WO2010067205A2

WO2010067205A2 - Facility security and emergency management system

Info

Publication number: WO2010067205A2
Application number: PCT/IB2009/007935
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sanjay Chadha
Original assignee: Sanjay Chadha
Priority date: 2008-12-08
Filing date: 2009-12-08
Publication date: 2010-06-17
Also published as: WO2010067205A3

Abstract

A facility security and emergency management system includes a smart reader having a processor, a memory and a transceiver. The system also has tags coupled to entities, each tag transmitting a unique ID. The system may also have sensors disposed throughout the environment, each including a transceiver transmitting to the smart reader its unique sensor ID with the information sensed from the environment. The smart reader by external means or internal means determines the location of the tag. The smart reader processor uses the location and time information to update the stored object location and time information. The smart reader processor sends such information to central server. The central server uses this information to calculate the direction and speed of each tag. The central server, based on information received from tags and sensor information, provides real-time and useful information to management station for use by first responders, facility managers etc.

Description

FACILITY SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application

61/120,705 filed 08 December 2008 and is a continuation-in-part of US Patent Application 12/591,208 filed 12 November 2009.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present invention relates to security systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to systems and methods for controlling access to secured areas and for tracking people and assets throughout a location as well as systems and methods for managing emergency situations at the location.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The sheer physical size and complexity of many facilities coupled with constant movement of people not only causes security concerns but also causes concern for the safety of these people in case of an emergency. Security concerns are caused by unmonitored movement of individuals throughout an area or by the straying of unauthorized individuals into secure or sensitive areas. Further security concerns may also be caused by the removal or movement of equipment from these same secure areas.

[0004] The general management and tracking of personnel, assets, and other objects is required in a wide variety of environments, and is often cumbersome, labor intensive, and expensive. Radio receivers and transmitters have been used for many years to identify personnel and objects in such environments.

[0005] Today, no comprehensive, hands free and automatic system is available which provides accurate and real-time tracking of individuals, visitors and related assets in and out of a premise. Furthermore, in case of an emergency, there is no comprehensive system available which identifies the location of individuals or hazards and which may aid in the creation of rescue plans and routes for the first responders as well as in the determination of escape routes for people in the premises. For this reason an area security and management system is needed.

[0006] Preferably, such a system would provide means for secured access into an area only to people authorized to enter the area. As well, it would also be preferred that such a system provide means to track people and assets in and out of an area as well as means to track people and assets within the area. In case of an emergency, it is also preferable that the system allows first responders to view the location of people in the building, helps them prioritize a rescue plan, provides rescue routes and enables communication with these people based on their location.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0007] The present invention provides systems and methods for tracking the movement of people and assets in a given area. Tags, preferably radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, are attached to people and assets in an area. Networked sensors track which tags are in which area and, by coordinating a tag list with an asset and/or person list, the system can track which asset and which person is in which area. Other networked sensors can determine if an emergency situation (such as a fire) has occurred. The tag readers may be placed at entry and exit points as well as within the premises so that the movement of the tags, and hence the movement of assets and/or people, can easily be tracked. The system may use RFID tags and smart readers that have ranging capabilities.

[0008] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for tracking individuals and assets in a facility. The system includes a plurality of readers located in said facility, a plurality of tags and at least one server coupled to the readers. Each tag is physically attached to an individual or an asset and each tag has a unique identification (ID). Each tag's unique ID is readable by the readers. The server receives data from the readers. The readers automatically read tags in a vicinity of the readers. The server determines a movement and location of individuals and assets at said facility based on data received from the readers.

[0009] In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for automatic monitoring of people and assets as the people and assets move in and out of a building. The system includes a plurality of tags, a plurality of networked readers for reading the plurality of tags and at least one central server. Each tag is attached to a person or an asset. The readers are located at strategic locations in the building such that the readers can read tags which have entered the building or tags which are about to exit the building. The readers send location information relating to the plurality of tags to the central server.

