Mobile entity tracking and analysis system

• US 9,070,275 B1
• Filed: 10/28/2014
• Issued: 06/30/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arsite Technologies, LLC
• Original Assignee: Gearn Holdings, LLC
• Inventors: Green, Shannon D., DeWitt, Tyler
• Primary Examiner(s): MCNALLY, KERRI L
• Application Number:
  US14/526,198
• Time in Patent Office: 245 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.13
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F16P 3/147 using electro-magnetic technology, e.g. tags or radar
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2205/01 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0027 of actual mobile position, i.e. position determined on mobile
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 17/00 Fire alarms; Alarms responsive to explosion
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/02 Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0222 Message structure or message content, e.g. message protocol
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0225 Monitoring making use of different thresholds, e.g. for different alarm levels
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0227 System arrangements with a plurality of child units
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/023 Power management, e.g. system sleep and wake up provisions
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0236 Threshold setting
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0261 System arrangements wherein the object is to detect trespassing over a fixed physical boundary, e.g. the end of a garden
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0269 System arrangements wherein the object is to detect the exact location of child or item using a navigation satellite system, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0277 Communication between units on a local network, e.g. Bluetooth, piconet, zigbee, Wireless Personal Area Networks [WPAN]
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/14 Toxic gas alarms G08B21/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/00 Alarm systems in which the alarm condition is signalled from a central station to a plurality of substations
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/123 indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, tramstransmission of navigation instructions to vehicles G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 for collecting sensor information

Abstract

Method and apparatus for mobile entity tracking and analysis. In some embodiments, a multi-dimensional geophysical area is divided into a first layer of zones. Each zone encompasses a contiguous portion of the geophysical area and has at least one rule assigned thereto. Geoposition values from a sensor attached to a mobile entity are accumulated in a memory, the geoposition values indicative of successive geopositions of the mobile entity. For each accumulated geoposition value, the associated zone in which the geoposition of the mobile entity is located is identified, and the at least one rule assigned to the zone is applied. A second layer zone is subsequently generated responsive to an input signal, and an alarm limit is output based on a subsequently accumulated geoposition value indicating the geoposition of the mobile entity is located within the second layer zone.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

dividing a multi-dimensional geophysical area into a first layer of zones, each zone encompassing a contiguous portion of the geophysical area and having at least one rule assigned thereto;

accumulating, in a memory, geoposition values from a sensor attached to a mobile entity indicative of successive geopositions of the mobile entity;

for each accumulated geoposition value, identifying the associated zone from the first layer of zones in which the geoposition of the mobile entity is located and applying the at least one rule assigned to the associated zone;

subsequently generating a second layer zone responsive to an input signal, the second layer zone encompassing a contiguous portion of the geophysical area that overlays at least a portion of at least one zone in the first layer of zones, the second layer zone maintaining a constant size and moving over time relative to the geophysical area; and

outputting an alarm limit responsive to a subsequently accumulated geoposition value from the sensor indicating the geoposition of the mobile entity is located within the second layer zone.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile entity is a human.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the second layer zone is associated with a motor vehicle and defines a safety zone proximate the vehicle, wherein the alarm limit disables at least one selected operation of the motor vehicle.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second layer zone is associated with a second mobile entity and the second layer zone moves relative to the geophysical area responsive to changes in geoposition of the second mobile entity as determined from a second sensor attached to the second mobile entity.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one rule indicates the mobile entity is not authorized to be in the associated zone, and the method further comprises generating a second alarm limit responsive to the at least one rule.

6. A computer-implemented method comprising:

dividing a multi-dimensional geophysical area into a first layer of zones, each zone encompassing a contiguous portion of the geophysical area and having at least one rule assigned thereto;

accumulating, in a memory, geoposition values indicative of successive geopositions of a mobile entity within a selected zone over a selected time interval;

for each accumulated geoposition value, identifying the associated zone from the first layer of zones in which the geoposition of the mobile entity is located and applying the at least one rule assigned to the associated zone;

using a processing engine to determine a midpoint of the geoposition values;

generating an action boundary proximate the midpoint to partition the zone into first and second portions separated by the action boundary;

locating the midpoint relative to the action boundary; and

outputting an alarm limit responsive to the midpoint falling within the first portion.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first portion is an inner portion within the action boundary and the second portion is an outer portion outside the action boundary.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the first portion is an outer portion outside the action boundary and the second portion is an inner portion inside the action boundary.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the action boundary is a first action boundary and the method further comprises generating a second action boundary which surrounds the first action boundary and outputting a second alarm limit responsive to the midpoint falling outside the second action boundary.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein geopositioning values outside a filtering threshold boundary are discarded and not used to generate the midpoint.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the mobile entity is a human.

