Personal monitor and tracking system

• US 9,489,819 B2
• Filed: 11/21/2014
• Issued: 11/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2014
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Anytransactions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Anytransactions, Inc.
• Inventors: Warsi, Suhail, Hughes, Linda, Merrigan, Kyle, Michael, Jim, Shepherd, Steve, Baker, Renee
• Primary Examiner(s): La, Anh V
• Application Number:
  US14/549,913
• Publication Number:
  US 20160110987A1
• Time in Patent Office: 718 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.13, 340/539.1, 340/539.14, 340/539.15, 340/573.1, 340/573.4, 455/69
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/22 responsive to presence or absence of persons
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

In a method for tracking an offender in possession of a first offender cellular telephone that includes a global positioning system module and for presenting tracking information about first offender to an officer employing an officer communication device, a voiceprint from the first offender is stored on the tangible memory storage device at a server. A set of predetermined location criteria is generated for the first offender. Location data from the cellular telephone are received at the server and include an indication of a location of the telephone. Offender voice sample data are compared to the voiceprint. An alert is generated when the voice sample fails to match the voiceprint. The offender'"'"'s location is compared to location criteria for the offender and an alert is generated when the location is inconsistent with predetermined location criteria. The alert is transmitted to the officer communication device.

Claims

1. A method for tracking a first offender in possession of a first offender cellular telephone that includes a global positioning system module and for presenting tracking information about the first offender to an officer employing an officer communication device, in which the first offender cellular telephone and the officer communication device are in communication with a central monitoring server that employs a tangible memory storage device, comprising the steps of:

(a) storing a voiceprint from the first offender on the tangible memory storage device at the central monitoring server;

(b) generating a set of predetermined location criteria for the first offender and storing the predetermined location criteria on the tangible memory storage device at the central monitoring server;

(c) receiving, at the central monitoring server, a first offender location from the first offender cellular telephone and storing the first offender location on the tangible memory storage device;

(d) receiving, at the central monitoring server, a voice sample from the first offender cellular telephone;

(e) retrieving the voiceprint from the tangible memory storage device and comparing the voice sample to the voiceprint and generating a voiceprint alert when the voice sample fails to match the voiceprint;

(f) retrieving the predetermined location criteria from the tangible memory storage device and comparing the first offender location to the set of predetermined location criteria for the first offender and generating a location violation alert when the first offender location is inconsistent with the predetermined location criteria; and

(g) transmitting at least one of the voiceprint alert and the location violation alert from the central monitoring server to the officer communication device;

(h) receiving an airplane mode indication from the first offender cellular telephone that the first offender cellular telephone has placed in airplane mode; and

(i) transmitting a command in response to the airplane mode indication to the first offender cellular telephone causing the first offender cellular telephone to cease from being in airplane mode.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of generating the predetermined location criteria so as to include at least one location zone corresponding to:

(a) a home location at which the first offender resides; and

(b) a work location associated at which the first offender is employed.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of generating the predetermined location criteria so as to include at least one location zone corresponding to at least one inclusion location at which the first offender is authorized to be.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of generating the predetermined location criteria so as to include at least one location zone corresponding to at least one exclusion location at which the first offender is forbidden to be.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of generating the predetermined location criteria further comprises the step determining a time schedule that sets forth time periods during which the first offender is authorized to be at the each selected location zone.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the location data includes global positioning system location data and cellular system location data and further comprising the steps of:

(a) generating a location reliability assessment based on the global positioning system location data and the cellular system location data, the location reliability assessment providing an indication of reliability of the first offender location; and

(b) transmitting to the officer communication device an indication of the location reliability assessment.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising the step of calculating a speed associated with the first offender cellular telephone based on location data received from the first offender cellular telephone and wherein the speed is used in determining the location reliability assessment.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising the steps of:

(a) detecting how many different cellular towers are in communication with the first offender cellular telephone; and

(b) using information about how many different cellular towers are in communication with the first offender cellular telephone in determining the location reliability assessment.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving a GPS disabled indication from the first offender cellular telephone that the first offender cellular telephone has disabled the global positioning system module; and

(b) transmitting a command to the first offender cellular telephone causing the first offender cellular telephone to enable the global positioning system module in response to the GPS disabled indication.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving data about operational parameters of the first offender cellular telephone;

(b) determining if an operational parameter is below a predetermined operating threshold; and

(c) transmitting to the first offender cellular telephone an operational parameter alert when the operational parameter is below the predetermined operating threshold.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the operational parameter alert comprises a battery life projection.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of transmitting the operational parameter alert to the officer communication device.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of transmitting an ID disabled alert to the officer communication device upon detecting that identification of the first offender cellular telephone has been disabled.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(a) according to a predetermined schedule, transmitting to the first offender cellular telephone a tethering call; and

(b) in response to the tethering call, receiving from the first offender cellular telephone a voice sample.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving data describing a browser history for the first offender cellular telephone;

(b) comparing the browser history to a list of restricted sites; and

(c) transmitting a restricted site alert to the officer communication device when the browser history indicates that the first offender has accessed a restricted site.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(a) detecting when the first offender cellular telephone has employed call forwarding; and