[0010] In another embodiment, all the readers communicate with the central server which receives the tag detections, tag direction and speed of motion and sensed information from the sensors. The central server processes the information from these readers and based on the information may generate alarms, send signals for external actions such as the opening/closing of doors, the activation of cameras, the registration of the exit or entry of an asset from the building, and the communication of the disabling of the tag of a visitor to the reader devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] The drawings show features and advantages will become more apparent from a detailed consideration of the invention when taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 illustrates an exemplary facility security and emergency management system that incorporates various features of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 illustrates an exemplary reader with accompanied exemplary external devices that interface with the reader of the facility security and emergency management system in FIG 1 ; FIGURE 3 illustrates an exemplary tag of the facility security and emergency management system in FIG 1 ;

FIGURE 4 illustrates an exemplary sensor accompanied with exemplary fire detector of the facility security and emergency management system in FIG l;

FIGURE 5 illustrates an exemplary access control method used by the facility security and emergency management system of FIG 1 to manage access control into a passage where a barrier to entry does not exist and hence detection of an intruder is required for security;

FIGURE 6 illustrates another exemplary access control method used by the facility security and emergency management system of FIG 1 to manage access control into a passage where a barrier to entry exists and which is removed on detection of approach of a valid tag towards the barrier;

FIGURE 7 illustrates an exemplary visitor access control method used by the facility security and emergency management system of FIG 1 to enable the detection of a visitor in the facility and to enable whether the visitor is accompanied by an authorized escort;

FIGURE 8 illustrates an exemplary asset tracking management method used by the facility security and emergency management system of FIG 1 which enables the tracking of the movement of assets within the facility and the tracking of assets (and the individuals associated with those assets) as they leave or enter the facility;

FIGURE 9 illustrates an exemplary display generated by the facility security and management system of FIG 1 and which provides a sample escape route based on hazardous conditions;

FIGURE 10 illustrates an exemplary display generated by the facility security and management system of FIG 1 and which provides a sample rescue route based on real-time location of individuals and hazardous conditions. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] FIG 1 illustrates an exemplary facility security and emergency management system 100 that incorporates various features of the present invention. In general, the system 10 consists of an area boundary 6 with a number of entry/exit points 1, each of which is equipped with a smart reader 10 which has the ability to determine the direction of motion of the tag 30 and hence that of the associated individual 4, asset 3, or visitor 5. The area may also be equipped with smart readers 10 at internal choke points 2. All entry/exit smart readers 10 and internal choke point smart readers 10 are connected through a network 25 and an external network 45 to one or more servers 40. In addition, sensors 50 are distributed throughout the area as required to sense critical conditions for the area. Once the critical conditions have been sensed, this information is then sent to smart readers 10. Ideally at least one server 40 is located outside the area so that the information is not lost in case of a fire or other major emergency in the area. All information is mirrored between the servers 40.

[0013] Management station 60 may be a desktop with a suitable operating system, a thin client, or a mobile device available commercially to access and display the information collected by the servers 40.

[0014] It should be noted that the networks referred to in Figure 1 may be either wired or wireless in character.

[0015] FIG 2 illustrates an exemplary smart reader 10 which is equipped with one or more antennas 16 and may receive information from a plurality of devices such as a camera 13, a motion sensor 11, an infrared (IR) sensor 12, a fire detector 14, a smoke detector 15 etc. These devices are connected to the smart reader's central processing unit (CPU) 24 by interface 18 either by wired means (such as serial interface, serial peripheral interface (SPI), recommended standard 485 (RS-485), universal serial bus (USB), etc.) or by wireless means (such a radio frequency (RF), Bluetooth, Zigbee or WiFi). The smart reader receives information from these devices, stores the information in associated memory 23 and sends the information to one or more central servers 40. The smart reader, based on commands received from the central station 40 or based on the software logic executing on CPU 24, sends control messages to camera 13, relay 17 or alarm 19 via network interface 18. The reader, by antenna means 16, transmits RF signals to tags 30. Each tag, on receiving the RF signal, may reply to the smart reader 10 with its unique ID. This unique ID may then be relayed to the CPU 24.

[0016] FIG 3 illustrates an embodiment of a tag 30 with additional details. The tag 30 includes an RF transmitter 31, an RF receiver 32 coupled between an antenna 35 and a CPU 34 which is also coupled to memory 33. The tag 30 may be an active, passive, or semi-active RFID tag.

