Location Policy Management System Using Confidence-Based Hierarchy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for determining and managing location information are cumbersome, often requiring significant user involvement and are inflexible, failing to effectively handle the inherent inaccuracies and ambiguities of detection devices, leading to overwhelming complexity in creating and maintaining location-based policies.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that approximates a person's location by traversing a hierarchy of location types with associated precision levels, using sensor data to assign confidence values and degrade them over time, while providing automated and personal tools for managing location policies, allowing for centralized information distribution and user interaction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If automated tools are used to create and manage location information, then user burden is reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically creates location information by monitoring user presence through detection devices without requiring user input. The automated policy application further reduces user burden by applying location-based policies automatically when users enter or leave detected locations, eliminating the need for users to manually manage location policies.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an automated intermediary layer that detects user presence and manages location information centrally. This intermediary handles the complexity of coordinating multiple detection devices, determining user locations, and applying policies, thereby shielding users from system complexity while maintaining ease of operation.
2Measurement precision
If location information is stored with high precision, then location accuracy is improved, but data management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments location information into discrete location records, each associated with a specific user and detection event. By organizing location data as separate, manageable units with standardized attributes (location, timestamp, detection device), the system maintains high precision while reducing overall data management complexity through structured organization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter representation of location data by using standardized fields (location identifier, timestamp, detection device identifier) rather than storing raw sensor data. This parameter transformation maintains location accuracy while simplifying data management operations through consistent data structures that are easier to query, update, and analyze.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for creation and management of user location policies and data. Generally described, the system provides for automated tools and personal tools that can alleviate the onerous and expensive task of updating location data and location based policies. The automated tools can use existing information within company databases to create and manage standard user locations. The personal tools can allow the user to personally create manage their own locations through a graphical user interface. The automated and personal tools can utilize global positioning system information to track the current location of the user. The information can be used to determine physical locations to a certain degree.