ES2622735B1 - Passive monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

Passive monitoring system through which it is possible to discriminate in an environment of users of mobile devices equipped with connectivity in wireless networks, if individually they have accessed during some time interval each of the regions associated with data collection devices installed. To this end, use is made of a computer system that receives the information emitted by the associated data collection devices, where each one includes "Ethernet" or wired input, two "Wifi" wireless network modules and one " Bluetooth "that allow a unique identification of the mobile device via MAC, as well as an identification of its status, regardless of the mode in which it is operating or the position of the GPS and can operate both indoors and outdoors.

Description

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DESCRIPTION

Passive monitoring system.

Object of the invention

The present invention consists in a central computer system to which they send information for their treatment, a set of data collection devices deployed in a previously defined area, in order to detect, within the chosen area, any mobile device equipped with connectivity in wireless networks, which identifies and locates in an area within the previously established area.

The present invention finds, mainly, its scope in the commercial sector by providing real-time information of each mobile device during its interaction with the establishment and from which it is possible to improve the knowledge of the business itself, as well as its positioning and The brand image. However, systems based on the same devices would also be applied for alarm installations, in the field of human resources, for hotel management or as a complement to both public and private security.

Background of the invention

Likewise, the impact of new technologies and, in particular, of the use of the internet in all aspects of our lives, increases the usefulness of being able to manage real-time information about customers who access stores or companies in order to, to the extent that they can be better known, they can be offered

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products or services more adapted to your needs or expectations.

However, when trying to obtain more information from the client base, without explicitly requesting it or using intrusive, slow and unreliable methods, such as traditional surveys, we usually encounter the following problem;

1. Cost associated with obtaining the information.

2. Reliability of the information collected by traditional methods.

3. Amount of data manageable through traditional methods.

Based on the state of the art in the field, current solutions do not offer real-time data, so most require customers to perform specific actions or only offer anonymous data impossible to relate. That is to say, these are technologies with a very limited utility, among which those mentioned below can be highlighted;

• Door pass sensors.

• Loyalty cards.

• Purchase transactions.

• Beacon or low power devices that send messages or notices to a mobile device.

• Survey in store.

• More intensive and intrusive technologies.

• QR codes to store information in a dot matrix or a two-dimensional barcode.

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Taking into account, more specifically, the inventions that make up the state of the art based on communications between mobile devices and the access points "AP", in the patent of publication title number, respectively; WO 2000014985 A1 “System for locating and identifying mobile terminals in closed rooms” which will be transmitted to the corresponding mobile telephone operators so that they can control calls that involve the mobile terminals of application in the protection of enclosures closed against the sound generated by the mobile terminals present in the enclosure when receiving a call.

Likewise, the inventions cited below, identified by their publication number and title, respectively, also make up the state of the art in the field;

• CN105188072 (A), “Intelligent detection system in networks and wireless signals”.

• CN104579852 (A), “Detector, WiFi detection system (wireless loyalty), MAC networks (medium access control) on the detection method / layer”.

• EP3011528 (A2), “System and methods of detection in wireless networks and MAC address devices”.

Relevant aspects of the state of the art

A. Generic description of the process of connection to wireless networks in the frequency of 2.4Ghz and 5GHz.

Going deeper into the state of the art in order to facilitate the subsequent compression of the invention in the corresponding sections of the present specification, it is important to highlight

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as the current mobile devices equipped with “Wifi” connectivity with said activated service, they emit in a small interval of time, a signal as a request with a frequency of 2.4GHz and 5GHz in which a unique MAC address identifier is included, associated with the “Wifi” network card of the device.

Thus, each device in turn to emit on the frequency of 2.4Ghz and 5GHz, needs a chip or network card, which allows sending messages / codes / frames on that frequency (normally looking for connections between customers and points of “AP” access), these frames have a unique signature / ID linked to each device, this unique signature or identification is known as MAC (Media Access Control) address, this MAC consists of a 48-bit identifier (composed of its time in 6 blocks of two hexadecimal characters (4bits) that uniquely corresponds to a card that is the one that emits in the 2.4Ghz and 5GHz radio network. In addition, it is determined and configured by the IEEE802.11 (the last ones 24 bits) and the manufacturer (first 24 bits) using the “Organizationally Unique Identifier”.

Regarding the connection process, it is similar to that of Ethernet network packets, the following table shows what are the fields they contain and the maximum length of each of these “fractions” of the packet.