[0017] FIG 4 illustrates an embodiment of a sensor 50 with additional details. The sensor 50 includes an RF transmitter 51, RF receiver 52, coupled between an antenna 55 and a CPU 54 which is also coupled to memory 53. Sensor CPU 54 is connected through, for example, a serial, USB, or RS-485 interface 57 to, for example, a fire detector 56. The fire detector is only an example of a device attached to the sensor 50. Other possible devices which may be attached to the sensor 50 for detecting conditions within the area and the facility are devices such as a smoke detector, a thermometer, a dangerous chemical detector or any other device which detects environmental conditions.

[0018] When the fire detector or other device detects a fire or other environmental conditions (such as smoke or very high temperatures which may be a sign of a fire), the device sends a signal over interface 57 to CPU 54 which stores the signal (and the possible emergency condition the signal represents) in memory 53. When smart reader 10 scans for sensor 50, sensor 50 sends the information stored in memory 57 indicating that, for example, a fire has been detected. [0019] The entry/exit smart reader 10 has the ability to detect the direction of the motion of tag 30 and hence detect the direction of the associated individual 4, visitor 5 or asset 3. The smart reader 10 with the aid of an external motion sensor 11 has the ability to detect an individual not carrying a tag.

[0020] The smart reader 10, as noted above, can read the tags 30 attached to individuals 4, 5, and assets 3. The smart reader 10 can also determine the location and distance of the tags 30 around the smart reader 10 relative to the location of the smart reader 10. One example of a smart reader that can determine the distance and location of a tag relative to its position is the smart reader found in US Patent Application 12/591,208 entitled PASSIVE RFID TAG READER/LOCATOR filed at the US Patent and Trademark Office on 12 November 2009. Such a smart reader determines the location of an RFID tag by making use of the propagation delay between sending out a signal to the tag and receiving a reply from the tag. The smart reader sends out a signal with a varying frequency. The tag reflects the signal back and the receiver portion of the reader system receives the signal after a certain propagation delay. Since during this propagation delay the transmit frequency has changed, the received signal frequency differs from the one is currently transmitted. The received signal gets mixed with the currently transmitted signal and the resulting beat frequency depends on the frequency variation pattern (which is known) and the signal propagation delay. This beat frequency is directly proportional to the distance between the reader and the RFID tag. The beat frequency can therefore be used to estimate this distance between the reader/locator and the RFID tag.

[0021] As the smart reader can determine the distance between itself and a tag within its range, if the tag is moving, the distance between the smart reader and the tag will change. By tracking in real-time this change in distance between the smart reader and the tag, the smart reader (or any processing unit receiving the data, such as a server) can determine the direction and the speed at which the tag (and hence the asset or the individual) is moving. [0022] The smart reader 10, on a periodic basis or when it receives a signal from an external device such as motion sensor 11, scans its coverage area for tags 30. When the smart reader reads one or more tags, the smart reader receives the tag IDs from the tags 30 and sends the information along with smart reader ID, the time that the tag read, and the location of the tag 30 to the central server 40. The smart readers 10 also periodically scan for information from sensors. Sensors, such as the fire detector 14 or the smoke detector 15, sense environmental information. The smart reader 10 takes actions based on commands received from the central server 40 and based on the logic of software running on CPU 24. The logic of the software may reside either in the smart reader 10 or in the central server 40 or the logic may be distributed between the smart readers 10 and the central servers 40. More details relating to the types of events which generate information to be received by the smart readers and actions taken in response to the events by the smart reader and the central server are described below with reference to FIGs 5, 6, 7, 8.

