NZ720135A - Apparatus and Methods for Locating an Individual - Google Patents

Abstract

one embodiment, a device for locating an individual is described. The device is configurable in a transmitting mode and comprises: a sensor operative to provide information relating to an altitude of the device; at least one processor; and at least one antenna, wherein, when the device is configured in a transmitting mode: the at least one processor is operative to generate a message, the message comprising at least the information relating to the altitude of the device and data usable to identify a location of the device; and the at least one antenna is operative to transmit the message generated by the processor to another device configured in a receiving mode. red in a transmitting mode: the at least one processor is operative to generate a message, the message comprising at least the information relating to the altitude of the device and data usable to identify a location of the device; and the at least one antenna is operative to transmit the message generated by the processor to another device configured in a receiving mode.

Description

APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR LOCATING AN INDIVIDUAL TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention, in embodiments thereof, generally relates to apparatus and methods for locating an individual, particularly in an emergency situation such as in the event of an earthquake.

BACKGROUND The ability to quickly and accurately locate individuals in an emergency situation during a search and rescue is highly critical. Following a natural disaster such as an avalanche, earthquake, tsunami, mud-slide or any other similar emergency situation, quickly locating a victim increases survival chances.

Different systems have been developed to locate victims of natural disasters. For example, distress devices can be embedded or incorporated within equipment normally carried by an individual such as a mobile phone, or may be a dedicated device for this purpose. Such devices may be worn by an individual and transmit distress messages, such as by radio wave. Recent distress devices may be provided with a short range communication unit enabling these devices to form an ad-hoc communication network with other, similar devices. Typically, the ad-hoc communication network conforms to a standard or a combination of standards and now may use one or more of the following protocols: ZigBee (IEEE 802.15.4 and its amendments), Bluetooth (IEEE 802.11b and its amendments), WiFi (IEEE 802.11 and its amendments) or RFID (Radio-Frequency- Identification).

Such systems locate the victims either by using GPS (Global Positioning System) position information or leveraging triangulation and/or other positioning techniques.

Furthermore, one or more sensors may be embedded in these distress devices to transmit additional information relative to the victims. For example, the sensor(s) may be able to monitor and report a breathing rate, heart rate, temperature, pulse, etc.

It is an object of the invention to provide methods and/or arrangements that go at least some way to overcoming problems with prior art solutions.

Alternatively, it is an object of the invention to at least provide a useful alternative.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION There is thus provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention a device for locating an individual, the device being configurable in a transmitting mode, the device comprising: a sensor operative to provide information relating to an altitude of the device; at least one processor; and at least one antenna, wherein, when the device is configured in transmitting mode: the at least one processor is operative to generate a message, the message comprising at least the information relating to the altitude of the device and data usable to identify a location of the device; and the at least one antenna is operative to transmit the message generated by the processor to another device configured in a receiving mode.

There is also provided in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention a device for locating an individual, the device being configurable in a receiving mode, the device comprising: a sensor operative to provide information relating to an altitude of the device; at least one processor; and at least one antenna, wherein, when the device is configured in a receiving mode: the at least one antenna is operative to receive a message from another device configured in a transmitting mode, the message comprising at least the information relating to the altitude of the other device configured in a transmitting mode and data usable to identify a location of the other device configured in a transmitting mode; the at least one processor is operative to retrieve at least the information relating to the altitude of the device; and the at least one antenna is further operative to transmit the message received from the other device configured in a transmitting mode along with the information relating to the altitude of the device to a computing device associated or communicatively coupled with the device.

Further in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the device can be configured in a transmitting mode.

There is also provided in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention a computing device for locating an individual, the computing device comprising: at least one receiver operative to receive from a first device: a message relevant to a second device, the message comprising at least information relating to an altitude of the second device and data usable to identify a location of the second device; information relating to an altitude relevant to the first device; at least one processor operative to: calculate a difference between the information relating to the altitude of the first device and the information relating to the altitude of the second device; identify a location of the computing device; calculate a distance between the computing device and the second device, the distance being calculated using the data identifying the location of the second device; and a rendering screen operative to display a graphical representation comprising at least: one visual indicator positioned on the graphical representation using the identified location of the computing device; the calculated distance between the computing device and the second device; and the calculated difference between the information relating to the altitude of the first device and the information relating to the altitude of the second device.

There is also provided in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention a system comprising: at least one first device configured in a transmitting mode, the at least one first device being operative to generate and transmit a message comprising at least information relating to an altitude of the at least one first device and data usable to identify a location of the at least one first device; at least one second device configured in a receiving mode, the second device being operative to: receive the message from the at least one first device; retrieve information relating to an altitude of the at least one second device; transmit the message received from the at least one first device along with the information relating to the altitude retrieved from the at least one second device; a computing device operative to receive and process the message and the information relating to the altitude of the at least one second device to generate a graphical representation comprising at least one visual indicator identifying a location of the at least one second device; a distance between the at least one first device and the at least one second device; and a depth indicating an altitude difference between the at least one first device and the at least one second device.

