System and method for performing asset and crowd tracking in an IoT system

• US 10,178,530 B2
• Filed: 12/14/2015
• Issued: 01/08/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Afero, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Afero, Inc.
• Inventors: Forood, Houman, Britt, Joe, Zakaria, Omar, Lee, Justin, Gallardo, Gilbert
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Phy Anh T
• Application Number:
  US14/967,702
• Publication Number:
  US 20170171204A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,121 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1436 with motion detection
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/04 responsive to non-activity, e.g. of elderly persons G08B21/06 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/08 using communication transmission lines G08B13/19658, G08B21/0286, G08B25/016 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 3/10 using electric transmission; using electromagnetic transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 for collecting sensor information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A system and method are described for performing asset and user tracking. For example, one embodiment of a system comprises: an Internet of Things (IoT) device or hub (“IoT device/hub”) comprising authorized user detection logic to detect a security IoT device of a user in wireless proximity to the IoT device/hub, the IoT device/hub to be affixed or integrated within a data processing asset; location detection logic to determine a current location of the IoT device/hub based on signals received from one or more wireless devices within its wireless range; wherein the authorized user detection logic is to arm the location detection logic upon detecting that the security IoT device has moved out of wireless proximity to the IoT device/hub; and wherein the location detection logic is to generate an alert and/or notification after being armed by the authorized user detection logic upon detecting that the IoT device/hub has moved outside of a designated protected location, the alert and/or notification being transmitted from the IoT device/hub to an IoT service.

Claims

1. A system for protecting a data processing asset comprising:

a plurality of Internet of Things (IoT) hubs distributed throughout a facility;

a plurality of wearable IoT security devices, each of the plurality of wearable IoT security devices is assigned to a different user, the plurality of wearable IoT security devices comprise one of;

security badges, security bracelets and security necklaces;

an IoT service to store an association between each of the plurality of wearable IoT security devices and each respective user;

at least one IoT hub of the plurality of IoT hubs comprising;

authorized user detection logic to detect a wearable IoT security device of a user in wireless proximity to the at least one IoT hub through a Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE) link;

a dock for the data processing asset, the dock including connection detection logic to detect a local connection of the data processing asset through a wired data connection, the data processing asset is removable from the dock without causing an alert and/or notification when the wearable IoT security device is in the wireless proximity to the at least one IoT hub;

wherein the authorized user detection logic is to arm the connection detection logic upon detecting that the wearable IoT security device has moved out of the wireless proximity to the at least one IoT hub due to a loss of the BTLE link;

wherein the connection detection logic is to generate an alert and/or notification after being armed by the authorized user detection logic upon detecting no local connection of the data processing asset due to a loss of the wired data connection and the data processing asset is no longer within the designated protected area, the alert and/or notification being transmitted from the at least one IoT hub to the IoT service via a secure communication channel using elliptic curve encryption.

2. The system as in claim 1 further comprising:

a piezo device integrated on the at least one IoT hub to generate an audible alarm responsive to the alert and/or notification generated by the connection detection logic.

3. The system as in claim 1 further comprising:

a wired interface to provide the local connection between the data processing asset and the at least one IoT hub.

4. The system as in claim 3, wherein the wired interface comprises a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface.

5. The system as in claim 3, wherein the data processing asset comprises a notebook or desktop computer.

6. The system as in claim 1 further comprising:

a client device of a user registered on the IoT service to receive the alert and/or notification generated by the connection detection logic, the alert and/or notification to be transmitted from the IoT service to the client device over the Internet.

7. A system for protecting a data processing asset comprising:

a plurality of Internet of Things (IoT) hubs distributed throughout a facility in communication with an IoT service;

a plurality of wearable IoT security devices, each of the plurality of wearable IoT security devices is assigned to a different user, the plurality of wearable IoT security devices comprise one of;

security badges, security bracelets and security necklaces;

the IoT service to store an association between each of the plurality of wearable IoT security devices and each respective user;

an IoT device comprising;

authorized user detection logic to detect a wearable IoT security device of a user in wireless proximity to the IoT device through a Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE) link, the IoT device is affixed or integrated within the data processing asset,

location detection logic to determine a current location of the IoT device based on signal strength values received from a first subset of the plurality of IoT hubs within wireless range of the IoT device affixed or integrated within the data processing asset;

wherein the authorized user detection logic is to arm the location detection logic upon detecting that the wearable IoT security device has moved out of the wireless proximity to the IoT device due to a loss of the BTLE link; and

wherein the location detection logic is to generate an alert and/or notification after being armed by the authorized user detection logic upon detecting that the IoT device has moved outside of a designated protected location based on receiving different signals from a second subset of the plurality of IoT hubs within wireless range of the IoT device affixed to or integrated within the data processing asset, the alert and/or notification being transmitted from the IoT device to the IoT service via a secure communication channel using elliptic curve encryption.

8. The system as in claim 7 further comprising:

a piezo device integrated on the IoT device to generate an audible alarm responsive to the alert and/or notification generated by the connection detection logic.

9. The system as in claim 7, wherein the plurality of IoT hubs are positioned at different locations.

10. The system as in claim 9, wherein the location detection logic is to determine the current location of the IoT device based on a set of IoT hubs from which it can receive wireless signals.

11. The system as in claim 10, wherein the location detection logic is to determine the current location based on signal strength values of the signals received from the first subset of the plurality of IoT hubs.

12. The system as in claim 11 further comprising:

a client device of a user registered on the IoT service to receive the alert and/or notification generated by the connection detection logic, the alert and/or notification to be transmitted from the IoT service to the client device over the Internet.

13. The system as in claim 7, wherein the data processing asset comprises a notebook or desktop computer.