Real-Time Location System Using Beacon Segmentation and Intermediary Nodes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing location systems for tracking children in public places lack accuracy and convenience, often leading to difficulties in reuniting parents and children, which can cause distress and safety concerns.
Innovation Solution
A real-time location system that uses beacons worn by children and transceiver nodes within defined areas to determine their location, with a data hosting system managing authentication and authorization for parents to access their child's location via a mobile device, ensuring privacy and accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If traditional location methods (GPS, cellular networks, Bluetooth) are used to track children, then coverage area is extended, but measurement precision and reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the service area into multiple zones with deployed beacons and transceiver nodes. Each node provides localized positioning, and the system segments the tracking function across multiple distributed components rather than relying on a single centralized system, thereby improving local measurement precision while maintaining broad coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces beacons worn by children and transceiver nodes as intermediary devices between the child and the parent's mobile device. These intermediaries enable precise local positioning through wireless communication, bridging the gap between the child's location and the parent's device while maintaining high accuracy within the defined service area.
2Reliability
If authentication and authorization systems are implemented to protect child location data, then information security is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs authentication and authorization checks in advance before transmitting location data. Parents and guardians are pre-authenticated, and their access rights are predetermined, allowing the system to quickly verify credentials without adding complex real-time decision-making processes during location queries.
Solution Approach 2:
The authentication system is designed to be self-service oriented, where parents and guardians register and obtain their own authentication credentials without requiring manual system intervention. The system automatically manages authorization levels and credentials, reducing operational complexity while maintaining strong security.
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes receiving a beacon identifier and a location of a beacon associated with the beacon identifier from an individual location monitoring system operated by a first entity. The method further includes, with a data hosting system operated by a second entity, determining an identity of a monitored individual associated with the beacon identifier, associating the location of the beacon with the identity of the monitored individual, and receiving a request for the location of the monitored individual including authentication credentials. The method further includes, with the data hosting system, determining if the requesting individual is authorized to access data about the monitored individual and, if the requesting individual is authorized to access the data, providing the location of the monitored individual to the device, wherein the identity of the monitored individual is stored on the data hosting system and is inaccessible to the individual location monitoring system.