METHODS, DEVICES, AND SYSTEMS FOR AUTOMATICALLY DETECTING, TRACKING, AND VALIDATING TRANSIT JOURNEYS

• US 20160379141A1
• Filed: 06/20/2016
• Published: 12/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mastercard International Incorporated (MasterCard Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Mastercard International Incorporated (MasterCard Incorporated)
• Inventors: JUDGE, EDWARD WILLIAM, NO, JAMES CHRISTIAN
• Granted Patent: US 11,182,700 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/047 using payment protocols involving electronic receipts
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/326 Payment applications installed on the mobile devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3274 using a pictured code, e.g. barcode or QR-code, being displayed on the M-device
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0205 Location or geographical consideration
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/02 taking into account a variable factor such as distance or time, e.g. for passenger transport, parking systems or car rental systems G07B15/06 takes precedence; taximeters G07B13/00; parking meters per se G07F17/24; car rental systems per se G07B15/00
• 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

Methods, devices, and systems for automatically detecting, tracking, and validating transit journeys are provided. A transit data processing engine receives sensory data gathered by a plurality of sensors of a mobile device registered for automatic tracking of transit journeys and detects, based on transit data of one or more transit agencies and a first set of the sensory data, a potential transit event with the one or more transit agencies. Based on the transit data and a second set of the sensory data, received subsequently to the first set of the sensory data, the processing engine determines then whether the potential transit event defines a transit journey having a starting point with the one or more transit agencies. If the potential transit event defines the transit journey, the transit data processing engine continues to analyse the sensory data being received to detect an ending point of the transit journey.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of automatically tracking transit journeys, the method comprising:

receiving, at a transit data processing engine, sensory data gathered by a plurality of sensors of a mobile device registered for automatic tracking of transit journeys;

detecting, by the transit data processing engine, based on transit data of one or more transit agencies and a first set of the sensory data, a potential transit event with the one or more transit agencies;

determining, by the transit data processing engine, based on the transit data of the one or more transit agencies and a second set of the sensory data, whether the potential transit event defines a transit journey having a starting point with the one or more transit agencies, wherein the second set of the sensory data is received subsequently to the first set of the sensory data; and

analysing, by the transit data processing engine, the sensory data being received subsequently to the second set of the sensory data to detect an ending point of the transit journey, if the potential transit event defines the transit journey with the one or more transit agencies.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

in response to determining that the potential transit event defines the transit journey, generating validation data confirming the transit journey, comprising one or more of;

an e-ticket for displaying on the mobile device, a QR-code for displaying on the mobile device, a barcode for displaying on the mobile device, or a validation code for storing in NFC readable memory of the mobile device.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

the sensory data comprises one or more of;

a geo-location of the mobile device, geo-fencing data, a cell tower location of the mobile device, an identification of a Wi-Fi network available to the mobile device, a received signal strength indication (RSSI) associated with the available Wi-Fi network, an identification of a Bluetooth beacon, acceleration data, direction data, audio data, or motion data; and

/or

the transit data of the one or more transit agencies comprises at least one of;

a mode of transportation, geo-locations of one or more transit stations, timetables for transit services, real-time transit updates regarding provided transit services, identification and location data of Wi-Fi networks supported by the one or more transit agencies, or identification and location data of Bluetooth networks supported by the one or more transit agencies.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein detecting the potential transit event with the one or more transit agencies comprises one or more of:

determining that a geo-location of the mobile device is within a pre-defined distance to a geo-location of a transit station of the one or more transit agencies,

determining that audio data of the first set of the sensory data has one or more pre-determined characteristics associated with the transit station of the one or more transit agencies, or

determining that the mobile device is able to access a Wi-Fi network or a Bluetooth beacon accessible from an entry area of the transit station of the one or more transit agencies.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining that the potential transit event defines the transit journey with the one or more transit agencies comprises one or more of:

determining that the sensory data, subsequent to the second set of the sensory data, comprises one or more geo-locations of the mobile device that correspond to one or more geo-locations along one or more transit routes supported by the one or more transit agencies, wherein each of the one or more transit routes includes the starting point,

determining that that the sensory data, subsequent to the second set of the sensory data, comprises one or more geo-locations of the mobile device that correspond to geo-locations along a transit route supported by the one or more transit agencies and were gathered at times in agreement with one or more of a timetable of the transit route or real-time transit updates for the one or more transit agencies in association with the transit route,

determining that the mobile device is able to access a Wi-Fi network or Bluetooth beacon accessible from a departure area of a transit station of the one or more transit agencies,

