Location-based services platform

Abstract

A platform for providing location-based services is disclosed. A location data collection client running on a mobile device periodically obtains data allowing determination of the geographic location of the mobile device (e.g., GPS, cell tower, or WiFi data) and transmits that data and mobile device-specific information to a location-based services (LBS) platform server. The LBS platform server determines geographic location of the mobile device from the received data. For example, the LBS platform server accesses databases associating latitude and longitude coordinates with cell tower data or WiFi data and updates mobile device location to maintain current location information for the mobile device, which can be used as a proxy for the location of a mobile device user. The LBS platform server further includes a set of APIs allowing third-party services providers to access to the location data.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for providing location-based services at a location-based services (LBS) platform server, the method comprising:
 receiving location data and a device identifier from a mobile device associated with a user of a third-party service provider, the location data related to a current location of the mobile device;   receiving a provider identifier and user specific data from the third-party service provider, the provider identifier uniquely identifying the third-party service provider, and the user-specific data uniquely identifying the user of the third-party service provider;   accessing a device-provider association table to map the received provider identifier and the received user-specific data to the device identifier of the mobile device associated with the user of the third-party service provider; and   providing location information to the third-party service provider, the location information describing a location of the mobile device.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining the location information based on the location data received from the mobile device. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the location data received from the mobile device comprises at least one of:
 latitude and longitude coordinates for a current location of the mobile device;   an identifier for a wireless access point accessed by the mobile device; and   an identifier for a cell tower accessed by the mobile device; and   wherein the location information provided to the third-party service provider includes at least one of a street address, a city, a zip code, and a country.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the device-provider association table associates the device identifier with the provider identifier, and further associates the device identifier with the user-specific data. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the device-provider association table further associates the device identifier with permissions specifying restrictions on the location information that is provided to the third-party service provider. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein providing location information to the third-party service provider comprises:
 sending the location information to the third-party service provider responsive to receiving the location data from the mobile device.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein providing location information to the third-party service provider comprises:
 receiving one or more parameters from the third-party service provider, the parameters specifying one or more conditions relating to the location of the mobile device; and   determining whether the location information of the mobile device satisfies the received parameters; and   sending the location information to the third-party service provider responsive to determining that the received parameters have been satisfied.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the received parameters are satisfied when the location information indicates that the mobile device is within a predefined radius of an entity. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the received parameters are satisfied when the location information changes at more than a predefined rate. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 storing the location information in a location database, the location information stored in association with the device identifier,   and wherein providing location information to the third-party service provider comprises:
 receiving a request from the third-party service provider for the location of the user of the third-party service provider; and 
 sending the location information to the third-party service provider responsive to receiving the request. 
   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 identifying, to the third-party service provider, other mobile devices within a specified radius of the location of the mobile device.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 sending a timestamp to the third-party service provider, the timestamp specifying when the location information was determined.   
     
     
         13 . A location-based services (LBS) platform server, the LBS platform server comprising:
 a location calculator configured to determine location information of a mobile device in communication with the LBS platform server using location data received from the mobile device;   a device-provider association table configured to:
 receive, from a third-party service provider, a provider identifier uniquely identifying the third-party service provider and user-specific data uniquely identifying a user of the third-party service provider, and 
 map the received provider identifier and the received user-specific data to a device identifier of a mobile device associated with the user of the third-party service provider; and 
   a third-party services server configured to receive a device identifier from the device-provider association table and provide the location information of the mobile device associated with the received device identifier to the third-party service provider.   
     
     
         14 . The LBS platform server of  claim 13 , wherein the location information provided to the third-party service provider is the same as the location data received from the mobile device associated with the user of the third-party service provider. 
     
     
         15 . The LBS platform of  claim 13 , wherein the location data received from the mobile device comprises at least one of:
 latitude and longitude coordinates for a current location of the mobile device,   an identifier for a wireless access point accessed by the mobile device, and   an identifier for a cell tower accessed by the mobile device, and   wherein the location information provided to the third-party service provider includes at least one of a street address, a city, a zip code, and a country.   
     
     
         16 . The LBS platform server of  claim 13 , wherein the device-provider association table associates each device identifier with a provider identifier, and further associates each device identifier with user-specific data. 
     
     
         17 . The LBS platform server of  claim 13 , wherein the device-provider association table further associates each device identifier with permissions specifying restrictions on the location information of the corresponding mobile device that is provided to the third-party service provider. 
     
     
         18 . The LBS platform server of  claim 13 , wherein providing the determined location of the mobile device to the third-party service provider comprises:
 sending the location information to the third-party service provider responsive to determining the location information of the mobile device.   
     
     
         19 . The LBS platform server of  claim 13 , wherein providing the determined data of the mobile device to the third-party service provider comprises:
 receiving one or more parameters from the third-party service provider, the parameters specifying one or more conditions relating to the location of the mobile device; and   responsive to determining the location information of the mobile device, determining whether the location information satisfies the received parameters; and   sending the location information to the third-party service provider responsive to determining that the received parameters have been satisfied.   
     
     
         20 . The LBS platform server of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 a location database containing the location information determined by the location calculator for each mobile device, each determined location information associated with a device identifier for the corresponding mobile device,   wherein providing the determined location of the mobile device associated the received device identifier to the third-party service provider comprises:
 receiving a request for the location of the user of the third-party service provider; 
 responsive to receiving the request, retrieving, from the location database, the location information associated with the received device identifier; 
 sending the retrieved location information to the third-party service provider.