(b) transmitting a call forwarding alert to the officer communication device upon detecting when the first offender cellular telephone has employed call forwarding.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(a) detecting when the first offender cellular telephone has engaged in a three-way call; and

(b) transmitting a three-way call alert to the officer communication device upon detecting when the first offender cellular telephone has engaged in a three-way call.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of transmitting to the first offender cellular telephone a tethering call when the first offender cellular telephone has been at a predetermined location for more than a predetermined amount of time, thereby verifying that the first offender is with the first offender cellular telephone.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the cellular telephone a tethering call requires the first offender to provide a voice sample.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving a location sampling frequency change request from the officer communication device that indicates a desired location sampling frequency for the first offender cellular telephone;

(b) changing a sampling frequency of the first offender cellular telephone to the desired location sampling frequency.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of changing a sampling frequency of the first offender cellular telephone based on a system request.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising the steps of:

(a) determining whether the first offender cellular telephone is stationary or moving; and

(b) adjusting the sampling frequency so as to have a higher sampling frequency when the first offender cellular telephone is moving than when the first offender cellular telephone is stationary.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving an offender location request from the officer communication device;

(b) in response to the first offender location request, querying the first offender cellular telephone for current location data for the first offender; and

(c) after receiving the current location data for the first offender, transmitting the current offender location data to the officer communication device.

24. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

(a) determining when the first offender cellular telephone is within a predefined proximity of a second offender cellular telephone, different from the first offender cellular telephone; and

(b) transmitting to the officer communication device a two offender proximity indication when the first offender cellular telephone is within the predefined proximity of the second offender cellular telephone.

25. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(a) determining when the first offender cellular telephone is within a predefined proximity of an event location; and

(b) transmitting to the officer communication device a location proximity indication when the first offender cellular telephone is within the predefined proximity of the event location.

26. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(a) determining when monitoring of the first offender cellular telephone is no longer authorized; and

(b) disabling monitoring of the first offender cellular telephone when monitoring is no longer authorized.

27. A method for tracking a worker in possession of a worker cellular telephone that includes a global positioning system module and for presenting tracking information about the worker to a supervisor employing a supervisor communication device, in which the worker cellular telephone and the supervisor communication device are in communication with a central monitoring server that employs a tangible memory storage device, comprising the steps of:

(a) storing a voiceprint from the worker on the tangible memory storage device at the central monitoring server;

(b) generating a set of predetermined location criteria for the worker and storing the predetermined location criteria on the tangible memory storage device at the central monitoring server;

(c) receiving, at the central monitoring server, worker location data, including both global positioning system location data and cellular system location data, from the worker cellular telephone, the worker location data including an indication of a location of the worker cellular telephone and storing the worker location data on the tangible memory storage device;

(d) receiving, at the central monitoring server, worker voice sample data from the worker cellular telephone;

(e) retrieving the voiceprint from the tangible memory storage device and comparing the voice sample to the voiceprint and generating a voiceprint alert when the voice sample fails to match the voiceprint;

(f) employing the worker location data to determine a worker location;

(g) retrieving the predetermined location criteria from the tangible memory storage device and comparing the worker location to the set of predetermined location criteria for the worker and generating a location violation alert when the worker location is inconsistent with the predetermined location criteria;

(h) transmitting at least one of the voiceprint alert and the location violation alert from the central monitoring server to the supervisor communication device;

(i) generating a location reliability assessment based on both the global positioning system location data and the cellular system location data, the location reliability assessment providing an indication of reliability of the worker location; and

(j) transmitting to the supervisor communication device an indication of the location reliability assessment.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising where the step of generating the predetermined location criteria comprises the steps of:

(a) determining a plurality of locations at which the worker is required to be; and

(b) determining a time period during which the worker is required to be at each of the plurality of locations.

29. The method of claim 27, further comprising the steps of:

(a) detecting how many different cellular towers are in communication with the worker cellular telephone; and

(b) using information about how many different cellular towers are in communication with the worker cellular telephone in determining the location reliability assessment.

30. The method of claim 27, further comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving a GPS disabled indication from the worker cellular telephone that the worker cellular telephone has disabled the global positioning system module; and

(b) transmitting a command to the worker cellular telephone causing the worker cellular telephone to enable the global positioning system module in response to the GPS disabled indication.

31. The method of claim 27, further comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving an airplane mode indication from the worker cellular telephone that the worker cellular telephone has placed in airplane mode; and

(b) transmitting a command to the worker cellular telephone causing the worker cellular telephone to cease from being in airplane mode.

32. The method of claim 27, further comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving data about operational parameters of the worker cellular telephone;

(b) determining is an operational parameter is below a predetermined operating threshold; and

(c) transmitting to the worker cellular telephone an operational parameter alert when the operational parameter is below the predetermined operating threshold.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the operational parameter alert comprises a battery life projection.

34. The method of claim 32, further comprising the step of transmitting the operational parameter alert to the supervisor communication device.

35. The method of claim 27, further comprising the step of transmitting an ID disabled alert to the supervisor communication device upon detecting that identification of the worker cellular telephone has been disabled.

