FI20245812A1 - Context-dependent transmission of data content to a receiving application - Google Patents

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for context-dependent transmission of content is disclosed, the method comprising: obtaining content to be transmitted to a receiving application running on a mobile device, determining a context dependency for the content, where the context dependency comprises requirements related to at least location and time, and transmitting the content to the receiving application if the requirements are met, determining that the receiving application meets the requirement for location such that the mobile device is located at the location, determining that the current time corresponds to the requirement related to time, and transmitting the content to the receiving application.

Description

CONTEXT-DEPENDENT TRANSMISSION OF DATA CONTENT TO A RECEIVING

APPLICATION FIELD

The exemplary embodiments discussed in the present disclosure relate to transmitting content to a receiving application and imposing restrictions regarding transmission of the content.

BACKGROUND

Content providers may provide their content to viewers in many different manners. For example, broadcasting, such as TV or radio broadcasting, provides content to receiving devices in the area that is within the coverage of the broadcasting. Such receiving devices are usually stationary and may be designed for receiving the content. Additionally, or alternatively, content may also be provided using for example streaming. Then a receiving device, which may also be a mobile device, may run an application that is configured to stream the content fromthe service ata time that is most convenient to the user of the receiving device.

Such streaming may therefore be considered to be time, and optionally also, location independent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

The scope of protection sought for various embodiments is defined by theindependent claims. Dependent claims define further embodiments included in the scope of protection. Exemplary embodiments, if any, that do not fall into any scope of protection defined in the claims, are to be considered as examples useful for understanding the scope of protection.

N According to a first aspect there is provided a computer-implemented

N 25 method for context-dependent transmission of content, the method comprising:

O obtaining content that is to be transmitted to a receiving application run by a 0 mobile device, determining the context-dependence for the content, wherein the

I context-dependence comprises requirements regarding at least a location and - time, and the content is transmitted if the requirements are met, determining that = 30 — the receiving application meets the requirement of the location by the mobile 2 device being located within the location, determining that current time

O corresponds to the reguirement regarding the time, and transmitting the content to the receiving application.

According to a second aspect there is provided a computing system comprising means for performing the computer-implemented method of the first aspect.

In some examples according to the second aspect, the means comprises at least one processor, and at least one memory including computer program code which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the performance of the computing device.

According to a third aspect there is provided a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed by a computing system, cause the computing device to perform a computer-implemented method according to the first aspect.

According to a fourth aspect there is provided a non-volatile computer- readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon which, when executed on a computing system, cause the computing system to perform a computer-implemented method according to the first aspect.

According to a fifth aspect there is provided a system and receiving application run by a mobile device, and a service run by a computing system, wherein the service is configured to perform context-dependent transmission of a content to the receiving application, wherein the context-dependence comprises requirements regarding at least a location and time, and the content is transmitted if the requirements are met, the system being configured to: determine, by the receiving application to the service, the location of the mobile device, indicate, by the receiving application to the service, the determined location of the mobile device, determine, by the service, that the receiving application meets the requirement of the location by the mobile device being located within the location, determine, by the service, that current time corresponds to the requirement < regarding the time, and transmit, by the service to the receiving application, the

N content.

N

S

& BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

E 30 Some of the exemplary embodiments are discussed with reference to

N the figures in which: 0 FIG. 1A and 1B illustrate exemplary embodiments of context-dependent 3 transmission of data content.

N FIG. 1C illustrates an example of different levels of location affecting the data content.

FIG. 2A, 2B, and 2C illustrate exemplary embodiments of context- dependent transmission of data content comprising at least one augmented reality element.

FIG. 3 illustrates a signalling chart according to an exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a computing device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Broadcasting is an example of a transmission. Broadcasting transmits — content that may be understood as data content, to all receiving devices that are within the coverage area of the broadcasting, and which have been configured to receive the broadcasting. For example, radio and television broadcastings are widely used. When broadcasting, the content is transmitted at a certain time and the content is transmitted for its duration, which may equal to the duration of rendering the whole content, such as a song or a video, without necessarily allowing forwarding or rewinding the content. Thus, the content may be considered to be transmitted in terms of time limitations imposed on it. Such broadcasting is useful for example when broadcasting live events, such as concerts, debates or sports games.

Streaming is another example of transmission of content that may be understood as data content. Streaming may be implemented using any suitable data connectivity allowing the data packets to be transmitted. For example, connectivity allowing Internet-connectivity may be used for streaming. When streaming, the transmission of the content may be initiated by the receiving application, which is an application that may be run by a mobile device, at the time

N chosen by the receiving device. Optionally, the content may also be forwarded,

N rewound and/or paused and the user may also come back to the content later on <Q as well. Thus, the limitations of broadcasting may not be applicable to streaming.

