Automated geospatial security alarm routing

• US 10,210,719 B1
• Filed: 06/15/2017
• Issued: 02/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SureView Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: SureView Systems, LLC
• Inventors: Roberts, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, K.
• Application Number:
  US15/623,480
• Time in Patent Office: 614 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/047 Optimisation of routes or paths, e.g. travelling salesman problem
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/08 by opening, e.g. of door, of window, of drawer, of shutter, of curtain, of blind
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2462 Asset location systems combined with EAS inventory, tracking, logistic G06Q10/00; entrance control systems G07C9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/10 responsive to calamitous events, e.g. tornados or earthquakes
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/006 Alarm destination chosen according to type of event, e.g. in case of fire phone the fire service, in case of medical emergency phone the ambulance
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/10 using wireless transmission systems G08B25/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/001 Signalling to an emergency team, e.g. firemen
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/005 with transmission via computer network
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/006 with transmission via telephone network
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 3/1083 Pager locating systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A security-monitoring platform adapted to automatically handle and route security alerts to security personnel through personnel assistant devices. The personnel assistant devices preferably include location and availability information that can be conveyed to the security-monitoring platform. The system and method includes analyzing location information for the security alert source with respect to the availability and location information for each personnel assistant device to identify one or more security guards that can handle the security alert. The system is able to automatically perform these tasks without having to first be routed through a queue for analysis from a security-monitoring platform operator. As a result, the system and method overcomes this major issue in the industry of delayed processing of security alerts and is able to more efficiently and effectively process a plurality of security alerts simultaneously.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for automatically notifying security personnel of a security alert comprising executing on a processor the steps of:

receiving a security alert by a security monitoring platform;

identifying a source of the security alert and receiving location-based information for the source of the security alert;

retrieving location-based information for a plurality of personnel assistant devices by the security monitoring platform, wherein each personal assistant device is carried by one of the security personnel and the location-based information originating from location-based technology included on each personnel assistant device;

evaluating the retrieved location-based information for the personnel assistant devices with respect to the location-based information for the security alert source;

determining at least one of the security personnel that is in closest proximity to the security alert based on the location-based information of the personnel assistant devices; and

automatically sending requests to at least one of the security personnel in closest proximity to the security alert through the personnel assistant devices to investigate the security alert.

2. The method of claim 1, further including the step of retrieving availability information for each personnel assistant device, the availability information adapted to convey whether a each security personnel handling each personnel assistant device is available to investigate the security alert.

3. The method of claim 2, further including the step of removing each personnel assistant device having an unavailable status from a list of personnel assistant devices to be evaluated in the step of evaluating the retrieved location-based information for the personnel assistant devices with respect to the location-based information for the security alert source.

4. The method of claim 1, further including the step of determining if any of the requests to investigate the security alert were accepted by the one or more personnel assistant devices.

5. The method of claim 4, further including, in response to a determination that the request was not accepted by any of the personnel assistant devices,

determining if there are any available personnel assistant devices that have not previously rejected the request to investigate the security alert;

and

in response to determining that there are available personnel assistant devices that have not previously rejected the request to investigate the security alert, restarting at the step of retrieving location-based information for a plurality of personnel assistant devices by the security monitoring platform.

6. The method of claim 1, further including the step of accessing a data store and determining a number of security personnel required to investigate the security alert based on how the security alert is categorized as a type of security alert.

7. The method of claim 6, further including looping through the steps of retrieving location-based information for a plurality of personnel assistant devices by the security monitoring platform, evaluating the retrieved location-based information for the personnel assistant devices with respect to the location-based information for the security alert source, and automatically sending requests to one or more personnel assistant devices, based on the location-based information of the one or more personnel assistant devices with respect to the location-based information of the security alert source, to investigate the security alert, until it is determined that the required number of security personnel equates to a number of acceptances from the personnel assistant devices.

8. The method of claim 1, further including the step of sending location-based information for the security alert source to the one or more personnel assistant devices that were sent a request to investigate the security alert.

