System and method of personalized navigation inside a business enterprise

• US 10,634,503 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2017
• Issued: 04/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Position Imaging, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Position Imaging, Inc.
• Inventors: Hill, Edward L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hannan, B M M
• Application Number:
  US15/839,298
• Publication Number:
  US 20180164103A1
• Time in Patent Office: 868 Days
• Field of Search: 4554561-457
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/206 specially adapted for indoor navigation
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0295 Proximity-based methods, e.g. position inferred from reception of particular signals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/04 Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem" market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities G06Q30/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/047 Optimisation of routes or paths, e.g. travelling salesman problem
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• 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

Systems and methods for navigating a person through a business enterprise identify the person based on information carried by radio-frequency (RF) signals received from an RF-transmitting device carried by the person, capture images of the identified person, determine from the captured images a current location of the person within the business enterprise, and optically track the current location of the person as the person moves within the business enterprise.

Claims

1. A system for tracking movement of a person through a business enterprise, the system comprising:

at least one radio-frequency (RF) receiver disposed near an entrance to the business enterprise, the RF receiver receiving RF signals from an RF-transmitting device carried by the person;

a controller in communication with the at least one RF receiver to receive therefrom information carried by the RF signals, the controller being configured to identify the person based on the information carried by the RF signals and to determine an initial location of the person based on a location of the at least one RF receiver that receives the RF signals; and

at least one optical device with a field of view covering an area near the entrance to the business enterprise, the at least one optical device being configured to capture images of the area near the entrance and to send the captured images to the controller, the controller being further configured to detect a human in a given image of the area near the entrance captured by the at least one optical device, to associate the human detected in the given image with the identified person in response to determining the initial location of the person and in response to expecting whomever falls next within the field of view of the at least one optical device, after determining the initial location of the person, to be a same person as the person identified based on the information carried by the RF signals, to determine from the captured images a current location of the person, and to use the determined current location to track a relative position of the person within the business enterprise as the person moves through the business enterprise.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising an RF transmitter in communication with the controller to receive therefrom the determined current location, the RF transmitter being configured to transmit the determined current location of the person within the business enterprise to the RF-transmitting device carried by the person.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the information carried by the RF signals includes a shopping list, and the controller identifies where items on the shopping list are in the business enterprise.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the controller produces a route through the business enterprise based on the items on the shopping list, and sends the route to the RF-transmitting device.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to produce for each of the at least one optical device a spatial filter mask that determines information in the given image of the area near the entrance that is to be ignored in order to detect a the human in the given image.

6. A method for tracking and directing a person through a business enterprise, the method comprising:

receiving, by a radio-frequency (RF) receiver disposed near an entrance of the business enterprise, the RF receiver receiving RF signals transmitted by an RF-transmitting device carried by the person;

identifying the person based on information in the RF signals;

determining an initial location of the person based on a location of the RF receiver that receives the RF signals;

capturing, by an optical device, images of an area near the entrance of the business enterprise;

detecting a human in the images captured of the area near the entrance of the business enterprise;

associating the human detected in the captured images with the person identified based on the information in the RF signals in response to determining the initial location of the person and in response to expecting whomever falls next within a field of view of the optical device after determining the initial location of the person to be a same person as the person identified based on the information in the RF signals;

determining from the captured images a current location of the person; and

optically tracking the current location of the person as the person moves from the entrance through the business enterprise.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising transmitting radio signals carrying the current location to the RF-transmitting device carried by the person.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the information in the RF signals includes a shopping list;

and further comprising determining locations of items on the shopping list within the business enterprise.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining a route through the business enterprise based on the items on the shopping list; and

transmitting the route to the RF-transmitting device for display on a screen of the RF-transmitting device.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein optically tracking the current location of the person includes comparing the captured images to determine movement of the person between successive ones of the captured images.

11. The method of claim 6, further comprising the step of determining what information in the images captured of the area near the entrance of the business enterprise is to be ignored when detecting the human in the captured images.

12. A navigation and tracking system for installation at a business enterprise, the navigation and tracking system comprising:

a radio-frequency (RF) node having an RF receiver antenna and configured to receive RF signals from a mobile device, the RF node being disposed proximate an entrance to the business enterprise;

a plurality of video cameras disposed within the business enterprise, at least one video camera of the plurality of video cameras having a field of view that covers an area at the entrance of the business enterprise and is configured to collect images of the area; and

a controller coupled to the RF node and to the plurality of video cameras, the controller being configured to receive the RF signals from the RF node, to determine an identity of a person associated with the mobile device based on information carried in the RF signals, to receive and analyze the images of the area at the entrance collected by the at least one video camera, to determine an initial location of the person based on a location of the RF node that receives the RF signals, to detect a human in at least one of the images, and to match the human found in the at least one of the images with the person associated with the mobile device in response to determining the initial location of the person and in response to expecting whomever falls next within the field of view of the at least one video camera, after determining the initial location of the person, to be a same person as the person identified based on the information carried by the RF signals.

13. The navigation and tracking system of claim 12, wherein the controller is further configured to track the person through the business enterprise based on detecting the person in the images received from at least some of the plurality of video cameras over time.

14. The navigation and tracking system of claim 12, further comprising a database coupled to the controller.

15. The navigation and tracking system of claim 12, where in the controller is further configured to merge the images received from at least some of the plurality of video cameras into a map of the business enterprise.

16. The navigation and tracking system of claim 12, wherein the information carried in the RF signals includes a shopping list identifying a plurality of items of interest.

17. The navigation and tracking system of claim 12 wherein the RF node is further configured to send RF signals to the mobile device, the RF signals sent by the RF node containing information specifying locations of the items of interest within the business enterprise.