WO2015139078A1 - Geofencing method and arrangement - Google Patents

Abstract

The field of this disclosure is geofencing and in particular to action that result from a device being associated with a geofenced area. A geofence is a virtual perimeter for a real-world geographic area. When a mobile device has determined that the mobile device is in a predetermined geofenced area or within a predetermined proximity of the predetermined geofenced area there is disclosed the testing of a first condition to determine the state of the condition; and the testing of a second condition to determine the state of the second condition. If it is determined that both the first and second states of the conditions are true there is an initiation of an action or actions. There may be more than two tests involving other conditions. The actions may include: message sending from the mobile device and/or display on the mobile device; image sending from the device and/or display on the device; audible message sending from the device, mobile system notification sending from the device; recording an event in the memory of the device; initiating communication by the device with internal or external components and/or individuals (users); an alteration of mobile device system performance; the creation, deletion or ignoring of other predetermined geofenced areas. Where there are at least two actions the initiation of at least two actions may be performed according to a predetermined sequence of actions according to a hierarchy.

Description

GEOFENCING METHOD AND ARRANGEMENT

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001 ] The applicant claims the benefit of AU provisional patent application AU2014900991 , filed 21 March 2014, entitled GEOFENCING METHOD AND ARRANGEMENT, and to commonly filed WO2014/169343 entitled REACTIVE HYBRID LOCATION DETERMINATION METHOD AND APPARATUS wherein the information disclosed in the patent applications are incorporated by reference into this specification.

TECHNICAL FIELD

10002] The field of this disclosure is geofencing and in particular to action that result from a device being associated with a geofenced area.

BACKGROUND

[0003] A geofencc is a virtual perimeter for a real-world geographic area. Creating a real-world geographic area typically includes identifying four longitude and latitude pairs that define the apex points of a perimeter of an area of interest. In another version of a defined geographic area a single longitude/latitude pair and a predetermined radius of a circular perimeter define a single geographic area. In yet another version of a defined geographic area any number of longitude/latitude pairs can be used to determine the corner points of any area, regardless of the number of line segments bounding the shape defined as lines between any numbers of longitude/latitude pairs that form a closed chain of lines. The real-world geographic area is typically arranged about or within a commercial or retail environment, for one example, a shop, in another a concert area, in another, a factory area, in yet another an entrance to a vehicle toll-way or along a railway.

10004] Thus having defined one or more real world geographical areas using, at least a known longitude and latitude coordinate system, there is a need to determine the location of a person or object typically by using a device physically associated with the person or object, wherein the device is capable of determining its location (for example determining a single longitude/latitude pair of a coordinate system). Once the location of the device has been determined it is possible to determine whether the device is within a predefined proximity of a pre-defined geographic area. Therefore, using the defined perimeter of the geographical area it is possible to use that to define a virtual area, the analogy being that a virtual fence or boundary is then useable by suitable devices.

[0005 ] Depending on the device, there are many ways in which the location of the device can be determined. A mobile phone is an example of such a device, which has multiple means to determine location. Once the location of the device is determined there can be a multitude of digital software programs that run on the mobile phone to act on the fact that the mobile has entered a geofenced area an example, being the provision of an alert to the user of the device that "you have a coffee shop nearby providing a discount offer today if you visit" this is an example of an action based on the location of the device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

[0006 J In an aspect an embodiment described herein, a computer-implemented method of initiating an action when a mobile device has determined that the mobile device is in a predetermined geofenced area or within a predetermined proximity of the predetermined geofenced area is provided. The method in an aspect of and embodiment, includes, testing a first condition to determine the state of the condition; testing a second condition to determine the state of the second condition; determining that both the first and second states of the conditions are true; and initiating an action.

[0007] In other example aspect of an embodiment, the action is one or more of the group: message sending from the device and/or display on the mobile device; image sending from the device and/or display on the device; audible message sending from the device, mobile system notification sending from the device; recording an event in the memory of the device; initiating communication by the device with internal or external components and/or individuals (users); an alteration of mobile device system performance; the creation, deletion or ignoring of other predetermined geofenced areas.

[0008 ] In yet another aspect of the method wherein the initiation of an action includes the initiation of one or more further actions.

[0009] In yet another aspect of the method the initiation of at least two actions is perfonned according to a predetermined sequence of actions.

[0010] In yet another aspect of the method wherein the initiation of at least two actions is performed according to a predetermined sequence of actions according to a hierarchy.

[001 1 ] In yet another aspect of the method wherein the hierarchy is predetermined.

10012] In yet another aspect of the method wherein the predetermination of the hierarchy is based on user selectable criteria.

[0013] It should be appreciated that the present disclosure can be implemented in numerous ways, including as a process, an apparatus, a system, or a computer readable medium such as a computer readable storage medium or by a computer network wherein program instructions are sent over wireless, optical, or electronic communication links. It should be noted that the order of the steps of disclosed processes may be altered within the scope of the disclosure.

[0014] Details concerning computers, computer networking, software programming,

telecommunications and the like may at times not be specifically illustrated as such were not considered necessary to obtain a complete understanding nor to limit a person skilled in the art in performing the embodiments, are considered present and nevertheless as such are considered to be within the skills of persons of ordinary skill in the art.

