A dynamic geographical communication and coordination platform

Abstract

GeoBubble is a computer-implemented platform for managing targeted communication, coordination, services, transactions and safety functions within a geofenced interaction zone called a GeoBubble. A primary user creates a zone profile comprising a geofence, eligibility rules, admission modes, membership duration rules and enabled interaction functions. Candidate users are evaluated using location data and identity-related data to determine whether an active membership state should be assigned. Once active, the system selectively enables communications, service requests, payments, safety tools and other role-based functions. The platform may include technical geofence entry and exit detection using hysteresis, confirmation counting and state tracking; safety-state escalation with automated emergency alerts; rules-based delegated business payments and expense reporting; family account controls for child safety and spending; and location-conditioned staff workflow routing. The invention improves location-based engagement, operational efficiency, governance and safety within defined geographical areas.

Description

A Dynamic Geographical Communication and Coordination PlatformTITLE OF THE INVENTIONA Dynamic Geographical Communication and Coordination PlatformThe present invention relates to geolocation-based computer systems and, more particularly, to systems, methods and computer-readable media for defining and managing geographically defined interaction zones, referred to as GeoBubbles, that enable targeted communication, coordination, transactions, workflow orchestration, safety management and other location-conditioned interactions within a geofenced area.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONExisting location-based technologies typically focus on navigation, passive tracking, advertising or simple presence detection. They generally do not provide a unified framework in which a zone owner can define a geographically bounded interaction environment, determine who may participate in that environment, control the duration and conditions of participation, and selectively expose communications, services, workflows, payments and safety functions according to zone-specific rules.Many practical settings such as hotels, events, workplaces, educational campuses, shopping centres, short-term accommodation venues, government sites and public facilities require more than mere geofencing. They require fine-grained membership control, role-based feature exposure, real-time service coordination, secure payment controls, emergency escalation logic and reliable entry and exit detection despite imperfect location signals.A need therefore exists for an integrated and scalable computer-implemented platform that improves targeted interaction, operational efficiency, accountability and safety within defined geographical areas while allowing different categories of zone owners to configure the platform for temporary or persistent use cases.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn one aspect, the disclosure provides a computer-implemented method, system and non-transitory computer-readable medium for controlling user interaction within a geographically defined interaction zone. A zone profile may be stored in association with a primary user account and may include a geofence, one or more eligibility rules, two or more admission modes, one or more membership duration rules, role-based permissions for at least a primary user role, a staff role and a member role, and a set of enabled interaction functions. The enabled interaction functions may include communications, requests, services, transactions, safety tools, mapping features, location sharing, analytics and other communication and coordination functions.In another aspect, candidate users may be evaluated using location data and identity-related data, together with invitation data, approval data, pre-approved identity data or external registration data, to determine whether the candidate user satisfies the configured eligibility rules and admission conditions. Upon satisfaction of the rules and conditions, the system may assign an active membership state to the user and selectively enable the configured interaction functions at the user device.In another aspect, the disclosure provides a technical geofence entry and exit detection process in which a distance between a mobile device and a geofence reference is evaluated against entry and exit thresholds separated by a hysteresis buffer, consecutive readings are counted to confirm state changes, stale readings may be disregarded, and entry or exit events are generated only after confirmation. This reduces false positives arising from GPS drift and intermittent signals while maintaining responsiveness to genuine boundary crossings.In another aspect, the disclosure provides location-conditioned service workflows in which a member user with an active membership state is presented with one or more service-request interfaces corresponding to one or more service workflows, each workflow including a request type, a request input interface, one or more predefined quick-request options, a staff-assignment rule and a status progression definition. A structured request may include location context within the GeoBubble and may be routed to an appropriate staff account according to the staff-assignment rule while progressive status updates are returned to the requesting client device.In another aspect, the disclosure provides a zone safety configuration in which a member user may occupy a safe state, a caution state or an emergency state. A caution state may initiate an escalation timer, and the system may automatically transition the member user to an emergency state when the timer expires without cancellation or extension. Alert-recipient rules may then select one or more recipients based on responder role, responder proximity, emergency type, member location within the interaction zone, high-risk zone rules, safe-zone rules or predefined contact rules.In another aspect, the disclosure provides a business account configuration in which delegated business payments are enabled within an authorised interaction zone using a business-linked payment source governed by spending-control rules and reporting rules. Requested transactions may be evaluated against policy criteria including staff identity, location, vendor, category, value or time-based conditions, and approved transactions may be automatically recorded in expense records and integrated with accounting, payroll or enterprise workflow tools.In another aspect, the disclosure provides a family account configuration in which a parent or guardian account controls one or more permissions for a child account, including location controls, payment controls, communication controls, spending rules, approval rules and safety alerts within one or more configured GeoBubbles.Additional aspects, embodiments and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description and the claims.