Methods, systems and computer-readable media for tracking a position of an object

• US 9,301,094 B2
• Filed: 03/19/2014
• Issued: 03/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Infosys Limited
• Original Assignee: Infosys Limited
• Inventors: Jajoo, Manoj Vijaykumar, Kulkarni, Pavan Kumar, Ghag, Archana Sachin, Mohammed, Noor, Darbha, Chandrasekhar Subrahmanya
• Primary Examiner(s): Appiah, Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mastrodonato, Margaret G
• Application Number:
  US14/220,104
• Publication Number:
  US 20140378165A1
• Time in Patent Office: 741 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• 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 4/025 using location based information parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

Embodiments provide a method and system for tracking a position of an object. The method may include creating a plurality of geofences on a map of a predefined location and identifying, by Wi-Fi trilateration, the position of the object within the created geofence. Further, a floor layout of the predefined location may be created by a handheld device. The position of the object can be represented on the created floor layout.

Claims

1. A method of tracking a position of an object, the method comprising:

creating at least one geofence on a map of a predefined location;

identifying, by Wi-Fi trilateration, the position of the object within the at least one created geofence, the Wi-Fi trilateration comprising selecting the position of the object as a best location from a plurality of locations, wherein the plurality of locations is determined by a plurality of mathematical models comprising a polygon centroid method, a polygon triangle centroid method, and an expanding circles method, further wherein a first location of the plurality of locations is a centroid of a hexagon formed between a set of three Wi-Fi routers, by the polygon centroid method, whereby the set of three Wi-Fi routers are closest to the position of the object from among a plurality of Wi-Fi routers;

creating a floor layout of the predefined location by a handheld device; and

representing the position of the object on the created floor layout.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

retrieving a set of location co-ordinates of a boundary of a geofence of the at least one created geofence; and

storing the set of location co-ordinates of the geofence of the at least one created geofence in a repository.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

triggering an action when the object crosses the boundary of the geofence of the at least one created geofence.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein creating a floor layout comprises:

collecting a set of location co-ordinates of a plurality of positions within the predefined location, whereby the plurality of positions are traversed by the handheld device;

tagging a position based on a functional aspect of the position; and

generating the floor layout based on the collected set of location co-ordinates and a tagging information of the plurality of positions.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein a location co-ordinate of a position comprises a latitude, a longitude and an altitude of the position.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein representing the position of the object on the floor layout comprises disclosing a proximity of the object to a tagged position of the generated floor layout.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the at least one created geofence is associated with a point of interest.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

retrieving a last point of interest of the object; and

suggesting a next point of interest of the object.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a shape of one or more of the at least one created geofence is selected from the group consisting of:

a circle, a line and a polygon.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein a second location of the plurality of locations is a centroid of an inner hexagon formed within the hexagon, via the polygon triangle centroid method.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein a third location of the plurality of locations is a centroid of a pentagon formed between the set of three Wi-Fi routers, by the expanding circles method.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein a second location of the plurality of locations is a centroid of a pentagon formed between the set of three Wi-Fi routers, by the expanding circles method.

13. A system for tracking a position of an object, the system comprising:

a drawing pad configured to create at least one geofence on a map of a predefined location;

a tracking module configured to identify a position of the object by Wi-Fi trilateration within the at least one created geofence and to track a distance of the object from a plurality of Wi-Fi routers, wherein the plurality of Wi-Fi routers is located within the predefined location, further wherein the Wi-Fi trilateration comprises selecting the position of the object as a best location from a plurality of locations determined by a plurality of mathematical models comprising a polygon centroid method, a polygon triangle centroid method, or an expanding circles method, wherein a first location of the plurality of locations is a centroid of a hexagon formed between a set of three Wi-Fi routers, by the polygon centroid method, whereby the set of three Wi-Fi routers are closest to the position of the object from among a plurality of Wi-Fi routers;

a floor map generator configured to create a floor layout of the predefined location; and

a display module, configured to represent the position of the object on the created floor layout.

14. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

a geo-point collector, configured to collect a set of location co-ordinates of a plurality of positions within the predefined location when the plurality of positions is traversed by a handheld device;

a geo-point tagging module, configured to tag a position of the predefined location, based on a functional aspect of the position; and

a floor map renderer, configured to render the created floor layout on a display module.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the floor map generator is configured to create the floor layout based on the collected set of location co-ordinates and a tagging information of the plurality of positions.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the display module is further configured to disclose a proximity of the object to a tagged position of the created floor layout.

17. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

an interface module, configured to retrieve a set of location co-ordinates of a boundary of a geofence of the at least one created geofence;

a repository, configured to store the created floor layout and the set of location co-ordinates of the geofence of the at least one created geofence; and

a triggering module, configured to generate an action when the object crosses the boundary of the geofence of the at least one created geofence.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein a second location of the plurality of locations is a centroid of an inner hexagon formed within the hexagon, via the polygon triangle centroid method.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein a third location of the plurality of locations is a centroid of a pentagon formed between the set of three Wi-Fi routers, by the expanding circles method.

20. The system of claim 13, wherein a second location of the plurality of locations is a centroid of a pentagon formed between a set of three Wi-Fi routers, by the expanding circles method.

21. The system of claim 13, wherein the drawing pad is further configured to associate a point of interest with one or more of the at least one created geofence.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the tracking module is further configured to:

retrieve a last point of interest of the object; and

suggest a next point of interest of the object.

23. The system of claim 13, wherein a shape of at least one of the at least one created geofence is a circle, a line or a polygon.

24. A computer program product consisting of a plurality of program instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium that, when executed by a computing device, performs a method of tracking a position of an object;

the method comprising;

creating at least one geofence on a map of a predefined location;

identifying, by Wi-Fi trilateration, the position of the object within the at least one created geofence, the Wi-Fi trilateration comprising selecting the position of the object as a best location from a plurality of locations, wherein the plurality of locations is determined by a plurality of mathematical models comprising a polygon centroid method, a polygon triangle centroid method, and an expanding circles method, further wherein a first location of the plurality of locations is a centroid of a pentagon formed between a set of three Wi-Fi routers, by the expanding circles method;

creating a floor layout of the predefined location by a handheld device; and

representing the position of the object on the created floor layout.

25. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein a second location of the plurality of locations is a centroid of a hexagon formed between the set of three Wi-Fi routers, by the polygon centroid method, whereby the set of three Wi-Fi routers are closest to the position of the object from among a plurality of Wi-Fi routers.

26. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein a third location of the plurality of locations is a centroid of an inner hexagon formed within the hexagon, via the polygon triangle centroid method.