ITEM MOVEMENT TRACKING WITH THREE-DIMENSIONAL (3D) PROXIMITY EXCLUSIONS

• US 20170249817A1
• Filed: 05/15/2017
• Published: 08/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Checkpoint Systems Espana SLU
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Nassar, Nader M., Riffe, Annette S. H., Spremulli, Robert J., Wong, Bernie K. K.
• Granted Patent: US 10,796,545 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 15/00 Tags attached to, or associated with, an object, in order to enable detection of the object record carriers for use with machines having a detectable tag or marker G06K19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30232 Surveillance
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/292 Multi-camera tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/70 Determining position or orientation of objects or cameras camera calibration G06T7/80
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2462 Asset location systems combined with EAS inventory, tracking, logistic G06Q10/00; entrance control systems G07C9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

Changes of a vertical and horizontal position of an item are programmatically monitored relative to at least one three-dimensional (3D) item-specific proximity exclusion attribute that precludes movement of the item into a defined 3D item-configured prohibited region by iteratively querying an item tag of the item for measured vertical and horizontal coordinates of the item tag. In response to determining that a detected change of at least one of the vertical and horizontal position of the item results in the item being located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region, an item-specific proximity exclusion alert is generated indicating that the item is located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

programmatically monitoring, by iteratively querying an item tag of an item for measured vertical and horizontal coordinates of the item tag, changes of a vertical and horizontal position of the item relative to at least one three-dimensional (3D) item-specific proximity exclusion attribute that precludes movement of the item into a defined 3D item-configured prohibited region; and

generating, in response to determining that a detected change of at least one of the vertical and horizontal position of the item results in the item being located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region, an item-specific proximity exclusion alert indicating that the item is located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

configuring a commercial environment tag sensor located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region with the at least one 3D item-specific proximity exclusion attribute of the item tag, where the commercial environment tag sensor detects proximity of the item tag configured with the at least one 3D item-specific proximity exclusion attribute.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, where the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region comprises a vertical item-specific keep-out region, and further comprising:

detecting a vertical movement of the item that results in a vertical change of position of the item; and

where determining that the detected change of the at least one of the vertical and horizontal position of the item results in the item being located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region comprises;

determining that the item has entered the vertical item-specific keep-out region.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, where the vertical item-specific keep-out region comprises at least one of an item-specific keep-out region above and an item-specific keep-out region below an acceptable vertical elevation range for the item in a commercial environment, where the acceptable vertical elevation range defines a 3D region within a single floor elevation of an area of the commercial environment.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

configuring, in association with the 3D item-specific proximity exclusion, a time-based item-specific proximity hysteresis threshold that allows the item to be located temporarily within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region for a specified period of time without generating the item-specific proximity exclusion alert; and

where generating, in response to determining that the detected change of the at least one of the vertical and horizontal position of the item results in the item being located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region, the item-specific proximity exclusion alert indicating that the item is located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region comprises;

generating the item-specific proximity exclusion alert in response to the item being located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region for a longer period of time than the specified period of time of the configured time-based item-specific proximity hysteresis threshold.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing the item-specific proximity exclusion alert on a console within in a security management office along with a time series of security camera images that document detected changes of vertical and horizontal position of the item within a 3D grid of a commercial environment during times prior to the generation of the item-specific proximity exclusion alert; and

providing image content of at least an entrance to the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region contemporaneously captured with the detected change of the at least one of the vertical and horizontal position of the item that resulted in the item being located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, where the at least one 3D item-specific proximity exclusion attribute is configured with an item identifier (ID) of the item to facilitate the programmatic monitoring of the changes of the vertical and horizontal position of the item independently of movements of other items.

8. A system, comprising:

a communication module; and

a processor programmed to;

programmatically monitor, by iteratively querying an item tag of an item for measured vertical and horizontal coordinates of the item tag using the communication module, changes of a vertical and horizontal position of the item relative to at least one three-dimensional (3D) item-specific proximity exclusion attribute that precludes movement of the item into a defined 3D item-configured prohibited region; and

generate, in response to determining that a detected change of at least one of the vertical and horizontal position of the item results in the item being located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region, an item-specific proximity exclusion alert indicating that the item is located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region.

9. The system of claim 8, where the processor is further programmed to:

configure a commercial environment tag sensor located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region with the at least one 3D item-specific proximity exclusion attribute of the item tag, where the commercial environment tag sensor detects proximity of the item tag configured with the at least one 3D item-specific proximity exclusion attribute.

