Patent ID: 12254523

While this specification provides several embodiments and illustrative drawings, a person of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the present specification is not limited only to the embodiments or drawings described. It should be understood that the drawings and detailed description are not intended to limit the specification to the particular form disclosed, but, on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the claims. As used herein, the word “may” is meant to convey a permissive sense (i.e., meaning “having the potential to”), rather than a mandatory sense (i.e., meaning “must”). Similarly, the words “include,” “including,” and “includes” mean “including, but not limited to.”

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. One skilled in the art may be able to use the various embodiments of the invention.

For convenience of explanation, various examples discussed herein are presented in the context of correctional facilities, or the like. For instance, in some of the embodiments discussed below, a controlled-environment facility may be referred to as a correctional facility, jail or prison, and its residents may be referred to as inmates, arrestees, or detainees. It should be understood, however, that the systems and methods described herein may be similarly applicable to other types of controlled-environment facilities and their respective residents (e.g., a hospital and its patients, a school dormitory and its students, etc.).

The present systems and methods relate generally to controlled-environment facilities, more particularly to check-in of residents in controlled-environment areas, and particularly to automated resident check-ins in controlled-environment areas using biometric identification. In accordance with embodiments of the present systems and methods for automated check-in of controlled-environment facility residents, such as correctional facility inmates, at least one biometric capture device or mechanism disposed within a controlled-environment area is employed to capture biometrics of residents of the controlled-environment facility in the controlled-environment area. Such biometrics may include the resident's image, a recording of the resident's voice, a fingerprint scan, a thumbprint scan, a palm scan, an iris scan, voice recognition, gait analysis, heartbeat rhythm, acoustical biometrics, sound absorption of a body biometric, RF capture of a person, RF capture of reflections and/or absorptions of a person, a heat signature, or the like. Such RF capture implements radio frequency technology that detects radio frequency reflections and/or absorptions from a person via WIFI. The RF capture uses variations in WIFI signals to recognize human silhouettes through walls.

Embodiments of the present automated check-in of inmates of correctional facilities may use biometrics capture capabilities, such as video and/or digital image capture and/or sound recording capabilities, of controlled-environment facility resident communications kiosks and/or personal resident media devices. A controlled-environment facility administration and management system, or the like, is configured to pre-enroll key biometric identification features of residents of the controlled-environment facility and compare captured biometrics of the residents to enrolled key features of residents of the controlled-environment facility to identify the resident. Whereupon the controlled-environment facility administration and management system, or the like, logs the presence of an identified resident as in the controlled-environment area at a time the biometrics of the identified resident were captured.

Embodiments of the present systems and methods address the burden placed on correctional facilities to provide timely resident check-ins by improve the frequency and quality of resident counts while lowering costs. In accordance with embodiments of the present systems and methods a biometric capture device attached to a resident communications kiosk or mobile computing device is placed in a controlled-environment area, such as within a resident housing area, work area, or the like. A resident's key biometric features are identified and stored in a database or file system. This enrollment can be done from a resident's mug shots, other photos, a defined enrollment process, or even an automated enrollment by a kiosk or mobile computing device. Once enrolled, the resident may be required to check-in at periodic intervals. This check-in procedure could take the form of the resident presenting his or her self to a biometric capture device associated with a kiosk or mobile computing device and the device identifying him or her, automatically. The check-in is automatically logged into a facility database, possibly with other biometric information and/or photo as proof of resident identity. The resident's physical location may be logged as well. In some embodiments, the identification system could be fully automatic, constantly scanning the resident's housing, work or other environment, and periodically logging the resident's presence. It may not require active participation from the resident.

In the event a resident does not have a valid check-in for a predetermined period of time, such as may be defined by facility rules, a prompt might be generated in the form of an email, alarm, phone call, other electronic, optical or acoustic signals, etc. to trigger a manual verification of the resident's location.

Embodiments of the present systems and methods can also be used to log and report facility personnel presence within the controlled-environment facility. Often, a controlled-environment facility wants to track personnel, such as, for example, to confirm correctional officer patrols are being performed. Embodiments of the present systems and methods can track such an officer's movements within (and about) a correctional facility and produce reports on where the officer was at particular times throughout the day, in such an example. Embodiments of the present systems and methods can also be used in emergencies to identify the last known location for a person in a controlled-environment facility. For example, during riots, this system could identify which officers were present in dangerous areas of a correctional facility.

FIG.1is a diagrammatic illustration of example environment100, wherein an example embodiment of the present systems and methods for automated resident check-ins in controlled-environment areas using biometric identification may be implemented with respect to controlled-environment facility102, in accordance with some embodiments. Controlled-environment facility environment100may implement the illustrated embodiment of the present systems and methods through controlled-environment facility administration and management system104, employing aspects of controlled-environment facility resident communications management system106.

In some embodiments, controlled-environment facility102may allow a resident to make or receive phone calls using telephone108, communications kiosk110, personal resident media devices112, or the like, via communication system106. To that end, communication system106may include one or more analog switches, IP gateways, PBX systems, etc. that provide communications to controlled-environment facility102. For example, a resident within controlled-environment facility106may use device108,110,112, etc. to make a telephone call to (or to receive a telephone call from) a non-resident device114through network116, which may be the public switched telephone network (PSTN), the Internet, wireless communications networks, or the like.