12. The method of claim 6, wherein the mobile entity is a motorized vehicle.

13. The method of claim 6, wherein the mobile entity is a non-human animal.

14. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

generating a second layer zone responsive to an input signal, the second layer zone encompassing a contiguous portion of the geophysical area that overlays at least a portion of at least one zone in the first layer of zones; and

outputting an alarm limit responsive to a subsequently accumulated geoposition value from the sensor indicating the geoposition of the mobile entity is located within the second layer zone.

15. An apparatus comprising:

a plurality of sensors each attached to a respective mobile entity within a geophysical area;

a receiver which receives a sequence of geoposition packets from each of the respective sensors indicative of instantaneous geoposition of the associated mobile entity, each packet comprising a set of geocoordinates and an associated timestamp indicative of a time at which the mobile entity was at said set of geocoordinates;

a mapping engine which defines, in a computer memory, a first layer of zones each corresponding to a different contiguous portion of the geophysical area, the mapping engine further defining at least one rule associated with the mobile entities for each zone;

a sampling engine which receives the transmitted packets from the receiver and generates an asynchronous frame as a set of received packets having timestamps within a selected time interval; and

a rules application engine which, for each frame, identifies the associated zone in which each of the mobile entities is located, applies the associated rules for the associated frames, and sets an alarm limit value in a memory responsive to a violation of at least one of the rules.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the mapping engine subsequently generates a second layer zone responsive to an input signal, the second layer zone encompassing a contiguous portion of the geophysical area that overlays at least a portion of at least one zone in the first layer of zones, and wherein the rules application engine outputs an alarm limit responsive to a subsequently accumulated geoposition value from the sensor indicating the geoposition of the mobile entity is located within the second layer zone.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the second layer zone is stationary relative to the geophysical area.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the second layer zone expands over time relative to the geophysical area.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the second layer zone maintains a constant size and moves over time relative to the geophysical area.

20. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a tracking engine which accumulates, in a memory, geoposition values indicative of successive geopositions of a selected mobile entity within a selected zone over a selected time interval, wherein the tracking engine determines a midpoint of the geoposition values, generates an action boundary proximate the midpoint to partition the selected zone into first and second portions separated by the action boundary, locates the midpoint relative to the action boundary, and outputs a second alarm limit to the memory responsive to the midpoint falling within the first portion.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the tracking engine applies a filtering threshold boundary and discards geopositioning values outside the filtering threshold boundary so that the discarded geopositioning values are not used to generate the midpoint.

22. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the mobile entity is a human.

23. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the mobile entity is a motorized vehicle.

24. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the mobile entity is a non-human animal.

25. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the sensors transmit the geoposition packets to the receiver at a first rate, and wherein a selected sensor is adjusted to transmit the geoposition packets to the receiver at a different, second rate responsive to the rules application engine identifying the associated mobile entity being located within a first zone.

26. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the sensors transmit the geoposition packets to the receiver at a first rate, the sampling engine samples the geopositioning packets transmitted to the receiver at a second rate less than or equal to the first rate, and responsive to the geopositioning packets indicating a selected sensor is in a selected zone, the sampling engine samples the geopositioning packets transmitted to the receiver for the selected sensor at a different third rate less than or equal to the first rate.

27. A computer-implemented method comprising:

dividing a multi-dimensional geophysical area into a first layer of zones, each zone encompassing a contiguous portion of the geophysical area and having at least one rule assigned thereto;

accumulating, in a memory, geoposition values from a first sensor attached to a first mobile entity indicative of successive geopositions of the first mobile entity;

for each accumulated geoposition value, identifying the associated zone from the first layer of zones in which the geoposition of the first mobile entity is located and applying the at least one rule assigned to the associated zone;

subsequently generating a second layer zone responsive to an input signal, the second layer zone encompassing a contiguous portion of the geophysical area that overlays at least a portion of at least one zone in the first layer of zones, wherein the second layer zone is associated with a second mobile entity and the second layer zone moves relative to the geophysical area responsive to changes in geoposition of the second mobile entity as determined from a second sensor attached to the second mobile entity; and

outputting an alarm limit responsive to a subsequently accumulated geoposition value from the first sensor or the second sensor indicating the geoposition of the corresponding first mobile entity or second mobile entity has crossed a boundary associated with the second layer zone.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the first mobile entity and the second mobile entity are each a human.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein a selected one of the first mobile entity or the second mobile entity is a human and the remaining one of the first mobile entity or the second mobile entity is a non-human animal.

30. The method of claim 27, wherein the second layer zone is associated with a motor vehicle and defines a safety zone proximate the vehicle, wherein the alarm limit disables at least one selected operation of the motor vehicle.