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSillustrates an example overall system architecture in which a GeoBubble platform (100) communicates over a network with a primary user device (200), one or more member user devices (210), and one or more staff devices (220). In the illustrated embodiment, the GeoBubble platform (100) includes membership and zone control components (110), service workflow and safety control components (120), and payment and reporting control components (130), and is further coupled to location services (300), payment systems (310), notification and communications services (320), external systems (330), and an admin or analytics console (400). The architecture enables creation and configuration of a geographically defined interaction zone, admission and management of member users, routing of requests and notifications, execution of safety and emergency workflows, and recording of operational and payment-related data.illustrates an example workflow by which a primary user device (200) creates and configures a GeoBubble. In the illustrated embodiment, the workflow includes zone creation (510), geofence setup (520), role setup (530), membership configuration (540), function configuration (550), and policy configuration (560), after which a zone profile is stored (570) and a published GeoBubble is activated (580). The configuration process may define, among other things, whether the GeoBubble is temporary or persistent, geofence geometry, user roles and permissions, eligibility and admission rules, duration rules, enabled communications and service features, safety settings, payment controls, and other family or business account policies used by the GeoBubble platform.illustrates an example workflow for admitting and managing a member user within a GeoBubble. In the illustrated embodiment, a candidate user is detected (610), eligibility is evaluated (620), and the candidate user may be placed into a pending or denied state (630) or passed into admission mode processing (640), such as automatic admission, manual approval, invitation acceptance, code-based access, or API-based admission. Upon acceptance or approval, an active membership state is established (650), after which one or more membership duration rules (660) govern continuation of membership, including sticky membership, geofence-limited membership, time-limited membership, or event-limited membership. When a termination event occurs, membership may be modified or revoked (670), and related state changes may be recorded in an audit or history record (680).illustrates an example workflow for detecting entry into and exit from a geofence by a mobile device. In the illustrated embodiment, a location reading is received (710), a distance to a geofence reference is calculated (720), and entry and exit thresholds are derived (730) using a geofence boundary and a hysteresis buffer. A stored current state (740) indicating whether the device is presently inside or outside the geofence is used to determine whether an entry condition or an exit condition should be evaluated. When a candidate state change is detected, a consecutive reading count is processed (750) and compared with a confirmation threshold. Once the confirmation threshold is met, the stored state is updated and a corresponding entry event or exit event is generated (760), thereby reducing false detections caused by location drift or intermittent signal variation.illustrates an example workflow for exposing different enabled interaction functions to different user roles within a GeoBubble. In the illustrated embodiment, a stored zone profile (810) defines enabled functions and role permissions, and an active membership state (820) identifies that a user has been admitted or authorised within the GeoBubble. An access control engine (830) evaluates the user's role, membership state, and applicable permissions to determine which functions are exposed to that user. As shown, a primary user role view (840), a staff role view (850), and a member role view (860) may each receive different sets of enabled interaction functions, such as administrative functions, workflow tools, communications, safety tools, payment functions, or reporting functions. Example enabled function sets (870) and related access or audit data (880) may also be maintained by the system.illustrates an example workflow for routing a service request within a GeoBubble. In the illustrated embodiment, a member device (910) associated with an active member user accesses a structured request input interface (920) and submits a request containing a request type and location context. A service workflow store (930) provides stored request types, assignment rules, response policies, and status progression definitions to a workflow routing engine (940), which determines whether an appropriate staff device, team, queue, or workflow is available. If an appropriate staff device or workflow is found, the request is routed to a staff device or queue (950), progresses through one or more request states (960), and results in updates or notifications sent to the member device (970). If no suitable staff device or workflow is found, the request may follow an exception or escalation path (990). Request handling data may also be stored in a request record or analytics data structure (980) for later reporting or operational analysis.illustrates an example workflow for managing emergency notifications for a member user within a GeoBubble. In the illustrated embodiment, a member device and safety interface (1010) allow an active member user to select among safety states including a safe state (1020), a caution state with an escalation timer (1030), and an emergency state (1040). A zone safety configuration (1050) stores escalation parameters, responder roles, alert-recipient rules, and related emergency policies, and a recipient or responder selection process (1060) determines one or more recipients based on factors such as role, proximity, zone, emergency type, or predefined contacts. If a caution-state timer expires without cancellation, extension, or confirmation, the workflow may transition to the emergency state, after which an alert or response output (1070) transmits emergency information, including location data, to selected recipients or responders. The system may also support responder communication or status handling (1080), including acknowledgements, updates, or two-way communication.illustrates an example workflow for controlling delegated business payments within a GeoBubble. In the illustrated embodiment, a staff device or employee account (1110) associated with an authorised staff member initiates a business-related transaction, and transaction data input (1120) provides information such as amount, vendor, category, time condition, and location or GeoBubble context. A business account configuration (1140) stores a business-linked payment source together with spending-control rules, approval rules, reporting rules, and role permissions, and a payment control engine (1150) evaluates the requested transaction against those controls. If the transaction satisfies the applicable rules, payment execution (1160) is performed using the business-linked payment source without exposing underlying credentials to the staff member. If the transaction does not satisfy the applicable rules, the transaction may follow an exception or hold path (1170), including an optional manager approval input (1130). Whether completed or held, the transaction may be recorded in an expense record or reporting workflow (1180) for subsequent auditing, reporting, or operational analysis.illustrates an example workflow for supervising a child or dependent account within a family account arrangement. In the illustrated embodiment, a parent or guardian device (1210) defines a family account configuration (1240) including one or more parent-controlled payment sources, spending caps, category