[0023] In one embodiment, the central server 40 is a workstation equipped with an operating system, a database and with custom software required to store and manage information relating to individuals, visitors, assets, and their related tags. The database stores and manages data relating to the area layout, smart reader locations along with their unique IDs, their properties, sensor locations, their properties along with their unique IDs. The custom software of the central station 40 processes the event information received from the plurality of smart readers 10. The custom software receives event information every time an event occurs. The custom software also receives information on a periodic basis as some logic is determined only after information relating to a collection of events has been received from one or more smart readers 10. Based on the event or set of events received, the logic may modify the information in the database and may send a command to the smart reader 10 to perform certain actions such as the taking of a picture, controlling a relay to open or close an associated door, rotating a camera, or starting or stopping a visual or audio alarm. [0024] The central server 40 also responds to commands from the management station 60. In one embodiment, the management station 60 is a workstation with an Internet browser. The management station has the capability to manage (i.e. add, remove, modify) and display individual, visitor, and asset information. In addition, the management station has the capability to view the location of individuals, visitors, assets, smart readers and corresponding sensors within an area. In case of an emergency, the sensors spread throughout the building will detect smoke, fire, increased temperature, and possibly other environmental conditions. Once such detection has occurred, the sensors then send this information, with their sensor IDs, to their smart readers 10. The smart readers 10, in turn, send this information, along with their own IDs, to the central station 40.

[0025] FIG 5 is a flowchart detailing the steps in a method 300 for controlling access to a passage when the passage does not necessarily have a physical barrier to prevent unauthorized entry. In such a situation when an unauthorized person - a person with no tag or a person with a tag not authorized to enter - is detected, then an alarm is raised and a barrier to entry may be raised. In this case a smart reader 10, using a signal from an external device to detect the motion of an object (which can be provided by an external motion sensor) can send a signal to a contact relay connected to a door or gate, or any other suitable mechanism, to erect a barrier to the unauthorized person. The method 300 starts at step 302. In step 304, a motion detector checks if a motion of an object is detected. If a motion is detected this indication (step 306) is sent to the smart reader's CPU 24. In step 308, the smart reader, using its transmitter 21, sends out an RF signal to scan for valid tags in the coverage area. If the RF signal is detected by tag 30, the tag 30 responds back. The tag's response is then received via antenna 16 by the receiver 22 of the smart reader 10. The unique ID associated with the tag 30 is received in the reply from the tag 30, which the CPU 24 checks against the list of valid tags 30(step 310). At step 314, if CPU 24 reads the tag 30 as being valid, the smart reader 10 determines the location (in real-time) of the tag 30 and determines the direction of motion of the tag 30 by multiple readings of the location and distance of the tag 30 relative to the smart reader 10. If at step 310, no tags 30 are read then the smart reader 10 sends a signal to the alarm unit 19 to generate an appropriate alarm and may send a signal to relay 17 to activate a barrier to the passage entry. In step 316, based on the coordinates of the associated door and on the direction of movement of the tag 30, smart reader 10 checks if the tag 30 and the person associated with the tag 30 are approaching the door. In step 318, the authority level of the person and the security level of the associated entry point are gathered. In step 310 a check is made to determine if the person's authority level is higher than the security level required for entry. In the event the person does not have the authority to enter and if the entry point is equipped with a controllable barrier, then the relay 17 for the barrier is sent a signal to activate the barrier to thereby restrain the entry of the person. As well, an associated alarm 19 unit may be triggered to generate an appropriate alarm. If the person is authorized to enter, then an event message containing the unique ID of the tag 30, the smart reader ID, and the time of entry or exit is sent to the central server 40. This information is then stored for further processing.

FIG 6 is a flowchart detailing how access is controlled when the passageway to the restricted area has a physical barrier that is removed only when an authorized tag is detected approaching the entry point. In this case external motion is not required but can be used to aid in determining the direction of the tag. The method 400 is executed on CPU 24 of the smart reader 10. The method 400 may also be executed on central server 40. The method 400 starts at step 402. In step 404 the smart reader reads all the tags within the range of the smart reader and determines the location of each of these tags. The smart reader continuously reads the location of these tags on order to gather enough data points (i.e. tag location points) to determine whether the tags are moving and, if they are, the direction in which they are moving. In step 408, a determination is made as to whether enough data points (location points) have been gathered to determine whether the tags are moving and, if so, in which direction they are moving in. If not enough data points have been gathered, the method moves back to step 404. If enough data points have been gathered, then the direction of motion for each of the tags within range of the reader is calculated (step 410). Based on the direction of motion of the tags, a decision is then made as to whether a tag (and hence an individual) is approaching a door (step 412). This is done by correlating the direction of motion of the tags that are in motion and the location of the doors. This can be done as the location of the doors is fixed. If no object is moving towards a door, the logic of the method 400 loops back to step 404. In the event that at least one tag is moving towards a door with a barrier, the method 400 continues to step 414 to check the authority level of the person associated with the tag in motion. Step 416 decides whether the person associated with the tag in motion is allowed to access the area beyond the door being approached. If the person is not authorized, then the method loops back to step 404. If the person is authorized to access the area beyond the door, the method 400 continues to step 418 for sending a signal to the barrier/door to open and allow the person through. As well, an event message containing the unique ID of the tag, the smart reader ID, and the time of entry through the door is sent to the central server. The central server then stores this information for further processing.

