ITRM20100273A1 - LOCALIZATION SYSTEM. - Google Patents

Description

LOCATION SYSTEM

The present invention relates to a localization system that allows in a reliable, effective, simple and economical way to locate people inside structures, closed and / or outdoors, such as shopping centers, health facilities, public offices, ports and airports, and to provide information based on that location.

In many structures it can be useful to monitor the presence and position of people, for example inside a shopping center for the supply of commercial information, inside an airport for passenger boarding operations, or inside a museum or an archaeological site for the provision of information.

In addition, in some facilities such monitoring is necessary, for example within a hospital for administering drugs to patients.

Currently, there are no easy to implement and immediate applicability systems to effectively carry out such monitoring.

In the case of shopping centers, the existing systems are based on the sending of SMS or MMS messages to the mobile phones of users registered in a special list, for the reporting of promotional information. However, these systems do not provide for discrimination of information on the basis of the position of registered users.

In the case of museums and archaeological sites, conventional systems include audio devices that can be controlled by users via keyboard for selecting an audio track, whose identification number corresponds to that shown near a work of art or a monument.

In the case of healthcare facilities, such as a hospital, the only form of monitoring patients for the administration of drugs is that of the obligation for patients, at least at certain times of the day, to always be in their room when doctors and / or nurses come by for visits or the administration of therapy.

In this context, the solution proposed according to the present invention is inserted, which allows to solve the aforementioned problems.

The object of the present invention is, therefore, to allow in a reliable, effective, simple, and economical way to locate people inside structures, closed and / or outdoors, and to provide information on the basis of this location.

The specific object of the present invention is a system for locating people, having mobile devices equipped with devices for Bluetooth radio communication, inside a structure, closed and / or open, the system comprising:

- a central Server that manages the operation of the system, connected to a central network;

- a first cellular radio communication apparatus via a cellular radio communication network, connected to the first central network; - one or more WiFi interconnection devices (WiFi Access Point) between the central network and a WiFi network;

- a plurality of fixed detection devices connected to the WiFi network;

- a plurality of first mobile devices able to connect to the cellular radio communication network, each first mobile device being provided with Bluetooth radio communication apparatuses;

each detector device being able to carry out one or more first position surveys and identifications of one or more first mobile devices present in a first area close to the detector device and to communicate the detections and identifications made to the central Server through said one or more WiFi Access Point via WiFi network, each first mobile device being able to perform one or more second relative position measurements and identifications of one or more second mobile devices, by reading a Bluetooth identification of each second mobile device, present in a second area close to the first mobile device and to communicate the measurements and identifications carried out to the central Server through the first cellular radiocommunication device via the cellular radiocommunication network, whereby the central Server determines the position within said structure of said one or more second mobile devices on the base of said one or more first position readings and identifications of the first mobile devices and of said one or more second relative position readings and identifications of the second mobile devices.

Always according to the invention, said first mobile devices can be equipped with WiFi radio communication apparatuses, preferably Zigbee, through which they are connected to the WiFi network, preferably Zigbee, said first mobile devices being able to estimate their position within said structure with respect to the fixed detection devices connected to the WiFi network through triangulation algorithms, and to communicate this position to the central Server through said one or more WiFi Access Points, preferably Zigbee, via WiFi network and / or via the first cellular radio communication device via cellular radio communication network.

Still according to the invention, the WiFi network, preferably Zigbee, can be arranged as a mesh logic network (or mesh).

Further according to the invention, said fixed detection devices can be provided with RFID detectors, capable of detecting transponders or RFID tags, active or passive, with which said first mobile devices are provided, and / or are equipped with Bluetooth detectors, through the which said detector devices are capable of detecting and identifying the first mobile devices and the second mobile devices, at least one second mobile device being preferably provided with an RFID tag, active or passive, detectable by said fixed detector devices.

Always according to the invention, the system can also comprise an apparatus for transmitting and receiving SMS and / or MMS messages via the cellular radio communication network, through which the central Server is able to communicate with said first mobile devices and / or said second mobile devices.

Still according to the invention, the central Server can be able to send to said second mobile devices communications depending on the determined position of these.