restrictions, trusted-user controls, location rules, safe zones, and safety settings. A child device or member account (1220) may attempt an action, such as initiating a payment, accessing a GeoBubble function, communicating with another user, or triggering a location or safety event. A rules and permission engine (1250) evaluates the requested action or event against stored family rules and determines whether the action is permitted without approval. If permitted, the action may proceed through a permitted action execution path (1260). If not permitted, the action may follow an approval or restriction path (1270), which may include parental approval, blocking, limitation to approved vendors or categories, or generation of an alert or notification output (1230). Related activity may also be stored in a history or insight record (1280) for subsequent review.illustrates an example location-aware view in which a GeoBubble geofence boundary (1300) contains an annotated zone map (1310) divided into one or more sub-zones, such as an entry or lobby area (1320), a public area (1330), a family area (1340), a safe zone (1350), a service area (1360), a high-risk zone (1370), an exit or evacuation route (1380), a staff response area (1390), and a secure area (1395). In the illustrated embodiment, a member location (1400), one or more responder locations (1410), safe points (1420), exits (1430), and one or more possible response or guidance routes may be shown on the map. A location-context selection process (1440) may receive a selected zone, point of interest, or detected coordinates, and a responder or recipient selection engine (1450) may determine one or more responders or routing actions based on zone, proximity, role, emergency type, or workflow rules. Output actions (1460) may include route guidance, responder notifications, location-aware alerts, or request-routing operations associated with the selected sub-zone.DEFINITIONS AND OVERVIEWGeoBubble (GB): a geographically defined interaction zone associated with a geofence and a corresponding zone profile.geofence: a geographical boundary, which may be circular, polygonal or otherwise defined, used to determine location-conditioned eligibility, membership status, alerts, requests, payments or other functions.Primary User (PU): a zone owner, administrator, business or organisation that creates or manages a GeoBubble.Audience Member (AM): a user account that participates in a GeoBubble according to a configured membership state.Staff Member (SM): a user account having staff permissions within a GeoBubble, including service, moderation, workflow or operational permissions.member user: a user having an active membership state for a GeoBubble; depending on context, the member user may be an audience member or another participating account.zone profile: a stored data structure associated with a GeoBubble and containing one or more of the geofence, eligibility rules, admission modes, membership duration rules, enabled interaction functions, role-based permissions, service workflows, safety settings, payment settings, account-control settings and analytics settings.active membership state: a current, valid state indicating that a user is authorised to participate in a GeoBubble and to access one or more enabled interaction functions in accordance with role-based permissions.enabled interaction functions: communication, coordination, service, transaction, safety, mapping, reporting or other functions made available for a particular GeoBubble or role.location context: location-related information associated with a request, transaction, alert or interaction, including coordinates, room number, table number, seat identifier, mapped point of interest, sub-zone, entry point or other positional data within the GeoBubble.SYSTEM ARCHITECTUREIn some embodiments, the platform is implemented using one or more server systems in communication with client devices operated by primary users, staff members and audience members. The server system may store one or more zone profiles, user profiles, membership records, payment records, workflow records, safety-state records, maps, analytics records and audit logs.A client device may be a mobile phone, tablet, wearable device, laptop, kiosk terminal or other network-connected device capable of determining or receiving location data and presenting interaction functions to a user. The server system may communicate with the client devices through one or more networks and may interface with payment gateways, external registration systems, accounting platforms, payroll systems, security systems, messaging systems, IoT devices, beacon systems or other third-party services.In some embodiments, the zone profile is created through an administrative interface that allows the primary user to specify a GeoBubble name, address, category, image, geofence and other operating parameters. The primary user may also add one or more staff accounts, assign access levels, and choose which interaction functions are enabled for the GeoBubble.MEMBERSHIP CONFIGURATION AND MEMBERSHIP STATESEligibility RulesMembership to a GeoBubble may be governed by one or more eligibility rules. The eligibility rules may provide for open eligibility, geo-based eligibility, custom eligibility based on one or more user attributes, or combinations thereof. Custom eligibility may be based on age, affiliation, role, rating, membership status in an organisation, stated reason for joining, or other criteria specified by the primary user.Admission ModesThe zone profile may specify one or more admission modes, including automatic admission upon geofence entry, manual approval by the primary user, invitation-based admission, code-based admission, QR-code admission, admission from a pre-approved list, or admission through an application programming interface or other external integration.In invitation-based embodiments, an invitation may take the form of a link, access code, QR code or other token. Invitations may permit immediate access or may still require approval according to the zone profile.In pre-approved list embodiments, the primary user may upload or otherwise maintain a list of verified identifiers, such as email addresses or mobile phone numbers, associated with users who are eligible to activate membership when a corresponding condition is met, such as identity verification or entry into the geofence.In external registration embodiments, an authorised organisation, ticketing platform, booking platform, employer, school system or other third-party system may request or provision membership on behalf of a user according to predefined business logic or organisational criteria.Duration and Expiry RulesThe zone profile may further specify one or more membership duration rules. These may include sticky or permanent membership, geofence-limited membership, time-limited membership, event-limited membership, or other membership expiry conditions. Sticky membership may remain active even after the user leaves the geofence until manually removed. Geofence-limited membership may terminate automatically when the user exits the geofence. Time-limited membership may expire after a predefined interval. Event-limited membership may expire at the end of a corresponding event or booking.In some embodiments, a single zone profile concurrently stores multiple admission modes and multiple membership duration rules so that different users may be admitted to the same GeoBubble through different admission pathways and may