Q Yet, the streaming may be isolated as the users do not share the same time and/or

E 30 location to consume the content in a synchronous manner. This may lead to

N reduced user experience. 0 Figure 1A illustrates an exemplary embodiment in which the

S broadcasting is done in a selective manner, such that the selective broadcasting

N may also be considered as a context-dependent transmission of data content that may be referred to as content. The selective broadcasting may utilize packet data -

based transmission using any suitable connectivity means, such as Wi-Fi, and thereby a connection to the Internet, or cellular network -based connectivity. The transmission may be received using an application, that is a receiving application run by a receiving device, that may be computing device such as a mobile device.

There may be a specific location defined in which the selective broadcasting may be obtained by one or more receiving applications. Such location may be smaller in terms of geographical area than what a normal broadcasting, that is not necessarily packet data -based transmission, would cover. Thus, there are restrictions in terms of location and time, which may be understood as the context for the transmission, thatdefines the selectiveness of the broadcasting of the content from a service, that may be run using a server, to the one or more receiving applications.

In this exemplary embodiment, as mentioned above, the limitations are regarding geographical location, which may also be referred to as location, and regarding time. For example, the location 110 is a limitation with respect to receiving content 125. The content may be received to a receiving application, that in this example is run by a mobile device 120, that may be a computing system comprising one or more computing devices. Examples of a mobile device include a mobile phone, a tablet computer, and a laptop computer. Yet, it is to be noted that other examples of a mobile device include a wearable device, such as a watch or a ring, a chip that may be installed under skin for example, a vehicle such as a car or a motorcycle, and so on. The application may be configured to receive and render the content 125 using the hardware and/or software resources that are comprised in the mobile device 120, or to which the mobile device 120 is connected to.

In this exemplary embodiment, the location 110 defines the limitation, — which is part of the context for the transmission, with respect to receiving the < content 125 using a radius that defines the area 115 around the location 110. Thus,

N in order to fulfil the reguirement defined by the location 110, in other words the

N limitation with respect to the location 110, for receiving the content 125, the ? mobile device 120, and thereby the receiving application, is to be located within

N 30 the area 115 that is defined using a pre-determined radius starting from the

E location 110. For example, in order to receive the content 125, the mobile device

N needs to be moved to a location that is within the area 115. 0 In this exemplary embodiment, there are also limitations with respect

N to time for receiving the content. In this exemplary embodiment, a starting time

N 35 130 is defined for the content. In this exemplary embodiment, the starting time defines a start for a time period, which may also be referred to as a duration, 135.

So, in this exemplary embodiment, in case the mobile device 120 is located within the area 115 on or after the starting time 130, but before the end of the duration 135, then the receiving application may receive the transmission of the content.

The receiving application, that received the transmission, may receive the 5 transmission as broadcasting such that the content 125 is pushed to the receiving application, and the transmission is pushed only during the duration 135 after the starting time 130, and within the area 115, and may be pushed for a limited number of times, for example, just once, during the period 135. Alternatively, the content could be received, for example by receiving the content 125 as push content, for example twice during the time period 135, when the mobile device 120 is within the area 115.

Figure 1B illustrates another exemplary embodiment, which is a variation of the exemplary embodiment discussed in the context of figure 1A, and these exemplary embodiments may also be combined together. In the exemplary embodiment of figure 1B, there is transmission, that may be understood as selective broadcasting, for an area that is defined by the location 150 and a radius defining the area 155 around the location 150. The broadcasting may be received by an application that is run by the mobile device 160. In this exemplary embodiment, the broadcasting is scheduled to begin at certain time on a certain — day, which is the starting time 170 for the selective broadcasting. The number of times the content is broadcasted in this exemplary embodiment is one, but it could also be a different number.

The user of the mobile device 160, and thereby the user of the receiving application, may have selected to receive the content with the start time 170 and — therefore moves to be within the area 155 such that as the broadcasting begins, the < user is able to receive the content 165, to the receiving application, that is being

N selectively broadcasted. It is to be noted that there may also be other places in

N which the content 165 can be received starting at the start time 170. It is also to be ? noted that in case the mobile device 160 arrives at the area 155 after the starting

N 30 time 170, but while the broadcasting is still going on, the user could still receive the

E broadcasting from that time onwards. Correspondingly, should the mobile device

N leave the area 155 while the broadcasting is ongoing, the mobile device 160 would % no longer receive the content 165. Thus, the content is rendered as it is

N broadcasted, and the user cannot control the pace of the rendering in this

N 35 exemplary embodiment. In other words, the rendering cannot be paused, fast forwarded or rewound for example. Optionally, there may also be limitations in terms of if the receiving application run by the mobile device 160 is an authorized receiving application, which may also be referred to as a verified application, or as a registered application, that is an application which is determined to be an application to which the content may be transmitted. For example, the user of the application run on the mobile device 160 may need to be verified in terms of age.