[0015] A detailed description of one or more embodiments is provided below along with

accompanying figures that illustrate by way of example the implementation of those embodiments. The scope of the disclosure is limited only by the appended claims and the disclosures encompass numerous alternatives, modifications, and equivalents. For the purpose of example, numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding of the presented implementations. The present disclosures may be practiced according to the claims without some or all of these specific details. For the purpose of clarity, technical material that is known in the respective technical fields has not been described in detail so that the present disclosure is not unnecessarily obscured.

[0016] Although the foregoing embodiments have been described in some detail for purposes of clarity of understanding, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the scope of the appended claims. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing both the process and apparatus of the present embodiments. Accordingly , the present embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and are not to be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

[0017] Throughout this specification and the claims that follow unless the context requires otherwise, the words 'comprise' and 'include' and variations such as 'comprising' and 'including' will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

[0018] The reference to any background or prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that such background or prior art forms part of the common general knowledge.

[0019] Suggestions and descriptions of other embodiments may be included within the disclosure but they may not be illustrated in the accompanying figures or alternatively features of the disclosure may be shown in the figures but not described in the specification. [0020 ] "Logic," as used herein, includes but is not limited to hardware, firmware, software, and/or combinations of each to perfonn a function(s) or an action(s), and/or to cause a function or action from another component. For example, based on a desired application or needs, logic may include a software controlled microprocessor, discrete logic such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or other programs are logic device. Logic may also be fully embodied as software.

[0021 1 "Software," as used herein, includes but is not limited to one or more computer readable and/or executable instructions that cause a computer or other electronic device to perform functions, actions, initiation of actions and/or behave in a desired manner. The instructions may be embodied in various forms such as routines, algorithms, modules, or programs including separate applications or code from dynamically linked libraries. Software may also be implemented in various forms such as a stand-alone program, a function call, a servlet, an applet, instructions stored in a memory, part of an operating system or other type of executable instructions. It will be appreciated by one of ordinary skilled in the art that the form of software is dependent on, for example, requirements of a desired application, the environment it runs on, and/or the desires of a designer/programmer or the like.

[0022 ] Those of skill in the art would understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[00231 Those of skill in the art would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality.

Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0024] The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. For a hardware implementation, processing may be implemented within one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof. Software modules, also known as computer programs, computer codes, or instructions, may contain a number of source code or object code segments or instructions, and may reside in any computer readable medium such as a RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM or any other form of computer readable medium. In the alternative, the computer readable medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the computer readable medium may reside in an ASIC or related device. The software codes may be stored in a memory unit and executed by a processor. The memory unit may be implemented within the processor or external to the processor, in which case it can be communicatively coupled to the processor via various means as is known in the art.

[0025 J It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the embodiments are not restricted in its use to the particular application described. Neither are the presented embodiments restricted in their embodiments with regard to the particular elements and/or features described or depicted herein. It will be appreciated that various modifications can be made without departing from the principles disclosed. Therefore, the embodiments should be understood to include all such modifications within their scope.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0026 ] Figure 1 depicts a pictorial representation of a geofenced area according to an embodiment;

[0027] Figure 2 depicts a pictorial representation of the basic data that represents some of the geofenced areas depicted in Figure 1 according to an embodiment;

[0028 ] Figure 3 depicts a flow diagram illustrating how entry or proximity of a device to a predetermined geofenced area is determined according to an embodiment;

[0029 ] Figure 4 depicts the basic elements of a mobile device according to an embodiment;

[0030] Figure 5 depicts a computer server system, in one embodiment programmed to determine the state of one or more conditions and related communication systems according to an embodiment;

[003 1 ] Figure 6 depicts an action initiation sequence based on the testing of two or more conditions according to an embodiment;

[0032] Figure 7 depicts an embodiment of location based condi tioning; and [0033] Figure 8 depicts a pictorial representation of headings that can be determined from an analysis of the movement of a mobile device according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0034 ] To define a predetermined geographic area as being the geofenced area, the definition of the area can be, for example, the boundary points defining the perimeter, or information to allow calculation of the area or the perimeter defining the area (e.g. centre point and radius), or a line where one side of the line (the line need not be straight) in which case the deemed area and transition from one side to the other of the line is deemed to be an entry (or exit) to (or from) the predetermined area. This data must be either delivered or already exist within a mobile device so that it can be referred to. Furthermore, the mobile device will have the ability to determine if it is associated with a

predetermined area, which in most cases is determined when the mobile device enters, or is determined to be within a predetermined proximity of the predetermined area (or to the boundary or perimeter of the area) and therefore becomes associated with an area. It is to be understood that entering an area is equivalent to crossing a perimeter or boundary defining the area, and similarly proximity to an area is equivalent to proximity to a perimeter or boundary defining the area. For the sake of convenience, area will be used throughout the specification, but is to be understood as an equivalent reference to the perimeter defining an area, unless the context suggests otherwise.

[0035] A predetermined proximity can be a fixed distance from the geofenced area, in the example of a circular area, the fixed distance could be a nominated radial distance, or a percentage of the radius of the circular area. In another example, the predetermined proximity could be an allowance of error in the determination mechanism which is greater than that expected. In yet another example of a predetermined proximity the proximity could be determination of the location within a larger/smaller or differently shaped geofenced area than a primary geofenced area.

