Internet of things (IoT) personal tracking apparatus, system, and method

• US 10,426,358 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2016
• Issued: 10/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Barnett, Jr., Thomas C., McBride, Kevin M., Cook, Charles I., Morrill, Robert J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Eskandarnia, Arvin
• Application Number:
  US15/385,667
• Publication Number:
  US 20180168464A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,015 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0242 adapted to measure environmental factors, e.g. temperature, pollution
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0219 Inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt switches
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0022 Monitoring a patient using a global network, e.g. telephone networks, internet
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0024 for multiple sensor units attached to the patient, e.g. using a body or personal area network
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02055 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular condition and temperature
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/021 Measuring pressure in heart or blood vessels A61B5/0205 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/024 Detecting, measuring or recording pulse rate or heart rate A61B5/0205, A61B5/021 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0816 Measuring devices for examining respiratory frequency measuring frequency of electric signals G01R23/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1118 Determining activity level
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14532 for measuring glucose, e.g. by tissue impedance measurement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14539 for measuring pH
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14551 for measuring blood gases
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/318 Heart-related electrical modalities, e.g. electrocardiography [ECG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/369 Electroencephalography [EEG] devices for psychotechnics A61B5/16
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4094 Diagnosing or monitoring seizure diseases, e.g. epilepsy
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4806 Sleep evaluation A61B5/4821 takes precedence; devices for inducing sleep A61M21/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6803 Head-worn items, e.g. helmets, masks, headphones or goggles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6804 Garments; Clothes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6816 Ear lobe
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6826 Finger
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6829 : Foot or ankle
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6861 : Capsules, e.g. for swallowing or implanting
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/17 : delivered via infusion or injection
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/30 : relating to physical therapies or activities, e.g. physiotherapy, acupressure or exercising
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 : for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 : for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
• 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

Novel tools and techniques are provided for implementing Internet of Things (“IoT”) functionality. In some embodiments, an IoT-capable personal tracking device might receive sensor data from each of a plurality of sensors, and might analyze the sensor data to identify one or more external IoT-capable devices with which to interact and to determine one or more tasks to be performed by the identified IoT-capable devices, each based at least in part on the sensor data. In some cases, the plurality of first sensors might comprise at least one of one or more sensors that monitor physical conditions of a user'"'"'s body and/or one or more sensors that monitor environmental conditions external to the user'"'"'s body. The personal tracking device might subsequently autonomously send, via machine-to-machine communication, control instructions to each of the identified external IoT-capable devices, based on the determined tasks. Multiple personal tracking devices may also be used.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, with a processor of a first Internet of Things (“

IoT”

) -capable personal tracking device, at least one first sensor data from each of at least one first sensor of a plurality of first sensors of the first IoT-capable personal tracking device, wherein the plurality of first sensors comprises at least one of one or more second sensors that monitor physical conditions of a body of a user or one or more third sensors that monitor environmental conditions external to the body of the user;

analyzing, with the processor of the first IoT-capable personal tracking device, the at least one first sensor data to identify one or more first external IoT-capable devices with which to interact and to determine one or more first tasks to be performed by the identified one or more first external IoT-capable devices, each based at least in part on the at least one first sensor data from each of the at least one first sensor, wherein the one or more first external IoT-capable devices are separate from the personal tracking devices and wherein the one or more first external IoT-capable devices comprise at least one of a wearable drug delivery device, an implantable drug delivery device, a smart medical alert bracelet, an IoT vehicle node, one or more lighting systems, one or more environmental control systems, one or more speakers, or one or more security control systems; and