retain access for different durations according to the configuration selected by the primary user.Member Activation and ManagementIn some embodiments, a candidate user who satisfies eligibility rules may still be required to perform an explicit acceptance action before an active membership state is assigned. Upon assignment of the active membership state, the client device may receive and display the set of enabled interaction functions associated with the relevant GeoBubble and the relevant user role.The primary user may manage memberships through an administrative interface showing active members, inactive or expired members, pending membership requests, invitations and pre-approved members. A member user may likewise manage memberships through a user interface that presents active memberships, pending requests and invitations.The active membership state may be maintained, modified, suspended or revoked in response to geofence exit, lapse of time, conclusion of an event, manual removal by the primary user, voluntary departure by the member user, or other configured conditions.ROLE-BASED PERMISSIONS AND ENABLED INTERACTION FUNCTIONSIn some embodiments, the zone profile includes role-based permissions that distinguish at least between a primary user role, a staff role and a member role. Different roles may be permitted to access different enabled interaction functions. For example, staff accounts may receive request-routing and moderation functions, whereas member accounts may receive messaging, service-request and payment functions, and the primary user account may receive administrative, safety and reporting functions.The active membership state may therefore operate as a gating state that controls which enabled interaction functions are exposed to a given client device at a given time according to both GeoBubble membership validity and the applicable role-based permissions.Enabled interaction functions may include, by way of example only, private or group messaging, open chat, voice messages, audio or video calls, scheduled calls, polls, quizzes, questionnaires, interactive Q&A, task management, event scheduling, roll marking, geofencing and auto-check-in or auto-check-out, live member locations, geo-tagged posts, annotated maps, navigation, emergency alerts, payment functions, booking functions, smart notifications, discoverability functions and service-request submission.In some embodiments, the primary user may modify a default set of enabled interaction functions associated with a GeoBubble category by disabling preconfigured functions, enabling additional functions, or customising permissions for particular classes of users or sub-zones within the GeoBubble.LIVE MEMBER LOCATIONS AND MAP FUNCTIONSIn some embodiments, the system displays active member users on a live map associated with the GeoBubble. Privacy controls may allow a user to choose public visibility, known-contact visibility, primary-user-only visibility, staff-only visibility, temporary sharing, or a hidden mode. The system may update a user status when the user enters or leaves the geofence, and may support optional notifications when a selected user enters, leaves or approaches a designated area.The platform may also provide annotated maps, labelled points of interest, category-based filtering, searchable locations, multi-level venue support, user-submitted annotations and navigation guidance. In emergency situations, the system may highlight evacuation routes or other safety instructions based on a user's current position within the GeoBubble.SERVICE WORKFLOWS AND SMART REQUESTSIn some embodiments, the zone profile stores one or more service workflows associated with the GeoBubble. Each service workflow may include a request type, a request input interface, one or more predefined quick-request options, a staff-assignment rule, a status progression definition, and optional escalation or service-level parameters.When a client device associated with a member user has an active membership state, the system may expose one or more service-request interfaces corresponding to the service workflows. A member user may submit a structured service request including at least a requested service type and location context. The location context may include device coordinates, a room number, table number, seat identifier, point of interest, mapped location, sub-zone or other position information within the GeoBubble.The staff-assignment rule may route the request to a selected staff account or staff device based on one or more assignment criteria such as staff role, proximity, availability, workload, roster status or responsibility area. The status progression definition may include statuses such as received, accepted, assigned, in progress, picked up, delivered, completed or closed. Status updates may be transmitted to the requesting client device as the workflow progresses.In some embodiments, service-request interfaces become unavailable when the member user's active membership state expires, is revoked or otherwise ceases to be valid. The system may further generate operational analytics from request timestamps, completion times, staff response data, service categories, location context and user feedback.Representative use cases include hospitality workflows such as laundry service, room service, bill requests, clean-up requests, concierge requests, event-service requests, office-service requests and other location-conditioned workflows within a GeoBubble.ZONE SAFETY CONFIGURATION AND EMERGENCY NOTIFICATIONSIn some embodiments, a zone profile includes a zone safety configuration comprising a plurality of safety states, one or more escalation parameters and one or more alert-recipient rules. The safety states may include a safe state, a caution state and an emergency state, which may also be presented as Green, Yellow and Red modes respectively.The safe state may indicate that no immediate danger is present. The caution state may indicate a potential risk. Selection of the caution state may initiate an escalation timer according to the escalation parameters. The member user may cancel or extend the escalation timer using authorised user input, which may optionally include a secret code or other verification mechanism. If the escalation timer expires without cancellation or extension, the system may automatically transition the member user from the caution state to the emergency state.The emergency state may also be selected directly by user input. In response to direct selection of the emergency state, or automatic transition to the emergency state, the system may select one or more alert recipients according to the alert-recipient rules. Recipient selection may be based on responder role, responder proximity, location of the member user within the GeoBubble, emergency type, predefined contact rules, high-risk zone rules, safe-zone rules, or combinations thereof.Alert recipients may include one or more of the primary user, a staff account, a security team, an event organiser, a business staff account, a family contact, a friend, a private security provider, an emergency hotline or an emergency service. The transmitted emergency alert may include current location information of the member user within the GeoBubble and may also include identity information, emergency type, timer status, zone identifier or other contextual data.In some embodiments, the emergency state further activates live location tracking for one or more authorised recipients, initiates automatic