Systems and methods for asset tracking with grouped associated tracking devices
Patent Information
- Application Number
- HK42026125560
- Authority / Receiving Office
- HK · HK
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2024-07-26
- Filing Date
- 2026-07-01
- Publication Date
- 2026-09-18
- Estimated Expiration
- 2045-04-28
Smart Images
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Abstract
Description
Abstract: A method and system for tracking assets. A server receives neighbor device data from each of a plurality of tracking devices via wireless communication. The neighbor device data relates to one or more detected nearby tracking devices and estimated distance measurements to each detected nearby tracking device. Based on the neighbor device data, the server determines that a subset of the plurality of tracking devices belongs to a group associated with a multi-unit vehicle. The server selects at least one tracking device from the subset as a master device. The other tracking devices in the subset are slave devices. The master device is used to transmit location data to the server via its wireless data connection, and the slave devices are used to relinquish communication to the server via their respective wireless data connections.
Claims
1. A method for tracking assets, the method comprising: receiving at a server, via wireless communication, from each of a plurality of tracking devices, adjacent device data for that tracking device regarding one or more detected nearby tracking devices and an estimated distance measurement to each detected nearby tracking device; determining from the adjacent device data that a subset of the plurality of tracking devices are in a group associated with a multi-unit vehicle; selecting at least one of the tracking devices in the subset as a master device; and transmitting, via wireless communication, instructions to the subset of tracking devices designating the at least one of the tracking devices as the master device and other tracking devices in the subset as slave devices, wherein the master device is to send location data to the server via its wireless data connection, and wherein the slave devices are to forego sending communications to the server via their respective wireless data connections.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising maintaining, for each of the plurality of tracking devices, a list of adjacent devices, and in response to receiving the adjacent device data for that tracking device: determining a subgroup of the one or more nearby tracking devices for that tracking device wherein each of the subgroup has an acceleration that is within an allowed deviation of an acceleration of that tracking device and each of the subgroup are not in the list of adjacent devices for that tracking device; adding each of the subgroup to the list of adjacent devices for that tracking device; and adding that tracking device to the list of adjacent devices for each of the subgroup.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein determining from the adjacent device data that the subset of the plurality of tracking devices are in the group further comprises generating a list of connected tracking devices by adding one of the plurality of tracking devices to the list of connected tracking devices and for each of the plurality of tracking devices added to the list of connected tracking devices, recursively: determining, from the list of adjacent devices for that tracking device, a subcollection of tracking devices adjacent to that tracking device that are missing from the list of connected tracking devices; and adding each of the subcollection to the list of connected tracking devices.
4. The method of claim 2 further comprising: receiving at the server, subsequent to the transmitting, via wireless communication, from each of the plurality of tracking devices, updated adjacent device data for that tracking device regarding one or more detected nearby tracking devices and an updated estimated distance measurement to each detected nearby tracking device; determining from the updated adjacent device data that one of the tracking devices in the subset is not part of the group associated with the multi-unit vehicle; selecting a new master device for the one of the tracking devices; and transmitting, via wireless communication, instructions to the new master device wherein the new master device is to send location data to the server via its wireless data connection.
5. The method of claim 4 further comprising, for each of the plurality of tracking devices, in response to receiving the updated adjacent device data for that tracking device: determining that one of the tracking devices in the list of adjacent devices for that tracking device has an acceleration beyond the allowed deviation of the acceleration of that tracking device; and responsive thereto, removing the one in the list of adjacent devices for that tracking device from the list of adjacent devices for that tracking device; and removing that tracking device from the list of adjacent devices for the one in the list of adjacent devices for that tracking device.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein determining that the one of the tracking devices in the subset is not part of the group associated with the multi-unit vehicle further comprises: generating a list of connected tracking devices by adding one of the plurality of tracking devices to the list of connected tracking devices and for each of the plurality of tracking devices added to the list of connected tracking devices, recursively: determining, from the list of adjacent devices for that tracking device, a subcollection of tracking devices adjacent to that tracking device that are missing from the list of connected tracking devices; and adding each of the subcollection to the list of connected tracking devices; and determining that none of the tracking devices in the group associated with the multi-unit vehicle are in the list of connected tracking devices.
7. The method of claim 6 wherein selecting the one of the tracking devices as the new master device further comprises determining that none of the tracking devices in the list of connected tracking devices have been selected as the master.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein: each of the plurality of tracking devices have a battery and a corresponding battery life; and the master device is selected based on the battery lives of the tracking devices in the subset of the plurality of tracking devices.
9. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining an order of the tracking devices in the subset based on the estimated distance measurements to each detected nearby tracking device for each of the tracking devices in the subset.
10. The method of claim 4 further comprising, prior to the receiving at the server, at one or more of the tracking devices in the subset: detecting a trigger event; in response to detecting the trigger event, using a short-range wireless system to detect the one or more detected nearby tracking devices for that tracking device; and determining the estimated distance measurement to each detected nearby tracking device using the short-range wireless system.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein the trigger event is a change in acceleration.
12. The method of claim 10 wherein the trigger event is an elapse in time.
13. A server for tracking assets, the server being coupled to a wireless communication system and comprising: a processor; a memory storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed, are to cause the processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.
14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, storing processor-executable instructions to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.