Alternatively, or additionally, the content 165 may be subjected to payment and thus the verification may require status check in terms of checking that the payment has been made. Further alternatively, or additionally, the content 165 may comprise features that require certain rendering capabilities of the mobile — device 160, such as ability to render augmented reality content, and/or spatial audio. Then, in order to receive the broadcasting, the mobile device 160 may need to be of a verified type that is capable of rendering the content 165. Thus, the service may verify that the mobile device 160 is of a verified type and capable of rendering the content 165 before transmitting to the application run by the mobile — device 160.

Optionally, the examples discussed above may further have different levels of the context affecting the content that is to be transmitted. For example, regarding the time aspect of the context, there may be a time period before and/or after the duration of time, which is part of the content, during which a different — version of the content is transmitted to the receiving application. For example, the version may be a reduced version of the content. Additionally, or alternatively, there may also be different levels in terms of the location, which is illustrated in the example of figure 1C. In this example, the first level of location comprises the location 180 and the area 190 defined by the first radius around the location 180.

The second level of location comprises the location 195 defined by a part of a < second radius around the location 180 that extends beyond the location 190

N defined by the first radius. In the first level of the location 190 the content may be

N for example the full content, while in the second level of the location 195 the ? content may be for example reduced content. The reduced content may comprise

N 30 for example, of less elements than the full version. For example, there may be less

E audio and/or less visual elements, which may also comprise AR elements. Thus,

N the different levels of context may affect for example the service level, which may 2 comprise affecting the quality and/or amount of data received in the context-

N dependent data transmission.

N 35 Figure 2A illustrates another exemplary embodiment of context- dependent transmission, which in this exemplary embodiment may be considered to be restricted streaming. The restrictions in this exemplary embodiment define the context depending on which the transmission is performed. This exemplary embodiment is combinable with other exemplary embodiments discussed herein.

In this exemplary embodiment there are three different contents, each comprising of at least one AR element. An AR element may be understood as a computer- generated visual element that is rendered such that it is overlaid over a real-life physical environment. For example, the rendering device, which may be a mobile device, may comprise, or be connected to a camera that provides visual information rendered using a display that is comprised in, or connected to, the rendering — device. Then, superimposed to the rendered real-life environment, the one or more

AR elements are also rendered on the display of the rendering device. For example, there may be AR elements that are meant to be overlaid over certain real-life object, for example a building or street, such that the real-life environment can thus be enhanced. Additionally, at least some of the AR elements may be associated with audio, for example spatial audio, further enhancing the physical environment.

In this exemplary embodiment, the three different contents are associated with each other such that those are meant to be rendered consecutively.

Thus, together they form one entity. Yet, each of them may be associated with their specific location. In other words, each content is restricted by their respective location. Additionally, the transmission, and thereby also the rendering, of a content that is the next content to be rendered, may be limited in terms of the end time of the previous content such that the rendering of the upcoming content requires the end of the previous content at least in terms of transmission.

In this exemplary embodiment, there is a rendering device 200 that is capable of rendering AR elements. The rendering device 200 is an AR headset that < is connected to a mobile device of the user. In this exemplary embodiment, the

N mobile device comprises an application, that is areceiving application and to which

N the user has a user account. Using that user account the user has registered to a ? service for receiving the entity of the associated contents. The entity in this

N 30 exemplary embodiment forms a guided tour around different landmarks. Thus, the

E user may have been registered to the service for example such that each content

N may be rendered once, or the user may have different service level that allows for % example each content to be rewound and/or paused for limited periods and/or for

N limited times.

N 35 The user may have been assigned a start time, which may be a specific time, or a duration of time during which the transmission and thereby rendering of the content is to begin, for the first content at the first location 210. So, once the user is at the location 210, which may have a pre-determined radius around it defining an area that is considered to be included in the location 210, the user may receive the first content. The location of the user may be determined based on location of the mobile device running the application to which the content is transmitted by the service. The service may for example receive the GPS location of the mobile device and thus determine the location of the user and the receiving application. The service may be understood as a computer-implemented method implemented using a computing system comprising one or more computer devices.

The transmission may be packet data-based transmission. The computing system may be for example, a server, or a cloud computing system. The content may be transmitted by the service as a push content once the location of the user is determined to be at the first location 210 and the time is the starting time.

Alternatively, the content may be transmitted as a response to an indication received from the receiving application that indicates a request to receive the first content. Then, if the location and the time requirements for receiving the first content are met, the content may be transmitted to the mobile device and to the application run on that mobile device. Once the user has consumed the content regarding the location 210, that may be indicated to the service. Alternatively, or additionally, the service may determine a time period after which it is assumed that the content is consumed and/or after which the user is no longer allowed to consume and/or receive the first content.