9. The method of claim 1, further including the step of accessing a timer data store and determining a time limit based on the security alert source, wherein the expiration of the time limit results in the security alert being sent to a security monitoring platform operator.

10. A computer-implemented method for automatically notifying security personnel of a security alert comprising executing on a processor the steps of:

receiving a security alert by a security monitoring platform;

identifying a source of the security alert and receiving location-based information for the source of the security alert through an application programming interface, the location-based information originating from location-based technology included on the security alert source;

analyzing availability information for each personnel assistant device, the availability information adapted to convey whether a particular security guard handling a particular personnel assistant device is available to investigate the security alert;

analyzing location-based information for a plurality of personnel assistant devices by the security monitoring platform, wherein the location-based information originates from location-based technology included on each personnel assistant device;

evaluating the retrieved location-based information for the personnel assistant devices that are available with respect to the location-based information for the security alert source;

automatically sending requests to one or more personnel assistant devices, based on the location-based information of the one or more personnel assistant devices with respect to the location-based information of the security alert source, to investigate the security alert; and

whereby the method is able to avoid any time delays resulting from a notification of the security alert residing in a queue waiting for a security monitoring platform operator to process the security alert.

11. The method of claim 10, further including the step of determining if any of the requests to investigate the security alert were accepted by the one or more personnel assistant devices.

12. The method of claim 11, further including in response to a determination that the request was not accepted by any of the personnel assistant devices:

determining if there are any available personnel assistant devices that have not previously rejected the request to investigate the security alert; and

in response to determining that there are available personnel assistant devices that have not previously rejected the request to investigate the security alert, restarting at the step of retrieving location-based information for a plurality of personnel assistant devices by the security monitoring platform.

13. The method of claim 10, further including the step of accessing a data store and determining a number of security guards required to investigate the security alert.

14. The method of claim 13, further including the step of looping through the steps of retrieving location-based information for a plurality of personnel assistant devices by the security monitoring platform, evaluating the retrieved location-based information for the personnel assistant devices with respect to the location-based information for the security alert source, and automatically sending requests to one or more personnel assistant devices, based on the location-based information of the one or more personnel assistant devices with respect to the location-based information of the security alert source, to investigate the security alert, until the required number of security guards equates to a number of acceptances from the personnel assistant devices.

15. A security monitoring system, comprising:

a security monitoring platform configured to communicate with one or more security systems through application programming interfaces;

each security system having one or more security monitoring assets;

a mobile personnel assistant device intended to reside with mobile security personnel, the personnel assistant device having;

location-based technology that can communicate location-based information to the security monitoring platform; and

an availability monitoring switch in wireless communication with the security monitoring platform, the availability monitoring switch having a first setting that informs the security monitoring platform that the security guard handling the personnel assistant device is available and a second setting that informs the security monitoring platform that the security guard handling the personnel assistant device is unavailable; and

an evaluation program adapted to evaluate the location based-information for a security monitoring asset that relays a security alert to the security monitoring platform with respect to the location based-information and the availability monitoring switch of the personnel assistant device to determine if the security monitoring platform should automatically send notice of the security alert to the personnel assistant device.

16. The system of claim 15, further comprising the personnel assistant device configured to communicate with one or more security systems through application programming interfaces.

17. The security monitoring system of claim 15, wherein the location-based technology includes at least one from the group consisting of GPS, compass, altimeter, gyroscope, RFID system, and accelerometer.

18. The security monitoring system of claim 15, wherein security monitoring assets include at least one from the group consisting alarm sources, video sources, outputs, audio sources, and situational awareness systems.

19. The security monitoring system of claim 15, wherein the personnel assistant device includes an electronic display screen to present an operator of the personnel assistant device with visual information to adequately process the security alert.

20. The security monitoring system of claim 15, wherein the security monitoring platform includes an electronic display screen to present an operator of the security monitoring platform with visual information to adequately process the security alert.