Crowd-Sourced POI Location via Automated Route Aggregation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Public safety personnel face challenges in efficiently locating persons of interest due to limited resources and the need to manage inaccurate reports from the general public, which can expose non-public safety personnel to danger during searches.
Innovation Solution
A method and server system that utilizes mobile devices with tracking software to determine the current location and movement of a person of interest by aggregating route information from multiple searchers, allowing for a calculated search area to be determined without requiring public safety personnel to manage a telephone hotline.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If public safety personnel increase the number of people looking for the person of interest, then the search coverage is improved, but non-public safety personnel are exposed to danger
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses automated technology as an intermediary between the public and public safety personnel. Mobile devices with tracking software collect location data from searchers and automatically process it through servers, eliminating the need for non-public safety personnel to directly engage in dangerous search activities while maintaining broad search coverage
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of manual hotline reporting with an automated electronic tracking system. Instead of people calling in reports that require human operators to process, the system uses GPS tracking software on mobile devices to automatically collect, transmit, and analyze location data, substituting human effort with automated technological processes
2Loss of information
If non-public safety personnel report sightings via phone calls to a hotline, then sightings are captured, but public safety personnel are unavailable to perform searching
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service reporting through automated tracking software on mobile devices. Searchers automatically report their locations and sightings through the tracking application without requiring human operators. The server automatically processes the incoming data, eliminating the need for public safety personnel to manually answer hotline calls while ensuring no sighting reports are lost
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical hotline reporting system with an automated electronic tracking system. Mobile devices with tracking software automatically transmit location and sighting data to servers, eliminating the need for human operators to manually process reports. This substitution frees public safety personnel to focus entirely on search operations rather than hotline management
Data Source
AI summary
A method and server for determining the current location of a person of interest (POI) is provided. The server receives a first indication that a first searcher has identified a POI and requests first route information from the first searcher. Upon receiving the first route information from the first searcher, the server determines if second route information relating to the person of interest has been received from a second searcher. If so, the server determines a search area for the person of interest based at least in part upon the first route information and the second route information.