As aresponse to determining that the first content has been consumed, the service may determine that the user is entitled to receive the second content — that is related to the second location 214. For the user to be able to receive the < second content, the location of the mobile device is to be the location

N corresponding to the second location, in other words, the location of the second

N location 214, and an area defined by a pre-determined radius around the location ? 214. The service may determine a time period during which the user should reach

N 30 — the second location 214. This determination may take into account if the user uses

E a bike, walks, takes public transportation or uses a car for example. There may be

N a tolerance around the time period such that if the user is at the second location % within the time period and the tolerance determined for it, and the user has

N consumed the first content, the second content may be transmitted to the mobile

N 35 — device. The transmission may be done correspondingly to the manner in which the first content is transmitted. Also, the second content may be consumed by the user in a manner corresponding to the manner in which the first content is consumed.

Then, after the second content has been consumed, the service may determine the time period during which the user should reach the third location 216. This may be performed in the same manner as determining the time period it takes for the user to move from the first location 210 to the second location 214.

Once the user is then at the third location 216, and the time period has been determined to have passed, the third content regarding the location 216 may be transmitted to the mobile device in a manner corresponding to how the first and the second content were transmitted to the mobile device.

Thus, the user may be provided an enhanced guided tour around different locations. In some exemplary embodiments, one registering for the entity, which may include purchasing, may be valid for a plurality of receiving devices that may be mobile devices running receiving applications that are configured to receive the entity. Then, the content may be simultaneously transmitted to the plurality of devices by selectively broadcasting the content to the plurality of devices once the requirements regarding location and time are fulfilled.

Figure 2B illustrates another exemplary embodiment in which content, which may optionally comprise at least one AR element, is transmitted to a receiving application. This exemplary embodiment is combinable with other exemplary embodiments discussed herein. In this exemplary embodiment, the location is a location of a supermarket 230. The location may be considered to include an area defined by a pre-determined radius around the supermarket. A service provider, who may be a manager of the supermarket for example, may use a service, such as the service discussed above, to provide content that is specific to thelocation of the supermarket 230 and the service provider may determine a time < for the content during which the content may be transmitted to a receiving device

N running an application configured to receive the transmitted content. The & configuration may comprise for example the application registering to the service. > In general, a service provider may be any suitable user who uses the service to

N 30 enable context-dependent transmission of content to one or more receiving

E application. The service provider may thus be for example a user representing a

N company, a community, or an individual using the service to provide context- % dependent transmission to transmit content to registered receiving applications.

N The radius, which may be pre-determined, may be defined based on

N 35 various parameters. For example, the longer the radius, the more fees the service provider may charge from the supermarket that may use the service to transmit content to receiving application(s). As another example, it may be determined how the targeted receiving applications tend to move nearby the supermarket. If they drive for example, the radius may be longer such that there is enough time for the user to react to the received content, while if the users of the receiving applications tend to walk by, then the radius could be smaller and so on.

The content may comprise one or more AR elements. Using the AR elements for example animated messages, such as updates regarding offers in the supermarket, opening hours, and so on, may be created and then using the service provided to receiving application(s) that are within the location during the duration of the content, the duration starting at the starting time. The location of the receiving application(s) may be determined for example using GPS location of their respective mobile devices. The service provider may optionally be enabled to use the service to create the content. As the mobile device 240 that comprises and runs the application registered to the service, arrives at the location 230, during — the defined time period, the content may be provided to application run on the mobile device 240. In this exemplary embodiment the content comprises one or more AR elements that guide the user within the supermarket. The guiding may be with respect to a certain product for example. The content received by the mobile device 240 may further comprise an element, such as a code that may be of characters or a OR code, which can be read by another device within the supermarket. In case that device is a payment related device for example, the element may alter the way the product is detected by payment device of the supermarket. The altering may be for example altering the way the price of the product is determined. Thus, the content received by the mobile device using the — restricted streaming in this exemplary embodiment, may comprise one or more < elements detectable by another device and affecting the functionality of the other

N device by for example affecting the manner in which a product is detected by the

N other device. ? It is to be noted that even though there may be a duration as the time

N 30 restriction, which together with the location 230 forms the context dependent on

E which the content is transmitted, the number of times the application may receive

N the content may optionally be limited, such limitation being also part of the context. % Thus, even though the duration of the restricted streaming is still valid, if the

N number of receiving times has been reached, the mobile device 240 is not

N 35 transmitted the content anymore while at the location 230.

Additionally, or alternatively, there may be further content that is transmitted in the context-dependent manner based on a request received from a user of the receiving application. Such request may be for example to obtain directions to a certain product that is sold in the supermarket. As a response to the request, the service may obtain, from a memory or by generating for example, content that comprises guiding directions to the product. This content may be available for a limited time and may be transmitted to the receiving application, during that limited time-period, once the receiving application has arrived at the location. Optionally, there may be more than one level of location as described in the context of figure 1C. Thus, in case there are for example two levels, then the — directions provided on the first level of location, that is the location closer to the product, may be more detailed for example than the directions provided on the second level of location, that is further away from the product.

