies playing in a cinema hall based on the first location information of CD-I 106.

According to some embodiments, location based information processing module 304 is configured to enable exchange of information between communication devices. Example of exchange of information between communication devices may be, but not limiting to, a user of a communication device querying the menu from an artifact, the artifact responding to the query by providing the menu and the user further placing an order for a specific item from the menu.
According to some embodiments, location based information processing module 304 is capable of performing spatial, textual and mathematical operations on at least the first information and one or more items of information stored in database 308 to determine without limitation one or more of the location information, the location based information, the response information, the behavior information, the target communication device and the location based service.
An exemplary database table used by the location based information processing module 304 for determining the location based information to be sent to CD-1 106 and others is given below:
Table 2:
Commu-1 ^ I I 1
Location Behavior Location Based
nicatlon Vicinity
Information Information Information
Device
1. One 600ml coke free
on purchase of one
family meal at KFC,
Forum Mall,
McDonald's, Koramangala,
Forum Mall, Radius less Bangalore
CD-1 106 Koramangal Unknown than 100 2. Buy any large pizza
a, meters at the price of medium
Bangalore pizza at Pizza Corner,
Money Centre, 0pp.
Forum Mall,
Koramangala,
Bangalore

1. AeroFitness Salsa Passion
Class, M.G. Road,
Salsa Class, Radius less
Dance lover; Bangalore
CD-2 108 Indira than 3
Music lover 2. Music&Lyrics Guitar
Nagar, kilometers
Class, Brigade Road, Bangalore
Bangalore
In the above example, the location information of CD-1 106 is McDonald's, Forum Mall, Koramangala, Bangalore. Further, the behavior information of the user of CD-I 106 is not yet known while the user has a defined vicinity of 100 m radius. Vicinity of a communication device is the area around the communication device, with communication device at the center of the area, having a predefined radius. According to some embodiments of the invention, the predefined radius may be user defined. According to some embodiments of the invention, only information about communication devices, landmarks and artifacts lying in the vicinity of CD-1 106 is provided as LBI to CD-I 106,
Location based information processing module 304 takes the location information, behavior information and vicinity as input and applies, for example, fuzzy logic to determine the location based information for CD-I 106.
Provisioning module 306 is capable of transmitting radio signals, whereby the radio signals may comprise the location information, the location based information, the response information and the behavior information to the target communication device. An example of provisioning module 306 comprises a transmitter, whereby the transmitter comprises a signal processor for receiving the radio signals from at least location information processing module 302 and location based information processing module 304, a modulator for modulating the radio signals and an antenna for transmitting the radio signals.
Database 308 is an electronic device for storing information used in various embodiments. Examples of database 308 include, but are not limited to, disk drive, flash memory, random access memory (RAM) and magnetic disk. For example database 308 may be a model number HD153UI hard disk manufactured by Samsung®.

According to some embodiments, database 308 comprises a storage application for storing information in database 308 and a retrieval application for retrieving information stored in database 308. PostgreSQL is one exemplary application for storage and retrieval, though it will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that information could be stored in and retrieved from database 308 using various other methods according to various embodiments.
According to some embodiments, database 308 comprises an indexing application for indexing and hashing of the information stored in database 308. Apache Lucene is an exemplary such application, though It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that information could be indexed in database 308 in various other ways according to various embodiments.
The information stored in database 308 is comprised of stored information which is received from at least location information processing module 302 and location based information processing module 304. The information stored in database 308 could be stored as textual data, vector data, spatial data and the like. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that information stored in database 308 may be stored in various other forms according to various embodiments. Provided below is an exemplary table stored in the database 308.
There could be numerous modifications possible In the layout of the database table without departing from the scope of the invention.
The information stored in database 308 comprises location information and location based information of communication devices, CD-1 106, CD-2 108, CD-N 110, the landmarks, Landmark-1112, Landmark-2 114 and Landmark-N 116, the artifacts, Artifact-1 118, Artifact-2 120 and Artifact-N 122 and the events. The location information stored in database 308 may further include latitude and longitude coordinates, place names, area names, region names and position relative to one or more of a communication device, CD-I 106, a landmark, Landmark-1 112, an artifact, Artifact-1 118, and an event. Examples of events comprise a rock concert and a football match. The information stored in database 308 may further include behavior information of users of communication devices. The behavior information may be categorized in database 308 based on types of artifacts and location of artifacts. Examples of types of artifacts include, without limitation, restaurants, shopping centres, guitar classes and bars. The type of artifacts may have further sub-categories. Examples of sub-categories, include, without limitation, Chinese

restaurants, Italian restaurants and fast food restaurants. In some embodiments, database 308 may also store the categories of a communication device according to the categorization scheme.
FIG. 4 is a flow chart representing a method of providing LBS to a communication device according to various embodiments.
According to some embodiments, the method of providing LBS to a first communication device CD-1 106 based on the tracked location of CD-1 106 is described. At step 400, the first location information of CD-I 106 is retrieved from the database 308.
At step 402, a location based information is determined based on the first location information retrieved from the database, by location based information processing module 304. For example, first location information of CD-I 106 may include the detail that CD-I 106 is in Forum Mall. Location based information processing module 304 may then retrieve details lil