autonomously sending, by the processor of the first IoT-capable personal tracking device and via machine-to-machine communication, one or more first control instructions to each of the identified one or more first external IoT-capable devices, based on the determined one or more first tasks.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first IoT-capable personal tracking device is a wearable device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the wearable device comprises at least one of a wrist strap, a clip, a pin, a clasp, an ear-loop, a finger ring, a toe ring, a bangle, a hook and loop-type strap, eyewear stems, a head band, or a buckle that allows the first IoT-capable personal tracking device to be removably affixed to at least one of a portion of skin of the user, a limb of the user, an appendage of the user, a torso of the user, a head of the user, or a piece of clothing worn by the user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first IoT-capable personal tracking device is an implantable device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the implantable device comprises at least one of an encapsulation layer, a membrane, a hypo-allergenic housing, a capsule, or casing that allows the first IoT-capable personal tracking device to be at least one of implanted under one or more layers of skin of the user, implanted within an organ of the user, implanted within a torso of the user, implanted within a head of the user, implanted within a spine of the user, implanted in an internal cavity of the user, or implanted in an external cavity of the user.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more second sensors comprise at least one of a heart rate monitor, a pulse oximeter, an oximeter, a blood glucose monitor, a blood pressure monitor, a blood flow monitor, a nitrogen monitor, a carbon dioxide monitor, a sleep monitor, an activity monitor, a step counter, one or more limb movement monitors, one or more thermometers, one or more accelerometers, one or more gyroscopes, one or more body fat monitors, one or more body muscle monitors, one or more bone density monitors, one or more pH monitors, a body fluid monitor, a brain wave monitor, a synaptic activity monitor, an electroencephalograph, an electrocardiograph, a respiratory rate monitor, a serotonin monitor, an epilepsy monitor, a skin toxicity monitor, a blood toxicity monitor, an organ toxicity monitor, a cancer monitor, a pathogen detector, a blood tester, one or more blood alcohol level detectors, one or more drug testers, or one or more location monitors.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more third sensors comprise at least one of an ambient temperature sensor, a flame detector, a particulate sensor, a light sensor, a humidity sensor, an air quality sensor, an atmospheric oxygen level monitor, an atmospheric carbon dioxide level monitor, an atmospheric nitrogen level monitor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, an environmental carbon monoxide sensor, a smoke detector, a gas toxicity monitor, a carcinogen detector, a radiation sensor, a location sensor, a location beacon, an object identifier beacon, a telecommunications signal sensor, a sound amplitude sensor, a frequency sensor, an accelerometer, a proximity sensor, a weather sensor, or a seismic sensor.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more first external IoT-capable devices further comprise at least one of a medical server, a medical database, a user device associated with a physician, a user device associated with a healthcare provider, a user device associated with the user, a user device associated with a relative or guardian of the user, a user device associated with a member of an organization with which the user is affiliated, a user device associated with an emergency response team member, an IoT management node, an IoT human interface device, one or more household devices, one or more office devices, one or more display devices, or one or more communications systems.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, with at least one of the processor of the first IoT-capable personal tracking device, a processor of each of one or more second IoT-capable personal tracking devices, or a processor of a remote computing system, at least one fourth sensor data from each of at least one fourth sensor of a plurality of fourth sensors of each of the one or more second IoT-capable personal tracking devices that are separate from the first IoT-capable personal tracking device, wherein the plurality of fourth sensors comprises at least one of one or more fifth sensors that monitor physical conditions of the body of the user or one or more sixth sensors that monitor environmental conditions external to the body of the user;

analyzing, with the at least one of the processor of the first IoT-capable personal tracking device, the processor of each of the one or more second IoT-capable personal tracking devices, or the processor of the remote computing system, a combination of the at least one first sensor data and the at least one fourth sensor data to identify one or more second external IoT-capable devices with which to interact and to determine one or more second tasks to be performed by the identified one or more second external IoT-capable devices, each based at least in part on the at least one first sensor data from the at least one first sensor of the first IoT-capable personal tracking device and the at least one fourth sensor data from each of the at least one fourth sensor of each of the one or more second IoT-capable personal tracking devices; and

autonomously sending, by the at least one of the processor of the first IoT-capable personal tracking device, the processor of each of the one or more second IoT-capable personal tracking devices, or the processor of the remote computing system and via machine-to-machine communication, one or more second control instructions to each of the identified one or more second external IoT-capable devices, based on the determined one or more second tasks.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein at least one of the one or more first external IoT-capable devices and at least one of the one or more second external IoT-capable devices are the same external IoT-capable device.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the remote computing system comprises at least one of a gateway device, a cloud computing system, a server in a network, a computing node in the network, or a remote computing system at a customer premises associated with the user.

