Geo-fence Boundary Detection Using Property Polygon Diagonals
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current geofencing solutions using radius-based virtual perimeters are inadequate for high-precision location-based services, often missing or incorrectly triggering events due to being either too small or too large, which fails to accurately determine when a customer has entered or exited a business's property.
Innovation Solution
The system determines a high-precision geo-fence boundary using property boundary data, specifically calculating the longest diagonal of the property polygon to create a circle-based monitoring area, ensuring accurate detection of users within the business's property by utilizing real-time coordinates and minimizing battery consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a radius-based geo-fence is used, then the implementation is simple, but the precision of detecting when a user enters or exits business property is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the geo-fence detection into two distinct parts: a simplified circular monitoring area for initial detection and the precise property polygon for final verification. This segmentation allows the system to use simple radius-based detection to identify potential entries while relying on polygon-based verification to confirm actual property entry, thus resolving the contradiction between implementation simplicity and detection precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The circular monitoring area serves as an intermediary between the simple radius-based approach and the complex polygon-based verification. It acts as a filter that narrows down potential entry points before triggering the more computationally intensive polygon verification, thereby maintaining ease of implementation while improving detection precision.
2Area of stationary object
If the geo-fence radius is made larger to ensure coverage, then more users are captured, but false triggers occur when users are outside the actual property
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the geo-fence into two functional zones: a larger circular monitoring area that ensures comprehensive user capture, and a smaller precise property polygon that validates actual entry. This segmentation allows the system to maintain large coverage area while eliminating false triggers through polygon-based verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The property polygon acts as an intermediary verification layer between the large circular monitoring area and the final trigger decision. It filters out false positives by confirming that users are actually within property boundaries before triggering location-based services, thus maintaining reliability while preserving coverage area.
3Measurement precision
If the geo-fence radius is made smaller to improve precision, then false triggers are reduced, but legitimate entries are missed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the detection process into a broad circular monitoring zone that captures all potential entries without missing any legitimate users, followed by precise polygon verification that eliminates false triggers. This ensures both high detection precision and high trigger reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs partial verification by using the circular monitoring area to identify potential entries and then applies excessive precision through polygon verification only when needed (when a user enters the circular area). This approach maintains reliability without the computational cost of continuous polygon verification.
4Measurement precision
If continuous location updating is performed to ensure accurate detection, then detection precision improves, but battery consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic location updating triggered by events (when a user enters the circular monitoring area) rather than continuous updating. This event-driven periodic action maintains detection precision by verifying location only when necessary, while significantly reducing battery consumption compared to continuous GPS tracking.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the computationally intensive polygon verification from continuous operation and performs it only when needed (when a user enters the circular monitoring area). This extraction reduces overall computational load and battery consumption while maintaining detection precision at critical moments.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for determining a high-precision geo-fence boundary for a business utilizing the property boundaries of a business are provided. The property boundaries for a business are obtained, and the longest diagonal of the polygon of the property is determined. This diagonal is used as a diameter to create a circle for a primary geo-fence monitoring area for the business. When a user enters the primary geo-fence monitoring area, a location updating feature of the mobile device can be activated to get the real time coordinates of the mobile device. The real time coordinates of the mobile device can then be used to accurately determine if the user is actually in the polygon of the business property.