RFID Tag Tracking with Mobile Phone Alerts
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Solution Overview
Problem
People often misplace essential items due to distractions or changes in routine, leading to frustration and wasted time searching for them.
Innovation Solution
A system using RFID tags and a mobile phone to track the location of personal items, alerting users when an item is missing and providing historical data to aid in recovery by correlating with personal information management data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If manual tracking of personal items is used, then users can locate items by remembering their designated places, but time and stress are wasted when items are misplaced due to distractions or routine changes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual memory-based tracking with an automated RFID tracking system. RFID tags attached to personal items communicate with readers at designated locations, automatically recording item locations without requiring user memory or manual intervention. This electronic substitution eliminates the unreliability of human memory while providing continuous, accurate tracking feedback.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables items to self-report their locations through RFID tags that automatically communicate with readers at designated places. The mobile device autonomously tracks and alerts users about item locations and missing items, eliminating the need for active user monitoring and reducing the time and stress associated with manual item tracking.
2Reliability
If RFID tracking system is implemented, then real-time location tracking and alerts are provided, but device complexity increases due to RFID tags, readers, and mobile application
Solution Approach 1:
The patent leverages the mobile device's existing multi-functionality by integrating RFID tracking capabilities into a smartphone that users already carry. The mobile application serves multiple purposes: tracking items, providing alerts, logging historical data, and correlating with calendar events. This approach avoids adding separate dedicated tracking devices, thereby reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high tracking reliability.
3Loss of information
If historical scan data is logged and correlated with personal information, then item recovery is aided through contextual information, but data processing and storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-logs RFID scan data and timestamps automatically as items pass readers, creating a historical record without requiring real-time processing. Calendar events and personal information are pre-synchronized with the mobile device. When an item is missing, the system correlates this pre-collected data to provide contextual information about when and where the item was last seen, eliminating the need for complex real-time data processing while preserving comprehensive information.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively reduces the time and stress of finding misplaced items by providing real-time tracking and historical context, ensuring users do not leave essential items behind.
Implementation Method 1
A RFID reader may be in communication with a mobile telephone. The RFID reader may determine whether it is in communication with each of a plurality of RFID tags
Data Source
AI summary
The system may include a plurality of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and a mobile telephone. The RFID tags may be affixed to one or more personal objects, such as a key, a watch, a wallet, a purse, a medicine container, or the like. The mobile telephone may be associated with the plurality of RFID tags. A display of the mobile telephone may indicate whether each of the RFID tags is in communication with an RFID reader. For example, the RFID reader may be embedded in a drawer lining, embedded in the mobile telephone itself, or embedded in a handheld wand. The mobile telephone may generate an alert when at least one of the plurality of RFID tags is not in communication with the RFID reader. For example, a trigger RFID may be affixed to a doorway. The trigger RFID may cause the mobile telephone to alert the user to a missing item.