METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR TRACKING USERS AND PROVIDING SERVICES

• US 20090051559A1
• Filed: 06/17/2008
• Published: 02/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: National Taiwan University (Government of The Republic of China)
• Original Assignee: National Taiwan University (Government of The Republic of China)
• Inventors: Fu, Li-Chen, Wu, Chao-Lin
• Granted Patent: US 7,804,416 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/666
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/414 using electronic computing means only
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/44 for weighing persons
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 23/42 electrically operated
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/37 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/105 in response to determined parameters

Abstract

Methods and systems for tracking users and providing services are provided. The system comprises a plurality of pressure sensors, a storage unit, at least one service providing unit having a service, and a signal processing unit. The pressure sensors detect pressure applied thereon at a specific time point, and correspondingly generate sensed signals. The signal processing unit receives the sensed signals from the pressure sensors, and stores the sensed signals to the storage unit. The signal processing unit calculates a current state of an object according to the sensed signals and historical sensed signals and historical states of the object in the storage unit, and determines one of the at least one service providing unit according to the current state to activate service thereof.

Claims

1. A system for tracking users and providing services, comprising:

a plurality of pressure sensors set in an environment, detecting pressure applied thereon at a specific time point, and correspondingly generating sensed signals;

a storage unit, storing historical sensed signals corresponding to the pressure sensors, and historical states of at least one object;

at least one service providing unit having a service; and

a signal processing unit, receiving the sensed signals from the pressure sensors, and storing the sensed signals to the storage unit, calculating a state of the object according to the sensed signals and the historical sensed signals and the historical states of the object in the storage unit, and determining one of the at least one service providing unit to activate the service thereon, according to the state of the object.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a signal receiver to receive the sensed signals from the pressure sensors, performing an error adjustment and a de-noising operation on the sensed signals, and transmitting the processed sensed signals to the processing unit.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing unit calculates the state of the object by de-noising the sensed signals, filtering the sensed signals according to a state of the object at a previous time point prior to the specific time point, calculating a possibility for the state of the object according to the sensed signals and a distribution character of the historical sensed signals, adjusting the possibility for the state of the object according to the historical state of the object, and obtaining the state of the object according to the sensed signals and the possibility for the state of the object.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein noises de-noised from the sensed signals comprise a measurement error of the pressure sensors, signal interference to the pressure sensors, or a fixed difference applied on the pressure sensors.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the state comprises a position and a speed of the object, and the processing unit predicts the state of object at the specific time point according to the state of the object at the previous time point prior to the specific time point, and filters the sensed signals according to the predicted state.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein the distribution character comprises at least one distribution curve, and the processing unit sets a confidence weight corresponding to the state of the object according to the distribution curve of the sensed signals to obtain the possibility.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing unit further receives sensed signals from the pressure sensors at a preset time point, and sets the sensed signals at the preset time point as net sensed signals of the environment.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing unit further calculates a weight of the object according to the sensed signals, and identifies the object according to the weight.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the processing unit determines one of the at least one service providing unit according to the identified object and the state of the object.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the service providing unit has a confidence weight mask, defining at least one confidence weight corresponding to the state of the object, and the processing unit determines whether to activate the service on the service providing unit according to the state of the object and the confidence weight mask.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing unit further determines whether to activate the service on the service providing unit according to the state of the object and at least one application condition in the environment.

12. A method for tracking users and providing services, comprising:

setting plurality of pressure sensors set in an environment, wherein the pressure sensors detect pressure applied thereon at a specific time point, and correspondingly generate sensed signals;

calculating a state of an object according to the sensed signals and historical sensed signals and historical states of the object; and

determining at least one service providing unit to activate service thereon according to the state of the object.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising receiving the sensed signals from the pressure sensors by a signal receiver, and performing an error adjustment and a de-noising operation on the sensed signals.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the calculation of the state of the object comprises:

de-noising the sensed signals;

filtering the sensed signals according to a state of the object at a previous time point prior to the specific time point;

calculating a possibility for the state of the object according to the sensed signals and a distribution character of the historical sensed signals;

adjusting the possibility for the state of the object according to the historical state of the object; and

obtaining the state of the object according to the sensed signals and the possibility for the state of the object.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein noises de-noised from the sensed signals comprise a measurement error of the pressure sensors, signal interference to the pressure sensors, or a fixed difference applied on the pressure sensors.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the state comprises a position and a speed of the object, and the state of object at the specific time point is predicted according to the state of the object at the previous time point prior to the specific time point, and filters the sensed signals according to the predicted state.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the distribution character comprises at least one distribution curve, and the method further comprises setting a confidence weight corresponding to the state of the object according to the distribution curve of the sensed signals to obtain the possibility.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising receiving sensed signals from the pressure sensors at a preset time point, and setting the sensed signals at the preset time point as net sensed signals of the environment.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising calculating a weight of the object according to the sensed signals, and identifying the object according to the weight.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising determining the service providing unit according to the identified object and the state of the object.

21. The method of claim 12, wherein the service providing unit has a confidence weight mask, defining at least one confidence weight corresponding to the state of the object, and the service on the service providing unit is determined whether to activate according to the state of the object and the confidence weight mask.

22. The method of claim 12, further comprising determining whether to activate the service on the service providing unit according to the state of the object and at least one application condition in the environment.