Additionally in accordance with and embodiment of the present invention, the graphical representation comprises one or more of: a visual indicator indicating a direction from the second device to the first device; one or more routes to reach the first device; a visual indicator positioned on the graphical representation using the identified location of the first device; a calibration menu to specify a surrounding environment.

Moreover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention the information relating to an altitude of any one of the preceding claims is retrieved or derived from one or more of: a GPS receiver, a sensor, or a RSSI value.

There is also provided in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention a method for locating an individual comprising: retrieving data usable to identify a location of a device from a computing device associated or communicatively coupled with the device; retrieving information relating to an altitude of the device; generating a message, the message comprising at least the information relating to the altitude of the device and the data usable to identify a location of the device; and transmitting the generated message.

There is also provided in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention a method for locating an individual comprising: receiving a message from a first device, the message comprising at least information relating to an altitude of the a second device and data usable to identify a location of the second device; retrieving information relating to an altitude of the first device; and transmitting the message received from the second device along with the retrieved information relating to the altitude of the first device to a computing device.

Additionally in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention, the computing device is associated or communicatively coupled to the first device.

There is also provided in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention a method for locating an individual, the method being performed at a computing device associated or communicatively coupled with a first device, the method comprising: receiving, from the first device, a message relevant to a second device, the message comprising at least information relating to an altitude of the second device and data usable to identify a location of the second device; receiving, from the first device, information relating to an altitude of the first device; calculating a difference between the information relating to the altitude of the first device and the information relating to the altitude of the second device; identifying a location of the computing device; calculating a distance between the computing device and the second device, the distance being calculated using the data identifying the location of the second device; and displaying a graphical representation on a rendering screen, the graphical representation comprising at least: one visual indicator identifying a position of the computing device; the calculated distance between the computing device and the second device; and the calculated difference between the information relating to the altitude of the first device and the information relating to the altitude of the second device.

Further in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention the displaying further comprises displaying one or more of: a visual indicator indicating a direction from the second device to the first device; one or more routes to reach the first device; a visual indicator positioned on the graphical representation using the identified location of the first device; a calibration menu to specify a surrounding environment.

Still further in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises receiving a user input via the calibration menu, the user selecting a particular surrounding environment; calculating a new distance between the computing device and the second device based at least in part on calibration values associated with the selected surrounding environment; and updating the graphical representation to display the new distance.

Moreover, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the surrounding environment comprises one or more of: open field; building; forest; factory; snow; mud; rocks; and debris.

Additionally in accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention, the information relating to an altitude is retrieved or derived from one or more of: a GPS receiver, a sensor, or RSSI.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, by way of example only and without intending to be limiting, in which: Figure 1 is a simplified block diagram illustration of a system 100 for locating an individual, constructed and operative in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; Figure 2 is a simplified block diagram illustration of one of the modules of Fig. 1, constructed and operative in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; Figure 3 is a simplified block diagram showing a first screen of an application displayed on a rendering screen of a computing device, constructed and operative in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; Figures 4A to 4E show schematic data packets forming exemplary distress messages, constructed and operative in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; Figure 5 is a simplified block diagram showing a second screen of the application displayed on the rendering screen of the computing device, constructed and operative in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; Figure 6 is a flow chart diagram of a method of operating the victim module according to embodiments of the present invention; Figures 7A and 7B depict a flow chart diagram of a method of operating the victim module, according to other embodiments of the present invention; Figure 8 is a flow chart diagram of a method for controlling the advertising interval of the victim module, according to embodiments of the present invention; and Figures 9A and 9B depict a flow chart diagram of a method of operating the rescuer module, according to embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various principles of the present invention. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that not all these details are necessarily always required for practicing the present invention. In this instance, well-known circuits, control logic, and the details of computer program instructions for conventional algorithms and processes have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure the general concepts unnecessarily.

Although the principles of the present invention are largely described herein in relation to an emergency situation, this is an example selected for convenience of presentation, and is not limiting.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be used to locate an individual in any suitable situation and/or for any suitable purpose.

Generally, the disclosed technology addresses the need in the art to locate individuals in an emergency situation during a search and rescue. A distress message is generated at a victim module and transmitted to a rescuer module. Upon reception of the distress message, the rescuer module passes the information to an associated computing device which processes the distress message and generates a representation of the location of the victim enabling the rescuer to rescue the victim in a timely manner.

Reference is now made to Fig. 1 which is a simplified block diagram illustration of a system 100 for locating an individual, constructed and operative in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

The system 100 of Fig. 1 comprises a victim module 110 and a rescuer module 130 which are distress devices that may be worn by individuals or embedded within an individual’s equipment. When an individual is trapped under rubble of a building during or after an earthquake, or buried under snow in an avalanche, for example, the victim module 110 may be activated, either automatically or upon receiving a user input, to issue a distress message which can be transmitted to a rescuer module 130, preferably using an ad-hoc short range communications network. For simplicity of depiction, only one victim module 110 and one rescuer module 130 are represented in Fig. 1, although it will be apparent to someone skilled in the art that a plurality of victim modules 110 and/or rescuer modules 130 may be present in the system 100.

