Detecting relative crowd density via client devices

• US 9,164,863 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2013
• Issued: 10/20/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Miller, Grant D., Pollyea, Scott W., Yaswi, Hamza
• Primary Examiner(s): Taylor, Nicholas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Williams, Clayton R
• Application Number:
  US13/753,725
• Publication Number:
  US 20140184795A1
• Time in Patent Office: 993 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3438 Rendez-vous, i.e. searching a destination where several users can meet, and the routes to this destination for these users; Ride sharing, i.e. searching a route such that at least two users can share a vehicle for at least part of the route
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3048 where the topology of the computing system or computing system component explicitly influences the monitoring activity, e.g. serial, hierarchical systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/022 with dynamic range variability

Abstract

Detecting crowds is provided. A location is selected in a set of locations a user of a client device wants to go to based on data within a profile associated with the user. A set of data inputs is monitored to determine a number of people currently at the selected location. Then, in response to determining that the number of people currently at the selected location is not greater than a user-defined threshold level of people for the selected location, a mapped route to the selected location is sent to the client device of the user.

Claims

1. A computer system for managing movements of a client device connected to a network based on real time data, the computer system comprising:

a bus system;

a storage device connected to the bus system, wherein the storage device stores computer readable program code; and

a processor unit connected to the bus system, wherein the processor unit executes the computer readable program code to detect a presence of the client device at a location in a set of locations a user of the client device wants to go to based on tracking data received from a tracking unit of the client device via the network;

send to the client device via the network a mapped route to a site within the location corresponding to a selected task in a set of tasks the user of the client device wants to perform at the location in response to determining that a number of people currently at the site within the location corresponding to the selected task in the set of tasks is not greater than a user-defined threshold level of people for the site based on video data received from a video camera system via the network;

determine whether the client device of the user is moving toward the site within the location corresponding to the selected task in the set of tasks based on a current location of the client device using the tracking data;

prompt the user of the client device to select a different task in the set of tasks the user wants to perform in response to determining that the client device of the user is not moving toward the site within the location corresponding to the selected task in the set of tasks;

determine whether the client device arrived at the site within the location corresponding to the selected task in the set of tasks within an estimated time of arrival in response to determining that the client device of the user is moving toward the site within the location corresponding to the selected task in the set of tasks; and

record activity of the user of the client device at the site within the location corresponding to the selected task in the set of tasks in response to determining that the client device of the user arrived at the site within the location corresponding to the selected task in the set of tasks within the estimated time of arrival.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the processor unit further executes the computer readable program code to retrieve the set of tasks the user of the client device wants to perform at the location from a profile associated with the user.

3. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the processor unit further executes the computer readable program code to select a task in the set of tasks the user of the client device wants to perform at the location based on data within the profile associated with the user;

and monitor a set of data inputs to determine the number of people currently at the site corresponding to the selected task.

4. The computer system of claim 3, wherein the processor unit further executes the computer readable program code to record the activity of the user of the client device at the site corresponding to the selected task using the video camera system.

5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the processor unit further executes the computer readable program code to record movement of the client device of the user at the location using a tracking system.

6. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the computer system estimates future crowd densities at the location based on recorded historical crowd density patterns at the location.

7. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the computer system monitors a crowd density at a currently crowded location having greater than the user-defined threshold level of people on a predetermined time interval basis and reroutes the user of the client device based on the monitored crowd density.

8. A computer program product stored on a computer readable storage device having computer readable program code encoded thereon that is executable by a computer for managing movements of a client device connected to a network based on real time data, the computer program product comprising:

computer readable program code for detecting a presence of the client device at a location in a set of locations a user of the client device wants to go to based on tracking data received from a tracking unit of the client device via the network;

computer readable program code for sending to the client device via the network a mapped route to a site within the location corresponding to a selected task in a set of tasks the user of the client device wants to perform at the location in response to determining that a number of people currently at the site within the location corresponding to the selected task in the set of tasks is not greater than a user-defined threshold level of people for the site based on video data received from a video camera system via the network;

computer readable program code for determining whether the client device of the user is moving toward the site within the location corresponding to the selected task in the set of tasks based on a current location of the client device using the tracking data;

computer readable program code for prompting the user of the client device to select a different task in the set of tasks the user wants to perform in response to determining that the client device of the user is not moving toward the site within the location corresponding to the selected task in the set of tasks;

computer readable program code for determining whether the client device arrived at the site within the location corresponding to the selected task in the set of tasks within an estimated time of arrival in response to determining that the client device of the user is moving toward the site within the location corresponding to the selected task in the set of tasks; and

computer readable program code for recording activity of the user of the client device at the site within the location corresponding to the selected task in the set of tasks in response to determining that the client device of the user arrived at the site within the location corresponding to the selected task in the set of tasks within the estimated time of arrival.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, further comprising:

computer readable program code for retrieving the set of tasks the user of the client device wants to perform at the location from a profile associated with the user.

10. The computer program product of claim 9 further comprising:

computer readable program code for selecting a task in the set of tasks the user of the client device wants to perform at the location based on data within the profile associated with the user; and

computer readable program code for monitoring a set of data inputs to determine the number of people currently at the site corresponding to the selected task.

11. The computer program product of claim 10 further comprising:

computer readable program code for recording the activity of the user of the client device at the site corresponding to the selected task using the video camera system.

12. The computer program product of claim 8 further comprising:

computer readable program code for recording movement of the client device of the user at the location using a tracking system.

13. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the computer estimates future crowd densities at the location based on recorded historical crowd density patterns at the location.

14. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the computer monitors a crowd density at a currently crowded location having greater than the user-defined threshold level of people on a predetermined time interval basis and reroutes the user of the client device based on the monitored crowd density.