audio capture, video capture or both for evidence collection, or establishes a direct communication link with a hotline, security service or responder service. A silent activation mode may be provided so that the emergency state can be triggered discreetly without drawing attention on the client device.The system may also provide responder status updates and two-way communication after the alert is transmitted. In some embodiments, the GeoBubble is partitioned into venue zones, designated high-risk zones or designated safe zones, and the alert-recipient rules or response logic may vary according to the member user's current zone.BUSINESS ACCOUNT CONFIGURATIONIn some embodiments, the zone profile includes or references a business account configuration associated with a business-linked payment source, one or more spending-control rules and one or more reporting rules. A business account may be used to monitor staff presence, authorise delegated business spending within one or more authorised GeoBubbles, and generate expense and operational reports.A business-linked payment source may include a company credit facility, debit source, corporate wallet, direct debit source or other business payment instrument. The client device of a staff member may initiate a requested transaction without exposing underlying payment credentials to the staff member. Physical cards are not required in some embodiments, because the transaction is enabled through the business account configuration and the active membership state within an authorised GeoBubble.The system may evaluate each requested transaction against one or more spending-control rules. The spending-control rules may depend on employee identity, staff role, location, vendor, authorised vendor status, expense category, transaction value, time condition, roster condition, zone condition, department, per-transaction limit, per-day limit, per-employee limit, per-GeoBubble limit, or other policy criteria. Category-based controls may restrict spending to work-related categories such as meals, fuel, transport, office supplies, accommodation or services.In some embodiments, certain requested transactions require real-time approval from an authorised manager account. The approval condition may be triggered by a value threshold, vendor condition, category condition, exception condition or other policy criterion. The manager may approve or reject the requested transaction through the platform.When a requested transaction satisfies the relevant spending-control rules, or receives required approval, the system may cause completion of the transaction using the business-linked payment source and may automatically record the transaction in an expense record. Expense records may be associated with the staff member, department, GeoBubble, location, vendor, category, project, client site or time period.The reporting rules may cause generation of transaction histories and spending reports according to employee, department, location, GeoBubble, vendor, category, project, client, cost centre or time period. Expense data may be exported to an accounting platform, payroll platform or enterprise workflow platform, for example Xero, QuickBooks or another financial or operational system.The business account configuration may further include employee location monitoring rules. These rules may log or notify arrival at, or departure from, a designated GeoBubble or client site, support attendance verification using check-in and check-out events, and support shift verification without requiring manual clock-ins. Different staff accounts may be assigned different permissions so that some staff members may initiate transactions and others may be restricted from initiating transactions.FAMILY ACCOUNT CONFIGURATIONIn some embodiments, the zone profile includes or references a family account configuration in which a parent or guardian account controls one or more permissions for a child account. The family account configuration may blend location controls, spending controls, communication controls and safety escalation within one or more configured GeoBubbles.Location controls may include real-time location tracking within a designated GeoBubble, alerts when the child account enters or leaves a configured area, alerts when the child account leaves a safe zone unexpectedly, and temporary location sharing for a defined period.Payment controls may include a parent-controlled payment source or family-specific wallet, daily or weekly spending caps, per-transaction limits, GeoBubble-specific limits, category restrictions and parental approval rules. For example, low-value purchases may be auto-approved, while high-value or exceptional purchases may require real-time parental approval.Communication controls may include restrictions on which communication and coordination functions the child account can access, which groups or chats can be joined, whether business interactions are permitted, and whether content filtering is applied to shared messages. Service usage permissions may allow or restrict classes of purchases or services within a GeoBubble.The family account configuration may also integrate with the zone safety configuration so that the child account may initiate a safe state, caution state or emergency state and the parent or guardian may receive alerts when the child account enters the emergency state or when a caution state escalates to an emergency state. Transaction monitoring may generate spending histories, trends and unusual-spending alerts for the parent or guardian account.GEOFENCE ENTRY AND EXIT DETECTIONIn some embodiments, geofence entry and exit events are detected using a technical process that reduces false detections arising from GPS drift or intermittent location signals. A sequence of location readings is received for a mobile device. For each reading, a distance is calculated between the mobile device and a reference associated with the geofence, for example using a haversine formula when the geofence is represented by a centre point and radius.An entry criterion may require the calculated distance to be less than a first threshold corresponding to the geofence radius reduced by a hysteresis buffer. An exit criterion may require the calculated distance to be greater than a second threshold corresponding to the geofence radius increased by the hysteresis buffer. The system maintains a stored inside-or-outside state and changes the state only when a confirmation threshold of consecutive readings satisfies the relevant state-change criterion.In some embodiments, the confirmation threshold is three consecutive readings, although other thresholds may be used. The hysteresis buffer may be adjusted according to measured or estimated location accuracy. The system may validate a maximum permitted time interval between readings and may disregard stale readings. Spatial interpolation between points may be used for higher-speed movement.Generated entry and exit events may update membership states, check-in and check-out states, attendance records, request-routing availability, payment availability, safety logic or access to enabled interaction functions.ADDITIONAL INTERACTION FUNCTIONSThe GeoBubble platform may include additional interaction functions that may be selectively enabled according to the zone profile. These may include notifications and alerts, surveys, moderation tools, analytics dashboards, subscription plans, targeted offers, discoverability modes, API integrations, AI assistants, security and