10. The system of claim 8, where the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region comprises a vertical item-specific keep-out region, the vertical item-specific keep-out region comprising at least one of an item-specific keep-out region above and an item-specific keep-out region below an acceptable vertical elevation range for the item in a commercial environment, where the acceptable vertical elevation range defines a 3D region within a single floor elevation of an area of the commercial environment, and where the processor is further programmed to:

detect a vertical movement of the item that results in a vertical change of position of the item; and

where, in being programmed to determine that the detected change of the at least one of the vertical and horizontal position of the item results in the item being located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region, the processor is programmed to;

determine that the item has entered the vertical item-specific keep-out region.

11. The system of claim 8, where the processor is further programmed to:

configure, in association with the 3D item-specific proximity exclusion, a time-based item-specific proximity hysteresis threshold that allows the item to be located temporarily within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region for a specified period of time without generating the item-specific proximity exclusion alert; and

where, in being programmed to generate, in response to determining that the detected change of the at least one of the vertical and horizontal position of the item results in the item being located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region, the item-specific proximity exclusion alert indicating that the item is located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region, the processor is programmed to;

generate the item-specific proximity exclusion alert in response to the item being located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region for a longer period of time than the specified period of time of the configured time-based item-specific proximity hysteresis threshold.

12. The system of claim 8, where the processor is further programmed to:

provide the item-specific proximity exclusion alert on a console within in a security management office along with a time series of security camera images that document detected changes of vertical and horizontal position of the item within a 3D grid of a commercial environment during times prior to the generation of the item-specific proximity exclusion alert; and

provide image content of at least an entrance to the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region contemporaneously captured with the detected change of the at least one of the vertical and horizontal position of the item that resulted in the item being located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region.

13. The system of claim 8, where the at least one 3D item-specific proximity exclusion attribute is configured with an item identifier (ID) of the item to facilitate the programmatic monitoring of the changes of the vertical and horizontal position of the item independently of movements of other items.

14. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, where the computer readable storage medium is not a transitory signal per se and where the computer readable program code when executed on a computer causes the computer to;

programmatically monitor, by iteratively querying an item tag of an item for measured vertical and horizontal coordinates of the item tag, changes of a vertical and horizontal position of the item relative to at least one three-dimensional (3D) item-specific proximity exclusion attribute that precludes movement of the item into a defined 3D item-configured prohibited region; and

generate, in response to determining that a detected change of at least one of the vertical and horizontal position of the item results in the item being located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region, an item-specific proximity exclusion alert indicating that the item is located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, where the computer readable program code when executed on the computer further causes the computer to:

configure a commercial environment tag sensor located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region with the at least one 3D item-specific proximity exclusion attribute of the item tag, where the commercial environment tag sensor detects proximity of the item tag configured with the at least one 3D item-specific proximity exclusion attribute.

16. The computer program product of claim 14, where the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region comprises a vertical item-specific keep-out region, and where the computer readable program code when executed on the computer further causes the computer to:

detect a vertical movement of the item that results in a vertical change of position of the item; and

where, in causing the computer to determine that the detected change of the at least one of the vertical and horizontal position of the item results in the item being located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region, the computer readable program code when executed on the computer causes the computer to;

determine that the item has entered the vertical item-specific keep-out region.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, where the vertical item-specific keep-out region comprises at least one of an item-specific keep-out region above and an item-specific keep-out region below an acceptable vertical elevation range for the item in a commercial environment, where the acceptable vertical elevation range defines a 3D region within a single floor elevation of an area of the commercial environment.

18. The computer program product of claim 14, where the computer readable program code when executed on the computer further causes the computer to:

configure, in association with the 3D item-specific proximity exclusion, a time-based item-specific proximity hysteresis threshold that allows the item to be located temporarily within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region for a specified period of time without generating the item-specific proximity exclusion alert; and

where, in causing the computer to generate, in response to determining that the detected change of the at least one of the vertical and horizontal position of the item results in the item being located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region, the item-specific proximity exclusion alert indicating that the item is located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region, the computer readable program code when executed on the computer causes the computer to;

generate the item-specific proximity exclusion alert in response to the item being located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region for a longer period of time than the specified period of time of the configured time-based item-specific proximity hysteresis threshold.

19. The computer program product of claim 14, where the computer readable program code when executed on the computer further causes the computer to:

provide the item-specific proximity exclusion alert on a console within in a security management office along with a time series of security camera images that document detected changes of vertical and horizontal position of the item within a 3D grid of a commercial environment during times prior to the generation of the item-specific proximity exclusion alert; and

provide image content of at least an entrance to the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region contemporaneously captured with the detected change of the at least one of the vertical and horizontal position of the item that resulted in the item being located within the defined 3D item-configured prohibited region.

20. The computer program product of claim 14, where the at least one 3D item-specific proximity exclusion attribute is configured with an item identifier (ID) of the item to facilitate the programmatic monitoring of the changes of the vertical and horizontal position of the item independently of movements of other items.