System and method for situational awareness

• US 8,937,545 B2
• Filed: 11/08/2012
• Issued: 01/20/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intrepid Networks, LLC
• Original Assignee: Intrepid Networks, LLC
• Inventors: Kane, Brittin, Witter, Joshua
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hung T.
• Application Number:
  US13/672,167
• Publication Number:
  US 20140125483A1
• Time in Patent Office: 803 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.13, 340/539.1, 340/539.11, 340/539.15, 340/539.21, 340/539.23, 340/686.6, 340/825.49, 340/825.69
• US Class Current: 340/539.13
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0876 based on the identity of the terminal or configuration, e.g. MAC address, hardware or software configuration or device fingerprint

Abstract

A non-transitory computer readable medium containing computer program instructions for monitoring whether persons in a group are each away from an associated vehicle. In one embodiment, the computer system receives an association between each of multiple persons in the group with one of multiple vehicles and automatically receives digital information, derived from measured rf signal strength, indicating whether any one of multiple persons in the group has moved from a first relatively close position with respect to an associated vehicle and farther away from the associated vehicle than the first position. A notification is sent from the computer system to at least one device associated with a person in the group based on received information that a first of said multiple persons is farther away from the associated vehicle than the first relatively close position is from the associated vehicle.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing program instructions representing software executable in a central monitoring system comprising a computer system including a microprocessor memory media and storage media and connected to a network, which instructions, when executed by the computer system, cause the computer system to perform method steps for monitoring the status of multiple persons in a group based on distance between a communications device associated with each person and one of multiple vehicles, each person in the group associated with one of the vehicles, the status indicative as to whether each person in the group has moved away from an associated vehicle or returned thereto, wherein each communications device is a first device in a pair of first and second devices, the first devices being carried by persons in the group while the second devices are each positioned at one of the associated vehicles, the method comprising:

receiving, by a central monitoring system comprising a processor, digital data from at least one member in each pair of devices in communication across a network with the processor of the central monitoring system, and processing the digital data received from the at least one member in each pair of devices, by;

identifying each communications device in each pair of devices;

associating the communications device in each pair of devices with a person in the group who is assigned to the communications device;

assimilating location status information from the data received from at least one member in each pair of devices, wherein the data is based on a distance between the devices in each pair derived from strength of a RF signal transmitted from one device in the pair toward the other device in the pair, the location status information indicative of persons in the group being in a first status when the person associated with the communications device in the pair has moved beyond a predetermined range of distance from the vehicle; and

outputting updated location status information to a display screen to provide notification when a person in the group is in the first status.

2. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein execution of the program instructions by the computer system causes the computer system to receive the digital data from the at least one member in each pair of devices via a wireless network.

3. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein the program instructions when executed by the computer system populate a data base that associates each portable device with a person assigned thereto.

4. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein the program instructions, when executed by the computer system, associate the communications device in each pair of devices with a person in the group who is assigned to the communications device by accessing a database that associates each portable device with a respective person assigned thereto.

5. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 1 wherein, according to execution of the program instructions, the step of receiving digital data, including assimilating the data, is performed periodically to automatically place status information in a database and periodically update the database to provide new status information regarding movement of each person in the group with respect to an associated vehicle.

6. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 5 wherein, according to execution of the program instructions, the step of outputting location status information to a display screen to provide notification when a person in the group is in the first status is performed periodically to provide updated location status information to the display screen.

7. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing program instructions representing software executable in a central monitoring system comprising a computer system including a microprocessor memory media and storage media and connected to a network, which instructions, when executed by the computer system, cause the computer system to perform method steps for monitoring whether one or more persons in a group have each been away from an associated vehicle for longer than a predetermined time period, comprising:

receiving into the computer system an association between each of multiple persons in the group with a vehicle;

automatically receiving into the computer system digital information, derived from measured rf signal strength and sent via the network, indicating whether any one of multiple persons in the group has moved from a first relatively close position with respect to an associated vehicle and farther away from the associated vehicle than the first position;

initiating a timer function in the computer system if the information the computer system receives indicates that a first of said multiple persons in the group has moved farther away from the associated vehicle than the first position;

periodically receiving, into the computer system, updated information, also derived from measured rf signal strength, indicating whether the first of said multiple persons remains farther away from the associated vehicle than the first relatively close position or has moved to a position at least as close to the associated vehicle as the first relatively close position; and

sending a notification from the computer system to at least one device associated with a second person in the group if, after a predefined time period determined with the timer function, the computer system determines, based on received updated information, that the first of said multiple persons remains farther away from the associated vehicle than the first relatively close position, the notification indicating that the first of said multiple persons has remained farther away from the associated vehicle than the first relatively close position during the entire predefined time period.

8. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing program instructions representing software executable in a central monitoring system comprising a computer system including a microprocessor memory media and storage media and connected to a network, which instructions, when executed by the computer system, cause the computer system to perform method steps for monitoring whether persons in a group are each away from an associated vehicle, comprising:

receiving into the computer system an association between each of multiple persons in the group with one of multiple vehicles;

automatically receiving into the computer system digital information, derived from measured rf signal strength via a network, indicating whether any one of multiple persons in the group has moved from a first relatively close position with respect to an associated vehicle and farther away from the associated vehicle than the first position; and

sending a notification from the computer system to at least one device associated with a person in the group based on received information that a first of said multiple persons is farther away from the associated vehicle than the first relatively close position is from the associated vehicle.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of associating each of the multiple persons in the group with a vehicle includes receiving into the computer system an association between a user identification for each of the multiple persons in the group and a MAC address of a device which transmits Bluetooth signals while located in the associated vehicle.

10. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing program instructions representing software executable in a central monitoring system comprising a computer system including a microprocessor memory media and storage media and connected to a network, which instructions, when executed by the computer system, cause the computer system to perform method steps for providing persons in a group status information and information about the whereabouts of other persons in the group, including whether persons in the group have moved away from an associated vehicle or returned to the vehicle, the method comprising:

periodically receiving into a computer system information derived from measured rf signal strength and automatically sent in digital form via a cellular network from one or more portable devices, said information indicating whether any of the persons has moved from a first relatively close position with respect to an associated vehicle to beyond the first position and farther away from the associated vehicle than the first position;

periodically receiving into the computer system, from the portable devices, location information sent via the network for multiple ones of the persons based on vehicle position

periodically sending updated status information, from the computer system to each of the portable devices via the cellular network, for graphically indicating the location of each person on a map and indicating on the map whether each person

(i) is at a first relatively close position with respect to an associated vehicle

(ii) is beyond the first position and farther away from the associated vehicle than the first position.

11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10 wherein, according to the method steps implemented by the program instructions, the location information is periodically sent via the network for multiple ones of the persons based on when a person is at the first relatively close position with respect to the associated vehicle.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 wherein, according to the method steps implemented by the program instructions, the status information is periodically sent to provide updates of the status information to each of the portable devices to graphically update the location of each person on a map and indicate on the map whether each person is beyond the first position and farther away from the associated vehicle than the first position.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 10 wherein, according to the method steps implemented by the program instructions, the location information is periodically sent via the network for multiple ones of the persons based on vehicle position or based on when a person is in the first relatively close position with respect to the associated vehicle.

14. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing program instructions representing software executable on a computer system comprising a microprocessor and a memory medium and a storage medium, which instructions, when executed by the computer system, cause the computer system to perform method steps for automatically monitoring or notifying when one or more persons in a group move away from an associated vehicle or return toward the vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:

storing and providing access to modify a database in the computer system which identifies a plurality of portable communications devices, each configured to exchange data with the computer system, the database also associating each portable device with a person in the group assigned to have the device in his or her possession;

receiving into the data base position information, derived from a rf signal strength whenever sent from each portable communications device via the network, indicating whether the person, having possession of the portable device, has moved a distance away from the associated vehicle, the information including data indicating whether each person having possession of one of the portable communications devices is

(i) in a first position relatively close to or within the associated vehicle or

(ii) has moved away from the associated vehicle to a second position or

(iii) has moved from the second position to the first relatively close position; and

automatically sending, from the computer system to at least one device connected to receive data via the network, updated status information identifying each person in possession of a portable communications device who

(i) has moved away from a first position relatively close to or within the associated vehicle to a second position;

or

(ii) has moved from the second position to the relatively close first position.