privacy settings, accessibility options, offline functionality and other communication and coordination functions.In some embodiments, a notification function provides context-aware alerts based on user activity, location and time. In some embodiments, an analytics function generates behavioural insights, foot traffic data, engagement rates, response times, spending trends, attendance data, service metrics or predictive recommendations.These additional functions may operate independently or in combination with the active membership state, role-based permissions, business account configuration, family account configuration, zone safety configuration or service workflow configuration described above.COMPUTING IMPLEMENTATIONThe methods described herein may be implemented by one or more processors executing instructions stored in one or more memories. The instructions may be stored in any suitable non-transitory computer-readable medium. The system may include network interfaces, location-processing modules, rule engines, workflow engines, payment modules, map services, notification services, safety services, reporting modules, authentication modules and application programming interfaces.Functions described as being performed by the platform, server, system, processor or module may be implemented by software, firmware, hardware or any suitable combination thereof. Process steps may be performed in different orders, combined, split or omitted according to implementation requirements, except where a particular order is expressly required.It will be understood that the foregoing embodiments are illustrative and that many variations may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

Claims

A computer-implemented method for controlling user interaction within a geographically defined interaction zone, the method comprising: storing, by one or more processors, a zone profile associated with a primary user account, the zone profile comprising a geofence defining the geographically defined interaction zone, one or more eligibility rules for admission of candidate users, two or more admission modes selected from automatic geofence-based admission, manual approval, invitation-based admission, pre-approved identity admission, and external-system admission, one or more membership duration rules selected from sticky membership, geofence-limited membership, time-limited membership, and event-limited membership, role-based permissions for at least a primary user role, a staff role and a member role, and a set of enabled interaction functions associated with the geographically defined interaction zone; receiving, from a client device associated with a candidate user, location data and identity-related data; determining, using the one or more processors, whether the candidate user satisfies at least one of the one or more eligibility rules and at least one admission condition based on at least one of the location data, invitation data, approval data, pre-approved identity data, or external registration data; upon satisfaction of the applicable rule and condition, assigning an active membership state to the candidate user for the geographically defined interaction zone in accordance with an applicable one of the one or more membership duration rules; in response to assignment of the active membership state, selectively enabling, at the client device, only those enabled interaction functions permitted for the candidate user by the role-based permissions; maintaining, modifying, suspending, or revoking the active membership state in response to at least one of geofence exit, lapse of time, conclusion of an event, manual removal, or voluntary departure; and routing communications, service requests, or transactions between the primary user account, one or more staff accounts, and one or more member accounts according to the active membership state and the role-based permissions.The method of claim 1, wherein the geofence comprises at least one of a circular geofence defined by a centre point and radius, or a polygonal geofence defined by a plurality of coordinates.The method of claim 1, wherein the geographically defined interaction zone is configured as either a temporary zone that automatically expires after a defined time or event, or a persistent zone that remains active until manually modified or deleted.The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more eligibility rules comprise at least one of open eligibility, geo-based eligibility requiring physical presence within the geofence, or custom eligibility based on one or more user attributes.The method of claim 4, wherein the one or more user attributes comprise at least one of age, affiliation, role, rating, organisation membership, or a stated reason for joining.The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more admission modes comprise at least one of automatic admission upon entry into the geofence, manual approval by the primary user, invitation-based admission, code-based admission, QR-code admission, admission from a pre-approved membership list, or admission via an external application programming interface.The method of claim 6, wherein the pre-approved membership list comprises one or more email addresses, mobile phone numbers, or other verified identifiers.The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more membership duration rules comprise at least one of sticky membership that remains active after geofence exit until manual removal, geofence-limited membership that automatically terminates upon geofence exit, time-limited membership, or event-limited membership.The method of claim 1, wherein assignment of the active membership state further requires an explicit acceptance action by the candidate user before access to the set of enabled interaction functions is provided.The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting, via an administrative interface, membership management data including at least one of active members, inactive members, expired members, pending membership requests, invitations, or pre-approved members.The method of claim 1, wherein the set of enabled interaction functions comprises one or more of messaging, audio or video calling, questionnaires, polls, Q&A tools, task management, event scheduling, attendance tracking, check-in / check-out, live location sharing, geo-tagged posting, navigation, safety alerts, payment functions, booking functions, or service-request submission.The method of claim 1, wherein the role-based permissions distinguish between at least a primary user role, a staff role, and a member role, and selectively expose different enabled interaction functions to different roles.The method of claim 11, wherein the enabled interaction functions include live location sharing, and wherein the live location sharing is governed by privacy settings comprising at least one of public visibility, selected-contact visibility, primary-user-only visibility, staff-only visibility, temporary sharing, or hidden mode.A system comprising one or more processors and one or more non-transitory memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 13.A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 13.A computer-implemented method for detecting entry into and exit from a geofence by a mobile device, the method comprising: receiving a sequence of location readings associated with the mobile device; calculating, for each location reading, a distance between the mobile device and a reference associated with the