Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The invention disclosed broadly relates to the field of asset tracking, and more particularly relates to the field of dynamic mapping of boundaries in a position-determination system.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Computer systems are becoming valuable tools in the management and tracking of assets, particularly the ability to locate assets with a defined area. “Location-aware” applications, which are enabled by position-determination systems, can track employees, vehicles, or other objects within a defined space. These location aware systems are becoming more common both within business enterprises and, to some extent, among individual consumers as well.  
         [0003]     Location aware systems may track the location of persons or assets using a variety of methods and devices. For example, active or passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags, Ultra Wideband tags, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) beacons, and Global Positioning System (GPS)-enabled mobile phones, are among the devices that enable computation of an object&#39;s location through the analysis of radio frequency waves or similar mechanisms.  
         [0004]     In location aware systems, it is often desirable to map out certain areas or “zones” for monitoring object locations. For example, in a safety monitoring application, a certain region of a chemical processing plant might be designated as a “hazardous zone,” within which employees&#39; locations are tracked for safety. Further, in some applications it may be desirable to designate a “privacy zone” within which persons or assets are not tracked, for reasons of personal privacy. Designation of a “security zone,” such as an area near the exit of a facility, may assist in the retention of company assets. If a monitored asset, such as company projector or printer, enters the security zone, a notification alerts security personnel to the presence of the asset in the security zone. In another possible application, if a stock exchange, for example, requires that all trades in a given stock occur within a certain distance of a trading station, a “virtual zone” may be defined around the station, and the location of traders tracked over time relative to the zone. While these capabilities exist, defining the zones in location aware systems is a time consuming manual process, and thus often error-prone,  
         [0005]     One approach to defining a tracking zone is to measure the physical space of the zone. In this approach, someone must physically measure the zone boundaries, for example with a tape measure. Next, the user must convert these measurements into the coordinate system used by the location aware system. This is done, for example, by establishing one comer of a building as the origin of the coordinate system, with X and Y axes parallel to the sides of the building. The physical measurements are then entered into the location aware application, which can then detect objects within the defined zone, and perform the designated actions when a tracked item enters or leaves the zone.  
         [0006]     A second approach is to start with a graphical computer display of a floor plan or map of the desired tracking zone.. Using conventional computer-aided drawing tools, the zone of interest can be traced out on the computer screen. These measurements are then associated with the real-world coordinate system, and stored within the location aware system, where they may be used in the same way as physical measurements from the first approach.  
         [0007]     Both these approaches are labor-intensive. It is especially difficult to be accurate in taking the measurements when the zones are in open areas devoid of walls or other barriers. Measurement or drawing errors are easy to make, hard to detect, and hard to correct.  
         [0008]     The difficulty and likelihood of error increases for three-dimensional (3D) zones. Physically measuring the space and drawing it on a computer screen can be difficult.  
         [0009]     Therefore, a need exists to overcome the labor intensive and error-prone process of defining zones for location aware systems. Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide a visualization application capable of automatically and dynamically establishing the boundaries of an object within an automatically and dynamically defined zone.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     The invention provides an approach for automatic and dynamic mapping of zone boundaries for position-determination systems. The system of the present invention utilizes beacons (“position determining devices”) to identify the boundaries and limits of device area coverage (“zone”) for tracking objects with a position-determination system. Beacons, used both to identify zone boundaries and to tag assets to be tracked, are distributed within the zone. The beacon locations are then detected and displayed in the visualization application. Three or more beacons may be linked together, either manually or automatically, to establish a detection zone. Using beacons to establish detection zone boundaries eliminates guesswork and its associated errors, and produces a zone boundary that is actually valid. In an improvement over present systems, greater accuracy is assured using zone-defining beacons, because if a beacon is unintentionally placed in an area unavailable to the position-determination system, that beacon will not appear in the visualization application display, and thus will not be available to create an incorrect zone representation.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]      FIG. 1 , shows a representation of an environment wherein a system in accordance with the invention may be used to an advantage.  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is an illustration of a block diagram of the elements of a computer software system according to the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart illustrating a method according to the present invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  illustrates the configuration of a possible position determination system which may be used to implement one or more embodiments of the present invention.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0015]     While various embodiments of the present invention are discussed in detail below, it should be appreciated that the present invention provides inventive concepts that may be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specific embodiments discussed are merely illustrative of specific ways to make and use the invention, and do not limit the scope of the invention. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the invention.  