Further, residents may use communications kiosks110, personal resident media devices112, or the like to send and receive emails with non-residents, carryout video visitations with non-residents, exchange texts, or the like, via communication system102. To this end, in some embodiments, communications kiosks or video visitation stations110may include a display or screen, a camera (118or120) and/or microphone, and a speaker and/or audio output. The camera (118or120) may be a digital video camera or the like, and may act as a biometric capture device or mechanism in accordance with embodiments of the present systems and methods. The screen may include a liquid crystal display (LCD), or other similar display. In some cases, the screen may include a touchscreen configured to accept data input from a user, and/or a keyboard, or the like, may be provided. Such a touchscreen may also act as a biometric capture device or mechanism to capture fingerprints, palm prints or the like. Additionally or alternatively, each video visitation station/kiosk110may include a handset or headset configured to perform audio input and/or output operations. A microphone of the kiosk (and/or handset or headset) may be employed in accordance with embodiments of the present systems and methods as a biometric capture device or mechanism. Moreover, in various embodiments, each video visitation station/kiosk110may also include a biometric sensor (e.g., thumbprint scanner, iris scanner, etc.), a radio frequency identification (RFID), a barcode scanner, or the like, for identifying a (resident) user. In some cases, a communications kiosk may assume the form of a computer, tablet computer, smart phone, etc., or any other consumer device or appliance with audio and/or video conferencing capabilities. For example, a tablet computing device may be mounted on a wall, in a hardened case and used as such a kiosk. Communications kiosks may replace typical pay phones found in some facilities and may provide touch screen computer functionality that enables a resident to perform “self-service” tasks such as setting up doctor appointments, scheduling visitation, viewing schedules, and checking the status of his or her case.

Personal resident media devices112may be a mobile device, such as a tablet computing devices, smartphones, media players, smart watches, wearable biometric devices, and/or the like, adapted and/or approved for use by residents of controlled-environment facility106(i.e. within the correctional facility). Such resident media devices may be particularly adapted for use in a controlled-environment facility, or the like and may be “stripped-down,” particularly from the standpoint of what applications programs (apps) are provided or allowed on the device, and/or connectivity afforded the device. By way of example, such a resident media device may employ a modified operating system. For example, such a device may be adapted to only connect to a network provided by the controlled-environment facility, and/or in only certain locations, such as in controlled-environment areas in accordance with embodiments of the present systems and methods. This may be controlled by availability of WIFI access in certain areas, limited location-dependent access to a wireless communications network such as to only implement embodiments of the present systems and methods, or the like. Also, the resident media device may have a few, fixed apps pre-installed on the device, and installation of further apps on the device may be forbidden (i.e. prevented by modifications to the device's operating system, or the like) and/or restricted, such as by requiring permission from a facility administrator, or the like. As noted, in accordance with embodiments of the present systems and methods, personal resident media devices may be used to communicate with others, such as through phone calls, video calls, or the like (under control of controlled-environment facility resident communications management system106).

Controlled-environment facility administration and management system104or similar functionality incorporated into and/or associated with controlled-environment facility environment100may electronically monitor and/or censor content of resulting electronic communications, in an automated manner such as for investigative purposes and/or to alleviate controlled-environment facility personnel from doing so, such as performing automated resident check-ins through employment of biometric identification programing, in accordance with embodiments of the present systems and methods.

Controlled-environment facility environment100may include, or otherwise associate controlled-environment facility database122. As illustrated, database122may be a part of, or otherwise associated with, controlled-environment facility administration and management system104. For example, the resident's name, gender, address, date of birth, etc. may be stored in one or more databases (122) maintained by controlled-environment facility administration and management system104. According to some embodiments, in addition to identification information, biometric samples (e.g., fingerprints, voice prints, iris scans, etc.) may be stored in the one or more databases122maintained by controlled-environment facility administration and management system104, as biometric signatures, such that they may be used to validate the identities of residents and others. Database122, or the like, may be configured to maintain rules implemented by controlled-environment facility administration and management system104.

Generally speaking, database(s)122may include any suitable type of application or data structure that may be configured as a data repository. For example, database122may be configured as a relational database that includes one or more tables of columns and rows and that may be searched or queried according to a query language, such as a version of Structured Query Language (SQL). Alternatively, database122may be configured as a structured data store that includes data records formatted according to a markup language, such as a version of extensible Markup Language (XML). In other embodiments, database122may be implemented using one or more arbitrarily or minimally structured data files managed and accessible through any suitable type of application.

Often, within controlled-environment facilities, residents are not permitted to maintain payment methods commonly found outside the controlled-environment facility. For example, residents of a controlled-environment facility are required to forfeit any personal property including credit cards and personal checks upon entry into the controlled-environment facility. To this end, controlled-environment facility administration and management system104, or similar functionality may maintain calling accounts, commissary account or other trust accounts for residents, employing database(s)122, or the like.