geofence; determining a candidate entry condition when the calculated distance is less than a first threshold corresponding to a geofence boundary reduced by a hysteresis buffer; determining a candidate exit condition when the calculated distance is greater than a second threshold corresponding to the geofence boundary increased by the hysteresis buffer; maintaining a stored state indicating whether the mobile device is presently inside or outside the geofence; counting consecutive location readings that satisfy a state-change condition; changing the stored state from outside to inside, or from inside to outside, only when the count of consecutive location readings reaches a confirmation threshold; validating a maximum permitted time interval between consecutive location readings and disregarding stale location readings that exceed the maximum permitted time interval; and issuing a corresponding entry event or exit event only after the stored state is changed, wherein the corresponding entry event or exit event updates at least one of a membership state, a check-in or check-out state, an attendance status, or access to one or more enabled interaction functions.The method of claim 16, wherein the distance is calculated using a haversine formula.The method of claim 16, wherein the first threshold is defined as a geofence radius minus the hysteresis buffer and the second threshold is defined as the geofence radius plus the hysteresis buffer.The method of claim 16, wherein the confirmation threshold requires at least three consecutive location readings satisfying the state-change condition.The method of claim 16, wherein the maximum permitted time interval is selected according to a location-update frequency associated with the mobile device or application.The method of claim 16, further comprising adjusting the hysteresis buffer in accordance with a measured or estimated location accuracy.The method of claim 16, further comprising performing spatial interpolation between consecutive location readings to improve boundary-crossing detection for high-speed movement.The method of claim 16, wherein the corresponding entry event or exit event is used to update at least one of a membership state, a check-in or check-out state, an attendance status, request-routing availability, payment availability, safety logic, or access to one or more enabled interaction functions.A system comprising one or more processors and one or more non-transitory memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform the method of any one of claims 16 to 23.A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method of any one of claims 16 to 23.A computer-implemented method for coordinating fulfilment of a service request within a geographically defined interaction zone, the method comprising: storing, by one or more processors, one or more service workflows associated with a zone profile of a primary user, each service workflow comprising a request type, a request input interface, a staff-assignment rule, and a status progression definition; determining that a client device associated with a member user has an active membership state for the geographically defined interaction zone; in response to the active membership state, exposing on the client device one or more service-request interfaces corresponding to the one or more service workflows; receiving, from the client device, a structured service request including at least a requested service type and location context within the geographically defined interaction zone; selecting, based on the staff-assignment rule, at least one staff account or staff device to handle the structured service request, wherein the staff-assignment rule is based on at least one of staff role, staff proximity, staff availability, staff workload, roster status, or a zone-specific responsibility area; routing the structured service request to the selected staff account or staff device; and causing status updates corresponding to the status progression definition to be transmitted to the client device during fulfilment of the structured service request.The method of claim 26, wherein the one or more service-request interfaces comprise one or more predefined quick-request options configurable by the primary user for a GeoBubble category, venue type, or sub-zone.The method of claim 26, wherein the location context comprises at least one of a room number, table number, seat identifier, mapped point of interest, device coordinates, or a user-selected location within an annotated map.The method of claim 26, wherein the staff-assignment rule selects the at least one staff account or staff device based on at least one of staff role, staff proximity, staff availability, staff workload, staff roster status, or a zone-specific responsibility area.The method of claim 26, wherein the status progression definition comprises at least one of request received, request accepted, assigned, in progress, picked up, completed, delivered, or closed.The method of claim 26, wherein the one or more service-request interfaces are disabled when the active membership state expires, is revoked, or is no longer valid for the geographically defined interaction zone.The method of claim 26, wherein fulfilment of the structured service request is logged together with timestamps and used to generate operational analytics for the primary user.A system comprising one or more processors and one or more non-transitory memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform the method of any one of claims 26 to 32.A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method of any one of claims 26 to 32.A computer-implemented method for managing safety of a member user within a geographically defined interaction zone, the method comprising: storing, by one or more processors, a zone safety configuration associated with a zone profile for the geographically defined interaction zone, the zone safety configuration comprising a plurality of safety states including a safe state, a caution state, and an emergency state, one or more escalation parameters, and one or more alert-recipient rules; determining that a client device is associated with a member user having an active membership state for the geographically defined interaction zone; receiving, from the client device, an input selecting the caution state or the emergency state; in response to selection of the caution state, initiating an escalation timer in accordance with the one or more escalation parameters; permitting cancellation or extension of the escalation timer by authorised user input; automatically transitioning the member user from the caution state to the emergency state when the escalation timer expires without cancellation or extension; in response to selection of the emergency state or automatic transition to the emergency state, selecting one or more alert recipients according to the one or more alert-recipient rules, wherein the one or more alert-recipient rules are based on at least one of responder role, responder proximity, location of the member user within the geographically defined interaction zone, emergency type, or predefined contact rules; and transmitting an emergency alert including at least current location information of the member user within the geographically defined interaction zone to the selected one or more alert recipients.The method of claim 35, wherein the safe state, the caution state, and the emergency state correspond respectively to a Green mode, a Yellow mode, and