[0036] The various location determination techniques are available to a device but each of them has different known accuracies. For example, GPS can have accuracy down to meters, in another example, Wi-Fi based determination accuracy can be dependent on the signal strength at the time of the determination as well as other factors and may range from meters to tens of meters. The accuracy figure used can be conservative or mid-range or at an extreme but as long as there is consistency of usage of the known accuracy criteria the method as described by embodiments herein can be used.

[0037] The technologies used for location determination of a device may include, the Global Positioning System (GPS), sector (telephony base station) position determination using for example IposDet (on CDMA networks), cellular tower (Cell ID) and Wi-Fi (802. 1 1) access points which rely on the transmission of unique identifiers and related known location data to permit the triangulation of the receiving device. The use of hybrid technologies such as these can, by themselves, allow for position determination despite the occasional unreliability of one or more of them in different environmental and physical locations of the device.

[0038] Location determination of a device can also be achieved using any possible or known method of location determination such as for example, cell tower triangulation, Wi-Fi triangulation, Bluetooth triangulation and using either the Global Positioning System (and its equivalents such as GLONASS, Galileo, Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System or the BeiDou Satellite Navigation System) or Assisted GPS (and its equivalents).

[0039 ] The manner in which a device provides location can also depend on the technology that is used to derive that location. There are numerous technologies for position determination and associated with each technique there will be specific details of their accuracy. A location is generally expressed using the WGS (world geodetic system) 84 standard. This is used as a basis for expressing locations within GPS and all common smartphone platforms. However other location determination quantification standards (or coordinate reference systems) exist that do not fall under WGS 84 and may be used such as ED50, ETRS89, GRS 80, NAD 83, DAVD88, SAD69, SRID and UTM. The use of a standard ensures that all manufacturers that design GPS devices and that use the output from such devices can readily generate GPS data that will be accepted by users of that GPS data to add value to the location determinations provided. As for all real world systems there is error which needs to be accounted for and accuracy is affected. By way of explanation without providing more of the relevant details, GPS error analysis examines the sources of errors in GPS results and the expected size of those errors. GPS makes corrections for receiver clock errors and other effects but there are still residual errors which are not always corrected. Sources of error include signal arrival time measurements, numerical calculations, atmospheric effects, ephemeris and clock data, multipath signals, and natural and artificial interference. The magnitude of the residual errors resulting from these sources is dependent on geometric dilution of precision. Thus when the term "l ocation determination" is used the actual manner in which a location is presented is wholly dependent on the location determination technique used to determine that location and that there will be a known accuracy of determination which itself may be dependent on the application of the respective technique to the circumstances of the determination and which may be applicable to the determination only at the time of the determination and updated with future determinations. For example, a GPS location determination can have a range of accuracies, mostly dependent on the number of satellites, and in some cases their relative geometry, that are available from which to derive the location complicated by one or more of the errors noted above. In the application of the method described in this specification there is preferably use of a predetermined accuracy of location determination associated with each location determination technique available to the device and that accuracy is expressible as a distance so that it can be used in the process of determining when to change the technique of location determination. It may be that the predetermined accuracy of the location can be different for the same technique dependent on other measurable or known criteria, so that in a particular known location, such as in dense built-up areas, the accuracy is known to be less, and then the predetennined accuracy used by the same technique is an adjusted value, expressed as a distance.

[00401 The device may have the ability to initiate a predetermined action originating within the device or communicating an initiation command to a secondary device/system when a location determination technique establishes that the device is associated with a predetermined geofenced area, for example has entered or is in the proximity of a predetermined area which the mobile device then associates with an action.

[0041 ] When referring to a device, the scope will include without limitation mobile devices, in particular mobile phone devices, but the term will also include, by way of example, computer devices which are part of a mobile platform, such as a vehicle including a rail mounted vehicle such as a train or tram, or attached to or physically associated with a person, an article or group of articles, such as cargo, transported goods, a container (empty or occupied), a pallet, and can also include a virtual device which is embodied in software running on a computer which is part of a mobile device, a vehicle, transported article or the apparatus for transportation such as a container, pallet, etc. Thus the term device or mobile device when used in this specification shall have a broad meaning in the context of the embodiments described herein.

[0042 ] A geofenced area can be represented as a geographic area defined by a set of geographic coordinates as depicted in Figure 2. These coordinates can be based on different geodetic systems or datums such as the WGS 84 datum or any other geodetic system or datum that is or will be used to provide geodetic references. A common computer code representation of a geofenced area is a string of data where each discrete piece of data within the string represents a decimal coordinate matched to that of the geodetic system in use. Decimal representations of coordinates give a continuous data format for representing WGS 84 data. An example of this representation being a Latitude - Longitude pair: -37° 48' 47.9556", 144° 57' 5.745" equating to Latitude - Longitude: -37.813321 , 144.951596.

