Patent ID: 7333815

Claim:
A method of authenticating a subscriber and providing the location of a locator device to said subscriber, said method comprising: providing a locator device comprising a GPS receiver in communication with a cellular modem; determining, by the GPS receiver of said locator device, positional data regarding its location; receiving, by a server computer, said positional data of said locator device, said positional data including at least latitude and longitude information calculated by said locator device; storing said positional information a tracking table associated with said server computer; receiving, by said server computer, a request from a subscriber for positional information of said locator device; validating, by said server computer, the identity of a subscriber user; if said validation is successful, then retrieving subscriber information from a subscriber table associated with said server computer; retrieving said positional information from said tracking table; convolving said positional data with a map overlay without any further computation necessary to determine the location of said locator device, thereby producing a subscriber image having the positional data superimposed on a map image; and transmitting said subscriber image to a subscriber computer over the Internet in accordance with information stored in said subscriber table.