As a variation of this exemplary embodiment, that is still compatible with the exemplary embodiment of the figure 2B, there may be a shopping mall — that is the location. Within the shopping mall there may be different service providers, such as shops, movie theatres, and restaurants, that may also create content that is then pushed to receiving application(s) using the service at a certain time and at a pre-determined location, that is defined by the location of the shopping mall and a radius around it defined by the service provider. The content — may then comprise animated elements projected as AR elements using the mobile device(s) of the receiving application(s). The content may then comprise for example indications regarding upcoming movies, menus of restaurants, and so on.

The content may also help the user to the location of the service provider and help for example with a self-service machine to buy a ticket or place an order.

The service providers may indicate that they use the service to provide < content using the context-dependent transmission provided using the service. One

N example of how this may be indicated is for example a sticker placed around their

N entrance and/or a website. If a user has a receiving application, then the user may ? use that application to indicate to the service that they are willing to receive

N 30 content from the particular service provider. The service provider may then create

E content, for example by using the functionalities offered by the service. For

N example, the service may have functionalities that allow the service providers to % create AR elements. The AR elements may be created with the help of artificial

N intelligence for example or by using any other suitable method for creating AR

N 35 content. For each content the service provider may determine a location and time when the content is available as well as a duration during which the content is available. Also, other restrictions, such as the number of times the content is transmitted, may be defined by the service provider. It is to be noted that there may be fees associated with the different restrictions that the service then charges.

Figure 2C illustrates yet another exemplary embodiment, which is a variation of the selective broadcasting. It is to be noted that this exemplary embodiment is compatible with the other exemplary embodiments discussed herein. In this exemplary embodiment, the content comprises a show, which may be for example a music concert, and/or comprise elements of a movie or play. The content is designed to be broadcasted to a certain location 250. It is to be noted that there may be a plurality of locations for which the content is designed to be broadcasted in a selective manner simultaneously. For the sake of explanation, just the location 250 is discussed herein. Some elements of the content are AR elements that may optionally be specifically selected for the location 250. Thus, the location 250 may be considered as the venue for which AR elements of the content, together —with additional elements such as sound for example, create the show. In this exemplary embodiment, the show has musical elements in it and the AR elements are used to render the musicians. In other words, the show comprises AR enabled concert.

A user may then use the mobile device 260, and the application run by the mobile device 260, to for example buy a ticket for the concert. In other words, the user may use any suitable manner to register for receiving the selective broadcasting of the show. The content, that is the show in this exemplary embodiment, is thus associated with the location 250 and a start time. The user may thus be at the location 250 at the start time and as the user has been registered to receive the content, the user receives the selective broadcasting provided that < the mobile device 260 is at the location 250 at the start time and the user, in other

N words, the application run on the mobile device 260, receives the selective

N broadcasting. Optionally, the service providing the selective broadcasting may ? receive from the application run on the mobile device 260 an indication that the

N 30 application is ready for receiving the content. Optionally, in case the mobile device

E arrives at the location 250 after the start time, but during the selective

N broadcasting, then the application may receive the broadcasting from that point % onwards, but the earlier part of the broadcasting is not received.

N Optionally, there may be also a second-level location around the

N 35 location 250. For example, in case the show is at a location such as a stadium, that has fences around it, then there may be an area outside the fences to which the context-dependent transmission may also be received. Yet, the transmission may comprise the content as a reduced version for example. If there are tickets being sold to the show, then the tickets for the second level location may be cheaper for example. Alternatively, or additionally, there may also be a time period after the show during which the show may still be transmitted to a registered receiving application as a reduced version for example. Thus, there may be different levels of context applied to the context-dependent transmission.

Further optionally, the service may provide a possibility for the receiving application to store the content that has been transmitted using the context-dependent transmission. The possibility to store the content using the receiving application may be subjected to a payment for example. The stored content may then be rendered later on thus allowing the user of the receiving application to revisit the content and/or show it to others. There may optionally be limitations regarding the number of times and/or time during which the content may be revisited and rendered after the transmission. It is to be noted that the content may also be stored by the service, and the receiving application may then visit the content by accessing the content on the service instead of, or in addition to, storing the content using the receiving application. In other words, the content may be accessed by the receiving application also after the time aspect of the — context has expired, and this may be applicable to content on any service level, or it may be applicable to content on a certain service level, for example.

The context-dependent transmission of content may be utilized in other exemplary embodiments, as well. For example, a school may use it to transmit to selected receiving applications, in other words, for selected students, information regarding for example where the next class is held, where an exam is to be held, < what are the important topics to note this week for example, and so on. For

N example, if there is a theme week at the school for example against bullying, then

N at certain locations of the school at certain times content regarding the theme may ? be pushed to the receiving applications of the students. Also, other organizations

N 30 and communities may use the context-dependent transmission for their internal

E communication and education. For example, using animated elements, that may be

N AR elements, a game may be created that aims to provide a desired learning 2 experience.

