If you are new, see patent and prior art basics and tips for Patexia's prior art contests, and refer to the submission notes below. The best qualifying submission is guaranteed to receive the prize.

We request previously undiscovered prior art including patents and non-patent literature (for example academic papers, technical descriptions, etc.) published before October 16th, 2000 in English or a foreign language which can help invalidate the claims of US patent 7,706,819 - “Mixed-mode interaction.” The patent describes a system which interacts with wireless devices using either verbal or non-verbal input and either verbal or non-verbal output. The system also uses location information from the wireless device and provides the user with a menu of options so the system can obtain more information about the user’s request.

Input from the mobile device can be either spoken or non-verbal. For example this input could be vocal commands, other spoken sounds, or input using a keypad or other tactile input method. Importantly, additional information about the geographical location of the mobile device must accompany this input. The system uses the input and geographical location information from the mobile device to retrieve information in response to the input. The system then returns a response either verbally or non-verbally, including a menu of selections from which the mobile user selects to obtain more specific information.

For example, invalidating prior art could describe a system which provides early cellular phone users with information about nearby retailers. In this example, the phone user makes a call to the system and speaks what type of retailer they are looking for. The system obtains geographic information from the location of the cellular tower the phone is associated with, and connects to the internet to retrieve information about retailers in the area (e.g. names and distances from the user’s location). The system then send the user a text message with a list of these retailers, the user responds with their choice from the menu (again, using either verbal or non-verbal input), and the system forwards further information about the retailer (e.g. phone number, address, etc.)

Clear documentation of this or a similar example will qualify to win the full prize amount. When submitting to the system, you will be asked the following questions to clarify the specific features we are looking for in this study. For each question the system will prompt you to refer to specific locations in each reference to support your answers.

Questions

To be eligible for full prize amount, users should answer “yes” to all 6 questions.
 

1. Does the reference disclose a communication system used before October 16th, 2000?
2. Does the system receive an input from a mobile device?
3. Does the system receive location data from the mobile device?
4. Does the system use this input and location data to retrieve related information?
5. Does the system provide, either verbally or non-verbally, a menu of selections for the user to choose from?
6. Does the mobile user respond with a selection about which the system provides further information?