Proximity-Based Entity Tracking Using Beacon-Scanner Spatial Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for tracking inventory, input costs, and machine usage in agricultural settings are inefficient and manual, lacking electronic integration and automation, making it difficult to accurately allocate resources and costs across specific areas of a farm.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing communication devices such as beacons and scanners to establish spatial relationships between entities, define geo-fenced areas, and track location-based characteristics, allowing for automated data collection and reporting of operations and resource usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual tracking methods are used for inventory and machine usage, then implementation is simple, but tracking precision and efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs universal communication devices (beacons and scanners) that can track multiple types of entities (livestock, equipment, inventory) using the same technological platform. This multi-functional approach enables precise tracking across diverse farm operations without requiring separate specialized systems for each tracking need, thereby improving measurement precision while controlling system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces communication devices as intermediary elements between entities to be tracked and the central system. Beacons attached to entities emit signals that are received by scanners, acting as intermediaries that enable precise location and usage tracking without requiring direct complex integration between all system components, thus improving tracking precision while managing system complexity.
2Productivity
If manual tracking methods are used, then system complexity is low, but productivity and efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The tracking system operates autonomously through self-service mechanisms where beacons automatically emit identification signals and scanners automatically detect and record data without human intervention. This automation eliminates manual tracking efforts, dramatically improving productivity and tracking efficiency while the standardized self-service protocol keeps system complexity manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables continuous tracking of entities as they move through different locations and operations. Beacons continuously emit signals and scanners continuously monitor for these signals, ensuring uninterrupted data collection. This continuous operation maximizes productivity by providing real-time visibility into resource allocation and machine usage without requiring periodic manual interventions.
3Measurement precision
If automated proximity-based tracking is implemented, then tracking precision improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tracking system is segmented into independent, simple functional components: beacons that only emit signals and scanners that only receive and process signals. This segmentation allows each component to remain technologically simple while achieving precise spatial relationship detection through their coordinated interaction, thereby improving measurement precision without significantly increasing individual device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for proximity-based analysis of multiple entities includes a first communication device associated with a first entity and an additional communication device associated with an additional entity, wherein the first communication device and the additional communication device are communicatively couplable. The system includes one or more processors communicatively coupled to at least one of the first communication device or the at least an additional communication device. The one or more processors are configured to: identify a spatial relationship between the first entity and the additional entity based on one or more signals from the first communication device or the additional communication device, identify an operation unit defined by an association between the first entity and the additional entity based on the spatial relationship between the first entity and the at least the additional entity, and report one or more characteristics of the operation unit.