Community-Based Tracking Device Location via Low-Power Signal Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional tracking devices face limitations in battery life and require sophisticated circuitry for long-range tracking, making them costly and inefficient, while low-power options are restricted to close proximity use.
Innovation Solution
A system that leverages a community of mobile device users to locate tracking devices by associating users with tracking devices, setting flags for lost devices, and using community mobile devices to provide location updates, thereby extending the tracking range without the need for high power or complex circuitry.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of stationary object
If traditional long-range tracking technology is used, then tracking range is improved, but battery life deteriorates and device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tracking function is segmented between the tracking device (which only emits low-power signals) and community mobile devices (which perform the actual location detection and processing). This allows the tracking device to maintain long operational life while achieving extended tracking range through the network of community devices.
Solution Approach 2:
Community mobile devices act as intermediaries between the tracking device and the user. These devices receive low-power signals from the tracking device, determine locations, and communicate with the user's mobile device, eliminating the need for the tracking device to have high-power transmission capabilities.
2Length of stationary object
If traditional long-range tracking technology is used, then tracking range is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Community mobile devices perform the complex signal processing and location determination functions using their own built-in capabilities (GPS, processors, etc.). The tracking device itself remains simple, requiring only basic signal emission circuitry, while the community devices provide the sophisticated processing functions.
Solution Approach 2:
Community mobile devices serve multiple functions: they act as tracking signal receivers, location determiners, communication devices, and user interface providers. This universal approach eliminates the need for specialized complex circuitry in the tracking device itself, as general-purpose mobile devices perform all advanced functions.
3Duration of action of moving object
If low-power tracking options are used, then battery life is improved, but tracking range deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the tracking device's low-power signal emission capability with the location-detection capability of community mobile devices. By combining these functions across multiple devices rather than requiring one device to perform both at high power, the system achieves extended tracking range while maintaining low power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a single-device tracking model to a networked multi-device model. By adding the dimension of community participation, the effective tracking range is extended without increasing the power requirements of the original tracking device, as range is achieved through collective detection by multiple devices.
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes detecting, by a first computing device of a plurality of computing devices associated with a tracking system server, a tracking signal from a tracking device flagged as being lost. The first computing device is associated with a subset of the plurality of computing devices associated with the tracking system server. The subset of the plurality of computing devices is associated with a group of users that are authorized to track the tracking device. The method further includes determining, by the first computing device, and based on the tracking signal, a current location of the tracking device, and sending, by the first computing device, a notification to a user device associated with the tracking device. The notification includes an identification of the tracking device and the determined current location of the tracking device.