Systems and methods for object tracking with wireless beacons

• US 9,622,208 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2016
• Issued: 04/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Estimote, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Estimote, Inc.
• Inventors: Mycek, Marcin, Sznajder, Michal, Krukiewicz-Gacek, Grzegorz, Kostka, Lukasz, Krzych, Jakub
• Primary Examiner(s): PATEL, MAHENDRA R
• Application Number:
  US15/253,376
• Publication Number:
  US 20170064667A1
• Time in Patent Office: 223 Days
• Field of Search: 4554561, 455 412, 34053913, 3405721
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0226 Transmitters
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0294 Trajectory determination or predictive filtering, e.g. target tracking or Kalman filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0295 Proximity-based methods, e.g. position inferred from reception of particular signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• 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 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/322 Power control of broadcast channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

An object tracking system can include beacons and tracking module. The object tracking method can include determining the location of a mobile device and determining the location of an object beacon.

Claims

1. A method for object beacon location determination using a remote computing system, comprising:

at each of a plurality of user devices, each user device of the plurality in communication with a different venue beacon of a plurality of venue beacons, each venue beacon fixed to a surface of a venue encompassing the venue beacons;

receiving a venue beacon signal from the respective venue beacon;

determining a venue beacon signal quality value for the respective venue beacon signal;

determining a venue beacon identifier from the respective venue beacon signal;

transmitting the venue beacon signal quality value and the venue beacon identifier to the remote computing system;

at the remote computing system, for each user device of the plurality, determining a physical user device location for the user device based on the respective venue beacon signal quality value and a physical venue beacon location associated with the respective venue beacon identifier;

at each user device of the plurality;

receiving an object beacon signal from an object beacon of a set of object beacons, each object beacon fixed to a physical object, the object beacon signal received within a predetermined time period from receipt of the venue beacon signal;

determining a object beacon signal quality value for the respective object beacon signal;

determining an object beacon identifier for the object beacon from the object beacon signal;

transmitting the object beacon signal quality value, associated with the object beacon identifier, to the remote computing system;

at the remote computing system, for each object beacon of the set, determining a physical object beacon location for the object beacon based on the object beacon signal quality values associated with the respective object beacon identifier and the physical user device locations of user devices that received the object beacon signal from the object beacon, wherein the physical user device locations of user devices that received the object beacon signal are determined based on the venue beacon signals received by the respective physical user device; and

at a user device that received an object beacon signal from an object beacon of the set, displaying information associated with the object beacon.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a first object beacon of the set is identified by a first object beacon identifier, wherein determining the physical object beacon location for the first object beacon comprises, at the remote computing system:

identifying user devices of the plurality from which the first object beacon identifier was received;

retrieving the physical user device locations for each of the identified user devices;

for each user device of the identified user devices, determining a distance estimate between the first object beacon and the user device, based on the respective object beacon signal quality value associated with the first object beacon identifier received from the user device; and

determining the physical object beacon location for the first object beacon through trilateration, wherein the physical user device locations are used as centroids and the respective distance estimates are used as radii.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the object beacon signals from the first object beacon are received by each of the identified user devices at different times.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the identified user devices comprise user devices that received the object beacon signals from the first object beacon after a reference timestamp.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

at each user device of the plurality, in response to receipt of the object beacon signal from the object beacon of the set, determining a set of sensor data for the respective object beacon from the object beacon signal, wherein transmitting the object beacon signal quality value and the object beacon identifier to the remote computing system further comprises transmitting the set of sensor data in association with the object beacon identifier; and

determining the reference time at the remote computing system, comprising;

generating a time series of sensor data for the first object beacon based on the set of sensor data associated with the first object beacon identifier, the set of sensor data received from the plurality of user devices;

identifying sensor data parameters associated with beacon movement termination from the time series of sensor data for the first object beacon;

in response to identifying the sensor data parameters associated with beacon movement termination, determining a termination time associated with the sensor data parameters associated with beacon movement termination; and

setting the termination time as the reference time.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

automatically generating a virtual map of a physical space encompassing the plurality of venue beacons, the virtual map comprising;

virtual representations of each venue beacon of the plurality arranged in virtual positions representative of the respective physical venue beacon locations; and

virtual representations of each object beacon of the set arranged in virtual positions representative of the respective physical object beacon locations;

receiving a virtual map request from a management device; and

transmitting a graphical representation of the virtual map to the management device in response to receipt of the virtual map request.