 Frame control

 Duration ID Destination Address Source Address BSSID Sequence Control QoS Control Frame Body FCS

 2 bytes

 2 bytes

 6 Bytes 6 Bytes 6 Bytes 2 Bytes 2 Bytes 0-23124 Bytes 4 Bytes

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All the headers of a package from the segment corresponding to the “Destination Address” to the “Frame Body” inclusive, may not appear depending on the type and sub-type of the captured package. However, there are three types of packages that are: "Management", "Control" and "Data" which in turn have a series of subtypes and the combination of these types and their corresponding subtypes determine the appearance of some of the fields of the package or its absence. It is important to note that all other fields will always appear mandatory regardless of the type of package, that is, the "Frame Control", "Duration ID", "Source Address" and "FCS" fields are always included in a wireless package.

B. Generic communication flow between mobile devices and “AP” access points in the 2.4Ghz and 5GHz network.

Delving into the communication flow present in the state of the art, when a mobile device initiates a search for "AP" access points in its area, the connection, authentication, packet exchange or communication procedure and subsequent disconnection follow a flow of packages that differ from the way in which the clients of a wired network do, the reason for this is precisely because of the characteristics of a wireless network, in which multiple factors related mainly to the environment that make them “ AP ”and mobile devices or clients become constantly accessible and inaccessible, and the intensity of the frequency with which different entities communicate in a wireless environment is frequently affected by

obstacles and interferences that affect the radio signal in the 2.4 Ghz and 5GHz network.

Given this general scenario, the states in which each client or mobile device is located before an “AP” access point of

A wireless network are as follows; without authenticating, without connecting, authenticated or connected.

In this regard, it is important to note that in any of the 10 previous states there may be a notification of “From

Authentication ”which indicates to both parties,“ AP ”and client, that the association has been lost, which may be due to many causes, normally associated with connectivity. In such cases, depending on the client configuration, 15 re-association packets will be sent indicating to the “AP” that it should be started

again the process of association between both parties. Thus, any solution such as that provided with the present invention, which is based on accessing the states in which each client or mobile device is located before a point of "AP" access of a wireless network, must be able from

identify that the status of said mobile device has changed and that it is looking for a connection with any “AP” by sending the corresponding re-association packages.

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From the indicated inventions and the relevant aspects of the state of the art on which the present invention acts, in a wireless communications environment, the "Passive Monitoring System" through its data collection devices identifies in

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a limited area, the device identifier known as MAC in real time, uniquely and universally (through the UTC - Coordinated Universal Time), and the state it is in, depending on whether there are access points (master nodes ), point-to-point mobile devices (point-to-point nodes) or unconnected mobile devices (unconnected nodes) and independently of the mode in which they are operating, transmitting this information in turn with the network connection module of each data collection device to the central computer system so that they can be managed, providing the following advantages with respect to the state of the art;

A. It provides an independent GPS system or any type of positioning that allows obtaining data inside buildings (basements, parking, among others) or any type of exterior, not dependent on GPS satellite connections to triangulate the position, that is , the system is independent of whether it is indoors or outdoors to identify wireless devices.

B. System of a Wifi interface with 2.4GHz and 5GHz network access chip, which with the same card performs the control / identification and transmission, while with its ethernet card you can manage the device.

C. Identify the wireless devices in all available modes of the transmitters in 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks, ad hoc mode (point to point), master mode, access point mode, nodes already established in connection and any recognized by the IEE802.11 standard.

D. The data sent from each device takes data to the central computer system are the basis on which to work to obtain information in real time during their interaction with the

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establishment, improving knowledge and relationships between companies and customers offering more timely or convenient products and services to generate added value and create brand image, facilitating the conversion of a generic treatment to a much more personalized one.

EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

As an explanation of the "Passive Monitoring System" of wireless networks, it consists of a central computer system that receives the information to be managed that is sent from a set of associated data collection devices, where each linked data collection device to a region determined by a radius of adjustable range, it contains an input for “Ethernet” or wired connection, a module of wireless networks “WIFI” of capture, a module of wireless networks “Bluetooth” of capture and a second module of wireless networks “Wifi 'of transmission, in order to discriminate in an environment of users of mobile devices equipped with connectivity to wireless networks, if they have individually accessed during some time interval each of the regions associated with the installed data collection devices , based on the deployment of its operating method based on the following stages;

A. Each data collection device detects the signals emitted by the mobile devices within its range and reads the unique identifier of the device "MAC address", making use of the antennas in wireless networks that constantly listen to the messages emitted in the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequency of each mobile device depending on the

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different states in which it is before an access point; without authenticating, without connecting, authenticated or connected.

B. Each time a data collection device finds a signal in which a MAC is identified, it communicates it to the central computer system so that it can be treated using an “Ethernet” network connection that provides it with an Internet connection .