12. A personal tracking device, comprising:

at least one processor;

a transceiver;

a plurality of first sensors, the plurality of first sensors comprising at least one of one or more second sensors that monitor physical conditions of a body of a user or one or more third sensors that monitor environmental conditions external to the body of the user; and

a non-transitory computer readable medium communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, the non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer software comprising a set of instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the personal tracking device to;

receive at least one sensor data from each of at least one sensor of a plurality of first sensors;

analyze the at least one sensor data to identify one or more external Internet of Things (“

IoT”

) -capable devices with which to interact and to determine one or more tasks to be performed by the identified one or more external IoT-capable devices, each based at least in part on the at least one sensor data from each of the at least one sensor, wherein the one or more first external IoT-capable devices are separate from the personal tracking devices and wherein the one or more first external IoT-capable devices comprise at least one of a wearable drug delivery device, an implantable drug delivery device, a smart medical alert bracelet, an IoT vehicle node, one or more lighting systems, one or more environmental control systems, one or more speakers, or one or more security control systems; and

autonomously send, via machine-to-machine communication through the transceiver, one or more control instructions to each of the identified one or more external IoT-capable devices, based on the determined one or more tasks.

13. The personal tracking device of claim 12, wherein the personal tracking device is a wearable device.

14. The personal tracking device of claim 13, wherein the wearable device comprises at least one of a wrist strap, a clip, a pin, a clasp, an ear-loop, a finger ring, a toe ring, a bangle, a hook and loop-type strap, eyewear stems, a head band, or a buckle that allows the personal tracking device to be removably affixed to at least one of a portion of skin of the user, a limb of the user, an appendage of the user, a torso of the user, a head of the user, or a piece of clothing worn by the user.

15. The personal tracking device of claim 12, wherein the personal tracking device is an implantable device.

16. The personal tracking device of claim 15, wherein the implantable device comprises at least one of an encapsulation layer, a membrane, a hypo-allergenic housing, a capsule, or casing that allows the personal tracking device to be at least one of implanted under one or more layers of skin of the user, implanted within an organ of the user, implanted within a torso of the user, implanted within a head of the user, implanted within a spine of the user, implanted in an internal cavity of the user, or implanted in an external cavity of the user.

17. The personal tracking device of claim 12, wherein the one or more second sensors comprise at least one of a heart rate monitor, a pulse oximeter, an oximeter, a blood glucose monitor, a blood pressure monitor, a blood flow monitor, a nitrogen monitor, a carbon dioxide monitor, a sleep monitor, an activity monitor, a step counter, one or more limb movement monitors, one or more thermometers, one or more accelerometers, one or more gyroscopes, one or more body fat monitors, one or more body muscle monitors, one or more bone density monitors, one or more pH monitors, a body fluid monitor, a brain wave monitor, a synaptic activity monitor, an electroencephalograph, an electrocardiograph, a respiratory rate monitor, a serotonin monitor, an epilepsy monitor, a skin toxicity monitor, a blood toxicity monitor, an organ toxicity monitor, a cancer monitor, a pathogen detector, a blood tester, one or more blood alcohol level detectors, one or more drug testers, or one or more location monitors.

18. The personal tracking device of claim 12, wherein the one or more third sensors comprise at least one of an ambient temperature sensor, a flame detector, a particulate sensor, a light sensor, a humidity sensor, an air quality sensor, an atmospheric oxygen level monitor, an atmospheric carbon dioxide level monitor, an atmospheric nitrogen level monitor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, an environmental carbon monoxide sensor, a smoke detector, a gas toxicity monitor, a carcinogen detector, a radiation sensor, a location sensor, a location beacon, an object identifier beacon, a telecommunications signal sensor, a sound amplitude sensor, a frequency sensor, an accelerometer, a proximity sensor, a weather sensor, or a seismic sensor.

