Broadcast Tracker Identification Using Hash-Based Location Resolution
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional tracking devices face limitations such as limited battery life due to high power consumption for long-range tracking, expensive technology requirements, and restricted proximity-based tracking capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A tracking device uses a one-way communication protocol to generate a hash value, which is resolved by a secondary device or a tracking server to determine location and identity, and activates GPS only upon movement detection to conserve power.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If traditional GPS tracking is used for long-range tracking, then tracking capability is improved, but power consumption increases and battery life decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The tracking function is segmented between the tracking device (which only broadcasts hash values using minimal power) and the secondary device/server (which performs the power-intensive GPS location determination and hash resolution). This segmentation allows long-range tracking capability while the power-consuming operations are performed by external devices rather than the battery-constrained tracking device.
Solution Approach 2:
A secondary device or server acts as an intermediary that receives hash values from the tracking device, determines GPS location, resolves the hash to identify the tracking device, and manages the tracking database. This intermediary handles all power-intensive operations, allowing the tracking device to maintain long-range capability without high power consumption.
2Measurement precision
If continuous GPS usage is implemented for accurate location determination, then location precision is improved, but battery life decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous GPS operation, the system uses periodic hash value broadcasts from the tracking device combined with periodic location determination by the secondary device. GPS location is determined only when needed (when hash values need resolution or location updates are required), providing accurate location data while minimizing power consumption through periodic rather than continuous operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses hash values as cryptographic copies or representations of the tracking device identity and location data. Instead of continuously transmitting or processing actual location coordinates and device identifiers, the system broadcasts and resolves hash values, which are computational copies that enable location determination without continuous high-power operations.
3Speed
If sophisticated circuitry is used for long-range tracking, then tracking capability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sophisticated circuitry and complex processing capabilities are extracted from the tracking device and placed in the secondary device or server. The tracking device itself is simplified to contain only minimal broadcasting capabilities for hash values, while the complex GPS determination, hash resolution, and database management functions are taken out and performed externally by more capable devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical/electronic tracking mechanisms (which would require sophisticated onboard circuitry for long-range communication and processing) with a cryptographic hash-based system. Instead of using complex radio communication and processing circuitry in the tracking device, the system uses simple hash value broadcasting combined with external cryptographic resolution, substituting mechanical complexity with cryptographic computation performed externally.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for receiving, by a mobile computing device, a request from a tracking device associated with the mobile computing device, the request indicating a detected movement of the tracking device, determining, by the mobile computing device, and based on a timestamp associated with the detected movement of the tracking device, whether the tracking device has moved from a previously determined high-accuracy location of the tracking device, and in response to determining that the tracking device has moved from the previously determined high-accuracy location, associating, by the mobile computing device, and based at least in part on whether the tracking device is within a threshold distance from the mobile computing device, the tracking device with a location of the mobile computing device, and designating, by the mobile computing device, the location of the mobile computing device as a current high-accuracy location for the tracking device.