The present systems and methods are particularly well adapted for providing automated resident check-ins using biometric identification. Embodiments of an automated check-in system for controlled-environment facility residents employ at least one biometric capture device, such as, by way of example, camera118,120,124disposed in a controlled-environment area, such as within illustrated housing area126of controlled-environment facility102, configured to capture biometrics or other biometrics of residents of the controlled-environment facility in the controlled-environment area. Such biometrics may, as noted, variously include the resident's image, a recording of the resident's voice, a fingerprint scan, a thumbprint scan, a palm scan, an iris scan, voice recognition, gait analysis, heartbeat rhythm, acoustical biometrics, sound absorption of a body biometric, RF capture of a person, RF capture of reflections and/or absorptions of a person, a heat signature, or the like. In accordance with such embodiments of the present systems and methods controlled-environment facility administration and management system104may be configured to enroll key biometric identification features of residents of the controlled-environment facility. These enrolled key biometric features of residents of the controlled-environment facility may be stored in controlled-environment facility database122, or the like. For example, in accordance with some embodiments of the present systems and methods, controlled-environment facility administration and management system104may use mug shots, fingerprint cards, motion capture, pre-recorded data, such as video or audio of a person, recorded video, recorded audio, or the like, of the residents of the controlled-environment facility to enroll key biometric identification features of residents of the controlled-environment facility.

As noted, in some embodiments at least one controlled-environment facility resident communications kiosk110and/or at least one personal controlled-environment facility resident media device112may be disposed in a controlled-environment area, such as in a resident housing area and may host (i.e. include) camera118or120, and RF capture device, a device for receiving of RF signals reflected from a person and/or absorbed by a person, or other biometric capture device or mechanism. One or more resident media devices112may, in accordance with embodiments of the present systems and methods, provide a mobile platform for biometric capture devices such as a camera, fingerprint reader, microphone or the like, such as may be used in various controlled-environment areas, such as work areas in or out of the controlled-environment facility, recreation areas in the controlled-environment facility, dining areas in the controlled-environment facility, or the like. Controlled-environment facility administration and management system104may employ controlled-environment facility resident communications kiosk110and/or personal controlled-environment facility resident media device112to carry out enrolling of key biometric identification features of residents of controlled-environment facility102

Controlled-environment facility administration and management system104may compare captured biometrics of the residents to the enrolled key biometric features of residents to identify the resident in captured biometrics. Some embodiments controlled-environment facility resident communications kiosk(s)110and/or personal controlled-environment facility resident media device(s)112may be employed, such as, as a part of, or in conjunction with, controlled-environment facility administration and management system104, to carry out the comparing of captured biometrics of the residents to enrolled key biometric features of residents of the controlled-environment facility to identify the resident.

The RF capture device implements radio frequency technology to identify a person. The RF capture device detects WIFI signals from a person. These WIFI signals travel through walls to allow the RF capture device to identify a person through a wall. The RF capture device transmits wireless signals and then analyzes the reflections and/or absorption of those signals to piece together a human form. The RF capture device can identify a person through such biometrics as RF absorption changes due to breathing patterns and heart rate or RF attenuation due to areas of increased body mass.

The RF Capture device may be positioned to detect the radio waves reflected from a person and/or absorbed. The RF capture device detects signals through walls allowing for increased flexibility as to placement of the RF capture device. In one embodiment, the RF capture device may be implemented in a controlled environment facility, such as a home for home incarceration.

The RF capture device may track multiple inmates within a controlled environment facility at the same time. The system tracks persons identified by biometrics within a 3D space by one or more biometric devices deployed in and/or around the space. The RF capture device of one embodiment implements multiple WIFI access points, multiple WIFI receivers, WIFI receivers within mobile electronic devices, multiple microphones, and/or multiple microphones within mobile electronic devices. As persons move between WIFI emitters and receivers, the system indicates the person's position by detecting the changes to the received signal levels. Additional sensors of the system measure acoustic signals or optical information that the system correlates with the RF data to provide even higher fidelity location and biometric data. Historical readings from the RF capture devices can be used by the system to eliminate static obstacles like furniture or walls from interfering with RF measurements by performing a comparison between current RF measurements and historical expectations of the RF measurements. With enough RF emitters and receivers in the monitored space, higher resolutions of a person's position can be obtained, including exact positioning of torso, arms, legs, and head within the monitored area.

In one embodiment, the biometric capture device captures biometrics to identify an individual via electromagnetic identification using sources such as WIFI. Such a capture device includes, but is not limited to, a biometric sensor deployed in an individual's residence that monitors the individual's presence in the space without an ankle bracelet often used today for home incarceration. Such an electromagnetic identification sensor enables tracking of multiple inmates within an environment, such as a jail or other controlled environment facility, at the same time.

Presence of the identified resident is logged as in the controlled-environment area, such as in illustrated housing area126of controlled-environment facility102, at a time the biometrics of the identified resident were captured, as an automated check-in, which may be stored in database122, or the like. This logging may be carried out by controlled-environment facility administration and management system104. However, in some embodiments controlled-environment facility resident communications kiosk(s)110and/or personal controlled-environment facility resident media device(s)112may carry out the logging of presence of an identified resident as in the controlled-environment area at a time the biometrics of the identified resident were captured as a check-in, such as on controlled-environment facility administration and management system104. This logging of the presence of the resident whose biometrics were captured as in the controlled-environment area may include logging other biometric information of the resident and the resident's physical location within the controlled-environment area, such as by a controlled-environment facility resident communications kiosk (110) and/or a personal controlled-environment facility resident media device (112).

