Three-Body Vehicle Object Tracking via Location Server
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional two-body monitoring systems require initial proximity between devices for communication, leading to missed alerts if a tracked object is left behind, as they only notify when the connection is broken, not when the object is out of range initially, and fail to alert users for leaving a space without the monitored device.
Innovation Solution
A three-body arrangement involving a user, a tracked object, and a controlling apparatus uses wireless sensing and vehicle sensors to determine presence and initiate alerts when the user enters or leaves a space without the tracked object, allowing for proactive notifications even if devices were not initially connected.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If two-body monitoring systems require initial proximity between devices for communication, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability of detection deteriorates because alerts are missed when tracked objects are left behind
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a location server as an intermediary that receives location information from both the mobile device and the tracked object. This mediator enables the system to detect separation between devices without requiring continuous direct communication, thereby improving detection reliability while avoiding the need for complex direct monitoring mechanisms between each device pair.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring location information and comparing it against predefined separation thresholds. When the tracked object moves beyond the threshold distance from the mobile device, the system generates an alert. This feedback mechanism ensures reliable detection of separation events without requiring complex real-time communication protocols.
2Loss of information
If conventional systems only notify when connection is broken, then ease of operation is improved, but loss of information occurs because users are not alerted when objects are initially out of range
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by establishing location monitoring before separation occurs. The location server continuously receives and processes location information from both devices, maintaining awareness of their relative positions. This preliminary monitoring enables the system to detect separation events and generate alerts without requiring complex post-separation analysis.
3Productivity
If two-body systems require devices to be proximate for initial connection, then device complexity is minimized, but productivity deteriorates because users cannot be alerted when leaving spaces without monitored devices
Solution Approach 1:
The location server performs multiple functions: it receives location information from mobile devices and tracked objects, determines whether separation thresholds are exceeded, generates alerts when separation occurs, and maintains location history. This multi-functional approach improves monitoring effectiveness without requiring separate specialized components for each function, thereby avoiding increased system complexity.
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
Ensures users are alerted when they are about to leave a location with a tracked object unintentionally, providing timely notifications without requiring initial proximity and addressing the limitations of conventional two-body systems.
Implementation Method 1
determine, based on wireless sensing, whether the user has entered a first space
Implementation Method 2
user presence is determined using output from one or more vehicle sensors, such as a weight, motion, heat, or biometric sensor
Implementation Method 3
user presence is determined using output from one or more vehicle sensors, such as a weight, motion, heat, or biometric sensor
Data Source
AI summary
A system implemented at a user structure, to monitor a tracked object using a three-body arrangement including the user, a tracked object, and a controlling apparatus. The system has a data storage device including user-presence module code causing a processor to determine, based on wireless sensing, whether the user has entered a first space having a boundary external to the user structure, or has left the space. Object-presence module code causes the processor to determine, based on tracked-object-presence data, whether the tracked object is within a second space. And the storage device includes alert-module code to, in response to determining that, depending on the embodiment, (i) the user entered or exited the first space and (ii) the tracked object is or is not present within the second space, initiate provision of a system-user alert communication to indicate that the tracked object is not present within the second sensed space.