[0043] An example of a string of data representing a geofence using WGS 84 is [-37.821525, 144.95563], [-37.815762, 144.974599], [-37.807828, 144.971595], [-37.813321 , 144.951596],

[-37.821525, 144.95563]. The length of the string is dependent on the amount of coordinate pairs that represent the area and the precision of the location translated into the number of decimal points to which each coordinate is defined. If an area is defined by a circle then it will be represented in computer code by a string of data containing two coordinate pairs each representing either the centre or radius of a circle and a radius distance. Alternatively the area can be defined as a polygon with N comers and would thus be represented by a string of data containing N coordinates where the coordinates represent the corner location of the polygon defining the area.

[0044] A computer device is ideal for calculating whether a determined location of a device is within a geofenced area. The software code to do so being well known to those of skill in the art. There being a variety of programming and mathematical approaches to achieve that determination to any predetermined accuracy, keeping in mind the fundamental accuracy of the location determination process itself.

[0045] Figure 3 depicts a flow diagram illustrating how entry or proximity of a device to a predetermined geofenced area is determined according to an embodiment.

[0046] At 30 the mobile device is turned on and using an associated coordinate based Geospatial Information System the device has the ability to determine its location to a determined degree of accuracy. At 32 the device has or is provided, using its communication capability coordinates which define the predetermined geographic area and any proximity determinants. At 34 the mobile device stores in a memory the defined geographic area and proximity determinants and relates it to the geospatial information system. At 38 the device determines its location and does so at intervals or on demand in accord to the use of a predetermined geographic location determination. At 37 the device tests to determine whether its location, as determined, is within a predetermined geofenced area or within a predetermined proximity of the predetermined geofenced area. At 38 once entry or proximity has been determined it is entered in to the memory of the device. At 39 the device may communicate the fact of entry or proximity to an external device or system or use that information internally.

[0047] In order for a device to perform a condition dependent location based action it is necessary that the device both has a capability to store and interact with a coordinate based geospatial information system that uses a recognized geodetic datum as well as the ability to locate itself in reference to the same geospatial information system. The device then receives and stores the computer code representation of a predetermined geographic area that is associated with a certain action as well as the conditions required to initiate the said action. The device will then utilize one or more of the mechanisms at its disposal to determine its location and whether it has entered or is in a predetermined proximity of the predetermined geographic (geofenced) area (or boundary).

[0048] Figure 4 pictorially represents the basic elements of an embodiment of a mobile device according to an embodiment. However it is to be understood that other embodiments may use other components to provide similar functionality. For example in some embodiments, positioning systems other than GPS may be used. Similarly another short range communications component or module may be used instead of Bluetooth such as WIFI-Direct, ZigBee, or a near field communications standard. Similarly another short range communications component or module may be included in addition to the Bluetooth module.

[0049] This mobile device embodiment is a mobile phone device and has the following elements:

[0050] 1. The mobile phone as a whole is an aggregation of the following briefly described elements along with any stored software but this illustration is not meant to be exhaustive and rather is indicative of the elements which assist in the performance of the embodiments described herein;

[0051 ] 2. The display/touch input of the device that allows users of the device to receive visual information and provide input and instructions to the device by touching areas on the screen corresponding with certain preprogramed actions;

[0052] 3. The battery stores electrical charge and distributes it to other parts of the device thus powering their functionality;

[0053] 4. The central processing unit of the devices is the computer device component which processes data, receives digital data input and sometimes analogue data input, and using stored (in the memory) or received program data, commands as well as manages the functionality of other elements of the device.

10054] 5. The SIM device (card) is a component required by the device to enable it to use various communications elements to communicate with and through a telephony service provider. In this embodiment the GSM telephony standard is used to communicate with and through the predetermined service provider via a pre-established account. In other embodiments other telephone standards may be used (including various 3G and 4G standards such as CDMA, W-CDMA, HSPA, SC-FDMA, UMTS, LTE, etc.);

[0055] 6. The antenna is tasked with receiving and sending radio frequency telecommunication signals so as to communicate with the GSM network and transfer data to and via that network to other telecommunication devices. In one embodiment of the arrangement, the device can determine its location by triangulating its location from various known (location) sources of GSM signals. This function is typically built into such devices as there already are techniques for determining the distance of the mobile device from one or more transmitters and receivers so as to efficiently control the power of transmissions to and from the mobile device;

10056] 7. The GPS chipset within the device is specifically designed to process signals received from positioning system satellites such as, but not limited to satellites used in the Global Positioning System (GSM) that are orbiting the Earth. By processing these signals the GPS chipset is able to determine its location with respect to those satellites and thus is location according to a geospatial coordinate system;

[0057] 8. The Wi-Fi receiver allows the device to receive and send Wi-Fi signals (typically in accordance with a standard 802.1 1 x) and via the same communicate with any Wi-Fi networks that it can detect and with which it is permitted to communicate. The Wi-Fi receiver can also determine its location by triangulating and analysing the ambient Wi-Fi signals;

[0058 ] 9. The Bluetooth element allows the device to send and receive Bluetooth (typically in accordance with a standard 802.15.v) signals and via the same communicate with any Bluetooth networks or enabled devices that it can detect and with which it is permitted to communicate. The Bluetooth element can also determine its location by triangulating and analysing the ambient Bluetooth signals; and

[0059 ] 10. The Memory enables the device to permanently or temporarily store any form of digital data representing various data and information and allows access to that stored data.