Upon activation, the victim module 110 may be able to connect to and retrieve from a victim computing device 150 emergency information such as, for example, but not limited to, a victim name, an emergency contact name, an emergency contact number, GPS position information, etc. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the computing device 150 may be any suitable portable computing device having short range communication capabilities, a storage area for storing information and a sensor for providing location information. Once retrieved from the computing device 150, the emergency information as well as other data such as, for example, but not limited to, altitude data may be bundled together as part of a distress message and transmitted to a rescuer module 130 located in the vicinity of the victim module 110. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more additional sensors may be used and configured to monitor and report different data from the victim such as for example, but not limited to, a breathing rate, a heart rate, a temperature, a pulse, etc. These data may be transmitted to the rescuer module 130 located in the vicinity of the victim module 110 as part of the distress message or separately.

After a disaster, a rescuer module 130 may be activated and set into receiving mode to connect to and receive the distress message transmitted from the victim module 110, preferably over an ad-hoc short range communications network. The rescuer module 130 is further operative to connect and transmit the received distress message to a computing device 170. Additionally, the rescuer module 130 may transmit a RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) value of the received signal to the rescuer computing device 170. RSSI is a measurement of the power present in a received radio signal and may be particularly useful in certain embodiments of the present invention to determine a location of the victim module 110, as will be described in greater details hereinafter.

The computing device 170 may be any suitable portable computing device having one or more processors or microcontrollers, short range communication capabilities, a storage area for storing information and a rendering screen for displaying a location indication of the victim module 110. Upon receiving the distress message from the rescuer module 130, the computing device 170 is operative to use relevant information to generate a location indication enabling the rescuer to locate the victim. For example, but not limited to, an interactive graphical map may be generated or used and displayed on the rendering screen of the computing device 170 with visual indicators including one or more of the following indications: a position of the victim module 110, an altitude of the victim module 110, a position of the rescuer module 130, an altitude of the rescuer module 130, an altitude difference between the victim module 110 and the rescuer module 130, a direction pointing to the victim module 110, a preferred route to reach the victim module 110, etc.

As will be appreciated, the victim module 110 may be integrated with the victim computing device 150, or some components of the victim module 110 may be provided in the victim computing device 150 and vice versa, with the two components communicatively coupled to enable the required functionality. This similarly applies to the rescuer module 130 and the rescuer computing device 170.

Reference is now made to Fig. 2 which is a simplified block diagram illustration of one of the modules of Fig. 1, constructed and operative in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

The module 200 of Fig. 2 is a Bluetooth module that may be configured to operate either as a victim module 110 or a rescuer module 130. The Bluetooth module 200 illustrated in Fig. 2 includes a Bluetooth controller 201, a display 202, a user input interface 203, a power source 204, a power management unit 205, a sensor 206, a power amplifier unit 207 and an antenna 208. In some embodiments of the present invention, some or all of the components of the Bluetooth module 200 may be implemented on the same printed circuit board. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, in other embodiments, Bluetooth module 200 may include more, fewer, or different components than shown in Fig. 2. For example, in some embodiments, a wired interface, additional memories, etc. may be provided. The Bluetooth module 200 is configured to implement a Bluetooth protocol stack, including Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to communicate wirelessly with external devices (e.g. another Bluetooth module 200, a computing device 150 or 170, etc.).

Bluetooth controller 201 may perform general functions, including boot up, configuration, and management functions. As illustrated in Fig. 2, Bluetooth controller 201 may communicate with the different components to perform these functions. Bluetooth controller 201 typically comprises at least one processor, and at least one memory including executable program instructions. Additionally, the Bluetooth controller 201 may cause the Bluetooth module 200 to perform specific operations such as, for example, but not limited to, those described in relation to Figs. 6-10.

The Bluetooth controller 201 may be communicatively coupled to a user input interface 203 configured to turn on/off the Bluetooth module 200. In response to user input, the Bluetooth controller 201 may initiate a boot up/down sequence and communicate with the power management unit 205 to control power operations within Bluetooth module 200 in accordance with the user input.

In some embodiments, when the Bluetooth module 200 is configured as a victim module 110 (i.e. set into transmitting mode), the Bluetooth controller 201 may be operative to communicate with victim computing device 150 to configure the Bluetooth module 200 with emergency information including location data. Specifically, the Bluetooth controller 201 may be configured to receive the emergency information containing the location data from victim computing device 150 wirelessly via antenna 208.

Bluetooth controller 201 may be configured to process the emergency information and store the location data contained therein in a memory of Bluetooth controller 201. The memory may be any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory. For example, but not limited to, the memory may be a non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), which allows for stored contents to be retained when the Bluetooth module 200 is turned off. In addition, the Bluetooth controller 201 may be configured to transmit a distress message to another Bluetooth module 200 configured as a rescuer module (i.e. set into receiving mode).

Specifically, the Bluetooth controller 201 may be configured to read altitude data from sensor 206, for example, and transmit it, along with the emergency information, wirelessly via antenna 208 to another Bluetooth module 200 set into receiving mode.

