Wearable Location Tracking via Barometric Pressure and Wireless Distance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current indoor location tracking systems in assisted-care facilities face challenges in accurately and efficiently locating residents within multi-floor environments, often resulting in significant errors and requiring extensive infrastructure and resources.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing wearable devices and a network of hubs that collect and merge pressure and distance data to calculate the precise location of residents in three dimensions, incorporating barometric pressure and wireless signal strength to reduce errors and enhance location accuracy, while also enabling real-time monitoring and emergency response.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional indoor location tracking systems are used in multi-floor assisted-care facilities, then location tracking can be implemented, but significant errors occur in location determination and extensive infrastructure resources are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines barometric pressure sensing with wireless signal distance measurement to create a hybrid location tracking system. The wearable device merges data from the barometer (providing vertical/altitude information) and wireless communication modules (providing horizontal distance data) to achieve three-dimensional location tracking, thereby improving measurement precision without requiring extensive infrastructure changes
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes existing infrastructure (wireless hubs already present in assisted-care facilities for other purposes) and enables them to provide location tracking services. The wearable devices use built-in barometers and wireless communication capabilities to self-determine their location, reducing the need for additional specialized infrastructure
2Measurement precision
If pressure data from multiple sources is collected and merged to calculate vertical position, then location accuracy is improved, but data processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical or infrastructure-based vertical position detection systems with barometric pressure sensing. By using the relationship between atmospheric pressure and altitude, the system achieves accurate vertical position tracking through software algorithms that process pressure data, substituting physical measurement complexity with computational simplicity
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
This solution provides accurate, real-time location tracking of residents and care providers, reduces errors in location determination, and enables rapid response to emergencies by leveraging pressure and distance data, enhancing the overall safety and efficiency within assisted-care facilities.
Implementation Method 1
calculating a vertical position of the first wearable device within the assisted-care facility at approximately the first time based on a difference between the first pressure value and the second pressure value
Implementation Method 2
accessing a first distance value representing a distance from a first hub arranged within the assisted-care facility to a first wearable device based on a first wireless signal transmitted between the first wearable device and the first hub
Data Source
AI summary
A variation of a method for tracking locations of residents within an assisted-care facility includes accessing pressure data recorded by wearable devices at known locations within the assisted-care facility; correlating the pressure data with known locations within the assisted-care facility to generate a map of pressure data at various locations within the assisted-care facility; accessing a first pressure value recorded by a first wearable device assigned to a first resident of the assisted-care facility at approximately the first time and representing a local pressure proximal the first wearable device at a first time; estimating a first location of the first wearable device within the assisted-care facility at approximately the first time based on alignment between the first pressure value and pressure data represented in the map; and recording the first location and a first resident identifier of the first resident assigned to the first wearable device to a database.