Vehicle-Based Badge Tracking With Offset Location Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for tracking electronic badges in industrial environments face challenges in accurately and efficiently tracking the movement of badges due to limitations in proximity detection and contextual awareness, leading to potential false alarms and impractical tracking of badges in dynamic settings.
Innovation Solution
A system that combines environmental-based location tracking with industrial vehicle operational information and localized short-range wireless communication to detect and locate electronic badges, using a badge communicator on industrial vehicles to transmit badge identifiers, offset measurements, and timestamps to a remote server for mapping and tracking, enhancing situational awareness and reducing false alarms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional proximity detection systems are used to track electronic badges, then badge tracking can be implemented, but false alarms increase and tracking accuracy deteriorates in dynamic industrial environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple independent tracking systems (vehicle-based proximity detection, RFID badge tracking, and location mapping) into a unified tracking framework. The server integrates data from vehicle communicators and RFID readers to correlate badge detections with vehicle locations, creating a more reliable tracking system that reduces false alarms through cross-validation of multiple data sources.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the server receives continuous location updates from vehicles and badge identification data from RFID readers, then processes this information to generate corrected tracking data. The system uses timestamps and location coordinates to verify detections, providing feedback that filters out false positives and confirms valid badge tracking events.
2Reliability
If multiple tracking systems are integrated to improve tracking reliability, then false alarms are reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The server acts as an intermediary that centralizes the integration of multiple tracking systems. Instead of having vehicles directly communicate with RFID readers or implementing complex peer-to-peer integration, all data flows through the server which standardizes processing, correlates information, and generates unified tracking results. This mediator approach manages complexity by providing a single point of integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The server performs multiple functions within a single system: it receives vehicle location data, processes RFID badge readings, correlates temporal and spatial information, generates tracking reports, and provides feedback to vehicles. This multi-functional design consolidates what would otherwise require separate systems, managing complexity through universal processing capabilities.
Data Source
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AI summary
Electronic badges are indirectly tracked by detecting, by a badge communicator on a select industrial vehicle of a fleet of industrial vehicles, the presence of an electronic badge and performing a badge logging transaction in response to detecting the electronic badge. The badge logging transaction includes receiving, by the badge communicator, a badge identifier transmitted by the detected electronic badge. The badge logging transaction also includes determining, by the badge communicator, an offset measurement of the electronic badge relative to the select industrial vehicle, electronically determining a vehicle location of the select industrial vehicle, and identifying a badge location based upon the determined vehicle location and the measured offset. The badge logging transaction can also include generating a time stamp, and wirelessly communicating a badge locator message to a remote server, the badge locator message including the badge identifier, the badge location, and the timestamp.