Beacon detection system for locating missing persons

• US 10,366,592 B2
• Filed: 09/19/2017
• Issued: 07/30/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vector Flight LLC
• Original Assignee: Vector Flight LLC
• Inventors: Gillum, Eliot, Lau, Kevin Ho Wing
• Primary Examiner(s): Brown, Vernal U
• Application Number:
  US15/709,026
• Publication Number:
  US 20180082560A1
• Time in Patent Office: 679 Days
• Field of Search: 340 81
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 47/08 Arrangements of cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/104 using satellite radio beacon positioning systems, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/17 Emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/51 Relative positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2205/06 Emergency
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0036 of measured values, i.e. measurement on mobile and position calculation on base station
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0081 Transmission between base stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0231 Emergency, distress or locator beacons
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0249 Determining position using measurements made by a non-stationary device other than the device whose position is being determined
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0295 Proximity-based methods, e.g. position inferred from reception of particular signals
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0272 System arrangements wherein the object is to detect exact location of child or item using triangulation other than GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0275 Electronic Article Surveillance [EAS] tag technology used for parent or child unit, e.g. same transmission technology, magnetic tag, RF tag, RFID

Abstract

A beacon detection system which can locate a missing search subject includes: a beacon signal receiver; a location position detector; and a beacon detector. The detector is configured to detect a location of a broadcasting beacon signal associated with a personal device of a search subject within search data covering a geographic search area derived from a search for the search subject, the search data gathered by the beacon signal receiver and location position detector. A computer implemented method of determining a location of a search subject is also provided. The method determines at least a possible connection request from Wi-Fi signals in search data gathered by a Wi-Fi radio covering a geographic search area for a search subject and associated location information to locate the search subject.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of determining a location of a search subject, comprising:

accessing search data comprising broadcast Wi-Fi signals and associated geographic location coordinates of a search vehicle travelling in a geographic search area for a search subject, the vehicle carrying a Wi-Fi radio capable of broadcasting one or more SSIDs and receiving connection requests for the one or more SSIDs;

determining at least a possible connection request from the beacon signals, the connection request associated with a mobile device associated with a search subject; and

filtering the data to determine whether the connection request is from the mobile device associated with the search subject; and

outputting search information to a search agent, the search information including a location of at least the connection request, the location based on a position of the search vehicle in the geographic search area.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein a search identifier application is provided on the mobile device, and the computer implemented method further includes:

detecting one or more unique identifiers for the personal device in the search data including one or more of;

a MAC address associated with the mobile device;

a unique SSID associated with the device;

a device identifier associated with a DHCP lease request.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further including receiving a registration of the mobile device from the search subject and storing data associating the mobile device and the search subject in a registry for use in the determining step.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further including associating the MAC address to a manufacturer to present detected signals associated with the mobile device.