a Red mode.The method of claim 35, wherein selection of the caution state causes transmission of a caution notification to one or more pre-set contacts before transition to the emergency state.The method of claim 35, wherein the authorised user input for cancelling or extending the escalation timer comprises entry of a secret code.The method of claim 35, wherein selection of the emergency state comprises a silent activation mode configured to trigger the emergency alert without presenting an obvious visual or audible indication on the client device.The method of claim 35, wherein the selected one or more alert recipients comprise at least one of a primary user, a staff member, a security team, an event organiser, a business staff account, a family contact, a friend, a private security contact, or an emergency service.The method of claim 35, wherein transmission of the emergency alert causes real-time or periodic location tracking of the member user to be made available to one or more authorised alert recipients during an active emergency state.The method of claim 35, wherein transition to the emergency state further causes automatic capture of audio, video, or both audio and video by the client device for evidence collection.The method of claim 35, wherein transition to the emergency state further causes initiation of a direct communication link to an emergency hotline or responder service.The method of claim 35, wherein the one or more alert-recipient rules select the one or more alert recipients based on whether the member user is located in a designated high-risk zone within the geographically defined interaction zone or has exited a designated safe zone.The method of claim 35, wherein, after transmission of the emergency alert, the client device receives responder status updates or supports two-way communication with at least one selected alert recipient.A computer-implemented method for controlling delegated business payments within a geographically defined interaction zone, the method comprising: storing, by one or more processors, a business account configuration associated with a zone profile for the geographically defined interaction zone, the business account configuration comprising a business-linked payment source, one or more spending-control rules, and one or more reporting rules; determining that a client device is associated with a staff member having an active membership state for the geographically defined interaction zone; receiving, from the client device, transaction data for a requested transaction within the geographically defined interaction zone; evaluating the requested transaction against the one or more spending-control rules, wherein the one or more spending-control rules comprise at least one rule based on employee identity, location, transaction category, transaction value, time condition, or zone condition; authorising the requested transaction when the requested transaction satisfies the one or more spending-control rules; causing completion of the authorised transaction using the business-linked payment source; and automatically recording the authorised transaction in an expense record associated with at least one of the staff member, a department, the geographically defined interaction zone, a location, or a time period.The method of claim 46, wherein the business account configuration further comprises employee location monitoring rules that cause entry or exit of the staff member from the geographically defined interaction zone to be logged or notified to a manager account.The method of claim 46, wherein the one or more spending-control rules comprise one or more predefined payment limits based on at least one of a per-employee limit, a per-day limit, a per-transaction limit, or a per-GeoBubble limit.The method of claim 46, wherein the one or more spending-control rules restrict the requested transaction to one or more authorised vendors or service providers.The method of claim 46, wherein the one or more spending-control rules restrict the requested transaction to one or more permitted expense categories comprising at least one of meals, fuel, transport, office supplies, accommodation, or work-related services.The method of claim 46, wherein the requested transaction requires real-time approval from the authorised manager account when the requested transaction satisfies a predefined approval condition comprising at least one of a value threshold, a vendor condition, a category condition, or an exception condition.The method of claim 46, wherein the expense record is automatically included in a transaction history and one or more spending reports generated according to at least one of employee, department, location, GeoBubble, vendor, category, or time period.The method of claim 46, wherein the business account configuration further comprises role-based permissions that selectively permit some staff members to initiate transactions while restricting other staff members from initiating transactions.The method of claim 46, further comprising exporting expense data associated with the approved transaction to an accounting, payroll, or enterprise workflow platform.A system comprising one or more processors and one or more non-transitory memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform the method of any one of claims 46 to 54.A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method of any one of claims 46 to 54.The method of claim 1, wherein the zone profile is configured as a family account in which a parent or guardian account controls one or more permissions for a child account associated with the geographically defined interaction zone.The method of claim 57, wherein the one or more permissions comprise a payment configuration that links a parent-controlled payment source or family-specific wallet to transactions initiated by the child account within the geographically defined interaction zone.The method of claim 58, wherein the payment configuration comprises one or more spending rules including at least one of a daily spending cap, a weekly spending cap, a per-transaction limit, a GeoBubble-specific limit, or a category restriction.The method of claim 58, wherein the payment configuration requires parental approval for transactions that satisfy an approval condition and automatically approves transactions that satisfy a lower-risk condition.The method of claim 57, wherein the one or more permissions comprise communication controls that restrict the child account to interacting only with trusted users, approved groups, or approved business interactions within the geographically defined interaction zone.The method of claim 57, wherein the one or more permissions comprise location controls that enable the parent or guardian account to receive geofencing alerts when the child account enters, exits, or leaves a designated area or safe zone.The method of claim 57, wherein the family account further comprises transaction monitoring that records a transaction history for the child account and generates spending insights, trend data, or alerts for unusual spending behaviour.The method of claim 57, wherein the family account further comprises a safety configuration enabling the child account to initiate a safe state, a caution state, or an emergency state, and causing a parent or guardian account to receive an alert when the child account enters the emergency state or when the caution state escalates to the emergency state.

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