19. The personal tracking device of claim 12, wherein the one or more external IoT-capable devices further comprise at least one of a medical server, a medical database, a user device associated with a physician, a user device associated with a healthcare provider, a user device associated with the user, a user device associated with a relative or guardian of the user, a user device associated with a member of an organization with which the user is affiliated, a user device associated with an emergency response team member, an IoT management node, an IoT human interface device, one or more household devices, one or more office devices, one or more display devices, or one or more communications systems.

20. A system, comprising:

a first personal tracking device, comprising;

at least one first processor;

a first transceiver;

a plurality of first sensors, the plurality of first sensors comprising at least one of one or more second sensors that monitor physical conditions of a body of a user or one or more third sensors that monitor environmental conditions external to the body of the user; and

a first non-transitory computer readable medium communicatively coupled to the at least one first processor, the first non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer software comprising a first set of instructions that, when executed by the at least one first processor, causes the first personal tracking device to;

receive at least one first sensor data from each of at least one first sensor of the plurality of first sensors;

analyze the at least one first sensor data to identify one or more first external Internet of Things (“

IoT”

) -capable devices with which to interact and to determine one or more first tasks to be performed by the identified one or more first external IoT-capable devices, each based at least in part on the at least one first sensor data from each of the at least one first wherein the one or more first external IoT-capable devices are separate from the personal tracking devices and wherein the one or more first external IoT-capable devices comprise at least one of a wearable drug delivery device, an implantable drug delivery device, a smart medical alert bracelet, an IoT vehicle node, one or more lighting systems, one or more environmental control systems, one or more speakers, or one or more security control systems; and

autonomously send, via machine-to-machine communication through the first transceiver, one or more first control instructions to each of the identified one or more first external IoT-capable devices, based on the determined one or more first tasks; and

the one or more first external IoT-capable devices, each comprising;

a second transceiver;

at least one second processor; and

a second non-transitory computer readable medium communicatively coupled to the at least one second processor, the second non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer software comprising a second set of instructions that, when executed by the at least one second processor, causes the first external IoT-capable devices to;

receive, via the second transceiver, the first control instructions from the first personal tracking device; and

perform at least one first task of the first external IoT-capable device based on the first control instructions.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the first personal tracking device is a wearable device, wherein the wearable device comprises at least one of a wrist strap, a clip, a pin, a clasp, an ear-loop, a finger ring, a toe ring, a bangle, a hook and loop-type strap, eyewear stems, a head band, or a buckle that allows the first personal tracking device to be removably affixed to at least one of a portion of skin of the user, a limb of the user, an appendage of the user, a torso of the user, a head of the user, or a piece of clothing worn by the user.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the first personal tracking device is an implantable device, wherein the implantable device comprises at least one of an encapsulation layer, a membrane, a hypo-allergenic housing, a capsule, or casing that allows the first personal tracking device to be at least one of implanted under one or more layers of skin of the user, implanted within an organ of the user, implanted within a torso of the user, implanted within a head of the user, implanted within a spine of the user, implanted in an internal cavity of the user, or implanted in an external cavity of the user.

23. The system of claim 20, wherein the one or more second sensors comprise at least one of a heart rate monitor, a pulse oximeter, an oximeter, a blood glucose monitor, a blood pressure monitor, a blood flow monitor, a nitrogen monitor, a carbon dioxide monitor, a sleep monitor, an activity monitor, a step counter, one or more limb movement monitors, one or more thermometers, one or more accelerometers, one or more gyroscopes, one or more body fat monitors, one or more body muscle monitors, one or more bone density monitors, one or more pH monitors, a body fluid monitor, a brain wave monitor, a synaptic activity monitor, an electroencephalograph, an electrocardiograph, a respiratory rate monitor, a serotonin monitor, an epilepsy monitor, a skin toxicity monitor, a blood toxicity monitor, an organ toxicity monitor, a cancer monitor, a pathogen detector, a blood tester, one or more blood alcohol level detectors, one or more drug testers, or one or more location monitors.

