Methods, systems and computer program products for anonymous tracking of objects

• US 9,049,559 B2
• Filed: 04/20/2011
• Issued: 06/02/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Mobile Communications AB (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ljung, Peter, Wadman, Johan
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Hai
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bousono, Orlando
• Application Number:
  US13/496,976
• Publication Number:
  US 20120268244A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,504 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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, wherein receiving ID information reports includes;

receiving a first ID information report associated with a first movable object from a first tag sensor from the plurality of tag sensors, 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 from the plurality of tag sensors, 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;

identifying each of the movable objects associated with each of the ID information reports received from the plurality of tag sensors;

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

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

allowing access to the updated 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 plurality of tag sensors have not been provided notification of ID information associated with each of the movable objects or of the owners associated with each of the moveable objects.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying each of the movable objects comprises comparing ID information from the ID information reports 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.

3. 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 plurality of tag sensors providing a respective one of the ID information reports;

estimating a location of the identified reporting one of the plurality of 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 identified reporting one of the plurality of tag sensors.

4. The method of claim 3, 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 respective ones of the received ID information reports;

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

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

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

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the reliability characteristic comprises an association between the identified reporting ones of the plurality of tag sensors and the owner associated with the movable object associated with respective ones of the quality weighted selected ones of the received ID information reports.

7. The method of claim 3,

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.

8. The method of claim 7, 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.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of 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 which moveable 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 transmission protocol.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the battery powered electronic tag further comprises a memory including a plurality of identifications and wherein the battery powered electronic 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 battery powered electronic tag has a unique identity number and the battery powered electronic tag is further configured to repeatedly:

determine a new variable number;

add the new variable number to the unique identity number to provide identification data for the battery powered electronic tag;

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

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

13. 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 a 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 a plurality of tag sensors;

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

a data access module executing on the processor that is configured to 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 plurality of tag sensors have not been provided notification of the identification information associated with each of the movable objects or of the owners associated with each of the moveable objects, and

wherein the processor is further configured to receive a first ID information report associated with a first movable object from a first tag sensor from the plurality of tag sensors, the first tag sensor having an associated location accuracy;

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

receive 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.

14. The location server of claim 13, wherein the object location module includes a filter module that is configured to select between respective ones of the received ID information reports to increase the accuracy of the stored updated location information for each of the movable objects.

15. The location server of claim 13, 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 received 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 received ID information reports.