Geographical Matching for Pest Infestation Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Property owners face challenges in determining whether their properties are at risk due to nearby pest infestations, such as termite colonies, as existing systems lack effective tracking and notification mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A tracking system and method that utilizes a data receiver to gather and match location data from providers with client device inputs, updating and retrieving records in a database through geographical matching, and transmitting relevant information to users, while also displaying advertisements and allowing communication via internet applications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a tracking system is implemented to monitor pest infestations, then property owners can assess risks accurately, but system complexity and implementation costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a central database and module as an intermediary between data providers (pest controllers) and data users (property owners). This intermediary collects, stores, and processes infestation data, then provides risk assessments to users without requiring them to implement complex tracking systems themselves. The system acts as a mediator that simplifies the complexity for end users while maintaining reliable risk assessment capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where infestation data from pest controllers is continuously updated in the database, and risk assessments are provided back to property owners based on this data. The system also provides feedback to pest controllers about their work records and to the overall system for improving matching algorithms and risk assessment models, creating a closed-loop information system that improves reliability over time.
2Loss of information
If comprehensive infestation data is collected and stored, then risk assessment accuracy improves, but data management and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and separates different types of data management functions into distinct components: data collection from pest controllers, geographical matching processes, risk assessment calculations, and user interface presentations. This extraction allows each component to be optimized independently, reducing overall data management complexity while maintaining comprehensive data collection for accurate risk assessment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments infestation data into structured records with specific fields (location, pest type, treatment information) and implements segmented processing through geographical matching that divides the search space into manageable units. This segmentation makes comprehensive data management more tractable by organizing information hierarchically and processing it in discrete, manageable units rather than as a monolithic dataset.
3Measurement precision
If geographical matching processes are implemented to link infestation data with property locations, then risk identification accuracy improves, but processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-structuring infestation data with geographical coordinates and properties with location information during data entry. Geographical matching algorithms are pre-configured with search parameters and radius definitions. This preliminary preparation allows rapid matching when queries are executed, improving location matching accuracy without requiring intensive real-time processing that would consume excessive time and computational resources.
Data Source
AI summary
A tracking system comprises: a data receiver arranged to: i) receive work data indicative of at least a location of an infestation or other item of interest from a data provider, and ii) receive property data indicative of an address or location from a client device; a module arranged to: i) update an existing record in a database according to the received work data upon determining the record corresponds to the location based on a geographical matching process, ii) create a new record in the database according to the received work data upon determining that no record corresponding to the location exists based on a geographical matching process, and iii) retrieve a record from the database corresponding to the location upon determining the record corresponds to the address based on a geographical matching process; and a data transmitter arranged to transmit the retrieved record to the client device for output.