N As another example of utilizing context-dependent transmission, there

N 35 is an exemplary embodiment in which a vehicle, that has been in an accident, may transmit an indication of that accident, which may be understood as an example of an occurrence, and the indication may be transmitted, either directly, or as a forwarded indication, to a service. The service may then obtain content, from a storage or by generating the content for example, which includes instructions to others arriving at the location of the occurrence. The content may thus be limited to the location of the occurrence, the location comprising at least one area defined by a first radius around the location. Additionally, there may be a pre-determined time period that is comprised in the context associated with the content, the time period defining for how long the contentis transmitted. Thus, others arriving at the location, during the pre-defined time period, and having a receiving application run by a mobile device, may receive instructions regarding the occurrence and what to do. There may also be a possibility for a user to request, using the receiving application, further instructions from the service. Additionally, or alternatively, the receiving application may be used to transmit information regarding the occurrence to the service and the service may then determine if further information, in other words, further content, should be transmitted as part of the context-dependent transmission. It is to be noted that the vehicle may be used to drive on a road, the vehicle then being a car or a motorcycle for example, or the vehicle may be a boat for example. A user of the boat may for example use a receiving application to transmit an indication to receive instructions when there is an occurrence, which may be something else than an accident, and then, as a response, the service may provide content comprising instructions in context- dependent manner.

Optionally, the service may store the content it transmits as a context- dependent transmission to the location of the occurrence. This may be useful later onasthecontentmay then be available for re-examination when going through the < occurrence again for example. Additionally, the service may save the context that

N was applied to the transmission as well, which enables the time and location

N information to be associated with the content that was transmitted when re- ? examining the content later on for example. Additionally, or alternatively, the

N 30 service may receive data from a receiving application. The data may be for example

E image or video data obtained from the camera of the mobile device used to run the

N receiving application. It is to be noted though that there may be more than one % receiving application from which data is received by the service. This may be useful

N as well when investigating the occurrence later on.

N 35 In yet another exemplary embodiment, a user may be at a certain location and have a wish to transmit content to others within certain radius of the location for a pre-determined period of time. Alternatively, the location may be determined based on a radius of a location such as the location of an event or a mall. The user may for example wish to meet other people and may have prepared a video as an introductory for such meetings. The user may then transmit the video using the service, and the service allows the user to indicate the context for the video. The user may thus use an application that is a transmitting application, as well as a receiving application, using the service. The transmitting application thus allows the user to transmit the content, as well as to indicate the context for the content, to the service such that the service then transmits it to one or more receiving applications.

Optionally, the receiving application may be enabled to message the transmitting application and thus the service may also allow messages to be exchanged between the transmitting application and a receiving application. Also optionally, the user may use the transmitting application to transmit a request to modify the context associated with the content, that in this exemplary embodiment is the video. It is to be noted that this option may be applied to the other exemplary embodiments as well. The context may be modified by modifying the radius around the location and/or modifying the time period during which the content is transmitted. For example, the location may cover a larger or smaller area and/or the time period may be extended or decreased. The request to modify the context may be transmitted while the reguirements defined by the context are met. In case there are payments involved, modifying the context may then affect the amount of payments as well.

In general, in addition to transmitting the context-dependent content, — the service may also store the content and the context that was applied to the < transmission of the content. Additionally, or alternatively, the service may then

N also receive data from one or more receiving applications, and store the received

N data as well. ? Figure 3 illustrates a signalling chart according to an exemplary

N 30 embodiment. In this exemplary embodiment content is provided using context-

E dependent transmission and that may be considered as selective broadcasting, or

N restricted streaming. The context thus comprises the requirements that result in % the selectiveness of the broadcasting or the restrictions regarding the streaming.

N For example, the context comprises the location, the starting time, the duration, the

N 35 limitations regarding number of rendering and/or transmitting, rewinding, pausing or fast forwarding the content, the type of mobile device and/or receiving application being a registered application. The context-dependence may thus be understood as one or more of the requirements being met.

In this exemplary embodiment the content, which is data content, is transmitted using any suitable form of data connection, for example using any suitable wireless data connection. In this exemplary embodiment, the content comprises one or more AR elements to be rendered visually. The content is received using an application 300 that is run by a receiving device that may be a mobile device. The application may thus use hardware and/or software resources of the receiving device to establish the data connection over which the content may be received and also to then render the content. The application may thus be considered as a computer program product that is executed by the receiving device and which comprises computer instructions, in other words, software algorithms, that are configured to implement one or more computer-implemented methods.

The application 300, which is a receiving application, may be considered as a frontend application that is in connection with a backend. The backend, which may be a service 305 implemented using a computing system such as previously discussed, may therefore be in connection with the application 300 using the data connection. By being in connection with each other, the application 300 and the service 305 may transmit and receive, between each other, data that may comprise one or more parts of the content, indications, requests, instructions, and so on.