7. A method for beacon location determination, comprising:

at a user client executing on a user device, receiving a venue beacon signal transmitted by a venue beacon;

determining a first signal quality value for the venue beacon signal and a venue beacon identifier from the venue beacon signal;

determining a first physical user device location based on the first signal quality value and a physical venue beacon location associated with the venue beacon identifier;

at the user client, receiving an object beacon signal, transmitted by an object beacon, within a predetermined time duration from receipt of the first beacon signal;

determining a second signal quality value for the object beacon signal and an object beacon identifier from the object beacon signal;

determining a physical object beacon location based on the second signal quality value and the first physical user device location, the first physical user device location determined based on the venue beacon signal;

storing the physical object beacon location in association with the object beacon identifier; and

at the user client, displaying information associated with the object beacon.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising transmitting the first signal quality value, the venue beacon identifier, the second signal quality value, and the object beacon identifier from the user device to a remote computing system, wherein the first physical user device location and the physical object beacon location are determined at the remote computing system, wherein the physical object beacon location is stored at the remote computing system.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the object beacon identifier comprises a broadcast identifier, the method further comprising:

resolving the object beacon identifier into a unique beacon identifier based on a rule, wherein the object beacon identifier is generated locally on the object beacon based on the rule;

determining information associated with the unique beacon identifier; and

presenting the determined information on the user client.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

identifying a first entity associated with the unique beacon identifier; and

determining a second entity associated with the user client;

wherein the determined information is presented on the user client in response to the first entity matching the second entity.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

automatically generating a virtual map of a physical space associated with the venue beacon identifier, the virtual map comprising a virtual representation of the venue beacon arranged in a first virtual position within the virtual map corresponding to the physical venue beacon location and a virtual representation of the object beacon arranged in a second virtual position within the virtual map corresponding to the physical object beacon location.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving a virtual map request from a second user client;

transmitting a representation of the virtual map to the second user client in response to virtual map request receipt.

13. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving a plurality of beacon identifiers, each beacon identifier determined from a different beacon signal, each beacon identifier associated with a signal quality value for the respective beacon signal;

wherein determining the first physical user device location comprises;

determining the first physical user device location based on the first signal quality value, the physical venue beacon location, a physical location associated with each beacon identifier of the plurality, and the respective signal quality value associated with each beacon identifier of the plurality.

14. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving a plurality of signal quality values for signals from which the object beacon identifier was extracted;

wherein determining the physical object beacon location comprises;

determining a physical user device location associated with each user device from which a signal quality value of the plurality was received; and

determining the first physical object beacon location based on the first physical user device location, the second signal quality value, the plurality of signal quality values, and the physical user device locations associated with each user device from which a signal quality value of the plurality was received.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the plurality of signal quality values are received from the user client.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein each signal quality value of the plurality is received from a different user device of a plurality of user devices.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the plurality of signal quality values comprise signal quality values for signals received by the plurality of user clients after a reference time.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising determining a movement termination timestamp representative of object beacon movement termination, wherein the reference time is the movement termination timestamp.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein determining the movement termination timestamp comprises:

receiving sensor data from the object beacon at a first time; and

setting the first time as the movement termination timestamp in response to parameter values of the sensor data indicating object beacon movement termination.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the sensor data comprises an accelerometer measurement from an accelerometer on-board the object beacon, wherein the parameter values of the sensor data indicate object beacon movement termination when the accelerometer measurement falls below a threshold value.