Tag Device Location Tracking via Encounter Data Exchange
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing location tracking systems using electronic tags rely on fixed identification stations or GPS circuitry, which are costly and limit the amount of location information available, especially when tracking mobile items.
Innovation Solution
A method and system where tag devices exchange and store encounter data with other tag devices, including time and date stamps, which are then communicated to an information collection device for processing, allowing the derivation of location information without relying on fixed stations or GPS, thereby increasing the amount of location data collected.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If GPS circuitry is added to tag devices to determine absolute locations, then location accuracy is improved, but device cost and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the location determination function from the tag device itself (by removing GPS circuitry) and relocates it to a central server. The tag device only needs to store and transmit encounter data, while the server performs the complex Bayesian inference to determine locations, thus reducing tag device complexity and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a central server as an intermediary between the tag devices and the location determination process. The server collects encounter data from multiple tag devices and performs Bayesian belief network inference to calculate locations, acting as a mediator that centralizes computational complexity away from the tag devices.
2Measurement precision
If GPS circuitry is added to tag devices to determine absolute locations, then location accuracy is improved, but battery life decreases due to increased power consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the power-consuming GPS circuitry from the tag device and relocates the location determination computation to a central server. The tag device only performs low-power operations of storing and transmitting encounter data, significantly extending battery life while maintaining location accuracy through server-based Bayesian inference.
3Loss of information
If fixed identification stations are used to track articles, then location information can be obtained, but the amount of location data is limited and system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of having fixed stations determine tag locations (traditional approach), the patent inverts the approach by having mobile tag devices determine each other's locations through mutual encounters. This eliminates the need for fixed infrastructure while increasing the amount of location data collected from multiple mobile perspectives.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes tag devices multi-functional: they serve both as tracked objects and as location determination devices for other tags. Each tag device can encounter and help locate multiple other tag devices, eliminating the need for dedicated fixed identification stations and reducing system complexity.
4Loss of information
If tag devices exchange and store encounter data from multiple encounters, then the quantity of location information increases, but data transmission requirements and processing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex data processing and location inference computation from the tag devices and centralizes it on a server. Tag devices simply collect and transmit raw encounter data, while the server performs Bayesian belief network inference to extract location information, reducing tag device complexity while maximizing the use of collected data.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method of producing location information relating to articles (e.g. 9o) utilizes tag devices (10, 1112, °°°)° The method comprises the steps of: ° the tag devices (e.g. I0), when in each other's proximity, exchanging identification data and storing the time and date of the exchange together with the identification data of the other tag device, and also storing data relating to previous exchanges, ° the tag devices, when in the proximity of an information collection device (e.g. 2o), communicating the stored times and dates together with the stored identification data to an information collection device, ° the information collection device (20) transmitting the times and dates and the identification data received from the tag devices to a central processing device (3), and ° the central processing device (3) deriving location information from the times and dates and the identification data. Each tag device (e.g. 1o), during each encounter with another tag device (e.g. 11), also exchanges and stores encounter data relating to previous encounters, such that the encounter data which each tag device communicates to an information collection device (e.g. 2o) may relate to encounters of a plurality of tag devices.