determining that the mobile device is able to access a Wi-Fi network or Bluetooth beacon accessible from a transit vehicle of the one or more transit agencies,

determining that a speed of movement of the mobile device corresponds to an estimated speed of a transit vehicle on an estimated transit route with the one or more transit agencies, the estimated transit route including the starting point, or

receiving an indication of the transit journey based on user input at the mobile device.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein analysing the sensory data to detect the ending point of the transit journey comprises:

correlating, based on the transit data, the sensory data being received to one or more transit routes of the one or more transit agencies comprising the starting point to detect the ending point of the transit journey on one of the one or more transit routes.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein analysing the sensory data to detect the ending point of the transit journey further comprises:

detecting, based on a third set of the sensory data, a potential ending point of the transit journey along the one or more transit routes in response to determining one or more of;

that the third set of the sensory data comprises a geo-location of the mobile device that corresponds to a geo-location of a transit station of the one or more transit agencies along the one or more transit routes,

that the third set of the sensory data indicates that the mobile device was able to access a Wi-Fi network or a Bluetooth beacon accessible from an arrival area of a transit station of the one or more transit agencies along the one or more transit routes, or

that the third set of the sensory data indicates that the mobile device stopped moving along the one or more transit routes of the one or more transit agencies; and

analysing the sensory data received subsequently to the third set of the sensory data to confirm whether the potential ending point is the ending point of the transit journey.

8. The method according to claim 7,

wherein the potential ending point is a transit station of the one or more transit agencies that corresponds to a geo-location of a mobile device included in the third set of the sensory data;

and

wherein confirming that the potential ending point is the ending point of the transit journey comprises one or more of;

determining that one or more geo-locations detected by the mobile device subsequently to the third set of the sensory data are outside of the one or more transit routes supported by the one or more transit agencies, or

determining that, the mobile device is able to access a Wi-Fi network or a Bluetooth beacon accessible from an exit area of the transit station defining the potential ending point.

9. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

calculating, by the transit data processing engine, a fare for the transit journey based at least on the starting point and the ending point of the transit journey,

wherein if it is determined that the transit journey falls within boundaries of a season ticket associated with the mobile device, the calculated fare is zero and if it is determined that the transit journey falls partially within the boundaries of the season ticket, the fare for the transit journey is calculated based on a part of the transit journey lying outside of the boundaries of the season ticket;

or

transmitting, to at least one of the one or more transit agencies associated with the transit journey, data concerning the transit journey for calculation of the fare, the data comprising at least the starting point and the ending point.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein if, based on the second set of the sensory data, a determination that the potential transit event is the transit journey with the one or more transit agencies fails, the method further comprises:

detecting a second potential transit event with the one or more transit agencies based on the transit data of the one or more transit agencies and one of;

the first set of the sensory data, the second set of the sensory data, or a subsequent set of the sensory data.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sensory data is received in accordance with a reporting protocol defined in association with the plurality of sensors, wherein the reporting protocol comprises a pre-defined schedule, is event-based, or is a combination thereof.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

triggering an adjustment to the reporting protocol in response to one of detecting the potential transit event or detecting that the mobile device entered a pre-defined geo-fence area, wherein the adjustment comprises one or more of;

increasing a frequency of reporting the sensory data gathered by the plurality of sensors, or

activating one or more additional sensors of the mobile device to gather and report additional sensory data.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein

the transit journey comprises a first section, which lies within a transit network supported by a first of the one more transit agencies, and a second section, which lies within a transit network supported by a second of the one or more transit agencies, wherein the first and second transit agencies are different.

14. A backend server comprising:

at least one processor;

a transit data processing engine; and

a memory storing instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor cause the transit data processing engine to;

receive sensory data gathered by a plurality of sensors of a mobile device registered for automatic tracking of transit journeys;

detect, based on transit data of one or more transit agencies and a first set of the sensory data, a potential transit event with the one or more transit agencies;

determine, based on the transit data of the one or more transit agencies and a second set of the sensory data, whether the potential transit event defines a transit journey having a starting point with the one or more transit agencies, wherein the second set of the sensory data is received by the transit data processing engine subsequently to the first set of the sensory data; and

analyse the sensory data being received subsequently to the second set of the sensory data to detect an ending point of the transit journey, if the potential transit event defines the transit journey with the one or more transit agencies.