In other embodiments, when the module 200 is configured as a rescuer module 130 (i.e. set into receiving mode), the Bluetooth controller 201 may be configured to process a distress message received from another Bluetooth module 200 and store relevant information contained therein in a memory of the Bluetooth controller 201. In addition, the Bluetooth controller 201 may be configured to transmit wirelessly via antenna 208 the distress message or relevant information contained therein to an associated computing device (e.g. rescuer computing device 170). Bluetooth controller 201 may further be configured to read altitude data from sensor 206 and transmit it, along with the distress message or relevant information contained therein, wirelessly via antenna 208 to the associated computing device.

The Bluetooth module 200 comprises an antenna 208 coupled to a power amplifier unit 207. Antenna 208 may be any suitable type of antenna, including an omnidirectional antenna or antenna array, configured according to the desired broadcast range of Bluetooth module 200. Power amplifier 207 may be any suitable type of Bluetooth power amplifier configured to amplify the signal transmitted via antenna 208 of Bluetooth module 200 and therefore increase the initial broadcast range of Bluetooth module 200.

Bluetooth module 200 also comprises a power source 204 for powering the different components. The power source 204 may comprise any suitable type of power source such as, for example, but not limited to, rechargeable batteries, solar cells or some other means for generating power without external power supply, or any other type of battery capable for providing operation voltage to the Bluetooth module 200. In some embodiments, Bluetooth module 200 may be fed with electric power from a separate device so that the Bluetooth module does not comprise a power source.

Power management unit 205 may include a microcontroller configured to control power functions of Bluetooth module 200. In some embodiments, the power management unit 205 may control or monitor the charging of power source 204 and control the power provided to the different components of Bluetooth module 200, including powering on/off the different components in response to a user input received via user input interface 203.

When the Bluetooth module 200 is configured as a victim module, an advertising signal may be broadcast periodically as directed by Bluetooth controller 201 and/or power management unit 205. A Bluetooth device may be set into advertising mode in order to discover and connect to other devices located in its vicinity. To do so, advertising signals (e.g. data packets) are periodically broadcast and a receiving device may connect to the Bluetooth device. In some embodiments, the interval at which the advertising signal is broadcast can be based on the voltage level of power source 204. For example, power management unit 205 may read periodically the voltage level of power source 204 and adjust the broadcast interval accordingly so that Bluetooth module 200 can be maintained turned on, and consequently the advertising signal be broadcast, for as long as possible.

Alternatively and/or additionally, when Bluetooth module 200 is turned on, the advertising signal can be broadcast with the maximum transmit power. Once Bluetooth module 200 is connected to a rescuer module, the transmit power may be adjusted depending on the RSSI value. For example, in a situation where the RSSI value is weak, the transmit power may be increased or maintained at the maximum. On the other hand, if the RSSI value is strong, the transmit power may be decreased.

Sensor 206 may be any suitable pressure or barometric altimeter suitable to be embedded within Bluetooth module 200 and provide altitude data associated with Bluetooth module 200. In other embodiments of the present invention, one or more additional sensors may be provided. The one or more additional sensors may be configured to monitor and report different information from the victim such as for example, but not limited to, a breathing rate, a heart rate, a temperature, a pulse, etc. This information may be bundled with the Lastly, a display 202 may be provided and used as a status indicator. For example, but not limited to, the display 202 may be a Light Emitting Diode (LED) configured to emit a particular color or pattern according to the status of the Bluetooth module 200. Non-limiting examples of the different statuses that can be indicated by display 202 include: turned on; connected to victim computing device 150; disconnected from victim computing device 150; connected to rescuer computing device 170; disconnected from rescuer computing device 170; connected to another Bluetooth module 200; low power source; etc.

Reference is now made to Fig. 3, which is a simplified block diagram showing a first screen of an application displayed on a rendering screen of a computing device, constructed and operative in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

The computing device 190 may be either the victim computing device 150 or the rescuer computing device 170. The computing device 190 typically comprises at least one processor, an input/output (I/O) interface, at least one memory and a rendering screen. It is appreciated that the computing device 190 comprises standard hardware components and software components, as is well known in the art. The at least one memory may comprise one or more computer readable storage media encoded with software comprising computer executable instructions and when the software is executed by the processor it is operable to perform the operations described hereinbelow. While a single module and computing device may preferably perform both victim and rescuer functions depending on a mode of use, the invention is not limited thereto and any one of the component parts may be dedicated to perform only certain functionality. For example, it may be limited to “victim” functionality so as to simplify and reduce the cost, size and weight of the victim module and computing device, better ensuring potential victims have the devices on their person at all times.

The computing device 190 may comprise a specific application for locating a victim.

Such application may be downloadable from the Internet or pre-installed to computing device 190. An individual may use the computing device 190 to enter configuration data that will be used later in an emergency situation. A first screen 192 of the application is shown in Fig. 3 as being displayed on the rendering screen 191 of the computing device 190. At this stage, the individual is requested to enter personal details such as, for example, but not limited to, a name, an emergency contact name, an emergency contact number, etc. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any suitable methods or input devices may be used to enter this information. The personal details may then be stored in a memory of the computing device 190 for later use.

Reference is now made to Figs. 4A-E, which schematically show data packets forming exemplary distress messages, constructed and operative in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

Fig. 4A shows different data packets forming a distress message that may be transmitted from the victim module 110 to the rescuer module 130. The distress message may include any one or more of the following data packets: name of the victim; emergency contact name; emergency contact number; RSSI; altitude; and GPS position.