C. When data collection devices do not have the possibility of making an Internet connection through the Ethernet protocol when there is no Ethernet access point, each device has a second module of wireless networks "Wifi" with which it will be established an Internet connection and through which communication will be made with the central computer system for purposes similar to the previous stage.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement the description that is being made and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to a preferred example of practical implementation thereof, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description. where, for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, the following has been represented:

Figure 1.- Region characterized by its radio under the scope of the “Passive monitoring system” in an environment of mobile device users equipped with Wifi and / or Bluetooth connectivity.

Figure 2.-View of an environment where a set of mobile users will coincide, such as a shop or a home, where three data collection devices based on the “Passive Monitoring System” have been distributed to delimit three 5 differentiated transit zones.

Figure 3.-View of a single data collection device based on the “Passive Monitoring System” where the four communication elements that compose it are shown.

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Figure 4.- It shows a scheme that illustrates the principles of the “Passive Monitoring System” in which the central computer system can be seen and as within a delimited area two data collection devices have been deployed for the capture of users with 15 mobile terminals

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In the mentioned figures the following constituent elements can be highlighted;

1. Data collection device.

2. Users of mobile devices equipped with Wifi and / or Bluetooth connectivity.

3. Volume

4. Range radius.

5. Data collection device located further to the left.

6. Area under the reach of the leftmost device.

7. Data collection device located closest to the lower right corner.

8. Area under the reach of the device located closest to the lower right corner.

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9. Data collection device located closest to the upper right corner.

10. Area under the reach of the device located closest to the upper right corner.

11. Ethernet connection.

12. Wifi pickup module.

13. Bluetooth pickup module.

14. Wifi transmission module.

15. User outside the premises under study.

16. User who enters one of the two enclosures for the first time.

17. Area under the reach of the leftmost device.

18. Area under the reach of the rightmost device.

19. User who enters the premises after having done so in the past.

20. Central computer system.

EXAMPLE OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT SUPPORTED IN FIGURES

In view of the figures 1, it can be seen by way of example of a preferred embodiment, how the "Passive monitoring system" can be installed in the data collection device 1 with a limited scope to a spatial volume 3, within an environment of users of mobile devices equipped with Wifi and / or Bluetooth 2 connectivity, the same comprising a plurality of mobile devices corresponding to the different users that can be located within volume 3 in different time spaces, said volume 1 being the one corresponding to device radius 4.

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That is, the present invention is capable of detecting if a user who has a smartphone or similar with the corresponding Bluetooth and / or Wifi connectivity activated, has entered volume 3, registering, likewise, in the event that that is, the time slot in which the mobile device has been within said perimeter. In this regard, it is important to note how this action is carried out regardless of the type of terminal or software that it may carry.

As an alternative application, in order to determine in which specific area within a previously established perimeter the users of mobile devices have been, different devices based on “Passive monitoring system” can be distributed as can be seen in Figure 2 , each zone being delimited by the radius of action of each device. Specifically, in the aforementioned figure 3 we find three differentiated devices, each of them located in the corresponding area in which the study is to be carried out independently.

In this regard, the aforementioned devices based on the present invention are adjustable in terms of the surfaces they can cover depending on the scenarios on which their installation is planned;

 Possibles scenarios

 Range of action of a device

 Minimum range

 Range

 Interiors with walls / walls

 20m2 60m2

 Interiors without walls / walls

 20m2 120m2

 Outdoor

 20m2 250m2

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In figure 2 it is observed how the different devices cover areas of different radius depending on the configuration of each one of them, thus by way of example the data collection device located more to the left 5 covers an area 6 of 90 m2, the central data collection device 7 covers an area 8 of 55 m2 and the leftmost data collection device 9 covers an area bounded by an area 10 of 25 m2 in this way, the present invention is able to determine by which of the three zones has been transit of users with mobile devices independently.

For a better understanding of each device based on the "Passive Monitoring System" in Figure 3 a simplified scheme of a single data collection device responsible for the configuration of one of the user identification areas of mobile devices where the different communication elements that are available are detailed; Ethernet connection 11, Wifi pickup module 12, Bluetooth module 13 and Wifi transmission module 14. Specifically as an example each, data collection device can be defined based on the following specifications;

• 4x ARM Cortex-A53 processor, 1.2 GHz

• Broadcom Videocore IV graphics card

• 1GB LPDDR2 memory (900Mhz)

• 10/100 Ethernet connection

• 802.11n WIFI Wireless (pickup)

• Bluetooth 4.1 Classic & Low Energy module (pickup)

• 802.11n WIFI Wireless (transmission)

• HDMI Cable and Antenna

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The object of the present invention is to provide the initial data collection from which information on different metrics that refer to the traceability of each user can be obtained by interacting with each of the different zones defined by the different devices deployed. In this way, each time a mobile device user equipped with Wifi and / or Bluetooth technology enters one of the areas delimited by a device, it is registered by it, it will be able to identify each device of each user in a unique way. such that if a user enters the range of one of the devices of the present invention, it is recognized as a previously identified user.