24. The system of claim 20, wherein the one or more third sensors comprise at least one of an ambient temperature sensor, a flame detector, a particulate sensor, a light sensor, a humidity sensor, an air quality sensor, an atmospheric oxygen level monitor, an atmospheric carbon dioxide level monitor, an atmospheric nitrogen level monitor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, an environmental carbon monoxide sensor, a smoke detector, a gas toxicity monitor, a carcinogen detector, a radiation sensor, a location sensor, a location beacon, an object identifier beacon, a telecommunications signal sensor, a sound amplitude sensor, a frequency sensor, an accelerometer, a proximity sensor, a weather sensor, or a seismic sensor.

25. The system of claim 20, wherein the one or more first external IoT-capable devices further comprise at least one of a medical server, a medical database, a user device associated with a physician, a user device associated with a healthcare provider, a user device associated with the user, a user device associated with a relative or guardian of the user, a user device associated with a member of an organization with which the user is affiliated, a user device associated with an emergency response team member, an IoT management node, an IoT human interface device, an IoT vehicle node, one or more household devices, one or more office devices, one or more display devices, or one or more communications systems.

26. The system of claim 20, further comprising:

one or more second personal tracking devices that are separate from the IoT-capable personal tracking device, each second personal tracking device comprising;

at least one third processor;

a third transceiver;

a plurality of fourth sensors, the plurality of fourth sensors comprising at least one of one or more fifth sensors that monitor physical conditions of a body of a user or one or more sixth sensors that monitor environmental conditions external to the body of the user; and

a third non-transitory computer readable medium communicatively coupled to the at least one third processor, the third non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer software comprising a third set of instructions that, when executed by the at least one third processor, causes the second personal tracking device to;

receive at least one fourth sensor data from each of at least one fourth sensor of a plurality of fourth sensors; and

send, via machine-to-machine communication through the third transceiver, the at least one fourth sensor data to at least one of the first personal tracking device or one or more other second personal tracking devices;

wherein at least one of the first set of instructions, when executed by the at least one first processor, further causes the first personal tracking device or the third set of instructions, when executed by the at least one third processor, further causes one or more of the second personal tracking devices to;

receive the at least one fourth sensor data from each of the at least one fourth sensor of the plurality of fourth sensors of each of the one or more second IoT-capable personal tracking devices;

analyze a combination of the at least one first sensor data and the at least one fourth sensor data to identify one or more second external IoT-capable devices with which to interact and to determine one or more second tasks to be performed by the identified one or more second external IoT-capable devices, each based at least in part on the combination of the at least one first sensor data from the at least one first sensor of the first IoT-capable personal tracking device and the at least one fourth sensor data from each of the at least one fourth sensor of each of the one or more second IoT-capable personal tracking devices; and

autonomously send, via machine-to-machine communication, one or more second control instructions to each of the identified one or more second external IoT-capable devices, based on the determined one or more second tasks.

27. The system of claim 20, further comprising:

a remote computing system, comprising;

at least one fourth processor; and

a fourth non-transitory computer readable medium communicatively coupled to the at least one fourth processor, the fourth non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer software comprising a fourth set of instructions that, when executed by the at least one fourth processor, causes the remote computing system to;

receive the at least one first sensor data from each of the at least one first sensor of the plurality of first sensors of the first personal tracking device;

analyze the at least one first sensor data to identify one or more third external IoT-capable devices with which to interact and to determine one or more third tasks to be performed by the identified one or more third external IoT-capable devices, each based at least in part on the at least one first sensor data from each of the at least one first sensor; and

autonomously send, via machine-to-machine communication, one or more third control instructions to each of the identified one or more third external IoT-capable devices, based on the determined one or more third tasks.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the remote computing system comprises at least one of a gateway device, a cloud computing system, a server in a network, a computing node in the network, or a remote computing system at a customer premises associated with the user.