Further according to the invention, the central Server may be able to send to said first mobile devices communications depending on the detected position of these and / or on the determined position of said second mobile devices.

Still according to the invention, said first mobile devices can be equipped with GPS georeferenced position detector, said first mobile devices sending the detected georeferenced position to the central Server.

Still according to the invention, the core network can be connected to the Internet.

Further according to the invention, the system can also comprise one or more client computers or client PCs, preferably Touch-Screen processors, connected to the central network, each preferably equipped with a Bluetooth radio communication apparatus capable of detecting and identifying said one or more second mobile devices, by reading a Bluetooth identification of each second mobile device, and to communicate the surveys and identifications made to the central Server via the central network.

The localization system according to the invention is based on a set of electronic apparatuses and devices, provided with suitable software programs, which is able to locate users, who move inside closed structures and / or outdoors (such as shopping centers, health facilities, public offices, ports, airports, etc.), in coordinates relating to the structure itself and / or georeferenced (where possible), through the passive use of mobile devices, which are already owned by users (e.g., cell phones Bluetooth) is provided by the system manager (e.g., RFID devices), by means of active detector devices (e.g. based on Bluetooth and / or ZigBee and / or GPS and / or GPRS technology) and static, appropriately distributed in the structure, and mobile worn by operators. In particular, the localization system according to the invention is preferably based on one or more of the communication technologies GPRS, GSM, UMTS, WiFi (more preferably 802.11x), Bluetooth, Zigbee, and Ethernet, and on one or more of the technologies GPS, RFID, and IEEE 1451 detection.

The present invention will now be described, by way of illustration, but not of limitation, according to its preferred embodiments, with particular reference to the single Figure of the attached drawings, which shows a schematic view of a preferred embodiment of the apparatus for notification of documents according to the invention.

In the following of this description we will indicate: the term Operator "a user of the system belonging to the structure that manages the system according to the invention in the specific structure in which it is applied (eg, employees of a shopping center or an airport, or hospital nurses); with the term "Administrator", the system operator responsible for its configuration and supervision; with the term "customer" or "Customer" a user who uses the services provided in the structure in which the system according to the invention is installed (e.g., buyers in a shopping center, travelers in an airport, or patients in a hospital); with the term "User" any user, both Operator and Customer.

Furthermore, in the following, a structure is intended as any assembly comprising one or more closed areas (e.g. within one or more buildings) and / or one or more open areas.

With reference to Figure 1, it can be observed that the preferred embodiment of the localization system according to the invention comprises a central sub-system 10 of computers connected to each other via a network 11 which can be wired, preferably Ethernet, and / or wireless (wireless) Wi-Fi, preferably using the TCP / IP protocol suite. In particular, the central sub-system 10 comprises a central Server 12, equipped with memory 13 for storing databases, which automatically manages, through software, the operation of the system according to the invention. The Administrator 20, and possibly other Operators 21, can make requests and queries and insert information into the memory 13 of the central Server 12, possibly also through one or more Client PCs 17 (only one of which is shown in the Figure).

The central sub-system 10 also comprises: an apparatus 14 for sending and receiving SMS and / or MMS via a cellular radio communication network 30; an apparatus 15 for receiving and transmitting on both GPRS and GSM / UMTS channels via the cellular radio communication network 30; and one or more Zigbee interconnection devices 16 (also called Access Points - only one of which is shown in the Figure) between the network 11 of the central subsystem 10 and a Zigbee network 31. Other embodiments of the system may provide for protocols for communication (and Access Point) WiFi different from the Zigbee.