         [0016]     Referring first to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a block diagram illustrating defined zones for use in a location aware system of at least one embodiment of the present invention. In the present invention, zones may be dynamic or static.  FIG. 1  illustrates a user interface for a location aware asset monitoring computer application for use with at least one embodiment of the present invention. While the interface of  FIG. 1  represents a computer graphic user interface, any type of display device may be used to implement the present invention. For example, a computer monitor, a flat panel display, a laptop computer, a hand-held computing device, a mobile phone with video display, a heads-up display device or hologram projector, among others, may be suitable visual representation devices to display the output of the system of the present invention.  
         [0017]     In one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the application displays a floor plan of a building, Monitored Space  140 , with multiple monitoring zones defined by three or more Positioning Devices  130 . Positioning Devices  130 , also known as beacons, tags, or location devices, mark the boundaries of defined zones such as Alert Zone  120 , Danger Zone  100  and Evacuation Area  110 . Within Monitored Space  140 , the location of objects, such as Tagged Asset  170  and Tagged Persons  150 , may also be displayed and monitored on the Graphic User Interface (GUI) of the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 1  also includes a zone labeled Corral  160 , shown containing two Tagged Persons  150 . Corral  160  illustrates an optional “holding area” for items that cannot be exactly placed in Monitored Space  140 . This might occur if Tagged Persons  150  or Tagged Asset  170  was located in a specific location that did not have coverage at any given moment. If Tagged Asset  170  or Tagged Persons  150  have not been located recently, their indicator may be displayed in optional Corral  160 , so as not to misrepresent their current location on the display of Monitored Space  140 . Corral  160  may also be used to represent “missing” assets or persons, similar to a “check out” board seen in some offices. If Tagged Person  150  left Monitored Space  140  to go home, for example, displayed Tagged Person  150  in Corral  160  indicates the person is an unavailable asset.  
         [0019]     Referring again to  FIG. 2 , this figure illustrates an overall architecture of the system of at least one embodiment of the present invention. Here Positioning Device  130  and Position Server  220  illustrate an exemplary positioning device determination system. Each Positioning Device  130  provides its location to Position Server  220 , a computer that performs geometric calculations on the timing information and known reader locations to compute the location of each Positioning Device  130  within the coordinate system.  
         [0020]     Information about the location of Positioning Device  130  is forwarded to the software application of the present invention where it is smoothed, filtered, and, if necessary, transformed to the appropriate coordinate system. The location information (Tag Data  230 ) is stored in Database  275 , via Database Access Layer  270 , for archival and auditing purposes, and Location Event  250  is forwarded to Business Rule Evaluator  290 , which determines whether special alerts should be triggered by Location Event  250 , depending on the business rules of the system. All location events, transformed for the proper coordinate system, are processed by Location State Cache  295  and stored in Event Database  285  by Event Server  280  for future reference. For example, a rule may require an alert when a non-safety-trained employee enters a hazardous area. Location Event  250 , together with any associated alerts, is sent to Application Client Side GUI  299  via Application Server  298 , which displays Positioning Device  130 &#39;s location on a map of the floor plan of the facility.  
         [0021]     If the area to be monitored is a 3D space (for example, multiple floors of an office building) it is desirable to perform calculations necessary to handle the position computations in 3D using 3D Position Calculator  260 , which is available to one or more modules of the software of the present invention, an example of which is illustrated in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0022]     A position-determination system capable of supporting the present invention may have multiple embodiments. In  FIG. 2 , Positioning Device  130 , Position Server  220  and Position Message Filter  220  represent the position-determination system. In this embodiment, Positioning Device  130  may be any type of tag or other positioning device, including those referenced above such as radio transponders, Ultra-Wide Band (“UWB”) transmitters, RFID tags, GPS receivers, or other position determining technology well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Some technologies appropriate for implementing Positioning Device  130 , as listed above, actively broadcast location information at periodic intervals. In other technologies, Positioning Device  130  is passive, responding only when provoked.  
         [0023]     In a system of the present invention, active tags or passive tags, or any combination thereof, may be employed. There need be no distinction between a tag used to locate a tagged asset and a tag used to locate a zone boundary. The tag may be placed on a static boundary, such as a wall, or on a dynamic boundary, such as a floating positioning device, and it will report its location to Position Server  220 .  FIG. 1  depicts such an embodiment.  
