Abstract:
Techniques for remote tracking may be realized as a method including: receiving tracking parameters comprising one or more restrictions, wherein each restriction of the one or more restrictions includes a property other than a position; monitoring a position of a client device; receiving location information for the monitored position of the client device, the location information including one or more properties other than position; and determining that the monitored position of the client device transgresses a restriction of the one or more restrictions, wherein the determination includes determining that location information of the monitored position satisfies a property of the restriction other than position.

Description:
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The present disclosure relates generally to location tracking, and, more specifically, to techniques for remote tracking. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Remote tracking allows an administrator to set parameters for the location of subjects, automatically responding in a predetermined fashion whenever certain parameters are met. For example, geofencing allows an administrator to define an area that a user is not allowed to leave. A parent may say that their child should only be at home, school, or somewhere in between. An employer may say that their truck drivers should only be on their delivery routes. If the geofencing policy is violated, then the administrator is alerted. As an additional example, an administrator may be alerted if a user&#39;s behavior puts it within a forbidden area (such as an employee going to an unauthorized part of a facility or a child entering an adults-only area). 
     However, these techniques require the administrator to define specific locations that trigger alerts—for instance, if a parent does not know that a specific location corresponds to an adults-only area such as a bar, the parent will not create a tracking parameter that generates an alert based on this area. 
     In view of the foregoing, it may be understood that there may be significant problems and shortcomings associated with current remote tracking technologies. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Techniques for remote tracking are disclosed. In one embodiment, the techniques may be realized as a method comprising the steps of receiving tracking parameters comprising one or more restrictions, wherein each restriction of the one or more restrictions includes a property other than a position; monitoring a position of a client device; receiving location information for the monitored position of the client device, the location information including one or more properties other than position; and determining that the monitored position of the client device transgresses a restriction of the one or more restrictions, wherein the determination includes determining that location information of the monitored position satisfies a property of the restriction other than position. 
     In accordance with other aspects of this embodiment, the method may further comprise generating a notification in response to determining that the monitored position transgresses the restriction. 
     In accordance with further aspects of this embodiment, the notification may include the received location information for the monitored position of the client device. 
     In accordance with other aspects of this embodiment, the property may be a type of business or may be a type of event. Determining that the monitored position of the client device transgresses the restriction may further include determining that a current time matches a time for an event of the type specified by the restriction. 
     In accordance with other aspects of this embodiment, the method may further comprise determining that the client device is lingering at the monitored position, wherein the determination includes determining that the client device has been within a predetermined threshold distance of the monitored position for a duration exceeding a predetermined threshold duration. The predetermined threshold distance and the predetermined threshold duration may each be associated with the tracking parameters. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the techniques may be realized as an article of manufacture including at least one processor readable storage medium and instructions stored on the at least one medium. The instructions may be configured to be readable from the at least one medium by at least one processor and thereby cause the at least one processor to operate so as to carry out any and all of the steps in the above-described method. 
     In accordance with another embodiment, the techniques may be realized as a system comprising one or more processors communicatively coupled to a network; wherein the one or more processors are configured to carry out any and all of the steps described with respect to any of the above embodiments. 
     The present disclosure will now be described in more detail with reference to particular embodiments thereof as shown in the accompanying drawings. While the present disclosure is described below with reference to particular embodiments, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Those of ordinary skill in the art having access to the teachings herein will recognize additional implementations, modifications, and embodiments, as well as other fields of use, which are within the scope of the present disclosure as described herein, and with respect to which the present disclosure may be of significant utility. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In order to facilitate a fuller understanding of the present disclosure, reference is now made to the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are referenced with like numerals. These drawings should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure, but are intended to be illustrative only. 
         FIG. 1  shows a block diagram depicting a network architecture in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  shows a block diagram depicting a computer system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  shows a block diagram of a mobile client device, monitoring server, map server, and event server in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  shows a method for remote tracking in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     The present disclosure relates to improving usability and security of existing remote tracking solutions by providing for automatic identification of locations. When setting remote tracking parameters, an administrator can identify characteristics of a location that should result in an alert, such as a business category, event type, etc. A system can retrieve data about any location that the monitored user (e.g. the child) is identified as attending, and alert the administrator based on the identified characteristics. This allows, for example, a parent to receive an alert any time the child stops at a location offering adults-only service such as a bar or casino. It may also alert the parent if the child&#39;s location at a particular time corresponds to the time and location of a community event such as a concert or rally. 