When a visitor enters an area, the visitor is issued a tag which contains a unique ID. The visitor is added to the database in the central server 40 using the management platform 60. At the time of registration of the visitor, the visitor is associated with one or more individuals in the area responsible for escorting the visitor while the visitor is on the premises. FIG 7 illustrates a flowchart for a method 500 which ensures that a visitor visiting an area is monitored to ensure that visitor is not left unescorted. The logic may be distributed between the smart readers 10 and the central servers 40. The method 500 starts at step 502. At step 504 the smart reader 10 reads all the tags within its range. The smart reader collects the unique IDs of these tags and sends them to the central server 40. In step 506, central server checks if any of the tags is associated with a visitor. If there is a tag associated with a visitor, central server 40 retrieves the unique IDs associated with the individuals responsible for escorting the visitor. In step 510, a check is made to see if any of the tags read by the smart reader is the tag of a person responsible for escorting the visitor. This check is made within a given time period (for example +10 seconds) from the time when the visitor tag was read. If the escort tag is detected as well, then the visitor is within the vicinity of the escort. If no escort's tag is read within the buffer time period, in step 512, the list of smart readers where all the possible escorts were last read is retrieved. In step 514, a check is made to see if any of the escorts was last detected by the same smart reader as that which detected the visitor. If not (i.e. all escorts were last detected on readers different than the reader that detected the visitor), an appropriate alarm is generated which is visible on any management station 60 (step 516).

[0028] A location or facility such as a corporate office, hospital, ship or a nuclear plant consists of a number of assets 3 which are spread throughout the location. These assets 3 may be moved by individuals 4 from their principal location or may be moved outside the boundaries 6 of the location/facility and may be brought back. FIG 8 illustrates a flowchart for a method 600 which aids in keeping track of the individuals 4 responsible for moving an asset 3 and automatically checks-in/checks-out an asset when the asset 3 is brought back or removed from the facility. The logic may be distributed between the smart readers 10 and the central servers 40 and is run periodically.

[0029] The method 600 begins at step 602. At step 604, the smart reader reads all the tags within its range. The smart reader stores the unique IDs of all the tags within its range and continuously determines the ID and location of each tag relative to the smart reader. This way, the smart reader can determine the direction of motion of any tag within its range. Of course, to be able to determine a direction of motion, the smart reader must gather sufficient data points (location points) for each tag that is in motion. Step 606 determines if enough data points have been gathered. If not, then the method 600 loops back to step 604 and the smart reader continues to gather data points for each of the tags within range. Once enough data points have been gathered (i.e. enough data points to be able to determine a direction of motion), then it is determined whether any asset is associated with a tag in motion and, if so, if an individual associated with another moving tag is moving in the same direction and whether the asset tag in motion is practically co-located with a moving individual tag (step 610). If an asset tag is moving in the same direction as a moving individual tag and the individual locations of these two moving tags relative to the reader is very similar, then it can be assumed that the moving individual has the moving asset in his possession. Step 610 also determines how many of these moving asset/individual pairs have been detected. If there are no asset/individual pairs, then the method 600 loops to step 604. If, on the other hand, there is at least one asset/individual pair in motion, then decision/check step 612 is executed. Step 612 determines if the smart reader detecting the moving asset/individual pair is a building/facility entry smart reader or a building/facility exit smart reader. If the smart reader is merely an internal smart reader and is not an entry or an exit smart reader, the step 614 registers that the individual detected with the asset has moved the asset within the facility. If, on the other hand, the smart reader is an entry or an exit smart reader, then decision 616 determines whether the direction of motion of the asset/individual pair indicates an entry into the building/facility or whether the direction indicates an exit from the building/facility. If the smart reader is an entry/exit smart reader and the asset/individual pair is moving towards an exit, then it can be assumed that the asset/individual pair is about to exit the building/facility. However, if the asset/individual pair is moving away from an entry, then it can be assumed that the asset/individual has just entered the building/facility. If the asset/individual pair is about to exit, then at step 618,it is registered that the asset has been checked out by the individual. If the asset/individual pair has just entered the building/facility, then the registration is that the asset has just been returned to the facility by the individual (step 620). [0030] The central server 40 stores detailed static information of the individuals such as their gender, age, physical disabilities if any and also stores real-time information about the location of the individual within the facility. This information is received from the smart readers spread throughout the facility/location. Such information is also maintained for all the visitors and assets within the facility. When any smart reader detects the movement of an individual, visitor, or an asset, that information is relayed to the central server 40. The central server maintains a real-time map of location of these entities.