In accordance with some embodiments, the biometric capture device(s) (e.g. camera(s)118,120and/or124, the RF capture device, or other biometric capture device) disposed within a controlled-environment area (housing area126of controlled-environment facility102), and/or at least one other biometric capture device disposed in, or in conjunction with, the controlled-environment facility may capture biometrics of officers of controlled-environment facility102.

In such embodiments, controlled-environment facility administration and management system104, or the like, may have enrolled key biometric features of officers of the controlled-environment facility, storing the enrolled key biometric identification features of officers of the controlled-environment facility in controlled-environment facility database122, or the like. Controlled-environment facility administration and management system104, or the like, may compare captured biometrics of an officer to enrolled key biometric features of officers of the controlled-environment facility to identify the officer, and log presence of a thus identified officer as being in the vicinity of the biometric capture device at a time the biometrics were captured (in database122, or the like) for future reporting.

FIG.2is a flowchart of example process200for automated resident check-ins in controlled-environment areas using biometric identification, in accordance with some embodiments. This computer implemented method for automated check-in of controlled-environment facility residents, such as may be implemented by one or more controlled-environment facility systems, employs a biometric capture device (e.g. camera118,120,124, device, or other biometric capture device, etc.) disposed in a controlled-environment area (e.g. within a housing area126of a controlled-environment facility102). At202key biometric features of residents of the controlled-environment facility are enrolled. This enrolling of key biometric features of residents of the controlled-environment facility may be is carried out using mug shots of the residents of the controlled-environment facility, and/or it may be a defined enrollment process. Regardless, the enrollment process may be carried out at intake of the resident into the controlled-environment facility. Alternatively (or additionally) the enrollment process may be automated and carried out by a controlled-environment facility resident communications kiosk (110) or a personal controlled-environment facility resident media device (112) which may also host at least one biometric capture device (e.g. camera118,120) disposed in the controlled-environment area.

Biometrics of a resident of the controlled-environment facility are captured at204using a biometric capture device or mechanism disposed in the controlled-environment area. Such biometrics may include the resident's image, a recording of the resident's voice, a fingerprint scan, a thumbprint scan, a palm scan, an iris scan, voice recognition, gait analysis, heartbeat rhythm, acoustical biometrics, sound absorption of a body biometric, RF capture of a person, RF capture of reflections and/or absorptions of a person, a heat signature, or the like. Capturing the biometrics of the resident of the controlled-environment facility may be carried out at204during a defined check-in procedure, wherein the resident provides a biometric sample, such as by presenting his or her face to a camera of kiosk or (his or her) resident device. This capturing of biometrics of residents of the controlled-environment facility at204using the biometric capture device disposed in a controlled-environment area may be carried out on a (more-or-less) continual basis

At206, the resulting captured biometrics of the resident is compared to enrolled key biometric features of residents of the controlled-environment facility to identify the resident. As noted, the biometric capture device or mechanism disposed in a controlled-environment area may be a part of a controlled-environment facility resident communications kiosk and/or a part of a personal controlled-environment facility resident media device (i.e. a mobile computing device). In such embodiments the controlled-environment facility resident communications kiosk and/or the personal controlled-environment facility resident media device may capture the biometrics at204and carry out comparison of resulting captured biometrics of the resident to enrolled key biometric features of residents of the controlled-environment facility to identify the resident at206.

Regardless of the means of capture, presence of the resident whose biometrics were captured is logged at208as being in the controlled-environment area at a time the biometrics were captured with a controlled-environment facility administration and management system (104), as a check-in. Further, in embodiments where controlled-environment facility resident communications kiosk and/or the personal controlled-environment facility resident media device captures the biometrics at204and carries out comparing resulting captured biometrics of the resident to enrolled key biometric features of residents at206, the controlled-environment facility resident communications kiosk and/or the personal controlled-environment facility resident media device may carry out the logging at208. In such embodiments, the controlled-environment facility resident communications kiosk and/or the personal controlled-environment facility resident media device may log the resident's presence in the controlled-environment area, with the controlled-environment facility administration and management system, as a check-in.

Moreover, this logging of the presence of the resident whose biometrics were captured as in the controlled-environment area at208may include logging other biometric information of the resident (captured by the controlled-environment facility resident communications kiosk or a part of a personal controlled-environment facility resident media device). The resident's physical location within the controlled-environment area may also be logged at208, such as at a particular controlled-environment facility resident communications kiosk or based on a (GPS, WIFI, etc.) derived location of the personal controlled-environment facility resident media device. Where biometrics of residents of the controlled-environment facility are captured at204on a continual basis, logging presence of residents captured in the biometrics at208as being in the controlled-environment area may be carried out periodically, such as, as check-ins at predetermined times.

