Platform, systems, and methods for utilizing crowdsourced sensor networks to generate environmental data reports

• US 9,223,058 B1
• Filed: 03/17/2015
• Issued: 12/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Blue Tribe, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Blue Tribe, Inc.
• Inventors: Uy, Michael G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, John H
• Application Number:
  US14/660,538
• Time in Patent Office: 287 Days
• Field of Search: 702/2, 702/3, 702/187, 244/30, 701/517
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 13/002 Measuring the movement of open water
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: G01W 1/02 Instruments for indicating weather conditions by measuring two or more variables, e.g. humidity, pressure, temperature, cloud cover or wind speed G01W1/10 takes precedence

Abstract

The platforms, systems, methods and computer readable media provided herein monitor a shore or near shore environment using a plurality of sensors, each sensor associated with a near shore water recreationist or near shore water recreationist equipment. The platforms, systems, methods and computer readable media provided herein include a server application configured to generate and transmit an environmental data report. The platforms, systems, methods and computer readable media provided herein include a device configured to receive the environmental data report.

Claims

1. A platform to monitor a shore or near shore environment, the platform comprising:

a. a plurality of sensors, each sensor associated with a human subject in the water in the shore or near shore environment or equipment associated with a human subject in the water in the shore or near shore environment, wherein each sensor comprises;

i. a detector configured to collect environmental data pertaining to a shore or near shore environment; and

ii. a communications element configured to transmit the environmental data collected by the detector,

b. a server comprising a server processor and non-transitory computer-readable storage media encoded with a computer program including instructions executable by the server processor to create a server application comprising;

i. a software module configured to receive the environmental data;

ii. a software module configured to parse and clean the environmental data received from each sensor;

iii. a software module configured to apply an algorithm to the parsed and cleaned environmental data to generate pre-analytic data, the pre-analytic data comprising one or more events, one or more conditions, or one or more events and one or more conditions to which one or more sensors was subjected, the pre-analytic data comprising one or more of;

shore exposure, wave position, wave travel direction, wave travel speed, wave timing, set timing, wave kinetic energy, wave potential energy, wave break energy, shore current speed, shore current direction, and wave phase;

iv. a software module configured to apply an algorithm to a set of pre-analytic data to generate analytic data; and

v. a software module configured to generate an environmental data report comprising a shore or near shore environmental condition, the shore or near shore environmental condition generated using analytic data; and

vi. a software module configured to transmit the environmental data report; and

c. a device comprising a report processor configured to provide a report application comprising a software module configured to receive the environmental data report.

2. The platform according to claim 1, wherein the detector comprises one or more of:

an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a compass, an altimeter, a clock, a GPS, pH sensor, temperature sensor, salinity sensor, and contaminant sensor.

3. The platform according to claim 1, wherein cleaning the environmental data comprises one or more of:

removing erroneous data, removing outlier data, flagging erroneous data, interpolating missing data, and flagging outlier data.

4. The platform according to claim 1, wherein the pre-analytic data comprises user behavior comprising one or more of:

walking, paddling, swimming, floating, being propelled through or over the water, and diving.

5. The platform according to claim 1, wherein the pre-analytic data comprises near shore dynamics comprising one or more of:

shore exposure, sea level rise, wave position, wave travel direction, wave travel speed, wave and set timing, wave kinetic energy, wave potential energy, wave break energy, shore current speed, shore current direction, wave heights, and wave phase.

6. The platform according to claim 1, wherein the subject in the shore or near shore environment comprises a surfer, a paddle boarder, a stand-up paddle boarder, a body boarder, a boogie boarder, a body surfer, a kayaker, a swimmer, a snorkeler, a free diver, a diver or a person in the water.

7. The platform according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is worn by the subject, the sensor worn on a wrist, an armband, a harness, a piece of clothing, a wet suit, a piece of footwear, or a piece of swimwear.

8. The platform according to claim 1, wherein equipment associated with a subject in the shore or near shore environment comprises a surfboard, a kayak, a paddle board, a body board, a raft, an inner tube, or a flotation device, or personal propulsion device.