[0031] The facility is equipped with sensors 50 at specific locations, each of the sensors is connected to various detection devices which detect hazardous and non-hazardous situations and each of the sensors sends the information to the smart reader 10 on a periodic basis either by wireless or wired means 18. This information is then relayed to the central servers 40 and is available to be displayed as shown in FIG. 9 at management station 60 in real-time. The central servers 40, which also store the layout of the facility, provide the ability to calculate routes between the different facility locations. The central servers 40, on receiving information of a hazardous situation from one or more smart readers 10 (which obtained such information from the sensors spread through out the building), can display the hazardous areas and calculate possible escape routes.

[0032] The management station 60 retrieves the information from the central server 40 and displays in graphical format an easy to use example of one such screen is shown in FIG 9. FIG 9 shows an exemplary screen of a management station which shows a hazardous situation 702 and escape routes 704 from the hazardous situation 702 for the individuals at the area. FIG 10 shows an exemplary screen of a management station which shows the individuals 4, visitors 5, hazardous areas 702 and a rescue route 802 to the individuals 4 and visitors 5 which can be used by first responders. [0033] This information, available on the management station 60, can be used by first responders to prioritize the rescue efforts. The information can also be used to help determine rescue routes by providing detailed information about the individuals present in the area including their location, their gender, and if they need special assistance. The system also enables first responders to send wireless messages to these individuals based on their locations. The central station can also produce a rescue map based on the location of individuals and visitors in the facility, the facility map, and the known hazardous areas in the facility.

[0034] Management stations 60 can be used by facility managers to determine the location of assets and to find the person responsible for moving those assets.

[0035] Management stations 60 can also be used by security staff to locate visitors and to view any breach by any individual or visitor of their authority levels.

[0036] The method steps of the invention may be embodied in sets of executable machine code stored in a variety of formats such as object code or source code. Such code is described generically herein as programming code, or a computer program for simplification. Clearly, the executable machine code may be integrated with the code of other programs, implemented as subroutines, by external program calls or by other techniques as known in the art.

[0037] The embodiments of the invention may be executed by a computer processor or similar device programmed in the manner of method steps, or may be executed by an electronic system which is provided with means for executing these steps. Similarly, an electronic memory means such computer diskettes, CD-ROMs, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM) or similar computer software storage media known in the art, may be programmed to execute such method steps. As well, electronic signals representing these method steps may also be transmitted via a communication network. [0038] Embodiments of the invention may be implemented in any conventional computer programming language For example, preferred embodiments may be implemented in a procedural programming language (e.g. "C") or an object oriented language (e.g."C++", "JAVA", or "C#"). Alternative embodiments of the invention may be implemented as pre-programmed hardware elements, other related components, or as a combination of hardware and software components.