As explained hereinabove in relation to Fig. 1, the victim module 110 may be operative to communicate with the victim computing device 150 to retrieve emergency information relevant to the victim. In some embodiments of the present invention, the personal details (e.g. name, emergency contact name, emergency contact number, etc.) entered by the individual when configuring the application may be retrieved and received by the victim module 110. Alternatively, a unique identifier may be accessed with that identifier being communicated and used to retrieve such pre-stored information from a remote database. Additionally and/or alternatively, a location (e.g. GPS position) of the victim computing device 150 may be retrieved and received by the victim module 110. The victim module 110 may additionally or alternatively be able to retrieve altitude data from an embedded altitude sensor and/or a RSSI value. Fig. 4B shows an exemplary distress message comprising the following information: John as the victim’s name; Mathew as the emergency contact name; 12345678 as the emergency contact number; 85 as the RSSI value; 100 as the altitude value; and 51.5000°N, 0.1167°W as the GPS position.

In certain circumstances, it may not be possible to retrieve all of the information listed hereinabove to form the distress message. For example, the personal details may be retrieved from the application but the victim computing device 150 may not be paired with the victim module 110. In such a situation, the GPS position may not be available or obtained and therefore, the distress message may not contain this information. This situation is illustrated in Fig. 4C. Fig. 4D illustrates a situation in which the personal details may not be retrieved or obtained from the application. Lastly, Fig. 4E illustrates a situation in which the victim module 110 was not able to communicate with the victim computing device 150 Reference is now made to Fig. 5, which is a simplified block diagram showing a second screen of the application displayed on the rendering screen of the computing device, constructed and operative in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

In Fig. 5, the computing device 190 corresponds to the rescuer computing device 170. The rescuer computing device 170 may be configured to receive, store and process data received from the rescuer module 130. The data may include the distress message or relevant information contained therein received by the rescuer module 130 from a victim module 110 as well as altitude data associated with the rescuer module 130. When the application is activated during or after an emergency situation, the rescuer computing device 170 may be operative to process the data to display a graphical representation of the position of the victim 193 on its rendering screen 191. For example, but not limited to, an interactive graphical map 193 may be generated by the application or a geographical representation of another application (e.g. Google Maps) may be used on top of which the processed data is displayed.

The interactive graphical map 193 may include any suitable visual indicators indicating the GPS positions of the rescuer and the victim. A first indicator 194 is shown in Fig. 5 and indicates the GPS position of the rescuer. The first indicator 194 is positioned on the interactive graphical map 193 using the GPS position of the rescuer computing device 170. A second indicator 195, which may be visually different from the first indicator 194, is also shown in Fig. 5 and indicates the GPS position of the victim. The second indicator 195 is positioned on the interactive graphical map 193 using the GPS position contained within the received distress message. In addition, one or more routes for the rescuer to reach the victim may be generated and displayed as part of the interactive graphical map 193.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the interactive graphical map 193 may further comprise depth information 196. Indicating the depth is particularly useful in situations where the victim is trapped under rubble of a building during or after an earthquake, or buried under snow in an avalanche. The depth may be calculated by the rescuer computing device 170 as the difference between the altitude data of the victim module 110 received as part of the distress message and the altitude data of the rescuer module 130.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the graphical representation of the position of the victim 193 may comprise distance information 197 typically corresponding to the distance between the victim and the rescuer. For example, this distance may be calculated by the rescuer computing device 170 as the difference between the GPS position of the victim computing device 150 and the GPS position of the rescuer computing device 170. However, the GPS position of the victim computing device 150 may not be contained within the distress message as illustrated in Figs. 4C and 4E. In this case, the RSSI may be used to estimate the distance between the victim and the rescuer. As explained hereinabove, RSSI is a measurement of the power present in a received radio signal between a transmitter and a receiver and may therefore be used to estimate the distance between the victim module 110 and the rescuer module 130 based on the received signal strength. If there is a direct path between the victim module 110 and the rescuer module 130 placed in an environment in which no signal interference occurs, the received signal power is inversely proportional to squared distance : However, in real environments, many factors may influence the value of the received signal strength such as, for example, reflection, refraction, diffraction, and scattering of waves caused by the nearby objects. In other words, the surrounding environment has an effect on the RSSI values typically by deflecting or absorbing the signals. As a consequence, when the distance between the victim and the rescuer is based on RSSI, the calculation may be inaccurate. Therefore, in a further embodiment of the present invention, a calibration menu or button 198 may be displayed on top of the graphical representation of the position of the victim 193 to enable the rescuer to specify the surrounding environment. Non-limiting examples of surrounding environment available via the calibration menu includes: open field; building; forest; factory; snow; mud; rocks; debris; etc. Each of the available environments may be associated with particular calibration values that are used to update the estimated distance or calculate a new distance upon selection of a particular environment by the rescuer. The new estimate may be calculated using any suitable equations or models which take into consideration the surrounding environment. For example, but not limited to, the distance may be measured based on the radio propagation model and power level. The model can be described as follows: = + + + 20.log − 10.log( ) = + − 40.2 − 10.log( ) where, is the transmitted power; and are the receiver and transmitter antenna gains respectively; is the total antenna gain: = + ; is the speed of light (3.0*10 m/s); is the central frequency (e.g. 2.44 GHz); is the attenuation factor (2 in free space); and is the distance between the transmitter (victim module 110) and the receiver (rescuer module 130) in meters. may therefore be obtained using the following formula: ( . )/ = 10 This calibration values may, for example, be retrieved from a lookup table based on the user input and/or an input by a user and/or based on an assumed environment that may be determined based on approximate location, and/or time of year. Etc.