In accordance with embodiments of the present systems and methods a prompt may be issued for the resident to present his or her self before a biometric capture device face in front of the camera, or otherwise provide a biometric sample, in response to the resident not having a valid check-in logged within a predefined period, such as may be as defined by controlled-environment facility rules, such as may be administered by the controlled-environment facility administration and management system (104). This prompt may be an email, text, alarm, phone call, other electronic, optical or acoustic signals, etc., issued to a controlled-environment facility resident communications kiosk (110) in the controlled-environment area and/or a personal controlled-environment facility resident media device (112) of the resident in question. Additionally or alternatively, the prompt may (also) take the form of an announcement issued over a public address system of the controlled-environment facility. In accordance with some embodiments of the present systems and methods, such prompts may additionally or alternatively be issued at specified intervals, according to facility rules, to perform required check-ins. Further in this regard, concurrent with, in lieu of, or following an unheeded prompt for the resident to present his or herself before a biometric capture device, an alert may be issued, such as to a controlled-environment facility official, or the like, that facility rules for required check-ins have been violated with regard to the subject resident. This alert may be an email, text, alarm, phone call, or the like, issued to the controlled-environment facility official, or similar party.

In one embodiment, the present invention issues dynamically generated prompts to the person. The system evaluates the person's response for content and voice pattern to determine identity. The dynamically generated prompts vary to increase the accuracy of identifying the person without allowing others to impersonate the desired person.

An additional or alternative embodiment calls for enrolling key biometric features of officers of the controlled-environment facility and capturing a biometrics of an officer of the controlled-environment facility using a biometric capture device or mechanism disposed in, or in conjunction with, the controlled-environment facility. The resulting captured biometrics of the officer may then be compared to enrolled key biometric features of officers of the controlled-environment facility to identify the officer. Whereupon, presence of an identified officer may be logged as in the vicinity of the biometric capture device at a time the biometrics were captured. Reports of where the identified officer was at predetermined times (throughout the day) may be generated from these logs. Embodiments of the present systems and methods may also be used in emergencies to identify the last known location for a person in a controlled-environment facility. For example, during riots, this system could identify which officers were present in dangerous areas, and the like.

Various elements of the present systems and methods for automated resident check-ins in controlled-environment areas using biometric identification may be implemented as modules. Modules may be implemented in hardware. In another embodiment, modules may be expressed in software executed by hardware. In still another embodiment, modules may be implemented in firmware operated by hardware. In still other embodiments, modules may be implemented in combinations of hardware, software, and/or firmware. Thus, embodiments of the present systems and methods for automated resident check-ins in controlled-environment areas using biometric identification, as described herein, may be implemented or executed, at least in part, by one or more computer systems. One such computer system is illustrated inFIG.3. In various embodiments, computer system300may be a server, a mainframe computer system, a workstation, a network computer, a desktop computer, a laptop, a tablet computing device, media player, or the like. For example, in some cases, computer300may implement one or more steps of example process200described above with respect toFIGS.1and2. A computer system such as computer system300may be a part of controlled-environment facility communications environment100, such as a part of correctional facility inmate communications management system106, which may include further components to provide the afore discussed communications functionality. A computer system such as computer system300may be used as part of correctional facility administration and management system104, communications kiosk110, personal inmate media devices112, etc. In various embodiments two or more of these computer systems may be configured to communicate with each other in any suitable way, such as, for example, via a network, via a local area network, using wireless functionality and/or the like.

As illustrated, example computer system300includes one or more processors310coupled to a system memory320via an input/output (I/O) interface330. In some embodiments, at least one processor310may be a tensor processing unit (TPU) or other dedicated machine learning device. Example computer system300further includes a network interface340coupled to I/O interface330, and one or more input/output devices350, such as video device(s)360(e.g., a camera), audio device(s)370(e.g., a microphone and/or a speaker), and display(s)380. Computer system300may also include a cursor control device (e.g., a mouse or touchpad), a keyboard, etc. Multiple input/output devices350may be present in computer system300or may be distributed on various nodes of computer system300. In some embodiments, similar input/output devices may be separate from computer system300and may interact with one or more nodes of computer system300through a wired or wireless connection, such as over network interface340.

In various embodiments, computer system300may be a single-processor system including one processor310, or a multi-processor system including two or more processors310(e.g., two, four, eight, or another suitable number). Processors310may be any processor capable of executing program instructions. For example, in various embodiments, processors310may be general-purpose or embedded processors implementing any of a variety of instruction set architectures (ISAs), such as the x86, POWERPC®, ARM®, SPARC®, or MIPS® ISAs, or any other suitable ISA. In multi-processor systems, each of processors310may commonly, but not necessarily, implement the same ISA. Also, in some embodiments, at least one processor310may be a graphics processing unit (GPU) or other dedicated graphics-rendering device.

System memory320may be configured to store program instructions and/or data accessible by processor310. In various embodiments, system memory320may be implemented using any suitable memory technology, such as static random access memory (SRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), nonvolatile/Flash-type memory, or any other type of memory. As illustrated, program instructions and data implementing certain operations, such as, for example, those described in connection withFIGS.1through3, above, may be stored within system memory320as program instructions325and data storage335, respectively. In other embodiments, program instructions and/or data may be received, sent or stored upon different types of computer-accessible media or on similar media separate from system memory320or computer system300. Generally speaking, a computer-readable medium may include any tangible or non-transitory storage media or memory media such as magnetic or optical media—e.g., disk or CD/DVD-ROM coupled to computer system300via I/O interface330, Flash memory, random access memory (RAM), etc. Program instructions and data stored on a tangible computer-accessible medium in non-transitory form may further be transmitted by transmission media or signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals, which may be conveyed via a communication medium such as a network and/or a wireless link, such as may be implemented via network interface340.