       FIG. 1  shows a block diagram depicting a network architecture  100  in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.  FIG. 1  is a simplified view of network architecture  100 , which may include additional elements that are not depicted. Network architecture  100  may contain client systems  110 ,  120  and  130 , as well as servers  140 A- 140 N (one or more of each of which may be implemented using computer system  200  shown in  FIG. 2 ). Client systems  110 ,  120  and  130  may be communicatively coupled to a network  150 . Server  140 A may be communicatively coupled to storage devices  160 A( 1 )-(N), and server  140 B may be communicatively coupled to storage devices  160 B( 1 )-(N). Servers  140 A and  140 B may be communicatively coupled to a SAN (Storage Area Network) fabric  170 . SAN fabric  170  may support access to storage devices  180 ( 1 )-(N) by servers  140 A and  140 B, and by client systems  110 ,  120  and  130  via network  150 . 
     With reference to computer system  200  of  FIG. 2 , modem  247 , network interface  248 , or some other method may be used to provide connectivity from one or more of client systems  110 ,  120  and  130  to network  150 . Client systems  110 ,  120  and  130  may access information on server  140 A or  140 B using, for example, a web browser or other client software (not shown). Such a client may allow client systems  110 ,  120  and  130  to access data hosted by server  140 A or  140 B or one of storage devices  160 A( 1 )-(N),  160 B( 1 )-(N), and/or  180 ( 1 )-(N). 
     Networks  150  and  190  may be local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), the Internet, cellular networks, satellite networks, or other networks that permit communication between clients  110 ,  120 ,  130 , servers  140 , and other devices communicatively coupled to networks  150  and  190 . Networks  150  and  190  may further include one, or any number, of the exemplary types of networks mentioned above operating as a stand-alone network or in cooperation with each other. Networks  150  and  190  may utilize one or more protocols of one or more clients or servers to which they are communicatively coupled. Networks  150  and  190  may translate to or from other protocols to one or more protocols of network devices. Although networks  150  and  190  are each depicted as one network, it should be appreciated that according to one or more embodiments, networks  150  and  190  may each comprise a plurality of interconnected networks. 
     Storage devices  160 A( 1 )-(N),  160 B( 1 )-(N), and/or  180 ( 1 )-(N) may be network accessible storage and may be local, remote, or a combination thereof to server  140 A or  140 B. Storage devices  160 A( 1 )-(N),  160 B( 1 )-(N), and/or  180 ( 1 )-(N) may utilize a redundant array of inexpensive disks (“RAID”), magnetic tape, disk, a storage area network (“SAN”), an internet small computer systems interface (“iSCSI”) SAN, a Fibre Channel SAN, a common Internet File System (“CIFS”), network attached storage (“NAS”), a network file system (“NFS”), optical based storage, or other computer accessible storage. Storage devices  160 A( 1 )-(N),  160 B( 1 )-(N), and/or  180 ( 1 )-(N) may be used for backup or archival purposes. Further, storage devices  160 A( 1 )-(N),  160 B( 1 )-(N), and/or  180 ( 1 )-(N) may be implemented as part of a multi-tier storage environment. 
     According to some embodiments, clients  110 ,  120 , and  130  may be smartphones, PDAs, desktop computers, a laptop computers, servers, other computers, or other devices coupled via a wireless or wired connection to network  150 . Clients  110 ,  120 , and  130  may receive data from user input, a database, a file, a web service, and/or an application programming interface. In some implementations, clients  110 ,  120 , and  130  may specifically be network-capable mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets. 
     Servers  140 A and  140 B may be application servers, archival platforms, backup servers, network storage devices, media servers, email servers, document management platforms, enterprise search servers, or other devices communicatively coupled to network  150 . Servers  140 A and  140 B may utilize one of storage devices  160 A( 1 )-(N),  160 B( 1 )-(N), and/or  180 ( 1 )-(N) for the storage of application data, backup data, or other data. Servers  140 A and  140 B may be hosts, such as an application server, which may process data traveling between clients  110 ,  120 , and  130  and a backup platform, a backup process, and/or storage. According to some embodiments, servers  140 A and  140 B may be platforms used for backing up and/or archiving data. One or more portions of data may be backed up or archived based on a backup policy and/or an archive applied, attributes associated with the data source, space available for backup, space available at the data source, or other factors. 
