Beacon Sniffer System for Virtual Assistant Location Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Virtual assistants lack the ability to provide locational context and user identification within a residence without requiring users to carry and access a cell phone, limiting their functionality and interaction capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A beacon system with lightweight, long-life batteries integrated into wearable devices and strategically placed sniffers that use Bluetooth signals, environmental sensors, and inertial guidance to track user location and trajectory, providing location and identification information to virtual assistants for enhanced interaction and mapping services.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If virtual assistants use cell phone-based location tracking, then location information can be obtained, but user convenience deteriorates due to requiring users to carry and access a cell phone
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the location tracking function from the cell phone and implements it through a dedicated beacon device worn by the user. The beacon continuously transmits location data via Bluetooth to sniffers in the environment, eliminating the need for users to carry or access their cell phones for location tracking purposes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a beacon as an intermediary device between the user and the virtual assistant system. The beacon wears on the user and continuously transmits location information to stationary sniffers, which then relay this data to the virtual assistant, creating an automated location tracking chain that doesn't require user intervention.
2Adaptability or versatility
If virtual assistants provide basic voice commands, then simplicity is maintained, but functionality is limited without locational context
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by having beacons continuously transmit location data and sniffers continuously monitor these signals before any user query is made. This pre-established location tracking infrastructure allows the virtual assistant to immediately provide location-aware responses without requiring additional setup or complex processing when a user speaks.
3Ease of operation
If automatic mapping is implemented without user input, then ease of setup is improved, but measurement precision may be affected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamics by using multiple stationary sniffers distributed throughout the environment that continuously track beacon positions from multiple angles. As users move through the space, the system dynamically collects position data from various sniffers, allowing automatic construction of an accurate spatial map without requiring manual floor plan input while maintaining precision through multi-point triangulation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables improved assistance and new virtual assistant skills by providing location-based responses and automatic mapping without user input, allowing for seamless interaction with virtual assistants across different rooms and environments.
Implementation Method 1
A sensor system identifies the location of the user within the area and provides location information or trajectory information to the virtual assistant. The sensor system may include at least one sniffer having a transceiver receiving signals indicating the location or the trajectory of the user.
Implementation Method 2
The at least one sniffer may include at least one sensor selected from a microphone, a light sensor, a passive infrared sensor, an active infrared sensor, and an environmental sensor detecting at least one of a temperature, barometric pressure, air quality and humidity.
Implementation Method 3
The program executable by the processor may identify the location of the user based on a change in at least one of a temperature, barometric pressure, air quality and humidity from the sensor of the at least one sniffer.
Data Source
AI summary
A beacon system is used to monitor the location and identity of individuals using stationary sniffers and to provide that information to a virtual assistant for improved functionality and better context derived from location with respect to standard virtual assistant queries. The system provides a heuristic mapping process providing increasingly precise mapping of the individual with minimal consumer input.