Furthermore, said one or more Client PCs 17, preferably Touch-Screen processors, are each equipped with a Bluetooth radio communication apparatus and are advantageously distributed in the structure in which the system according to the invention is installed in order to be used also by the Customers 22. to interact with the central Server 12, in a different way than the Operators (preferably through authorized access only to the Operators, for example, for some management functions). By way of example, a Customer 22 can register through one of said PC Client 17, possibly also by detecting the Bluetooth identification of a Customer 22 mobile phone by the relevant Bluetooth radio communication device; in this last case, the Customer 22 can preferably select (e.g. on the touch-screen of the Client PC 17) a registration option using the Bluetooth identification of his mobile phone, and the Client PC 17, via his Bluetooth radio communication device , try to detect it (and report - e.g. on screen - if the detection was successful or not), so that the same Customer 22, to subsequently interact with the central Server 12, can simply approach a Client PC 17 and select (e.g. on the relative touch-screen) an option to access the system on the basis of its Bluetooth identification already registered and that PC Client 17 uses the Bluetooth detection to identify it, so that the Customer does not have to remember access codes ( e.g. usernames and passwords). At the time of registration, or even at a later time, the Customer 22 can update his own profile, choosing through the Client PCs 17 which monitoring and information functions are associated with him. Furthermore, the Client PCs 17 can be used for special purposes (for which no technical management skills of the system is required) by specific Operators, for example in the case of managers of individual shops in a shopping center or doctors in a hospital in the which is installed the system according to the invention which can access restricted areas, after proper authentication.

As mentioned, the SMS / MMS apparatus 14, the GPRS / GSM / UMTS apparatus 15, called one or more Zigbee Access Points 16, and said one or more Client PCs 17 are connected to the central Server 12 through the network 11 of the below. -central system 10. Furthermore, the central sub-system 10 can be advantageously connected to the Internet network 32, again via the network 11, so as to integrate in the system according to the invention the use of web services available on the network.

The system according to the invention also comprises a plurality of first mobile devices 421 adapted to connect both to the cellular radio communication network 30 and to the Zigbee network 31 and preferably equipped with one or more sensors 400 (e.g., temperature sensors that allow distributed monitoring temperature in the structure - for example a shopping center or a hospital - where the system is installed in order to better control an air conditioning apparatus), more preferably IEEE 1451 sensors. The first 421 mobile devices are also equipped with equipment for Bluetooth radio communication. Each Operator 21 is equipped with (at least) a first mobile device 421, which can be for example a mobile phone or a palmtop. The first mobile devices 421 are preferably equipped with a GPS geo-referenced position detector, which allows each first mobile device 421 to detect its own geo-referenced position when the GPS satellite signal coming from the satellites, schematically represented by the star 430, is present, for example when the Operators 21 move (also) in open spaces if present in the structure in which the system is installed.

The system also comprises a plurality of fixed detector devices 410 equipped with RFID detectors capable of detecting active or more preferably passive RFID transponders or tags, with which the first mobile devices 421 are provided. The detector devices 410 are interconnected to the Zigbee 31 network. , preferably arranged as a mesh logic network, also comprising the Zigbee Access Points 16 which in turn act as a link with respect to the network 11 of the central subsystem 10. Preferably, the detector devices 410 are also provided with detectors Bluetooth, through which the detector devices 410 are able to detect and identify the first mobile devices 421 equipped with Bluetooth radio communication devices.

The Customers 22 have second mobile devices 422, which do not necessarily form part of the system according to the invention, preferably consisting of mobile phones equipped with the necessary equipment for GPRS and / or GSM / UMTS mobile radio communication, capable of connecting the second mobile devices 422 to the cellular radiocommunication network 30, and possibly also of devices for Bluetooth radiocommunication, capable of connecting the second mobile devices 422 to the first mobile devices 421 and to the Zigbee network 31. Alternatively, the second mobile devices 422 can be devices provided by manager of the system according to the invention equipped with devices for Bluetooth radio communication and / or RFID tags, active or more preferably passive, detectable by the detector devices 410.

The figure also shows:

- with the reference number 500, RFID radio communications between first mobile devices 421 and detector devices 410;

- with reference number 510, Bluetooth radio communications between first mobile devices 421 and second mobile devices 422;

- with the reference number 520, the GPS signals coming from the satellites 430 and received by the first mobile devices 421;

- with the reference number 530, the Zigbee radio communications of the first mobile devices 421 and of the detector devices 410 with the Zigbee network 31; And

- with the reference number 540, the cellular radio communications of the first 421 mobile devices with the cellular network 30.

The operating modes of the preferred embodiment of the system according to the invention are illustrated below, with analogous methods valid for the other embodiments.