In some embodiments, I/O interface330may be configured to coordinate I/O traffic between processor310, system memory320, and any peripheral devices in the device, including network interface340or other peripheral interfaces, such as input/output devices350. In some embodiments, I/O interface330may perform any suitable protocol, timing or other data transformations to convert data signals from one component (e.g., system memory320) into a format usable by another component (e.g., processor310). In some embodiments, I/O interface330may include support for devices attached through various types of peripheral buses, such as a variant of the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus standard or the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard, for example. In some embodiments, the function of I/O interface330may be split into two or more separate components, such as a north bridge and a south bridge, for example. In addition, in some embodiments, some or all of the functionality of I/O interface330, such as an interface to system memory320, may be incorporated into processor310.

Network interface340may be configured to allow data to be exchanged between computer system300and other devices attached to a network, such as other computer systems, or between nodes of computer system300. In various embodiments, network interface340may support communication via wired or wireless general data networks, such as any suitable type of Ethernet network, for example; via telecommunications/telephony networks such as analog voice networks or digital fiber communications networks; via storage area networks such as Fiber Channel SANs, or via any other suitable type of network and/or protocol.

As shown inFIG.3, memory320may include program instructions325, configured to implement certain embodiments described herein, and data storage335, comprising various data accessible by program instructions325. In an embodiment, program instructions325may include software elements corresponding to one or more of the various embodiments illustrated in the above figures. For example, program instructions325may be implemented in various embodiments using any desired programming language, scripting language, or combination of programming languages and/or scripting languages (e.g., C, C++, C#, JAVA®, JAVASCRIPT®, PERL®, etc.). Data storage335may include data that may be used in these embodiments. In other embodiments, other or different software elements and data may be included.

FIG.4shows an event detection feature of one embodiment of the present invention. The system defines the conditions to be detected to determine a particular event. The system identifies parameters that define an event at Step400. Such parameters may include elevated heart rate, detection of suspicious activity, detection of potential medical emergencies, gathering of multiple inmates, gathering of particular individuals within a close proximity, detection of particular body positions, detection of an inmate in a specified location, detection of an inmate in a location for a predetermined time, detection of a gathering of inmates for a predetermined time, volume of sound detected, tone of sound detected, and other events.

The biometric capture device monitors the controlled environment facility detecting the inmates within a particular area. The system captures the identity of the inmate and the location of the inmate. The system also monitors the conditions of the controlled environment facility at Step402via capturing devices installed within the system. Such capturing devices may include, but are not limited to, cameras, microphones, audio transducers, motion capture devices, RF capture device, biometric capture device, health monitors, etc.

In one embodiment, the system implements an array of capturing devices, as discussed above, that monitor the facility. The capturing devices communicate with the computer system, such as a server, to collect the condition information needed to compare to the parameters to detect the occurrence of an event. The capturing devices create a network that detects conditions throughout the facility.

In one embodiment, the capturing network includes capturing devices installed within the facility and the mobile computing devices, including but not limited to the personal resident media devices, such as the tablets, and facility personnel devices. The personal resident media device provides a camera, a microphone, a network connection, etc. that transmits information to the computer system. Such data collected by the personal resident media device provides the system with location information, video and audio, user data such as information accessed by the resident and the identify of the user who accessed the personal resident media device.

In one embodiment, the WIFI signals from mobile electronic devices and network access points in or near the monitored space provide the biometric detection network. The signals are collected by one or more devices and analyzed to identify persons within the space and to calculate positions based on the frequency, strength, and other characteristics of the radio frequency energy detected.

In one embodiment, the microphones from mobile electronic devices in or near the monitored space serve as a component of the biometric detection network. Combinations of sensors such as WIFI, microphones, accelerometers, and cameras used as a combined biometric detection network can also serve as a component of the biometric detection network.

In some embodiments, a machine learning system such as a neural network processes information from the biometric detection network to determine if an event is taking place. The machine learning system of such an embodiment is trained to identify generic events or trained specifically for the environment where the system is deployed. For example, a machine learning system might be trained to ignore animals or machinery present within the monitored environment.

In one embodiment, an inmate might check out a personal resident media device, including but not limited to a tablet, from a tablet checkout station available in or near the monitored space of the facility. The inmate enters an identifier and passcode and a tablet is released from the system for the inmate's use. As the inmate walks away with the tablet, a microphone in the tablet identifies footsteps by the acoustic signature and accelerometer readings for the tablet. Since the inmate was strongly identified at the time of tablet check out, the inmate's height is known and can be used to calculate an approximate distance away from the checkout station.

At the same time, the WIFI signal strength from dozens of other tablets in and near the monitored space are being collected and the drop in WIFI signal at some locations is correlated to the inmate's passing between a WIFI source and a receiver and absorbing some WIFI energy. Likewise, the microphones from dozens of other tablets monitor the sounds and identify footsteps which occur in time correlated sequence with the inmate's tablet recordings.

From this correlation of recordings and the volume and delay of the footstep recording at the other tablets, the system determines the other tablets that are in proximity to the monitored inmate and estimates how far away the inmate currently is from each sensor in the biometric detection network. A machine learning system of one embodiment receives the data from all these sources and even more strongly identifies inmate positioning. When a second monitored inmate approaches the first inmate, the biometric detection network can identify both uniquely and measure the time spent within a predetermined distance of one another.