[0060 ] Figure 5 depicts a computer server system, in one embodiment programmed to determine the state of one or more conditions and related communication systems. A mobile device can

communicate with a supporting server or separate computer system or device through various communication methods including, but not limited to Wi-Fi, GSM/GPRS, 3G, 4G, and other cellular communication standards, and Bluetooth and various hardwired connections all of which will use a predetermined protocol. By establishing a communication protocol with such secondary/supporting elements it is possible to allow for the provision of data from the server to the mobile device, receiving data from the mobile device so that certain elements of the condition testing/measurement can be performed by the server and further servers part of a network. The network can easily be the World Wide Web network of servers and devices or be networks dedicated to exchange and storage of data. Similarly it is possible to transfer the action determination/initiation based on the assessed conditions, to a secondary element/device. The secondary elements/devices can draw upon other systems or databases in order to obtain information about the status of any conditions being measured or monitored. The conditions may be comprised of many things, and can include the status of a characteristic such as whether a light is ON or OFF, a threshold condition has been reached, a device is in, or tests for, or receives the results of, or combines the tests conducted locally or remotely, or receives the results of one of two or more possible conditions/states, e.g. the weather at a

predetermined location, the value of a database entry, the direction of travel, etc. [0061 ] Figure 6 depicts an action initiation sequence. In order for a device to perform condition dependent location based action it is necessary that the device both contains a capability to store and interact with a coordinate based geospatial information system that uses a recognized geodetic datum as well as the ability to locate itself in reference to the same geospatial information system. The device then receives and stores the computer code representation of a predetermined geographic area that is associated with a certain action as well as the conditions required to initiate the action. The device will then utilize any methods at its disposal to determine its location and whether it has entered or is within a predetermined proximity of a predetermined geofenced area.

[0062] If the device has not entered the predetermined area associated with an action, it will continue to monitor its location until such a time that the device enters said area.

[0063] At 60 the device has determined it has entered the predetermined area (in accord with a suitable determination mechanism and with an acceptable accuracy) then the device will proceed to either test conditions that can be tested internally or request data associated with conditions that can be assessed by a supporting system or device remote or local. When using the term remote in this disclosure it may refer to a single computer located physically remote from the mobile device but it can also include a network based computer system operating over a distributed network part of which may be associated with the mobile device, keeping in mind that a mobile device can have many forms and in some cases the computer of the mobile device may communicate with a computer located on the same transportation means the mobile device is located on. One example of such an arrangement is a cargo container which has a mobile device associated with it and the remote computer is located on the cargo vessel (say a container ship), thus although the computers are not spaced far from each other, they are remote from each other. In another example, the container's mobile device is temporally hardwired to the on-board vessel computer system, and although the computer of the mobile device is effectively part of the vessels' computer network, the connection is hardwired and there are no connections to other networks (at least temporarily) for the purposes of discussion of embodiments, the computer of the mobile device is remote from the other computer. This scenario can thus include a physical separation of the mobile device from the vessel's network and connection to the remote computer or an associated computer network will still be possible using one or more of the communication mechanisms available and a suitable protocol.

[0064 ] Figure 6 depicts the testing of three different conditions #1 , #2 and #3. In the embodiment depicted condition #1 at step 62 is the travel speed of the device. The condition being determined to be True or False, can be pre-stored in the memory of the mobile device or can be obtained from an external source, such as for example, an external data store from which it can be obtained at any appropriate time. In this example, the speed condition is True if the speed is within a range of 0 to 10 kilometres per hour and False if not. [0065] The outcome of the test being True or False is a binary type of outcome and the choice of the terms True and False are indicative of the outcome type. In a computer related environment, which is the environment of the mobile device, programming to determine the state of the outcome to be True or False is readily achievable by those of skill in the art.

[0066 ] At step 64 the device or an external device tests condition #2 being whether the heading of the travel is a particular heading or within a range of headings, such as for example, within 0 to 40 degrees of True North is True and False if not.

[0067] At step 66 the device or an external device tests condition #3 being whether the temperature is a particular value or within a range of headings, such as for example, within 20 to 35 degrees Celsius is True and False if not.

[0068 ] It will be apparent that in this embodiment three conditions were tested but the testing of two or more is possible.

[0069 ] Once all of the conditions are either tested or data associated with the outcome of the testing resulting from the mobile device being associated with a particular area have been received at the device or a remote system, the device or the remote system can proceed to initiate one or more predetermined actions for which the conditions have met their initiation criteria. Once all of the actions that can be initiated based on the assessed conditions have been initiated, or if no action meets the initiation criteria, the device will continue monitoring its location in order to determine when it again enters the same or another predetermined area associated with an action(s).

[0070] The type of condition to be tested for is a matter of choice to suit the application and the following scenarios are illustrative only. These may include speed, direction, acceleration, future estimated position or trajectory based upon current speed, direction and acceleration, etc. Further the number of scenarios can be less or more than the number of conditions. In Figure 6 there are four scenarios which can be invoked by two or more of the conditions tested being True. Thus although a scenario and an associated action are capable of being actioned as a result of two or more conditions being True it may be that none of the conditions are met and the scenarios and actions do not occur. Although depicted in Figure 6 that the mobile device returns to location determination, it would not be unusual for the mobile device to continue to determine its location and geofenced entry criteria even during the condition-testing mode. Although there may be reasons to delay the process of geolocation, that will be determined on the basis of the application.

