Geolocationing System with Gateway Array for Employee Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing security measures in multi-room environments such as hospitality settings are inadequate for providing effective awareness and safety for employees who often work alone in large, divided spaces.
Innovation Solution
A geolocationing system comprising a vertical and horizontal array of gateway devices, including thermostats and gateway service devices, that receive beacon signals from wireless-enabled personal locator devices and send gateway signals to a server to determine the estimated location of these devices, enabling enhanced awareness and safety through location tracking and alert notifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing security measures are used in multi-room environments, then basic security coverage is provided, but employee safety and awareness are inadequate
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements continuous feedback by tracking employee location through beacon signals and gateway devices, providing real-time location information to security personnel. This feedback loop enables awareness of employee positions throughout the multi-room environment, directly addressing the information loss problem while maintaining reliability through constant monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
Gateway devices serve as intermediaries between employee wearable beacons and the central server. These gateway devices receive beacon signals from employees and relay location information to the server, enabling indirect but effective tracking without requiring direct line-of-sight or complex communication infrastructure between all components.
2Loss of information
If a comprehensive security system is implemented to track employee location, then awareness and safety are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway devices are designed with multi-functionality, serving both as location tracking intermediaries and as potential emergency alert sources. This universal design reduces overall system complexity by consolidating functions into single devices rather than requiring separate specialized components for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs self-service mechanisms where gateway devices automatically receive and process beacon signals without requiring manual configuration or intervention. The devices autonomously forward location data to the server, reducing operational complexity and enabling scalable deployment across multiple rooms without proportional increases in management overhead.
3Device complexity
If manual security monitoring is used, then system simplicity is maintained, but response time and effectiveness are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by continuously tracking and recording employee locations before emergencies occur. This pre-established location data enables immediate identification and response to incidents, eliminating the time required for manual location assessment during emergencies while maintaining relatively simple system architecture.
Data Source
AI summary
A geolocationing system and method for providing awareness in a multi-space environment, such as a hospitality environment or educational environment, are presented. In one embodiment of the geolocationing system, a vertical and horizontal array of gateway devices is provided. Each gateway device includes a gateway device identification providing an accurately-known fixed location within the multi-space environment. Each gateway device includes a wireless transceiver that receives a beacon signal from a proximate wireless-enabled personal locator device. The gateway devices, in turn, send gateway signals to a server, which determines an estimated location of the wireless-enabled personal locator device.