         [0024]     In some embodiments of the present invention, the tag technology may require that the system include tag readers capable of determining tag position.  FIG. 4  illustrates a position determining system using such a tag technology. Here, at least three of Tag Reader  440  are used to detect the location of Tag  410 . Each Tag Reader  440  reports the identity and time of detection of each Tag  410  to Position Server  220 . By a prior registration process performed during zone definition, the system of the present invention knows the location of each Tag Reader  440 . Thus, given the input of at least three Tag Reader  440 s, the invention can triangulate to determine the absolute coordinates of Tag  410  within the Monitored Space  140 , and display it on Application Client Side Graphical User Interface (“GUI”)  299 . Thus, in such an embodiment, the Tag  410  fulfills the function of Positioning Device  130 .  
         [0025]     For the purposes of illustration herein, the tag embodiment described in [0024] will be used to illustrate the invention, equating the tag as Positioning Device  130 . However, nothing herein limits the present invention to only one type of tag technology, which can be freely mixed in the present invention. Further, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that other tag technologies are also encompassed by the description and claims herein.  
         [0026]     Once registered with the system, the locations of static Positioning Devices  130  are established and made known to Position Message Filter  240  and in due course to Location State Cache  295 . Next, the zone boundaries may be defined relative to the Monitored Space  140 , either calculated automatically, or registered to the system by a manual process such as interacting with the computer application display using techniques such as point-and-click which are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art.  
         [0027]     After the zones are defined relative to the static Positioning Devices  130 , Business Rules may be established relative to these zones. Position Message Filter  240  may be used to filter the location of static tags, preventing Tag Data  230  from generating Location Event  250  for static tags. For tags attached to Tagged Persons  150  and Tagged Asset  170 , Position Message Filter  240  passes on Location Event  250  to Database  275  via Database Access Layer  270 . Location Event  250  is then passed on to Business Rule Evaluator  290 . Depending on the Rule or Rules triggered, the system may generate Event  291  for storage in Event Database  285 , and which passes on the change in location of the tag to Application Server  298 , which will provide information to Application Client Side GUI  299 .  
         [0028]     In  FIG. 1 , the location of Tagged Asset  170  and Tagged Persons  150  in the building are displayed relative to the building floor plan, through the Application Client Side GUI  299 . Each Tagged Person  150  and Tagged Asset  170  is associated with a location (coordinate) on the GUI interface based on and relative to its actual position in Monitored Space  140 . For example, each of the four corners of Alert Zone  120  contains a Positioning Device  130 , which defines the square Alert Zone. The same is true of parallelogram-shaped Danger Zone  100 , and the rectangular Evacuation Area  110 . It will be understood by one of ordinary skill that three or more positioning devices may be required to define a planar enclosed space, and four or more positioning devices to define a volume-enclosed space.  
         [0029]     As a further feature of the present invention, Positioning Devices  130  may further include environmental sensors, such as sensors for temperature, poison gas, or radioactive material. Such sensors may be used to detect an elevated temperature in a computer room, for example.  
         [0030]     The system of the present invention may issue a warning or notification when certain objects pass over a zone boundary or are detected either inside or outside a zone. The type of notification would depend on the Business Rules associated with that particular zone. The system of the present invention may also issue a warning when environmental or other sensors, which may be associated with Positioning Device  130 , detect certain conditions within a defined zone. In a dynamic boundary example, a detection of dangerous material, such as poison gas, radioactive material, or radiation along the perimeter or within a defined zone, may be dynamically defined as Danger Zone  100 , causing the system to issue the appropriate warning based on the Business Rules associated with a Danger Zone.  
         [0031]     Because boundary tags within the system of the present invention may move within Monitored Space  140  while being monitored, just as the asset and person tags may move, the boundary tags may dynamically define new boundaries for a zone. This is an improvement in the art, allowing for significantly better object location monitoring. For example, if Danger Zone  100  is defined by floating Positioning Devices  130  intending to monitor an oil spill and Positioning Devices  130  are carried about by ocean currents, Danger Zone  100  will be a zone defined by dynamic boundaries. The boundaries are monitored by the current location of Positioning Devices  130 , which is automatically monitored in real time by the computer application of the present invention. Another example of a dynamic boundary application would be a monitor for poison or radioactive gas carried by the wind, where Positioning Devices  130 , carried by weather balloons, would move with the gas, defining a dynamic Danger Zone  100 .  
         [0032]     The present invention also contemplates organizations wishing to define Privacy Zones within the Monitored Space  140 . Such zones may be established to protect privacy or security of employees or assets. In these zones, a tagged person or asset will not appear on the user interface display. One example of a Privacy Zone would be a restroom. Another embodiment of a Privacy Zone might be a zone where location information is restricted using a tiered access model, such that only employees of a given privilege or security level may have access to the asset tracking information within the zone. Such systems may be implemented to protect trade secrets, secure information, provide employee privacy, protect private data, hide very valuable assets, or protect any other implementation where levels of access to asset location information in desired.  
