METHODS, SYSTEMS AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCTS FOR ANONYMOUS TRACKING OF OBJECTS

• US 20120268244A1
• Filed: 04/20/2011
• Published: 10/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ljung, Peter, Wadman, Johan
• Granted Patent: US 9,049,559 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/5.65
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• 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 21/0275 Electronic Article Surveillance [EAS] tag technology used for parent or child unit, e.g. same transmission technology, magnetic tag, RF tag, RFID
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

Systems and methods of providing location information associated with moveable objects include receiving tag identification (ID) information reports from a plurality of tag sensors. A movable object associated with each of the ID information reports received from the tag sensors is identified. Location information associated with the movable objects is updated responsive to the received ID information reports to provide updated location information for the moveable objects and an owner associated with each of the movable objects is determined. Access to the location information associated with respective ones of the movable objects is allowed only to requestors authorized by the owner associated with the respective ones of the movable objects, wherein the tag sensors have not been provided notification of ID information associated with the movable objects or of the owners associated with the moveable objects.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of providing location information associated with moveable objects, the method comprising:

receiving tag identification (ID) information reports from a plurality of tag sensors;

identifying a movable object associated with each of the ID information reports received from the tag sensors;

updating location information associated with the movable objects responsive to the received ID information reports to provide updated location information for the moveable objects;

determining an owner associated with each of the movable objects; and

allowing access to the location information associated with respective ones of the movable objects only to requestors authorized by the owner associated with the respective ones of the movable objects, wherein the tag sensors have not been provided notification of ID information associated with the movable objects or of the owners associated with the moveable objects.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein updating location information comprises, for respective ones of the ID information reports:

determining an identity of a reporting one of the tag sensors providing the respective one of the ID information reports;

estimating a location of the identified reporting one of the tag sensors; and

updating the location information for the movable object associated with the respective one of the ID information reports based on the estimated location of the reporting one of the tag sensors.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein updating location information further comprises quality weighting selected ones of the received ID information reports based on a reliability characteristic for the reporting tag sensors providing the selected ones of the received ID information reports.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the reliability characteristic comprises an association between the reporting ones of the tag sensors and the owner associated with the movable object associated with the respective selected ones of the ID information reports.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein updating location information further comprises:

grouping a plurality of the received ID information reports associated with a same one of the movable objects based on a filter time window of times associated with the respective ID information reports;

comparing locations of the identified reporting ones of the tag sensors for the grouped plurality of received ID information reports; and

discarding selected ones of the grouped plurality of received ID information reports based on comparing the locations of the identified ones of the tag sensors.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving ID information reports includes:

receiving a first ID information report associated with a first movable object from a first tag sensor, the first tag sensor having an associated location accuracy;

receiving a second ID information report associated with the first movable object from a second tag sensor, the second tag sensor having an associated location accuracy less than that of the first tag sensor; and

receiving a third ID information report associated with a second movable object from the second tag sensor, wherein each of the second and third ID information reports has an associated time falling within a same sample window,

wherein updating location information includes;

updating the location information for the first movable object based on the estimated location of the first tag sensor, not the estimated location of the second tag sensor; and

updating the location information for the second movable object based on the updated location information for the first movable object responsive to receiving the second and third ID information reports having associated times falling within the sample window.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first tag sensor comprises a mobile terminal having GPS location information and the second tag sensor comprises a mobile terminal not having GPS location information.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying a movable object comprises comparing ID information from the ID information report with stored information associating ID information with respective ones of the movable objects and wherein the method further comprises changing the ID information associated with the respective ones of the movable objects at selected times.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the tag sensors are mobile terminals and wherein receiving the ID information reports is preceded by:

receiving a tag identification using a short range wireless transmission protocol at one of the plurality of tag sensors, wherein the one of the plurality of tag sensors does not know what object is associated with the received tag identification;

formatting the received tag identification as an ID information report; and

then

transmitting the ID information report to a location service over a wide area cellular network communicatively coupled to the one of the plurality of tag sensors.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the tag identification is received from a battery powered electronic tag configured to transmit its tag identification at specified intervals using the short range wireless protocol.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the tag further comprises a memory including a plurality of identifications and wherein the tag is configured to select a different one of the plurality of identifications to transmit as its tag identification at specified intervals.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the tag has a unique identity number and the tag is further configured to repeatedly:

determine a new variable number;

add the new variable number to the identity number to provide identification data for the tag;

encode the identification data for transmission as the tag identification; and

transmit the tag identification using the short range wireless protocol, wherein determining a new variable, adding and encoding are repeated so that the transmitted tag identification is changed after a selected interval.

13. A computer-implemented method of providing location information associated with moveable objects, the method comprising:

receiving a tag identification at a mobile terminal using a short range wireless transmission protocol, wherein the mobile terminal does not have any knowledge of the source of the received tag identification;

formatting the received tag identification as an ID information report; and

then

transmitting the ID information report to a location service over a wide area cellular network communicatively coupled to the mobile terminal.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein receiving, formatting and transmitting are carried out for a plurality of tag identifications received by the mobile terminal from a location of the mobile terminal and wherein formatting the received tag information includes adding location information for the mobile terminal to the ID information report.

15. A location server for providing location information associated with movable objects, the location server comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to the processor that includes, for each of the movable objects, identification information associated with the respective movable object and an owner associated with the respective movable object;

a communication interface coupled to the processor that is configured to receive tag identification (ID) information reports from tag sensors;

an object location module executing on the processor that is configured to update location information associated with the movable objects, that is stored in the memory, responsive to received ID information reports to provide updated location information for the moveable objects; and

a data access module executing on the processor that is configured allow access to the location information associated with respective ones of the movable objects only to requestors authorized by the owner associated with the respective ones of the movable objects,

wherein the tag sensors have not been provided notification of the identification information associated with the respective movable objects or of the owners associated with the respective moveable objects.

16. The location server of claim 15, wherein the object location module includes a filter module that is configured to select between received ones of the ID information reports to increase the accuracy of the stored updated location information for the movable objects.

17. The location server of claim 15, wherein the object location module includes a tag sensor locator module that is configured to estimate a location of a tag sensor providing respective ones of the ID information reports and wherein the object location module is configured to update the location information based on the estimated location of the tag sensor providing the respective ones of the ID information reports.

18. A method for providing an anonymous short range wireless transmitter tag for use in locating a movable object, the method comprising the following carried out at the tag:

determining a unique identity number for the tag;

determining a variable number for inclusion with the unique identity number;

adding the variable number to the identity number to provide identification data for the tag;

encoding the identification data for transmission by the short range wireless transmitter as a tag identification;

transmitting the tag identification using a short range wireless protocol and then

determining a new variable number;

adding the new variable number to the identity number to provide new identification data for the tag;

encoding the new identification data for transmission by the short range wireless transmitter as a new tag identification;

transmitting the new tag identification using the short range wireless protocol; and

repeating determining a new variable number, adding the new variable number, encoding and transmitting using the new tag identification for the tag after a selected interval.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the variable number and the new variable number comprise time associated stamps.

20-31. -31. (canceled)

32. An anonymous tag, comprising:

a processor;

a short range wireless transmitter coupled to the processor;

a memory coupled to the processor including a unique identity number for the tag and a key for use in encoding by the tag;

a tag identification module configured to execute on the processor that repeatedly;

determines a new variable number for inclusion with the unique identity number;

adds the new variable number to the identity number to provide identification data for the tag; and

encodes the identification data for transmission by the short range wireless transmitter as a tag identification, wherein the short range wireless transmitter transmits the tag identification.