[0071 ] Dealing with certain elements of the embodiments described herein the device or secondaiy device/system has the ability to store at least two conditions within its memory. In an embodiment a minimum of two conditions will need to be assessed or tested and determined to be either, True or False. The status of a condition can include whether a value falls between one of several value brackets. It will, in an embodiment, be necessary to associate the conditions with each predetermined geofenced area that the device has determined it is associated with.

[0072 ] The device or secondary device/system can store a list of both conditions and actions within its memory and has the ability to apply hierarchical based, cause, effect, and relationships between the various conditions and their consequent actions.

[0073 ] The conditions need to be assessed or tested and determined to be either, True or False, even if their assessed values fall between one of several value brackets to initiate an action can be both externally determined and internally determined conditions.

[0074 ] Various conditions are defined and may use one or more inputs to the devices' computer processor to provide those conditions. The input may include data from internal or external information sources. Such as, inputs from sensors in or associated with the device (e.g. temperature, acceleration, speed, altitude, light intensity, battery level, etc.) or from external sources of data and information, atmospheric temperature measurements in or associated with the predetermined area, or tide times that are recorded by other organizations or systems and delivered (in representative data) to the device or secondary device/system via digital data transfers, continuously or intermittently or polled. Inputs may also include the record of a device previously entering any number of other predetermined geofenced areas within a predetermined timeframe. The choice of geofenced area/s and the timeframe again being a matter of choice associated with the application, where for example, the area may be a sub-area of a just entered geofenced area indicating travel in a particular direction, and the delay may be indicative of the anticipated transit time through the sub-area during which time the one or more actions are delayed, for example. Or there may be a crossing of a boundary from one side to the other and that may indicate an entry to a predetermined area. It is also possible that the entry into a predetermined area is indicative of an undesirable action by the mobile device, for example, a user carrying the mobile device is ostensibly being directed to a particular predefined area but for reasons out of their control they enter another predefined area.

[0075] The conditions and their acceptance threshold are to be tested by the device or secondary device/system upon the mobile device being associated with a predetermined geofenced area associated with the particular conditions.

[0076] Conditions can either be tested and have one of two possible defined outcomes (e.g. True or False) or in an alternative embodiment the test outcome can be multiple possible outcomes (e.g.

temperature brackets ranging from, for example, 10 to 20, >2(⁾ to 30, >3() to 40 degrees Celsius). It will be the choice of the creator of the condition whether to require any particular degree of accuracy or whether any predetermined buffer or allowance for hysteresis of the measurement is to be accounted for.

[0077 ] The definition of how conditions are to be tested and how separate conditions and their test outcomes are associated with actions need to be defined beforehand within the device or be made available by a secondary device/system and in some situations as described those conditions and actions can be determined by the user of the system just prior to the entry to a predetermined area or being in the vicinity of a predetermined area (that is in one embodiment the association of test outcomes with action/s is user selectable).

[0078 ] However, at least the conditions when tested will be True or False. There may be an alternative test outcome of a condition such as for example, indeterminate, or steady state, or undefined, or not True or False, but there will always be a True or False test outcome if a condition is tested based on the test and the allowable responses.

[0079 ] Actions can include many different actions, such as for example, any system function alterations, registrations of an event or multiple events in the device memory or in a remote system, display of a message or messages to the mobile device user or to other devices and their respective users, an audible action or actions, communications and any other actions including any particular action a mobile device or secondary device/system is able to perform. The device or secondary device/system may perform one or multiple actions when entering a predetermined area based on a predefined combination of conditions being met. Those actions may be performed coincidently or in a predetermined order including some actions that are perfonned coincidently. Actions may also include the creation, ignoring (for a predetermined time or while one or more conditions are True or False), or deletion of additional predetermined geofenced areas in the mobile phone memory or as defined and supplied by an external system. These alternatives allows for manipulation of the active and non-active geofenced areas (immediately or delayed by period, or to operate this change during predetermined times, days, months, years, etc.) that are to be detennined by a program executed by the mobile device or operating on an external device. This allows for many other user defined arrangements that will suit commercial applications like shopping experiences, train arrival notification, mapping applications that have a commercial purpose, etc. An example of such an arrangement is to exclude a

predetermined geofenced area, such as about a coffee shop for a 24 hour period, so that in the circumstances of that action, the user is not bothered with the same offer as they received the day before.

[0080] Both conditions and actions can be subject to a predetermined hierarchy, which will likely be different. A hierarchy allows any user using the mobile device (user selectable) to define the sequencing and weighting for any number of conditions that when provided, can subsequently then be tested as True or False, and thereby for example fall, within certain values or when executed in a particular sequence, can initiate a sequence of actions. The hierarchy of conditions and actions as well as the relationship between the hierarchies is stored in the device or secondary device/system. The hierarchy may also be predetermined and out of the control of the user and supplied with the application or applied by an external system interacting with the mobile device.

