Generating an image of a floor plan

• US 9,465,816 B2
• Filed: 08/19/2013
• Issued: 10/11/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: GlobalFoundries, Inc.
• Original Assignee: GlobalFoundries, Inc.
• Inventors: Johnson, Randy S., Northway, Tedrick N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pipala, Edward J
• Application Number:
  US13/969,649
• Publication Number:
  US 20150049959A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,149 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/5866 using information manually generated, e.g. tags, keywords, comments, manually generated location and time information
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings

Abstract

Program code on a mobile computing device and a server computer determines a location of a mobile computing device within a facility, based on coordinates associated to the location. The program code assigns a timestamp to the coordinates that are associated to the location. The program code stores location information in a database, wherein the location information includes the coordinates associated to the location, the timestamp that is assigned to the coordinates, and a unique identifier of the mobile computing device. The program code generates an image of a floor plan of the facility.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for generating an image of a floor plan of a facility, the method comprising the steps of:

determining a location of a mobile computing device within a facility using a location determination hardware component, based on coordinates associated to the location that are obtained using the location determination hardware component;

assigning a timestamp to the coordinates that are associated to the location;

storing location information in a computer-accessible database, wherein the location information includes the coordinates associated to the location, the timestamp that is assigned to the coordinates, and a unique identifier of the mobile computing device;

generating an image of a floor plan of the facility based on the stored location information, wherein generation the image includes access n the computer-accessible database using a floor plan mapping component; and

outputting the image of the floor plan for storage in a computer-accessible floor plan database.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining the location of the mobile computing device within the facility comprises utilizing at least one of a global positioning system receiver, a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag and a RFID reader, a multilateration technique, and a triangulation technique to identify coordinates associated to the location of the mobile computing device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the timestamp represents when mobile the computing device is at the location.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating the image of the floor plan of the facility comprises plotting on a screen of the mobile computing device each of the coordinates that are stored in the computer-accessible database and represent a position within a boundary of the facility.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating the image of the floor plan of the facility comprises drawing barriers within the image of the floor plan of the facility, wherein the barriers are proximate to an outer boundary of areas within through which a person cannot walk within the facility.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating the image of the floor plan of the facility comprises overlaying on the image of the floor plan of the facility, one or more lines that represent where a person can walk within the facility and end-users with the mobile computing device have been.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining the location of the mobile computing device within the facility comprises utilizing a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag and a RFID reader to identify coordinates associated to the location of the mobile computing device.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining non-wall areas within the facility based on the coordinates, wherein generating the image of the floor plan is further based on determining the non-wall areas.

9. A computer program product for generating an image of a floor plan of a facility, the computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium and program instructions stored on the computer readable storage medium, the program instructions comprising;

program instructions to determine a location of a mobile computing device within a facility using a location determination hardware component, based on coordinates associated to the location that are obtained using the location determination hardware component;

program instructions to assign a timestamp to the coordinates that are associated to the location;

program instructions to store location information in a computer-accessible database, wherein the location information includes the coordinates associated to the location, the timestamp that is assigned to the coordinates, and a unique identifier of the mobile computing device; and

program instructions to generate an image of a floor plan of the facility based on the stored location information, wherein generating the image includes accessing the computer-accessible database using a floor plan mapping component; and

program instructions to output the image of the floor plan for storage in a computer-accessible floor plan database.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the program instructions to determine the location of the mobile computing device within the facility comprises utilizing at least one of a global positioning system receiver, a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag and a RFID reader, a multilateration technique, and a triangulation technique to identify coordinates associated to the location of the mobile computing device.

11. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the timestamp represents when mobile the computing device is at the location.

12. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the program instructions to generate the image of the floor plan of the facility comprises plotting on a screen of the mobile computing device each of the coordinates that are stored in the computer-accessible database and represent a position within a boundary of the facility.

13. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the program instructions to generate the image of the floor plan of the facility comprises drawing barriers within the image of the floor plan of the facility, wherein the barriers are proximate to an outer boundary of areas within through which a person cannot walk within the facility.

14. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the program instructions to generate the image of the floor plan of the facility comprises overlaying on the image of the floor plan of the facility, one or more lines that represent where a person can walk within the facility and end-users with the mobile computing device have been.

15. A computer system for generating an image of a floor plan of a facility, the computer system comprising:

one or more processors, one or more computer readable memories, one or more computer readable storage media, and program instructions stored on the one or more storage media for execution by the one or more processors via the one or more memories, the program instructions comprising;

program instructions to determine a location of a mobile computing device within a facility using a location determination hardware component, based on coordinates associated to the location that are obtained using the location determination hardware component;

program instructions to assign a timestamp to the coordinates that are associated to the location;

program instructions to store location information in a computer-accessible database, wherein the location information includes the coordinates associated to the location, the timestamp that is assigned to the coordinates, and a unique identifier of the mobile computing device;

program instructions to generate an image of a floor plan of the facility based on the stored location information, wherein generating the image includes accessing the computer-accessible database using a floor plan mapping component; and

program instructions to output the image of the floor plan for storage in a computer-accessible floor plan database.

16. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the program instructions to determine the location of the mobile computing device within the facility comprises utilizing at least one of a global positioning system receiver, a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag and a RFID reader, a multilateration technique, and a triangulation technique to identify coordinates associated to the location of the mobile computing device.

17. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the timestamp represents when mobile the computing device is at the location.

18. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the program instructions to generate the image of the floor plan of the facility comprises plotting on a screen of the mobile computing device each of the coordinates that are stored in the computer-accessible database and represent a position within a boundary of the facility.

19. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the program instructions to generate the image of the floor plan of the facility comprises drawing barriers within the image of the floor plan of the facility, wherein the barriers are proximate to an outer boundary of areas within through which a person cannot walk within the facility.

20. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the program instructions to generate the image of the floor plan of the facility comprises overlaying on the image of the floor plan of the facility, one or more lines that represent where a person can walk within the facility and end-users with the mobile computing device have been.