     According to some embodiments, clients  110 ,  120 , and  130  may contain one or more portions of software for implementation of remote tracking processes such as, for example, tracking application  154 , while server  140 A may include one or more portions such as, for example, tracking module  156 . Further, one or more portions of the tracking module  156  may reside at a network centric location. For example, server  140 A may be a server, a firewall, a gateway, or other network element that may perform one or more actions to support management of system and network security elements. According to some embodiments, network  190  may be an external network (e.g., the Internet) and server  140 A may be a gateway or firewall between one or more internal components and clients and the external network. According to some embodiments, analysis and approval of resource references including tracking module  156  may be implemented as part of a cloud computing environment. 
       FIG. 2  shows a block diagram of a computer system  200  in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Computer system  200  is suitable for implementing techniques in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Computer system  200  may include a bus  212  which may interconnect major subsystems of computer system  200 , such as a central processor  214 , a system memory  217  (e.g. RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), flash RAM, or the like), an Input/Output (I/O) controller  218 , an external audio device, such as a speaker system  220  via an audio output interface  222 , an external device, such as a display screen  224  via display adapter  226 , serial ports  228  and  230 , a keyboard  232  (interfaced via a keyboard controller  233 ), a storage interface  234 , a floppy disk drive  237  operative to receive a floppy disk  238 , a host bus adapter (HBA) interface card  235 A operative to connect with a Fibre Channel network  290 , a host bus adapter (HBA) interface card  235 B operative to connect to a SCSI bus  239 , and an optical disk drive  240  operative to receive an optical disk  242 . Also included may be a mouse  246  (or other point-and-click device, coupled to bus  212  via serial port  228 ), a modem  247  (coupled to bus  212  via serial port  230 ), network interface  248  (coupled directly to bus  212 ), power manager  250 , and battery  252 . 
     Bus  212  allows data communication between central processor  214  and system memory  217 , which may include read-only memory (ROM) or flash memory (neither shown), and random access memory (RAM) (not shown), as previously noted. The RAM may be the main memory into which the operating system and application programs may be loaded. The ROM or flash memory can contain, among other code, the Basic Input-Output system (BIOS) which controls basic hardware operation such as the interaction with peripheral components. Applications resident with computer system  200  may be stored on and accessed via a computer readable medium, such as a hard disk drive (e.g., fixed disk  244 ), an optical drive (e.g., optical drive  240 ), a floppy disk unit (not shown), a removable disk unit (e.g., Universal Serial Bus drive), or other storage medium. According to some embodiments, tracking application  154  may be resident in system memory  217 . 
     Storage interface  234 , as with the other storage interfaces of computer system  200 , can connect to a standard computer readable medium for storage and/or retrieval of information, such as a fixed disk drive  244 . Fixed disk drive  244  may be a part of computer system  200  or may be separate and accessed through other interface systems. Modem  247  may provide a direct connection to a remote server via a telephone link or to the Internet via an internet service provider (ISP). Network interface  248  may provide a direct connection to a remote server via a direct network link to the Internet via a POP (point of presence). Network interface  248  may provide such connection using wireless techniques, including digital cellular telephone connection, Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) connection, digital satellite data connection or the like. GPS unit  238  may receive position information, such as the standardized signals sent by the global positioning system, and may be configured to provide position information based on the received signals. 
     Many other devices or subsystems (not shown) may be connected in a similar manner (e.g., document scanners, digital cameras and so on). Conversely, all of the devices shown in  FIG. 2  need not be present to implement an embodiment of the present disclosure. The devices and subsystems can be interconnected in different ways from that shown in  FIG. 2 . Code to implement an embodiment of the present disclosure may be stored in computer-readable storage media such as one or more of system memory  217 , fixed disk  244 , optical disk  242 , or floppy disk (not shown). Code to implement an embodiment of the present disclosure may also be received via one or more interfaces and stored in memory. The operating system provided on computer system  200  may be MS-DOS®, MS-WINDOWS®, OS/2®, OS X®, UNIX®, Linux®, or another known operating system. 