One of the objects of the present invention is to be able to detect and identify each user that is detected by previously deployed devices in a unique way, so that each user can be recognized and labeled as new or users who have already been previously registered To enable the present invention of said function, the MAC identifier of each device is used, in this way, every time a mobile device user, with the relevant Bluetooth and / or Wifi connection active, enters the range of one of the devices its MAC address, which characterizes any device that has a network interface, either via cable (LAN) or Wifi (wireless), is stored.

Finally, in figure 4 a complete scheme of the system according to the present invention is shown in which within a zone

delimited two devices have been deployed to capture users with mobile terminals.

Among the three users identified in Figure 4, we can observe 5 the three situations that we can find regarding the

Interaction of different users with deployed devices. Thus, the user 15 housed outside the enclosure under study does not come within the range of action of the devices reflected in the aforementioned figure at any time, in this case no information about the user would be recorded.

However, the user 16 shows a user other than the previous one who has first entered the perimeter defined by one of the devices, in this case the system stores the unique identifier 15, recording the times that this user has remained

within the range of each of the zones defined by each of the installed devices, being able to identify the times separately from each zone, in Figure 4 corresponding to the zones designated as 17 and 18.

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In another order of possibilities in which each user can be found, the user 19 in figure 4 corresponds to a user who, in a temporary space prior to that represented in said figure 4, has entered into one of the two action zones defined, in this way the system of the present invention identifies the user

and stores the times of this new interaction with the devices together with the times already recorded from the previous interactions, in this way, the system can show the times of said user relating them to the previous times.

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From the data obtained, the present invention serves as a basis for being able to show different metrics on the data collected by the different devices of a previously defined area, being able to differentiate between sets of individual devices or devices. For example, imagine a clothing chain with two shops located in two different cities, if two devices are installed in each store, users of the system of the present invention will have the ability to consult on the platform information about the existing traffic within the set from its stores or from each of the stores separately, even having the possibility to consult the data of each area within each store separately.

Thus, based on the data collection, depending on the location of the sensors distributed by the store or through the box, information can be obtained from customers related to;

• Identification of times and routes.

• Identification and association of users who observe in the shop window and who access the interior of the store

• Identification and association of users who checkout

Additionally, once we have the system object of the present invention installed, after a subsequent data processing that is not object of the present invention, the following actions can be carried out periodically;

• Weekly sending of statistics

• Monthly learning session and pattern identification

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• Monthly support session, reports and access to the platform in real time.

It is not considered necessary to extend the present specification so that any person skilled in the art understands the scope of the invention and the advantages derived from its use.

The adaptation of the "Passive Monitoring System" for other applications based on detecting the time interval in which a certain mobile device is located in an area, the data collection sensors implemented are basic, 4G, monitoring, autonomous network and data, with private data communication, etc., the fact that the system operates with its own servers, local or remote depending on the type of client or application, the implementation of programming that provides intelligence, statistics adapted to the devices , countries of application, time, etc., will be subject to modification as long as this does not imply an alteration to the essentiality of the invention.

The terms in which this report has been written must always be taken in a broad and non-limiting sense.

Claims (2)

5 10 fifteen twenty 25 1. - Passive monitoring system that discriminates in an environment of users of mobile devices equipped with wireless network connectivity, if they have individually accessed during some time interval each of the regions associated with the installed data collection devices, characterized in that it comprises a central computer system that receives the information that is sent from a set of associated data collection devices, where each data collection device linked to a given region contains an input for "Ethernet" or wired connection, a module of wireless networks “WIFI 'of pickup, a module of wireless networks“ Bluetooth ”of pickup and a second module of wireless networks“ WIFI' of transmission. 2. - Method using a passive monitoring system according to claim 1, comprising the following steps; A. Each data collection device detects the signals emitted by the mobile devices within its range and reads the unique identifier of the device "MAC address", making use of the antennas in wireless networks that constantly listen to the messages emitted in the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequency of each mobile device depending on the different states in which it is before an access point; without authenticating, without connecting, authenticated or connected. B. Each time a data collection device finds a signal in which a MAC is identified, it communicates it to the central computer system so that it can be treated using an “Ethernet” network connection that provides it with an Internet connection . C. When the data collection devices do not have the possibility of making an Internet connection through the Ethernet protocol when there is no Ethernet access point, each device has a second module of wireless networks 5 “Wifi” with which will establish a connection to Internet and through which the communication with the central computer system will be carried out for purposes similar to the previous stage. 10