Likewise, the system could record conversations between the first and second inmate with high confidence in identity even if cameras are not present at the time of the conversation. These recordings could be saved and searched for court cases as needed by jail staff. The system can analyze conversation content to search flagged words, sentiment, or intent.

The system constantly monitors conditions of the inmates and the conditions of the controlled environment facility. The system compares these detected conditions to the parameters that define the occurrence of an event. Such conditions that the system detects may include, but are not limited to:Reporting of inmates in close proximity to one another;Alerts based on inmate interaction based on rules including closeness, time together, activity;Alerts if rape or other undesired physical contact between individuals is detected;Determination of gang affiliation based on contact between individuals;Recommendations of housing changes based on interactions between individuals;Alerts based on suspicious activity-too many inmates congregating, spending too much time in secluded areas, standing on furniture, posture indicates self-harm like hanging;Alerts if activity indicates fights-elevated heart rates, body positions, angry expressions, shouting, etc.;Alerts based on content of conversations between individuals; andAlerts based on physical communication between individuals, for example gang signs, salutes, hand shakes, first bumps, high fives, winks, nods, pointing, head motions, mouth movements, etc.

The system monitors such conditions by identifying individuals and the locations of the individuals. The system monitors the period of time that such individuals continue to occupy a particular space. The system also monitors the conditions of the inmates such as body position or other physical activities captured by the RF Capture or other motion capture device. The system also monitors the physical and health conditions of the inmates. Such monitoring includes but is not limited to body temperature, heart rate, rate of breathing, etc.

In one embodiment, the system defines a designated area within the facility that is a specified portion of the facility, which may be smaller than the entire facility. The system tracks the amount of time a person spends within the designated area. The system may generate an alarm for spending a predetermined amount of time within the area. The system may reward the person by crediting the person's account. They system may also charge a person for spending time in the designated area.

The system defines parameters such as number of inmates within a particular area, selected inmates within a particular area, extended stay of inmate or inmates within a particular time, time that inmates spend together, volume of sound detected, detected decibels of sound, detected speech via speech recognition, activity or body positioning of inmates detected via motion capture or RF capture. The system may also monitor health conditions of the inmates such as heart rate, body temperature, etc. to determine if an event is occurring.

The system captures the conditions at the facility. The system then compares the detected conditions to the defined parameters to determine if an event has occurred. The facility may define the parameters or the parameters may be defined by others. If the detected conditions meet the defined parameters, an event has been detected at event detected query404. If the conditions do not meet the parameters, the system determines that no event has been detected and continues to monitor conditions.

If an event has been detected, the system alerts users that an event has occurred at Alert step406. The system may alert the users via an audible alarm, a visual alarm, etc. The system may also transmit a message to users or other alert to warn the detection of an event. The system continues to monitor conditions after activating the alert.

The system also provides for health monitoring of the inmates by detecting health events similar to the process shown inFIG.4. The system collects biometric information and sends the information to medical staff and systems for medical diagnosis and evaluation. The system alerts the medical staff, first responders, administration, etc., if the detected biometric information indicates possibly dangerous medical conditions, such as heart attack.

The system may also communicate with a server or other computing device to log the detection of the event, such as creating a record of the event identifying information concerning the detected event. The logged information concerning the event may include the resident involved, the event detected, the time and date of the event, and any audio/video captures of the event. The logged information may also include information concerning the response to the event, including any responders who responded to the event. The system logs the information concerning the event at Log Detection of Event Detected Step408, such information may include the detected person(s), the detected event, the date and time, and the any images/sounds showing the environmental conditions associated with the event that are captured by the capturing device.

The system may also communicate with other devices and systems. The computing system of one embodiment automates actions after detecting selected events. The automated actions may activate or deactivate selected equipment, devices, alerts, lights, alarms, doors, and other devices and equipment. For example, detection of an event may activate additional surveillance to capture records and details of the events. The computing system may deactivate the residence's electronics, including but not limited any tablets or other mobile computing devices. The system may also automate locking/unlocking doors, turning on the lights, alerting medics. The automated actions may be limited to the housing unit at which the event is detected. The automated action may also be applied facility wide.

In one embodiment, the computing system associates words with the identity of a resident and the conditions of a detected event. Upon capturing the word, the system identifies if the resident is also present where the word was captured. Capturing the word and the identity of the resident signals the occurrence of an event. The computing system detects the occurrence of the event after identifying the resident and capturing the word.

Continuing to refer toFIG.4, the system monitors for conditions that define an event. Such conditions may be directed to delivery of goods and services. Such goods may include, but are not limited to, personal hygiene products, commissary items, medicines, pharmaceuticals, food, snacks, and other items. Such services may include, but are not limited to, commissary services, food/meal services, health services, medical services, and other services that may be provided to the resident.

One of the events detected includes delivery of a meal to a resident. The system monitors the resident and the conditions associated with delivery of a meal. Such monitoring automatically counts meals provided to the residents, such as the inmates. The capturing devices monitor the conditions associated with meal delivery. Such conditions may include identifying tray identifiers, such as bar codes, tray indicators, RFID devices, or other indications of a tray or meal service piece. The capturing devices may also monitor the meal service area, including but not limited to, meal lines, mess hall, dining rooms, buffet line, etc., to determine a residence's presence in the meal service area. The capturing devices may capture the video/image of the residence through the meal service area and delivery of the food/meal to the resident.

