Google files patent to target users by predicting destinations

Google has filed a patent application that targets mobile ads not just by a user's location but by the speed and direction they are moving in, and the duration of travel, effectively predicting people's movements and means of transport. The filing referred specifically to advertisements but also mentioned "other types of content items having measurable performance or quality parameters, such as video, articles, reviews, etc."

Google has filed a patent for a velocity-based ad delivery system.



First filed in February 2015, US patent #9280212 describes a way of targeting mobile ads based on not just the user's location but the speed and direction they are moving in.



This means that the system will be able to predict where that person is headed– and thus whether they're about to pass by an advertisers' store – and, perhaps even more interestingly, their means of transport. As the patent filing explains: "A user traveling on an interstate may want to know about upcoming gas stations, fast food restaurants, and motels, but a user traveling in a city may want to know about retail shopping, service-oriented restaurants, dry cleaners, and hotels in the immediate vicinity."



As described by the patent, these ads can also take into account the duration of travel, as well as all the usual parameters, from time of day to user data.



"Although various examples are described with reference to advertisements, the systems and processes described herein can also facilitate the selection and delivery of other types of content items having measurable performance or quality parameters, such as videos, articles, reviews, etc," reads the filing. The focus is almost exclusively on the advertising use case, however, which is telling about Google's intentions for the idea – if indeed it has any.