36. The method of claim 27, further comprising the steps of:

(a) according to a predetermined schedule, transmitting to the worker cellular telephone a tethering call; and

(b) in response to the tethering call, receiving from the worker cellular telephone a voice sample.

37. The method of claim 27, further comprising the step of transmitting to the worker cellular telephone a tethering call when the worker cellular telephone has been at a predetermined location for more than a predetermined amount of time, thereby verifying that the worker is with the worker cellular telephone.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the cellular telephone a tethering call requires the worker to provide a voice sample.

39. The method of claim 27, further comprising the steps of:

(a) detecting when the worker cellular telephone has employed call forwarding; and

(b) transmitting a call forwarding alert to the supervisor communication device upon detecting when the worker cellular telephone has employed call forwarding.

40. The method of claim 27, further comprising the steps of:

(a) detecting when the worker cellular telephone has engaged in a three-way call; and

(b) transmitting a three-way call alert to the supervisor communication device upon detecting when the worker cellular telephone has engaged in a three-way call.

41. The method of claim 27, further comprising the steps of:

(a) receiving a worker location request from the supervisor communication device;

(b) in response to the worker location request, querying the worker cellular telephone for current worker location data; and

(c) after receiving the current worker location data, transmitting the current worker location data to the supervisor communication device.

42. A personal monitoring system for monitoring a client in possession of a cellular telephone having a GPS capability in communication with a cellular telephone network, the cellular telephone including a tangible cellphone memory, the personal monitoring system comprising:

(a) a central monitoring server in communication with the cellular telephone network, the central monitoring server including a nonvolatile memory and configured to;

(i) store a voiceprint of the client on the nonvolatile memory;

(ii) store a set of predetermined location criteria for the client on the nonvolatile memory;

(iii) periodically transmit a query to the cellular telephone to request GPS location data and a voice sample from the client;

(iv) receive, in response to the query, location data indicative of a current location of the cellular telephone and the voice sample;

(v) compare the location data to the predetermined location criteria to determine if the location data is consistent with the predetermined location criteria;

(vi) compare the voice sample to the voiceprint to determine if the voice sample is consistent with the voiceprint; and

(vii) generate an alert if the location data is not consistent with the predetermined location criteria or if the voice sample is not consistent with the voiceprint; and

(b) an application downloaded from the central monitoring server and stored on the cellphone memory of the cellular telephone, the application configured to cause the cellular telephone to;

(i) notify the client of the query;

(ii) record the voice sample from the client;

(iii) detect a current location of the cellular telephone and generate location data indicative thereof; and

(iv) transmit the voice sample and the location data to the central monitoring server in response to the query;

(c) detect when a data allowance for the cellular telephone set forth in a cellular service plan subscribed to by the client has been exceeded; and

(d) communicate with the central monitoring server via SMS technology when the data allowance has been exceeded.

43. The personal monitoring system of claim 42, wherein the application is further configured to:

(a) when the cellular telephone does not have cellular service periodically notify the client to record the voice sample and take a self-photograph using the cellular telephone;

(b) when the client records the voice sample and takes the self-photograph, store a time and date stamped digital version of the self-photograph and the voice sample on the cellphone memory; and

(c) when the cellular telephone regains cellular service, transmit the time and date stamped digital version of the self-photograph and the voice sample to the central monitoring server via the cellular telephone network.

44. The personal monitoring system of claim 43, wherein the central monitoring server is further configured to:

(a) store a reference photograph of the client;

(b) compare the time and date stamped digital version of the self-photograph and the voice sample to the reference photograph and voiceprint; and

(c) generate an alert either when the self-photograph is inconsistent with the reference photograph or when the voice sample is inconsistent with the voiceprint.

45. The personal monitoring system of claim 42, wherein the central monitoring server is further configured to:

(a) record over a predetermined period a plurality of exceptions indicative of the client'"'"'s behavior being inconsistent with a behavior plan;

(b) generate a behavior rating in which the client is assigned a positive rating when the plurality of exceptions are less than a predetermined threshold and in which the client is assigned a negative rating when the plurality of exceptions exceed a predetermined threshold.

46. The personal monitoring system of claim 42, wherein the central monitoring server is further configured to:

(a) record a plurality of telephone operational parameters indicative of a functionality state of the cellular telephone during a predetermined period after installation of the application on the cellular telephone; and

(b) generate a phone rating in which the cellular telephone is assigned a positive rating when the functionality state is greater than a predetermined threshold and in which the cellular telephone is assigned a negative rating when the functionality state is less than the predetermined threshold.

47. The personal monitoring system of claim 42, wherein the application is further configured to perform a quality check upon installation of the application on the cellular telephone, in which during a predetermined period the application:

(a) determines if a series of calls have been received; and

(b) determines if the cellular telephone successfully maintains GPS service,

wherein at the end of the predetermined period, the application transmits to the central monitoring server a phone quality indicator.

48. The personal monitoring system of claim 47, wherein when the phone quality indicator indicates that the cellular telephone is not of sufficient quality, the central monitoring server will not allow the cellular telephone to connect with the system.