The computing system identifies the residence and the association with a meal, such as proximity to a tray identifier or meal service area. The computing system logs detection of the event, such as the meal delivery. The computing system logs the date and time of the meal delivery and the resident to whom the meal is delivered at Log Detection Step408. The computing system may also log at least one image or video showing the delivery of the food/meal captured by the capturing device.

The computing system also monitors medical/pharmaceutical delivery tracking as an event. The capturing devices monitor the conditions within the facility to identify medical delivery to a resident. The computing system associates the conditions with the medical delivery event. Such conditions may include, but are not limited to, using biometric capturing devices to identify residents in close proximity with medical staff/personnel. In one embodiment, the system identifies a medical delivery as a resident within five feet of medical staff. In another embodiment, the medical staff may scan an identifier associated with the medicine/pharmaceutical.

The detection of the proximity of the resident with the medical staff or scanning of the medicine may trigger the capturing devices to capture images/video of the event. The computing system may log information concerning the medical delivery event at Log Detection Step408. Such information logged may include the identity of the resident, the identity of the medical staff, the medicine delivered, the date and time of the medical delivery, and any images, video and/or audio captured by the capturing device associated with the medical delivery.

The computing system also monitors commissary delivery tracking as an event. The capturing devices monitor the conditions within the facility to identify commissary delivery to a resident. The computing system associates the conditions with the commissary delivery event. Such conditions may include, but are not limited to, using biometric capturing devices to identify residents in close proximity with commissary staff/personnel. In one embodiment, the system identifies a commissary delivery as a resident within five feet of commissary staff. In another embodiment, the commissary staff may scan an identifier associated with the commissary item.

The detection of the proximity of the resident with the commissary staff or scanning of the commissary item may trigger the capturing devices to capture images/video of the event. The computing system may log information concerning the commissary delivery event at Log Detection Step408. Such information logged may include the identity of the resident, the identity of the commissary staff, the commissary item delivered, the date and time of the commissary delivery, and any images, video and/or audio captured by the capturing device associated with the commissary delivery.

As discussed above, the system of one embodiment also connects to external systems and devices. Such connection enables sharing of information with other systems or third parties. The system may connect to a billing system that automatically bills individuals for time in or out of a space or a particular location. The connection may also trigger automated actions upon detection of an event such as Automate Action Step410.

The system of one embodiment also connects to a good behavior system which automatically credits individuals for time spent in or out of a space or a particular location.

The system of one embodiment also connects to a communication routing network that automatically routes a person's phone calls, video calls, electronic messages, etc. to electronic devices where the inmate has been recently identified. The system detects the individual and the location of the individual. The biometric capture device identifies the user to enable the system to direct the communication to the location at which the user is located.

The system of one embodiment connects to a housing tracking system as shown inFIG.5. The housing tracking system tracks the location of the residents. The housing tracking system of one embodiment automatically updates a person's housing location based on locations where the person has been recently identified. The capturing devices capture the biometrics of residents to identify each resident. The computing system associates the biometrics with the resident. The capturing devices identify the residents at Identify Residents412. The capturing devices also monitor the locations of the residents within the facility at Monitor Locations of Residents414.

The computing system determines if the residents are within the proper location at Correct Housing Query416. The capturing devices are associated with particular locations within the facility, such as different housings. The computing system identifies the location/housing at which the resident is identified. The computing system compares the current location of the resident to the assigned location of the resident at Correct Housing Query416.

Upon determining that the resident is not within the correct housing, the computing system transmits an alert to personnel indicating that the resident is not within the correct housing and logs a record of the resident being within the incorrect housing. The log indicates the resident, the location of the resident, and the date and time in Record Incorrect Housing Step418.

In one embodiment, the computing system reassigns the resident from the assigned housing to the location. Upon identifying the housing of the resident, the computing system reassigns the resident from the assigned housing to the current housing. The computing system automatically adjusts the assigned location associated with the resident at Record Incorrect Housing Step418.

The system of one embodiment connects to a monitoring system that enables enhanced monitoring of a space when a specific individual enters the space. The system activates additional monitoring of a particular location upon detection of a particular inmate. In one embodiment, the system alerts the facility to implement additional resources, such as guards or other personnel to the location.

The system of one embodiment connects to surveillance information that can be correlated to a person's location using the biometric information provided.

The system of one embodiment connects to other systems to affect the features of the system. The system of one embodiment enables and/or disables features within other systems based on biometric check-in data. For example, disabling password-only authentication for kiosks if a biometric check-in has not been successful in the housing area for a certain period of time.

A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that computer system300is merely illustrative and is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure described herein. In particular, the computer system and devices may include any combination of hardware or software that can perform the indicated operations. Additionally, the operations performed by the illustrated components may, in some embodiments, be performed by fewer components or distributed across additional components. Similarly, in other embodiments, the operations of some of the illustrated components may not be provided and/or other additional operations may be available. Accordingly, systems and methods described herein may be implemented or executed with other computer system configurations.

Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure of the present invention, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present invention. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.