     Power manager  250  may monitor a power level of battery  252 . Power manager  250  may provide one or more APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to allow determination of a power level, of a time window remaining prior to shutdown of computer system  200 , a power consumption rate, an indicator of whether computer system is on mains (e.g., AC Power) or battery power, and other power related information. According to some embodiments, APIs of power manager  250  may be accessible remotely (e.g., accessible to a remote backup management module via a network connection). According to some embodiments, battery  252  may be an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) located either local to or remote from computer system  200 . In such embodiments, power manager  250  may provide information about a power level of an UPS. 
     In one embodiment, a client system  110  may be a mobile device  300  as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . The mobile client device  300  may include a GPS module  302  that monitors received global positioning signals and uses those signals to determine a position for the client device  300 . In some implementations, the GPS module  302  may further control a GPS receiver unit and other units associated with receiving and signaling position. Once the GPS receiver unit determines position information, the information may then be relayed to other applications for further use in navigation and tracking, such as a tracking application  154 . 
     The tracking application  154  may communicate with the tracking module  156  of a server  104 A. The application  154  may report position information to the module  156  at regular intervals, or in response to certain events determined at the client device  300 , or in response to a request for position information from the module  156 . In some implementations, the tracking application  154  may not be a standalone application, but instead may be a feature of another application, of an operating system, of a module such as the GPS module, or the like. 
     The tracking module  156  may include tracking parameters  322 , which specify where the mobile client device  300  is permitted to be. The tracking parameters may include, for example, one or more geofencing parameters. The geofencing parameters may in turn include one or more positions or objects and an allowed distance from each; the allowed distances may be the same or may be different. The geofencing parameters may include, for example, one or more borders and a side of each border that the client device is permitted to be on. These parameters may further include one or more navigation routes, which may represent an allowed region between two targets such that the client device is permitted to be within a set distance of either target or along the route between them. Other settings, options, and configurations for geofencing are known in the art. 
     In addition to the geofencing parameters, the tracking parameters  322  further include one or more restrictions based on properties of a location or event. These restrictions may include categories of locations that the user associated with the client device  300  should not be visiting, such as businesses offering adult services when the tracked user is a child, or recreational businesses when the tracked user is an on-the-job employee. The tracking parameters  322  may also include distances and durations for each of the restrictions. The distance and duration may be the same for each restriction or may vary. The duration represents a minimum time in which the user would need to be proximate a particular location to be in transgression of the restriction, while the distance sets a threshold for how close the device  300  would need to be to a location of the appropriate type. The distance and duration for a given restriction may be set by default, may be adjusted automatically, or may be set by the administrator of the tracking module  156 . 
     The tracking module  156  may include a client monitor  324 , which monitors the position and status of the client device  300  in accordance with the tracking parameters  322 . The client monitor  324  may communicate with a tracking application  154  on the client device  300 , may otherwise communicate with the client device  300 , or may retrieve information about the client device  300  indirectly, such as from another system in network communication with the client device  300 . In some implementations, the client monitor  324  may receive information from a service network providing telephone or data service to the client device  300 . The device information monitored may include position information but also device status, such as the level of battery charge, whether the device is in a special operating mode such as “hands-free” or “airplane,” and whether the device is connected to a wireless network. 
     The tracking module  156  may include a location module  326 , which identifies properties of locations that are relevant to tracking parameters  322 . The location module  326  may only identify the properties of locations that may potentially violate the parameters  322 ; for example, whether the client&#39;s location is subject to a particular restriction may only be checked once the client has stayed in the same location for that restriction&#39;s associated duration. 
     The location module  326  may consult external sources for identifying the properties of the client&#39;s location, such as a map server  310  or event server  314 . A map server  310  may include location data  312  that it provides on request based on parameters requested by a user. The map server  310  may be accessed by means of a website interface, by an application, or by means of an API. An event server  314  may provide locations and properties of events from calendar data  316  according to queries it receives, and may also be accessed by a website interface, application, or API. The location module  326  may use keywords identified by the administrator when creating tracking parameters  322  or keywords which the system associates with a particular location property. In some implementations, a learning algorithm may be employed in order to refine the process by which the location module identifies data relevant to the tracking parameters  322 . 
     The tracking module  156  may further include a transgression calculator  328  which compares the position of the client device  300  with the tracking parameters  322  to determine if the client device  300  has transgressed the geofences or restrictions. In some implementations, the transgression calculator  328  may apply the duration and distance associated with each restriction to determine if the client device  300  has lingered, and apply the location information retrieved by the location module  326  to confirm that a restriction has been transgressed. 