Reference is now made to Fig. 6, which is a flow chart diagram of a method of operating the victim module according to embodiments of the present invention.

At step 600, the victim module 110 is, by default, in sleep mode. Upon receiving a user input such as via a user input interface, the victim module 110 is turned on or activated and starts scanning in master mode at step 605. In operation, the victim module 110 is a Bluetooth device, termed a “master”, which is acting as an inquirer by transmitting short packets at a very fast rate. The victim computing device 150, termed a “slave” in such a situation, listens for those packets by conducting an inquiry scan at a much slower rate.

During this step, channel hopping may be employed, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, so that eventually the devices will connect and synchronize with one another.

At steps 610 and 620, the victim module 110 performs different check operations. If a further user input is received at step 610, the victim module stops scanning (step 615) and returns in sleep mode (step 655). If no user input is received at step 610, the victim module 110 determines, at step 620, whether it is connected to the victim computing device 150.

In a situation where the victim module 110 is not connected to the victim computing device 150, the scanning operations will continue (step 605). On the other hand, if it is determined that the victim module 110 is connected to the victim computing device 150, the process moves to step 625.

At step 625, a display of the victim module 110, such as a LED, emits a particular color or pattern thereby indicating that the victim module 110 is now connected to the victim computing device 150.

The process then moves to step 630. At this stage, the emergency information, including a victim name, an emergency contact number and an emergency contact name, is retrieved by the victim module 110 from the victim computing device 150.

As will be appreciated, for embodiments where the victim module 110 is integral with the victim computing device 150, some of these may be omitted.

At step 635, the victim module 110 determines whether it is connected to the rescuer module 130. If not, the victim module 110 will wait and periodically check if a connection is established with the rescuer module 130. However, if a further user input is received (step 645), the victim module 110 will disconnect from the victim computing device 150 and go back in sleep mode (step 655).

In a situation where the victim module 110 is connected to the rescuer module 130, the process moves to step 640 at which the victim module 110 retrieves the GPS location from the victim computing device 150. Other communications between the victim module 110 and the rescuer module will be described hereinafter in relation to Figs. 7A-7B.

Reference is now made to Figs. 7A-7B, which are a flow chart diagram of a method of operating the victim module, according to other embodiments of the present invention.

At step 700, the victim module 110 is, by default, in sleep mode. Upon receiving a user input via a user input interface, the victim module 110 is turned on. To communicate with the rescuer module 130, the transmit power is set to its maximum at step 705 and the victim module starts advertising in slave mode at step 710. By setting the transmit power to its maximum, the broadcast range of the signal advertised by the victim module 110 is increased so that rescuer modules 130 located in a wider range may be reached.

During the advertising process, the power source of the victim module 110 is monitored and managed so that the advertising signal may be transmitted for as long as possible (step 715). Power source management will be described hereinafter in relation to Fig. 8.

If a further user input is received at step 720, the victim module 110 stops advertising (step 725) and returns to sleep mode at step 785. If not, the process moves to step 730.

At step 730, the victim module 110 receives a connection event from a rescuer module 130 located in its vicinity. Upon reception of the connection event, the victim module 110 connects to the rescuer module 130. At step 735, a display of the victim module 110, such as a LED, preferably emits a particular color or pattern thereby indicating that the victim module 110 is now connected to the rescuer module 130.

If the victim module 110 is connected to the victim computing device 150 (step 740), the process moves to step 745 at which the victim module 110 retrieves the GPS location from the victim computing device 150. If the victim module 110 is not connected or no longer connected to the victim computing device 150, the victim module 110 will not be able retrieve the GPS location. In both cases, the process moves to step 750.

At step 750, the victim module 110 retrieves the altitude data from the on-board sensor and/or the RSSI value. The RSSI value is then compared to a threshold to determine whether or not the transmit power needs to be adjusted. The threshold may be any suitable threshold determined in advance and encoded into software executable instructions within a memory of the victim module 110.

If the RSSI value is more than the threshold, the signal strength between the victim module 110 and the rescuer module 130 is reliable and therefore, the transmit power may be decreased and set, for example, to its minimum (step 760). If the RSSI value is less than the threshold, the transmit power remains unchanged. The process then moves to step 765.

At step 765, the victim module 110 generates the distress message comprising the available data retrieved from the victim computing device 150 and/or internal elements of the victim module 110. Non-limiting examples of generated distress messages were described hereinabove in relation to Figs. 4A-4E. Once generated, the distress message is transmitted to the rescuer module 130 at step 770.