The Customers 22 can register via the Client PCs 17, which are equipped with a Bluetooth device for detecting the cellular devices 422 of the Customers themselves, who can always select via the Client PCs 17 which monitoring and information functions are associated with them. For example, in a shopping mall, a Customer 22 can choose to be informed about offers regarding sports cycling items, LCD TVs, dog food, etc. The monitoring service can be carried out only if the RFID tag and / or the Bluetooth identification of the second mobile device 422 of the Customer 22 is known to the central Server 12, or if it is registered in the memory 13; the Bluetooth identifier of 422 mobile devices, especially mobile phones, is unique by international standards. On the other hand, the information supply service (for example in shopping centers) is still available, for example to inform a Customer 22 of the possibility of using the service itself.

The position of a first mobile device 421 of an Operator 21 is detected by the detector devices 410 by means of an RFID and / or Bluetooth and / or Zigbee detection. The Zigbee network 31 makes it possible to acquire and record on the central Server 12 the transit events of the first mobile devices 421 of the Operators 21 at the positions where the detector devices 410 are installed. This allows the historical position of the Operators 21 to be recorded and mapped. Furthermore, the central Server 12 can send cellular radio communications via cellular network 30 to the first 421 mobile devices, including information for Operators 21 and functional commands for the first mobile devices 421, preferably dependent on the detected position of the first mobile devices 421.

Furthermore, the first mobile devices 421, when equipped with Zigbee radio communication devices connected to the Zigbee 31 mesh network, are able to estimate their position with respect to the fixed detector devices 410 connected to the same Zigbee 31 network through triangulation algorithms. This represents an alternative in the evaluation of the instant-by-instant positioning of the first mobile devices 421 of the Operators 21. In this case, also the communications that the central Server 12 sends to the first mobile devices 421 can be carried out through the Zigbee network 31 through the Access Points Zigbee 16.

Each first mobile device 421 of the Operators 21 can detect and identify the second mobile devices 422 of the Customers 22 via Bluetooth technology, assuming that the second mobile devices 422 of the Customers 22 are equipped with Bluetooth radio communication devices. In fact, the first mobile devices 421 are able to intercept the presence of the second mobile devices 422, identifiable by the Bluetooth identification recorded in the memory 13 of the central Server 12. This detection is automatically communicated to the central Server 12, through the cellular network 30, by means of the SMS / MMS device 14 and / or the GPRS / GSM / UMTS device 15, and / or, through the Zigbee 31 network, through a Zigbee 16 Access Point. detection of the first mobile devices 421 of the Operators 21 and of the second mobile devices 422 of the Customers 22, is able to determine the position of the second mobile devices 422 of the Customers 22 with an appropriate precision margin, of the order of one meter.

Also each detector device 410 can detect and identify the second mobile devices 422 of the Customers 22 again via Bluetooth technology, if equipped with the necessary Bluetooth radio communication devices.

The system according to the invention allows to offer a high quality service to the Customer 22 thanks to the fundamental ability to know their position and movements. In fact, via the Zigbee 16 Access Points via the Zigbee 31 network and / or via the SMS / MMS 14 and / or the GPRS / GSM / UMTS 15 apparatus via the cellular network 30, the central Server 12 is able to send second mobile devices communications, in particular information, depending on the detected position of the second mobile devices of the Customers 22, obviously communications concerning the specific structure in which the system is installed. For example, such communications may concern information relating to items on sale in specific stores in a shopping center, or information relating to a queue for access to a room in a public office, or information relating to visits or analyzes or therapies in a hospital; in particular, appropriate communications on actions that the Operators 21 must undertake towards specific Customers 22 (for example in the case of health institutions) for safety or other reasons, can be communicated to the Operators themselves 21. As already mentioned, the service can only be performed if the RFID tag and / or the Bluetooth identification of the second mobile device 422 of the Customer 22 is registered in the memory 13 of the central Server 12.

The central Server 12 can automatically acquire information (preferably through the SMS / MMS device 14 and / or the GPRS / GSM / UMTS device 15 via the cellular network 30 and / or through the Zigbee 16 Access Points via the Zigbee 31 network) from the first mobile devices 421 of the Operators 21, also registered and managed automatically thanks to appropriate software modules installed on the first mobile devices 421. Among the information acquired there may be the georeferenced position, detectable by the first mobile devices 421 with GPS technology, when the Operator moves in open spaces if the application reality foresees it.

