Mobile Device Detection via Advertising Exchange Geofencing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In prisons, the detection and location of mobile communication devices used for contraband purposes are challenging due to their integration with internet-based functions and the difficulty in distinguishing nefarious use from legitimate usage, as existing methods disrupt cellular communications and fail to isolate devices effectively.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing modern advertising mechanisms, specifically geofencing and bid/offer data from advertising exchanges, to locate and track mobile devices within confined areas, correlating movement patterns to identify and isolate devices used for nefarious activities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cellular communications are blocked or disabled within the prison system, then mobile device usage is reduced, but legitimate cellular communication for officers, staff, and surrounding non-prison areas is disturbed
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the detection approach by using multiple independent advertising identifiers (AAIDs) from different advertising networks to track devices. Instead of a single blocking mechanism, it divides the detection task across multiple advertising platforms, allowing precise targeting of prison-located devices without affecting broader cellular communications.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces advertising exchange data and location services as intermediaries between mobile devices and detection authorities. Rather than directly blocking cellular signals, it uses advertising identifiers and location data as mediators to indirectly identify and locate devices, thereby avoiding direct interference with legitimate cellular communications.
2Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If advertising mechanisms are used to locate mobile devices, then device detection capability is improved, but system complexity increases due to integration with advertising exchanges
Solution Approach 1:
The system leverages the universal advertising infrastructure already present in modern mobile devices. By utilizing existing advertising identifiers and exchange mechanisms that are already embedded in smartphones, the system achieves device location capability without adding dedicated tracking hardware or complex proprietary systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the mobile device's own advertising capabilities to identify and locate itself. The device's built-in advertising module, which already serves marketing purposes, is repurposed to provide location information to the detection system, eliminating the need for separate identification mechanisms.
3Reliability
If internet-based functions are monitored to detect device usage, then nefarious activity detection is improved, but distinction between legitimate and nefarious use becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system establishes baseline location patterns and usage profiles before investigating suspicious activity. By pre-characterizing normal device usage patterns within the prison environment, it creates reference data that enables later differentiation between legitimate and nefarious use without requiring real-time analysis of complex behavioral nuances.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback loops where detected usage patterns are continuously analyzed and compared against known nefarious activity signatures. This feedback mechanism refines the detection algorithm's ability to distinguish between legitimate and contraband-related usage over time, improving accuracy through iterative learning.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for identifying suspected contraband mobile electronic devices within a confined community are provided. Details regarding said advertising opportunities are monitored from central advertising providers. A subset of the mobile electronic devices associated with advertising opportunities noting location measurements within a perimeter geofence of the confined community are identified and any such devices also associated with advertising opportunities noting location measurements outside of the perimeter are eliminated to arrive at a revised subset. The published details of the advertising opportunities for those mobile electronic devices in the revised subset are recorded.