[0039] Embodiments can be implemented as a computer program product for use with a computer system. Such implementations may include a series of computer instructions fixed either on a tangible medium, such as a computer readable medium (e.g., a diskette, CD-ROM, ROM, or fixed disk) or transmittable to a computer system, via a modem or other interface device, such as a communications adapter connected to a network over a medium. The medium may be either a tangible medium (e.g., optical or electrical communications lines) or a medium implemented with wireless techniques (e.g., microwave, infrared or other transmission techniques). The series of computer instructions embodies all or part of the functionality previously described herein. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that such computer instructions can be written in a number of programming languages for use with many computer architectures or operating systems. Furthermore, such instructions may be stored in any memory device, such as semiconductor, magnetic, optical or other memory devices, and may be transmitted using any communications technology, such as optical, infrared, microwave, or other transmission technologies. It is expected that such a computer program product may be distributed as a removable medium with accompanying printed or electronic documentation (e.g., shrink wrapped software), preloaded with a computer system (e.g., on system ROM or fixed disk), or distributed from a server over the network (e.g., the Internet or World Wide Web). Of course, some embodiments of the invention may be implemented as a combination of both software (e.g., a computer program product) and hardware. Still other embodiments of the invention may be implemented as entirely hardware, or entirely software (e.g., a computer program product).

A person understanding this invention may now conceive of alternative structures and embodiments or variations of the above all of which are intended to fall within the scope of the invention as defined in the claims that follow.

Claims

CLAIMSHaving thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A system for automatic monitoring of people and assets as said people and assets move in and out of a building, said system comprising:

a plurality of tags, each tag being attached to a person or an asset;

a plurality of networked readers for reading said plurality of tags, said plurality of readers being located at strategic locations in said building such that said plurality of readers can read tags which have entered said building or tags which are about to exit said building, at least one of said plurality of readers being capable of determining a location of the plurality of tags within a range of said at least one of said plurality of readers; and

at least one central server communicating with said plurality of readers,

wherein said plurality of readers send location information relating to said plurality of tags to said at least one central server.

2. A system according to claim 1 further comprising a plurality of sensors for sensing conditions within said building and for relaying information regarding said conditions to said plurality of readers.

3. A system according to claim 2 wherein said conditions within said building are sensed by said sensors to determine whether an emergency condition is occurring.

4. A system according to claim 1 wherein said system determines a direction of motion of at least one of said plurality of tags based on multiple location readings performed by one of said plurality of readers.

5. A system according to claim 1 wherein said location information is accessible to a central management station.

6. A system according to claim 2 wherein each sensor and each reader has a unique identification (ID) that relates the sensor or reader to a location within the facility and wherein said plurality of sensors provide real-time information to the plurality of readers, said plurality of readers sending real-information to the at least one central server.

7. A system according to claim 1 wherein the at least one central server creates rescue routes to be used by the first responders in an emergency.

8. A system according to claim 1 wherein the at least one central server creates escape routes to be used by the first responders in an emergency.

9. A system according to claim 2 wherein at least one sensor is coupled to a fire detector.

10. A system according to claim 2 wherein at least one sensor is coupled to a smoke detector.

11. A system for tracking individuals and assets in a facility, the system comprising:

a plurality of readers located in said facility;

a plurality of tags, each tag being physically attached to an individual or an asset, each tag having a unique identification (ID), each tag's unique ID being readable by said plurality of readers; and

at least one server coupled to said plurality of readers,

wherein:

said at least one server receives data from said plurality of readers, said plurality of readers automatically read tags in a vicinity of said plurality of readers, and

said at least one server determines a movement and location of individuals and assets at said facility based on data received from said plurality of readers.

12. A system according to claim 11 further comprising a plurality of sensors located in said facility for sensing conditions in said facility.

13. A system according to claim 12 wherein said at least one server receives data from said plurality of sensors and sensor readings received by said at least one server determine if an emergency situation is occurring.

14. A system according to claim 11 wherein said at least one server produces emergency routes based on locations of individuals and a map of said facility in the event of an emergency.

15. A system according to claim 11 wherein said plurality of tags are radio frequency identification (RFID) tags.

16. A system according to claim 11 wherein said at least one server determines movement of individuals or assets based on which tags are read by which reader.

17. A system according to claim 11 wherein at least one reader is located at an entrance or an exit of a location at said facility to track which individuals or assets are entering or leaving said location.

18. A system according to claim 11 wherein said system determines which individual is responsible for moving assets into or out of a location in said facility based on which individuals are located close to an asset when said asset is moved.