System and method for situational awareness

• US 9,921,290 B2
• Filed: 11/08/2012
• Issued: 03/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intrepid Networks, LLC
• Original Assignee: Intrepid Networks, LLC
• Inventors: Kane, Brittin, Witter, Joshua
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Nga X
• Application Number:
  US13/672,105
• Publication Number:
  US 20140129127A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,958 Days
• Field of Search: 701300, 701519, 34053911, 34053915, 34053921, 4554561
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0036 of measured values, i.e. measurement on mobile and position calculation on base station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/30 Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/006 with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination

Abstract

A method providing persons in a group information about the whereabouts of others in the group, including whether persons in the group have moved away from an associated vehicle. The method includes receiving information into a computer system derived from measured rf signal strength sent in digital form from one or more portable devices. The information indicates whether any of the persons has moved from a first relatively close position with respect to an associated vehicle and farther away from the associated vehicle than the first position. A timer function may be initiated if the received information indicates that a first person has moved farther away from the associated vehicle than the first position. Updated information may be received, indicating whether the first person remains farther away from, or has moved to a position at least as close as the first relatively close position is to, the associated vehicle.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for monitoring whether at least one person in a group of persons has been away from a vehicle for longer than a predetermined time period, comprising:

with a computer system positioned remote from the vehicle, providing a network connection between a device associated with a person in the group and the computer system or between a vehicle and the computer system;

initiating the monitoring for the person upon detection of a proximity association between the person and the vehicle by receiving into the computer system, via the network, first digital information indicating a proximity association between the person and the vehicle wherein the person is occupying a first relatively close position with respect to the vehicle;

receiving into the computer system, via the network, further digital information, derived from rf signal strength or detection, indicating whether the person has moved farther away from the vehicle than the first relatively close position;

initiating a timer function if the information the computer system receives indicates the person has moved farther away from the associated vehicle than the first relatively close position;

periodically receiving, into the computer system, updated information, also derived from rf signal strength or detection, indicating whether the person remains farther away from the vehicle than the first relatively close position; and

sending a notification from the computer system to at least one device associated with another person in the group if, after a predefined time period determined with the timer function, it is determined that the person remains farther away from the associated vehicle than the first relatively close position, the notification indicating that the person has remained farther away from the vehicle than the first relatively close position during the predefined time period.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the step in which the timer function is initiated is part of an automated process in which the computer system initiates a timer function in the computer system each time the computer system receives information indicating that the person the has moved from the first relatively close position with respect to the vehicle, and farther away from the vehicle than the first relatively close position, and each initiated timer function determines lapse of a predefined time period for the person after the computer system receives indication that the person has moved farther away from the vehicle than the first relatively close position; and

the step of sending a notification from the computer system includes sending a notification each time it is determined that the person, having moved farther away from the vehicle than the first relatively close position, remains farther away from the vehicle than the first relatively close position after the lapse of the predefined time period.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein sending a notification is performed by sending a notification via a cellular network to multiple devices, with each device associated with a person in the group.

4. The method of claim 1 where, in the step of sending the notification, the computer system initiates transmission of a graphic notification via the network, resulting in transmission from the computer system to a mobile telephone associated with said another person in the group via a cellular network for display of the graphic notification on a display screen of the telephone.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the first digital information received into the computer system is based on rf signal strength or rf signal detection at least a first rf power level.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the computer system includes a processor, a memory medium and a data storage medium, the method further including creating or updating a database in the memory medium or the data storage medium to store the association between each of the multiple persons and the vehicle.

7. The method of claim 6 further including storing in the data base a status of each of said multiple persons based on the information derived from a change in rf signal strength or detection.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein:

multiple persons in the group are law enforcement personnel and the vehicle is a car; and

the step of receiving further digital information into the computer system, indicating whether the person has moved farther away from the vehicle than the first relatively close position provides a status as to whether the person is in the car or has exited and moved away from the car.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving of first digital information into the computer system is effected by wireless transmission over a cellular network to a computer network to which the computer system is connected to receive data.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of receiving digital information into the computer system includes receiving data into a non-transitory computer readable medium.

11. A computer-implemented method for monitoring whether a person in a group is away from an associated vehicle, comprising:

receiving, into a computer system positioned remote from the vehicle, digital information indicating the person is occupying a first relatively close position with respect to the vehicle;

automatically receiving into the computer system further digital information, based on rf signal strength or detection, via a network, indicating whether the person has moved to a second position farther away from the associated vehicle than the relatively close first position; and

sending a notification from the computer system to at least one device associated with another in the group, based on received information, that the person is farther away from the vehicle than the first relatively close position is from the vehicle.

12. The method of claim 11, including:

periodically receiving into the computer system updated information, also derived from measured rf signal strength, indicating whether the person remains farther away from the vehicle than the first relatively close position or has moved to a position closer to the vehicle; and

if the updated information indicates the person no longer remains at the second position farther away from the vehicle than the first relatively close first position and has moved to a position closer to the vehicle;

sending a notification based on the updated information from the computer system to a device associated with said another in the group indicating that the person is no longer at the second position.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein receiving information into the computer system indicating the person is occupying a first relatively close position with respect to the vehicle is effected by data transmission over a network, including wireless transmission over a cellular network.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the step of receiving information into the computer system indicating the person is occupying a first relatively close position with respect to the vehicle comprises receiving data into a non-transitory computer readable medium.

15. A method for providing persons in a group status information and information about the whereabouts of other persons in the group, including whether persons in the group have individually moved away from a vehicle in an identified group of vehicles or returned to the vehicle, the method comprising:

using a computer system positioned remote from the identified vehicle, periodically receiving into the computer system information based on rf signal strength or rf signal detection automatically sent from one or more portable devices to the computer system in digital form via a cellular network, each said portable device positioned remote from the computer system;

processing said information to determine whether an individual in the group of persons has moved from a first relatively close position with respect to the vehicle to a second position farther away from the vehicle than the first relatively close position; and

communicating to persons in the group status information based on a determination of whether the individual has moved from the first relatively close position with respect to the vehicle to the second position farther away from the vehicle than the first relatively close position.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the information based on rf signal strength or rf received detection is received into the computer system from a plurality of portable devices which each include capability of measuring rf signal strength received from a Bluetooth transmitting device.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the group of persons comprises a plurality of law enforcement personnel each assigned to travel in an different identified vehicle.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the steps of periodically receiving information comprise receiving data into a non-transitory computer readable medium.

19. The method of claim 15 further including:

periodically receiving into the computer system, from the portable devices, location information sent via the network for multiple ones of the persons; and

periodically sending updated status information, from the computer system to each of the portable devices via the cellular network, for graphically indicating the location of each person on a map and indicating on the map whether each person

(i) is at a first relatively close position with respect to a vehicle;

or

(ii) is beyond the first relatively close position and farther away from the associated vehicle than the first relatively close position.

20. The method of claim 15 wherein the location information sent via the network for multiple ones of the persons is based on vehicle position.