9. The platform according to claim 1, wherein the device comprises the sensor, the device comprising a computer, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a tablet, a smart watch, an activity tracking device, or sports sensor, and wherein the device comprises a communications element configured to transmit the environmental data to the software module configured to receive the environmental data.

10. The platform according to claim 1, wherein the analytic data comprises trends of a plurality of events, correlations of a plurality of events, trends of a plurality of conditions, correlations of a plurality of conditions, trends of a plurality of events and conditions, or correlations of a plurality of events and conditions.

11. The platform according to claim 10, wherein the environmental data report comprises a surf report, and wherein the shore or near shore environmental condition comprises one or more of:

wave height, wave patterns, wave frequency, wave timing, surf condition, surf condition difficulty level, surf location quality, surf location wave quality, surf location conditions compared to historic potential, surf location current ranking compared to other surf locations, shore exposure.

12. The platform according to claim 10, wherein the environmental data report comprises a meteorological report, and wherein the shore or near shore environmental condition comprises one or more of:

weather information, tide information, water condition, wave height, wave frequency and timing, current information, surf conditions, and surf location wave quality.

13. The platform according to claim 10, wherein the environmental data report comprises a geographical report, and wherein the shore or near shore environmental condition comprises one or more of:

coastline changes and shore, near shore topology, ocean floor topology, and bathymetry.

14. The platform according to claim 10, wherein the environmental data report comprises an ecological report, and wherein the shore or near shore environmental condition comprises one or more of:

sea level rise, erosion, bio-matter data, water pH, water salinity, and pollutant levels.

15. The platform according to claim 10, wherein the environmental data report comprises a municipal report, and wherein the shore or near shore environmental condition comprises one or more of:

information related to coastal tourism, infrastructure development, transportation development, residential development, public health, coastal resilience, maritime services, and adaptation.

16. A platform to monitor a shore or near shore environment, the platform comprising:

a. a plurality of sensors, each sensor associated with a subject in the shore or near shore environment or equipment associated with the subject in the shore or near shore environment, each sensor comprising;

i. a detector comprising an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a compass, an altimeter and a GPS, the detector configured to collect environmental data pertaining to the shore or near shore environment; and

ii. a communications element configured to transmit the environmental data collected by the detector;

b. a server comprising a server processor and non-transitory computer-readable storage media encoded with a computer program including instructions executable by the server processor to create a server application comprising;

i. a software module configured to receive the environmental data from the plurality of sensors;

ii. a software module configured to parse and clean the environmental data received from each sensor, the cleaning comprising removing erroneous data, removing outlier data, flagging erroneous data, interpolating missing data, and flagging outlier data;

iii. a software module configured to apply an algorithm to the parsed and cleaned environmental data to generate pre-analytic data calculated based on one or more events, one or more conditions, or one or more events and one or more conditions to which one or more sensors was subjected, the pre-analytic data comprising one or more of;

shore exposure, wave position, wave travel direction, wave travel speed, wave timing, set timing, wave kinetic energy, wave potential energy, wave break energy, shore current speed, shore current direction, and wave phase;

iv. a software module configured to apply an algorithm to a set of pre-analytic data to generate analytic data comprising one or more of;

trends of a plurality of events, correlations of a plurality of events, trends of a plurality of conditions, correlations of a plurality of conditions, trends of a plurality of events and conditions, or correlations of a plurality of events and conditions; and

v. a software module configured to generate an environmental data report comprising a shore or near shore environmental condition, the shore or near shore environmental condition generated using analytic data; and

vi. a software module configured to transmit the environmental data report; and

c. an external device comprising a report processor configured to provide a report application comprising a software module configured to receive the environmental data report and a software module configured to provide an interface configured to display the environmental data report.

