Context-Aware Personal Safety Engine for Mobile Devices

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current personal safety systems for mobile communications lack effective integration of context-aware emergency response mechanisms, failing to efficiently alert and coordinate assistance in real-time, especially in densely populated areas where safety events can impact multiple individuals.

Innovation Solution

A personal safety engine (PSE) is integrated into mobile devices, collecting and analyzing context data from sensors to detect deviations from normal behavior, triggering priority calls and alerts to emergency contacts, and utilizing geo-fencing and community intelligence to enhance emergency response, while ensuring secure and efficient battery management.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If context data collection and analysis is performed continuously to improve emergency detection accuracy, then measurement precision and reliability are improved, but use of energy increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveemergency detection accuracyVSAvoidbattery consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts the level of context data collection and analysis based on current operational conditions. During normal operation, monitoring is performed at a lower intensity to conserve energy. When anomaly detection algorithms identify potential safety events or when users enter geo-fenced areas, the system intensifies data collection and analysis to improve detection accuracy, thus adapting the measurement precision to the situational context while managing energy consumption.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes operational parameters such as sampling frequency, sensor activation levels, and data processing intensity based on context. By adjusting these parameters dynamically, the system optimizes the balance between detection accuracy and energy consumption, performing comprehensive analysis only when necessary rather than continuously.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Speed

If priority calling and alert mechanisms are activated to improve emergency response speed, then speed of response is improved, but loss of time for system coordination increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveemergency response speedVSAvoidcoordination time
Core Design Contradiction:
SpeedVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-configuring emergency contact lists, alert preferences, and coordination protocols before emergencies occur. When a safety event is detected, this pre-established framework enables immediate activation of appropriate response mechanisms without requiring time-consuming coordination decisions during the critical emergency moment, thus reducing coordination time while maintaining fast response speed.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback mechanisms where alert status and coordination progress are continuously monitored and communicated back to relevant parties. This real-time feedback enables dynamic adjustment of coordination efforts, ensuring that time is optimized by focusing resources on the most critical coordination tasks while maintaining rapid response capability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Reliability

If comprehensive context monitoring is implemented to improve safety detection capability, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesafety detection capabilityVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The comprehensive context monitoring system is segmented into modular functional components, each responsible for specific aspects of safety detection (e.g., location monitoring, behavior analysis, sensor data processing). This segmentation allows the system to achieve high reliability through multiple specialized subsystems while managing complexity by organizing functions into independent, maintainable modules that can be developed and tested separately.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

4Adaptability or versatility

If geo-fencing and community intelligence features are added to enhance emergency response, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveemergency response adaptabilityVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The geo-fencing and community intelligence features are integrated as universal components that serve multiple emergency response functions. The same geo-fencing infrastructure supports both preventive safety monitoring and active emergency response, while community intelligence data serves both individual user safety and broader community warning systems. This multi-functionality approach enhances adaptability without proportionally increasing complexity, as single components perform multiple roles.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP2909806B1Personal safety and emergency services
Publication Date: 2021.12.01 MCAFEE LLC
  • EP2909806B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2909806B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2909806B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

A safety event is determined as affecting a user based at least in part context data collected at a user device associated with the user. In some aspects, context data is detected from sensors on the client device, the context data describing a present context of the user. A deviation of the present context from a historical context is determined to be beyond a threshold. Determining that the deviation is beyond the threshold can be determined to correspond to a safety event potentially jeopardizing safety of the user. In some aspects, an action can be launched in response to determining the safety event.