If a further user input is received at step 775, the victim module will disconnect from the rescuer module 130 at step 780 and return in sleep mode at step 785. However, if no user input is received at step 775, the process will go back to step 740 and further distress messages may be generated and sent to the rescuer module 130.

Reference is now made to Fig.8, which is a flow chart diagram of a method for controlling the advertising interval of the victim module, according to embodiments of the present invention.

The advertising signal may be broadcast periodically as directed by the victim module 110 and/or by a power management unit embedded within the victim module 110. In some embodiments, the interval at which the advertising signal is broadcast can be based on the voltage level of the power source of the victim module 110. For example, the power management unit of the victim module 110 may read periodically the voltage level of the power source and adjust the broadcast interval accordingly so that the victim module 110 can be maintained turned on, and consequently the advertising signal be broadcast, for as long as possible.

The process starts at step 800 at which the power management unit of the victim module 110 reads the power source voltage. The voltage level of the victim module 110 is then compared to different predefined thresholds and a relevant advertising interval is set accordingly.

If the voltage level is more than a first threshold (step 805), then a first advertising interval may be set (step 810).

If the voltage level is less than the first threshold but more than a second threshold (step 815), a second advertising interval may be set (step 820).

If the voltage level is less than the second threshold but more than a third threshold (step 825), a third advertising interval may be set (step 830).

If the voltage level is less than the third threshold but more than a fourth threshold (step 835), a fourth advertising interval may be set (step 840). In this situation, the process moves to step 845 at which a display of the victim module 110, such as a LED, emits a particular color or pattern thereby indicating that the power source is low.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the different thresholds may be defined in advance and encoded into software executable program instructions within a memory of the victim module 110. It will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that more or fewer thresholds and advertising intervals may be used and defined without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Reference is now made to Figs. 9A and 9B, which depict a flow chart diagram of a method of operating the rescuer module, according to embodiments of the present invention.

The process starts at step 900 where the rescuer module 130 is in sleep mode. Upon receiving a user input, the rescuer module 130 wakes up and starts advertising in slave mode (step 902).

If a user input is received at step 904, the rescuer module 130 stops advertising (step 906) and returns in sleep mode. However, if no user input is received, the rescuer module 130 may wait for and receive a connection event from the rescuer computing device 170.

Upon reception of the connection event, the rescuer module 130 connects to the rescuer computing device 170 at step 908.

At step 910, a display of the rescuer module 130, such as a LED, emits a particular color or pattern thereby indicating that the rescuer module 130 is now connected to the rescuer computing device 170.

The process then moves to step 912 at which a further user input may be received.

In the event that a user input is received, the rescuer module 130 disconnects from the rescuer computing device (step 914) and returns to sleep mode. If no further input is received, the rescuer module 130 moves to step 916 and starts scanning in master mode for the victim module 110.

If another user input is received at this stage (step 918), the rescuer module 130 stops scanning (step 920) and goes back to step 912. Otherwise, the rescuer module 130 continues its scanning operation until a victim module 110 is detected at step 922.

Upon detection of the victim module 110, the rescuer module 130 connects to the victim module (step 924) and a display of the rescuer module 130, such as a LED, emits a particular color or pattern thereby indicating that the rescuer module 130 is now connected to the victim module 110 (step 926).

The rescuer module then waits for the victim module 110 to transmit the distress message. When the distress message is received by the rescuer module 130 at step 928, altitude data associated with the rescuer module 130 are retrieved from an on-board sensor (step 930) and transmitted along with the distress message to the rescuer computing device 170 (step 932). At this stage, the rescuer computing device 170 is operative to process and display the data on a graphical representation of the position of the victim.

After step 928 or step 932, three different events may occur: a further user input may be received at step 934; a disconnect event may be received from the victim module at step 938; or a disconnect event may be received from the rescuer computing device 170.

If a further user input is received at the rescuer module 130 (step 934), the connection with the victim module 110 is terminated (step 936). Then, this information is transmitted to the rescuer computing device 170 and a display of the rescuer module 130, such as a LED, emits a particular color or pattern thereby indicating that the rescuer module 130 is now disconnected from the victim module 110. The process then moves back to step 916 at which the rescuer module 130 starts scanning for the victim module 110.

If a disconnect event is received from the victim module 110 (step 938), the information is transmitted to the rescuer computing device 170 and a display of the rescuer module 130, such as a LED, emits a particular color or pattern thereby indicating that the rescuer module 130 is now disconnected from the victim module 110 (step 940). The process then moves back to step 916 at which the rescuer module 130 starts scanning for the victim module 110.

Lastly, If a disconnect event is received from the rescuer computing device 170 (step 942), the connection with the victim module 110 is terminated and a display of the rescuer module 130, such as a LED, emits a particular color or pattern thereby indicating that the rescuer module 130 is now disconnected from the victim module 110 (step 944). At this stage, the rescuer module 130 returns in sleep mode at step 946.