[0081 ] Figure 7 depicts an embodiment of location based conditioning with the start of an embodiment the mobile device initiating location determination having a predetermined hierarchy of conditions and actions. Once the mobile device has determined that it has entered a predetermined area the assessment of condi tions associated with the predetermined area can begin. Figure 7 depicts, in an embodiment, the two options of internally assessed conditions and externally assessed conditions. Even in respect to the internally assessed conditions, the supporting device and/or system, in this embodiment, received externally assessed data and once received the device or supporting system will follow the hierarchy or a predetermined logic to thus determine the required sequence of actions. The supporting device and/or system communicate the action to the device. In the case of some actions the device and/or system processes the required action.

[0082 ] In another example, the device receives all externally assessed conditions from the supporting device and/or system. The device in this example, applies the logic or hierarchy to determine the action or sequence of actions. The device then communicates the actions or the device initiates the required action or sequence of actions according to the predetermined logic or hierarchy (as supplied or as previously user defined).

[0083] In an embodiment it is possible for a mobile device to initiate and perform a number of actions when entering a geofenced area with the implementation and sequencing of each action being dependent on a number of hierarchically defined conditions.

[0084 ] By enhancing the capability of devices in such a manner it is possible to significantly improve a current practice of geofencing that includes the initiation of a single action or multiple actions based solely on entiy to a geofenced area.

[0085 ] A potential use case is to deliver highly relevant data to a mobile device in a transport scenario. A list of measurable and testable conditions is listed below:

[0086] Condition 1 - Travel speed of a device within, under or over a predetermined value range or ranges for each mode of transport - used to differentiate transport mode (car, bike, pedestrian); [0087] Condition 2 - Heading of travel within an acceptable variation or margin - used to differentiate trajectory of travel; and

[0088] Condition 3 - Ambient temperature within a predetermined range - used to assess risk to travellers stemming from actual or potential adverse weather conditions

[0089] Condition 1 - Travel speed of a device

[0090] The travel speed of the device can be an internally assessed measurement and is established by the device through data from the GPS chipset within the mobile device, which can also be reported to a secondary device/system that can alternatively perform the condition testing and any further analysis. In this example there are many possible options for speed condition determination and two of them are provided by way of example, as follows:

[0091 ] Speed is under 1 Okm/h - when this condition is True, it is assumed that the mobile device accompanying the user is either travelling on foot or and as such has no access to motorized transport for the duration of the journey.

[0092] Speed is over 1 Okm/h - when this condition is True it is assumed that the device user is travelling on a form of motorized or non-pedestrian transport such as a car, bicycle or motorbike for the duration of the journey.

[0093] Condition 2 - Heading of travel

[0094] The heading of a device can be an internally generated measurement and is established by data generated or polled by the processor of the mobile device made available from the mobile devices' GPS chipset which can also be reported/communicated to a secondary device/system that may also test the condition and perform other analysis. For example in an embodiment, the heading will be expressed as a number of degrees with 0 degrees representing a heading of travel corresponding with true north, 180 degrees representing true south and 360 degrees again representing true north. For the purpose of this example there are many possible options for a heading of travel condition, as follows: with the bounding values depicted in Figure 8:

[0095] Recorded heading is between 315 and 45 degrees - when this condition is True it is determined that the device is travelling on a heading considered to be a generally northern direction.

[0096] Recorded heading is between 45 and 135 degrees - when this condition is True it is determined that the device is travelling on a heading considered to be a generally eastern direction. [0097] Recorded heading is between 135 and 225 degrees - when this condition is True it is determined that the device is travelling on a heading considered to be a generally southern direction.

[0098] Recorded heading is between 225 and 315 degrees - when this condition is true it is determined that the device is travelling on a heading considered to be a generally western direction.

[0099] Condition 3 - Ambient temperature

[00100] The ambient temperature of a location or area is an externally assessed condition that uses third party systems or services to assess and communicate the value to the device or secondary device/system that is performing the condition analysis. By way of example, temperature is expressed in degrees Celsius and two options for temperature conditioning are possible:

[00101] Temperature is below 35 degrees Celsius - when this condition option is met it is assumed that weather conditions do not indicate increased risk of fire danger and general danger to public health and safety stemming from heat.

[00102] Temperature is above 35 degrees Celsius - when this condition option is met it is assumed that weather conditions indicate increased risk of fire danger and general danger to public health and safety stemming from heat.

[ 00103] Use scenario:

[00104] It is possible to envision a use case where a geofence is set in order to define a predetermined area on a transport route that is used all year round, by individuals using various modes of transport including walking, motor bike, parasailing, 4WD vehicle etc. By implementing the aforementioned example conditions it is possible to ensure that, when conditions are assessed and fall within the specific condition option, mobile devices which can determine they are entering the predetermined area will perfonn one or many actions based on the testing of a number of at least two conditions and which may be combinations of conditions. Several examples are listed in Table 1 below: Condition 1 Condition 2 Condition 3 Action 1 Action 2

Scenario 1 Speed is < 10 Heading North Temperature is Pedestrian, no None

km/h under 35 warning

Scenario 2 Speed is < 10 Heading East Temperature is Pedestrian, Begin

km/h over 35 warning location

tracking

Scenario 3 Speed is > 10 Heading South Temperature is Automotive, None

km/h under 35 no warning

Scenario 4 Speed is > 10 Heading West Temperature is Automotive, Deliver

km/h over 35 warning emergency number

Table 1

[00105] Scenario !