Similarly, each Operator 21, through its first mobile device 421, can send requests to and obtain information from the central Server 12 (preferably through the SMS / MMS device 14 and / or the GPRS / GSM / UMTS device 15 via the cellular network. 30 and / or through the Zigbee 16 Access Points via the Zigbee 31 network).

In the foregoing, the preferred embodiments have been described and variants of the present invention have been suggested, but it is to be understood that those skilled in the art will be able to make modifications and changes without thereby departing from the relative scope of protection, as defined by the claims attached.

Claims (10)

CLAIMS 1. Person localization system (21, 22), having mobile devices (421, 422) equipped with Bluetooth radio communication devices, inside a structure, closed and / or open, the system comprising: - a central Server (12) which manages the operation of the system, connected to a central network (11); - a first cellular radiocommunication apparatus (15) via a cellular radiocommunication network (30), connected to the first central network (11); - one or more WiFi interconnection devices (16) (Access Point WiFi) between the central network (11) and a WiFi network (31); - a plurality of fixed detection devices (410) connected to the WiFi network (31); - a plurality of first mobile devices (421) adapted to connect to the cellular radio communication network (30), each first mobile device (421) being provided with Bluetooth radio communication apparatuses; each detector device (410) being able to carry out one or more first position and identification detections of one or more first mobile devices (421) present in a first area close to the detector device (410) and to communicate the detections and identifications carried out to the central Server (12) through said one or more WiFi Access Points (16) via WiFi network (31), each first mobile device (421) being able to perform one or more second relative position measurements and identifications of one or more several second mobile devices (422), by reading a Bluetooth identification of each second mobile device (422), present in a second area close to the first mobile device (421) and to communicate the measurements and identifications made to the central Server (12 ) through the first cellular radiocommunication device (15) via cellular radiocommunication network (30), for which the central Server (12) determines the position inside or of said structure of said one or more second mobile devices (422) on the basis of said one or more first position readings and identifications of the first mobile devices (421) and of said one or more second relative position readings and identifications of the second mobile devices (422). 2. System according to claim 1, characterized in that said first mobile devices (421) are equipped with WiFi radio communication apparatuses, preferably Zigbee, through which said first mobile devices (31), preferably Zigbee, are connected to the WiFi network (31), preferably Zigbee. 421) being able to estimate its position within said structure with respect to the fixed detection devices (410) connected to the WiFi network (31) through triangulation algorithms, and to communicate this position to the central Server (12) through said one or more WiFi Access Points (16), preferably Zigbee, via WiFi network (31) and / or via the first cellular radio communication apparatus (15) via cellular radio communication network (30). System according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the WiFi network (31), preferably Zigbee, is arranged as a mesh logic network. 4. System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said fixed detection devices (410) are provided with RFID detectors, capable of detecting active or passive RFID transponders or tags, with which said first mobile devices (421) are provided ), and / or are equipped with Bluetooth detectors, through which said detecting devices (410) are able to detect and identify the first mobile devices (421) and the second mobile devices (422), at least one second mobile device (422 ) being preferably provided with RFID tags, active or passive, detectable by said fixed detector devices (410). 5. System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it also comprises an apparatus (14) for transmitting and receiving SMS and / or MMS messages via the cellular radio communication network (30), through which the central Server (12 ) is able to communicate with said first mobile devices (421) and / or said second mobile devices (422). System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the central Server (12) is able to send to said second mobile devices (422) communications depending on their determined position. 7. System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the central Server (12) is able to send to said first mobile devices (421) communications depending on the detected position of these and / or on the determined position of said second mobile devices (422). System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said first mobile devices (421) are provided with GPS georeferenced position detector, said first mobile devices (421) sending the detected georeferenced position to the central Server (12). System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the core network (11) is connected to the Internet network (32). 10. System according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it also comprises one or more client computers or Client PCs (17), preferably Touch-Screen computers, connected to the central network (11), each preferably equipped with a radio communication apparatus Bluetooth capable of detecting and identifying said one or more second mobile devices (422), by reading a Bluetooth identification of each second mobile device (422), and of communicating the surveys and identifications carried out to the central Server (12) via the network central (11).