Ambient Alarm Occupancy Counting via Bluetooth Low Energy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current ambient alarm systems, such as fire alarm systems, face challenges in ensuring safe evacuation of occupants from high-rise buildings during emergencies, as they lack the capability to accurately count and locate occupants in real-time, which can lead to delayed evacuation and potential loss of life.
Innovation Solution
A wireless ambient alarm system utilizing a gateway device with a Bluetooth module and user devices equipped with a software application that overrides default Bluetooth identifications with emergency IDs, enabling the system to detect and count registered user devices and their locations within the monitored region, even when out of range, through peer-to-peer communication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional ambient alarm systems are used, then the system structure remains simple, but the ability to accurately count and locate occupants in real-time is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology as an intermediary between occupants and the alarm system. BLE beacons in user devices communicate occupancy data to the alarm system without requiring direct integration with personal devices, thus achieving accurate real-time tracking while maintaining system simplicity through standardized wireless communication protocols
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a digital copy of occupancy information through software applications on user devices that generate and transmit Bluetooth identifiers. These digital representations allow the alarm system to track and count occupants accurately without physical sensors or direct device integration, resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and system complexity
2Reliability
If no occupant tracking system is implemented, then the system remains easy to operate, but emergency evacuation effectiveness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service through automatic Bluetooth scanning and occupancy detection. The alarm system continuously scans for BLE devices and automatically updates occupancy status without requiring manual input from occupants or complex operational procedures. This maintains ease of operation while significantly improving evacuation safety through real-time tracking
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes continuous feedback loops where the alarm system scans for Bluetooth devices, receives occupancy information, and updates the user interface in real-time. This automated feedback mechanism ensures reliable occupancy tracking for evacuation purposes while keeping the system easy to operate through automatic updates without manual intervention
3Productivity
If real-time occupant tracking is implemented, then evacuation effectiveness improves, but information processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential occupancy information (Bluetooth device identifiers and location data) from the complex data generated by multiple user devices. By filtering and selecting only the relevant data elements needed for occupancy counting and location tracking, the system improves evacuation efficiency while minimizing data processing requirements and avoiding information overload
Data Source
AI summary
When an ambient alarm system detects an alarm condition in the monitored region, the ambient alarm system can transmit a first signal to one or more registered user devices, responsive thereto, the one or more registered user devices can activate a respective Bluetooth peripheral device, the ambient alarm system can initiate a discovery process with the one or more registered user devices, responsive to the discovery process, the respective Bluetooth peripheral device of each of the one or more registered user devices can transmit a respective second signal to the ambient alarm system indicative of a respective identification of a respective one of the one or more registered user devices. Based on a number of received identifications, the ambient alarm system can identify the number of occupants in the monitored region.