[00106 J As a mobile device enters the predetermined area it is determined to be travelling at a pedestrian speed, heading north with no adverse environmental conditions. Based on the test outcome the mobile device initiates an associated action and delivers a message to the user informing them that weather conditions for hiking in a northern direction are suitable for such an activity.

[00107] Scenario 2

[00108] As a mobile device enters the predetermined area it is determined to be travelling at a pedestrian speed, heading east with adverse environmental conditions based on the established temperature. Based on this the mobile device initiates an associated action and delivers a message to the user informing them that weather conditions for hiking in a eastern direction are not suitable and that it is not advisable to do so due to increased risk of wildfires. The mobile device may also perform secondary action as determined within the hierarchy of for example, initializing constant location tracking and reporting the mobile devices' location to friends, family and/or authorities and also a search team or rescue team or both if prolonged stationary conditions are met.

[00109] Scenario 3

[001 10] As a mobile device enters the predetermined area it is determined to be travelling at an automotive transport speed, heading south with no adverse environmental conditions. Based on this the mobile device initiates an associated action and delivers a message to the mobile device user informing them that their estimated time to reach the next city that is due south is shorter due to good weather. [001 1 1 ] Scenario 4

[001 12 J As a mobile device enters the predetermined area it is determined to be travelling at an automotive transport speed, heading east with adverse environmental conditions due to high temperatures. Based on this, the mobile device initiates an associated action and delivers a message to the user informing them that they should stop at the next vehicle fuelling station to make sure their vehicle fuel is adequate for the journey ahead, since the subsequent 2 petrol stations along the route may be closed due to the risk of wildfires. The device also performs the secondary action as determined within the hierarchy of delivering a phone number used for contacting the closest roadside assistance operator should their vehicle break down due to the heat and the option of automatically initiating an action if prolonged stationary conditions are met (and other condi tions that can be determined by the user so as to personalise the user experience, such as contact phone numbers of friends and family to be contacted, delays and postponement of actions based on planned or temporary circumstances, etc.).

[001 13] The initiation of at least two actions could be serial as predetermined or may be performed according to a hierarchy of actions, also predetermined. The predetermination of the hierarchy may be made by the user of the mobile device or by the provider of the relevant application or a combination wherein the user has the ability to determine one or more of the hierarchical determinates. By way of example, the user may wish to summon authorities first in the scenario of a prolonged period of inactivity or of being stationary, rather than the provision of a Geolocation of the mobile device to a friend or family member in the same circumstance. Although this may appear to be a re-ordering the user has determined that the importance of the action in one situation requires that a predetermined action should have a higher priority and thus the predetermined hierarchy of actions has been changed to accommodate the user perception of the situation. Another way to consider an hierarchical approach is to weight the actions in some way which provides a measure of the importance of an action to the user or a typical user, being a way to rank the actions so that the most relevant or important are initiated/executed highest to lowest, etc.

[001 14] As the mobile device enters the predetermined geofenced area it will assess the various conditions associated with the predetermined geofenced area entered or about to be entered. Following this, the logic can provide for distinct options where one or more of the conditions that need to be assessed are assessed internally by the mobile device or externally in a secondary device/system or shared according to other rules that may suit the application, which may include security considerations associated with the nature of certain data (required or obtained), conditions that are personal and not generic to the user, or that need to be communicated in a particular way and to particular recipient/s. Following this, the associated hierarchy of actions can be initiated within the secondary supporting device/system or within the mobile device itself. [001 15] Embodiments may comprise a computer program that embodies the functions described and illustrated herein, wherein the computer program is implemented in a computer system that comprises instructions stored in a machine-readable medium and a processor that executes the instructions. However, it should be apparent that there could be many different ways of implementing embodiments in computer programming, and the embodiments should not be construed as limited to any one set of computer program instructions. Further, a skilled programmer would be able to write such a computer program to implement an embodiment of the disclosed embodiments based on the appended flow charts and associated description in the application text. Therefore, disclosure of a particular set of program code instructions is not considered necessary for an adequate understanding of how to make and use embodiments. Further, those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more aspects of embodiments described herein may be performed by hardware, software, or a combination thereof, as may be embodied in one or more computing systems. Moreover, any reference to an act being performed by a computer should not be construed as being performed by a single computer as more than one computer may perform the act.

Claims

1. A method of initiating an action when a mobile device has determined that the mobile device is in a predetermined geofenced area or a predetermined proximity of the predetermined geofenced area, includes the steps of:

testing a first condition to determine the state of the condition;

testing a second condition to determine the state of the second condition; and,

determining that both the first and second states of the conditions are true; and initiation an action.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the action is one or more of the group: message sending from the device and/or display on the mobile device; image sending from the device and/or display on the device; audible message sending from the device, mobile system notification sending from the device; recording an event in the memory of the device; initiating communication by the device with internal or external components and/or users; an alteration of mobile device system performance; the creation, deletion or ignoring of other predetermined geofenced areas.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the initiation of an action includes the initiation of one or more further actions.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the initiation of at least two actions is performed according to a predetermined sequence of actions.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the initiation of at least two actions is performed according to a predetermined sequence of actions according to a hierarchy.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the hierarchy is predetermined.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the predetermination of the hierarchy is based on user selectable criteria