METHOD FOR TRACKING MOVING ENTITIES

• US 20090040237A1
• Filed: 07/10/2008
• Published: 02/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Pinault, Francis, Soulie, Antoine
• Granted Patent: US 8,831,863 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/642
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 29/106 using electronic means

Abstract

Method for tracking entities (2) evolving in a monitored space having a metrics with at least one predetermined granularity, said method including repetition of the following operations:

• • determining a current spatial and/or temporal state of the entities (2) within said space, according to said metrics,
  • checking occurrence of a triggering event in connection with said state,
  • upon occurrence of said triggering event, changing granularity of the monitored space for at least one entity (2).

Claims

1. Method for tracking entities (2) evolving in a monitored space having a metrics with at least one predetermined granularity, said method including repetition of the following operations:

determining a current spatial and/or temporal state of the entities (2) within said space, according to said metrics,

checking occurrence of a triggering event in connection with said state,

upon occurrence of said triggering event, changing granularity of the monitored space for at least one entity (2).

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein the triggering event is the transition of the state of the entities within the monitored space, according to said metrics, to another state being closer to, or remoter from, a predetermined target state.

3. Method according to claim 1, wherein the monitored space comprises a spatial area subdivided in cells, and wherein determining the current state of an entity comprises identifying the cell where the entity is deemed to be currently present or entering to.

4. Method according to claim 3, wherein checking occurrence of a triggering event includes calculation of the distance, according to said metrics, between the identified cell (6) and at least another cell in which at least one entity (2) is deemed to be currently present or entering to.

5. Method according to claim 4, wherein the triggering event is the calculated distance being lower or greater than a predetermined distance.

6. Method according to claim 5, wherein granularity is increased or decreased if the calculated distance is lower or, respectively, greater than the predetermined distance.

7. Method according to claim 3, wherein granularity change is conducted through a recursive spatial division technique of the cells.

10. Application of a method according to claim 1 to traffic monitoring and/or regulation.

8. System for tracking entities (2) evolving in a monitored space having a metrics with at least one predetermined granularity, said system including:

an application server (5) configured to perform the following functions;

determining a current spatial and/or temporal state of the entities (2) within said space, according to said metrics,

checking occurrence of a triggering event in connection with said state,

upon occurrence of said triggering event, changing granularity of the monitored space for at least one entity (2).

a communication server (3) connected to the application server (5) and configured to manage communications with the moving entities (2), said communications including;

contextual information sent by the entities (2) in connection with their current spatial and/or temporal state within the monitored space according to said metrics,

granularity parameters sent by the communication server (3).

9. Computer program implemented on a processing unit of a computer, said program including code sections for performing the following instructions:

determining a current spatial and/or temporal state of entities (2) evolving within a monitored space having a metrics with at least one predetermined granularity,

checking occurrence of a triggering event in connection with said state,

upon occurrence of said triggering event, changing granularity of the monitored space for at least one entity (2).

forming a message including new granularity parameters to be sent to said at least one entity (2).