Geospatial asset tracking systems, methods and apparatus for acquiring, manipulating and presenting telematic metadata

• US 9,456,302 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2014
• Issued: 09/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Temeda, LLC
• Original Assignee: Temeda, LLC
• Inventors: Pienczykowski, Andrzej, Allen, Mark, Durand, Julian A., Skomra, Stewart A., Sturniolo, Emil, Cichielo, Robert N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Htun, San
• Application Number:
  US14/295,030
• Publication Number:
  US 20140357295A1
• Time in Patent Office: 847 Days
• Field of Search: 455/404.2, 455/410, 455/411, 455/414.1, 455/414.2, 455418-4221, 4554561-457, 4555561-557, 455/569.1, 4555751- 903
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/202 Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/069 using certificates or pre-shared keys
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences

Abstract

A convenient, easy to use ubiquitous governance system to help manage and maintain the plurality of semi-autonomous devices that will be loosely coupled to and communicate via the Internet or other network, more commonly referred to as the network of things.

Claims

1. Apparatus for securely binding an asset to a human using computing intermediaries including a handheld computing device comprising a processor and a handheld communications device, the apparatus comprising:

an asset computing device structured to be tamper-resistantly affixed to the asset, the asset computing device including an asset communications device and a processor disposed and structured to receive signals from at least one sensor; and

non-transitory memory storing instructions that, when executed by the handheld computing device processor, provides a trust engine that securely binds a human with the handheld computing device using multi-factor authentication including biometrics;

the asset computing device securely binding with the handheld computing device using at least one of a wired link and a wireless link between the asset communications device and the handheld communications device;

the secure binding between the human and the handheld computing device and the secure binding between the asset computing device and the handheld computing device securely establishing and maintaining a trusted chain of custody association between the human and the asset.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the asset computing device comprises a housing that is affixable to the asset using tamper resistance, wherein the asset processor is disposed in the affixable housing.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the asset computing device includes a memory that stores further instructions that when executed by the asset computing device processor securely manages and executes downloadable applications including a load integrity application that ensures that items associated with the asset are also securely associated with the human.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the sensor comprises a geographical locating sensor.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the sensor comprises a biometrics sensor configured to authenticate the human.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the asset computing device processor is structured to securely receive inputs from the sensor over a wireless link, the sensor detecting events, the asset computing device processor securely associating the detected events with the human.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least one of the processors is structured to securely authenticate and bind with an additional, portable device providing said sensor to thereby extend a secure chain of custody to bind additional items to the human.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein at least one of the processors is structured to receive inputs wirelessly from a further sensor disposed in the handheld computing device.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the trust engine is structured to be securely managed and monitored remotely to ensure compliance of the trust engine to strictly defined behavioral norms including enforcement of fallback to a last good state.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the trust engine is structured to execute secure intelligent agents of a remotely located management entity.

11. A system for cooperating with a user having a user device, the system comprising:

a sensor that monitors the environmental events acting on an asset to enable determination of whether the asset has been harmed by the environmental events;

at least one intelligent communicating device associated with the asset and configured to provide a trusted intelligent agent that gathers environmental information from the sensor; and

at least one processor configured to securely bind (a) the user to the user device using multi-factor authentication including biometrics, (b) the user device to the intelligent communicating device, and (c) the user and the intelligent communicating device to the asset and any cargo contained therein, the at least one processor associating the user with information monitored by the sensor, thereby securely documenting events concerning the asset for which the user is responsible, the at least one processor providing a trust engine that securely binds with the user device using at least one of a wired link and a wireless link, the secure binding between the user and the user device and the secure binding between the intelligent communicating device associated with the asset and the user device securely establishing and maintaining a trusted chain of custody association between the user and the asset.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the system uses plural intelligent communicating devices to bind asset to asset.

13. The system of claim 11 wherein the intelligent communicating device enables the system to continually monitor location and interactions, including chain of custody, of the asset over time.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein the system provides binding based on proximity.

15. The system of claim 11 wherein the user device includes a biometric sensor that the system uses to create an authenticated trust bond between the intelligent communicating device and the user.

16. The system of claim 11 wherein the intelligent communicating device is configured to be remotely securely dynamically updated/maintained/extended to return to a last good state.

17. The system of claim 11 wherein the user device comprises a conventional smartphone or other handheld user device providing a user interface capability, and the intelligent communicating device employs the handheld user device user interface capability to interface with the user.

18. The system of claim 11 wherein the intelligent communicating device provides a root of trust within an integrated circuit chip which prevalidates a software environment before starting up.

19. The system of claim 11 wherein the intelligent communicating device determines a trusted environment and once the trusted environment is operational, the system continually validates the trusted environment for health and sanity.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein if the system determines the intelligent communicating device is not acting in accordance with a prescribed healthy device, the system quarantines the intelligent communicating device and then remediates the intelligent communicating device by a side channel that can be reinitialized in accordance with a secure mechanism to bring the intelligent communicating device back to life.

21. The system of claim 11 wherein the system transforms a defensive node into an offensive mode that can be used to disrupt an existing infrastructure.

22. The system of claim 11 wherein the system uses frequency analysis and correlation on an engine or class of combustion engines, based on rpm and other attributes, correlated to vehicle OBD codes.

23. The system of claim 11 wherein the system dynamically defines behavior of the intelligent communicating device based on a set of facts from an asset to define an agent that is to take an action, and uses historical data to generate an alert to detect variance between planned and actual activities.

24. The system of claim 11 wherein the intelligent communicating device is hardware mechanically fixable to the asset, or a secure software entity that is authenticated to a user, the asset comprises a container used to deliver people/products/services, and the intelligent communicating device monitors the geolocation, operation and/or condition of the asset and/or biometrics of the user.