     The tracking module  156  may further include an alert generator  330 , which may generate a notification event, an alarm, or other alert in response to a transgression of the client device  300  as determined by the transgression calculator  328 . In some implementations, a communications module  332  may be used to provide an alert, which in some implementations may include a message such as an email or SMS message. A push or other application notification may also be sent as an alert. For transgression of a location property restriction, the alert may include information about the restriction that was violated, as well as any information regarding the location that was used to determine a transgression of the restriction (such as the name and property of the restricted business or information associated with the restricted event). In addition to sending this alert to the administrator, an alert or other warning may optionally be sent to the client device  300  as well, alerting the user of the restricted location. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a method  400  for remote tracking. The system monitors the position of a mobile client ( 402 ). The system may receive data from the mobile client reflecting a position, such as GPS data from an on-board GPS unit; the system may also receive data from other systems, such as communications systems providing network connectivity to the mobile client. In some implementations, the system may request data from the mobile client; alternatively, the mobile client may send position data to the system at a particular interval or in response to a particular event. 
     The system determines whether the position of the client is stationary enough to be considered to be lingering in a particular location ( 404 ). This determination may represent tracking parameters known in the art; that is, one of ordinary skill may recognize how to determine that a client is stationary for a sufficient duration. It will be noted that the position of the mobile client is not always precisely determinable; in some implementations, an imprecise range may be determined for the client position and the system may have to determine whether to consider the client to be lingering based on ambiguity in the client location. The system may, in some implementations, determine a probability distribution for the position of the mobile device based on the reported error and a record of the client&#39;s previous positions, and consider the client to have lingered at a location only if a probability exceeds a threshold value. Other techniques to deal with ambiguous location in remote tracking are known in the art. If the mobile client is considered to be moving past locations rather than identified with a specific location, the system continues to monitor the client position. 
     According to the method  400  of  FIG. 4 , which is only one possible method to implement a process in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, if the client is found to have lingered at a particular location, information on that location is acquired ( 406 ). The data may be acquired from a particular external site or multiple sources; the system may also include an internal database which includes data from locations which have previously been matched for a particular user or other users. 
     The location data is compared to the specified restrictions to determine if the tracking parameters have been transgressed ( 408 ). If the location information does not match any of the restricted properties, such as if no business or event matches any of the parameters identified as a restricted location, then the mobile system returns to monitoring the client position. 
     If the client device is found to transgress the location restrictions, then the system may generate an alert ( 410 ). The alert may be any message or communication designed to identify that a transgression event has occurred. In some implementations, the alert may be given to a third party such a monitoring service or to the authorities. The alert may include a notification to the client device, such as an application notification or SMS message. Alternatively, the client device itself may not be included in the alert. 
     In some implementations, the generation of an alert may temporarily stop the tracking process, although some monitoring of the mobile client device may continue. In some implementations, further monitoring (including additional alerts) may be possible after a set interval. 
     At this point it should be noted that remote tracking in accordance with the present disclosure as described above may involve the processing of input data and the generation of output data to some extent. This input data processing and output data generation may be implemented in hardware or software. For example, specific electronic components may be employed in a mobile device or similar or related circuitry for implementing the functions associated with remote tracking in accordance with the present disclosure as described above. Alternatively, one or more processors operating in accordance with instructions may implement the functions associated with remote tracking in accordance with the present disclosure as described above. If such is the case, it is within the scope of the present disclosure that such instructions may be stored on one or more non-transitory processor readable storage media (e.g., a magnetic disk or other storage medium), or transmitted to one or more processors via one or more signals embodied in one or more carrier waves. 
     The present disclosure is not to be limited in scope by the specific embodiments described herein. Indeed, other various embodiments of and modifications to the present disclosure, in addition to those described herein, will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the foregoing description and accompanying drawings. Thus, such other embodiments and modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the present disclosure. Further, although the present disclosure has been presented herein in the context of at least one particular implementation in at least one particular environment for at least one particular purpose, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that its usefulness is not limited thereto and that the present disclosure may be beneficially implemented in any number of environments for any number of purposes. Accordingly, the claims set forth below should be construed in view of the full breadth and spirit of the present disclosure as described herein.