OBJECT TRACKING APPARATUS AND METHOD, AND SENSOR POSITION DESIGNATING METHOD

• US 20120280798A1
• Filed: 12/01/2009
• Published: 11/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: People and Technology
• Original Assignee: Pusan National University Industry-University Cooperation Foundation
• Inventors: Li, Ki Joune, Kang, Hye Young, Kim, Joon Seok
• Granted Patent: US 9,013,282 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.6
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/878 Combination of several spaced transmitters or receivers of known location for determining the position of a transponder or a reflector G01S13/874 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0022 arrangements or provisions for transferring data to distant stations, e.g. from a sensing device "transfer between computer elements G06F13/00 "; data-transmission H04L
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10079 the collision being resolved in the spatial domain, e.g. temporary shields for blindfolding the interrogator in specific directions

Abstract

The apparatus for tracking an object and the method thereof and the method for locating a sensor are described. The subject object tracking apparatus comprises an interface receiving sensor information and object information from a sensor communicated with an object; a first storing part successively storing sensor information in chronological order; a second storing part storing a neighborhood graph displaying an object space; and a location determining part determining a location of an object using sensor information and a neighborhood graph. According to the present invention, an accessibility graph corresponding to a space is generated and a location of a sensor is determined on an accessibility graph, thereby effectively locating a sensor and tracking an object.

Claims

1. An object tracking apparatus, which is provided to track a location of an object by communicating with a plurality of sensors, comprising:

an interface receiving sensor information and object information from sensors communicated with the object;

a first storing part successively storing the sensor information in chronological order;

a second storing part storing the neighborhood graph displaying the object space; and

a location determining part determining a location of the object using the sensor information and the neighborhood graph.

2. The object tracking apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the neighborhood graph comprises a black node corresponding to a subspace of the spaces, a link corresponding to a passage connecting subspaces, a white node corresponding to a coverage area of the sensor.

3. The object tracking apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein in the neighborhood graph, the black node neighboring to the white node is one and less.

4. The object tracking apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein in the neighborhood graph, a neighbor node of the black node is the white node.

5. The object tracking apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the location determining part, in tracking real-time location of the object, determines that the object is in a coverage area of the first sensor if it receives the first sensor information and the object information from a first sensor of the plurality of sensors.

6. The object tracking apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the location determining part, in tracking real-time location of the object, reads newly stored sensor information from the first storing part, determines a white node corresponding to a sensor having the sensor information from the neighborhood graph, and determines a subspace corresponding to a black node neighboring to the white node as a location of the object, if it does not receive the object information from the plurality of sensors.

7. A method for tracking an object, there is provided a method for tracking an object by communicating with a plurality of sensors, comprising the steps of receiving sensor information and object information from a sensor communicated with the object;

successively storing the sensor information in chronological order based on the object information; and

determining a location of the object using a neighborhood graph corresponding to the sensor information and the object space information.

8. The method for tracking an object as claimed in claim 7, wherein the accessibility graph comprises a black node corresponding a subspace, a link corresponding to a passage connecting subspaces, and a white note corresponding a coverage area of the sensor.

9. The method for tracking an object as claimed in claim 8, wherein in the accessibility graph, the black node neighboring to the white node is one and less.

10. The method for tracking an object as claimed in claim 8, wherein in the accessibility graph, a neighbor node of the black node is the white node.

11. The method for tracking an object as claimed in claim 7, wherein as to the step of determining a location of the object, in tracking real-time location of the object, if it receives the first sensor information and the object information from a first sensor of the plurality of sensors, it determines that the object is in a coverage area of the first sensor.

12. The method for tracking an object as claimed in claim 7, wherein as to the step of determining the location of the object, in tracking real-time location of the object, if it does not receive the object information from a first sensor of the plurality of sensors, it determines a sensor having newly stored sensor information, determines a white node corresponding the sensor from the neighborhood graph, and determine a subspace corresponding to a black node neighboring to the white node as a location of the object.

13. A method for locating a sensor, there is provided a method for locating a sensor to track a location of an object, comprising the steps of generating an accessibility graph consisting of a plurality of black nodes corresponding to a plurality of subspaces and a link corresponding to a passage connecting subspaces of the plurality of subspaces;

and adding a white node to the accessibility graph to enable the space represented by the accessibility graph to be a trackable space. Here, the white node is a location of the sensor.

14. The method for locating a sensor as claimed in claim 13, wherein in the step of adding a white node, the white node is added to the accessibility graph so that black node neighboring to the white node is one and less.

15. The method for locating a sensor as claimed in claim 13, wherein in the step of adding a white node, the white node is added to the accessibility graph so that a neighbor node of the black node is a white node.

16. The method for locating a sensor as claimed in claim 13, wherein the white node is added between different black nodes of the plurality of black nodes.