17. A computer-implemented shore or near shore environment monitoring system comprising a server comprising a server processor and non-transitory computer-readable storage media encoded with a computer program including instructions executable by the server processor to create a server application comprising:

a. a software module configured to receive environmental data from a plurality of sensors, each sensor associated with a human subject in the water in the shore or near shore environment or equipment associated with the subject in the shore or near shore environment, wherein each sensor comprises;

i. a detector configured to collect environmental data pertaining to a shore or near shore environment; and

ii. a communications element configured to transmit the environmental data collected by the detector;

b. a software module configured to parse and clean the environmental data received from each sensor;

c. a software module configured to apply an algorithm to the parsed and cleaned environmental data to generate pre-analytic data, the pre-analytic data comprising one or more events, one or more conditions, or one or more events and one or more conditions to which one or more sensors was subjected, the pre-analytic data comprising one or more of;

shore exposure, wave position, wave travel direction, wave travel speed, wave timing, set timing, wave kinetic energy, wave potential energy, wave break energy, shore current speed, shore current direction, and wave phase;

d. a software module configured to apply an algorithm to a set of pre-analytic data to generate analytic data; and

e. a software module configured to generate an environmental data report comprising a shore or near shore environmental condition, the shore or near shore environmental condition generated using analytic data; and

f. a software module configured to transmit the environmental data report.

18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the detector comprises one or more of:

an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a compass, an altimeter, a clock, and a GPS.

19. The system according to claim 17, wherein cleaning the environmental data comprises removing erroneous data, removing outlier data, flagging erroneous data, interpolating missing data, and flagging outlier data.

20. The system according to claim 17, wherein the pre-analytic data comprises user behavior comprising one or more of:

walking, paddling, swimming, floating, being propelled through or over the water, and diving.

21. The system according to claim 17, wherein the pre-analytic data comprises near shore dynamics comprising one or more of:

shore exposure, sea level rise, wave position, wave travel direction, wave travel speed, wave and set timing, wave kinetic energy, wave potential energy, wave break energy, shore current speed, shore current direction, wave heights, and wave phase.

22. The system according to claim 17, wherein the subject in the shore or near shore environment comprises a surfer, a stand-up paddle boarder, a paddle boarder, a body boarder, a boogie boarder, a body surfer, a kayaker, a swimmer, a snorkeler, a free diver, a diver, or a person in the water.

23. The system according to claim 17, wherein the sensor is worn by the subject, the sensor worn on a wrist, an armband, a piece of clothing, a harness, a wet suit, a piece of footwear, or a piece of swimwear.

24. The system according to claim 17, wherein equipment associated with a subject in the shore or near shore environment comprises a surfboard, a kayak, a paddle board, a body board, a raft, an inner tube, or a flotation device.

25. The system according to claim 17, wherein the analytic data comprises trends of a plurality of events, correlations of a plurality of events, trends of a plurality of conditions, correlations of a plurality of conditions, trends of a plurality of events and conditions, or correlations of a plurality of trends events and conditions.

26. The system according to claim 25, wherein the environmental data report comprises a surf report, and wherein the shore or near shore environmental condition comprises one or more of:

wave height, wave patterns, wave frequency, wave timing, surf condition, surf condition difficulty level, surf location quality, surf location wave quality, surf location conditions compared to historic potential, surf location current ranking compared to other surf locations, shore exposure.

27. The system according to claim 25, wherein the environmental data report comprises a meteorological report, and wherein the shore or near shore environmental condition comprises one or more of:

weather information, tide information, water condition, wave height, wave frequency and timing, current information, surf conditions, and surf location wave quality.

28. The system according to claim 25, wherein the environmental data report comprises a geographical report, and wherein the shore or near shore environmental condition comprises one or more of:

coastline changes, shore or near shore topology, ocean floor topology, and bathymetry.

29. The system according to claim 25, wherein the environmental data report comprises an ecological report, and wherein the shore or near shore environmental condition comprises one or more of:

sea level rise, erosion, bio-matter data, water pH, water salinity, and pollutant levels.

30. The system according to claim 25, wherein the environmental data report comprises a municipal report, and wherein the shore or near shore environmental condition comprises one or more of:

information related to coastal tourism, infrastructure development, transportation development, residential development, public health, coastal resilience, maritime services, and adaptation.