         [0033]     In at least one embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable to define numerous zones, such as hazardous areas and safety areas where employees are to evacuate in case of emergency. It was further preferred to define restrooms as privacy areas where tracking is not monitored. The zones associated with the given floor plan are optionally shown on the computer screen, super-imposed over the floor plan.  
         [0034]      FIG. 3  illustrates a possible Runtime Logical Architecture for at least one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, active tags are not just used for identifying an object and its location but also for creating boundaries that define polygon zones or areas to be monitored for events. These boundaries can be static, such as the corners of a building, or dynamic such that they change the real-time, and the associated visualization of the zone also changes in real-time, along with the indications of events monitored in real-time.  
         [0035]     In step  301 , boundary-positioning devices (Positioning Devices  130 ) may be placed in the area Monitored Space  140 . For example, floating active markers may be placed around an oil spill. In step  305 , Positioning Devices  130  transmits position data to the system of the present invention. In step  310 , the data is received and then, in step  320 , sent to a computing device to calculate the boundaries of the zones. The location of each Positioning Device  130  becomes a point on the perimeter of a zone that defines a polygon. At step  330 , the zone information may be stored in Event Database  285  for later event correlation. Once zones are defined and registered with the system, Positioning Devices  130  intended as object tags are placed on their associated objects, as in step  340 . The objects may be Tagged Persons  150  or Tagged Asset  170 , or any other object to be tracked. At step  345 , the location information for the Positioning Devices associated with the Tagged Persons  150  and Tagged Assets  170  is sent to the event calculation correlation step  350 , which also obtains the stored zone polygon data. In step  350 , a determination may be made if the object is within or outside any defined zone. In a preferred embodiment, this is done by a calculation known as “point in a polygon.” Finally, the Events  291  are handled in step  360  based satisfying rules in the rule set. If a rule is satisfied, an alert may be issued by the system and may be displayed on GUI  299 . If Position Devices  130 s marking a zone boundary move, then the system dynamically recalculates the boundary zone by reentering step  320  and a recalculation of the event correlation at step  350  is repeated. Similarly, the Position Device location data may change, causing reentry into step  345 . Such a change may also result in a recalculation of the event correlation at step  350 .  
         [0036]     The following table provides examples of Business Rules that might be triggered when evaluating Location Event  250 .  
                                   Rule   Triggering Event                   don&#39;t enter   occurs when a tag enters a zone       don&#39;t exit   occurs when a tag leaves a zone       too many   occurs when count threshold is reached       not   occurs when count threshold is not reached (over some time       enough   frame)       too close   occurs when tags are too close to one another - e.g., welder &amp;           gas tank       too far   occurs when tags are too distant from one another - e.g.,           visitor &amp; escort       good mix   occurs when tags are mix in a correct ratio - e.g., people &amp;           equipment       bad mix   occurs when tags are mix in an incorrect ratio       too long   occurs when a time threshold is reached       too short   occurs when time threshold is reached       too high   occurs when tag exceeds z threshold (3rd dimension of zone)       too low   occurs when tag exceeds z threshold (3rd dimension of zone)       too fast   occurs when a speed threshold is exceeded       too slow   occurs when a speed threshold is exceeded                  
 
         [0037]     Possible applications contemplated for the present invention include but are not limited to: 
        Continuously tracking a particular positioning device, such as one attached to a product case or pallet within an enterprise, or even across supply chain;     Receiving of goods at a dock, matching the incoming tag stream against a pre-defined list and printing a verification of receipt;     Monitoring products which may fall off a conveyor belt. This application would require rules to test the non-occurrence of a sequence of events, as well as require multiple tag readers placed along the conveyor belt;     Monitoring perishable goods which might otherwise get stuck in an undesirable location, such as storage;     Detecting theft in a retail application, where the system might raise an alarm if a tagged item is detected at the store exit, but was not previously detected at a check out counter;     Automatic monitoring of case-pallet tag association: Where a pallet with multiple cases is pushed through a tag reader in a packing station, the business rule evaluator may monitor the sequence of positioning device location changes for tags attached to cases and to the pallet, associating the case to the pallet and allowing automatic monitoring of the location of each case relative to the pallet.        
 
         [0044]     Thus has been described a system and visualization application capable of automatically and dynamically establishing the boundaries of an object within an automatically and dynamically defined zone. While what has herein been described is what is presently considered to be one or more preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that other modifications can be made within the spirit of the invention, as claimed herein.

Technology Category: 3