The application 300 may be a registered application such that the user of the application may be identified by the service 305. This may be achieved for example if the user has a user account with which the user registers as the user of — the application 300. Additionally, or alternatively, any other suitable identifying < may be used to identify the user of the application and thus consider the

N application as a registered application. Having a registered application may be

N utilized when determining whether the application 300 is to be transmitted the ? content by the service 305 or not. For example, if the user has signed up for the

N 30 content, the content may be transmitted and/or if the user has indicated that the

E content is not interesting, the service may refrain from transmitting the content to

N the application 300. % In this exemplary embodiment, the service 305 may be configured to

N store the content and also to control its distribution. The content is thus first

N 35 obtained 310 by the service. When obtaining the content, the service 305 may receive the content for an external entity. Alternatively, or additionally, the service may be used by the service provider to generate the content at least partly and then to store it. The content that is obtained by the service in this exemplary embodiment comprises one or more AR elements and is also defined by an associated location and start time. Optionally, the content may also be defined by number of renderings, which may be determined by a number of transmissions to the content to the application 300 and the numbers may be equal, or they may be different. For example, the content may have restrictions as part of it indicating the number of times it may be rendered. The location may be defined by a location as well as an area around it. The area may for example be determined using a radius around a specific location. Thus, the content may be transmitted by the service 305 to the application 300 when the requirements defined using the location and the starting time, as well as optionally the number of renderings and/or duration, are met.

As the service 305 determines 315 that the requirements are met, the service 305 may then transmit 320 the content to the application 300. The transmission may be subjected to verifying that the application 300 is entitled to receive the transmission 320. This may be done for example by determining that the application is a registered application. Additionally, as part of verifying that the application is a registered application, it may be determined if the status of the user oftheapplication is such that the content can be received, for example, the user has indicated willingness to receive it, the user has made a payment, and/or the user has an appropriate age. The transmission may be initiated as a response to receiving a reguest from the application 300 for receiving the content. After the reguest, it may be verified that the reguirements regarding the transmission 320 of the content are met. Alternatively, the transmission 320 may be initiated as a < response to determining that the requirements for the transmission are met. For

N example, the service 305 may determine that the reguirements relating to time are

N met and then as aresponse to determining that the location of the application 300 ? fulfils the reguirements regarding the location, the transmission 320 may be

N 30 initiated. It is to be noted that the initiated transmission may transmit the content

E such that the part transmitted earlier to those receiving applications that met the

N restrictions is no longer transmitted, but the transmission follows the transmission 0 from that point onwards as the earlier part has already been transmitted despite

N the receiving application not meeting the requirements and thus not receiving that

N 35 — partof the content. The location of the application 300 may be that of the receiving device and the location may be determined for example based on obtaining the GPS location of the receiving device using any suitable manner. Additionally, or alternatively, also other methods of determining the position of the receiving device may be used. For example, it may be determined that the receiving device is within a local wireless network and/or has been detected using near field connectivity within the area fulfilling the location related requirement.

The transmitted content may optionally be provided 325, using the application, to another device as an input to affect the operation of the other device.

For example, the content may comprise AR elements that guide the user to a certain place at the location and then guide the user to provide a QR code, that is part of the transmitted content, as an input to the other device. The other device may then, as a response, open a gate, determine a discounted price, and/or initiate providing further content such as audio content and/or visual content, for example. Thus, at least part of the received content may be used by the application 300 to affect functionality of another device.

Optionally, the service 305 may receive a request to modify the context associated with the content. Then, as a response to the request, the service 305 may determine 330 for the content the modified context based on the request. The modified context may comprise modifications to the location and/or to the time for example, as described above. If the context is modified, then provided that the requirements of the modified context are met, the service 305 may transmit 335 the content to the receiving application 300 in accordance with the modified context.

The service 305 may then determine 340 when the transmission has reached its end. This may be for example that the content has been transmitted completely, for the number of times the contentis allowed to be transmitted, or the < content has been available for the duration it is defined to be available. If the

N content has a limitation in terms of time period for how long the content is

N available, then the application 300 may be determined as allowed to receive the ? content once its location corresponds to the defined location restriction during the

N 30 defined duration. Once the transmission has been determined to end, the

E transmission is ended. This may optionally be indicated by transmission 345

N provided by the service 305 to the application 300. The transmission 345 may thus % be used to indicate the end of the transmission.

N It is to be noted that this process may optionally be started again, for a

N 35 second content that has the same limitation in terms of location for example.

Alternatively, the radius defining the area around the location may be changed for the second content. Optionally, the second content may be for transmission at least partly simultaneously with the first content.

Thus, the second content may be obtained 350 by the service 305, and this may be done correspondingly to obtaining the first content. The second content then has its related restrictions in terms of location and time, optionally also the number of renderings and/or duration. As it is then determined 355 that the requirements for transmitting the second content are fulfilled, the service 305 may transmit 360 the second content to the application 300. The application 300 may then provide 365 atleast part of the second content as input to a further device for example. Once the service 305 then determines 370 that the transmission has come to an end, there may be indication 375 transmitted to the application 300.

Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a device 400 that may be or may be comprised in a computing system comprising one or more computing devices. This exemplary embodiment is compatible with the previous exemplary embodiments, and they may be combined in any suitable manner. In this exemplary embodiment, there is at least one processor 440, at least one memory 430, at least one connectivity unit 410 and at least one unit for receiving input and providing output 420. Itis to be noted that the units described here are logical units and thus the actual implementation may vary. The at least one processor 440, at least one memory 430, at least one connectivity unit 410 and at least one unit for receiving input and providing output 420 may be connected to each other.

The at least one processor 440 may also be referred to as core, a central processing unit (CPU), microprocessor or graphical processing unit (GPU). A processor may be understood as an integrated circuit for performing calculations according to instructions provided using computer code. The at least one memory < 430 may comprise volatile and/or non-volatile memory. Thus, the at least one

N memory 430 may be understood to be one block of memory or a combination of

N different blocks of memory. The memory may be for storing different types of data. ? The at least one memory 430 stores also computer program instructions, for

N 30 example in the form of an application and/or an operating system. The at least one

E memory 430 provides computer program instructions to the at least one processor

N 440 for executing and the at least one processor 440 may then be configured to % store data into the atleast one memory 430. Some examples of memory are random

N access memories (RAMs), such as static RAM (SRAM) and dynamic RAM (DRAM),

N 35 read-only memory (ROM), flash memories, optical discs, and magnetic computer storage devices, such as hard disk drives. The input and output unit 420 may allow user input, such as pressing a button, touch input and/or voice input, to be received by the device 400 and output such as audio, haptic or visual output to be provided to a user. The connectivity unit 410 allows connection to be formed between the device 400 and another device. The connectivity unit may allow wireless and/or wired connections to be formed between the device 400 and other devices.

Examples of connection types that may be supported by the connectivity unit 410 are cellular communication -based connections, local area networks, Bluetooth- connections, Wi-Fi connections, etc.

The present disclosure has been described above with reference to the exemplary embodiments. However, a person skilled in the art will understand there may be embodiments that vary from the example embodiments discussed above within the scope of the claims. Thus, skilled person will understand that the exemplary embodiments described above may, but are not required to, be combined with each other and/or other exemplary embodiments in various manners. i

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Claims (15)

1. A computer-implemented method for context-dependent transmission of content, the method comprising: obtaining content thatis to be transmitted to a receiving application run bya mobile device; determining the context-dependence for the content, wherein the context-dependence comprises requirements regarding at least a location and time, and the content is transmitted if the requirements are met; determining that the receiving application meets the requirement of the location by the mobile device being located within the location; determining that current time corresponds to the requirement regarding the time; and transmitting the content to the receiving application.

2. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises transmitting the content using packet data transmission.

3. A computer-implemented method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the context further comprises limitations regarding at least one of the following: number of times the content is allowed to be transmitted to the receiving application, and/or number of times the content is allowed to be rendered, by the receiving application, using resources of the mobile device.

4. A computer-implemented method according to any previous claim, < wherein the method further comprises determining, as a response to receiving a S reguest to modify the context, a modified context to be applied to the context- O dependent transmission.

5. A computer-implemented method according to any previous claim, E wherein the reguirement of the time comprises a start time and a duration. N

3 6. A computer-implemented method according to any previous claim, N wherein the transmission of the content is continuous after the start time. N 35

7. A computer-implemented method according to any previous claim,

wherein the transmission of the content is a push transmission after determining that the requirements are met.

8. A computer-implemented method according to any previous claim, wherein at least part of the content is for being provided as an input to a device other than the mobile device for affecting operation of the other device.

9. A computer-implemented method according to any previous claim, wherein the location includes an area defined by a radius around the location.

10. A computer-implemented method according to any previous claim, wherein the method further comprises verifying that the application is a registered application before transmitting the content to the application.

11. A computer-implemented method according to any previous claim, wherein the method further comprises verifying that the mobile device is capable of rendering the content before transmitting the content to the application.

12. A computer-implemented method according to any previous claim, wherein the method further comprises ending transmitting the content to the application in response to determining that at least one of the requirements is no longer met.

13. A computing system comprising means for performing the computer-implemented method according to any of claims 1 to 12. i N

14. A computer program product comprising instructions, which, when N & executed by a computing system, cause the computing device to perform a 3 computer-implemented method according to any of claims 1 to 12. N 30 E

15. A system comprising a receiving application run by a mobile device, N and a service run by a computing system, wherein the service is configured to 8 perform context-dependent transmission of a content to the receiving application, < : : : : N wherein the context-dependence comprises reguirements regarding at least a N 35 location and time, and the content is transmitted if the requirements are met, the system being configured to:

determine, by the receiving application to the service, the location of the mobile device; indicate, by the receiving application to the service, the determined location of the mobile device; determine, by the service, that the receiving application meets the requirement of the location by the mobile device being located within the location; determine, by the service, that current time corresponds to the requirement regarding the time; and transmit, by the service to the receiving application, the content.

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