15. The backend server according to claim 14, wherein the transit data processing engine is configured to detect the potential transit event with the one or more transit agencies by performing one or more of:

determining that a geo-location of the mobile device is within a pre-defined distance to a geo-location of a transit station of the one or more transit agencies,

determining that audio data of the first set of the sensory data has one or more pre-determined characteristics associated with the transit station of the one or more transit agencies, or

determining that the mobile device is able to access a Wi-Fi network or a Bluetooth beacon accessible from an entry area of the transit station of the one or more transit agencies.

16. The backend server according to claim 14, wherein the transit data processing engine is configured to determine that the potential transit event defines the transit journey with the one or more transit agencies by performing one or more of:

determining that the sensory data, subsequent to the second set of the sensory data, comprises one or more geo-locations of the mobile device that correspond to one or more geo-locations along one or more transit routes supported by the one or more transit agencies, wherein each of the one or more transit routes includes the starting point,

determining that that the sensory data, subsequent to the second set of the sensory data, comprises one or more geo-locations of the mobile device that correspond to geo-locations along a transit route supported by the one or more transit agencies and were gathered at times in agreement with one or more of a timetable of the transit route or real-time transit updates for the one or more transit agencies in association with the transit route,

determining that the mobile device is able to access a Wi-Fi network or Bluetooth beacon accessible from a departure area of a transit station of the one or more transit agencies,

determining that the mobile device is able to access a Wi-Fi network or Bluetooth beacon accessible from a transit vehicle of the one or more transit agencies,

determining that a speed of movement of the mobile device corresponds to an estimated speed of a transit vehicle on an estimated transit route with the one or more transit agencies, the estimated transit route including the starting point, or

receiving an indication of the transit journey based on user input at the mobile device.

17. The backend server according to claim 14, wherein the transit data processing engine is configured to analyse the sensory data to detect the ending point of the transit journey by:

correlating, based on the transit data, the sensory data being received to one or more transit routes of the one or more transit agencies comprising the starting point to detect the ending point of the transit journey on one of the one or more transit routes;

detecting, based on a third set of the sensory data, a potential ending point of the transit journey along the one or more transit routes in response to determining one or more of;

that the third set of the sensory data comprises a geo-location of the mobile device that corresponds to a geo-location of a transit station of the one or more transit agencies along the one or more transit routes,

that the third set of the sensory data indicates that the mobile device was able to access a Wi-Fi network or a Bluetooth beacon accessible from an arrival area of a transit station of the one or more transit agencies along the one or more transit routes, or

that the third set of the sensory data indicates that the mobile device stopped moving along the one or more transit routes of the one or more transit agencies; and

analysing the sensory data received subsequently to the third set of the sensory data to confirm whether the potential ending point is the ending point of the transit journey.

18. The backend server according to claim 14, wherein the potential ending point is a transit station of the one or more transit agencies that corresponds to a geo-location of a mobile device included in the third set of the sensory data;

and

wherein the transit data processing engine is configured to confirm that the potential ending point is the ending point of the transit journey by performing one or more of;

determining that one or more geo-locations detected by the mobile device subsequently to the third set of the sensory data are outside of the one or more transit routes supported by the one or more transit agencies, or

determining that, the mobile device is able to access a Wi-Fi network or a Bluetooth beacon accessible from an exit area of the transit station defining the potential ending point.

19. The backend server according to claim 14, wherein the transit data processing engine is further configured to

calculate a fare for the transit journey based at least on the starting point and the ending point of the transit journey, or

transmit, to at least one of the one or more transit agencies associated with the transit journey, data concerning the transit journey for calculation of the fare, the data comprising at least the starting point and the ending point.

20. A mobile device for automatic tracking of transit journeys, the mobile device comprising:

a plurality of sensors configured to gather sensory data;

at least one processor;

a transit data processing engine; and

a memory storing instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor cause the transit data processing engine to

receive sensory data gathered by the plurality of sensors of registered for automatic tracking of transit journeys;

detect, based on transit data of one or more transit agencies and a first set of the sensory data, a potential transit event with the one or more transit agencies;

determine, based on the transit data of the one or more transit agencies and a second set of the sensory data, whether the potential transit event defines a transit journey having a starting point with the one or more transit agencies, wherein the second set of the sensory data is received subsequently to the first set of the sensory data; and

analyse the sensory data being received subsequently to the second set of the sensory data to detect an ending point of the transit journey, if the potential transit event defines the transit journey with the one or more transit agencies, or

detect a second potential transit event with the one or more transit agencies based on the transit data of the one or more transit agencies and one of;

the first set of the sensory data, the second set of the sensory data, or a subsequent set of the sensory data otherwise.