It is appreciated that various features of the invention which are, for clarity, described in the contexts of separate embodiments may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment may also be provided separately or in any suitable subcombination.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited by what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove. Rather the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof:

Claims (14)

1. A device for locating an individual, the device being configurable in a transmitting mode, the device comprising: 5 a sensor operative to provide information relating to an altitude of the device; at least one processor; and at least one antenna, wherein, when the device is configured in a transmitting mode: the at least one processor is operative to generate a message, the 10 message comprising at least the information relating to the altitude of the device and data usable to identify a location of the device; and the at least one antenna is operative to transmit the message generated by the processor to another device configured in a receiving mode. 15

2. A device for locating an individual, the device being configurable in a receiving mode, the device comprising: a sensor operative to provide information relating to an altitude of the device; at least one processor; and at least one antenna, 20 wherein, when the device is configured in a receiving mode: the at least one antenna is operative to receive a message from another device configured in a transmitting mode, the message comprising at least the information relating to the altitude of the other device configured in a transmitting mode and data usable to identify a location of the other device 25 configured in a transmitting mode; the at least one processor is operative to retrieve at least the information relating to the altitude of the device; and the at least one antenna is further operative to transmit the message received from the other device configured in a transmitting mode along with 30 the information relating to the altitude of the device to a computing device associated or communicatively coupled with the device.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the device can be configured in a transmitting mode.

4 A computing device for locating an individual, the computing device comprising: at least one receiver operative to receive from a first device: a message relevant to a second device, the message comprising at least information relating to an altitude of the second device and data usable to identify a location of the second device; 5 information relating to an altitude relevant to the first device; at least one processor operative to: calculate a difference between the information relating to the altitude of the first device and the information relating to the altitude of the second device; 10 identify a location of the computing device; calculate a distance between the computing device and the second device, the distance being calculated using the data identifying the location of the second device; and a rendering screen operative to display a graphical representation comprising 15 at least: one visual indicator positioned on the graphical representation using the identified location of the computing device; the calculated distance between the computing device and the second device; and the calculated difference between the information relating to the altitude of the first device and the information relating to the altitude of the second device.

5. A system comprising: at least one first device configured in a transmitting mode, the at least one first device being operative to generate and transmit a message comprising at least information relating to an altitude of the at least one first device and data usable to 25 identify a location of the at least one first device; at least one second device configured in a receiving mode, the second device being operative to: receive the message from the at least one first device; retrieve information relating to an altitude of the at least one second 30 device; transmit the message received from the at least one first device along with the information relating to the altitude retrieved from the at least one second device; a computing device operative to receive and process the message and the 35 information relating to the altitude of the at least one second device to generate a graphical representation comprising at least one visual indicator identifying a location of the at least one second device; a distance between the at least one first device and the at least one second device; and a depth indicating an altitude difference between the at least one first device and the at least one second device.

6. The graphical representation of claims 4-5, further comprising one or more of: 5 a visual indicator indicating a direction from the second device to the first device; one or more routes to reach the first device; a visual indicator positioned on the graphical representation using the identified location of the first device; a calibration menu to specify a surrounding environment. 10

7. The information relating to an altitude of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the information relating to an altitude is retrieved or derived from one or more of: a GPS receiver, a sensor, or a RSSI value.

8. A method for locating an individual comprising: 15 retrieving data usable to identify a location of a device from a computing device associated or communicatively coupled with the device; retrieving information relating to an altitude of the device; generating a message, the message comprising at least the information relating to the altitude of the device and the data usable to identify a location of the 20 device; and transmitting the generated message.

9. A method for locating an individual comprising: receiving a message from a first device, the message comprising at least 25 information relating to an altitude of the a second device and data usable to identify a location of the second device; retrieving information relating to an altitude of the first device; and transmitting the message received from the second device along with the retrieved information relating to the altitude of the first device to a computing device.

10. A method for locating an individual, the method being performed at a computing device associated or communicatively coupled with a first device, the method comprising: receiving, from the first device, a message relevant to a second device, the 35 message comprising at least information relating to an altitude of the second device and data usable to identify a location of the second device; receiving, from the first device, information relating to an altitude of the first device; calculating a difference between the information relating to the altitude of the first device and the information relating to the altitude of the second device; 5 identifying a location of the computing device; calculating a distance between the computing device and the second device, the distance being calculated using the data identifying the location of the second device; and displaying a graphical representation on a rendering screen, the graphical 10 representation comprising at least: one visual indicator identifying a position of the computing device; the calculated distance between the computing device and the second device; and the calculated difference between the information relating to the altitude of the first device and the information relating to the altitude of the second device.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said displaying further comprises displaying one or more of: a visual indicator indicating a direction from the second device to the first device; one or more routes to reach the first device; a visual indicator positioned on the graphical representation using the identified location of the first device; a calibration menu to 20 specify a surrounding environment.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: receiving a user input via the calibration menu, the user selecting a particular surrounding environment; 25 calculating a new distance between the computing device and the second device based at least in part on calibration values associated with the selected surrounding environment; and updating the graphical representation to display the new distance. 30

13. The method of claims 11-12, wherein the surrounding environment comprises one or more of: open field; building; forest; factory; snow; mud; rocks; and debris.

14. The method of any one of claims 8-13, wherein the information relating to an altitude is retrieved or derived from one or more of: a GPS receiver, a sensor, or RSSI.